Massive California wildfire

Thank you for thinking of me Jeffro.

California is a big state and the current fires are several hundred miles away.

The Santa Ana Winds are beginning to blow so we are at risk around here.

Santa Maria is a Cal Fire tanker base so things get pretty busy when we have a local fire.

Part of why I call flight service before every flight is to check for Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) to provide a safe environment for firefighting aviation operations.

We have had five fires so far this year within 50 miles of our home. The most recent was Lompoc (LPC); fourteen nautical miles south of Santa Maria (SMX).

We live on a bluff so we are at more risk than those living in the valleys. We have a family of red tailed hawks that ridge soar right in front of the house. I can watch them out my office window.

At this time the nearest fire TFR to Nipomo is in Springville, Ca about 100 nautical miles to the east, northeast of us.
 
Jeff, I posted something about Corona fires a week ago under the NEWS heading. It sounded pretty bad on TV. Vance responded & said it was 90% contained.

All day yesterday, it was all over the news again .......they made it sound like a total disaster out there ?

Sounds like alot of people are losing their homes & stuff. I am glad it's not you Vance !
 
We seem to be having a particularly bad fire season as could be expected from the rainfall this last winter.

The nearest fire to me now (it started Monday) is the Pozo fire about 25 miles north.

When a big fire moves through a neighborhood it can take out a lot of homes.

I have friends both in the south (Corona Fire) and to the north (Napa and Sonoma) who have been evacuated.

I speak from personal experience when I say that to lose a home in a fire is very devastating.

Life goes on.

We have had multiple fatalities in the latest fires despite efforts to evacuating people in a timely way.

I fought wildfires as a youth in eastern Oregon and I am grateful to the people who fight them now. It is difficult to imagine the horror I felt with a wall of fire roaring toward me. A wild fire can move much faster than I can run.

http://www.fire.ca.gov/general/firemaps
gives an idea of where the fires are without the drama of the news reports.
 
Still making the news........over 3500 homes destroyed ? Wow ! Very sad !
 
Almost 20% contained !
 
multiple ignition areas, No controlled burns for years, A new agenda with Jerry Brown signed in on building permitting - An arsonist and 'illegal' out door 'cooking' yeah....an 'accident' ripe for disaster . . .
 
It's been talked about quite a bit. It's believed that the Mexican Cartel started all of the fires to burn out the Marijuana crop. Since it's legal in some states, the people are growing there own and price reduction caused a retaliation to get prices back up.
 
That is something I never heard or thought of ! Very interesting !
 
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