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LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

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Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#501

Post by infecto »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #414
throwup238 wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are you lucky enough to be in a place where insurers in California are still operating? California has had a state fire insurer (FAIR) of last resort for over fifty years and fire insurance is practically mandatory for mortgages so there aren’t many places that are excluded. It’s entirely funded by premiums and has never been bailed out by state or federal funds. It’s not like the National Insurance Flood Program t…

[flagged]

> FTFY: subsidize people living in red states

Please leave politics out of this discussion, it's immature.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#503

Post by TheCapeGreek »

gammarator wrote: post #285
kethinov wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot more could be done: https://www.slowboring.com/p/a-better-approach-to-forest-man...

These aren’t “forests” like in other parts of the West so much as cliffs covered in dry, scrubby brush. I’m pessimistic that they could be systematically cleared or burned in a controlled way.

Similar climates and geographies both either have the issue or manage it better.

Greece is a good example of also not managing this properly with its own regular massive fires, while national parks around Cape Town and other parts of South Africa do regular controlled burns in very rocky, hill-y terrain.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#504

Post by throwup238 »

gcanyon wrote: post #492
ramshanker wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was the major building material? Wood or Concrete? I hear wood houses are a lot more popular in US. Sorry for your loss.

Most houses in the US are made of wood. In Los Angeles they often have tile/concrete roofs, but I've read that in a situation like this the problem is the vents under the edge of the roof that lead into the attic: if anything burning gets through there, the house is toast. Source: used to live in a Los Angeles hilly suburb. If the fires get to where I used to live, that house will definitely burn despite having a cem…

Insurers require ember resistant vulcan vents and the like now. It’s a relatively minor upgrade for most homeowners since its just a mesh over the vent.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#505

Post by infecto »

linotype wrote: post #303
bloudermilk wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only guidance I’ve heard so far is that the shelters are in need of bedding. Neither of the press briefings today offered more opportunities for support.

Where the hell is Karen Bass? Our government?

I don't live in LA but would Karen Bass even have much of any input? The palisades is mostly Santa Monica no? Sure its part of LA county but why would the mayor of LA have any input on Santa Monica / Santa Monica mountains. Genuinely curious why she is in the spotlight compared to the local officials in Santa Monica?

Edit: I continue to see her name pop up in the news and I have been trying to understand how LA works in that she is in the complete spotlight. There are fires in surrounding LA but does the city of LA mayor have any control in those?

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#506

Post by delfinom »

rayiner wrote: post #273
darth_avocado wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with that though is that the overall budget includes big ticket items like pensions and overtime. And cuts often directly are from live services. So even though it’s 2% of the overall budget, the cut could still be significant to the availability of firefighters and crucial things like response times.

I recommend to everyone to get out of cities and counties that have large pension liabilities. You will be less safe, your kids will be educated more poorly, and your quality of public services will be whittled away because the money is going to retirees and debt. E.g. Retirement benefits and debt service took up 43% of Chicago’s budget in 2022: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/opinion/chicago-illinois-... . A deca…

Not just cities or counties.

The entire state of New Jersey exists to pay pensions. The 2025 general budget is $55 billion, $7 billion went to funding the pension for one year, again.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#507

Post by tomohawk »

linotype wrote: post #303
bloudermilk wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only guidance I’ve heard so far is that the shelters are in need of bedding. Neither of the press briefings today offered more opportunities for support.

Where the hell is Karen Bass? Our government?

[flagged]

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#508

Post by Xenoamorphous »

nprateem wrote: post #499
beernet wrote: post #470

This is sad, devastating, and not surprising. Yet, people voted for policies that will further accelerate climate change and its consequential destructions in the next four years. As someone not living in the US, this is unbelievable to witness. Where did it all go wrong inside of people's heads?

Because no one thinks their house will burn down or flood, or that they will starve. We're supposed to be self-interested individuals, but sadly most people only seem to wake up the moment their own safety is directly threatened. Such a shame that 50 years of climate warnings have done practically nothing to stop us reaching the tipping point. If we aren't there yet, we will be in our lifetimes no doubt.

Most people that voted for Trump I’d say is not that they don’t think climate change will affect them, it’s that they don’t think there’s climate change at all, or even if it there is, it’s not caused by humans.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#509

Post by ProcNetDev »

X0Refraction wrote: post #461
sahila wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She cut some 2% of the LA fire department budget, 17M out of 837M. The outrage is politically fueled more than any rationale reasoning.

Is that reduction absolute or real terms? If it's absolute then that's a pretty large reduction considering inflation

"That assertion is wrong. The city was in the process of negotiating a new contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted, so additional funding for the department was set aside in a separate fund until that deal was finalized in November. In fact, the city’s fire budget increased more than $50 million year-over-year compared to the last budget cycle, according to Blumenfield’s office, although overall concerns about the department’s staffing level have persisted for a number of years."

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/wildfire-threatens-...

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#510

Post by wtcactus »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #466
wtcactus wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the old days, where I live (and I'm guessing most of Mediterranean Europe) we had goats. It was a superb utilization of resources really, goats eat almost any vegetation - even hard bramble - so the shepherds would take them to the forest, and they would eat the vegetation buildup that serves as the fuel for these fires. That would be a win-win situation for everyone. We would get goat meat/milk for free (minus th…

Why didn't this happen in this region (over the last half a millennium) ? No goat equivalent in the Americas ? Population density too low ?

I’m guessing there were more profitable economic activities there. Gold mining, lumber industry, pelting, etc.

Here, in the mountains, there’s basically nothing really profitable. So, husbandry (using goats since they are adapted to this environment) was basically the only way to go.

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