LA fires

[RVonse]

I'm not totally disagreeing with you but I thought California was a state with a left leaning ideology? And that Los Angeles county was especially left leaning?

That's likely your problem.
You think that California is a state with left leaning ideology and political landscape.

It's not. It's still the USA.
Tom

They say that Mel Gibson's house burned down. I'm guessing he pays 300-400k/yr in property taxes just like all the others in his neighborhood. Im betting he pays more in property tax than most people even make in a year. And multiply that by all those rich neighbors. You would think that should be ample money to pay for quality infrastructure. The public works water department should have money running out their ears!

I'm not buying the fact they do not have enough money to keep the water flowing during a fire.

 

[scombrid]

There's no such thing as a fire-proof house. Or suburb. Or city.

And a big fire is nothing like a small fire. Big fires, in catastrophic conditions, are unlike anything else you will experience, and they behave in ways that defy common sense.

The early days of Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Baltimore had problems with massive LA spreading type fires that were effectively resolved with brick construction back in the early 1900's. Row homes so close together if one brunt down the rest would follow. What is common sense is that brick construction proved over time to resolve uncontrollable neighborhood fires. To the extent that now (at least here in St. Louis) there are so many viable 100+ year old brick structures still standing but abandoned in the city limits that their bricks are worth more than the land they stand on. If those same brick homes had instead been located in LA they would still be standing and would probably blocked the fire. Certainly much more efficiently than wood tinder.

Brick does not burn at all. It does not burn so well it is even used to line furnaces that are designed to melt liquid steel.

Those city fires in eastern and midwestern cities were nothing like what is occurring on. Southern California right now.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Well, this black female LAFD deputy chief is not doing DEI any favors:

LAFD Deputy Chief Faces Backlash for Past Remarks on Fire Victims

Los Angeles Fire Department Deputy (LAFD) Chief Kristine Larson is facing widespread criticism online after comments surfaced in which she appeared to shift blame onto fire victims for their circumstances.

Speaking as part of a video that aired during a commercial break for the FOX show 9-1-1 about firefighter capabilities, Larson said, "Am I able to carry your husband out of a fire? He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out."

The controversy touches on critical issues of public trust and accountability in emergency services. Larson, a 33-year veteran and the first African American woman to serve as deputy chief of the LAFD, oversees the department's Equity and Human Resources Bureau. Her role includes championing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Critics argue that her remarks undermine public confidence in the department's commitment to protecting all residents regardless of circumstance.

The backlash is compounded by Larson's comments emphasizing the importance of firefighters reflecting the communities they serve.

"You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it's a medical call or a fire call, that looks like you," she said in the same video. For some, these remarks contrast starkly with her dismissal of victims' plights.

I don't quite get the remarks about anyone needing to have someone who "looks like me" to get rescued from a fire. I can see some people wanting a doctor or social worker that "looks like me" but that's just very odd for a life or death situation. In fact, if I'm trapped in my bedroom during a fire, I want to see someone like Mr. T break through my door with an axe and tell me, "Climb on my back, fool. I'm hauling your sorry ass out of this hell hole!".

Got any evidence she's actually bad for the job or a male would have done better? Got data on the performance of male firefighters vs. female?

 

[RVonse]

There's no such thing as a fire-proof house. Or suburb. Or city.

And a big fire is nothing like a small fire. Big fires, in catastrophic conditions, are unlike anything else you will experience, and they behave in ways that defy common sense.

The early days of Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Baltimore had problems with massive LA spreading type fires that were effectively resolved with brick construction back in the early 1900's. Row homes so close together if one brunt down the rest would follow. What is common sense is that brick construction proved over time to resolve uncontrollable neighborhood fires. To the extent that now (at least here in St. Louis) there are so many viable 100+ year old brick structures still standing but abandoned in the city limits that their bricks are worth more than the land they stand on. If those same brick homes had instead been located in LA they would still be standing and would probably blocked the fire. Certainly much more efficiently than wood tinder.

Brick does not burn at all. It does not burn so well it is even used to line furnaces that are designed to melt liquid steel.

Those city fires in eastern and midwestern cities were nothing like what is occurring on. Southern California right now.

