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Merged LA Wildfires/Malibu Barbie Evacuated from Dream House

Donald on the fires.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump

Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way. He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn't work!), but didn't care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!
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There is no shortage of water in the reservoirs in Southern California. Metropolitan Water District's Diamond Valley is 97% full.
 
jt512 said:
...The winds are supposed to pick up again through the weekend, so we are not completely out of the woods, but I would be pretty surprised at this point if we had to evacuate...
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Best of luck, hope everything is okay.

Meanwhile, from NBC4 Los Angeles:
  • A state of emergency remains in effect for Los Angeles city and county Friday as destructive fires continue to burn through the area.
  • Officials say thousands of structures have been destroyed, with the devastation from the Eaton and Palisades fires being compared to war zones.
  • At least 10 people have died in the fires, officials say. That number is expected to rise as investigators are able to enter devastated neighborhoods.
NBC Los Angeles link
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As for trump, continuing to refer to Gov. Newsom as Newscum, what adult would act that way, never mind an American president. And no words to convey support or empathy for the people going through this horrible event. That at least is easy to understand. I'm sure trump couldn't care less.
 
Andy_Ross said:
Forest management?

Strange it isn't needed anywhere else to stop cities but ing.

What exactly does it entail other than getting rid of it?
Maybe they should have raked the leaves.
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Maybe it was Jewish Space Lasers.
 
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Andy_Ross said:
There is no shortage of water in the reservoirs in Southern California. Metropolitan Water District's Diamond Valley is 97% full.
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There’s also no such thing as the “water restoration declaration”.

Trump is - once again - spreading lies and using the pain and suffering of other people to score cheap political points. Imagine voting for this.
 
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theprestige said:
California wildfires are anything but a natural disaster.

It's hard to imagine a more thoroughly managed wilderness than the California back country. It's also hard to imagine a more thoroughly mismanaged wilderness than the California back country.

Maybe the Russian Federation has form.
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What specifically should CA be doing / not doing?
 
newyorkguy said:
Best of luck, hope everything is okay.

Meanwhile, from NBC4 Los Angeles:

As for trump, continuing to refer to Gov. Newsom as Newscum, what adult would act that way, never mind an American president. And no words to convey support or empathy for the people going through this horrible event. That at least is easy to understand. I'm sure trump couldn't care less.
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Sociopaths got to do sociopathic things.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
LA increased the budget for the PD and decreased the budget for the Fire Department -because that's a job for felons.
Cops will have to do the most important job in any natural disaster: shoot anyone who locks like a looter to them.

In order to help, Biden authorized $8 billion to help - Israel, because they need it more than Americans.
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Newsweek, ABC, and Politico are reporting that this is a misreading. of the facts. When the budget was being negotiated, approx $75 mil was set aside during negotiations, making it look like their budget was cut. When negotiations concluded, it was released to the firefighters, resulting in a $50 million increase.
 
Thermal said:
Newsweek, ABC, and Politico are reporting that this is a misreading. of the facts. When the budget was being negotiated, approx $75 mil was set aside during negotiations, making it look like their budget was cut. When negotiations concluded, it was released to the firefighters, resulting in a $50 million increase.
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Damn, somebody should tell the fire chief that, because she's on TV saying there was a $17 million budget cut and that it affected the response.
 
Thermal said:
Newsweek, ABC, and Politico are reporting that this is a misreading. of the facts. When the budget was being negotiated, approx $75 mil was set aside during negotiations, making it look like their budget was cut. When negotiations concluded, it was released to the firefighters, resulting in a $50 million increase.
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Yeah it doesn't seem to be as clear cut as "The LAFD had their budget cut" and I've seen sources making opposite claims about it. However, the amount being discussed is approximately 2% of the overall LAFD budget and there's no evidence that any of this impacted the LAFD response to these fires.
 
Brainster said:
Damn, somebody should tell the fire chief that, because she's on TV saying there was a $17 million budget cut and that it affected the response.
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Looking forward to you providing the damning quote where she explicitly says this. Once you provide that, I'll be providing other quotes from her and we'll see if they overall support your claim.
 
