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[News] Los Angeles Fires
- Thread starter Official Old Man
- Start date
Whoislloydy
Well-known member
Fire is apparently now 21,000 acres. To put that into perspective, that's the same size as Brighton.
I don't know that there's any evidence that they have EVOLVED to be fire-resistant, but they are by nature ~50% water while they are alive. OTOH the timber used for buildings is relatively dry and therefore flammable. Maybe some thought should be given to construction materials, but that'll cost more to build.
Everyone who has lost anything has my sympathy.
A lot of people are suggesting undersea cables as a better alternative.
smillie's garden
Am I evil?
- Aug 11, 2003
- 2,781
One reason that timber-framed housing, rather than brick, is prevalent in California is because it withstands earthquakes better.
jonny.rainbow
Well-known member
- Oct 29, 2005
- 6,892
Super Steve Earle
Well-known member
Luckily The Duchess of Sussex was on hand to call a photoshoot to use her knowlege of a Brighton sized area, to encourage everybody else to help.
A sad read.
www.latimes.com
Bob Clearmountain, L.A. studio icon, lost his home in the Palisades fire: 'This could be the end of our world.'
The revered rock producer and mixer lost his house and his custom-built home recording studio in the Palisades fire.
www.latimes.com
Fires starting in January with daytime temps of around 15 deg are obviously not caused by global warming.
Please note that I am not saying GW isn't a thing and I'm def not saying that we shouldn't be trying to stop it or mitigate its effects. But those blaming these fires on GW are scoring an own-goal and playing into the hands of the CC deniers.
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
I'm not sure that is correct. The fact that it's dry enough for these winter fires IS probably down to long term changes in rainfall as a result of man made climate change.
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
- Thread starter
- #72
Global warming may not have started the fires, but certainly had a lot to do with the tinder dry brushlands
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
Exactly
seagullwedgee
Well-known member
- Aug 9, 2005
- 3,103
I lived near LA in Thousand Oaks 79/80 (last year of high school) and in Malibu 80/81 (first year of Uni). There were very rarely any bush fires, even in the heat of summer. Let alone in what has historically been both the coldest and wettest time of year. That is 45 years, and a wholesale transformation in climactic conditions. Parts of my uni have burned to the ground. There are 12 lane highways all over the place, and very little public transport.
Don't think so. Last Feb was the highest rainfall in history in LA !!
But also they’ve not had any meaningful rain since last April apparently
Maybe but it looks like only Dec / Jan were historically significantly different to normal (last year completely the other way) so not really a global warming thing
- Oct 20, 2022
- 7,690
All the above.
However, it is the very dry and extreme WIND event that has turned seasonal fires into an equivalent of a hurricane and these extreme climatic conditions are unusual. Strong winds this time of year in California are normal as the Santa Ana blows off the desert and descends into California over the Sierra mountains - but the speed and strength of the wind currently fuelling these fires is “unprecedented”.
Other factors that have contributed include:
- An increase in non-native ‘garden’/cultivated vegetation (which is less resilient to fire) as residential developments have spread in to previously undeveloped desert areas
- Long term impact of more extreme weather through several years.
‘In 2021 and 2022, the Los Angeles area was pounded by heavy rainfall, which put vegetative growth on hillsides, canyons and woodland areas on steroids. Drought conditions that returned in 2023 and 2024 turned those areas into dried-out tinderboxes just waiting to ignite.”
Combine that with the extreme and unprecedented Santa Ana winds of January 2025 and you have the climatically linked disaster unfolding now in Los Angeles.
How Climate Change Has Fueled L.A.’s Devastating Wildfires: ‘We Have Unleashed Forces Beyond Our Control’
'We have unleashed forces that are beyond our control': Environmental experts explain how erratic weather patterns have fueled L.A.'s firestorms.
variety.com
What are Santa Ana winds and how are they fuelling the Palisades fire?
What's behind the Santa Ana winds and why are they so destructive?
www.bbc.co.uk
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Season (July 1-June 30) Total Inches of Rainfall Inches Above/Below (+/-)All the above.
However, it is the very dry and extreme WIND event that has turned seasonal fires into an equivalent of a hurricane and these extreme climatic conditions are unusual. Strong winds this time of year in California are normal as the Santa Ana blows off the desert and descends into California over the Sierra mountains - but the speed and strength of the wind currently fuelling these fires is “unprecedented”.
Other factors that have contributed include:
- An increase in non-native ‘garden’/cultivated vegetation (which is less resilient to fire) as residential developments have spread in to previously undeveloped desert areas
- Long term impact of more extreme weather through several years.
‘In 2021 and 2022, the Los Angeles area was pounded by heavy rainfall, which put vegetative growth on hillsides, canyons and woodland areas on steroids. Drought conditions that returned in 2023 and 2024 turned those areas into dried-out tinderboxes just waiting to ignite.”
Combine that with the extreme and unprecedented Santa Fe winds of January 2025 and you have the climatically linked disaster unfolding now in Los Angeles.
How Climate Change Has Fueled L.A.’s Devastating Wildfires: ‘We Have Unleashed Forces Beyond Our Control’
'We have unleashed forces that are beyond our control': Environmental experts explain how erratic weather patterns have fueled L.A.'s firestorms.What are Santa Ana winds and how are they fuelling the Palisades fire?
What's behind the Santa Ana winds and why are they so destructive?www.bbc.co.uk
Overall Season Average*
2024-2025 See month-by-month numbers as season unfolds.
2023-2024 25.19 +10.37
2022-2023 28.40 +13.58
Total Seasonal Rainfall 1877-Present for Downtown Los Angeles, California
Almanac facts, information and trivia about Los Angeles County, its people, cities and communities.
www.laalmanac.com
I posted mostly in reaction to the idiot arsonist that appears to be the 'trigger'. I was probably looking at things too simplistically and I wasn't addressing the causes of the 'spread'.
Some good information in the responses, thank you, which I don't dispute - especially from those who have actually spent time living in the area.
Some good information in the responses, thank you, which I don't dispute - especially from those who have actually spent time living in the area.