American Wildfires

[HGCC]

Denver ranked among the top-5 most-polluted cities in the world Thursday

It was also the second-worst air quality of any major city in the Western Hemisphere, thanks to wildfire smoke from the Northwest and ground ozone.

www.9news.com

That's pretty cool...my face hurts with some weird sinus headache from it. Going to smoke some weed about it and hope this smoke pushes that smoke out.

 

[mooray]

My daughter was put on evacuation warning wednesday as the River fire was coming at them super fast.
I was just up there finishing up their new bloom room I built them. We just transplanted and flipped the switch. I was headed back home when shitloads of trucks were headed that way. I get down to the valley and see huge fire up there. Wtf?

My daughter bailed and went to her moms in Nevada City, so i know she’s good. I don’t know how much more of this shit I can take. Where i’m rebuilding, because the Camp fire took my shit out, is WAY safer of an area than Paradise but we had 4 fires within a week and a half super close last year. Not to mention the Bear fire that was mando evac within a couple miles from me now. It’s all some fucked up shit.

I keep telling people that i’ll probably finish this build, sell and build somewhere else. But where the hell is a safe bet now?

First and foremost, best wishes to you and yours.

It sounds like the River fire isn't going to get out of hand like the others, they have such great access in that area and it's made all the difference. We haven't lost a home yet, but we know it's only a matter of time, which always feels like a black cloud hanging over our heads. Honestly I've found myself drinking a bit more at night, which isn't good. If you wanted to stay local, you're either bulldozing a large area and then being okay with living in a charred dystopian wasteland afterwards, or maybe try to find some high desert where there just isn't any fuel.

 

[ttystikk]

Denver ranked among the top-5 most-polluted cities in the world Thursday

It was also the second-worst air quality of any major city in the Western Hemisphere, thanks to wildfire smoke from the Northwest and ground ozone.

www.9news.com

That's pretty cool...my face hurts with some weird sinus headache from it. Going to smoke some weed about it and hope this smoke pushes that smoke out.

It's been rough in Colorado for some time now.

Sunsets sure have been pretty, though.

 

[ttystikk]

My daughter was put on evacuation warning wednesday as the River fire was coming at them super fast.
I was just up there finishing up their new bloom room I built them. We just transplanted and flipped the switch. I was headed back home when shitloads of trucks were headed that way. I get down to the valley and see huge fire up there. Wtf?

My daughter bailed and went to her moms in Nevada City, so i know she’s good. I don’t know how much more of this shit I can take. Where i’m rebuilding, because the Camp fire took my shit out, is WAY safer of an area than Paradise but we had 4 fires within a week and a half super close last year. Not to mention the Bear fire that was mando evac within a couple miles from me now. It’s all some fucked up shit.

I keep telling people that i’ll probably finish this build, sell and build somewhere else. But where the hell is a safe bet now?

There's hundreds of thousands of acres of recently burned forest here in Colorado that won't be burning again anytime soon...

 

[Humble_Budlings]

There's hundreds of thousands of acres of recently burned forest here in Colorado that won't be burning again anytime soon...

Exactly the opposite is true, but I am not trying to be a troll. High-intensity burns that eliminate the canopy increase the likelihood and severity of future wildfires. Most of the mega-fires start in or near recent burn scars, and the most intense fire behavior is seen in burn scars. Low-intensity controlled burns of the understory only, in the wet season,
eliminate fuels without destroying the canopy cover and are helpful...

But the issue of wildfire is not a consequence of fire suppression... That's a trope generated by the logging industry, and increasingly the bio-mass energy industry. People on the news repeat that crap because the high number of studies funded by companies like Sierra Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, IFG, Georgia Pacific and others.

In a nutshell, the most important underlying condition that determines wildfire intensity is the health of the water table. All forms of clearing and disturbance impact the water table severely. The density and depth of root veneration in soil is the biggest factor determining the infiltration of water during the wet season. Logging is in fact the utter main culprit, of course behind climate change.

It's very difficult to know for sure, but around 0.1% of our forests in California are "primary" or undisturbed. Where I live, the hills full of forest were a literal lunar landscape during the gold rush. Everything surrounding me was at least once clear cut, to fuel steam engines driving the mining equipment. The forest will take, depending on who you listen to, 500 to 1200 years to reach the level of soil veneration of a "primary" forest.

There's loads of things we as a state or as a country could be doing to accelerate the process of regenerating healthy forests. But mostly, the forest service is working for the timber industry. So you will probably continue to hear this trope about fuel loads circulated.

 

[Fogdog]

Exactly the opposite is true, but I am not trying to be a troll. High-intensity burns that eliminate the canopy increase the likelihood and severity of future wildfires. Most of the mega-fires start in or near recent burn scars, and the most intense fire behavior is seen in burn scars. Low-intensity controlled burns of the understory only, in the wet season,
eliminate fuels without destroying the canopy cover and are helpful...

