California Fires show no signs of easing

[ballaratdragons]

The Bushfires in California have now claimed 1200 homes and businesses in San Diego alone, and the hoped for 'easing' of the wind has gone, with the new report of more strong winds and hotter weather tomorrow!

Gee they're copping it bad over there!!!!

One person has died. I just hope no more lives are lost.

300,000 people evacuated with possibly more later!

[citivolus]

Interactive Google map (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&om=1&msa=0&msid=117631292961056724014.00043d0e 9ca465cefeeed&ll=35.960223,-117.443848&spn=4.827737,8.876953&z=7) of the fires. I've flown over that area when it was burning before, but it was nowhere near as bad as it is now.

[ballaratdragons]

Evacuations now over 500,000 !!!!!!

Even the evacuation centres have evacuated!

[citivolus]

There is a fair amount of smoke there, too:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/hms.html

[Omaroo]

Jenny and I used to live in Aliso Viejo - just inland from Huntington Beach. Lots of wood lined the canyon walls, and many, many, multi-million dollar homes. What a great shame it's so vulnerable to these fires.

I guess that I feel for them because it's just another point of commonality between our two societies.

Just don't tell them where all of their oily eucalyptus came from......

[Dujon]

Mother Nature (perhaps with help) strikes again. I feel ever so sorry for those in CA who are affected in any way - the fire fighters in particular. Hopefully the sensationalist press have overstated the winds forecast for the next 24-hours. 160Km/h (100mph) air movement pretty much rules out containment I would think. Property protection seems to be the order of the day until conditions improve a bit.

Good luck, Californians.

[Ric]

I think that by the way it's travelling and it ferocity it is probably generating it's own wind and weather and pushing itself along.

A firestorm as they say and quite nasty for the firefighters in terms of containment.

And this is their late Aurtumn too.

[ballaratdragons]

It is what is called the Santa Anna winds, Ric. The High at the top of the mountains pushes air down the mountainside and compresses as it gets into the valleys below increasing in speed, and varied directions.

Latest is that the Santa Annas should ease over the next 8 hours, but then the other problem arises. The on-shore winds come in and blow the fire in a new direction!!!

That's what the firefighters over there said they aren't looking forward to.

[fringe_dweller]

seen this amazing sat vid? (is this the shuttle?) - mega cool, except for the sad circumstances of use :( ominous for us this year :sadeyes:

http://www.liveleak.com/player2.swf?token=511_1193242532

[citivolus]

Looks to be ISS. About half way through it pans, does not look to be the shuttle.

[fringe_dweller]

your right of course, cheers!, i had the shuttle on my brain, and thought maybe it was cargo bay.

love the panning, cant remember ever seeing that done before -

[Alchemy]

its probably going to be our turn next. Another scorcher summer predicted,

i think the thing we can take from this is be prepared. you could save a million dollar house and your life by spending a few k on sprinklers, hoses and water storage,

i live surrounded by bush,....... sprinklers on the roof... fire pump linked to 40,000 litres of water...proper fire hose ..... cost 2500. i feel sorry for those who've lost in this situation. in jamieson near lake eildon last year a guy defended his house against all odds because he was prepared.... some of you down here may remember it, completely destroyed all round , he survived intact!

i dont want to read in the forums of the demise of any members !!!

[xelasnave]

I was fixing up my house so had everything in a shed/bush house when the last fire came thru years ago, I usually stay and keep it from the house and put out the shed when it passes.. but I was ordered to leave...the fire took the shed and near everything I owned..no insurance cause it was all in a shed...furniture, all the boat stuff for that trip I planned for years, my treasures, library...etc...

I only found out recently my one crazy neighbour stayed behind even after being told to leave and after taking care of his place and came over and stopped the fire about 8 feet from my house..he admitted it finally only earlier this year..I could never understand why the fire left such a neat line where it stopped but it was him with a back pack:lol::lol::lol: but funny if he had let it burn I would have been well paid from the insurance as in those days I had a big mortgage and the mortgagee insisted on a huge insurance..

My best mate (Tui) came out took look at the damage and got bitten by a spider and later died)... I felt shatterred and was really down and came to Sydney ... my Son bought me my first scope (4inch) to get me interested in life again and its been up ever since...the scope stuff I gave Ron was one of the few things that survived ...

The fires has been all around my block a month or so ago and we cleared everything but it turned out that my caretaker (this year) had some sort of fire problem and burnt all my pipes that was my sprinkler set up..he started a fire that near burnt out my neighbour and left under threat of having his legs broken.

So if you think I am crazy who wouldnt be after the last couple of years:lol::lol::lol:

alex:):):)

[Ric]

Your not wrong Alchemy, I've already attended two fires with the RFS and the season has only begun. I'll be on the pager alert system as of December so I think I'll be getting a lot more calls from that.

What you have done with your house and sprinkler system is a great idea I wish a lot more rural folk would invest in this idea as well as a good 30 metre firebreak around the house which can be just grass that's well mown.

Hope everyone has a safe Summer.

[Dujon]

Alchemy, you are right.

Back in '77 when we had horrible fires in my neck of the woods the water pressure was such that I couldn't even get the hose to provide a dribble on to my back deck. Fortunately my neighbour and I had filled our baths, laundry tubs and pretty much anything else that would hold water before the fire arrived. If we hadn't done that I reckon I would have lost my back shed (fibro/timber) and, courtesy of that, my house.

Given that there is every chance that one will lose the main power during such emergencies I would suggest that any pump system from a tank (I wish!) should have the ability to be powered by a stand-alone source.