I’m really getting POed listening to back east politicians make unhinged screeds about the fires with zero knowledge of what they’re talking about.
One said goats would have prevented this!
When the alameda fires happened here the same thing happened with the hydrants. The whole water delivery system is not set up to save 1000s of structures at once.
If these public servants don’t know what they’re talking about they should just shut up.
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Indeed, I never talk about hurricanes or suggest what should be done because then I’d be speaking out of my ass. Blaming people (specific groups) and pols for a natural disaster is beyond ridiculous.
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OFD plans on closing two hill stations to ‘save’ money. I hope they reconsider.
After the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991, the city gave builders carte blanche to rebuild the area. Former postage stamp lots with sweet little bungalows became postage stamp lots with 3 story mcmansions. Such a shame. We evacuated, the line was held a block away on Broadway Terrace. Listening to Al Hart tell us on KCBS the next morning that our home was safe was such a relief.
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Unfortunately, OFD doesn’t have much choice about paring back under the circumstances, but I agree it’s worrisome. The husband of one of my mother’s good friends and his next-door neighbor stayed for a while hosing down their roofs, and they ended up being two of a few houses standing among their burned-out immediate neighborhood after the firestorm, and I certainly know several others who lost their houses. The city is a lot more proactive about enforcing limits on vegetation growth around houses in the hills since 1991.
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After the Thomas fire in Santa Barbara 2017, national guard was stationed right above our house in the hills for a few days. Our dog Rosie got to meet them.
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This story was astonishing. This classic blue VW van that the current owner calls Azul survived amidst devastation.
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Shyah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.
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Gift link to amazing story, with video, about the extremely skilled helicopter pilots who fight fires in California.
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It turns out that most of Topanga Canyon, my home for most of the 1980s, was spared. Gift link (I haven’t read the article yet).
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Our weekend place has come within a hundred yards or so of three wildfires in the last decade. Several small communities have been erased. Immediate talk is always “We will rebuild!” But when reality sets in, affordability, whether or not neighbors have the stamina or years left to commit to such an endeavor, many realize that their beloved neighborhood does not exist anymore. Someone will come in and the landscape will be reinvented, but if it will reflect the old one is doubtful.
Wishing all affected strong heart and will, and extraordinary patience.
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The videos…beyond frightening! These pilots are true heroes.
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Via the Oregon State Fire Marshal
FROM THE FIRE LINE: Last Saturday, the Douglas County strike team leader and assistant strike team leader were looking for hots spots in an area inaccessible for fire engines and damaged by the Palisades Fire in Southern California. They heard people in a home. When they went to check, the firefighters found two older adults who had been injured and without food, water, or communication for several days.
The two firefighters coordinated an ambulance and worked with another strike team in the area to get the pair down to the waiting ambulance. If that wasn’t enough, our firefighters called the pair’s family to let them know they were safe and stayed at the home to put out hotspots nearby.
WAY TO GO!
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If you know someone living in the Eaton or Palisades fire zones and want to see if their home was affected, you can enter the addresses on these 2 sites. I have a family of longtime friends with 3 homes living in the Eaton Fire area and though I knew one of their homes burned to the ground, I hadn’t received a reply from the family regarding the other 2 homes. Rather than push for an answer, I was able to use one of these maps to find out that thankfully the other 2 homes escaped such a fate.
Eaton Fire Map:
Palisades Fire Map:
I’m hoping that none of the HO members feel that posting this was in bad taste. If a moderator receives a complaint about it, I totally understand the need to delete this post.
Here’s hoping everyone’s friends or family and their homes are safe.
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