To me on the East Coast, these wildfires seem very large and scary. Interstate 405 was shut down. Air quality is going downhill in the LA area. Stay safe, everyone!
I think it's fair to call them very large and scary regardless of where you are and have experienced at this point.
I think we should set up a GoFundMe for Rupert Murdoch, whose massive estate is in the path of one of the fires.
I fear this is the new norm for my state: drought, then floods, then fires, and repeat. We had the drought. Last year was the flood. Then came the fires. The high pressure, Ridiculously Resilient Ridge once again blocking any storms from making landfall in California tells me we're back in drought. That and the fact that I've only got 2 inches of snow. I was in Santa Rosa a couple weeks ago and saw the devastation first hand. I don't think photos and videos do it justice. I know the area around the Skirball Fire all too well. In fact, I would have had one hell of a view of that fire from my old place.
Or we could pop a few cold ones & just watch: No junk food, just earthly goods I ate weird berries in the woods Now I'm seeing colors, I'm getting higher I think I'll start a forest fire There's a forest fire climbin the hill Burning wealthy california homes Better run run run run run run From the fire But some of us stay and watch And we think of your insurance costs And we laugh laugh laugh laugh laugh laugh At your lives Windows covered with bars Security guards Is that a house or a fortress? Against the rest of the world Windows covered with bars Security guards Is that a house or a prison How you gonna get out? Electric bull and your tennis courts Pink sports cars and your boats Getting fried fried fried fried fried fried By the fire Windows covered with bars Floodlights for the yard It's a pleasure to watch you Watch it all melt But hey! What about the cocaine Stockpiled in the basement Be a hero and save it You know you're gonna need it Where's your brand new pretty wife She might still be inside Either save her or your cocaine from the fire But the gates and doors are locked 'cause the burglar alarms went off Ever wonder why we laugh laugh At your lives Windows covered with bars Fences spiked with barbed wire Never looked so helpless Engulfed in flames Cameras watchin' the walls Don't forget the dogs Now you're trapped in your prison How you gonna get out See the gerbil Run run run run run run run run run Run run run run run run run run run Run run run run run run run run run From the fire
Red sky at night....sailor's delight Red sky in the morning....sailor's take warning Red sky all day..all night Maryanne Take Pizza guy's advice [or Monty Python's]....run away!
RN daughter finished her 12 hr shift at Coronado Hosp, grabbed a couple hrs of Z's and then headed up to Del Mar [32 mi] with an animal rescue group. Don't know when she'll get home nor with how many critters to temporarily house.
I’d also like to mention the firefighters on the front lines. They’re still running in while people are evacuated. Nothing but respect for them. I watched them up close and personal during the Black Forest Fire in Colorado Springs. [emoji122][emoji122][emoji106]
No, because it keeps happening over and over. Nebraska (and every other state) used to have a lot more flood prone areas like from 1776 to the 1950's, but then the Federal government stepped in at the behest of states with numerous phases of both hydroelectric and flood control dams, followed by the general buyout / clearout of dwellings in the 100 YR flood plain in the 80's all over America with the "discouragement" of redevelopment in these areas for the requirement of expensive flood insurance. Form the 10's through the 60's, you can find news recording flooding events that would kill hundreds to a couple of thousand people and destroy millions to billions worth of structures and crops, so we actually studied the causes, built dams and more importantly started retaining / detaining water rather than dump it into rivers and streams as fast as we could, preventing the massive surges that led to floods and flood damage / fatalities. Developers bitch and moan to this day that they might have to carve out an acre or two for a R / D pond, but they know they they'll be able to sell there houses for more knowing that their buyers won't have to buy flood insurance. Strangely, our New Urbanist movement tends to conveniently ignore stormwater management in their rush to densify America's built environment, which has led to the recurrence of urban flooding that hasn't been seen in decades. The "problem" of wildfires in California is that once people have built up the canyons, man's arrogance demands of him that he rebuild, as if he can re-engineer it better "this time", until the next storm / mudlside / fire comes along and wipes it all out again. It's the same arrogance that will rebuild and redevelop right down to the shoreline in NOLA / Houston and New Jersey until the next Hurricane comes along and wipes it all out.
I get all that, but honestly, there are very few places in this country where you aren't going to have any of flood/fire/earthquake/hurricane/tornado/blizzard/sinkhole/Avalanche/mudslide, etc.
haven't been up there but i know the house in Santa Rosa i spent the first five years of my life in (79-84) burnt down. it's all so sad and like you said i fear it's the norm.
my brother is a firefighter in Sacramento. he's been on like 5 or 6 different strike teams in the last couple years alone. tough tough job the conditions are insane.... wearing all your gear, hiking up and down mountains during crazy heat, spending days if not weeks away from family. they deserve all the credit in the world.
Central CT i read is considered one of the least disaster prone areas. And bay say hello to the Atlantic after Sandy ripped through Mantoloking, which sits on a barrier island: