The West is on fire

[apl68]

I wonder if there could be any way to detect them sooner. Technology? Of course I'm not the first smart person asking this.

Even with quick detection, in very dry conditions these fires can blow up to unmanageable levels with blinding speed.  They're often already seriously out of control before firefighters can be mobilized and gotten to the scene. 

[apl68]

A few years ago we discovered the hard way that our public utility, with private investors (what could possibly go wrong) was underfunding their capital maintenance programs.

That's a dramatically underinformed statement of the whole reality.  Yes, some utilities underfunded, but they and other agencies were legally prevented from good land management that includes reducing what fires can do as they burn.

We have real land management here based on science that includes just letting things burn because we're not highly populated right next to overgrown fuel-rich forests.  California is the poster child for failure on science lessons from wild land and forest management because the environmental activists are not scientists and get enacted legal protections that are misguided in achieving the stated goals.

Articles I've seen on the subject have indicated that opposition to proper controlled burning in California isn't so much from environmentalists--they mostly seem to understand the need by now--as from not-in-my-back-yard objections to controlled burns, and lack of budget to manage controlled burns.

[Thursday's_Child]

https://wildfiretoday.com/   has lots of good information

[spork]

100K people ordered to evacuate in Oregon?

[eigen]

100K people ordered to evacuate in Oregon?

And around 500k evacuated whether mandatory or recommended.

A fair number are also evacuating to escape the smoke and really horrible air quality. It's been in the 400-600 range consistently for a few days.

[Caracal]

A few years ago we discovered the hard way that our public utility, with private investors (what could possibly go wrong) was underfunding their capital maintenance programs.

That's a dramatically underinformed statement of the whole reality.  Yes, some utilities underfunded, but they and other agencies were legally prevented from good land management that includes reducing what fires can do as they burn.

We have real land management here based on science that includes just letting things burn because we're not highly populated right next to overgrown fuel-rich forests.  California is the poster child for failure on science lessons from wild land and forest management because the environmental activists are not scientists and get enacted legal protections that are misguided in achieving the stated goals.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/nov/12/donald-trump/trumps-overly-simplistic-and-false-claim-californi/

These claims appear to be false.

[nescafe]

Spouse and I are in CA but are okay. His aunt had to evacuate in a hurry two weeks ago. When she was allowed to return home, she discovered her house was fine, but her neighbor four doors down lost everything.

[Parasaurolophus]

The smoke has gotten considerably worse since yesterday, and we're in Eye of Sauron territory again for the first time in a couple years. I can no longer see either the ocean or the mountains (which are just a couple of klicks away). Actually, a lot of the trees further down my hill are starting to disappear from view.

[spork]

2049 arrived earlier than expected.

[hmaria1609]

I didn't realize the smoke had spread for miles and miles.  Stay safe and let us know how you're doing when you can.

[larryc]

i am in Spokane. Earlier this week we had lightning and a day of 50 mph winds across the state, there were some vicious fires. Two tiny towns to the south burned up completely, they are gone. Today the smoke blanket moved in and the air is basically unbreathable, just short of 500 on the pollution scale right now. I ran out this morning and got some of the last furnace filters and box fans and made some DIY air filters. Dropped one off at an elderly colleague's home.

Good luck everyone!

[Puget]

i am in Spokane. Earlier this week we had lightning and a day of 50 mph winds across the state, there were some vicious fires. Two tiny towns to the south burned up completely, they are gone. Today the smoke blanket moved in and the air is basically unbreathable, just short of 500 on the pollution scale right now. I ran out this morning and got some of the last furnace filters and box fans and made some DIY air filters. Dropped one off at an elderly colleague's home.

Good luck everyone!

Hope they work and things improve soon larryc!

My parents are on the other side of the state-- there's briefly got above 300 but is now back to around 200 in the merely "unhealthy" range. I think most of their smoke is from the fires in Oregon.

Meanwhile, friends in Colorado sent pictures of hiking in the snow with clear blue skies after the freak early snowstorm there suppressed the big fire on the northern edge of RMNP. That cold front was a most welcome invasion from Canada (though not for farmers)!

[eigen]

i am in Spokane. Earlier this week we had lightning and a day of 50 mph winds across the state, there were some vicious fires. Two tiny towns to the south burned up completely, they are gone. Today the smoke blanket moved in and the air is basically unbreathable, just short of 500 on the pollution scale right now. I ran out this morning and got some of the last furnace filters and box fans and made some DIY air filters. Dropped one off at an elderly colleague's home.

Good luck everyone!

Yeah, this is where we've been for almost a week now. AQI raises and drops over the day from around 200 at the lowest to around 600 at the highest. Thankfully the fires aren't moving closer, but we're otherwise right on the edge of the current evacuation zones.

The box fans + filters do a really good job. Thankfully our house is also pretty well insulated so not a lot is going in.

Plastic + tape over things like bathroom fans / fireplaces / kitchen fans can help a lot too.

[Economizer]

A few years ago we discovered the hard way that our public utility, with private investors (what could possibly go wrong) was underfunding their capital maintenance programs.

That's a dramatically underinformed statement of the whole reality.  Yes, some utilities underfunded, but they and other agencies were legally prevented from good land management that includes reducing what fires can do as they burn.

We have real land management here based on science that includes just letting things burn because we're not highly populated right next to overgrown fuel-rich forests.  California is the poster child for failure on science lessons from wild land and forest management because the environmental activists are not scientists and get enacted legal protections that are misguided in achieving the stated goals.

And planning and zoning!

A few years ago we discovered the hard way that our public utility, with private investors (what could possibly go wrong) was underfunding their capital maintenance programs.

That's a dramatically underinformed statement of the whole reality.  Yes, some utilities underfunded, but they and other agencies were legally prevented from good land management that includes reducing what fires can do as they burn.

We have real land management here based on science that includes just letting things burn because we're not highly populated right next to overgrown fuel-rich forests.  California is the poster child for failure on science lessons from wild land and forest management because the environmental activists are not scientists and get enacted legal protections that are misguided in achieving the stated goals.

[pgher]

I take a trip each fall out to a western state. My mom has found something new to worry about besides me getting COVID-19 from one of my students. I tried to tell her that there isn't an active fire within 100 miles of my destination. Distances out west are just so big compared to the east coast. All of New England would fit comfortably inside California.