I guess the fires in Oregon and Washington must be out. Not so, A-f****ng-GAIN in California.

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
09/28/2020 at 10:45 • Filed to: None

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DISCUSSION (17)

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/28/2020 at 10:55

Oh no, not again! This needs to stop! At least the wildfires aren’t as widespread this time but really we cannot afford to do this time after time. Someone needs to go out there and rake the forests.

Also, check your email in like an hour.

PatBateman > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/28/2020 at 11:03

California Dreamin’...

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/28/2020 at 11:07

We have gotten lucky down south so far. Only a couple fires burning nearby and haven't dumped too much smoke on me. But I'm sure luck will change soon. Thankfully the Woolsey fire in 2018 burned so much in my immediate vicinity that at least smoke is my only real concern regardless. Really not looking forward to the day where I have to evacuate and live in a hotel since I definitely do not have anyplace else to go. But it's certainly the reality where I live. At least the views are worth it and I don't own the house so I'm not taking on any of the risk.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/28/2020 at 11:10

I know right! If we could just manage our forest like Finland does. But no, those socialists in the republic of California don’t want to do the work like capitalistic Finland does .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Future next gen S2000 owner
09/28/2020 at 11:21

I imagine the colder climate helps too but yeah filthy socialists and their big gubmet who can’t even bother to stomp out a few fires.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > PatBateman
09/28/2020 at 11:27

Roll Left, Young Man!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Future next gen S2000 owner
09/28/2020 at 11:30

Commiefornia.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/28/2020 at 11:41

Pretty sure that was a tongue in cheek comment. California is anarchy compared to Finland.

sony1492 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/28/2020 at 12:07

The suns red/orange this morning as an ash cloud lingers over the coast

dieseldub > Future next gen S2000 owner
09/28/2020 at 12:59

I know it’s a joke, but to those of us living in this reality, it gets more and more infuriating every time we hear it.

Finland actually gets rain virtually every month of the year... we don’t... for 6-8 months at a time. By the time our fire season finally ends and rains come up, Finland’s already been an iceball for 3 months.

What’s funny is it appears that Finland’s total rainfall amount isn’t that far off California’s, it’s just that theirs falls more frequently, whereas here, all falls from late October through April most years... and that’s about it.

Plus, who needs more precip when you’re just covered in snow for more than half the year? There’s no where for a fire to burn when all your grasses are buried in snow.

Such a ridiculous comment by captain cheeto small hands.

Besides, the federal government owns nearly 50% of California’s land. And if you do it as a percent of our FOREST land, it’s a significantly higher portion.

So, if Herr Drumpf is serious about raking the forests, may I suggest his tiny hands pick up a rake and get started.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
09/28/2020 at 14:20

I have a couch in my garage you can prob crash on. Great views of my car at least lmao

Nick Has an Exocet > dieseldub
09/28/2020 at 14:46

Politics are half the reason that this mess exists. I’m not a fan of Trump, but he’s closer than Newsom on how to fix this. At least forestry management will have some effect. Newsom bitching about climate change while standing over the ashes of someone’s home does absolutely nothing. Hell, even if California banned all fossil fuels tomorrow, murdered it s cows, and did everything in it’s power, it wouldn’t put a dent in overall CO2 emissions. Further, climate change is roughly #10 on a list of the #10 reasons for why these fires are so bad. Numbers 1 through 9 would cost money or political capital, so better just blame it on climate change and ask for federal emergency funds instead.

Controlled burns, advancing electric infrastructure by 100 years (most was built in the 1920s when drinking mercury every day was good for your health ), reversing NIMBY laws around tree clearing, requiring homeowners to clear 30 ft around their homes (this would save about 1100 homes/year) , declaring war on invasive species (invasive grasses and eucalyptus), aggressive tree and brush clearing around roads and powerlines, creating a survey system for undergrowth density, and others would all have a massive effect.

We have a runaway effect right now. Years of bad policy have produced a situation where the fires burn hotter than ever. Because fires have been suppressed, a lot medium trees exist that lets the fire “ladder” into the canopy. That means wind can easily blow embers and continue the fire. These fires are so hot that they are sterilizing the soil, allowing non-native species to proliferate, creating even more fuel even faster. It’s a horrible situation. If you want to broaden the term climate change to include bad human policies that allowed environmental policy to be set by non-scientific environmental groups and NIMBYs, then yeah, it’s climate change. If we’re talking about CO2, then no.

As an aside, a friend of mine in Oregon cut down a tree in his yard that was overhanging his roof . His neighbors called the police.

dieseldub > Nick Has an Exocet
09/28/2020 at 15:11

I don’t fully disagree there. Pretty sure I’ve said it before that while yes, changes in weather patterns are making the situation far worse than ever, that is something we also have virtually zero control over. The fuels situation AND IGNITION sources are things we do have control over.

