CALIFORNIA FIRES

[grumpybill]

My niece, who lives in Lompoc, sent me this.

link

[aDave]

This is a pretty decent map showing the locations of all of the fires.  I don't know how often it is updated, as I did not dig too deeply into the layers and map information.  Link to Map.

Yesterday afternoon, I went up to the Reagan Library and took this snapshot looking north.  Sorry, this was an impromptu visit, so I only had my cell phone and not a real camera.   Closest flank of the fire is about 13 miles or so away.  From the southeast flank, the fire extends roughly 25 miles or more to the northwest.

[lookatthat]

I was out there about a year and a half ago. My parents and I were impressed by the beauty -- and also by the dry, dead vegetation and the long swaths of beetle-killed trees that would provide ready timber for any fire that started.

Doing a rain dance over here for you folks...

[lookatthat]

Great pic, by the way. Looks like a volcano.

[gemfeller]

Dec 10, 2017 13:39:27 GMT -5 aDave said:

This is a pretty decent map showing the locations of all of the fires.  I don't know how often it is updated, as I did not dig too deeply into the layers and map information.  Link to Map.

Yesterday afternoon, I went up to the Reagan Library and took this snapshot looking north.  Sorry, this was an impromptu visit, so I only had my cell phone and not a real camera.   Closest flank of the fire is about 13 miles or so away.  From the southeast flank, the fire extends roughly 25 miles or more to the northwest.

Thanks for that perspective aDave . We drove out near Somis at night and could see the hills on fire near Fillmore. It really spooked my wife and she started packing. I later realized the distance from us in Camarillo and rested a little easier.

But a fire from the northwest sneaked up on us during the night 5 or 6 years ago and burned almost to the Somis city limits. That was memorable so while we may be erring on the side of caution, we don't want to be caught flat-footed. As long as the Santa Anas continue our area is probably safe. With onshore flow I'm not so sure. Meanwhile hats off to the firefighters. And heartfelt best wishes to the people who have lost so much in this devastating event.

[fernwood]

When my Brother-in Law was young, he was on call from Wisconsin to head West to fight wildfires. He shared a lot with me. Not only his experiences, but that so many are unaware how fast conditions can change. Yes, if anyone is near an active fire, it is best to make plans for immediate evac. Not only for themselves, but for animals as well. Move any large animals when fire is 20 miles away. Have pet carriers for dogs/cats and other small animals. Know where you will evac to. In emergencies, many hotel will allow small animals with a security deposit. others have arrangesments with local animal shelters for free boarding. He shared so much good knowledge.

He is now a Fire Chief and his wife an EMT/Fire Fighter.

Stay safe everyone and be prepared.

[aDave]

Dec 10, 2017 17:50:35 GMT -5 gemfeller said:

Thanks for that perspective aDave . We drove out near Somis at night and could see the hills on fire near Fillmore. It really spooked my wife and she started packing. I later realized the distance from us in Camarillo and rested a little easier.

But a fire from the northwest sneaked up on us during the night 5 or 6 years ago and burned almost to the Somis city limits. That was memorable so while we may be erring on the side of caution, we don't want to be caught flat-footed. As long as the Santa Anas continue our area is probably safe. With onshore flow I'm not so sure. Meanwhile hats off to the firefighters. And heartfelt best wishes to the people who have lost so much in this devastating event.

No problem. Did not realize you were in Camarillo. I saw you had packed "go" bags. You're farther along than my wife and I. However, we did talk about a plan and what we would put in different vehicles if we ever had to evacuate. The Thomas Fire presents no real threat for you and I right now. And, I'd really be amazed if it did in the long run. Even if the winds change to on-shore, I think you're still OK.

Our biggest issue, and yours as well, was probably the Rye fire. That's been knocked down and is not an issue. In 2007, a fire started in Val Verde, burned southwest into Simi/Moorpark/Camarillo and was eventually stopped. The recent Rye fire got into new vegetation and couldn't get a stronghold. With that prior history, the fire couldn't move that fast.

The Thomas fire is impressive to look at, but it's never gone south of 126. I think you can rest easy and have a good night's sleep.

[rivarat]

Hope all our forum friends (and their family and friends)are still safe.


I haven't heard much in the news the last couple of days here in Australia.

fernwood your brother in law is so right about conditions changing.

Most of my experience has been from the back of a fire truck, including the Black Saturday fires back in 2009 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires
This still stirs up an uneasy feelings sometimes when I think back to that day.

Thoughts and well wishes to you all.

[Sabre52]

Guess the Ojai Valley and the raptor center are out of the risk zone now. That's good. Fire burned real close to our old Ojai home and the Raptor Center was evacuated several times.. Dang that mention of Somis made my mouth start watering for Somis Market Mexican food. Used to have lunch there several times a week for like 25 years *L*. Even had my riding lessons at Somis on weekends so ate there then too. Never found food that good here in Texas yet, though we do have one place that is pretty close. Only things I miss about Commiefornia are the food, desert rock hunting, and the ocean and sailboats at the harbor.....Mel

[gemfeller]

Dec 13, 2017 8:53:29 GMT -5 Sabre52 said:

Guess the Ojai Valley and the raptor center are out of the risk zone now. That's good. Fire burned real close to our old Ojai home and the Raptor Center was evacuated several times.. Dang that mention of Somis made my mouth start watering for Somis Market Mexican food. Used to have lunch there several times a week for like 25 years *L*. Even had my riding lessons at Somis on weekends so ate there then too. Never found food that good here in Texas yet, though we do have one place that is pretty close. Only things I miss about Commiefornia are the food, desert rock hunting, and the ocean and sailboats at the harbor.....Mel

Well Mel, I'll have lunch there for you soon and I'll raise a glass in your honor. It's right next to the Post Office and every time I have to mail something it's easier for me to go there than downtown. Fortunately the fire has missed our area so the place is still intact. When it comes to Mexican food I long for New Mexico. I went to college in Albuquerque and became addicted to the local style of Mexican fare. It's different than California-style and I really miss it. In the meantime I'm looking for a local place that makes really good chile verde. I'm addicted to it but haven't found a reliable spot yet.

