divingin
Gold $$ Contributor
Easier to get forgiveness than permission. Though I haven't (yet) gone to taking down live trees; just ones that our prior drought killed (Oakland hills.)
So Cal Fires!!!
- Thread starter NorCalMikie
- Start date
Easier to get forgiveness than permission. Though I haven't (yet) gone to taking down live trees; just ones that our prior drought killed (Oakland hills.)
joshb
Gold $$ Contributor
Home owner: “The tree was dead so I cut it down.”
Government tree inspector: “ No! It wasn’t dead!”
Home owner: “Prove it.”
There are only three parts of any fire: Fuel, Heat, and Air. Our house in Altadena sits on a lot that was subdivided in 1887. And while many of the lots were not built out until the end of WW II, there were a handful built in the teens, 20,s, and 30's. Building codes and zoning ordinances were loose or non existent, especially in the unincorporated areas of L.A. County. No codes meant houses were built with little setback. The rear of a neighbors carport was built right on the property line. Luckily it was a stucco finished wall and as it burned from the inside my son kept water on it and used a long 2 x 4 to push it over before it fell into our yard. So the density of building, minimal setbacks, wood framing all combined to make abundant fuel for a devastating fire.
As for heat, I'm thinking it was Edison's transmission line arcing as it runs across the base of the foothills. The point of origin was in Eaton Canyon and the wind simply blew embers across the dry canyon into the town. The fire then went from house to house, building to building, even torching cars parked inn the street.
Air came from the wind. Anyone who has run a cutting torch knows what happens when a blast of oxygen is introduced. While the Santa Ana wind was only pushing air (~21% O2), it was doing so at 60 to 90 mph across the town. Literally unstoppable.
I once did an extensive addition / remodel to a 1913 home at the north end of Holliston Drive in Altadena. The owners had a period photo of the house with two young girls posing in front. What struck me about the picture was the utter lack of any vegetation in the background. Altadena was a barren plain until people started dividing up and selling lots, building homes, businesses, and planting trees. Interestingly, my son credits the two huge Oaks in our yard for shielding the house from the blowing embers. About 9,400 other homes were not so lucky.
Take a look here:
recovery.lacounty.gov
As for heat, I'm thinking it was Edison's transmission line arcing as it runs across the base of the foothills. The point of origin was in Eaton Canyon and the wind simply blew embers across the dry canyon into the town. The fire then went from house to house, building to building, even torching cars parked inn the street.
Air came from the wind. Anyone who has run a cutting torch knows what happens when a blast of oxygen is introduced. While the Santa Ana wind was only pushing air (~21% O2), it was doing so at 60 to 90 mph across the town. Literally unstoppable.
I once did an extensive addition / remodel to a 1913 home at the north end of Holliston Drive in Altadena. The owners had a period photo of the house with two young girls posing in front. What struck me about the picture was the utter lack of any vegetation in the background. Altadena was a barren plain until people started dividing up and selling lots, building homes, businesses, and planting trees. Interestingly, my son credits the two huge Oaks in our yard for shielding the house from the blowing embers. About 9,400 other homes were not so lucky.
Take a look here:
Eaton Fire – LA County Recovers
recovery.lacounty.gov
Uh oh, turns out it was just some pumps being turned on after being down for a couple days for scheduled maintenance. The military wasn’t involved.
Sorry. I hate fake news and here I am spreading fake news.
wedgy
Gold $$ Contributor
Los Angeles fire cleanup complicated by 'unprecedented' number of EVs with combustible lithium-ion batteries
California wildfire cleanup is complicated by highly combustible lithium-ion batteries found in electric and hybrid vehicles popular in Los Angeles County.
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
But, but. but the military didn't go in and turn on the water!!
Guess the Army Corp of Engineers ISN'T Military???
Got a local lake/dam run by the ACoE but the water rights belong to a county down stream. When the lake level gets WAY DOWN, perfect time to GET THE MUD OUT but the cost is too much??
Funny that when they wanted water in SO CAL, no problems getting it from the Sac Delta "without asking" the folks in Nor Cal. Not even a please or thank you.
Still be interesting to see if what Trump said about "forget the permits" and let the folks go in and clean up their OWN property NOW is working or, the minute he flew back to DC, the POS Governor and Mayor said screw you, we'll do it the way WE WANT!!
Back page stuff now that the Blackhawk and Airliner crash is front and center.
Lets talk about using ocean water (salt water) to fight forest fires. Doesn't salt kill vegetation? Vegetation dies and mud slides occur. Are we solving one problem and introducing another? Or isn't there enough salt in ocean water to kill vegetation?
The answer to CA fire problem is proper management. Controlled burns are necessary to reduce fuel loads.
The answer to CA fire problem is proper management. Controlled burns are necessary to reduce fuel loads.
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