One of the neighborhoods that has had severe destruction was Altadena, northeast of LA, about four miles above Pasadena. The New York Times reports:
With the winds subsiding, at least temporarily, on Thursday, the still-raging fire eased away from Altadena and back into the foothills, giving residents their first chance to return. Cathy Smythe stood on the grounds of what had been her home on Altadena’s Alta Pine Drive, sifting through ash and rubble. She and her husband had left in a hurry before the flames swept down from the nearby San Gabriel mountains, consuming their home of 24 years along with most of the surrounding houses. Now she surveyed the damage. “There’s a lot of memories in this house,” Ms. Smythe said, her voice cracking. “It’s hard to leave.”

About 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate this week in the face of the Eaton fire, hurriedly leaving homes, cars and prized possessions — the makings of entire lifetimes — amid howling winds driving an insatiable firestorm. New York Times article link
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Residents returning to their neighborhood.

1736528909062.webp
 
Meantime, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that one of the aircraft fighting the fires in the Palisades area was put out of commission Thursday after a mid-air collision with a privately owned drone. The "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft, Quebec 1, landed safely; the drone was destroyed. The operator of the drone is not known. From the Times:

In a separate statement released Thursday, the FAA warned against flying drones near the wildfires. It pointed to a temporary flight restriction issued for wide swaths of airspace blanketing Los Angeles. Still, several people posted what appeared to be drone photos and videos of the restricted areas online. Among the first were still images of a devastated neighborhood in Pacific Palisades. The photographer has since taken his photos down, but they spread far and wide on the web, becoming some of the signature images of the Palisades fire.

The backlash was swift: Fellow photographers and drone experts flooded the photographer’s other Instagram posts with comments. “Bro that drone shot is going viral … what were you thinking??” cinematographer Nathan Furniss wrote on Instagram. “Please don’t fly your drone around active fires, it’s dangerous enough as is,” wrote a drone enthusiast commenter. “regards, all low level operators.” Los Angeles Times article link
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On left, a Super Scooper in action. Right damage to wing of Quebec 1.
1736530233106.png
 
johnny karate said:
Looking forward to you providing the damning quote where she explicitly says this. Once you provide that, I'll be providing other quotes from her and we'll see if they overall support your claim.
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She mentions the $17 million budget cut several times in the first minute of the interview.

At 1:28 into the clip:

Norah O'Donnell: With all due respect, in December you had warned that the budget cuts would severely limit your ability to respond to a large-scale emergency. Is that true or not?

LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley: Yes, so I would say yes, we were limited to a certain factor.

Looking forward to the other quotes from her.
 
Brainster said:
She mentions the $17 million budget cut several times in the first minute of the interview.

At 1:28 into the clip:

Norah O'Donnell: With all due respect, in December you had warned that the budget cuts would severely limit your ability to respond to a large-scale emergency. Is that true or not?

LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley: Yes, so I would say yes, we were limited to a certain factor.

Looking forward to the other quotes from her.
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I don't have time stamps, but here you go:

"The $17 million cut we had to take from somewhere and that was from the non-essential duties and responsibilities."

"In a wind event like this... something that is as significant as this particular fire... if I had a thousand engines to throw at this fire, I honestly don't think 1,000 engines at that very moment could have tapped this fire down."

Seems pretty unclear to me what if any effect a 2% budget cut had on the response, and as someone who tries to exercise critical thinking, that would lead me to not make a definitive statement about it one way or the other.

On the other had, it warms my heart to see a conservative take issue with the potential harm that can be caused by budget cuts to essential services. Not that I believe it's remotely sincere or will ever be applied to Republican budget cuts, but hey, you take your wins where you can.
 
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newyorkguy said:
Meantime, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that one of the aircraft fighting the fires in the Palisades area was put out of commission Thursday after a mid-air collision with a privately owned drone. The "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft, Quebec 1, landed safely; the drone was destroyed. The operator of the drone is not known. From the Times:



On left, a Super Scooper in action. Right damage to wing of Quebec 1.
View attachment 58424
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I don't support capital punishment, but would be open to the idea of applying to whomever is operating these drones and the social media "influencers" showing up at the fires for photo ops. ◊◊◊◊ these people directly into the sun.
 
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johnny karate said:
Yeah it doesn't seem to be as clear cut as "The LAFD had their budget cut" and I've seen sources making opposite claims about it. However, the amount being discussed is approximately 2% of the overall LAFD budget and there's no evidence that any of this impacted the LAFD response to these fires.
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Probably like a lot of things: the math is murky and complicated. Probably true what she says though, that it doesn't matter how much equipment she had at her disposal. These things are massive and not likely to be contained by people any more than a bunch of shock absorbers would contain an earthquake.
 