And yet all of those US cities did what Los Angeles guaranteed wont be doing going forward. The political structure used common sense to fix their public works so that future fire disasters became a thing of the past. After the great fire in Chicago the county leaders could have said "we did everything right!". And they could have said that the "spotted owl and unicorn fish are more important than cleaning up brush and flammable tinder!." And they could have said "there is nothing to see here!". But instead they used common sense and decided to upgrade all future building to brick instead of tinder wood. They built buildings that were inherently fireproof even when they were parked side by side each other. It wasn't easy on their part either because they actually had to build brick factories just to provide enough materials. Not to mention all the hard labor it was back then to haul and lay all those bricks.

The difference in what their attitude was back then is all you have to know why the US became as successful as it once was. And why it has now become a complete laughing stock. Back then they worried more about real improvements to society than what gender you were.

 

[laughing dog]

There's no such thing as a fire-proof house. Or suburb. Or city.

And a big fire is nothing like a small fire. Big fires, in catastrophic conditions, are unlike anything else you will experience, and they behave in ways that defy common sense.

The early days of Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Baltimore had problems with massive LA spreading type fires that were effectively resolved with brick construction back in the early 1900's. Row homes so close together if one brunt down the rest would follow. What is common sense is that brick construction proved over time to resolve uncontrollable neighborhood fires. To the extent that now (at least here in St. Louis) there are so many viable 100+ year old brick structures still standing but abandoned in the city limits that their bricks are worth more than the land they stand on. If those same brick homes had instead been located in LA they would still be standing and would probably blocked the fire. Certainly much more efficiently than wood tinder.

Brick does not burn at all. It does not burn so well it is even used to line furnaces that are designed to melt liquid steel.

Those city fires in eastern and midwestern cities were nothing like what is occurring on. Southern California right now.

And yet all of the US cities did what California guaranteed wont be doing. They used common sense to fix their public works so that future fire disasters became a thing of the past. After the great fire in Chicago the county leaders could have said "we did everything right!". And they could have said that the "spotted owl and unicorn fish were more important than cleaning up brush and tinder." And they could have said "there is nothing to see here!". But instead they used common sense and decided to upgrade all future building to brick instead of tinder wood. They built buildings that were inherently fireproof even when they were parked side by side each other.

The difference in what their attitude was back then is all you have to know why the US became as successful as once was. And why it has now become a complete laughing stock.

The election and re-election of Trump insured that.

 

[scombrid]

There's no such thing as a fire-proof house. Or suburb. Or city.

And a big fire is nothing like a small fire. Big fires, in catastrophic conditions, are unlike anything else you will experience, and they behave in ways that defy common sense.

The early days of Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Baltimore had problems with massive LA spreading type fires that were effectively resolved with brick construction back in the early 1900's. Row homes so close together if one brunt down the rest would follow. What is common sense is that brick construction proved over time to resolve uncontrollable neighborhood fires. To the extent that now (at least here in St. Louis) there are so many viable 100+ year old brick structures still standing but abandoned in the city limits that their bricks are worth more than the land they stand on. If those same brick homes had instead been located in LA they would still be standing and would probably blocked the fire. Certainly much more efficiently than wood tinder.

Brick does not burn at all. It does not burn so well it is even used to line furnaces that are designed to melt liquid steel.

Those city fires in eastern and midwestern cities were nothing like what is occurring on. Southern California right now.

And yet all of those US cities did what Los Angeles guaranteed wont be doing going forward. The political structure used common sense to fix their public works so that future fire disasters became a thing of the past. After the great fire in Chicago the county leaders could have said "we did everything right!". And they could have said that the "spotted owl and unicorn fish are more important than cleaning up brush and flammable tinder!." And they could have said "there is nothing to see here!". But instead they used common sense and decided to upgrade all future building to brick instead of tinder wood. They built buildings that were inherently fireproof even when they were parked side by side each other. It wasn't easy on their part either because they actually had to build brick factories just to provide enough materials. Not to mention all the hard labor it was back then to haul and lay all those bricks.

