California Fires

[monik7]

They use goats and sheep around my area of California to clear fields, along freeways, and anywhere that needs to be cleared. They usually put up a temporary fence that keeps them in the desired area.
Sandi

[snowball]

when we had our 4 wheel drive trips in Jackson many years ago... some of my kids weren't born yet so long ago
we would take tours in the area mostly on National Forest Service areas. Larry told me that one of the guest (from another country perhaps Germany) told him that their forest were not kept like ours are it's all natural in the Forest Service although you can get permit's and lumber but it's not cleaned not sure of the correct word but ours are trashy compared to theirs was what I gathered they didn't allow the dead lumber to stay in the forests it was gleaned and dead wood removed...we need more of that done but it's not and then it becomes a powder keg...so much of the timber has fallen to the pine beetle and other insects... even then it was a fire waiting to happen surprised it hasn't yet...and then in the park unless it's changed their policy was if it was a natural set fire ie lighting oh well it would burn out on it's own until it gets to close to buildings again this was what it was as I was growing up and living in that area...may be different now.
sheila

[JudyJB]

The thing is that German forests are much smaller than ours and they do not have so many compared to us. Also, some downed wood is needed to keep a forest natural and provide habitat for animals. The sticks and small branches also provide nutrients for the soil, unless we are going to go around spraying fertilizer to billions of acres of woodland. When there are fires, the fire converts the downed material into nutrients for the new trees to go in. But fires need to be small, not these giants.

Another problem is people building houses out of wood and putting wood shingles on their roofs in forests. Need to manage vegetation in built-up areas, and keep undergrowth out of suburbs and cities and away from structures.

[Cudedog]

The entire country of Germany (according to my Google searching) comprises 137,847 square miles

Just the state of California, alone, by itself, comprises 163,696 square miles. Quite a bit larger than the country of Germany.

The climate of Germany is also very different than the climate of California. Not nearly so hot, with summer rain.

Google:
"Germany's climate is temperate and marine, with cold, cloudy, wet winters and moderate warm summers and in the south occasional warm föhn wind. The greater part of Germany lies in the cool/temperate climatic zone in which humid westerly winds predominate."

Me:
The area of northern California where the current wildfires are blazing are extremely hot in the summer (days and weeks of 100+ degree temperatures are normal). And generally "warm" in the winter. Winter low night time temps here might be in the 40's, daytime temps usually in the 60's. This area only receives rain from around the beginning of November to around mid-March. 4 1/2 months - of "rainy season". From mid-March to around the beginning of November is the "dry season". 7 1/2 months of "dry season". "Dry" meaning "no rain". At all. For 7 1/2 months.

I have been to Germany in the summer, and found it beautiful. The country was moist, lush and green. I live in northern California in the summer. The area is brown, sere, and generally bone-dry.

I won't get into the kind of taxpayer dollars that would be needed to hire hand crews to hand-thin tens of thousands of acres of forested California land. Actually, several years ago a proposal was made here (I think it was by the Forest Service, but I don't remember for sure) to widely use herbicides to thin the forest, as an alternate to using hand crews.

Most of the population was up in arms at this proposal, and rightfully so.

Despite what a "prominent politician" states: [quote] - ". . .bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean." - water in California - as in most other places in the world - flows down a river to the ocean. In California, California water flows down California rivers to the California shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, and then on into the ocean itself. Water is not "diverted" into the Pacific Ocean. The natural rivers of California carry the water to the Pacific Ocean in the natural course of things.

As do rivers everywhere in the world.

A very great many California cities and towns get the bulk of their water - for drinking, irrigation, whatever - from California rivers. The city in which I live gets the bulk of it's drinking water from the local river (it is treated, of course, before it is pumped to residences). The rest of the water comes from large city-maintained wells.

Getting back to the point I was originally trying to make, were herbicide used to thin the forest, in the natural course of things, some small portion of that herbicide would eventually run down California creeks, to California rivers, to California reservoirs, to California faucets.

For myself, I don't want to drink that stuff. Even in trace amounts. There really are no easy answers to the drought, heat, and resulting wildfire problems in California.

But maybe by simply starting to address climate change (I think it was agreed in an earlier post that we could use this sometimes inflammatory term here?) might be a good first step.

Thank you.

Anne

[AlmostThere]

If this forum starts talking politics in any form, I’m out if here. I can get that on FaceBook.
Thank you to the latter posts that steered it away.

[Cudedog]

Another problem is people building houses out of wood and putting wood shingles on their roofs in forests. Need to manage vegetation in built-up areas, and keep undergrowth out of suburbs and cities and away from structures.

Judy is 100% correct on all points. Thank you.

Homes with wood-shake roofs in rural areas of California are a big mistake. One actually doesn't see too many homes in rural areas of California that have wood shake roofs anymore, although in years past they were pretty common. Why? Because they have all already burned.

Even standard, asphalt-shingle roofs, will burn if an ember or two lands on it. Metal roofs should be de rigueur , because a metal roof will not burn - although they will melt if the structure below it catches fire. The most common type of roof seen in the rural areas near where I live are asphalt-shingle roofs. Why? A metal roof is almost twice the cost of an asphalt shingle roof.

Another problem is that people in rural areas do not keep "defensible space" around their homes (as Judy noted):

http://calfire.ca.gov/communications/communications_firesafety_100feet

Two of the major fires currently burning in California are still growing. 325,000 acres - the Mendocino Complex. 186,000 acres - the Carr fire. Lots of smoke and ashfall here at my house, and the closest of these fires is about 50 miles away.
And, again, it is only August - generally just the beginning of the fire season in California.

Scary stuff.

If anyone is interested in an "easy access" reference to California fires, I suggest Yuba Net:

https://yubanet.com/Fires/

Fire information here is generally pretty current, with fire maps. The site is updated as new wildfires are born. As they probably will be, from now until the rains come in November. Maybe ten weeks or so before the first drop falls.

A really long time in fire country.

Anne

[Bethers]

Personally, I don't understand why climate change can't be discussed. That said, it seems to be a no-no for a very small amount of members. So I'm locking this thread now. I'm very sorry to see this happening.