LA Fires

[Herlock Sholmes]

I was just wondering if anyone on here had family/friends/acquaintances affected by the terrible fires in LA? I can’t imagine what it must be like to see your whole neighbourhood gone. It like watching a disaster movie. Terrible.

Best wishes to all.

[mpriestnall]

"I can’t imagine what it must be like to see your whole neighbourhood gone"

Just close your eyes?

[GBinOz]

I was just wondering if anyone on here had family/friends/acquaintances affected by the terrible fires in LA? I can’t imagine what it must be like to see your whole neighbourhood gone. It like watching a disaster movie. Terrible.

Best wishes to all.

Hi Herlock,

I can imagine what it is like to see whole townships destroyed by wildfires. I lived through the fires of Christmas 2019 in Australia. My wife evacuated to the seashore with as many of our precious possessions as would fit into our car, and I stayed to try to protect our home. The fire roared in from the north-east, the sky was blood red and at noon it was like midnight. There were whirlpools of fire being driven by the wind and the eucalypts were exploding, spreading burning cinders into the air. No amount of water or fire trucks could have stopped the fire's advance, but a wind change saved our home.

My heart goes out to the people of LA who have lost everything. Many who have paid insurance premiums for years are now being told that their policies are cancelled because payouts would eat into corporate profits. The two presidents elect are spreading dis-information about the leadership in California being derelict in duty for not having enough water to stop the fire. It is nothing to do with water - it's all about wind speed and direction. These know-nothing know-it-alls, and their equally stupid GOP minions, now talk about "conditional" support for fellow Americans in crisis. I wonder what Mike Johnson would have said if the current president had made support for the hurricane disaster in his home state of Louisiana conditional.

I only hope that the decent portion of the people of the USA can survive the next 4 years of Clown Car government.

Cheers, George

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Herlock,

I can imagine what it is like to see whole townships destroyed by wildfires. I lived through the fires of Christmas 2019 in Australia. My wife evacuated to the seashore with as many of our precious possessions as would fit into our car, and I stayed to try to protect our home. The fire roared in from the north-east, the sky was blood red and at noon it was like midnight. There were whirlpools of fire being driven by the wind and the eucalypts were exploding, spreading burning cinders into the air. No amount of water or fire trucks could have stopped the fire's advance, but a wind change saved our home.

My heart goes out to the people of LA who have lost everything. Many who have paid insurance premiums for years are now being told that their policies are cancelled because payouts would eat into corporate profits. The two presidents elect are spreading dis-information about the leadership in California being derelict in duty for not having enough water to stop the fire. It is nothing to do with water - it's all about wind speed and direction. These know-nothing know-it-alls, and their equally stupid GOP minions, now talk about "conditional" support for fellow Americans in crisis. I wonder what Mike Johnson would have said if the current president had made support for the hurricane disaster in his home state of Louisiana conditional.

I only hope that the decent portion of the people of the USA can survive the next 4 years of Clown Car government.

Cheers, George

Hi George,

It’s stories like yours and the current one in LA that makes me grateful that we don’t get extremes of weather here. Yes we certainly don’t get the sun that Oz and the USA get and we often appear to be in extended periods of grey with the odd flood which causes property damage (bad enough) but never loss of life, but thankfully we don’t get these terrible fires, hurricanes etc. It sounds like you were facing a terrible scene George? I imagine that you’d pretty much given up hope and we’re waiting to see your house go up in flames?

I know that we are prohibited from political discussion on here George but suffice it to say that we can’t trust any of them. Terrible scenes. And then they get looters….

[GBinOz]

Hi George,

It’s stories like yours and the current one in LA that makes me grateful that we don’t get extremes of weather here. Yes we certainly don’t get the sun that Oz and the USA get and we often appear to be in extended periods of grey with the odd flood which causes property damage (bad enough) but never loss of life, but thankfully we don’t get these terrible fires, hurricanes etc. It sounds like you were facing a terrible scene George? I imagine that you’d pretty much given up hope and we’re waiting to see your house go up in flames?

I know that we are prohibited from political discussion on here George but suffice it to say that we can’t trust any of them. Terrible scenes. And then they get looters….

Hi Herlock,

It's the cinders that are the problem. A wind driven fire passes in a minute or two, but the cinders that are left are what burns down houses, and that is what I was trying to prevent. I had an escape plan with a cinder block room that I hoped would resist the smoke, but sitting there waiting that day, I wondered if I would see tomorrow. There were many that didn't.

Cheers, George

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Herlock,

It's the cinders that are the problem. A wind driven fire passes in a minute or two, but the cinders that are left are what burns down houses, and that is what I was trying to prevent. I had an escape plan with a cinder block room that I hoped would resist the smoke, but sitting there waiting that day, I wondered if I would see tomorrow. There were many that didn't.

Cheers, George

That must have been terrible time George, your family would have been worried sick. Added to that there’s the effect on the wildlife too.

I saw a documentary a while back about the Great Fire of London. Different circumstances of course with London houses being connected to each other and the ones opposite being so near, plus no fire service of course. But what they did show, by recreation, was how lethal cinders could be (even one) as long as it landed somewhere easily flammable.