Fires in California

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

The top three causes of disastrous wildfires in So Cal:

1. Human caused, arson
2. Human caused, accidental
3. Wind damaged power lines

Actually number 3 is human caused, accidental. The arsonists usually don't come out until the Santa Ana winds come up late in the fall (not that they are inclined to wait for perfect conditions.

I've also found this website to be pretty good for fire information; CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS

[ehcsrop]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

Actually number 3 is human caused, accidental. The arsonists usually don't come out until the Santa Ana winds come up late in the fall (not that they are inclined to wait for perfect conditions.

I don't think he meant those to be in any order. And, he forgot lightening. That's the no. 1 cause, if you want to make an order of incidence. There is one other documented fire starter, but I don't think you'll find it on any list. That would be the prism or magnifying phenomenon of broken glass.

I guess you could chalk that up to "human caused, accidental."

(BTW, I said "he." I don't know that fontucky is a he. I'm new )

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

climate allows more plants than AZ, which in the summer dry up. poor management by state and national park systems(too much kindling because of decades of fire prevention without any significant clearing of dead and dying plants otherwise) contributes significantly. fire is the natural method of ensuring the health of forest and plant ecosystems. the strongest/best adapted plants and animals survive, the dead and dying are killed off, and new stronger growth follows it. by not allowing these natural clearings to happen, and doing little to clean up otherwise, we get these mega-fires we have today, and things like the bark beetle spreading across our forests killing everything in its path

I'm curious why they don't do controlled burning when there is more moisture and less risk of the fire getting out of control? Here in the southeast the forestry dept will set fires in the winter to burn off the over grown brush and pine needle build-up. A lot of people don't realize that by continuously putting these fires out that they are actually making it worse in the long run.

[Fontucky]

Terrain, terrain, terrain.

They don't like to do controlled burning in the mountains because of the danger of disastrous floods and mudslides when the rains come. Keep in mind, what you people call mountains, we call small hills.

So allow the brush and duff to build up, you get fires that take out homes. Denude the watershed, and Mother Nature will make sure she takes homes with mud, boulders and torrents of water. Around here, when Mother Nature wants something, she gets it... one way or the other.

We're damned if we do and damned if we don't, so we accept our fate, just like we do with the earthquakes. Some things can't be controlled.

[Charles]

NBC is reporting the north LA fire was caused by arson.


L.A. fire called arson; homicide probe begins - Life- msnbc.com

[bjh]

Interesting. Is there any trend in who is setting these or why, when they are set deliberately?

[bhcompy]

Most of the time it's pretty random. Sometimes it's a cigarette butt from a car, the fire in Santa Barbara was set by a cookfire from illegal marijuana growers, sometimes it's some dumb kid trying to show off

[ehcsrop]

Arson is what is being reported. A cigarette butt would be ruled accidental but still carry an arson charge. It will be interesting to see what comes of this, whether it was intentional or unintentional.

This year a worker was sentenced for his role in the Catalina fire. He was using a cutting torch. The first day he started a fire and was able to put it out. The second day it got away. Certainly he was guilty of gross stupidity and negligence. But, that second day's events were avoidable more so than the first. I'd say the man was guilty of more of an intentional crime than an unintentional one.

What this has to do with the Station fire, I don't know.

[Mr. Insurance]

Arson, sounds like what they are blaming it on. I am not sure what the cause it but, I am pretty sure someone started it from all the news I am hearing.

[yukiko11]

California has a unique set of circumstances during fire season.
Hot weather, careless campers, dry brush which can ignite even healthy trees,lightening strikes, wood shake roofs, and the Santana winds which can blow up to 100mph. Also of course is Arson. There are a lot of crazy as well as criminal residents and transients in CA who would do such a thing just for fun or the thrill of it.
There are laws about clearing brush from your property, but many people ignore them.
That coupled with homeowners who want to build in more rural places even though they are warned against it adds up to disaster.
I lived in CA from 1950 until 1991 and every year was the same with fires somewhere. Every few years there was a fire storm that wiped out a whole community like the one in the Hollywood Hills or a couple in Malibu. Just like the people who keep rebuilding their homes on hurricane prone beaches, people in CA rebuild and refuse to listen.
Arizona doesn't burn because most people have very minimal landscaping, there are no wood roofs and the wind conditions are not as major.