LA fires

[barbos]

No thread about that? I wonder who started. I mean there are few well distanced from each other fires. I doubt coincidence.
And why are houses are so easy to catch fire? Pictures of burned to the ground houses and live trees around?
I understand earthquakes and stone houses are expensive and not so easy to make fancy.
But there should be some building code for that too.

 

[Spacetime Inhabitant]

This is not a political issue though Trump and MAGA try to make it such.
It has been mentioned in another thread.
The fire authorities have made no suggestion that arson is involved; the fires are due to the unusual dry and extremely windy conditions, and there is also a water shortage.
Why is water wet? Houses catch fire because it is natural to do so.
Earthquakes are not just expensive, they aren't makeable by humans; we also don't have the tech to make hurricanes.
Do you mean that earthquakes cause lots of expensive to fix damage; well yeah, but what does that have to do with the wildfires?
Do people in Russia live in stone houses? I don't think they do, most can't afford it.

 

[barbos]

Do people in Russia live in stone houses? I don't think they do, most can't afford it.

In Russia i's bricks and concrete. Mine is bricks.

Houses catch fire because it is natural to do so

Not if it's brick/concrete.

 

[jonatha]

In Russia i's bricks and concrete. Mine is bricks

What about your roof?

 

[barbos]

In Russia i's bricks and concrete. Mine is bricks

What about your roof?

Metal. Older apartment buildings in Russia would not not catch fire from the outside. You have to start fire inside.
Newer may have some flammable to some degree insulation on the exterior.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Stupid. Brick and concrete structures can burn to the ground. The heat generated by a fire can break glass and get inside, not to mention the smoke damage that gets into the structure....

Oh god, why am I wasting my time on this bullshit?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I heard Mel Gibson and Joe Rogan were discussing this as reasonably as barbos. One of them mentioned that the city 'turned off the hydrants'.

Goodness the dumb hurts. And it spreads like that wildfire did.

And now for a little levity on the fires... as Steve Guttenburg speaks with a reporter...


I suppose this means I am getting old, but in my defense, he was i Season Three of Veronica Mars.

 

[ZiprHead]

The LA water aquifers are full. But just like in your house, if you open all the taps at once you lose water pressure. Getting that low pressure water uphill causes even more problems like no water at all at the hydrant.

Trump et al are blaming the mayor for signing a non-existent water agreement. It never happened. Where do they come up with this crap???

There was one arsonist caught. A mentally ill homeless person apprehended by neighbors and held until police arrived.

 

[ZiprHead]

No one on the right is blaming the ultimate cause, climate change caused by fossil fuels.

 

[bilby]

In catastrophic fire conditions, there are always sources of ignition. Carelessly discarded cigarette butts, sparks from other fires carried on the wind, insufficiently extinguished campfires, kids playing with matches, discarded glass focusing sunlight, dry lightning, arson, etc., etc.

In any natural disaster there are always nutty conspiracy theories, because some people just cannot cope with the idea that shit just happens.

And wherever there are nutty conspiracy theories, there will be Russian trolls stoking the fire of disinformation, because chaos in the USA provides a weakened diplomatic and/or military response to illegal, immoral, and unethical acts by Vlad Putin.

Whether this thread is a perfect example of that, I will leave for the reader to decide.

 

[Politesse]

I mean there are few well distanced from each other fires. I doubt coincidence.

Not coincidence. Wind, and similar conditions in multiple locations. That said, it is likely this fire siege began with human error, as most of them have.

And why are houses are so easy to catch fire?

Made of wood.

But there should be some building code for that too.

California has easily the most extensive and complex building codes in the country. Most people in the state want less regulation of building, not more. Until a disaster happens.

 

[Politesse]

In any natural disaster there are always nutty conspiracy theories, because some people just cannot cope with the idea that shit just happens.

Don't forget bullshit theological arguments.

 

[Thomas II]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pacific-palisades-reservoir-offline-empty-163924460.html

 

[ZiprHead]

Note that Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other areas are not under the government of the mayor of LA.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pacific-palisades-reservoir-offline-empty-163924460.html

I live in SoCal, and one of my most consistent criticisms of the state is that it has refused to build more desalination plants. 800 miles of coastline and only a dozen plants.

These plants can produce tens of billions of gallons per year. The state could have the capacity to potentially produce trillions, but it doesn't despite the overwhelming need for it. There's no such thing as too much fresh water in SoCal.

 

[ZiprHead]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pacific-palisades-reservoir-offline-empty-163924460.html

I live in SoCal, and one of my most consistent criticisms of the state is that it has refused to build more desalination plants. 800 miles of coastline and only a dozen plants.

These plants can produce tens of billions of gallons per year. The state could have the capacity to potentially produce trillions, but it doesn't despite the overwhelming need for it. There's no such thing as too much fresh water in SoCal.

Why is desalinated water necessary for fire suppression?

 

[Jarhyn]

California has been windy and dry as hell. All it would have taken is a cigarette ash into the wrong pile.

When a city is a tinderbox in a natural blower, it's really only a matter of time before a spark finds a bad place to be.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pacific-palisades-reservoir-offline-empty-163924460.html

I live in SoCal, and one of my most consistent criticisms of the state is that it has refused to build more desalination plants. 800 miles of coastline and only a dozen plants.

These plants can produce tens of billions of gallons per year. The state could have the capacity to potentially produce trillions, but it doesn't despite the overwhelming need for it. There's no such thing as too much fresh water in SoCal.

Why is desalinated water necessary for fire suppression?

It can do bad things with regards to soil erosion...

Though I'm not sure that's any worse than what Minnesota does every year to our roads...

 

[Derec]

Stupid. Brick and concrete structures can burn to the ground.

How? They are not flammable.

The heat generated by a fire can break glass and get inside, not to mention the smoke damage that gets into the structure....

The heat from a raging inferno outside the house can damage a non-flammable house, sure, but the structure itself will not be additional fuel for that house now will it get consumed in the fire.
Look at the aftermath of the Palisades fire:

This was all houses in close proximity to one another.
I can see your point if it's a rural area with houses surrounded by a blazing forest fire. Then it doesn't make that much of a difference what the house is made of.
But in a suburban environment, the 2x4s and plywood in the house structure provide much if not most of the fuel to keep the fire going.

 

[Derec]

Note that Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other areas are not under the government of the mayor of LA.

Altadena is not, but Palisades are within the LA city limits.

 

[bilby]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pacific-palisades-reservoir-offline-empty-163924460.html

I live in SoCal, and one of my most consistent criticisms of the state is that it has refused to build more desalination plants. 800 miles of coastline and only a dozen plants.

These plants can produce tens of billions of gallons per year. The state could have the capacity to potentially produce trillions, but it doesn't despite the overwhelming need for it. There's no such thing as too much fresh water in SoCal.

Why is desalinated water necessary for fire suppression?

Because then you don't need two separate city wide water distribution systems.