Thermal said:
Probably like a lot of things: the math is murky and complicated. Probably true what she says though, that it doesn't matter how much equipment she had at her disposal. These things are massive and not likely to be contained by people any more than a bunch of shock absorbers would contain an earthquake.
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100% this. The two biggest factors were the drought and the winds, both being historically bad, and the priority now should be getting through this crisis and getting help to the those who need it.

People trying to make political hay of this moment can join the drone operators and influencers and get ◊◊◊◊◊◊ directly into the aforementioned sun.
 
These LA fires are not just devastating to humans...


Actor driving into LA fire zones to rescue pets and people left behind
Thu, January 9, 2025 at 5:57 AM PST

An actor has been driving into the fire zones in LA and risking his life to rescue pets and people left behind. When William McNamara, 59, who lives in Santa Monica, California, saw a plume of smoke rising above the city, he took to the streets. Known for his roles in NYPD Blue, Law & Order: SVU, he also has a history of performing high-stakes rescue on National Geographic's Animal Intervention show. He has spent the last few days driving his rental car around Pacific Palisades, to save people and pets - even venturing behind police and fire lines. His shocking videos show him staggeringly close to the flames as he pulls them to safety and into his rental car.
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-
 
jt512 said:
I'm in the evacuation warning area of the Eaton fire. I took one look at the flames Tuesday evening when the fire had just started and immediately packed up the car. We were directly downwind of the fire and it looked like we might have to get out fast. But by midnight the winds, which had been gusting up to 100 mph, had shifted enough that we were no longer directly downwind. By 3:00 a.m. I decided we were safe enough that I could go to sleep. Then, at 7:00 a.m. (Wednesday) I was awoken by an emergency alert saying that the evacuation warning area had been extended to include our neighborhood. But the winds subsided somewhat throughout the day and by the end of the day I figured it would be unlikely we would have to evacuate. Today (Thursday) the winds died down further and I finally unpacked the car. The winds are supposed to pick up again through the weekend, so we are not completely out of the woods, but I would be pretty surprised at this point if we had to evacuate.

Currently, the fire is burning on Mt. Wilson, and the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory is under threat.
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Scary! Sympathy.

Having had to pack up our things on the day of the Ash Wednesday bushfires, I know what that's like. Back in those days, we just had the radio, and hadn't heard exactly how far away the fire was.

At least these days you have alerts and online mapping. Stay informed!
 
johnny karate said:
It’s weird that people are talking about forest management in a thread that has nothing to do with forests. It gives the impression that they don’t have the first ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ clue what they’re talking about.
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Seeing the devastation at Altadena I was surprised to see many blocks of houses absolutely leveled, but lots of trees still standing among them. I find that very odd. (No, it's not a proposal for a dumb conspiracy theory -- it just doesn't seem to make sense.)
 
alfaniner said:
Seeing the devastation at Altadena I was surprised to see many blocks of houses absolutely leveled, but lots of trees still standing among them. I find that very odd. (No, it's not a proposal for a dumb conspiracy theory -- it just doesn't seem to make sense.)
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Depends on the type of tree, some have high moisture content while they're alive, high enough to resist burning.
 
alfaniner said:
Seeing the devastation at Altadena I was surprised to see many blocks of houses absolutely leveled, but lots of trees still standing among them. I find that very odd. (No, it's not a proposal for a dumb conspiracy theory -- it just doesn't seem to make sense.)
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TragicMonkey said:
Depends on the type of tree, some have high moisture content while they're alive, high enough to resist burning.
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....and the wood of the houses has had years to dry out. A house can easily be more flammable than the vegetation around it. Once one house really starts to go, the radiant heat can be enough to alight the house next door, even to ignite things inside the house that are near windows, like curtains. All the talk of land and vegetation management, but once it gets going in an older, densely packed subdivision, the houses themselves become the primary fuel source and the primary thing propagating the spread of the fire.

The ember storms are crazy to see. Attic vents, bits of fluff under roof tiles, rain gutters... Any space big enough to collect dust can collect a few embers and start to smolder.
 
Donald says

Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump

One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It's ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!
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Elon says

Elon Musk
@elonmusk

It’s over for Gavin
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Okay, this is supposed to be a skeptic's board. This is an active large-scale disaster and there is no "Big Picture" as far as the facts go.

