Jeanette ... i think most people in the USA dont understand the situation in California. The western half of CA is absolutely covered with dry brush and chaparral. It is everywhere. It has accumulated through many seasons of growth, then it turned dry through nany years if drought. It is impossible for us to remove all of the old dry grass and weeds. The volume of work required to do this is enormous ... it is beyond the capability of everyone. So that is the problem.

When I read these stories, like the tragedy of the Paradise fire, I dont say to myself ... those people made bad choices. I say to myself ... the same thing could happen here where I live .. exactly the same situation. And many, many other people in CA are saying the same thing. I live in a valley that has one access road ... only one way in and out. The whole valley is covered in dry grass and chaparral. The mountains have a lot of dead trees. It is a natural fire trap.
If a sudden fire happened, many people could be trapped in this valley. People always figure ... well we have time to escape. But in a fast-moving fire ... you dont always have time to escape. The local authorities are well aware that there is a high fire risk, but they just do not have the money to clear all of the dead grass.

The same situation exists in many local towns and regions across CA. it is a big, big problem.

I've looked at worse situations and said the same thing only to be dismissed: "You worry too much. There's nothing to worry about."

Jeanette Isabelle

Sorry, I should have asked for clarification. Is this in response to my comment on clearing trees, developing intelligently or both?

Jeanette Isabelle

A bit o historical perspective - Here in the country west of Los Angeles, inhabited by the Chumash, Native Americans, it was customary to intentionally set fires periodically to clear openings or travel and provide food for native animals (which were then available or hunting). This doesn't mean that they didn't suffer catastrophic fires from time to time - archaeologists encounter burned structure fairly regularly.

There is definite suspicion that native Americans on balance did a better, more sustainable job of managing the vegetation that more recent inhabitants, whose initial response was total fire suppression across the board, now being modified to strategies that seem similar to those in place long ago..

A properly managed controlled burn in not at all like the conflagrations we are seeing currently, which is why conditions have to meet very strict criteria. A good controlled burn will burn at low intensity, spread at a moderate rate, consuming grasses and other light fuels, and leaving mature trees untouched. When done properly, you do not get the accumulations of flammable fuel which stoke the fires so prominent now on TV.

Yep. As long as there is excess fuel, wind, and an ignition source there will be wild fires.

Fuel is something we could control but for various reasons have chosen to not control. I’m sure firefighters would much rather have strategically planned, controlled burns during calm, cool weather conditions, than fight a fire that is uncontained and driven by hot, dry, high winds.

It’s very difficult to stop a Santa Ana from blowing, so the only remaining item we can control are various manmade ignition sources (power lines, camp fires and signal fires (see Cedar Fire). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the occasional arsonist, we’ve seen those too. High school kids iirc.

Besides sitting back with a bowl of popcorn, all I can do is plan for a forced evacuation when the next fire starts east of here driven by the wind. BTDT on three occasions, truck was packed and ready, didn’t leave the garage

Maybe the fire burning through Malibu will get the attention of folks who write big checks, and get a conversation started with the folk who make decisions.

This picture from the wiki link above brings back memories. For some reason the few commuters working that day didn’t want to drive through the smoke.

“Drivers scramble up the embankment to escape from Interstate 15, as the Cedar Fire crosses the freeway.”

It’s a shot taken looking to the north on I-15 where it runs through MCAS Miramar. As evident in the picture, the fire jumped I-15. Fortunately, there wasn’t much fuel and room to run on the airfield side (left in the picture), so the fire was stopped right there. This was one of the rare occasions I found myself wearing an N-95 mask to drive. That was miles north from where the picture was taken, the air wasn’t quite as thick. This is one reason I bought a real respirator.

Wow. I just saw a pjoto from the hills of Malibu, after the fire. ALL the vegetation is gone. There is nothing but charred ash. That was a seriously-hot fire.

We are accustomed to seeing burned-out areas here in California. Usually the grass is gone, and there are charred tree stumps. But over at Malibu ... nothing ... nada. Very dangerous. Just what Hikermor said .. California chapparal is high risk when it starts to burn.

Thanks for comments about respirator. True enough. There has been very thick smoke here.

This winter I will have to seriously consider moving to another town. There is no sense in staying in a valley that is a fire trap. It's just playing Russian roulette. The town authorities in CA are never going to solve these problems.

RE Controlled Burns - I dont know who calls the shots. It probably has to be made at the local level i.e. town authorities, or home-owners associations. The problem in CA is that these local authorities are filled with dead-wood. I am talking about the management level. They wont make smart decisions. Partly it is because of risks and legal consequences. If a controlled burn did get out of control, they would be financially liable. But beyond that, CA is criss-crossed by a myriad of local rules that dont make any sense. So local groups of home owners just say ... well, a fire disaster didnt happen here yet, so maybe we will just get lucky in the future. No-one will get off their b*tt and do something if it requires major initiative. In addition, CA house owners usually refuse to pay extra money for new measures anyway. So everything becomes deadlocked at the local level. And people just sit around, waiting for the inevitable.

There is no rule or law that compels people to FIX these problems.

Generally controlled burns are conducted by whatever group is managing the land to be burned - USFS for the Los Padres NF, or the NPS for Santa Monica NRA (which really took it on the chin in this latest fire).

Generally the constraints are the budget (imagine that!) and the right conditions, which are often rare to absent. Any fire controlled or not, generates smoke and inconvenience, so there will be complaints.

On an individual level, there is a lot one can do. Control the brush adjacent or close to your residence, put screening on vents and other openings (helps with rodent control as well). There are protective coatings which can be applied, advertised as being long lasting.

Above all, be organized and aware. Mrs. Hikermor and I evacuated last year from the Thomas fire. It didn't come out of the blue - vegetation was parched, winds were forecast, and the scrub on the hills near our house was tall and fire ready. We had a little chat about a week before the fire ignited, discussing location of papers, vehicle readiness, etc. When it was time, we were loaded and gone in about fifteen minutes - could have been quicker if necessary. Our insurance, including earthquake, is paid up.

Mostly, before the emergency, prioritize and determine what is really necessary and irreplaceable, like the Japanese Nambu pistol my Dad liberated in WWII..

Fires are a recurring problem. This was the third time in thirty years that I have loaded up ready to go, but the first time I actually left.

I haven't seen the picture you refer to, but it sounds like a typical aftermath...

I agree. I wish there is a way to do that.

Jeanette Isabelle

Re: the respirator — California's Deadliest Fire ... Air Chokes Residents