And pretty much goes on down the list just as you said. In certain parts of the Sierras, when logging was still ongoing, they planted many non-native pines as well that are not as drought-resistant and were planted too close together. And now we don’t log them at all.

I could also argue that the ignition point being found to be power lines that either can’t withstand our new normal wind patterns or nearby drought-weakened trees are taking them down is the most realistic thing to address even over the fuels situation.

At the same time, the childish threats to withhold federal assistance funding while in the middle of an emergency situation gets nothing done. Furthermore, there still is a point to be made that the state itself only owns 2.5% of California’s land. The federal government owns nearly 50%, most of which is forest land . So who’s responsibility is it really for upkeeping so many of these fire prone areas?

Anything that says “National Forest” is federal government property, which is why it gets infuriating to hear a federal official blame the state for mismanagement when in fact the federal government itself is in charge of far more of the burning areas than the state is.

But yeah, pressure from NIMBYs are largely responsible as well, and California is full of them.

One of my customers recently left his post at PG&E, he was at one point tasked with helping organize the removal of nearby trees from power lines, but initially they were asking property owners very politely if they could do so... if the property owner says no they just move onto the next house , there’s still the danger of that power line coming down in a wind storm because the property owner did not give consent to remove the nearby threatening tree. They just leave it there.

Until the government steps in and just says PG&E has full power to remove any tree deemed to be a danger to power lines, the problem will remain.

dieseldub > Nick Has an Exocet
09/28/2020 at 15:35

To add, this link highlights all that is National Forest/federal property:

https://www.fs.fed.us/sopa/state-level.php?ca

Virtually all of our major ongoing fires are on national forest lands with the exception of the new North Bay fires that started over the weekend. Those ARE state property, and of course much of that land has already burned once before recently.

But considering how many fires have been in wine country the last several years and that IS either state or private property and there is substantial population nearby, that is where the state should be focusing on the most.

Every other fire currently burning, that’s fed property, they can figure out what to do with it to make fires less severe.

Nick Has an Exocet > dieseldub
09/29/2020 at 02:21

Regarding your comment on the powerlines not holding up to modern weather. That doesn’t seem to be the issue. The issue appears to wear. As we know with cars, even metal doesn’t last forever. This is the hook from the same set of lines that caused the fire in Paradise. This hook is 100 years old. It has 100 years of wear. What they found when they did a metal analysis was that it has been wearing for all 100 years. They also found out that inspections were performed by helicopter and consisted of “are the towers still standing?” People vastly over-estimate climate change effects due to recency bias, confirmation bias, and the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.

Kinja'd!!!

There are a lot of state easements for federal land . I wouldn’t get hung up on that - it’s more of a technicality than anything. I could be wrong, but I think that federal agencies still have to abide by state rules on things like controlled burns on federal land.

There are a couple of interesting things that need to happen. The state needs to mandate tree clearing around homes, they need to offer tax incentives to bring structures up to code (simple things like fire-resistant vents) need to be done en-masse. The state dept of insurance is also looking into requiring insurers to take the homeowner’s defensive measures into account when underwriting and rating. That would be a massive change and help some people at least have insurance. The risk for very high risk properties that clear 30ft of brush and trees around their home is HALF.

dieseldub > Nick Has an Exocet
09/29/2020 at 14:57

Yeah, that’s the whole “defensible space” they continually warn people about who live in these areas. Personally, if I were living those areas, I’d probably xeriscape the areas immediately around the house and have a tile or metal roof that is extra fire resistant.

Was that wear in the hook causing extra arcing during high winds? I don’t think anyone argues that the infrastructure does NOT need shoring up, but when the winds to pick up, there for sure are a lot more issues, and the weather drives the fire to spread faster than ever.

Ever use a “bellows” to stoke a camp fire you’ve just started ? How about a leaf blower?

The extra oxygen from good air movement absolutely makes things burn hotter and faster, as does having less ambient humidity, and that’s exactly what offshore winds bring.

Nick Has an Exocet > dieseldub
09/29/2020 at 15:10

Nope, wasn’t causing arcing until it failed . What happened in the fire that destroyed paradise is that the hook/piece that held it failed from metal fatigue. The wire dropped and then the arcing sent molten metal dripping onto the ground. I know that you really want this to a wind speed thing, but in this case, we’re talking about change that makes the useful life of a metal hook 75 years instead of 80. PGE is playing roulette by using equipment that is 30, 40, 50 years past its duty cycle. The hilarious thing is that Newsom just signed that executive order requiring all new cars in 2035 to be electric - in a state that has one of the most antiquated grids in the 1st world.

I would do the same when it comes to defensible space. I’ve actually been thinking about designing a completely fire-proof home to build in CA.

I understand that winds stoke the fire but we don’t have great historic wind data. Particularly for these burn areas. The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) has pushed into areas that were entirely remote and uninhabited even 30 years ago. So in the absence of data, I’m not going to speculate on whether winds are worse than they were 100 years ago. What I can say is that people have vastly f’d up the ground conditions in that timespan.