Here's the background:

1. Southern California (SoCal) has had a dry winter thus far after a summer of record-setting heat.
2. A HIGH WIND WARNING was issued last Sunday night before the fires, and was for LA County, Santa Cruz County, and parts of the northern coastal mountain areas.
3. A RED FLAG WARNING was issued for SoCal from Ventura County, LA County, and other SoCal counties. A Red Flag Warning means there is a high potential for wildfire. CalFire and just about all local city, and county fire departments were put on alert.
4. The winds arrived as predicted with average sustained speeds of 50mph, and guts up to 99mph.
5. The Palicades Fire was reported at 10:30AM. 7, January.
6. The Eaton Fire was reported at 6:18PM, 7, January.
7. The Hurst Fire was reported at 10:29PM, 7, January
8. The Lidia Fire was reported at 2:07PM, 8, January.
9. The Kenneth Fire was reported at 3:34PM, 9, January.
10. The Archer Fire was reported at 11:24AM, 10, January (today)

The high winds made interdiction by aircraft impossible on January 7, and the winds pushed, and spread the fire quickly. To understand these fires you need to understand topography. Those winds blowing through the canyons create a blow-torch effect that blows up small fires into Godzilla, and embers can fly up to a mile starting more fires, and quickly enveloping the area with a situation beyond the control of most fire departments. The fight stops being about putting out the fire, and shifts to containing it. The winds and topography in these areas made containment impossible without airtankers, and there was almost 30 hours without air support over a fire spreading under 40-60mph wind sustained winds. Nine and a half million people live in Los Angeles County. None of them were complaining about infrastructure on New Year's Day. Now everyone in California is getting a crash course in what state and local governments do, and don't do.

Meanwhile, nobody in LA County really knows what's going on. The scope of this disaster is off the charts, and only a 6.5+ earthquake down there would overtake it. It will take year to sort out all the issues with these fires on the optimistic side. Be careful of what you read and what you think is true until the fires are all out.

Here's CalFire's Incident page:

Incidents | CAL FIRE

www.fire.ca.gov www.fire.ca.gov

I will point out that LA County had a voter turnout of 25%, and the entire state of California had a voter turnout of 28.98% in 2024. I voted. You get the government you vote for. Or don't vote for.
 
Orphia Nay said:
At least these days you have
alerts and online mapping. Stay informed!
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My sister is close to the "kenneth" fire, but for the moment she's safe because she's upwind. Yesterday LA County sent urgent evacuation alerts to a huge number of people mistakenly. Her entire neighborhood was loading into their cars and then the alert was canceled.
 
He is the blame for this.
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If that is so, what blame should Donnie Diapers bear for his ineffective, ignorant, ineffective reponse to the pandemic? What should he suffer in response the thousand of deaths for which he is responsible? Surely prison.

Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!! No accountability and no responsibility for this execrable turd. Ever.
 
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crescent said:
....and the wood of the houses has had years to dry out. A house can easily be more flammable than the vegetation around it. Once one house really starts to go, the radiant heat can be enough to alight the house next door, even to ignite things inside the house that are near windows, like curtains. All the talk of land and vegetation management, but once it gets going in an older, densely packed subdivision, the houses themselves become the primary fuel source and the primary thing propagating the spread of the fire.

The ember storms are crazy to see. Attic vents, bits of fluff under roof tiles, rain gutters... Any space big enough to collect dust can collect a few embers and start to smolder.
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Yes, houses are fuel. I have removed all vegetation around my home. This week I'm removing the wood mulch ground cover to replace with decorative gravel. It's not perfect, but it gives my house a fighting chance on a bad day.

Some trees do well in fire. Monterey Pines are thick to the south of me, and their pinecones are designed to open, and drop seeds after a fire, which suggests my part of California has a history of wildfire predating humans. Anyway, I think if you got a close look at some of those trees still standing you'll see they've been scorched pretty good. And fire is a funny thing. Actor James Woods returned to his home today thinking it has been destroyed (he filmed the flames racing up the hillside behind his place), and found his place was untouched aside from smoke damage. He's been filming and posting to Twitter, and it's typical: one side of the street is an apocalypse, and the other is fine.

The sad thing is I'm now so used to wildfires that I know all the explanations for the things people think are weird.
 
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