Wednesday, January 08, 2025

Los Angeles Fires Spread

Wildfires raged across Southern California on Wednesday, leaving at least two people dead and prompting thousands of evacuations as blazes closed in on Los Angeles neighborhoods like the Pacific Palisades and residents hurried to escape.

Comments


This is a dire situation.

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-01-08 05:57 PM

Why can't we nuke the fire?

~ Putin's orange bitch ~

#2 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2025-01-08 05:58 PM

It's really bad here. I live about 20 miles away from the Palisades fire, and the smoke cloud is visible from my house. The smoke outside is thick. Santa Ana winds fanned the flames all last night. Local news has been covering it closely, but whatever you're seeing outside of Los Angeles County is likely representing a small portion of just how bad it is. The one thing that kept it from being more devastating yesterday is the direction of the winds...towards the ocean.

#3 | Posted by chuffy at 2025-01-08 06:34 PM

They don't groom the forest, they groom the children.

#4 | Posted by HanoverFist at 2025-01-08 06:35 PM

Incompetence and corruption is the inalienable Democrat political mission. They live to plunder and to do the least possible. I've recognized those as Democrat culture for many years. It is factual and real.

#5 | Posted by Robson at 2025-01-08 06:47 PM

#5 | Posted by Robson

There are more Republicans in California than any other state, and some states combined.

Your willful ignorance and disaster politicization are noted.

Swallow it.

#6 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-01-08 06:58 PM

#4 | Posted by HanoverFist

Why do you bother with this? Republican homes are burning to the ground. And you're talking about grooming. You and your ilk suffer from political tunnel vision. Seek help.

#7 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-01-08 07:01 PM

Trump is blaming California Governor Gavin Newscum (as he calls him) for the fire disaster in Los Angeles, claiming that the Governor is responsible for there being low water pressure in the city's fire hydrants. Once again Trump went off on a rant about how Newsom has turned-off a 'giant faucet' preventing water flowing through the state. He also declared that once he's back in the White House, he'll order that that 'faucet' be turned back on and California's water problems will be solved. What Trump failed to mention is that since July, the start of the current rain reporting season, L.A. County has gotten 0.16 inches of rain, when normally by this date, the average rainfall has been 4.56 inches.

OCU

#8 | Posted by OCUser at 2025-01-08 07:01 PM

At last report, there were four fires burning in L.A. County, which while it's not a small county, much of it is developed. As for us here in Irvine (Orange County), the closet fire, the Eaton fire, is 38 miles away (as the crow flies). The other fires in L.A. County are all better then 50 miles away. And the wind is blowing in a direction where we can hardly even see the smoke let alone smell it.

OCU

#9 | Posted by OCUser at 2025-01-08 07:03 PM

He also declared that once he's back in the White House, he'll order that that 'faucet' be turned back on and California's water problems will be solved.

Excellent. I will put that on my list of things to keep track of. I'm really curious where this "faucet" is located. Do any of the MAGA Lewzer-humpers have any idea?

#10 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-01-08 07:16 PM

When I want to visit California I fly to Morocco.

#11 | Posted by NerfHerder at 2025-01-08 07:18 PM

@#8 ... he'll order that that 'faucet' be turned back on and California's water problems will be solved. ...

Did he give any details as to how he will accomplish that feat, or is this just another of his ~Mexico will pay for the wall~ lies that seem to please his base but have little footing in reality?


#12 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-01-08 07:22 PM

We've known to prepare for extreme natural disasters for a long time. It's only going to get worse as we continue to dump CO2 into the atmosphere.

And since we're pointing fingers, republicans have obstructed and stonewalled every effort to improve our energy-grid and build resilience to natural disasters for decades.

#13 | Posted by horstngraben at 2025-01-08 07:28 PM

#8 | POSTED BY OCUSER

The blame lies up and down the chain.

State stopped prescribed burns...
State mandated insurance policy caps.
1600 homes in PP sent insurance ending past couple of months.
State of California didn't fill the hydrant reservoir.
State of California doesn't manage excessive brush.
The Fire Department deprioritized Fire Fighting, not enough fire fighter.
LAFD cut budget $20Million
Fire fighters out of water.
Equipment shipped to Ukraine.
Homeless population making fires to keep warm.

