California wildfire destroys 165 homes

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

California wildfire destroys 165 homes

By AMANDA FEHD, Associated Press Writer
6 minutes ago

MEYERS, Calif. - A wind-driven wildfire destroyed at least 165
homes and other structures and scorched 750 acres just
southwest of Lake Tahoe, a spokesman for the El Dorado
County Sheriff's Department said Sunday.

Sheriff's Lt. Kevin House said the fire is less than 5 percent
contained and has more than 500 homes in its path, but no
injuries or deaths have been reported. The cause of the fire
is still unknown.

"This thing is raging out of control, and there's no estimate
as to when that may change," House said.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has issued a
declaration of emergency, House said.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070625/ap_on_re_us/wildfires

[XemaSab]

1. IBTL!

:P

[WCGreen]

2. Perhaps if people did not build homes where fire is a danger....

Houses wouldn't be catching on fire wouldn't be newsworthy...

[uppityperson]

10. floods tornadoes hurricanes drought earthquakes blizzards

Perhaps if people didn't build by where any of these were a possibility either?

[WCGreen]

18. If you build in an area that is high risk, then you asume that risk...

[Independent Democrat]

3. Less than 5% contained........

sounds like the fire crews have a long night (or couple of nights) ahead of them.

[tired_old_fireman]

4. Get used to these headlines this summer.

As I wrote in another thread, this fire season could be monumental.

Remember, these are houses and not people being lost. Houses can be rebuilt. The forests are not being destroyed, they are changing in a natural way. They will naturally bounce back with some of the most diverse flora and fauna.

Losing a house is difficult. I've lost a house in a mudslide and I know the pain. I've also seen lots of people lose houses. It stinks. It's nothing compared to losing a loved one though. So try to keep it in perspective.

The news likes to do the work of the logging industry and paint fires as an enemy. Fires are essential to the forests and the animals that live there.

By the way, some of the best firefighting equipment is in Iraq. I wonder if the news bothers to report that?

[Kagemusha]

5. They got scolded heavily last time they tried.

(re: firefighting equipment)

Lots of complaints, lots of disputes that there were any problems...

[Hekate]

6. Welcome to DU! Oh yeah, California was made to burn, wasn't it?

SoCal is already in a drought, with the dryest winter on record. Where was/is your firefighting career?

I've heard very little mention on television of how much equipment is over in Iraq with the National Guard, though since I've read several articles posted here I know the information is actually available to the public. The problem is, as we know, the majority of the public gets their news from television.

Hekate

[tired_old_fireman]

7. I worked in Arizona.

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to heat.

[uppityperson]

11. Indeed. Thanks for the thoughts and good question about equipment.

[SayWhatYo]

8. Rich people' summer homes get destroyed and we

should all cry for them? hah!

[Hekate]

12. I didn't see where it said "rich people".Fires spread & I've been too close for comfort.

All of us who live in the fire zone know that fire is no respecter of property values.

The 1990 Painted Cave Fire came within 3 miles of my tract house, and that sucker was roaring out of the mountains, jumping every road and freeway and on its way to the sea before it was brought under control by firefighters who came from all over the place to help each other -- and us. One woman died in a dry creekbed trying to outrun the flames; over 600 homes were destroyed.

I packed the car and assessed escape routes, and that's when I fully realized that our coastal town is completely vulnerable to natural disaster at both ends: one freeway, and all other main streets and roads are parallel to it.

Residents in the wildland-urban interface areas are required to cut back vegetation close to their homes and abate the brush--and they are fools if they don't--but that's still no guarantee against flying embers. Those of us in the flatlands and tracts are likewise not guaranteed safety.

The usual canard is that Californians are nuts to live in a place that burns, slides, and shakes. But no place on the planet is safe from Nature. New Orleanians didn't ask to be drowned any more than people living in Tornado Alley ask to be blown to bits by the wind. Human beings live everywhere, and the Earth does its thing regardless.

Hekate

[Hell Hath No Fury]

15. Most of those homes that burned....

were those of regular, working class locals.

I am up in Tahoe right now, and the fire was stopped only three blocks from my Mom's home. She has many friends -- many who are retirees on fixed incomes like herself -- who are now homeless or whose home have sufffered severe structural damage.


Hah yourself, jackass.

[Hekate]

16. I'm glad to hear that your Mom is okay.It's so sad about her friends' losses.

Is your Mom coming home with you for awhile, or are you staying there until the emergency is over?
:hug:

Hekate

[SayWhatYo]

17. My bad then...

I used to live by Tahoe and I recall the massive waste of houses they had up there... I'm glad your mothers home was saved though.

[uppityperson]

9. 220 homes, school saved so far.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003761642_webwildfires25.html

Flames came within a quarter mile of the 1,500-student South Tahoe High School during the night, and dozens of firefighters surrounded the school. A few miles south, hundreds of homes in Meyers were evacuated, authorities said.
(clip)
House said there were no reports of people missing in the fire area, but "the truth is we haven't really been able to get in there and see."
advertising

Residents and campers sought shelter at evacuation centers in South Lake Tahoe and at the homes of friends and the many hotels in the area. Many evacuees huddled in parking lots in the cold night as ashes rained down. One family was pulled from the area by rescue workers as they raced back to their home, said Norma Santiago, the El Dorado County Supervisor who represents the district hardest hit by the blaze. The family's house was destroyed, leaving them with only the shorts, T-shirts and hiking gear they'd taken with them.
(clip)
Elsewhere, crews in Alaska worked to protect hundreds of homes in the hills of the scenic Kenai Peninsula. It had burgeoned to 81 square miles since Tuesday, consuming 35 far-flung cabins in the Caribou Hills, state fire information officials said. Forty other structures, including sheds and outhouses, were also lost in the popular hunting and snowmobiling area about 80 miles south of Anchorage. The fire threatens 600 more homes and cabins, Hall said. An evacuation order has been in effect since Friday, but fire officials said an unknown number of residents have refused to budge

[trashcanistanista]

14. 1500 acres so far and out of control

I live in the foothills and I can smell the smoke all the way down here. This one is huge. It was very windy last night and they were unable to use tankers to fight it so it got a massive head start. The breeze is starting to pick up again so I don't think they will get a handle on it today, either. My heart goes out to the people who've lost their homes or are about to. There are many middle class year round residents who live and work up there, not only the rich second home owners. Plus a staggering amount of wildlife. A tragedy of huge proportions.

[cliss]

13. The weather is becoming more

unpredictable. I think at some point, people are going to back up a moment and say, "What on earth is going on here?". Why is this happening?


Global Changes
I've read that as global changes progress, the cloud layer is going to start pulling back from the equator, and move toward the poles (north + south pole). This means that countries close to the equator are going to fry. We're already seeing this.

Anyone with a home / family / job in the southern states should probably think about moving north.

[Eugene]

19. California's Lake Tahoe fire 40 percent contained

Source: Reuters

California's Lake Tahoe fire 40 percent contained
26 Jun 2007 03:28:28 GMT
Source: Reuters

(Recasts with status of fire containment, details)

By Kathryn Reed

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., June 25 (Reuters) - Firefighters
had a wildfire near California's popular Lake Tahoe resort 40
percent contained on Monday after it engulfed 2,500 acres
(1,000 hectares) and destroyed or damaged more than 200
homes.

About 700 firefighters battled the blaze, which had been
fanned by high winds, and finally succeeded in bringing
much of it under control, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman
Yvonne Jones told reporters.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25321584.htm