[aDave]

Dec 13, 2017 12:37:13 GMT -5 gemfeller said:

Well Mel, I'll have lunch there for you soon and I'll raise a glass in your honor. It's right next to the Post Office and every time I have to mail something it's easier for me to go there than downtown. Fortunately the fire has missed our area so the place is still intact. When it comes to Mexican food I long for New Mexico. I went to college in Albuquerque and became addicted to the local style of Mexican fare. It's different than California-style and I really miss it. In the meantime I'm looking for a local place that makes really good chile verde. I'm addicted to it but haven't found a reliable spot yet.

You've just given me another place for food. We often go to AgRx in Somis to pick up different supplies.

Dave

[parfive]

In recent years, high-profile tragedies have rarely transformed public discourse; instead, they’ve tended to inspire people to cling ever more fervently to their customary beliefs, as if it would be dishonorable to admit the existence of complexity and nuance.

[chuckle]

www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/books/review/megafire-michael-kodas-american-wildfires.html

[parfive]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Insurance claims from last year's deadly California wildfires have reached $11.8 billion, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said Wednesday, making it the most expensive series of wildfires in state history.

The staggering number exceeds the total insurance claims from the top 10 previously most costly wildfires in California.

Before last year, California's most expensive single fire was the 1991 Oakland Hills fire that prompted $2.7 billion in claims in today's dollars.

Nearly $1.8 billion of the 2017 insurance claims stem from fires that swept through Southern California in December. The rest is from a series of fires in Northern California's wine country in October.

Jones said the two firestorms damaged or destroyed 32,000 homes, 4,300 businesses and more than 8,200 vehicles, boats and other equipment. Dozens of people were killed.

The totals do not include insurance claims related to mudslides that buried homes and vehicles in Montecito when torrential rain fell on hillsides burned in the December fires.

The figures for Southern California are likely to grow as more people get through the time-consuming process of filing a claim.

[parfive]

Record 129 Million Dead Trees in California

VALLEJO, Calif., December 11, 2017 – The USDA Forest Service today announced that an additional 27 million trees, mostly conifers, died throughout California since November 2016, bringing the total number of trees that have died due to drought and bark beetles to an historic 129 million on 8.9 million acres. The dead trees continue to pose a hazard to people and critical infrastructure, mostly centered in the central and southern Sierra Nevada region of the state.

www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd566303.pdf

[captbob]

Good thing that tsunami came along and put all the fires out!

[woodman]

Jan 31, 2018 14:37:25 GMT -5 parfive said:

Record 129 Million Dead Trees in California

VALLEJO, Calif., December 11, 2017 – The USDA Forest Service today announced that an additional 27 million trees, mostly conifers, died throughout California since November 2016, bringing the total number of trees that have died due to drought and bark beetles to an historic 129 million on 8.9 million acres. The dead trees continue to pose a hazard to people and critical infrastructure, mostly centered in the central and southern Sierra Nevada region of the state.

www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd566303.pdf

And not a single tree will be salvage logged.

[parfive]

Why doncha ask ‘em?

The Tree Mortality Task Force (TMTF), with support from the Governor’s office and comprised of more than 80 local, state and federal agencies and private utility companies, continues to remove hazardous dead trees. To date, the TMTF members have collectively felled or removed over 1 million dead trees; this includes over 480,000 dead trees felled or removed by the USDA Forest Service.

[woodman]

Link does a video of CalFire milling boards on site in the woods with a portable mill. That is good.

[parfive]

Four B.C. mill workers were killed and 43 others seriously injured in 2012 after sawmill explosions in Burns Lake and Prince George just three months apart.

Investigators determined wood dust was to blame for the tragedies.

---

In the months prior, local mills had been rushing to process local beetle-killed wood. Mountain pine beetles had caused quite a few headaches in the industry due to their destruction of local trees. In addition, beetle-killed wood is significantly drier, exacerbating the risk for large amounts of dust becoming airborne during processing.

hgi-fire.com/blog/burns-lake-mill-combustible-dust-explosion-what-happened/

---

There was conflicting evidence presented about precisely where in the mill the instigating explosion occurred. But the experts agreed it was fueled by dry sawdust. The Lakeland mill, like others in the region, was working to process salvage wood killed in the mountain pine beetle epidemic while it retained value for commodity lumber production. A characteristic of beetle killed fibre is the dryness, fineness and amounts of the sawdust created during processing. During her charge to the jury, coroner Lisa Lapointe said the dust was described at one point in the testimony as “floating in the air.”

forestnet.com/LSJissues/2015_june_july/bc_sawmill_explosion.php

---

nationalpost.com/news/canada/sawmill-explosion-has-throw-b-c-s-forest-industry-into-turmoil

[woodman]

Makes a good case for mill ponds, keep the logs wet. I have seen mills run sprinklers on their log decks.