Dumbfuck in charge

[jhawks99]

According to the forest rangers I've talked to, putting out small fires leads to big fires. We've put out anything that burns for decades and allowed tinder build up. They've gone away from that the last 10 years or so, but a lot of that damage is already done. Combine with drought, low humidity, and high winds and there ya go. Time to blame the democrats.

[zsn]

Much of the recent devastating wildfires have happened in urban/suburban areas, just to be clear. Also, they were likely caused by negligence on the part of a privately held utility company. So, yes, let's blame the Democrats.

[Deleted User 183]

"they" = plural. Right? There have been multiple UNRELATED fires in California and NO, not ALL of them were likely caused by negligence on the part of a privately held utility company.
So NO, let's not blame the Democrats. Or go ahead and blame them and see how that works out for and you everybody who is dead and/or have lost their homes and businesses.

http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents

[Deleted User 89]

problem is, in any area you’ve got the potential for 4 or 5 different levels of management. even at the federal level, national parks’ forests aren’t managed in the same way actual national forests are. i’d image forests in national monuments are different too.

then add a number of different state agencies and private land owners...good luck getting everyone on the same page, given that they all have different uses of the land

[Geezer]

How do you make money clearing brush?

[twocoach]

How do you make money clearing brush?

Trump could just tell his base that all the smoke would piss off California liberals and they'd pay to do the job.

[DrPepper]

25 years ago I carried a red card. I too was taught that a long history of putting out all fires was creating a tinderbox. Fires are natural, but that doesn’t mix well with a bajillion humans all wanting to live in the forest.

[Deleted User 89]

just don’t tell drumpf about bark beetles...

[Shirley]

Of course:

President Trump on Sunday gave himself an “A-plus” on his presidency, but questioned whether he could get an even higher rating.

“Look, I hate to do it, but I will do it, I would give myself an A-plus,” he told Fox News’s Chris Wallace. “Is that enough? Can I go higher than that?”

[Deleted User 183]

He hates to do it because he would rather be a worse President?
DIC is too kind of a moniker for him.

[zsn]

I live in Northern California, and unfortunately know several victims of recent fires, either directly or indirectly. Even though we’re a couple of hundred miles away we can smell and see smoke.

For me ‘recent’ goes back at least a couple of years, as these fires are becoming a regular event. I don’t mean to suggest that the utilities are/were responsible for ALL the fires. In my book any number above one is a problem. They have been implicated in a few of the largest fires, the one in Santa Rosa last year, the one in Butte county now and one in Santa Monica now.

I am very disgusted by the actions of said utility going back several years. I passed by within half a mile and 30 minutes before of the gas line explosion in San Bruno, and saw the smoke for the next day from my lab window. I am very disgusted with the way regulators have been cozy with utility management.

Sorry about my ‘sarcasm font’ being off with my blame the Democrats comment. I was trying to reflect the previous comment. But I am very disappointed that the Legislature (controlled overwhelmingly by Dems) has not exercised its oversight responsibility- I say this as a Dem supporter.

DfIC’s comments are not helpful, but you already know that.

BTW, please listen to this report. I spoke to Jose’s daughter yesterday about making a donation. Since the evacuees are being moved today they don’t know when they will be bringing food to the victims, and she said that they are not accepting donations now. I said that could use the money for the food they already provided but she declined to accept. Please watch for a GoFundMe page and help if you’re able.

https://www.pri.org/file/2018-11-16/tac ... e-evacuees

[Deleted User 89]

jackassery...

https://www.newsweek.com/video-retired- ... ry-1221311

[Deleted User 183]

The DIC think's it's funny acting like a 6 year old? Adam Schitt?
This is the guy way too many people feel is "Presidential".

https://www.politicususa.com/2018/11/18 ... fires.html

[ousdahl]

perhaps the president deserves the benefit of the doubt on that one...

I mean, maybe he wasn't trying to make a poop joke, and it was just a run-of-the-mill presidential typo?

[Geezer]

[seahawk]

Zsn, didn’t California have a very wet year last year? I only ask because we had a year a few years ago with way more than usual amounts of rain, followed by a year with lots of fires due to all the “fuel” that had grown up after the rain.

[zsn]

Yes, sea, 2016-17 winter was very wet (following five years of drought) which led to unusually severe fires in summer-fall of 2017. Several of these were "grass fires" which happen in the chapparal areas (dry brush). Many were not really "forest fires". In some cases these got out of control and caused secondary fires, which were even more severe. The 2017-18 brought us only about 65% of normal rainfall, so the growth wasn't particularly unusual. Unfortunately, the rain pattern has been affected - we have not had a single drop of rain this season - first rainfalls are typically in mid-late October. First forecasted rain is for a few days from now, which is Thanksgiving! We're in the "we'll believe it when we see it" mode. One firefighter remarked, in response to a quip about having an "extended fire-season", "I don't think we have a fire-season anymore. It's now year round".

One could argue that Finland has less severe fires because they have socialized healthcare. Has about as much correlation as raking.

[Geezer]

The climate of Finland is characterized by long and cold winters, and by short, mild and moderately rainy summers. Among the Scandinavian countries, Finland is the one with the coldest climate, due to the proximity to Russia.
Across the country, precipitation is not very abundant, and it ranges from 400 millimeters (15.5 inches) per year in the extreme north-east, to 650 mm (25.5 in) in the east and south, and to 700 mm (27.5 in) in the south-western tip (see Turku); however, it is quite frequent, and well distributed throughout the year.
The rainiest periods are summer and autumn. In the center-south, generally August is a bit rainier than July. The least rainy (and snowy) period is the one that runs from February to April. In winter, a light snow often falls, which may not even be counted in the statistics (if it does not reach a minimum amount of equivalent rain).

[chiknbut]

[dolomite]

Cool, thanks