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Wildfire Devastates California Town of Paradise (apnews.com)
A number of readers have shared this report: Tens of thousands of people fled a fast-moving wildfire Thursday in Northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they abandoned vehicles and struck out on foot ahead of the flames that forced the evacuation of an entire town and destroyed hundreds of structures. "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's that kind of devastation," said Cal Fire Capt. Scott McLean late Thursday. "The wind that was predicted came and just wiped it out."
McLean estimated that a couple of thousand structures were destroyed in the town of 27,000 residents about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, where residents scrambled to flee. The extent of the injuries and specific damage count was not immediately known as officials could not access the dangerous area.
McLean estimated that a couple of thousand structures were destroyed in the town of 27,000 residents about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, where residents scrambled to flee. The extent of the injuries and specific damage count was not immediately known as officials could not access the dangerous area.
You sure about that? My general understanding is the natives used control burning to manage wildfires, something NIMBY white people can't figure out.
You're absolutely right. They did use "controlled" burns for a long time.
And yes, towns built in forested areas will burn, not if, but when.
However, assigning a racial component to your comment is ridiculous.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
A big part of what's making these wild fires so bad is that California cut funding for controlled burns and other forest management techniques you need to do during a drought.
I saw this in my city too. We cut the sanitation budget, including the funds for the guys that go around clearing debris from the storm drains. Sure enough first really big storm floods the whole city.
I've said it before and I will say it again: The government doesn't waste nearly as much money as people think. When you start demanding substantial cuts this is what happens.
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Controlled burns can only do so much. When you get a good wind pushing the flames, they move fast and can jump upwards of a mile.
I don't know about California, but up here (BC), the problem is the warm springs lately cause so much undergrowth which then drys out in the summer and leaves the forests full of tinder dry fuel. Can't burn the whole Province with controlled burns.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
California stopped using the forest service to clear fire breaks because "we need to conserve nature man".
This is a lie.
California does not prohibit fire breaks. They are simply completely ineffectual in case of most CA fires. These fires easily cross firebreaks because of dense and dry vegetation and then jump back to trees, as there's a huge number of tinder-dry dead trees from the recent drought.
The best way to fix it is to remove dead trees but this requires a lot of money and effort.