CA - Pacific Palisades - 30,000 People Ordered to Evacuate From L.A. Wildfires

[Tower]

You are absolutely right about clearing wildlands. Here in Southern Oregon my town is nestled up against the Siskiyou mountains. We would be sitting ducks if a fire broke out uphill. The Ashland Forest Resiliency Project has worked for over a decade to clear the forest interface of fuel…brush, dead trees. Every spring when it’s wet enough we see smoke rising above town from their preventive burns. And of course, people who live in or near the interface are strongly encouraged to reduce the fuel around their homes.

https://www.oregon.gov/deq/FilterDocs/roguePres5AshlandChambers.pdf

My son works summers in your literal backyard to clear that land. It’s beautiful up there.

 

[iamshadow21]

Walt Butler gets today's 'glass half full'. He's 83, lost his home and everything in it, including his Corvette Stingray, and he's still counting his blessings.

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/live-blog/california-wildfires-live-updates-rcna187099/rcrd67611?canonicalCard=true

 

[Herat]

I was thinking about the essentials of my GO bag and I recognized I had not put a spare pair of prescription glasses and lots of extra contact lens pairs.

I would be unable to drive without them and I made the committment to buy a specific pair of glasses and put them with my passport in the GO bag.

 

[Lilibet]

My son works summers in your literal backyard to clear that land. It’s beautiful up there.

Tell him thank you! Yes, it’s really beautiful. We’ve lived here 40 years and these huge wildfires are a pretty new phenomenon.

 

[Lilibet]

So there's no solution and the wholesale destruction from these fires is inevitable. That's sad. JMO.

It certainly is sad @RANCH. As @Tower said, there are always improvements that can be made, but having seen what the combination of high wind and fire can do, it’s not totally preventable. All we can do as individuals is make sure the space around our home is defensible. Personally, as much as we love the forested areas in hills above our town, I would never choose to live there, especially now that we’re old. We live in a condo downtown in a brick building. We have go-bags already in our car and if we have to evacuate, we know the route to take.

 

[Tower]

Ik you arent talking to me, but i love poking my head into convos im not involved in lol.

All of this stuff should've been done before the fires. Its not like they were unexpected

The scope of the problem is massive. California wildlands are incomprehensibly huge and they would admit they waited too long to address the fuel load. There are many plans, already begun, to improve the issue, but it will take time and millions of dollars.

40% of California’s properties are at moderate or greater risk of burning in the next 30 years. My family moved to these areas between 1942 and 1974, when there was essentially zero risk of wildfires, so they had no idea there would be risk in the next century.

Keep in mind only 3% of California’s wilderness is managed by the state and the rest is federally managed. The blame placed on California state government can be misplaced, often for political reasons. Jmo

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article298202473.html

Wildfires in January? Here's why California wildfire season is worse

As climate change warms the planet, California's worsening wildfires have become unpredictable and extreme.

calmatters.org

 

[cujenn81]

Ik you arent talking to me, but i love poking my head into convos im not involved in lol.

All of this stuff should've been done before the fires. Its not like they were unexpected

My husband—who lived in LA for 18 years—said he remembers voting on a proposition to fund the construction of an additional reservoir in CA like 10 years ago. The prop passed way back when but construction hasn’t even begun yet. That’s crazy to me!

I know massive projects like this take time (particularly those that affect land use and wildlife habitats), but it seems to me the government would work a little harder to make it happen when massive wildfires are scorching the earth year after year after year.

 

[Curious Me]

Keep in mind, January is typically one of wettest months in Southern California. If you want to blame, then blame the winds.​

 

[iamshadow21]

Good article, lots of pictures of the damage and devastation.

(A specific content warning for @Sundog , there is a picture of the ruins of your church.)

Rubble, ash, lost homes: Images capture disaster of LA fires

Street after street, there is little that remains in this Los Angeles neighbourhood other than dark ash, blackened trees and ruin where a wealthy seaside enclave favoured by celebrities once stood.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Deleted member 39678]

It certainly is sad @RANCH. As @Tower said, there are always improvements that can be made, but having seen what the combination of high wind and fire can do, it’s not totally preventable. All we can do as individuals is make sure the space around our home is defensible. Personally, as much as we love the forested areas in hills above our town, I would never choose to live there, especially now that we’re old. We live in a condo downtown in a brick building. We have go-bags already in our car and if we have to evacuate, we know the route to take.

Perhaps no homes should be built in areas like Pacific Palisades if there's no way to prevent fires like this in the future. JMO.

 

[Tower]

I'm 63 and born in Northern California. I'm well aware of the fire history in California. JMO.

I live out of state now, so you are even more familiar with what wildland managers are trying to do to reduce fire danger. I agree, it’s disconcerting, but I have hope because we can’t ignore the need to stop this devastation.

 

[dulcinea]

If you're not aware of how LA and the area was built (for lack of a better word), I suggest reading about the Water Wars. That will really make you think about the existence of LA (and other desert cities) but also explain some of the problems there were with water to fight this fire. IMO, there is too much greed and not enough thought about the strain humans put on resources. It's time to rethink some things.

 

[dulcinea]

Did anyone else see all the poor goats running down the street?! Oh, my heart!

 

[iamshadow21]

https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/los-angeles-wildfires-palisades-eaton-california-01-10-25-hnk#cm5ro5v21000v3b6onywidcvm

Palisades fire: 21,317 acres, 8% contained
Eaton fire: 14,117 acres, 3% contained
Kenneth fire: 1,052 acres, 50% contained
Hurst fire: 771 acres, 70% contained
Lidia fire: 395 acres, 98% contained
Archer fire: 19 acres, 0% contained

 

[Herat]

Did anyone else see all the poor goats running down the street?! Oh, my heart!

I only got part of the narration but I think they were being herded into a nearby trailer to take them to a safe site and weren't just running wild.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

Thank you everyone for keeping us updated on these fires.
I can't tell you how great it is to know I can come to Websleuths and the the most up to date and accurate information.

That page has been a godsend to me and everyone here at Websleuths that lives or has friends and family in California.

 

[charminglane]

An article about some of the victims, with pictures.

This clarifies that Erliene Kelley and Brianna Navarro's grandmother are one and the same person.

What we know about the victims killed in the California wildfires

At least 29 people have died in the fires across the Los Angeles area.

www.nbcnews.com

I recognize her as someone I helped a few weeks ago.

 

[HmmMysterious]

Wtf. The winds are expected to pick up again this weekend. And there could be another Santa Ana wind event early next week. This is NOT what we and the firefighters need right now.

https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-ne...fornia-01-10-25-hnk#cm5ro5v21000v3b6onywidcvm

 

[dulcinea]

I only got part of the narration but I think they were being herded into a nearby trailer to take them to a safe site and weren't just running wild.

They reported they escaped, but I don't know from where or how.

 

[iamshadow21]

Updated shelter information, for both humans and animals:

https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/los-angeles-wildfires-palisades-eaton-california-01-10-25-hnk#cm5rp4vfz00153b6oh873fklz