LA Wildfires

Many of the firefighters are prisoners who work out their community service

Reservoirs are something of an obvious solution to water shortage problems California faces but, as in the Uk, there’s a lack of political will to increase numbers.
My husband tried very hard to get our local mp interested in building more reservoirs and was told no, not possible and people have to use less water.
I hope this devastation will lead to improvements in infrastructure when reconstruction goes ahead.

Some of the fires are even arson
What on earth is happening to peoples brains .. why ???

ronib

Reservoirs are something of an obvious solution to water shortage problems California faces but, as in the Uk, there’s a lack of political will to increase numbers.
My husband tried very hard to get our local mp interested in building more reservoirs and was told no, not possible and people have to use less water.
I hope this devastation will lead to improvements in infrastructure when reconstruction goes ahead.

Collecting water in California is more complicated than just building reservoirs.

science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/atmospheric/save-rain-future-droughts.htm#:~:text=In%20more%20populated%20areas%2C%20one,would%20have%20to%20be%20treated.

petra I didn’t say that it wasn’t complicated.

The helicopters were unable to fly in some areas.
The previous chief fire officer who dealt with major fires 5 years ago was on the radio earlier explaining more about it.
I think we can't be giving instructions from over here.
They do know what their problems are!

I say this with a genuine interest as my son has his home there.

NotSpaghetti hope your son is safe.

Allira

Those firefighters are heroes.

Yes they certainly are- my brother was a firefighter, glad he’s retired!

nanna8

They certainly are because not only do they risk their lives but they have to wear hot protective gear in boiling hot weather. Plus many of them here are volunteers (CFA) and don’t get paid a cent.

😇👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Oh so we shouldn't be expressing concern from over here!?
Lots of homes have been burnt down, surely we are allowed to find out why so we can learn lessons!

One of my cousins and his family live a little bit further down the coast (30-40 miles)

He says it’s so awful and so many lost their homes and precious possessions

Imagine being the person that’s had the back yard fire & that’s the end result!

Imagine being the Mayor and Governor who had in place firefighting policies which resulted in this tragedy. Also the environmentalists….. and so it goes on.

BlueBelle

Some of the fires are even arson
What on earth is happening to peoples brains .. why ???

That does not surprise me.

A study by Monash University concluded that many devastating bush fires in Australia were started by people, some deliberately.

You do wonder what motivates pyromaniacs.

Cossy

One of my cousins and his family live a little bit further down the coast (30-40 miles)

He says it’s so awful and so many lost their homes and precious possessions

Furniture, clothes, housescan be replaced, devastating though it is, but family mementos, old photographs etc can never be replaced. ☹

Federal aid is on its way, apparently.
Lessons will be learnt

A number of celebrities have second homes in the area so presumably family mementos and photographs will be spread around their numerous other properties? Also I guess most people will have more than adequate buildings insurance but are wild fires covered?

As usual poor people will lose most. It’s absolutely shocking that one small backyard fire could have escalated in this way.

Americans, because of how the rich controlled their mind set before the elections, voted for a liberal society too pay less taxes, especially for the rich. Less money in the kitty means less money for social services.

I am very sorry for those who are suffering, especially the families whose insurance companies refused to cover them, climate change made their payments unprofitable to cover the properties or hiked up the payments making it unaffordable for those people..

That also goes for the nearly nonexistent USA health system for the poor.

This is what the UK is walking into.

Prior to global warming this period in California's year was always very wet.

Areas of the USA, because of global warming are becoming arid, and so with a tinder dry land, these fires will plague the USA year after year in future.

“Drill baby drill”

Was there ever a more stupid phrase?

ronib

NotSpaghetti hope your son is safe.

Thank you ronib - yes, he is currently working away.
I know his home is a big investment but so long as he's safe - and his wife of course, and then his pets (who are all with him), I'm sure he's able to survive and that's the priority for me.

His home is South of the current fires. His neighbours say you can smell it in the air and there is smoke but I think they are still in their homes.

The almond growers of California, which produce 80% of the world’s almonds have also been hit by the droughts caused by global warming, meaning growers have taped into groundwater to sustain the orchards.
Not as devastating as the impact of these wildfires, on people, their homes and their livelihoods, but another example of the damage caused by global warming.

Some of my daughters’s colleagues in LA had to evacuate their homes on Wednesday. One told her that the air outside their LA office was thick with smoke from the fires.

Sometimes, I feel the world’s climate with regards to global warming has reached its tipping point. So wildfires, flash floods, flooding, droughts, extreme summer temperature will be the new normal.

I was shocked to see a programme with Simon Reeve presenting a while ago.It showed the devastating effect population increase,development of housing and infrastructure and agriculture were all having on the environment of California. Particularly in relation to water usage.All those swimming pools,sprinklers and irrigation for almonds etc.In one place the ground level had collapsed dramatically over a huge area.It seems nature is fighting back.
Also shocking was the number of homeless and drug abuse.Its awful for anyone to lose their homes,But as usual the poorest will suffer the most.

imaround

Well crappy cabinet ppicks.who cares if they are scrappy.

or even scrappy cabinet pricks?

nanna8

You are still allowed to control burn in Australia but you have to get a permit and stick to the rules. The reason is that previously many burns ended up in bushfires by accident. I have experienced the horror of bushfires. My daughter and her young family lost their house and everything they owned in a fierce fire when they lived in the bush. You never really recover, it affected the personalities of their children for years because all their pets were killed and they lost everything they had ever known. They eventually moved off their burnt out land where they had been camping and now live in a ‘safe’ area. I would never, ever live in the bush it is nerve wracking every Summer. Most of the fires are caused by human carelessness(or deliberate) and they actually caught the bastard who started the Gippsland fires where my daughter lost their house.

That's awful Nanna8, as you say, the results of these traumas go far beyond the actual fires, long after they have gone from the headlines.