Speculation, pontificate, arm chair quarterbacking does not help the current situation. Building codes, practices, developers, politicians do have a piece of this pie but they are absolved by the soothsayers for 'progress'. The environmental practices and situation in California has been successfully exported to many parts of the West via emigration and cultural exchange. How many look to California for 'culture', ideas, trends etc.?
The Bible tells us no more floods but fire will prevail.

Check this out: http://frap.fire.ca.gov/webdat...utte/fhszs_map.4.jpg

I flew over the thousand oaks and malibu areas yesterday morning on a flight out of Mirimar. Not a hint of smoke anywhere.

Northern California was very different. Completely smoked in from well south of the fire area until well north.

We're having the worst smoke day so far here in the Bay Area. People are wearing masks. I may need to break my painting mask out.

An unfortunate development to this story, just heard on the scanner that there was a high-speed chase and officer-involved shooting in the Paradise area. Not sure if this was a looting situation, but looting has already occurred.

Shooting

UPDATE: Scuttlebut is that GD Hendrix was inside a hardware store within an evacuation zone, and made a provacative move toward law enforcement individuals (not sure if he had a gun), resulting in his fatal shooting.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kkina,

Speaking of looters, go to the one minute mark of a guy that made it...

Jerry Brown proposed easing the forestry rules that Trump criticized

quote:

California Governor Jerry Brown feigned outrage over President Trumps criticism of California’s forestry management in the wake of the horrendous wildfires still raging. But it turns out that he recognized those very problems and proposed changes to lessen the threat last August.

quote:

"Under Brown’s proposal, private landowners would be able to cut trees up to 36 inches in diameter — up from the current 26 inches — on property 300 acres or less without getting a timber harvest permit from the state, as long as their purpose was to thin forests to reduce fire risk," the Sentinel reported. "They also would be able to build roads of up to 600 feet long without getting a permit, as long as they repaired and replanted them."

So private property isn't private property unless some enviro-nazi says so.

quote:

”Under Brown’s proposal, private landowners would be able to cut trees up to 36 inches in diameter — up from the current 26 inches — on property 300 acres or less without getting a timber harvest permit from the state, as long as their purpose was to thin forests to reduce fire risk," the Sentinel reported. "They also would be able to build roads of up to 600 feet long without getting a permit, as long as they repaired and replanted them."

This kind of thinking is retarded. Destroying healthy older trees is the exact opposite of what you want to do. Property owners should be clearing out flash and ladder fuels. The big, old trees are more than able to deal with fire if their low branches are trimmed back and ladder fuels that allows fire th climb into the crowns are removed. Taking out big mature trees just opens the understory up to the growth of exactly the kind of plant growth you don’t want. Brown is an fucking imbecile.

did you ever really expect ANY democrat to do the right thing when faced with the evidence?

its Moonbeam Brown - no way would he do the right thing

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:

quote:

”Under Brown’s proposal, private landowners would be able to cut trees up to 36 inches in diameter — up from the current 26 inches — on property 300 acres or less without getting a timber harvest permit from the state, as long as their purpose was to thin forests to reduce fire risk," the Sentinel reported. "They also would be able to build roads of up to 600 feet long without getting a permit, as long as they repaired and replanted them."

This kind of thinking is retarded. Destroying healthy older trees is the exact opposite of what you want to do. Property owners should be clearing out flash and ladder fuels. The big, old trees are more than able to deal with fire if their low branches are trimmed back and ladder fuels that allows fire th climb into the crowns are removed. Taking out big mature trees just opens the understory up to the growth of exactly the kind of plant growth you don’t want. Brown is an fucking imbecile.

Thanks for the comment, it answers some questions I had and some that I didn't even know I had.

Like all things (D) I didn't figure an enviro-nazi would actually take care of the forest.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/1...aces-bankruptcy.html

PG&E stock crashes nearly 50% as utility says it will file for bankruptcy because of wildfires liability

PG&E Corp. stock cratered Monday after the company said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid the financial anguish stemming from its part in helping spark a wave of historic wildfires in California.

Shares of the company dropped nearly 50 percent in early trading Monday, one day after the company said Chief Executive Geisha Williams was stepping down.

The company provided the official 15-day advance notice that it and its wholly owned subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric, intend to file petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on or about Jan. 29.

The company, California’s largest investor-owned utility, has 16 million customers across a 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California.

There was some speculation that perhaps PG&E was bluffing in order to force aid from California. CNBC’s David Faber said that sources told him that is not the case.

PG&E faces at least $30 billion in potential liability costs stemming from wildfires in 2017 and 2018, many allegedly started by the company’s equipment, that have led state officials to doubt the safety of the company’s electric distribution system.

Investigators have already determined PG&E’s equipment liable in at least 17 major wildfires in 2017. State investigators are still working to determine if the company’s equipment was partly responsible for November’s Camp Fire, which killed at least 86 people and destroyed about 14,000 homes, making it the state’s deadliest fire.

The company disclosed that some of its equipment malfunctioned in the area shortly before the fire started on Nov. 8. The company does not expect any impact to electric or natural gas service for its customers during the Chapter 11 process.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:

quote:

”Under Brown’s proposal, private landowners would be able to cut trees up to 36 inches in diameter — up from the current 26 inches — on property 300 acres or less without getting a timber harvest permit from the state, as long as their purpose was to thin forests to reduce fire risk," the Sentinel reported. "They also would be able to build roads of up to 600 feet long without getting a permit, as long as they repaired and replanted them."

This kind of thinking is retarded. Destroying healthy older trees is the exact opposite of what you want to do. Property owners should be clearing out flash and ladder fuels. The big, old trees are more than able to deal with fire if their low branches are trimmed back and ladder fuels that allows fire th climb into the crowns are removed. Taking out big mature trees just opens the understory up to the growth of exactly the kind of plant growth you don’t want. Brown is an fucking imbecile.

As someone who manages a property with 230 acres of dense live oak, one could spend an absolute fortune doing the cleanup you suggest with no income whatsoever from the work to help defray the costs. Taking some salable trees and building firebreaks allows one to increase defensible area and generate some return to help defray the cost of the work. Sure, if one had unlimited funds, one could do a lot of protection / beautification projects without considering cost or return. How many folks are in that position? Beyond that, any additional thing that the GDCs in CA governmentwill allow is a win. If those folks had their way, you’d have to have a permit and their blessing for every square of toilet paper used. Nowhere does it say you have to cut mature trees, just that you can.

Of course we don't hear about the California lawmakers (Democrats all), who traveled to Hawaii on a junket with leaders of utility companies while the California wildfires raged...

https://www.foxnews.com/politi...s-as-wildfires-raged