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Who or What Is Really Responsible for the Huge Forest Fires in California?
Townhall.com ^ | November 18, 2018 | Bruce Bialolosky

Posted on 11/18/2018 6:34:18 AM PST by Kaslin

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To: Kaslin

Who or What Is Really Responsible for the Huge Forest Fires in California?

That’s easy...MATCHES. Need to have stronger match control laws. More extensive background check for matches purchases. /S


41 posted on 11/18/2018 8:52:34 AM PST by GoldenPup
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To: leopud
It’s simple: in natural & regular forest fires the “ green” vegetation mostly survive and the “dry/dead” one – burn. Regularity leads to limited intensity of fires. This worked for thousands of years.

It did and it does work. But nature needs a helping hand starting the necessary fires. Otherwise there will be bad luck (no lightning) and fuel will build up too much. Also logging has its place including private ownership and supervised leasing of federal lands. Nearer to the towns they need to do more grazing. If they clearcut they will have to replant and manage (e.g. mow) that area for a decade or so until the trees are tall enough to withstand low intensity fire.

There are a lot of reasonble ideas for managing forests that will work. But California used none of them. Instead they neglected their forests. Furthermore they tied the hands of federal land managers with air quality laws forcing federal land managers to extinguish natural fires that should have been left alone. CARB iand the Butte county AQ board have blood on their hands. Everything they say now is just a distraction. In their zeal to limit PM 2.5 for "health" reasons, they killed 100 people or more.

42 posted on 11/18/2018 9:01:55 AM PST by palmer (...if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak and we will not survive)
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To: Dutch Boy

I’ve lived in California 70 years.

Fires are a part of California. Ever since I was a child, the fires come every year in varying intensity. The Bel Air fire was a shock as it came over the hill in LA and took people’s homes in the city. everyone’s been happy that there have been no recurrences,

The fire department is around all of the time giving citations and demanding you clear areas around your home.

But these were fires outside of LA. for the most part ... well maybe not Ma;libu.


43 posted on 11/18/2018 9:34:16 AM PST by BunnySlippers (I Love Bull Markets!!!)
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To: Kaslin

There should be a forest management stewardship guideline that’s used and applied ‘by landowners’... Who need to be responsible for their own lands and property.


44 posted on 11/18/2018 9:51:18 AM PST by caww
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To: Kaslin

It’s simple
No rain for 7-8 months


45 posted on 11/18/2018 9:54:11 AM PST by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
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To: Starboard

At the top, the Left knows full well how evil they are. But they brainwash almost all of the true believers into pursuing the agenda.

This battle is about:

Good vs Evil
Truth vs Lies
Light vs Darkness
Freedom vs Slavery
Life vs Death

We are in this to the end.


46 posted on 11/18/2018 10:01:34 AM PST by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: Newbomb Turk

“”Going to take a lot of lumber to rebuild all of the structures that burned down in California due to lack of proper logging and forest management. Paradox ?””

They won’t be able to get it from CA, will they? Perhaps Oregon where I understand they’ve done a better job of managing their forests.

I don’t think it’s even possible for any of us to imagine the insurance claims that will be filed and the backlog of those not to mention lack of building materials to even start rebuilding.

ALL the insurance companies should merge their resources and hire the necessary contractors together to go into Paradise and Malibu and do all the cleanup work at the same time. It wouldn’t make sense for each to send the workers in whenever they get around to it. It needs to be done now and all at once.

I can’t imagine what those homeless people are going to do for lodging. Available homes/apartments have to be MILES away from their jobs..Sacramento is what(?) 80 miles away from Paradise? It will be easier for those in the Malibu area as there are miles and miles of possibilities for them.

But so much will depend on insurance companies getting to work immediately! Homeowners will have to prove they had coverage, wait for adjusters to do their work(wouldn’t want that job) and the problems will be endless!

So many will need all our prayers.


47 posted on 11/18/2018 10:11:47 AM PST by Thank You Rush
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To: TonytheTiger7777
i believe its either illegals making their dinner fires or terrorist groups in america causing it, but no one will entertain these ideas seriously,

The possibility of a terrorist set forest fire should be checked because the Muslim Jihadists threaten to set forest fires, by wat of their websites and on captured bin Laden documents.

These forest fires seem to have been started by faulty electrical equipment, but terrorism should not be off the table. - Tom

48 posted on 11/18/2018 10:41:10 AM PST by Capt. Tom
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To: Kaslin

Nice article, however as to the “who” part, there was no mention of alleged governor Jerry Brown and his 2016 veto of SB 1463 which would have facilitated prudent forest prudent management decisions.


49 posted on 11/18/2018 10:47:20 AM PST by Seaplaner (Never give in-never, never,never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. Winston Churchill)
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To: MarMema

You would make news if Michigan was located in a Coastal Desert as is California.
Good on you and Michigan for understanding that preventive management is the answer.

Indeed, the Californians are too stupid.