Cascading Catastrophy.

In an attempt to debunk Rick Caruso, LA morning anchor Melvin Robert is embarrassingly fact-checked by their own on-the-ground reporter:
x.com

And since we're pointing fingers, republicans have obstructed and stonewalled every effort to improve our energy-grid and build resilience to natural disasters for decades.
#13 | POSTED BY HORSTNGRABEN

Not in CA. PGE and Edison have raised rates to astronomical levels to do mitigation, still nothing changed.

#14 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-01-08 07:40 PM

As they were saying on tonights news by a person in charge of California fire fighting and the hydrants without water said their main priority is diversity, inclusion and equity. Peoples safety is the least of their priority. LA touted Fire Chief is the first gay woman because in California that is obviously more important than public safety. Biden also sends more money and firefighting eqpt to Ukraine.

The California ruling class needs charged with gross failure and real crimes against humanity instead of treated as DEI saviors. The Democrat pols never give up promotinng their absurd failures.

#15 | Posted by Robson at 2025-01-08 07:41 PM

I will put that on my list of things to keep track of. I'm really curious where this "faucet" is located.

The State sends trillons of gallons of water to the see.

California's rain bounty slips into the ocean and drought-shocked Central Valley farmers want an explanation
95 percent of the water that collected in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been flushed out to sea, leaving frustrated farmers with lots of questions.
www.turnto23.com

I swear DialAgain you really don't know how to do a search.

#16 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-01-08 07:42 PM

Los Angeles mayor slashed fire department budget months ago. Because, well, fires in CA are so rare.

#17 | Posted by gracieamazed at 2025-01-08 07:51 PM

@#16 ... The State sends trillons of gallons of water to the see. ...

The article seems to indicate that the tecent trillions of gallons of water is not a routine thing.

So, if California had spent tens of millions of dollars to build reservoirs to pool that non-routine water event, my guess is that your current alias would likely be criticizing California for wasting money.

In a similar situation ...

Decades of groundwater depletion mean hard choices ahead for states (2022)
csgmidwest.org

... On a recent visit to the western Kansas town of Garden City, Burke Griggs asked local leaders a question that may have first sounded like a joke. "Where do you plan on moving Garden City in 50 years?" asked Griggs, a leading expert on water law.

He was deadly serious, though, about a problem that the Washburn School of Law professor says a growing number of communities will face in the coming years and decades without shifts in how the state manages, allocates and conserves its resources, particularly groundwater. ...




#18 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-01-08 07:55 PM

In a Drought, California Is Watching Water Wash Out to Sea.
www.nytimes.com

#19 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-01-08 07:57 PM

Lets not forget ...

Newsom spent time and energy trying to "Trump-Proofing" California.

Incredible, he showed up to the fire for a photo op.

#20 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-01-08 08:02 PM

Eight years after California voters approved a $7.5 billion water bond to construct water storage facilities, not one project has reached completion.
And as I posted, untold Trillions of gallons of fresh snowmelt and rain continue to flow wastefully into the Pacific Ocean.

At least we are Trump proofed.

#21 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-01-08 08:04 PM

The hits just keep coming ...

"Apparently L.A. City didn't want to pay for the larger, water-load Fire Hawks that L.A Co Fire operates at the outset of the Palisades fire and didn't call for the heavy water droppers until the fire was out of control. Opted for L.A. City helicopters that aren't as capable of large water drops."
x.com

#22 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-01-08 08:06 PM

#20 Newsom was celebrating the birth of Biden's great granddaughter. The fires were just there.

#23 | Posted by gracieamazed at 2025-01-08 08:09 PM

you really don't know how to do a search.

Sure I do:

Former President Donald Trump suggested there was a "large faucet" up North that could solve all of California's water needs for its cities, its farms and to wet down its forests so they don't burn so fierce. "You have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north with the snow caps and Canada, and all pouring down and they have essentially a very large faucet," Trump said this month. We call that faucet the Columbia River. "You turn the faucet and it takes one day to turn it, and it's massive, it's as big as the wall of that building right there behind you. You turn that, and all of that water aimlessly goes into the Pacific (Ocean), and if they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here and right into Los Angeles," he said.
Please explain where this "giant faucet" that diverts the Columba River into California is located.

