I hope that our members and readers from California are out of harm's way. 96 mph winds sound bad enough, without the first. Best wishes for your safety.
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Thanks for the good wishes. Fortunately, so far anyway, we are not near one of the current burn areas. Unfortunately, some other posters are at least much closer to them.
Usually, first rain comes right around Holloween and takes care of the problem. But, this time, no precip in sight. Things could go from bad to worse the next few weeks. Best wishes to all.
Thank you for your thoughtful concern. Not close to the house but definitely impacting the commute as freeways are impacted.
I often wonder how the fires may be impacting recruiting this time of year
We were close to the Tubbs fire in 2017, and that experience was one factor that inspired us to leave CA in 2018 and return to NYC. I'm not missing Santa Rosa right now, where we lived for almost 20 years and raised two sons. The board does have two current Sonoma County members that I know of, but they should be safe, for now at least.
Son #1 got his share of smoke exposure in 2017 from the Thomas fire, which surrounded Santa Barbara for 2 weeks.
Son #2 is in the Los Angeles area, but far enough from the Getty fire that we have no worries for now.
My sister lives in Ojai and has a restaurant in Ventura that had smoke and ash damage in 2017, which was just a few short months after they opened their restaurant. So much ash, looked like snow. She's safe now but is very twitchy when it comes to the fires. My son wouldn't consider CA at all for school. I originally thought it was a shame, but as a parent back on the east coast, I would be a mess. I'm not even used to the hurricane threat after all these years. God bless all the firefighters and residents who face this peril!!
Once again, I hope that our members on the west coast are safe during this year's fires, which seem to be worse than last year's.
I hope that our members are doing ok. This would be for Oregon and Washington folks as well.
South Florida got pounded yesterday as did the keys and the storm is now headed for the gulf states, more than likely New Orleans, again. It might become a hurricane by the time it hits land.
Be safe.
Bay Area here. we're safe from fires but the smoke here has been ridiculous. I'm sure you all saw images and video from San Francisco last wednesday. that was a day I won't forget for a long time. It felt like i was in a Tarantino movie. Everything was orange. the funny thing is, that was the best air quality we've had in a week. What I heard was the marine layer held the smoke and ash high in the sky and formed somewhat of a protective barrier for us while creating the creepy lighting conditions. since then, the two layers have mingled in the atmosphere, resulting in total gray (think Los Angeles in the 70's) and horrible air quality.
My daughter is starting an internship in dietetics at Oregon State later this week. I came out to help get her settled in the apartment in Salem. On the plus, this is where they are bringing evacuees. On the downside, we tried to drive north of Portland today to visit a relative and turned around--the combination of smoke and fog was too thick. We're lucky, we're safe. Can't imagine the heartbreak for those who have lost so much,.
please excuse my ignorance but I am not really familiar with the geography or weather patterns of California but was wondering if someone could enlighten me as to why California seems to have these fires every year. I grew up next to a national forest and while we get (I imagine) more rain than parts of California does the "ground" here is basically just pine straw for the most part, despite this we have only had one true wildfire in this area that I can remember. Even with this fire it only forced a one day "cancellation" of school (in truth we showed up to school only for them to send us home because the hallways and classrooms were filled with smoke from people coming in the building). There have been some smaller fires but have been contained relatively easily.
I know the forestry service here regular does controlled burns in this area in an effort to keep any fires that may start from getting out of control, is that not something that happens out west?
@gamecock303 posted:I know the forestry service here regular does controlled burns in this area in an effort to keep any fires that may start from getting out of control, is that not something that happens out west?
My understanding is that the forests in Ca have been mismanaged.
California doesn't believe in doing controlled burns.
@gamecock303 posted:please excuse my ignorance but I am not really familiar with the geography or weather patterns of California but was wondering if someone could enlighten me as to why California seems to have these fires every year. I grew up next to a national forest and while we get (I imagine) more rain than parts of California does the "ground" here is basically just pine straw for the most part, despite this we have only had one true wildfire in this area that I can remember. Even with this fire it only forced a one day "cancellation" of school (in truth we showed up to school only for them to send us home because the hallways and classrooms were filled with smoke from people coming in the building). There have been some smaller fires but have been contained relatively easily.
I know the forestry service here regular does controlled burns in this area in an effort to keep any fires that may start from getting out of control, is that not something that happens out west?
This is a good overview from the NYTimes.
