California wild fires

[matticus]

Abandoned cars bulldozed out of the way of emergency vehicles and evacuation traffic:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c24n4pz6p2eo

There has been other horrific footage from what looks like a hellscape :-/

 

[numbnuts]

Terrible just terrible

 

[Dave7]

Just been reading about the nightmare of insurance claims.
Some are just not insured as they are in recognised fire risk areas (bit like our flood areas).
Some insurance companies simply can't afford the cost.
Even those that can claim it could take years.
Just awful.

 

[Beebo]

Just been reading about the nightmare of insurance claims.
Some are just not insured as they are in recognised fire risk areas (bit like our flood areas).
Some insurance companies simply can't afford the cost.
Even those that can claim it could take years.
Just awful.

American insurance is very different to ours. Most homes are made of wooden structures which is a problem for fire. Also insurers will often restrict cover in known danger zones such as hurricane, tornadoes and fires. And payment is often not new for old, so if your house is 40 years old they will knock you for wear and tear.

what amazes me is how dry the area is in the middle of winter.

 

[Dave7]

Just listening on R2. Apparently the "fire brigade" has virtually unlimited funds but cannot control the fires, mainly due to the 50-100 mph winds.

 

[BrumJim]

American insurance seems to be in a strange place, where the insurance company pays until it becomes unaffordable, at which point they expect you to pay.

Surely the whole point of insurance is to pay for low risk but high cost events that you can't afford? Like my friend who was passenger in a car that crashed and left him needing 24hr care? And if you can't afford the premiums, then you don't do it.

But have colleagues out there, and outside the allegations that it was avoidable, and the inevitable discussion on climate change, that there are people there who are staring hopelessly at what must be a really scary sight that will affect the area for decades to come, and lives for even longer.

 

[Accy cyclist]

It's a tragic situation and I'm not making light of it, but this keeps popping up in my head!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEMJ2AnEg6s

 

[Moderators]

Mod note. If the thread shifts to a climate change debate, etc. It will need taking to NCAP.

 

[Sixmile]

Rainfall has certainly been an issue. I think the news said last night that since October the area has had less than 1/4" of rain. In addition to meaning that the ground conditions lend themselves to easy ignition, the hydrants have ran dry due to lack of rain and lack of action to keep them topped up seemingly.

"Mayor Karen Bass is 7,400 miles away in Africa, and months earlier she had approved an $18 million cut to the fire department."

That can't have helped either.

 

[Drago]

Just staggering.

Min you, an interesting piece in the guardian today about prisoners who volunteer to train as firefighters and turn out for jobs like this.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

They'd be wishing/praying for some of that weather from the east!!
Sadly it won't make it over there

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Most homes are made of wooden structures which is a problem for fire.

Other way round, wood is absolutely no problem for a fire.

 

[matticus]

... but cannot control the fires, mainly due to the 50-100 mph winds.

Just heard that in an interview on the Radio. Stunning!
(I'm guessing that's feedback - the heat of the fires is creating local air currents. As opposed to winds blowing across California at 50mph? )

 

[presta]

Just listening on R2. Apparently the "fire brigade" has virtually unlimited funds but cannot control the fires, mainly due to the 50-100 mph winds.

Like this:



View: https://x.com/creepydotorg/status/1877257446227316895

 

[dicko]

They were warned about vegetation close to their homes years ago, Australians know not to let this happen regarding wild fires.
Trump wanted them to clear the forests of tinder and branches but they ignored this advice because of harming small wildlife.