The difference in what their attitude was back then is all you have to know why the US became as successful as it once was. And why it has now become a complete laughing stock. Back then they worried more about real improvements to society than what gender you were.

So sick of this stupid shit.

 

[ZiprHead]

Every time some natural disaster occurs, people start talking about climate change. Where the fires are SoCal falls in between a mediterranean and savannah-like climate. Fires are regular occurrence in SoCal and always have been.

Last year and the year before we got a lot of rain, which caused more vegetation than normal to grow. This past fall and the current "winter" has given us very little rain, so all that vegetation has dried up, creating a gigantic tinderbox that finally got lit. Again though, it's part of the natural conditions of the area.

Maybe it does have to do with climate change, but that seems like the go-to now when any natural disaster happens.

Since the days of the most primitive cave men, humans have learned to store water from the more abundant times so that it would be available when desperately needed during an emergency. Such is the idea behind civil engineering to dam up rivers to create reservoirs.

But such water management seems to be beyond the understanding of California civil engineers I guess.

Almost all the aquafers were full. But just like in your home while you are taking a shower in the upstairs bathroom, if all the taps in the house get opened at the same time you're not going to get much water.

This fire was so huge there were so many hydrants opened the water wasn't getting to the higher elevations. The fire suppression planes couldn't fly due to the high winds which sent burning embers flying all over the place, setting new fires. Fire trucks couldn't get to where needed because the roads were clogged with abandoned cars. They finally brought in bulldozers to move them out of the way.

This was an unprecedented natural catastrophe. But damn, someone's just got to be blamed because they couldn't accomplish the impossible.

 

[ZiprHead]

Here's the real cause of the fires:

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'm not totally disagreeing with you but I thought California was a state with a left leaning ideology? And that Los Angeles county was especially left leaning?

That's likely your problem.
You think that California is a state with left leaning ideology and political landscape.

It's not. It's still the USA.
Tom

They say that Mel Gibson's house burned down. I'm guessing he pays 300-400k/yr in property taxes just like all the others in his neighborhood. Im betting he pays more in property tax than most people even make in a year. And multiply that by all those rich neighbors. You would think that should be ample money to pay for quality infrastructure.

I'm pretty certain Mel Gibson never had problems receiving water at his home.

You are asking for the water department to install a water system that would be capable of battling a massive wildfire. You'd need to raise the rates a bit to build out that sort of system.

The complaints about the hydrants are akin to wandering with an extension cord in the house bitching there aren't enough outlets during a blackout.

The public works water department should have money running out their ears!

ROTFLMFAO.

I'm not buying the fact they do not have enough money to keep the water flowing during a fire.

A "fire"? Kind of like equating a hurricane to being a "storm".

 

[ZiprHead]

I'm not totally disagreeing with you but I thought California was a state with a left leaning ideology? And that Los Angeles county was especially left leaning?

That's likely your problem.
You think that California is a state with left leaning ideology and political landscape.

It's not. It's still the USA.
Tom

They say that Mel Gibson's house burned down. I'm guessing he pays 300-400k/yr in property taxes just like all the others in his neighborhood. Im betting he pays more in property tax than most people even make in a year. And multiply that by all those rich neighbors. You would think that should be ample money to pay for quality infrastructure. The public works water department should have money running out their ears!

I'm not buying the fact they do not have enough money to keep the water flowing during a fire.

Property taxes usually go to schools, not infrastructure.

 

[ZiprHead]

The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?

Donald Trump Truth Social 01:24 AM EST 01/12/25

How would you put them out, Donnie? Maybe a nuke, like you wanted to do to a hurricane?

 

[Patooka]

The difference in what their attitude was back then is all you have to know why the US became as successful as it once was. And why it has now become a complete laughing stock.

The election and re-election of Trump insured that.

100%. Take it from a foreigner - Trump and his MAGA lackeys like yourself have pissed all over USA's reputation far more than George W ever could.

 

[barbos]

Brick does not burn at all.

Considering that brick is essentially burned down metal.

Desalination can create drastic environmental damage.

Like what? California have solar and wind excess power which can be used for desalination.
In any case water is not the main problem here. Main problem are the houses which catch fire (from burning debris falling from above ) easily. There are plenty of videos to analyze now. But I think the usual in US "black" roofs should be banned in California.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

There's no such thing as a fire-proof house. Or suburb. Or city.