Why Does California Have So Many Wildfires?
There are four key ingredients to the disastrous wildfire seasons in the West, and climate change is a key culprit.
By Kendra Pierre-Louis and
Again, California is aflame — and it isn’t close to being over yet.
As of Tuesday, more than two million acres have burned across the state so far in 2020, which makes this a record year, surpassing 2018, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. About 200 Labor Day visitors to the Sierra National Forest had to be evacuated by helicopter after being trapped by the Creek Fire, and Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in five counties.
High temperatures and strong winds have made the situation even worse. A heat wave baked Southern California over the weekend (Los Angeles County hit a record 121 degrees) and Death Valley recently reached 130 degrees, which, if confirmed, would be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on the planet.
Residents being evacuated must weigh the risks of seeking refuge in evacuation shelters in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and people living far beyond the burn zone are struggling with the smoke.
What is it about California that makes wildfires so catastrophic? There are four key ingredients.
The (changing) climate
The first is California’s climate.
Fire, in some ways, is a very simple thing,” said Park Williams, a bioclimatologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “As long as stuff is dry enough and there’s a spark, then that stuff will burn.”
California, like much of the West, gets most of its moisture in the fall and winter. Its vegetation then spends much of the summer slowly drying out because of a lack of rainfall and warmer temperatures. That vegetation then serves as kindling for fires.
[Follow our live California wildfires map tracker.]
But while California’s climate has always been fire prone, the link between climate change and bigger fires is inextricable. “This climate-change connection is straightforward: warmer temperatures dry out fuels. In areas with abundant and very dry fuels, all you need is a spark,” he said.
California’s fire record dates back to 1932; the 10 largest fires since then have occurred since 2000, including the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest in state history, and this year’s L.N.U. Lightning Complex, which is now 91 percent contained.
“In pretty much every single way, a perfect recipe for fire is just kind of written in California,” Dr. Williams said. “Nature creates the perfect conditions for fire, as long as people are there to start the fires. But then climate change, in a few different ways, seems to also load the dice toward more fire in the future.”
People
Even if the conditions are right for a wildfire, you still need something or someone to ignite it. Sometimes the trigger is nature, like the unusual lightning strikes that set off the LNU Lightning Complex fires in August, but more often than not humans are responsible, said Nina S. Oakley, a research scientist at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.
Many deadly fires have been started by downed power lines. The 2018 Carr Fire, the state’s sixth-largest on record, started when a truck blew out its tire and its rim scraped the pavement, sending out sparks. And some are started through bad decisions, like the fire that was ignited over the weekend by smoke-generating fireworks as part of a gender-reveal party and has consumed thousands of acres east of Los Angeles; Cal Fire says the fire is currently 16 percent contained.
Dr. Oakley, was driving away from her home in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Tuesday with her husband, another climate scientist, Benjamin Hatchett of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., to the ocean to get a respite from the smoke over her home and power outages that made it impossible to work. Events like gender reveal parties can trigger a blaze, she noted, but “you also have the human contribution to wildfire,” which includes the warming that has been caused by greenhouse gas emissions and the accompanying increased drying. Both contribute “to creating a situation favorable to wildfire,” she said. Dr. Hatchett called it a “perfectly primed scenario” for this disaster.
“California has a lot of people and a really long dry season,” Dr. Williams said. “People are always creating possible sparks, and as the dry season wears on and stuff is drying out more and more, the chance that a spark comes off a person at the wrong time just goes up. And that’s putting aside arson.”
There’s another way people have contributed to wildfires: in their choices of where to live. People are increasingly moving into areas near forests, known as the urban-wildland interface, that are inclined to burn.
Fire suppression
It’s counterintuitive, but the United States’ history of suppressing wildfires has actually made present-day wildfires worse.
“For the last century we fought fire, and we did pretty well at it across all of the Western United States,” Dr. Williams said. “And every time we fought a fire successfully, that means that a bunch of stuff that would have burned didn’t burn. And so over the last hundred years we’ve had an accumulation of plants in a lot of areas.
“And so in a lot of California now when fires start, those fires are burning through places that have a lot more plants to burn than they would have if we had been allowing fires to burn for the last hundred years.”
In recent years, the United States Forest Service has been trying to rectify the previous practice through the use of prescribed or “controlled” burns.
The Santa Ana winds
The second and stage of this year’s fire season is yet to come.
