I don’t have a great deal to say about the fires raging, out of control, in Northern California. It’s a horrendous situation. They say that at least 17 people have lost their lives and at least 2,000 structures have been destroyed. Given the median home price of around $500,000 in the affected counties, expect the costs to run into the billions if not the tens of billions.
If this editorial at the Sacramento Bee is any gauge, expect the cost of living in California to get a lot higher soon.
It does tick all the expected boxes, climate change, puck Trump, federal funding cuts, etc. When will the paper do their part by refusing ads for developments in the fire prone areas? The carbon savings from the reduced weight of the Sunday paper might be worth looking into.
I thought the article was about the destruction of the marijuana crop and how the price to get stoned was going up…
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Cannabis-harvests-threatened-by-Sonoma-County-s-12263991.php
Imagine my disappointment with the actual article.
I hope that the reason the fires spread so quickly is not due to the ignition of the endangered Kangaroo rat’s protected habitat. (Lots of undergrowth next to homes).
Also brings to mind a thought, every tragedy is worse than the next these days. Can it be due to population density? Vegas shooter was counting on it.
Sorry, last weeks tragedy.
First CA was in drought for a number of years. Then last year torrential rents came — especially notable in N. CA. In fact, the highest dam in the country, Oroville Dam, was feared to overflow because of all the water, compounded by the disintegration of it’s neglected emergency spillway (a spillway that was in disrepair due to environmental opposition to repair it earlier). This great seasonal rainfall created a lush overgrowth, which then dried out over the hot summer months, generating more fuel than normal for fires that seem to occur during our Fall Californian Indian Summers.
Supposedly, downed power lines may have sparked the original ignition, whose embers rapidly spread to adjoining areas by unprecedented gusty winds. I tend to think, though, that man had a hand in starting at least some of these fires. No matter the source, these fires have literally decimated entire neighborhoods in Santa Rosa and surrounding communities. Some of the lost structures are irreplaceable, like an old Santa Rosa “round” barn, built 118 years ago, and used for special events and weddings. Hotels, wineries, fields of grapes (at least most of the harvest had already been picked), have all been effected.
21 people have died so far, with hundreds still unaccounted for. The unexpected start and surreal course of this fire have taken people by total surprise, stranding many in rural areas, who then had to be airlifted out. First responders were unprepared for the scope of this fire, and have done relatively little to stem it, as most of their resources have been poured into getting people out of harm’s way. Consequently, containment is no more than 3% at best.
It’s hard to say how extensive, or how long this whole tragic event will go. Tonight, for instance, they are forecasting more high winds and low humidity which is not a recipe to bring this fire under control.
Thanks for the rundown, jan. That’s more perspective than all the major media outlets combined.
My sympathies. My state also had a very rough wildfire season.