View Full Version : Western Fires
idesign
10-22-2007, 07:39 PM
Jim, I heard that
there's a fire in SD Co. Hope you're not affected.
That thing turned into a nightmare, but I saw on the radar
that some rain has blown in. Hope you're well.
Mtnjim
10-29-2007, 03:22 PM
I got through mostly with an
unplanned vacation. One of the fires (the Harris, named after the Harris Ranch) started about 18 miles West of me
and got blown 50 miles West to the populated areas. Where I was, I didn't even see smoke until Thursday when the
winds shifted to the East, then that was only from about 2:00 PM until about 6:00 PM. As soon as they indicated my
area was threatened, my phone lit up with offers from friends to stay at their place. One of the people I work with
had their parents lose their house in the fire. For me, the fires 4 years ago were worse, I was without power for 5
days.
The odd thing is, I live in a "fire prone" area with lots of brush, and Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks
Ranch (considered the most affluent neighborhood in the US, Bill Gates has 2 houses there) is all golf courses and
concrete, yet they burned in the Witch (creek) fire, while my neighborhood should have been the one to burn, in both
fires (the Harris and 4 years ago, the Cedar fire). Go figure.
belgareth
10-29-2007, 03:50 PM
I glad to hear that you are
ok.
idesign
10-29-2007, 04:35 PM
I glad
to hear that you are ok.
Ditto Jim, now clear that underbrush!
Now that I think of if what, other than
arsonists and lightning, are the main culprits in these huge fires? Have they been this bad forever? Are they
worse now than historically?
I can't imagine a fire like that, but I can imagine hurricanes. Since I've been
in NC I've been through a Cat 3 and two Cat 2s. Nasty business. Think of -sustained- winds of 125 mph, gusting
toward 150. Sitting by a window I watched the roof of my shop building (20x50) blow up into the air, fold in half,
and land 20 ft from the window I was sitting at.
I think your fires would scare me worse.
Mtnjim
10-29-2007, 05:48 PM
Ditto Jim,
now clear that underbrush!
It is cleared!:blink:
Problem was that the 70 mph winds on Saturday and
Sunday took all of the dead needles out of the pines and put a 6" layer all over my yard.:frustrate
idesign
10-29-2007, 06:37 PM
It is
cleared!:blink:
Problem was that the 70 mph winds on Saturday and Sunday took all of the dead needles out of the
pines and put a 6" layer all over my yard.:frustrate
Think of it as mulch, no more mowing!
belgareth
10-30-2007, 06:04 AM
Ditto
Jim, now clear that underbrush!
Now that I think of if what, other than arsonists and lightning, are the main
culprits in these huge fires? Have they been this bad forever? Are they worse now than historically?
I think
your fires would scare me worse.
I'm from California and many of my old friends ask me about being afraid
of tornados. You can run away from them and they give you plenty of warning. Earthquakes, on the other hand, sneak
up from out of nowhere and you can't hide from them. Two major quakes in my lifetime was plenty.
While many
people are attempting to blame global warming for the fiercer forest fires, the truth is that fire suppression is
the main culprit. Fires are a naturally occuring way for nature to clear out the underbrush and all the dead stuff
that accumulates in the forest. Our preventing this naturally occuring clean up has left the forests as huge
tinderboxes full of fuel . In other words, we did it too ourselves once again.
Mtnjim
10-30-2007, 09:52 AM
Think of it
as mulch, no more mowing!
I was thinking more along the lines of "tinder".:blink:
The latest numbers
say that the area burned so far in just my county is 1/2 the area of state of Rhode Island, about 1/3 of our
county.
A lot of this area was burned just 4 years ago in the "Cedar" fire.
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