#24 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-01-08 08:14 PM

I've driven the Columbia River from one end to the other. Right from here to Astoria. I have never seen a giant faucet that would divert the river down through all of Oregon and most of California to LA.

Must be quite the aqueduct, going over all those big hills and all. Maybe Lewzer will put on a big show opening the building sized faucet that takes a day to open. Fireworks maybe?

#25 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-01-08 08:24 PM

@#19 ... In a Drought, California Is Watching Water Wash Out to Sea. ...

And ... what would be said if California invested in the infrastructure to gather that rare water event?

Would the GOP then say, ~wasting tax payers' dollars?~

If such water events were common and likely, I'd proffer that California would build the infrastructure to harness those events.

But, are those water events likely and common?



#26 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-01-08 08:26 PM

" It's really bad here. I live about 20 miles away from the Palisades fire, and the smoke cloud is visible from my house. The smoke outside is thick. Santa Ana winds fanned the flames all last night. Local news has been covering it closely, but whatever you're seeing outside of Los Angeles County is likely representing a small portion of just how bad it is. The one thing that kept it from being more devastating yesterday is the direction of the winds...towards the ocean.
#3 | POSTED BY CHUFFY AT 2025-01-08 06:34 PM | REPLY | FLAG"

Damn. That's scary. Please, stay safe. :

#27 | Posted by BellRinger at 2025-01-08 08:35 PM

@#21 ... Eight years after California voters approved a $7.5 billion water bond to construct water storage facilities, not one project has reached completion. ...

California Passes Multi-Billion-Dollar Bond to Build a More Resilient Water System (2014)
www.ucsusa.org

... California voters yesterday approved a $7.5 billion water bond (Proposition 1), which will fund expanded water storage, water treatment and recycling projects as well as the restoration of diminished waterways.

The measure was passed during a record drought that has highlighted the weaknesses of California's current water management system and the need to prepare for drier conditions in the future.

A total of $2.7 billion of the bond funds is dedicated to finance new water storage projects such as dams, reservoirs or replenishing groundwater reserves. Over the coming months, the California Water Commission will closely examine scientific evidence and economic factors to determine what types of storage projects provide the greatest "public benefit." ...



--- and ---

Three Years on, How California Is Spending Its $7.5 Billion Water Bond (2017)
deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org

... They found that about 80 percent of the proposition's money has been appropriated, and they broke down the funding in a recent PPIC blog post. ... [good graphic in the article]

In 2014 Californians approved Proposition 1. Ellen Hanak at the Public Policy Institute of California breaks down how much of that $7.5 billion has been appropriated so far and what that means for future water spending.

Three years ago, California voters passed Proposition 1, a bond that provided $7.12 billion for water projects and reallocated another $425 million. The funds had to be split among seven categories: safe drinking water, water storage, flood management, water recycling, drought preparedness, ecosystem and watershed protection and groundwater sustainability.

Ellen Hanak and Jelena Jezdimirovic at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) dove into the numbers to see how the proposition money has been spent throughout the state.

They found that about 80 percent of the proposition's money has been appropriated, and they broke down the funding in a recent PPIC blog post.

(Courtesy of the PPIC)

Water Deeply spoke with Hanak, director of the PPIC Water Policy Center, about the Proposition 1 funding, what it tells us about water projects in California and about legislative priorities in 2018.

Water Deeply: How does this rate of spending compare to past water bond spending?

Ellen Hanak, director of the PPIC Water Policy Center, has been studying the appropriation of money for California's 2014 water bond. (Courtesy of the PPIC)

Ellen Hanak: This is about the typical pace of spending. Sometimes we'd like to see the money get out the door quicker or get frustrated that a bond passes and it doesn't get all spent right away, but there is a whole process within each category to develop the specific details. And then when the calls go out, people have a bit of time to respond, there's a judging process, an awards process and that doesn't all happen overnight. ...


