Community Chat

[Lindsays Grandma]

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@golding76 wrote:

I think cherry has hit on a hot idea.  A telethon should be initiated soonest to get some money pouring in to help the people and animals whose lives have been destroyed and interrupted by these fires.

(Apologies for using the word "hot," but it came to mind so quickly.)

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Goldie76, no need to apologize for anything at a time like this.

[Lindsays Grandma]

It is times like this when everyone comes together.  It is so sad we can't do it on a regular basis.  In 1994 when the last earthquake hit us in the San Fernando Valley it was amazing how people were coming out, joining forces, helping one another.  I was living in my Condo for ten years and suddenly I saw neighbors I never saw before.  How refreshing it was at a time when we were all shaking and thanking God no one was hurt or killed.  So a few pieces of furniture and some dishes broke, things that could be replaced at that time didn't matter, what mattered was that we all needed to be comforted.  When it all calmed down after a week or two it was back to the same old, same old.  People inside their doors, not to be seen, the camaraderie was over. 

But in the present situation it isn't going to go away for a long time.  People are hurting from the loss of everything they own and loved ones that died because of the fires. They are going to need the warmth, love, caring, understanding and camaraderie for long time to come.  

I am here in Arizona and feel so helpless because there is nothing I can do to help someone who just might need a hug and a shoulder to cry on.  I can pray and hope God is listening to my and all the other prayers that are going out to those in need.  The firefighters, and all the responders who are fighting against an enemy that is relentless, may God keep them safe.  And to all those who need it, may God give them comfort.  I will keep praying.

[gardenman]

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@Lindsays Grandma wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

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@sidsmom wrote:

Can they determine how these fires started?

Or are these fires just piggybacking onto each other

from month to month?

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The problem is California has a short rainy season (four months or so) where plant growth is rampant, then a long, long dry season where that rampant growth dries out and becomes tinder. With little to no rain, there's little to no decaying of the old dead growth. Then a new rainy season comes along and you get fresh growth through the old which then dries out in the next dry season, doubling the amount of tinder available. It just becomes a ticking time bomb with more and more highly combustible material building up. A spark in the wrong place at the wrong time sets things in motion. There's not a lot you can do about it. Clearing the brush/tinder would help, but be insanely labor intensive. 

Anywhere you have a drought you can get wildfires, but the dry season is yearly in California and with little opportunity for the old brush to decay, you just get more and more building up, year after year until a spark comes along. All that warm sunny weather for eight months comes with a price tag, and that's the risk of fire.

In theory you can build a fireproof house that would survive no matter what, but most homeowners opt not to do so.

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Building a fireproof house sounds like a good idea but isn't the price prohibitive for most people?  Seriously, I have no idea what the cost would be and it sounds very expensive but I may be wrong.

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The cost doesn't have to be dramatically higher on new construction. Construction costs in California are already higher than in most of the rest of the country due to the earthquake issue, but making a house fireproof shouldn't be terribly expensive. Concrete block construction is fairly inexpensive and concrete block doesn't burn. Fire resistant drywall is also minimally more expensive than regular drywall. Fire proof roofing (metal, concrete tile, etc.) is minimally more expensive than some other options. (And cheaper than some also.) Putting swimming pools between the house and the most likely direction of the fire gives a nice fire break.

If you're building new in California you really want to make your home as fireproof and earthquake proof as possible. There will be fires and there will be earthquakes. If you're building new in Florida you want to build a house that's as hurricane proof as possible. There will be hurricanes. Someone right in the path of that latest hurricane had built a house to withstand 250 mph winds and it was largely undamaged even though every house around it was destroyed. It can be done and done right it saves a lot of money over the long term. If a widlfire meets a wall of burn-proof houses, the fire dies. Over the course of the next twenty or so years, if new houses get built to withstand wildfires, the threat from wildfires will be largely gone. The same is true in Florida with hurricane proof houses. These events can go from being devastating, enormously expensive issues to nuisances that cause little real world trouble. It takes a smallish investment in new construction to prevent utter devastation down the road, but the payback is enormous.

