Rolling Western U.S. Is On Fire / Wildfires Thread

Thanks for the link to that Mike Davis-essay. Very interesting.

That Davis essay is essential.

(Apologies for the twitter cross-posting)

Bloody sun over Sierra Madre. Ash fall is getting coarser. pic.twitter.com/JKcwy7NgYb

— Chris Barrus (@quartzcity) September 13, 2020

One hour ago on Highland Oaks Dr. pic.twitter.com/IlppS32lxU

— Chris Barrus (@quartzcity) September 13, 2020

thickest smoke so far in Eugene this morning, just unbelievable

so grateful for the HEPA filter in our furnace

OregonLive: The desperate fight to save his family ends in tragedy

Back in the Jeep, struggling to navigate a road once so familiar but now shrouded by smoke-filled darkness, Chris almost ran over what looked like a bikini-clad woman on the road. Once he was closer, he realized she was wearing underwear. Her hair was singed, her mouth looked almost black, and her bare feet were severely burned.

He impatiently tried to help her into his car, explaining how he needed to find his wife and son, feeling like she was resisting.

Finally, she spoke. “I am your wife.”

xp: the VIIRS global fire maps can be a bit misleading. The satellites are sensitive enough to pick up controlled fires of field waste (crop stems etc) used to return minerals to the soil and aid pest control, as well as controlled trash fires. Only a minority of the dots are deforestation by fire.

Jfc

trigger warning galore on that story, fwiw

sleeve, I enjoyed this newer Mike Davis book too, you might dig: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2779-old-gods-new-enigmas

(slightly o/t)

thanks, man

Finally a day of breathable air here in Seattle. Really looking forward to stepping outside without putting on my N-95.

Portland metro got some breathable air yesterday. I went for a 4 mile walk in the rain just to enjoy it.

very good to hear! I hope Eugene is getting better too, sleeve

yep, thanks, we're back to "normal" for now. currently at the coast, it's lovely

Someone rendered the 2020 CA fire perimeters to date on a topo map, and it's striking.

there's been some good map overlays comparing the Holiday Fire in Oregon to previously logged areas, gee what a surprise

Pretty bad tonight. An acquaintance lost his Santa Rosa home to the Tubbs fire in October 2017, and right now its looking like the Shady fire will hit eastern Santa Rosa by morning, crossing land burnt just 3 years ago.

I have a handful of friends who moved up north, near Santa Rosa to more easily quarantine without getting the same kind of cabin fever that people living in urban apartments/dense housing do ... and they got evacuation notices at like 6am this morning

fuck that sucks

these fires look so bad

was talking via zoom to a client today and we were both like, "can this stop now?" like, after the almost two weeks of shitty air quality from SCU and CZU .. it's like, geez not again, also it was 95 degrees this afternoon

yeah getting kinda ptsd from it - cant even imagine ppl who are going through evacuations or losing property for a second time

4 yrs ago next week, early on a Monday morning, my parents emergency evacuated from their home. This Monday morning, for the 4th time in 4 yrs, they are uncomfortably close to a major fire. I’m a climate scientist and I study global warming. Even I can’t process this step change.

— Abigail Swann, PhD (@ecoclimatelab) September 28, 2020

was reading about The Restaurant at Meadowood’s burning, it is kind of shocking.

oh what I didn’t know that! :(
i ate there 10+ years ago, one of the best & fanciest meals of my life

Orange skies
Carnivals and cotton candy and you
And I love you too you know I do...

They're back! At least here in Oakland... it was supposed to be in the 90s today, but the smoke is blocking the sun

it was definitely in the 90s yesterday in Oakland ... today isn't as bad.

though if you were somewhere where it _wasn't_ in the 90s I wanna know where that paradise is!

it was even horrible and gross in Alameda, and it's a fucking island, surrounded by water!!

we can see the California smoke in Oregon today

Bobcat flare-up near Mt. Wilson this afternoon. ugh.

did the observatory survive after the last round?

Everything at Mt. Wilson and Stony Ridge survived but it was uncertain for a couple of days there. Even after all this, there are still little canyons up in the Angeles NF that haven't seen fire in decades.

Someone rendered the 2020 CA fire perimeters to date on a topo map, and it's striking.

― Disgraced, committing sudoku (Sanpaku), Wednesday, September 23, 2020 7:38 AM (one week ago)

this is pretty incredible. wondering if you could point me to where you saw this, who did it, etc.? i'm kinda hoping there's one for Oregon.

Sorry alpine, I saw it on r/MapPorn. I think its by a regular there that does ray traced 3D topo maps, but can't recall the name.

no problem, thank you!

great news for all you wildfire fans out there

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwxDXxZUYAc9EWS?format=png&name=medium

high plains wind + fire danger

There is a LOT of smoke, and winds are picking up (as forecast). Some of us here are a little skittish in this drought....

(Not my photo, from a HS group on FB) pic.twitter.com/hCPxk5KIi7

— Terre Logsdon (@terreal) March 28, 2021

Controlled burn in Lake County CA. I'll bet you a beer/kombucha we're not doing enough of these.

Probably not. Controlled burns are incredibly important not just for prevention of wildfire spread but for the soil and habitat, too.

Gotta say, though, Lake County is truly one of the weirdest places in all of California.

o t m

Quite!

I've been to most of California and I endorse that message.

Residents here raise holy hell when controlled burns produce smoke that drifts to habited areas. Total lack of awareness of the trade off of short-term pain to achieve long-term gain. Obviously it's the same group of ppl who are incapable of thinking long-term and big picture on just about every issue ie republicans.

There's also some weird nutty lib types who seem to not understand "why they're burning the forests!" or whatever. I remember having to essentially yell at a person I knew, well-educated and good-natured, who couldn't understand why groves of eucalyptus were being shorn down in the Berkeley hills. Eventually I gave up, she got really into alternative medicine and yoga, and now seems to travel the world (despite pandemic) to exotic locations to practice her art or whatever. Or at least that was what she was doing when I unfollowed and unfriended her because her existence annoys me so much.

And eucalyptus trees are a non-native, invasive species!

and a serious fire hazard iirc? high in oils?

MMMMMMMMmentholated

I was in Lake County last August when the lightning strikes started dropping everywhere... it was really freaky and tons of fires stared almost immediately; it's a land that's meant to burn