CA - Wind-Driven Thomas Fire Explodes to 31,000 Acres; 150 Structures Destroyed, 2017

[Spellbound]

Thanks, SBHack. Almost there .... hope it stays tht way, or even better.

 

[DakotaMayi]

How are we all? Have we heard from our locals recently? I hope you are all well.

I took this picture early morning while taking our dog to the dog park. (I'm not much for early mornings, I'm always awake during the night instead lol - but I guess that mornings can be so beautiful). Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is it just makes me think, as I said before, how both beautiful and devastating this world can be. And skies like this make me think of you all. Everywhere. Again, as I said before, we're all looking at the same sky.

 

[margarita25]

After big wildfire losses, Southern California braces for new threat — mudslides

Southern California officials are raising the alert as major rain is forecast next week.The storm could spell trouble since some fire-scarred foothills could receive up to 4 inches of rain.Officials are warning of possible flooding, mudslides and debris flows.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/aft...ifornia-braces-for-new-threat--mudslides.html


"A winter storm is forecast to strike next week in Southern California that could bring up to 4 inches of rain and result in mudslides or flooding in some wildfire-scarred areas.

Crews were scrambling this week to clean out debris in catch basins and prepare for heavy rains forecast to fall in burn areas Tuesday into Wednesday.*The absence of vegetation and roots in burned-out hillsides and canyons makes them more susceptible to mudslides and even landslides, officials said.

"To think that there won't be flooding would be very foolish," Tom Fayram, water resources deputy director for Santa Barbara County Public Works, said in an interview Thursday. "We've actually started while the fire is still burning clearing about 11 debris basins.""

 

[margarita25]

"The region's first major winter storm could bring rain to Ventura and Santa Barbara counties where the Thomas fire has burned as well as precipitation to residential areas in Los Angeles where other recent blazes have left hillsides bare of vegetation and prone to mudslides and flooding.

"We have a lot of steep, fire-denuded hill slopes where a lot of heavy rain at once could cause flooding and debris flows," said Paul Meznarich, U.S. Forest Service spokesman for the Thomas fire, told CNBC. "We want rain but we don't want a lot of it coming down hard in a short period of time because that brings its own problems with it."

The National Weather Service is forecasting there could be about 2 to 4 inches of rain in the foothills and mountains areas of some of the recent burned areas from the approaching storm. There also is significant rain forecast for the coastal and other areas of the region.

Jayme Laber, a hydrologist at the NWS office in Oxnard, California, said forecast models are showing that rain rates Tuesday into Wednesday in recent burn areas could approach a rate of about one-half-inch an hour, or enough to trigger flashfloods and debris flows.

"Any recent burn area is considered a risk for mud and debris flow in the event there is a large amount of rain," said Capt. Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department."

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/aft...ifornia-braces-for-new-threat--mudslides.html

 

[margarita25]

SoCal Edison workers started devastating Thomas Fire, victims’ lawsuit says
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/state/california/fires/article193262809.html

"A law firm representing multiple Ventura County clients contends that Southern California Edison is responsible for the largest wildfire in modern California history, according to*a complaint filed in Ventura County Superior Court in December.

The Dec. 15 filing from Robertson & Associates contends that Edison contractors and employees were working on a “big project” near a Comcast satellite facility in Santa Paula shortly before the fire, which came to be called the Thomas Fire, broke out on the evening of Dec. 4. The complaint alleges that workers’ “construction activities caused the ignition of dry vegetation at this construction site, which set off this massive fire.”

The lawsuit also names the city of Ventura and Casitas Municipal Water District as defendants, alleging that they failed to have adequate electricity to power the fire hydrants and water pumping stations necessary to contain the fire in the early stages."

 

[margarita25]

“"(Southern California Edison Co.) had a duty to properly construct and maintain its electrical infrastructure and ensure that surrounding trees and vegetation were trimmed and kept at a safe distance,” the complaint states. “Had SCE acted responsibly, the Thomas Fire could have been prevented.”"

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/state/california/fires/article193262809.html

 

[margarita25]

Insurance companies refusing to write policies for fire-risk areas in California, report finds
http://abc7.com/insurance-companies...-for-ca-fire-risk-areas-report-finds/2864739/

"In a new report, more and more insurance companies are refusing to write policies for at-risk areas.

"This is very frustrating for homeowners to do and everything the fire officials tell them to do, at the same time the home insurer is not writing insurance," said Dave Jones, state insurance commissioner."

*more at link

 

[margarita25]

Lawsuits allege Southern California Edison negligently started Thomas fire
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...n-negligently-started-thomas-fire/1005879001/

"“Plaintiffs believe that SCE’s employees’ and/or contractors’ construction activities caused the ignition of dry vegetation at (a) construction site, which set off the massive wildfire” about 6:20 p.m. Dec. 4,*one of the suits alleges."

 

[margarita25]

“"Defendants’ electrical lines and/or equipment caused the Thomas Fire,” states the suit, filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by the Ventura law firms of Weilbacher & Weilbacher and the Law Office of Ball & Yorke.*This suit does not name Ventura or*Casitas as defendants.