Yeah, I guess my first question would be ... does this Act apply to Los Angeles, or the more northern areas of California?



#28 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-01-08 08:40 PM

@OCU,

The Santa Anas are supposed to shift and blow Eastward in a couple of days. I expect around Saturday/Sunday, you'll be getting your first dose of smoke. Here in the South Bay, winds are not very strong, but it smells like campfire and the air is brown.

#29 | Posted by chuffy at 2025-01-08 09:16 PM

Rick Caruso is a ------- ----. Funny how his piece of ---- development in the Palisades is ------- untouched by the fires.

#23

Graceless the ---- is a ------- ------. Biden and Newsome were in LA in preparation to going east to celebrate Biden protecting more natural habitat that has meaning to the indigenous population. (Look it up, ------)

The ------- idiot fake ----- bastard neglects to say WIND CONDITIONS prevented air support.

You MAGAT ----- have down the wind.

We will make sure you reap the whirlwind

#30 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2025-01-08 09:31 PM

Chuffy,
Prayers to you and your family. One of my kids is a mile outside of the evac zone for the Eaton fire, so we are all watching closely. They had 50-60 mph winds last night They are packed and ready to leave at a moments notice, but now there is another fire in the Hollywood Hills threatening their intended destination. There is really no safe direction. Scary stuff.

I'm hearing folks scoff and say this is no different from what we go through in hurricanes. There is no comparison.. In a hurricane you can hunker down in relative safety inside a well built structure. There is no escaping fire when it comes for you.

Please check in and let us know how you are doing.

#31 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2025-01-08 10:11 PM

You too OCU.

#32 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2025-01-08 10:17 PM

I'm in the South Bay, if the fire reaches us here, all of Los Angeles is gone...my family is fine.

We're losing some beautiful buildings and landscapes, but if you really cared about me and my family, you'd reject Republicanism and DJT. We've known this was coming for decades, and the fascist right wing has prevented us from making even incremental changes to stave off the predictable effects of climate change.

Join me in rejecting the political Party that stands in the way of our progress on clean and renewable energy.

#33 | Posted by chuffy at 2025-01-08 11:16 PM

"At last report, there were four fires burning in L.A. County, which while it's not a small county, much of it is developed. As for us here in Irvine (Orange County), the closet fire, the Eaton fire, is 38 miles away (as the crow flies). The other fires in L.A. County are all better then 50 miles away. And the wind is blowing in a direction where we can hardly even see the smoke let alone smell it."

Hey ocuser! I'm your neighbor in Tustin, hah.

#34 | Posted by dibblda at 2025-01-09 12:35 AM

The local Russians or whatever sure are on a roll tonight about local California water resources, and fires, as if they knew anything about it. I'd suggest that they chill out on a mountain road in the middle of a firestorm and then lecture us about it.

I've hiked the trails behind Pasadena / Altadena many many times. Those mountains get as close as you can to going straight up. No easy way of managing the local landscape. There are plenty of ruins up there from previous attempts to tame the mountains, including a burned out hotel, funicular, rail lines, bridge to knowhere, etc.

#35 | Posted by dibblda at 2025-01-09 12:43 AM

Please check in and let us know how you are doing.

#31 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2025-01-08 10:11 PM

You too OCU.

#32 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2025-01-08 10:17 PM

We're a good distance from the fires, nearly 40 miles from the closest. And so far the winds have been such that we can't see the smoke let alone smell it. Now our granddaughter lives in Highland Park, which borders South Pasadena, and while they've been okay so far (we talked to her this evening) her school was closed today and will be the rest of the week.

That being said, the wind last night did take down a number of trees in our neighborhood, but were we live, all power-lines are underground so falling trees don't have the same impact as they do in some other places. And at the moment, the wind is down to only four or five mph while overnight it did hit close to 60 mph.

OCU

#36 | Posted by OCUser at 2025-01-09 01:45 AM

The orange diaper sniper threatens Canada with tariffs and they still send help.

www.cbc.ca

#37 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2025-01-09 08:11 AM

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