Highways are packed with fire fighters, ambulances and police cars for miles,... We are next to the freeway and all day and night hear nothing but sirens,... God help us.

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State officials say they're on the verge of declaring a major disaster area in Southern California. Governor Schwarzenegger said about six-thousand firefighters are now battling Southern California wildfires that are still threatening an estimated 68-thousand homes. The wildfires have destroyed more than one-thousand homes in San Diego County alone. The chief of the Orange County Fire Authority believes arson started the Santiago Fire. Some residents in Malibu are being allowed to return to their homes. And, President Bush will view the fire devastation on Thursday.



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This is 35 miles south of LA! Not IRAQ

there would not be so much tender to blaze... just maybe.

Anything which is not allowed here is allowed in the rest of US and vis-a-vis

Up here in N. CA if you tried to do a controlled burn - and there have been attempts - you get the Sierra Club saying "you'll kill the "snail, snake, bird, rabbit....you know.

About 5 years before the big Oakland fire - which killed 25 people and burned down 3000 homes - there was legislature to force people to trim out the bushes and trees and undergrowth that threatened to do, what ultimately happened.  A few people went to court and blocked that action.

Then look at what happened.  It was my opinion that the people who took legal action to stop the trimming should be held for manslaughter.

This state is wacko.

Controlled burns are a beautiful thing. I'm one of the poor schlobs who have sucked it up on the line. Better a controlled burn than an out of control life threatening disaster. -e

Eva perhaps you should bring your unique talents here to LA and help put these fires out now instead of waiting until January. Either way I for one will be waiting patiently.

Ummm, I think you mean "vice versa."  One would think that a Georgetown Alumna and Kennedy scion would know that LOL.

Seriously, can anyone tell me why California plays host to so many natural disasters?  I mean, earthquakes are to be expected because of Cali's position on a major fault.  But why are there so many out-of-control wildfires and droughts, etc?  There are plenty of dry western states that don't seem to suffer nearly as much as California.

about them.

Duh.

with more money. With the money they choose to live on fault lines, in scenic coastal areas with high soil erosion rates, and in mountains in highly forested areas.

In the 1930's Oregon suffered through the Tillamook fire, one the worst natural dsasters in history. Over 350,000 acres burned but hardly anyone knew about it because hardly anyone lived in that area. Believe me they have fires in Oregon,not as much though. That is due to a fire prevention technique known as controlled burning. You can't do that in California, yep because of houses.

..but let us be precise SoCal is the big problem area. Any mountain in SoCal is a population center. In NorCal at least in the Bay area residential areas are limited to where they can built, but that is changing. Another factor is of course the weather, it's warmer in SoCal, but you can also blame the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

The SP introduced into Calfornia especially SoCal a tree known as the Eucalyptus tree. They were used as windbreaker. They are a fire danger due to the fact many exude copious sap. In Menlo Park and other localities in NorCal, many cities are working to erdicate this "weed".

I live in San Diego - about a mile from Charger (Qualcom) stadium where there's 15,000 refugees from the fires.

Most of these homes are in surburban areas where controlled burns aren't practicle - environmentalists aside.

The big problem is people refusing to cut brush and provide protections.

And I'm very sorry for those who have lost homes and this is in no way meaning disrespect.  But...

Many of the homes have pools - if it were me, I'd have a high capacity trash pump and a 2 inch fire hose.  And I'd spend a few hundred bucks and buy some "Fire Barricade" - it's a new high tech "slime" that you mix with water and spray on a home and it will keep it from burning (up to a point).

If they cut the brush back, built in stucco, didn't have trees right over the roof and removed their window covering and had insulated window covers 90% of the homes would not be lost.

PS - I was in the middle of the Laguna Beach fire of 93 - many homes burned when the house next door went up - the heat through the windows (not enough to catch the walls, was enough to catch the drapes on fire, and that was it - I watched 10 homes go up that way.

If they had steel and asbestos fire shields, like Florida has hurricane shutters it would stop this.

IMHO...

Hugs to all displaced and who lost homes. I'm sorry this info is too late.

TS Jamie  

then they could send all the rest of their money to my heirs & assigns, who launder it before they send it to me down here, where I buy off all the little demons and succubi.

Oh yeah, those babies burn with a vengeance.  I never realized that they were brought in by the RR.  I knew of Kate Sessions as the person credited for bringing them.  Was she part of the RR?  The story I heard was that they were brought to the region because of their fast growth, but were then found to be a bad source of wood, since they warp horribly when dried.

As to California's instance of natural disasters, consider the vast land mass that the state covers.  In addition to size, the state has very different climates and terrains.  The population growth has contributed to many homes being built in "unsafe" locations.  The other problem is that hillsides and coastal locations tend to be beautiful, so people WANT to live there.  Kind of like the people living on the coast in Florida getting pummeled repeatedly by hurricanes and rebuilding.  It's not logical, but it's so pretty when the weather is nice.

When I lived in SoCal, I remember regular reminders to cut back brush, especially in the hilly areas.  Have they stopped doing that, or are people just still not listening?

... in a few months but now I'm wondering if the only people there will be relief workers, insurance adjusters, and mop-up crews. I had always wanted to see New Orleans and it was wiped out, and now it appears I will not see San Diego as it was only a few days ago. The intensity of this particular blaze is simply unbelievable. -e

The smoke seems to have blown out to sea, unlike Cedars.   The Cedars experience may make this much easier.

On the one hand, things get shut down; on the other, there's a lot of people hanging out with nothing to do.

In a month, life will be back to normal excepting those who were actually burnt out.

IOW, same old same old.

-- Modified on 10/24/2007 1:29:15 PM

This will help in bailing out the housing industry. All those people who lost homes need to go somewhere, they'll be buying that excess inventory and a lot of foreclosures.

trees all along the right-of-way. On a side note 10 workers a year are killed in California working on these trees. They are also a danger to families, the sap will expand, the branches become heavy and will fall off at anytime damaging cars, hurting people etc. I hate these "weeds".

Don't know about Kate Sessions.

Good post.

There's supposed to be a park named after her in the San Diego area.

When I lived in the area, I had one of those monsters in the yard of my neighbor.  I was constantly trimming the part that came over the wall, and cleaning up all the crap that fell from it.  They burn quite well (too well at times like this) but aren't worth a whole lot the rest of the time.