South California Wildfires

[Phantom255x]

It's really scary what's happening there. Some of the pictures and aerial shots (even satellite shots) of the area are insane. Many people have lost their homes and property around there and it's continuing to spread as well. Palisades is basically decimated now.

I have some friends in the LA area and they are also on standby, they are thankfully safe currently but obviously still on notice in case they'll have to evacuate if things, god forbid get worse.



Also the Lakers game today got postponed, and the Rams playoff game got moved to AZ.

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https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/15783371_010925-cc-ap-california-wildfire-maxar-satellite-eaton-1280-img.jpg

satelite photo of alta dena fire. One of my co-workers home was right at the edge of the alta dena fire. she and her family were in the mandatory evacuation yesterday morning.  The estimates of total damage for the fires is over $50 billion and growing. Over 10,000 structures have burned and over 187,000 people were evacuated due to the fires.  This event is unprecedented and if you aren't here you can't probably tell how bad it is.

[Phantom255x]

https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/15783371_010925-cc-ap-california-wildfire-maxar-satellite-eaton-1280-img.jpg

satelite photo of alta dena fire. One of my co-workers home was right at the edge of the alta dena fire. she and her family were in the mandatory evacuation yesterday morning.  The estimates of total damage for the fires is over $50 billion and growing. Over 10,000 structures have burned and over 187,000 people were moved due to the fires.  This event is unprecedented and if you aren't here you can't probably tell how bad it is.

Oh man I hope they are safe and sound!

(Side note: that's a cool photo)

[blink]

https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/15783371_010925-cc-ap-california-wildfire-maxar-satellite-eaton-1280-img.jpg

satelite photo of alta dena fire. One of my co-workers home was right at the edge of the alta dena fire. she and her family were in the mandatory evacuation yesterday morning.  The estimates of total damage for the fires is over $50 billion and growing. Over 10,000 structures have burned and over 187,000 people were moved due to the fires.  This event is unprecedented and if you aren't here you can't probably tell how bad it is.

Oh man I hope they are safe and sound!

(Side note: that's a cool photo)

Yes!  My co--worker got out ok, and their house was one of the few in the area to be still standing.  Crazy.  More high winds tonight.  In Orange, CA where I live it is another day of high winds.  So far the area I live in hasn't had any fires during this event.   LA City FD, LA County FD, all the other city FD's and all the surrounding states FD that are here have done an amazing job.   More than 7,500 california fire fighters, and many many more from other states working 24+ shifts. 

[SparzWizard]

I'm far away from the major fires, but the Eaton Canyon fire I can see from my bedroom and I'm like 30 miles away from it.

Yeah, it's really bad here. We had a big 60-100 mph windstorm on Tuesday night and that shut down power for a night (other places may have been for days). That was the highest cause of these fires. In the Palisades, there's no water in the water hydrants (likely political reasons). Hollywood Hills got hit with some fires as well, probably gonna look a lot different than what you grew up watching from TV. Air quality is horrible...gotta put on the N95s. Also have some nasal congestion and chest wheezing from the contributing bad air quality. I also heard some of these fires were also started by arsonists. I'm sad for the victims who've lost their homes and the firefighters out there battling it; kudos to them for putting their lives out there extinguishing it. Clark County NV have sent some firefighters over for assistance, salute to them.

Basically, don't come here right now unless you're sending help lol.

(On an unrelated note, why couldn't the NFL just move the Rams/Vikings game to Minnesota, where they should actually be the ones hosting it for having a superior record anyways lol)

[Surferdad]

I have a friend in Santa Monica who is on standby for evacuation. He said he knows MANY people who have lost their homes.

This is horrifying.

[Neurotic Guy]

I have a friend in Santa Monica who is on standby for evacuation. He said he knows MANY people who have lost their homes.

This is horrifying.

My nephew and wife are there as well and they?ve been evacuated.  They went to a friend?s in Santa Clara and now they are on standby there.  They think the apartment building they lived in is still ok.   
It?s a monumental and tragic loss of property - homes, businesses, possessions.  And loss of jobs and income for many.  An ongoing traumatic event for tens of thousands of people suddenly homeless.  The cost of whatever will replace the ashes is going to be tremendous. I wonder to what extent home owners insurance will cover the losses.

[Surferdad]

I have a friend in Santa Monica who is on standby for evacuation. He said he knows MANY people who have lost their homes.

This is horrifying.

My nephew and wife are there as well and they?ve been evacuated.  They went to a friend?s in Santa Clara and now they are on standby there.  They think the apartment building they lived in is still ok.   
It?s a monumental and tragic loss of property - homes, businesses, possessions.  And loss of jobs and income for many.  An ongoing traumatic event for tens of thousands of people suddenly homeless.  The cost of whatever will replace the ashes is going to be tremendous. I wonder to what extent home owners insurance will cover the losses.

