LA Fires

[slogen51]

True enough but this is the second time in recent years that southern California has been caught out - they need to do more or make some changes to their procedures - all forest or brush fires have small beginnings before they get out of control.

I understand the winds make it particularly difficult and spread the fire incredibly quickly but smoke and heat the can be detected very quickly using new technology such as satellite and infrared sensors.

If they are doing all they can then Los Angeles is and will be continually be on the edge of disaster

[Seacat192]

I never realised there were so many Firefighters or fire prevention staff on here!

[James Cutting]

True enough but this is the second time in recent years that southern California has been caught out - they need to do more or make some changes to their procedures - all forest or brush fires have small beginnings before they get out of control.

I understand the winds make it particularly difficult and spread the fire incredibly quickly but smoke and heat the can be detected very quickly using new technology such as satellite and infrared sensors.

If they are doing all they can then Los Angeles is and will be continually be on the edge of disaster

And how would that satellite or infrared sensor work if some idiot lights a field that’s bone dry and in 60mph winds? Not going to help is it. 2 years of dry weather, then very wet then very dry, doesn’t help.

[Pune]

I never realised there were so many Firefighters or fire prevention staff on here!

I was indeed a firefighter for 25 years and one thing I can say with certainty is that the American firefighters approach things in a completely different way to the UK.
I would not care to comment on the LA fires other than it's a terrible tragedy.

[Seacat192]

Thank you for your service.

[Pune]

Thank you for your service.

Thank you so much

[C24]

FYI



How many acres burned in the US in 2024?

According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) : For 2024, 61,685 fires (7th least) burned 8,851,142 acres (7th most), which is 143.49 acres burned/fire (5th most).

For more wildfire statistics visit U.S. Wildfires.

For comparison, the Isle of Wight is 94,080 acres. An acre is 70 x 70 yards.

[cat1]

Anyone heard anymore on this?

seems to have just disappeared off UK news, as these things do after a while...

[Philly1971]

The thing is, in nature, fire is mostly a good thing. Anyone spent time in Africa knows that scrub is regularly burned, otherwise grass gets stale and of poor quality, plus certain plants need the fire to germinate. The main issue now is with an ever expanding human population people have now built housing estates in scrub areas where a fire would previously have done no harm whatsoever. Go back say 80 years, and how many of those LA hills were inhabited? We constantly build in areas we don’t belong, and will continue to do so as we do nothing to stop the rapidly expanding human population on the earth. I fear for nature, either through warming, or just that their physical space is getting less and less. Our attention is all on global warming, but pretty sure I saw a stat about Singapore losing something like 80% of its green area/biodiversity in the last few decades purely based on human expansion into previously green areas (for housing). Human animal conflict is massively increasing in Africa as humans move into areas previously uninhabited. If you have the ambition to see animals such as Elephants, Lions and Rhinos in the wild I would do so sooner rather than later as I don’t think the future looks good for them, especially large mammals and predators who require vast areas. Finally, back to warming, It’s also easy to blame China etc for burning fossil fuels, with the classic it’s not us responsible, but remember, we already burnt our fossil fuels. The UK was once covered in forest, so anywhere you see no forest, ie the massive majority of the land, we have already cut down and mostly burnt, as we have with our coal. Ok so we didn’t know the consequences at the time, but we do now, so perhaps we should be one of the countries who are taking the lead on being responsible going forward?

[dukesdave]

The large-scale fires that affected the Los Angeles area have had a devastating impact on the local community. Although it initially seemed like a small flare-up, strong winds and the lack of rainfall contributed to the rapid spread of the flames. This page mentions that those affected by such situations can seek compensation for the damages suffered, which I believe is really useful to help victims rebuild their lives and receive the necessary support for the losses they've endured.

[Malcy]

great post and thanks for bringing this up … slogen51

here in Lossie it has been amazing dry but great weather for golf and watching warm jets.

I’m greatly concerned about low levels of water in our rivers … theres increasingly more water extraction from the Spey, Tay and other Scottish rivers for industrial uses like shortbread manufacturing and for the Whisky Industry.

I’m trying to breathe new life into the superb garden which came with the house we feel fortunate to have moved to in December 24. I feel very guilty watering as much as I do but if I didnt - everything would be scorched like in 1976 - which was the first year I started spotting.

Our world masters have spent billions on defending the black stuff, I wonder how long it will be before we are fighting over water.

Cant imagine what its like in Gaza right now without a drink of water.