topic Re: The fires are really bad in Community Chat

The fires are really bad

chessylady — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 02:35:41 GMT

The fires here in California are especially concerning due to lack of rainfall last winter, dry conditions and climate change. People love to have homes among the woods but now they have problems getting insurance and where there are two lane roads, even getting out. The smoke particles are tiny and damaging to the lungs. I loaded an EPA air quality app and check it before I do yard work. We all have to adapt to the changes.

Re: The fires are really bad

ROMARY — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:32:41 GMT

My heart literally aches for you and all of the others in your area. Including pets, animals, trees, homes.

Hoping and praying for a miracle rainfall over the fires.

Keep safe.

Re: The fires are really bad

Kachina624 — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 02:42:27 GMT

This has been going on for quite some time. The smoke has spread across the US. It has been so bad at times in Albuquerque that we can't even see the nearby mountain range across the valley, and we've been advised to stay indoors. All from California fires.

Re: The fires are really bad

chessylady — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 02:43:17 GMT

@ROMARY Thanks.

Re: The fires are really bad

Anonymous032819 — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:10:07 GMT

@chessylady

I hear you. It's been windy here today. Is it windy where you are?

Winds are terrible for fires.

All I can say is, G-d bless our firefighters!

They are working so hard to control and eventually put out the flames.

The fire closest to me, the Monument Fire, has consumed over 100k acres, and is only 10% contained.

I can't imagine carrying gear, hiking for miles over steep, rough terrain, and then fighting the fire.

I'm tired just thinking about it!

But this is our new normal, and each year the fires just keep getting worse and worse.

Re: The fires are really bad

chessylady — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:06:41 GMT

@Anonymous032819 Yes, it has been windy here. The closest fire to me is the Caldor Fire which has grown to 30,000 acres. It is in El Dorado county and people in Grizzly Flat and Pollock Pines have been evacuated. It is not that close to me but the smoke is certainly visible. We really need rain and snow this fall and winter...

Re: The fires are really bad

FancyPhillyshopper — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:22:29 GMT

I am very sad about the fires, the droughts, the receding shore lines and floods, and all the other issues. BUT people need to stop and think before the build--not every place is truly fit for human habitation. We also need to treat the natural world with both care and caution.

Every day I appreciate the fire hydrant right outside my house, our full-time professional fire force, and the many folks who help keep our city running smoothly. Yes, I have to pay a lot of taxes and put up with many different types of neighbors, but all together we make a community.

Sometimes living away from it all is no blessing.

Re: The fires are really bad

HonestLife — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:30:20 GMT

@chessylady These wildfires are covered in our Chicagoland news. I feel so bad for everyone who has been effected. I have not heard if they know the cause. I suppose it doesn't matter. It's tragic any way you look at it. 🙁

Re: The fires are really bad

Mistreatedbycs — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:42:36 GMT

It's not climate change, it's that the forests are not being maintained and cleared.

Not all trees are living, the dead one's are not being cut down and cleared, the densely populated forests are not being thinned.

I'm sorry you have the fires but until someone realizes that this needs to be done, fires will continue every year, I understand there are people who are using the court system to block tree thinning.

Re: The fires are really bad

Grand Happy — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:44:29 GMT

Well there's a lot more than the drought that we're getting these devastated fires but I can't say.
A friend of my sister just lost her entire home two days after their fire insurance was cancelled because they lived in a high fire danger zone.
My sister lives in the foothills and pays more for Fire insurance then regular home owner insurance.
New York city was very Smokey all from California fires, our skies were clear so that was weird.
When it's smokey I don't go out to walk, you can taste it 🙄

Re: The fires are really bad

Linmo — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:52:12 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs wrote:
It's not climate change, it's that the forests are not being maintained and cleared.

Not all trees are living, the dead one's are not being cut down and cleared, the densely populated forests are not being thinned.

I'm sorry you have the fires but until someone realizes that this needs to be done, fires will continue every year, I understand there are people who are using the court system to block tree thinning.

@Mistreatedbycs I'm sorry but your post is so wrong about the reason for these wildfires. I've lived in CA for most of my life. It is about the drought conditions that are getting worse year after year. Every once in a while, we have a good rainy season, but that is happening less and less over time. You can blame the drought on climate change or not, but please don't tell us to go out and rake our leaves.

Re: The fires are really bad

Teddixat — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 04:29:44 GMT

@Linmo Don't you just love the talking points about raking forests. Those come from climate change deniers. Your post is spot on. Some of these fires are in areas you couldn't even get to to cut down trees. The drought and climate change is the reason. There are fires in Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. There are fires raging through Greece, Russia and Turkey. I am sick to death of people blaming the problem on not cutting down the forests

Re: The fires are really bad

agb80 — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 04:41:05 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs wrote:
It's not climate change, it's that the forests are not being maintained and cleared.

Not all trees are living, the dead one's are not being cut down and cleared, the densely populated forests are not being thinned.

I'm sorry you have the fires but until someone realizes that this needs to be done, fires will continue every year, I understand there are people who are using the court system to block tree thinning.

@MistreatedbycsYes but I think these fires are from a few different sources some caused by lightning, others from hanging power lines that sway and fall during high winds, then there's arson and other times from stupid careless accidents like a gender reveal gone terribly wrong and other careless human actions.

Re: The fires are really bad

hennypenny — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 04:46:31 GMT

@chessylady , our oldest son lives in SLT. he said they closed 50 at Meyers, and that people are lining up to get gas and some places running out.

Re: The fires are really bad

agb80 — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 04:49:44 GMT

@Just Bling As I re-read my post, I guess I missed the point since if there are dead trees in the line of a fire and if they were not there, the fire would not get so out of control regardless of how the fire started.

Re: The fires are really bad

SilleeMee — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:02:09 GMT

Yes, the fires are very bad. Our local weather people say we can expect to see hazy skies from the fires every year from now on. Things are not going to get better, only worse. I've already made plans to get some air purifiers for my house. I'm having problems breathing this smokey air.

Re: The fires are really bad

Teddixat — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:24:46 GMT

@@just bling. You do know there are fires burning in 14 states not just California, including Montana. If you don't know, a simple google of what states fires are burning in will educate you if you care to know the facts

Re: The fires are really bad

teganslaw — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:27:14 GMT

There is no good reason to get into a climate change argument. There could be many reasons for the fires, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. Certain places aren't habitable and people need to see that before building.

Re: The fires are really bad

Buffalogal47 — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:45:21 GMT

I sympathize with all those people who have been directly affected by these terrible fires. However, poor management of these forests is responsible for the severity of the fires. Fires are an annual natural phenomena; it's how Nature cleans up debris making it possible for new growth to flourish. Until California starts to do a better job of maintaining the forests, the fires will continue to get worse. These fires aren't just affecting the West Coast; the smoke has traveled across the country and has affected air quality 3,000 miles away.

Re: The fires are really bad

Vivian — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:50:28 GMT

My daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law, several first cousins and their children, as well as my best friend all live north of San Francisco. I worry about them. They all love the weather and the beauty of the area and I agree that it is, or perhaps I should say WAS, fabulous. Climate change is leaving its mark on many places, but for us Americans this is one of our tragedies in the making. The fact remains that my family and friends now live in what could be a very dangerous place. One of the reasons that my daughter left Florida was all the storms and floods. Now it's fires in California. She traded water for fire. How ironic!