50 posted on 11/18/2018 1:38:07 PM PST by BatGuano
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To: GoldenPup

“That’s easy...MATCHES. Need to have stronger match control laws. More extensive background check for matches purchases. /S”

I think that you are on to something there...stay on it, it is another area to be heavily regulated if we are to survive.

“CMP,” Concealed Matches Permit!


51 posted on 11/18/2018 1:46:33 PM PST by BatGuano
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To: Starboard

You have a firm grasp of the obvious!

Akin to trying to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and annoys the pig!


52 posted on 11/18/2018 2:29:41 PM PST by Taxman (We will never be a truly free people so long as we have the income tax and the IRS.)
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To: allendale

Some years ago, a San Diego homeowner was jailed for using a CAT to clear a fire break on his own land! His backyard backed up to Jack Murphy canyon; the canyon was on fire, so the homeowner did the prudent thing to save his house.

His neighbor’s houses burned; his did not. He went to jail for a short while. I don’t recall the final outcome, but you can get the gist of how much control CA environmentalist whackos have!


53 posted on 11/18/2018 2:35:59 PM PST by Taxman (We will never be a truly free people so long as we have the income tax and the IRS.)
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To: Kaslin

My guess: Pot farms.


54 posted on 11/18/2018 4:09:13 PM PST by YogicCowboy ("I am not entirely on anyone's side, because no one is entirely on mine." - J. R. R. Tolkien)
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To: Taxman

Arguing with liberals is a futile waste of time. Instead of trying to convince them of your logic (which will never be accepted) convince them of your steadfast determination to push for what you believe in. Give them no quarter.


55 posted on 11/18/2018 4:15:33 PM PST by Starboard
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To: Starboard

Roger the “No Quarter.”

I cannot abide LIEberals!

Gave up trying to reason with them many years ago!


56 posted on 11/18/2018 5:08:05 PM PST by Taxman (We will never be a truly free people so long as we have the income tax and the IRS.)
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To: drwoof
...consider wildfires as an invading enemy, and that they should thus by repelled/extinguished with attendant vigor.

...lecture we mere citizens that this was all just something we’d have to get used to, and that we needed to direct more money to firefighting. 

Not sure how those statements work together.

Vigor costs bigly.

57 posted on 11/18/2018 5:12:08 PM PST by semimojo
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To: palmer
In their zeal to limit PM 2.5 for "health" reasons, they killed 100 people or more.

You keep saying this but I have yet to see one affected landowner blame this on their inability to burn based on air quality.

The Butte County restrictions are really prompted by agricultural burning and absolutely necessary.

There are even explicit exemptions for burning to manage fire danger.

58 posted on 11/18/2018 5:18:40 PM PST by semimojo
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To: ridesthemiles

The Sierra Club is the most evil organization in the country.


59 posted on 11/18/2018 5:35:33 PM PST by MarMema (don't forget to stock up on dogfood)
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To: semimojo
Exemption 4.7 Fire Hazard Reduction: Burning may be conducted at multi-unit dwellings, by commercial entities, and on residential lots equal to or greater than one (1) acre when done for the purpose of compliance with local fire hazard reduction ordinances.

That ordinance requires clearing 100 feet around your home: https://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/26/Education/ButteFireFlood.pdf which can be done by burning or chipping. Obviously the fire hazard ordinances were utterly irrelevant in Paradise. There are lots of pictures online showing trees within 10 feet of each other. That didn't matter at all since the trees were relatively fireproof. In stark contrast to that, most houses in Paradise were not ember proof.

Thus the 100 foot exemption from AQ regulations made no difference, utterly useless. What would have made a difference and saved lives is a blanket exmption to the AQ regulations last spring, before it was too late.

....but I have yet to see one affected landowner blame this on their inability to burn based on air quality.

Article about how more burning is needed: https://www.kqed.org/science/1927354/controlled-burns-can-help-solve-californias-fire-problem-so-why-arent-there-more-of-them where they mention that it's hard to get a permit. That article was written in July, obviously too late in the season to prevent tragedy this year.

Governor Brown signed an executive order last spring that would have allowed more burning. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2018/05/10/governor-brown-issues-executive-order-to-protect-communities-from-wildfire-climate-impacts/ "“Devastating forest fires are a profound challenge to California,” said Governor Brown. “I intend to mobilize the resources of the state to protect our forests and ensure they absorb carbon to the maximum degree.”" Doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of prescribed burning.

Also last spring there was a report https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3798 that soft-peddled the problem. They put it this way: The VMP treated 17,500 acres with prescribed burns in 2017, somewhat more than the average of approximately 13,000 acres treated per year since 1999. This represents a decrease from about 30,000 acres treated per year from 1982 through 1998. This decrease is due to several factors, including (1) an increase in the amount of planning and documentation required for prescribed burns due to stricter air quality regulations,...

It's still too early for a scientific report on this year's fires. I didn't see notices for prescribed burning on https://ssl.arb.ca.gov/pfirs/index.php in Butte county from last April and May other than some trivial burns.

60 posted on 11/18/2018 6:37:51 PM PST by palmer (...if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak and we will not survive)
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