Most recently, on Dec. 22, Robertson filed another suit against Edison on behalf of an Upper Ojai couple, Mark and Debra Scantlin. The suit alleges a pole-mounted Edison transformer on Koenigstein Road adjacent to the Scantlins’*property exploded about 7 p.m. Dec. 4 around 30 to 45 minutes after the Thomas fire broke out near Steckel Park about five miles away. The resulting fire destroyed the couple’s home, the suit states. Mark Scantlin is a veteran firefighter now with Federal Fire Ventura County.

“The Koenigstein (Road) fire was caused by SCE’s negligence,” the suit alleges. “Defendants failed to properly inspect and maintain electrical infrastructure and equipment which they knew, given the existing Santa Ana wind and Red Flag warning conditions, posed a risk of harm to the plaintiffs and to their*... property.

“Defendants were aware that if the transformer on Koenigstein Road*exploded and/or caught fire, the likely result would be a catastrophic wildfire,” the suit alleges."

*more at link

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...n-negligently-started-thomas-fire/1005879001/

 

[margarita25]

The grim scope of 2017’s California wildfire
season is now clear. The danger’s not over.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/california-wildfires-comparison/

"The wildfires that raced across California in 2017 caused historic levels of death and destruction.

Nearly 9,000 wildfires tore through the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land (an area the size of Delaware or*the Larsen C iceberg), destroying more than 10,800 structures and killing at least 46 people."

 

[margarita25]

Mudslide danger replaces fire threat in Southern California
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/02/us/california-thomas-fire-mudslide-threat/index.html

******

Treacherous situation as California fires leave potential for mudslides
Thomas Fire is 92 percent contained
https://www.fox4now.com/news/nation...alifornia-fires-leave-potential-for-mudslides

*******

 

[margarita25]

Major deployment to California fires ends
https://www.thesiuslawnews.com/article/major-deployment-to-california-fires-ends

"As of Jan. 1, the California Office of the State Fire Marshall and the U.S. Forest Department reported that 92 percent of the Thomas fire had been contained and personnel on scene had been reduced to 508."

 

[margarita25]

President Trump declares disaster over SoCal's Thomas Fire
https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/01/02/79481/president-trump-declares-disaster-over-socal-s-tho/

"The White House announced Tuesday that the president has granted disaster status, which will help make federal funds available to supplement recovery efforts in the wake of the Thomas Fire that ravaged Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Gov. Jerry Brown requested the declaration last month.

Firefighting costs for the blaze have approached $200 million. Brown also noted the need to help cover immense costs expected to rebuild homes, deal with economic issues and remove vast amounts of debris.

In a visit to Ventura on Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said the president's declaration will help residents rebuild after the fire destroyed more than 700 homes."

 

[margarita25]

Provo firefighters fought California fires, but made it home for holidays
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/loc...cle_db1af0d0-de18-5901-968f-b2a32682d0e6.html

*****

California Today: For Sale in Santa Rosa, Fire-Scorched Land
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/...or-sale-in-santa-rosa-fire-scorched-land.html

******

California wildfires in 2017: A staggering toll of lost life and homes
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article192402749.html

********

The Hunt for ‘Fire Cats’ Amid Northern California Ashes
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/us/fire-cats-california.html

*****

California's largest ever fire was a force that could not be stopped
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-epic-fires-california-20171231-story.html

 

[margarita25]

Checking in on IQ and WS peeps affected...

 

[shana]

Welp, I'm back in a Voluntary Evac Zone as of about 40 mins ago. New predictions say a possible 7" of rain (which is rare around these parts, especially as our drought continues for ~7 years).

Our county website has been down (again).

This link should work, an interactive map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...l=34.449200353180714,-119.56311619001309&z=11

~jmo~

 

[DakotaMayi]

Welp, I'm back in a Voluntary Evac Zone as of about 40 mins ago. New predictions say a possible 7" of rain (which is rare around these parts, especially as our drought continues for ~7 years).

Our county website has been down (again).

This link should work, an interactive map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...l=34.449200353180714,-119.56311619001309&z=11

~jmo~

Dang. Stay safe shana. Also, thanks for the link to the map. That's quite an area.

CA sleuths, check in with us when you can. :heartbeat:

 

[margarita25]

Oh no:

5 killed as mud engulfs California burn areas
http://kdvr.com/2018/01/09/crews-rescue-residents-as-mud-engulf-california-burn-areas/

 

[margarita25]

Evacuations ordered in fire-ravaged Southern California ahead of rain
www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/us/southern-california-evacuations/index.html

(*these poor guys just can not get a break!)

"Thousands of Southern Californians were ordered to evacuate Monday amid fears that heavy rainfall could trigger mudslides in regions charred by wildfires."

 

[margarita25]

Man...

From fires to floods: Danger shifts as pounding rains hit Southern California
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-mudslide-fire-danger-20180109-htmlstory.html

"Southern California*found itself in a familiar position Tuesday*morning — enduring hours of pounding rain leading to mudslides in areas recently burned by wildfires.

This a common pattern in the Southland, especially as the fall fire season gives way to the winter rainy season.

But the region is particularly vulnerable now after a December that included the Thomas fire, the largest ever recorded in California history."