[MorningLover]

'We built it to survive the big one': Owners of the only Florida home still standing on a stretch of beach after Hurricane Michael say they went above and beyond the building codes The home was built to withstand winds of up to 250 mph and has 1-foot thick concrete walls

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6281849/Florida-home-survived-Hurricane-Michael-built-survi...

[gardenman]

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@MorningLover wrote:

'We built it to survive the big one': Owners of the only Florida home still standing on a stretch of beach after Hurricane Michael say they went above and beyond the building codes The home was built to withstand winds of up to 250 mph and has 1-foot thick concrete walls

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6281849/Florida-home-survived-Hurricane-Michael-built-survi...

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This is the house I mentioned in my earlier post. You can build a house to survive pretty much anything mother nature throws at it. You can see utter devastation around that house, but the owner of that house came back to a nearly intact home. If every home in a hurricane prone area is built to that standard (and truth be told 250 MPH winds is overkill) then hurricanes just become a nuisance you have to clean up from afterwards rather than a massively devastating blow. 

Once the fires die down in California you'll find a few houses standing intact amid the smoldering ruins. They'll be the houses that were made to be fire resistant. These horrific natural events can be minimzed with the right architecture and building practices. 

With modern building techniques the costs don't have to be all that high. Premade concrete panels delivered to the building site and assembled there can be a quite strong, fireproof, hurricane-proof way of building. There's a company called Fabcon Precast that makes building panels with a four hour fire rating. Here's a link to their site if anyone's interested. https://thinkfabcon.com/

If you look at the gallery of photos on that site you can see some very attractive buildings made from their panels. If you're building a home in a hurricane or fire prone area, it's not a bad option to explore. Those panels aren't typically used in home construction, but there's nothing saying they can't be used in home construction.

[LurkyLoo]

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@fourpaws56 wrote:

@LurkyLoo    I am okay, thank you for your concerns! I am in Northern Ca, we had the fire at our back door last year and this past summer. My heart goes out to everyone in harms way, so very tragic! It looks like we are in another drought year too...very concerned!

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So thankful to hear from you that you and your family remain safe from these terrible fires, @fourpaws56! I share your concerns.. heard about the severe drought. 

Thank you for checking in and stay safe! 🙏 

[kivah]

@hennypenny

From late Friday afternoon to Saturday evening my cable, Time Warner, went out. No tv, no computer, no phone access. Other cable companies were also affected -- the fires burned the fiber optics/electrical. So - I just sat on my couch with my little lhasa asking God to get my electronics going. I live in north Oxnard --- west of Rose Ave. off Gonzales. Close to St. Johns Hospital.

Fires were raging east and northeast of Oxnard. Including Malibu. Fires started up again today in Simi Valley. Oxnard is away from the mountains - so we seem to escape all the fires. I escaped earthquakes - and now fires.

Kaitlynn (formerly Bruce) Jenner's Malibu house also burned down.

Something has to be done to stop these horrible fires - it never rains so everything is bone dry. With the Santa Anas blowing - perfect storm.

[kivah]

@sidsmom

Excuse Me - we're NOT all the same. I have NOWHERE to go and I couldn't afford to rent another place - and deal with the insurance company - and rebuild. Life for the RICH is totally different. 

[kivah]

@phoenixbrd

I have nowhere to go - no family - and minimum financial resources --- and I'm a senior with a small dog. No - I wouldn't leave - but fortunately, I don't have to.

[kivah]

@Lindsays Grandma

We communicated recently. I'm totally alone. Years ago I lived in Newbury Park against the mountain (on fire), I lived in Calabasas (on fire), prior to me moving to north Oxnard where I live now - I lived in Oak Park (Agoura Hills) - on fire. Oxnard is on the flat land - and I'm safe!!!