And a big fire is nothing like a small fire. Big fires, in catastrophic conditions, are unlike anything else you will experience, and they behave in ways that defy common sense.

The early days of Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Baltimore had problems with massive LA spreading type fires that were effectively resolved with brick construction back in the early 1900's. Row homes so close together if one brunt down the rest would follow. What is common sense is that brick construction proved over time to resolve uncontrollable neighborhood fires. To the extent that now (at least here in St. Louis) there are so many viable 100+ year old brick structures still standing but abandoned in the city limits that their bricks are worth more than the land they stand on. If those same brick homes had instead been located in LA they would still be standing and would probably blocked the fire. Certainly much more efficiently than wood tinder.

Brick does not burn at all. It does not burn so well it is even used to line furnaces that are designed to melt liquid steel.

Those city fires in eastern and midwestern cities were nothing like what is occurring on. Southern California right now.

And yet all of those US cities did what Los Angeles guaranteed wont be doing going forward. The political structure used common sense to fix their public works so that future fire disasters became a thing of the past. After the great fire in Chicago the county leaders could have said "we did everything right!". And they could have said that the "spotted owl and unicorn fish are more important than cleaning up brush and flammable tinder!." And they could have said "there is nothing to see here!". But instead they used common sense and decided to upgrade all future building to brick instead of tinder wood. They built buildings that were inherently fireproof even when they were parked side by side each other. It wasn't easy on their part either because they actually had to build brick factories just to provide enough materials. Not to mention all the hard labor it was back then to haul and lay all those bricks.

The difference in what their attitude was back then is all you have to know why the US became as successful as it once was. And why it has now become a complete laughing stock. Back then they worried more about real improvements to society than what gender you were.

So sick of this stupid shit.

I'm sick of conservatism too.

 

[barbos]

100%. Take it from a foreigner - Trump and his MAGA lackeys like yourself have pissed all over USA's reputation far more than George W ever could.

And then Biden's "Hold me beer......for 4 years"

 

[Patooka]

100%. Take it from a foreigner - Trump and his MAGA lackeys like yourself have pissed all over USA's reputation far more than George W ever could.

And then Biden's "Hold me beer......for 4 years"

Nope. But nice try. The rest of the world is done with your shit.

 

[barbos]

100%. Take it from a foreigner - Trump and his MAGA lackeys like yourself have pissed all over USA's reputation far more than George W ever could.

And then Biden's "Hold me beer......for 4 years"

Nope. But nice try. The rest of the world is done with your shit.

No, the rest of the world is lined up for BRICS membership.
Indonesia (280mln people) just got it. Thank you, Biden.

 

[bilby]

Brick does not burn at all. It does not burn so well it is even used to line furnaces that are designed to melt liquid steel.

Sure. But brick is a dreadful choice for construction in an earthquake zone.

Timber withstands earthquakes much better, and if it fails, it fails in ways less likely to be fatal to building occupants.

So, you are building in LA. Which is the bigger risk, fire or earthquake? Which do you build for?

 

[barbos]

Sure. But brick is a dreadful choice for construction in an earthquake zone.

Actually that's not really true. There are ways to build brick houses in earthquake zones.
They are more expensive than wooden houses which are prone to tornadoes and fires.
Having said that, nobody really asks for brick houses. All you need is house exterior not catching fire easily. it can be achieved by not having wood and hydrocarbon based shit on the outside.

 

[Patooka]

100%. Take it from a foreigner - Trump and his MAGA lackeys like yourself have pissed all over USA's reputation far more than George W ever could.

And then Biden's "Hold me beer......for 4 years"

Nope. But nice try. The rest of the world is done with your shit.

No, the rest of the world is lined up for BRICS membership.
Indonesia (280mln people) just got it. Thank you, Biden.

I bahasa more than you do son. I know you are full of shit when you are talking about Indonesia. Every muslim nation remembers what Russia was like during the Sov years. They might not like the West but they fucking hate you you svumbags,

Trust me, I've been to Bali too.