Heard estimates of something like $20 billion in losses and growing. Many people have had their insurance policies cancelled even prior to the fires. It is an analogous situation to Florida.

[Who]

Shams saying JJ Redick lost his home in the fires.

[Roy H.]

At least 10 people dead, and billions in destruction.  It looks like at least one of the three major wildfires was intentionally set by an arsonist.  So depraved.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Two of my friends lost their homes and the air quality is awful.....Would be nice if we had some water in the Hydrants, but our Idiots running Los Angeles cut our Fire Department Budget and our Criminal Governor should be in jail after this is over....This is what DEI gets you. SMH

[keevsnick]

So according to what I've read the environmental conditions leading to this fire are sort of a perfect storm. Wetter than normal conditions in early 2024 led to extensive plant growth that was then followed by a nearly 9 month drought that's been one of the driest period on record. The result is a ton of very dry, very flammable fuel. That combined with a Santa Ana wind event, with winds in excess of 60-80+ mph, has led to near perfect conditions for rapid fire growth.

I think there's been some inclination to blame the fire on government preparedness, budget cuts, ect. But at some point there's literally only so much you do. LA country is probably the single most prepared place on the planet in terms of equipment, personnel, training, money ect to fight wildfires. At some point the environmental reality becomes too much to overcome.

Stuff like this is only going to get worse. Partly just becasue as the US population grows we expand into places (hill sides, forests, ect) that expose the population to great fire risks in areas that are harder to fight fires. Also partly because the specific outputs of climate change are likely to make wildfire in particular much worse, more frequent and less predictable.

[keevsnick]

I have a friend in Santa Monica who is on standby for evacuation. He said he knows MANY people who have lost their homes.

This is horrifying.

My nephew and wife are there as well and they?ve been evacuated.  They went to a friend?s in Santa Clara and now they are on standby there.  They think the apartment building they lived in is still ok.   
It?s a monumental and tragic loss of property - homes, businesses, possessions.  And loss of jobs and income for many.  An ongoing traumatic event for tens of thousands of people suddenly homeless.  The cost of whatever will replace the ashes is going to be tremendous. I wonder to what extent home owners insurance will cover the losses.

Heard estimates of something like $20 billion in losses and growing. Many people have had their insurance policies cancelled even prior to the fires. It is an analogous situation to Florida.

Hurricanes, Wildfires and Floods all have one thing in common: They are becoming so frequent and so devastating that we are reaching if not already in "uninsurable" territory, especially for places in the highest risk. The exposure companies face for insuring these events is massive, becasue a hurricane, flood or wildfire doesn't just destroy a few homes it flattens entire towns or neighborhood all at once meaning massive losses all at once. That means either you can't get coverage at all, or if you can premiums are massive.

[Redz]

My wife's cousin and her family are one of few homes that were spared in Altadena.  Their neighbor is a firefighter and had a hose he could attach the hydrant right in front of their house.  All of their friends' places are gone.  Their kids school.  Their downtown. 

A bunch more friends out there just hunkering down and hoping for the best at this point.

Just awful.

[Amonkey]

So according to what I've read the environmental conditions leading to this fire are sort of a perfect storm. Wetter than normal conditions in early 2024 led to extensive plant growth that was then followed by a nearly 9 month drought that's been one of the driest period on record. The result is a ton of very dry, very flammable fuel. That combined with a Santa Ana wind event, with winds in excess of 60-80+ mph, has led to near perfect conditions for rapid fire growth.

I think there's been some inclination to blame the fire on government preparedness, budget cuts, ect. But at some point there's literally only so much you do. LA country is probably the single most prepared place on the planet in terms of equipment, personnel, training, money ect to fight wildfires. At some point the environmental reality becomes too much to overcome.

Stuff like this is only going to get worse. Partly just becasue as the US population grows we expand into places (hill sides, forests, ect) that expose the population to great fire risks in areas that are harder to fight fires. Also partly because the specific outputs of climate change are likely to make wildfire in particular much worse, more frequent and less predictable.

I am not a fan of the republicans playbook of blaming everything on the liberal democrats and DEI. The mental gymnastics of denying climate change and the funding that can help reduce the risk, then turning around and blaming the other side for the inevitable problems that comes with it works like red meat for their base, but it does nothing to help the situation.

I understand that cutting $17 millions from the firefighter budget is not a good move, but do we really think money that money that wouldn't have even been spent already is what has created all these problems? Especially since a couple of weeks ago we were on the verge of a government shutdown because Trump wasn't happy with it.

I am sure the same politicians that were complaining about money being spent to raze certain areas to prevent these wildfires are the ones blaming the liberals agenda for the fire being out of control. The same ones that comes up with 'thoughts and prayers' when a school shooting happens are not even waiting for the fires to be settling down to blame the other side.

It's pretty despicable but the unfortunate thing is, it works. You see all these people blaming on them because they don't have the long term memory of the people that were trying to come up with preventative measures in the first place.