CA Wildfires

[Amy]

Man...I feel so bad for everyone who's been affected by the wildfires in southern CA...

I was reading CNN this morning, and does this sound odd to anyone but me?

People left homeless by the fires can go online to apply for federal help at FEMA.gov, [Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison] said.

Also...this just BURNS me.......

The FBI and the Orange County Fire Authority are investigating the Santiago Fire that has burned 22,000 acres.

"We found multiple points of origin and that leads to us suspect arson, and our investigators confirmed this is in fact arson," said Kris Concepcion, the battalion chief for the Santiago Fire.

"Whoever has started this has started it in different points that indicate that they wanted to grow rapidly," Concepcion said on CNN's "American Morning."
The smaller Rosa Fire in Riverside County was also probably arson, state officials said.

I don't understand what someone gets out of starting something like this. Do they just enjoy seeing thousands of people being thrown on the streets? All of the wildlife having to flee for their lives? I don't get it.

[stopthekilling77]

having lots of family in southern california, i worry every time i hear about the fires, and this time of year is definitely the season for wildfires. as for arson, i don't understand it either, at this scale. motivations (although not justified) are easier to understand on a smaller level, like if someone burned down a warehouse they got fired from, or something like that. but innocent people getting hurt? i think someone has a god complex...

[Darkstar]

I havent been on the forum too much with the fire and evacuations. I had about a dozen evacuees staying with me till last night, people are being allowed to return to their homes in certain areas now.
As for going online for help, i think FEMA is just trying to jumpstart the help process, although it sounds a little odd being homeless but...
My wireless group has set up mesh networks at the large evacuation centers with loaners and group members setting up laptops for the evacuees to use and alot of them with their own wireless devices. There has been a huge outpouring of help here locally and around the nation for the people unfortunate enough to have lost their homes and belongings, Qualcomm stadium even had to start turning donations away they were getting so much.

dave

[Amy]

Qualcomm stadium even had to start turning donations away they were getting so much.

What sort of donations were they turning away? That just sounds a bit silly...there are always people in need that they could distribute the donations to, even if they aren't victims of the fire....

[vicaphit]

It's good to hear about people inviting evacuees into thier houses... Good work Darkstar

My father works for the US Forrest Service, and he used to go on forrest fire missions every year. Thankfully, he got too old to do it anymore!

He said that they would get to houses that were at the top of hills with brush all around and they would have to skip saving that house because there was no way to stop the fires from getting to it.

[Bio-Hazard]

Fires can be and always will be a pain in the butt............ . To bad there wasn't any big support action for the huge Colorado forest fire 6 years ago that drove me out and caused me to end up here in Missouri. We weren't allowed back into the area for over 6 weeks and didn't get a hand from anyone (state or fed), lost my business and basicly everything I had. That fire was also started by a pissed off person (now doing big time in the big house).

The premiere fire that year was the Hayman which burned 138,000 acres and 133 homes in 20 days. It still holds the record for being Colorado's largest wildfire ever. Most of the fire {72%) stayed on the Pike National Forest south and west of Denver and northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Enough fire escaped national forest lands to cause significant private damage.

http://forestry.about.com/od/forestfire ... s_na_3.htm

[dicecca112]

Qualcomm stadium even had to start turning donations away they were getting so much.

What sort of donations were they turning away? That just sounds a bit silly...there are always people in need that they could distribute the donations to, even if they aren't victims of the fire....

There are limits as to what a computer system can handle, most likely the donations where done online, and it couldn't handle the server load.

-or-

They underestimated the amount of money, and didn't have an account set up that could handle the amount

[vbironchef]

I donated at work. 90% goes to wildfire victims and 10% goes to the red cross. I live in the santa clarita area and we had it pretty bad here too. Power surges made my computers raid 0 raptors fail. Had to reload windows.
I wish the best for all the victims of the fires.

[Darkstar]

I heard most of the donations that were turned away were perishables, i'm sure they suggested other sites to donate, but with the logistics of feeding and setting up for over 10,000 people they didnt have much time to re distribute things. Personally i think the best way to deal with Arsonist would be to air drop them butt naked into the middle of the fire and let them know that all charges will be dismissed when they make it out.

thanks,
David

[moon111]

I'll make a couple of policially-incorrect comments.

Coming from Northern Ontario, it's quite common for Indians to set fires, because often they'll be hired to fight them.

When I see these fires which seem to be deliberately set, how easy it would be for terrorists to wreak havoc. No matter how big one's military is, a policy of trying to be friendly with others is the best defense.

[stev]

When I worked and lived in M!CH!GAN, the company I worked at was located next to the interstate and the on-ramp. Some lady early afternoon tossed a lit cigarette butt out the car window. The area hadn't had rain in over 90 days. The smoke and flames engulfed the entire industrial complex. Before the fire trucks could get to us, many of us ran outside with the building heavy duty hand fire extingishers to keep back the fire to our cars and the building. There was no way out to exit the complex due to the fire! If the fire would have reached the DuPont chemical building, it may have become a bomb!

[moon111]

When I worked and lived in M!CH!GAN, the company I worked at was located next to the interstate and the on-ramp. Some lady early afternoon tossed a lit cigarette butt out the car window. The area hadn't had rain in over 90 days. The smoke and flames engulfed the entire industrial complex. Before the fire trucks could get to us, many of us ran outside with the building heavy duty hand fire extingishers to keep back the fire to our cars and the building. There was no way out to exit the complex due to the fire! If the fire would have reached the DuPont chemical building, it may have become a bomb!

My father drove logging truck. They weren't allowed to smoke filtered cigerettes. I was amazed at how quickly he could roll a smoke with one hand while driving.

We had our shop truck served by the Ford Dealership. I think they pulled the axles to do the rear brakes or something. Our driver got on the highway and a short time later felt like he had driven over a landmine. The diesel rev'd way faster then it should, the transmission grenaded, the driveshaft bounced out. Why? They forgot to refill the differential and it got so hot, it literately melted out of it's housing. The red-hot differential rolled off to the side and set all the grass on fire. The dealership went good for a new axle/shaft/tranny, but didn't touch the engine. I'm not too sure I'd by happy knowing my diesel was rev'd past the redline like that.