But the issue of wildfire is not a consequence of fire suppression... That's a trope generated by the logging industry, and increasingly the bio-mass energy industry. People on the news repeat that crap because the high number of studies funded by companies like Sierra Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, IFG, Georgia Pacific and others.

In a nutshell, the most important underlying condition that determines wildfire intensity is the health of the water table. All forms of clearing and disturbance impact the water table severely. The density and depth of root veneration in soil is the biggest factor determining the infiltration of water during the wet season. Logging is in fact the utter main culprit, of course behind climate change.

It's very difficult to know for sure, but around 0.1% of our forests in California are "primary" or undisturbed. Where I live, the hills full of forest were a literal lunar landscape during the gold rush. Everything surrounding me was at least once clear cut, to fuel steam engines driving the mining equipment. The forest will take, depending on who you listen to, 500 to 1200 years to reach the level of soil veneration of a "primary" forest.

There's loads of things we as a state or as a country could be doing to accelerate the process of regenerating healthy forests. But mostly, the forest service is working for the timber industry. So you will probably continue to hear this trope about fuel loads circulated.

I liked most of that and agree, but,

Human caused climate change is nearly entirely due to burning fossil fuel. Ag practices contribute as does clear cutting forests . Main issue by far is industrial burning of fossil fuels contributing to build up of greenhouse gasses.

 

[doublejj]

Greenville before and after Dixie fire 2021.....

 

[Aeroknow]

I liked most of that and agree, but,

Human caused climate change is nearly entirely due to burning fossil fuel. Ag practices contribute as does clear cutting forests . Main issue by far is industrial burning of fossil fuels contributing to build up of greenhouse gasses.

Yeah, one thing the fucking retarded “conservative” idiots around here can’t quite understand is that one of our problems stems from when they used to clear cut like mofos. But they’ll parrot some bullshit like “rake the forests” or my even favorite “ the liberals won’t let us cut down the trees!” Fucking retards. Yes. Retards! No offense to the mentally disabled. These stupid fucks live right here in Butte county. Shit loads of them. And either they have been directly screwed by the fires or know somebody close who has. It’s the liberals fault! Lets be for cutting taxes but git R done!
Fact, when they used to clear cut, different trees and shrubs took off and have dominated the area. Manzanita is one of them. Before when a forest fire came through, mostly the ground cover burned. Woopie fricken doo! So that plus it being super dry we are fucked. Can’t have anything to do with climate change!
Oh but “ it’s just a regular cycle” they now say. Fucking tards!

10 yrs before the Camp Fire. Parts of Paradise and some surrounding towns experienced the Humboldt fire. Learned allot, mainly that people needed a better way to get the fuck out. Well, that did didn’t mean shit when you have something like the Camp fire happen. A whole new level. Anyways, the part that burned down and rebuilt: something like 70%, all new homes made it. That’s really not that great. I’m pretty sure i read that it was also around 70% of all “newer” homes made it in all of P-town. Prob is there wasn’t many “newer” homes up there.

we have some strict ass building codes if you live within the Urban Wildland Interface zone. I know everyone of them believe me. Allot of them are involved with my trade. Not to mention i’m building lol.

 

[Aeroknow]

These are ember safe soffit vents. Been mandatory on all new construction for 12ish yrs here in butte county.
Any vent that is considered an intake vent has to be of this material

 

[mooray]

The problem is usually rafters. Cement board siding and metal roofs are great, but there's the overhang with the rafters exposed and that's all she wrote.

 

[Aeroknow]

This is usually what it’s like around here during the “real” fire season. Sept-october/november.
Fucking scary. This year is bad, gonna be so much fucking worse when the now “real” fire season happens. Fuck me and all of my county and my surrounding counties. Shit, all of california.

this is me in the sticks

 

[Aeroknow]

The problem is usually rafters. Cement board siding and metal roofs are great, but there's the overhang with the rafters exposed and that's all she wrote.

We have to have either a cementitious type soffit board covering or stucco.

 

[Humble_Budlings]

Yeah, one thing the fucking retarded conservative idiots around here can’t quite understand is that one of our problems stems from when they used to clear cut like mofos. But they’ll parrot some bullshit like “rake the forests” or my even favorite “ the liberals won’t let us cut down the trees!” Fucking retards. Yes. Retards! No offense to the mentally disabled. These stupid fucks live right here in Butte county. Shit loads of them. And either they have been directly screwed by the fires or know somebody close who has. It’s the liberals fault! Lets be for cutting taxes but git R done!
Fact, when they used to clear cut, different trees and shrubs took off and have dominated the area. Manzanita is one of them. Before when a forest fire came through, mostly the ground cover burned. Woopie fricken doo! So that plus it being super dry we are fucked. Can’t have anything to do with climate change!
Oh but “ it’s just a regular cycle” they now say. Fucking tards!

