Wildfires in the west - Mostly California

California and the others are burning up.

https://patch.com/california/novato...jor-incidents-7-600-firefighters-on-the-lines

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-being-deployed-to-help-battle-wildfires-in-the-west/

Current CA Fires: 240,000+ Acres Burned By 13 Major Incidents; 7,600 Firefighters On The Lines
Check out California's latest statewide fire summary and location map as of Friday, July 21. (Breaking)

By Renee Schiavone (Patch Staff) - Updated July 21, 2017 5:28 pm ET
Current CA Fires: 240,000+ Acres Burned By 13 Major Incidents; 7,600 Firefighters On The Lines
California firefighters are in the thick of fire season, battling more than a dozen major incidents across the state as of Friday. Those incidents have burned a combined total of more than 244,000 acres, the state's lead firefighting agency reports.

One of the biggest blazes of them all, the Detwiler Fire, continues to rage on near Yosemite. That inferno has burned through more than 74,000 acres alone, taking out 58 residences and 60 other structures in the process, according to Cal Fire. Another 1,500 structures are threatened, and containment is only estimated at 15 percent.

However, while firefighters are still working to get the upper hand on some incidents, they have made significant progress on others.

"Crews hard work has resulted in gaining the upper hand on five blazes, the Humboldt, Creek, Range, Hogback and Fox fires, bringing them to full containment yesterday," Cal Fire said.

You can catch the full California Statewide Fire Summary for Friday, July 21 below. (Scroll down for a map of current fires and details on the major incidents)

A warm-up has begun, bringing afternoon highs this weekend in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley to over 100 in many areas, with the foothill regions experiencing temperatures in the upper 90s. Additionally, humidity in many parts will drop into the teens. Southern California will remain warm, and there is a potential for local north winds of 10-20 mph over portions of Santa Barbara County.

Did you know that embers from a wildfire can travel up to a mile away from the main fire and ignite a new fire? Make sure your home is hardened and ready to defend itself against a wildfire at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/

Hope you guys in Cali are safe ~love, from a Texan
Summer is the worst time to be in the west, isn't it? I'm a bit surprised about Washington getting fires, though.

 

[Hyperion]

TBH these are a yearly thing. They weren't such a big deal until Congress decided that blue states could put out their own fires.

So thats money we're losing on lumber thanks to partisan tard raging

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Wildfires are an integral part of the West's (not just california's) ecological cycle. It ensures that the soil is fertile and clears away dead brush for new plants.

IIRC there's a plant in Southern California that only releases its seeds after being set on fire. It's crazy down here.

 

[Lackadaisy]

IIRC there's a plant in Southern California that only releases its seeds after being set on fire. It's crazy down here.

I think that's the Redwood. California has a truly interesting ecology, but not all of it is compatible with current human habitation practices.

 

[Pikimon]

I think that's the Redwood. California has a truly interesting ecology, but not all of it is compatible with current human habitation practices.

Redwood and Sequoia trees are actually fairly fire resistant IRC, but I *think* their cones open up easier when things get blazing.

 

[DonaldChump]

Wildfires are an integral part of the West's (not just california's) ecological cycle. It ensures that the soil is fertile and clears away dead brush for new plants.

They usually try to do controlled burns anyway, dont they'? I mean this shit's been going on for forever. If you do controlled burns, there's not as much brush to catch fire.

We still have to deal with shitty thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes though

Texas burns up all the time. It's gotten lucky the past couple of years though, but in like 2012 there were a lot of wildfires, I think.

 

[Maiden-TieJuan]

Fires take years for the ecology to catch up tho. The Rim fire was in August of 2013

Fresno and surrounding towns had soot and ashes falling from the sky like snow for a few weeks. This is a picture of the area of the Rim fire about a month ago, from a hike we did out there,

Note that this is almost 4 years later. Still desolate. Yeah, the fires are good to clean out the old and dead, but it takes a LONG TIME to get it back to being pretty again.

 

[Goofy Logic]

Fires take years for the ecology to catch up tho. The Rim fire was in August of 2013
View attachment 251960
Fresno and surrounding towns had soot and ashes falling from the sky like snow for a few weeks. This is a picture of the area of the Rim fire about a month ago, from a hike we did out there,
View attachment 251961

Note that this is almost 4 years later. Still desolate. Yeah, the fires are good to clean out the old and dead, but it takes a LONG TIME to get it back to being pretty again.

Fire effectively sterilizes the ground by killing the microorganisms in the soil, and that probably takes the longest to reestablish itself. Logging operations by comparison are actually less disruptive.

 

[Maiden-TieJuan]

Fire effectively sterilizes the ground by killing the microorganisms in the soil, and that probably takes the longest to reestablish itself. Logging operations by comparison are actually less disruptive.

Yep. All the birds, insects, and animals basically clear out for a few years. It is really eerie too. We found huge chunks of melted glass from old broken bottles all over the ground. It gets hot enough to melt glass in a forest fire. Imagine trying to fight that shit.

Current totals are at 45% containment and over 5,000 fire fighters at the Detweiler Fire right now. The wind shifted on Friday, so the smoke cloud has spread over the entire Valley instead of being pushed up against the Yosemite Valley range. The sunlight in the valley is orange, freaking orange, and people are being advised to keep indoors. It constantly smells like smoke, but it is in no way as bad as the Rim Fire year. Temps got up to 104° in the Foothills, without the added heat from the fire. People are finally being allowed back into Coulterville and Mariposa has had the evacuation orders lifted.

 

[Pikimon]

They usually try to do controlled burns anyway, dont they'? I mean this shit's been going on for forever. If you do controlled burns, there's not as much brush to catch fire.

Texas burns up all the time. It's gotten lucky the past couple of years though, but in like 2012 there were a lot of wildfires, I think.

Yes they do but lately the wildfires have been more destructive and more pervasive. It's under control so far, but its highly concerning.

 

[Maiden-TieJuan]

Ahahahahhaha Mariposa tweaker trio tries to steal fire equipment. CenCal at its finest.

http://fox40.com/2017/07/24/suspect...-steal-equipment-used-to-fight-detwiler-fire/