Forest Fires

[Peaches]

Yesterday on our way home we drove through a forest fire which started about half an hour previously ... this fire is now burning out of control. Had we not decided to come home a day early we may have been stranded and blocked by the fires. A fire in the Park across from my residence had a fire started but apparently has been quickly contained. Some 6,500 homes, housing an estimated 17,000 people are under evacuation orders. according to the fire chief, these fires are not contained. No rain is expected and only a 60% chance of rain on Thursday. weather is dry & hot and some winds.

According to Wilde, the Ministry of Forests expects to have 150 personnel on the fire Sunday. That's in addition to 100-plus fire fighting personnel plus 10 helicopters and four water tankers.

With efforts being concentrated on controlling the blazes, police and fire officials are not actively investigating the cause of the fire.

However, according to Wilde, lightning has been ruled out as cause. "Your guess is as good as mine" was his response when when asked if the fires could have been set.

[bozodog]

Scary stuff, Peaches. Glad you made it home and you're safe.

Here's a video

[baker7]

Peaches:

I, too, am glad that you are safe - Looks like the fires are bad from looking at the pictures - Take care of yourself and be safe

Brian

[Peaches]

Thank you for your wishes. Only one fire is partially contained and others are still raging. Winds have died down today so not spreading as rapidly ... latest update is that 6,000 residents are permitted to return to their homes in the area where the fires have been reasonably contained. Highways are still closed to traffic. It is now believed the fires were not caused by lightening but by humans. How they were started is yet to be determined.

I am okay as I live across the lake from the major fires ... the one that started almost across the street from me was quickly contained by the use of water bombers. Even so, I was preparing to evacuate but the danger is no longer there.

[Pete_C]

I think if I lived in a fireprone area I would definitely have a large underground cistern hooked to the gutters and a swimming pool and a huge pump (with a generator or just a diesel powered pump) and a sprinkler / fountain system designed to soak the roof and house.

Of course a standing seam metal roof would not hurt either.

Or maybe just build the whole thing underground.

It really confuses me why these people in malibu and wealthy parts of California have huge swimming pools but no provision to use them to keep the house wet in the case of an impending fire. Seems it would be faster and cheaper to drain clean and refill the pool after it saved your house than to clean up the burned out shell and rebuild.

After all the pool will get dirty anyhow if there is a huge fire nearby.