10 yrs before the Camp Fire. Parts of Paradise and some surrounding towns experienced the Humboldt fire. Learned allot, mainly that people needed a better way to get the fuck out. Well, what they did didn’t mean shit when you have something like the Camp fire happen. A whole new level. Anyways, the part that burned down and rebuilt: something like 70%, all new homes made it. That’s really not that great. I’m pretty sure i read that it was also around 70% of all “newer” homes made it in all of P-town. Prob is there wasn’t many “newer” homes up there.

we have some strict ass building codes if you live within the Urban Wildland Interface zone. I know everyone of them believe me. Allot of them are involved with my trade. Not to mention i’m building lol.

There's alot of relevant science that basically sits on the shelf. But it's catching up. Hydrology is becoming more popular as a political topic in drought effected areas. Some governments (China, Israel, India) are making serious investments in large scale implementation of regenerative designs.

Here's a micro-doc with one of those guys:

But yeah, the play the timber industry made was to equate heavier logging with wildfire prevention/prep... And the bio-mass industry seems to be putting that on repeat.

Now, granted, there is massive amount of forest here that is overgrown, but as a consequence of the disturbance to the natural succession of the forest. You clear a spot and everything that grows to fill the canopy is close to the same age. The wood is less dense than shade grown trees, unhealthy and will never reach the maturity of shade grown trees, which will eventually succeed them - but only if the forest is left untouched.

If you've ever walked around woods that have been hit with a single species replant (Doug fir here) it's very obvious how dangerous the environment we are creating is for wildfire.

I just feel that there is very low awareness of how and why desertification takes place... It doesn't require a change in annual rainfall. We have that too so it goes faster, but it would basically go the same way just due to human presence.

 

[Aeroknow]

There's alot of relevant science that basically sits on the shelf. But it's catching up. Hydrology is becoming more popular as a political topic in drought effected areas. Some governments (China, Israel, India) are making serious investments in large scale implementation of regenerative designs.

Here's a micro-doc with one of those guys:

But yeah, the play the timber industry made was to equate heavier logging with wildfire prevention/prep... And the bio-mass industry seems to be putting that on repeat.

Now, granted, there is massive amount of forest here that is overgrown, but as a consequence of the disturbance to the natural succession of the forest. You clear a spot and everything that grows to fill the canopy is close to the same age. The wood is less dense than shade grown trees, unhealthy and will never reach the maturity of shade grown trees, which will eventually succeed them - but only if the forest is left untouched.

If you've ever walked around woods that have been hit with a single species replant (Doug fir here) it's very obvious how dangerous the environment we are creating is for wildfire.

But back to my original home town of Ben Lomand Ca. Boulder Creek burned like a mofo last year and that was all mostly straight up original, protected, old growth redwood forest. We have recently lost allot of our old growth sequoia forests also.
We are fucked dude

 

[Aeroknow]

I say fuck the space force. We need a fucking modern day fire force or some shit. Seriously. And god damnit, most of these huge fires are starting on federal land!

last year we had what was called the lightning complex. That motherfucker started fires all up and down california. At the same time. Did not have enough fire fighting recourses to fight them.

 

[mooray]

This is usually what it’s like around here during the “real” fire season. Sept-october/november.
Fucking scary. This year is bad, gonna be so much fucking worse when the now “real” fire season happens. Fuck me and all of my county and my surrounding counties. Shit, all of california.

this is me in the sticks
View attachment 4959556

Oh dude you should be fine there.

 

[Aeroknow]

Oh dude you should be fine there.

Fingers crossed

 

[Aeroknow]

Oh dude you should be fine there.

My well is still good. All my neighbors have to have water trucked in right now

 

[xtsho]

There's alot of relevant science that basically sits on the shelf. But it's catching up. Hydrology is becoming more popular as a political topic in drought effected areas. Some governments (China, Israel, India) are making serious investments in large scale implementation of regenerative designs.

Here's a micro-doc with one of those guys:

But yeah, the play the timber industry made was to equate heavier logging with wildfire prevention/prep... And the bio-mass industry seems to be putting that on repeat.

Now, granted, there is massive amount of forest here that is overgrown, but as a consequence of the disturbance to the natural succession of the forest. You clear a spot and everything that grows to fill the canopy is close to the same age. The wood is less dense than shade grown trees, unhealthy and will never reach the maturity of shade grown trees, which will eventually succeed them - but only if the forest is left untouched.

If you've ever walked around woods that have been hit with a single species replant (Doug fir here) it's very obvious how dangerous the environment we are creating is for wildfire.

I just feel that there is very low awareness of how and why desertification takes place... It doesn't require a change in annual rainfall. We have that too so it goes faster, but it would basically go the same way just due to human presence.

The timber companies clear cut and then replanted a single species typically Douglas Fir at least here in Oregon. Some of these areas really aren't forests but large tree farms.

 

[mooray]

My well is still good. All my neighbors have to have water trucked in right now

Yeah...I should have been more specific. All the other problems remain, possibly having to live in a charred wasteland, endlessly digging deeper wells or trucking in water, dealing with the smoke and resulting health issues, just the stress from it all, etc. etc. BUT! It really doesn't look like you have to worry about your house burning down.