serious fire question

[EagleEye]

Jerry and all of you in California:

I hope that you are all OK.

Why is California always on fire. I mean there are lots of other states that are not on fire.
I feel bad that it is happening, it's just that, why is it always Califorinia?
I just don't get it.

Steve

[Esther]

What's the song about rain in California? I think it's a lie. It's terribly hot and dry there.

[Sandye]

Esther, I'm not real sure, but I think the song says "it never rains in southern California.   

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...I'm not going to look it up right now.   

[Jonna]

It's natural for the scrub hills in California to burn about every 7 - 10 years. Many of the native species depend on fire to propagate.  What's happened is that man has arrived and built it up and prevented a lot of the normal small fires and not allowed the heavy growth to get cut back or burned.  So, you add the heavy fuel load to some of the hot dry winds and either human error or thunder storms and you can get a fire that is very, very difficult to control.  Also, a lot of the areas currently burning are very wild and without a lot of water or roads.  One of them is very close to where I grew up in Santa Barbara, those hills are remote and dry and they haven't burned since some time in the 1950's I think I read in the news, a long time anyway. 

It's like saying why are there always tornados in the mid west or ice storms in the north or hurricanes in florida.  It's the nature of the land. 

~a native Californian

[Mikey]

Normally it is the southern part of the state that burns because it is much drier than the north.  Our fire season in the south usually starts with hot, dry Santa Ana winds that come in off the desert blowing anywhere from 25mph to 75mph.  Many of the local fires in the southland here are caused by people, some accidentally, some on purpose.  Mountainous areas with steep canyons create their own wind tunnels that are unpredictable.  Winds will carry embers causing spot fires to pop up 1/4 - 1/2 a mile away from where the main fires is located.  In other words the fires can leap frog that distance at the snap of a finger.  They haven't determined the cause of the Goleta (Santa Barbara) fire, however, that area is quite rugged and has not burned since 1955.

This fire season has been unusual because most of the fires are burning in the northern part of the state.  In mid June they had some very unusual thunderstorm activity with over a thousand lightening strike caused fires.  If you have ever flown over the state you would realize the extent of the problem as so many of these areas are inaccessible except for air-drops and fire jumpers.  Heavy fuel, drought conditions etc. all add to the problem.

Since June 20th, the fire stats are:

Total Fires at Peak: 1,781
Total Fires Contained: 1,451
Total Active Fires: 330
Total Acres Burned: 597,910
Personnel Committed: 19,232
Fire Engines: 1,519
Hand Crews: 414
Dozers: 295
Water Tenders: 411
Helicopters: 95

I just read that British Columbia is sending in crews to help with the fires.

[Esther]

Got on a board a west bound 747
Didn't think before deciding what to do
All that talk of opportunities, TV breaks and movies
Rang true, sure rang true.
Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But girl, don't they warn ya
It pours man it pours.
Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self respect I'm out of bread
I'm under loved I'm under fed
I wanna go home
It never rains in California
But girl don't they warn ya, it pours, man it pours.
Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it
Had offers but don't know which one to take
Please don't tell them how you found me
Don't tell them how you found me give me a break
Give me a break
Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But girl, don't they warn ya
It pours man it pours

[Desertponder]

I think fires in CA get more attention many times than other states. The fires there tend to do more actual property damage than many other areas that deal with fire seasons.
They also have more dry fuels and higher density of population in those areas that burn easily. CA has warm winds and high fuels so that's a recipe for fire.
Here in Colorado its discouraged to keep brush, trees, etc. near your home especially if you live out in the rural and mountain areas.
However, many people ignore that advice and so it makes for dangerous fire situations.
We have small fires going around us all summer long but BLM crews jump on them fast and get them knocked down quickly so you never hear about much of that kind of fire activity.
Its the first part of July and typically we have dry thunderstorms during July. We had some last night and I could see the lightening striking in the mountains. More than likely in 2-3 days we'll be seeing fires popping up from the storms.

[MikeW]

We have something similar here Shanna. Each year the fire dept. sends out a booklet filled with rules and regulations about brush clearance, tree height, how close vegetation may be to buildings etc etc.

They then come around and physically inspect all the homes, usually late April, and let you know if you are not in compliance. If you fail, you are given a few weeks to clean up your act, otherwise they come in and clean up your property for you, and send you the bill.

In February and March in my neighbourhood, 'green can space' (the green trash bins we use for throwing out vegetation) is at a premium, and we are all looking for extra. A few years back, my neighbour told me he was going to Europe for six weeks. Barely able to contain my excitement, my first comment was "May I use your green trash can while you are gone?"

Cheers,

Mike

[Mikey]

Barely able to contain my excitement, my first comment was "May I use your green trash can while you are gone?"

  I love your humor Mike!

[Mikey]

An interesting aspect I have read relative to wildfires, especially those here in the southland, is that once the fire is put out local archaeologists will immediately enter the burned areas in search of Indian archaeological sites that previously were hidden by the heavy vegetation.

[happyoutsidegirl]

Speeking of fires! We had one break out late yesterday afternoon. I don't know how big but the smoke was boilling up over the Mt. I saw two water plains and a heely dropping water. I hope they got it. Too close for comfort it is!

[Desertponder]

An interesting aspect I have read relative to wildfires, especially those here in the southland, is that once the fire is put out local archaeologists will immediately enter the burned areas in search of Indian archaeological sites that previously were hidden by the heavy vegetation.

Yes, that was also the case after they had the fire several years ago at Mesa Verde south of us. The fire cleared out heavy brush and exposed areas that were unknown including some other dwellings.

We have a fire going here now on the west face of the Grand Mesa National Forest. Lightning strike fire from the dry storm the other night.
They are actually letting this one burn for right now.

[Mikey]

Shanna: Do you know if it is now the policy in National forests to let lightening caused fires burn themselves out, more in keeping with letting nature clean out unburned areas and allowing for rejuvenation of the land?  I seem to recall some controversy about the Yellowstone fires some time back but I don't recall the details.

[happyoutsidegirl]

They did that here a few years back on the big tri pod fire. It wasent started by lightning tho! It burned millions of national forest, but the Canadians had it out the second it hit there border! I don't see waisting that much beautiful forest and devestatating the animals who survived, they have to find a new home for a few years.

[EagleEye]

thanks for all of your comments.-------------

I'm jsut glad that all of you are not in harms way

Steve

[Desertponder]

I don't know if its policy for national forest to be allowed to just burn.
I know on this particular fire and another that is going on about 50 miles east they are just watching them and allowing them to burn.
BLM had initially started working the first fire but then they stopped.
They are sure making for alot of smoke in the air and hazy conditions.