Each fall, strong gusts known as the Santa Ana winds bring dry air from the Great Basin area of the West into Southern California, said Fengpeng Sun, an assistant professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Dr. Sun is a co-author of a 2015 study that suggests that California has two distinct fire seasons. One, which runs from June through September and is driven by a combination of warmer and drier weather, is the Western fire season that most people think of. Those wildfires tend to be more inland, in higher-elevation forests.
But Dr. Sun and his co-authors also identified a second fire season that runs from October through April and is driven by the Santa Ana winds. Those fires tend to spread three times faster and burn closer to urban areas, and they were responsible for 80 percent of the economic losses over two decades beginning in 1990.
It’s not just that the Santa Ana winds dry out vegetation; they also move embers around, spreading fires.
Which brings us back to climate change.
Ultimately, determining the links between any individual fire and climate change takes time, and analysis from the evolving discipline of attribution science. But the effects of the greenhouse gases humans produce underlie everything that occurs in the atmosphere, and the tendency of climate change to make dry places more dry over time is a warning to the West of a fiery future.
This article originally appeared in 2018. It was updated in September 2020.
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like it says in the article, our wet/dry seasons are very distinct. the lightning storms that ignited the fires here around the bay area last month was the only time I can remember having measurable precipitation between May and October since my kid started playing travel ball in 2014. it just doesn't rain so things get really really dry.
The article didn't mention that Newsom is mis-managing the forests by preventing clearing out dead and dying timber. This is the biggest reason for the out-of-control fires.
It's a very complex set of issues and not as simple as this politician or that politician sucks. Upwards of 20 million trees die every year in CA, not all on state land. 1/3 of CA forests are federal, and of course there's a lot of privately owned land. Removing even 20 million trees isn't simple or cheap, and there are more like a 150-200 million. Tree deaths go back decades and there are all sorts of causes to that as well, including, of course, climate change.
Unfortunately every year I have come to expect major fires throughout the state. If it isn't fires it's floods, power outages, heat, earthquakes and such. You hope for a big rain/snow season (like we had last year) to build up our reserves then that leads to a fire prone season such as this due to abundant growth and drying out. Every year where I live there is a major fire in the city limits. For the past 10 years we were given 2 preliminary evacuation warnings and we had both cars packed. I've not been able to go to work due to freeway closures from fires maybe 3 or 4 times. I sympathize with those who have lost their homes, businesses, or loved ones as I have been fortunate thus far to avoid these. As JCG said above, it's a very complex set of issues.
This one is more balanced:
My brother works in the seasonal fire fighting industry (air support). Last season was very light and therefore not a lot going on (contracts ended early, not much overtime). This season is a bit different.
I would imagine that seasons following light or minimal fire seasons just add to the burn material for future seasons. Needless to say, it's been very busy for him this year.
@ABSORBER posted:My brother works in the seasonal fire fighting industry (air support). Last season was very light and therefore not a lot going on (contracts ended early, not much overtime). This season is a bit different.
I would imagine that seasons following light or minimal fire seasons just add to the burn material for future seasons. Needless to say, it's been very busy for him this year.
Your brother is a hero. We are all grateful.
When you're near a fire, any firefighting aircraft is a welcome sight, but if you've ever watched one of the big boys -- DC-10 or 747 -- do a drop you won't soon forget it.
Living within a mile of the perimeter of the Camp Fire (most devastating CA fire in history) and about 15 minutes from the Bear Fire (North Complex Fire) that recently destroyed the area of Berry Creek, CA and is still burning, I can say I have had it with these fires. In my opinion there isn't any one true cause, but rather a multitude. Politicians on both sides of the aisle point fingers and in the end, nothing gets accomplished. Frustrating for sure. Weather driven? yes. Man made? yes. Poor management? yes. Overreaching environmental laws? yes. As an example: The Camp Fire killed 85 or so people in 2018 and was caused by PG&E's power lines/towers that were in violation of state mandates for years. So lack of enforcement and corporate greed contributed greatly to initial cause IMO. However, 80mph winds blowing in the perfect direction toward the town of Paradise early in the morning was the recipe for disaster. Recently, the Bear Fire was caused by dry lightning which was on an unprecedented level around here. Again, winds blew so hard that the fire travelled 36 miles in a 24 hour period destroying everything in its path. You cannot "fight" these type of fires under those conditions. All you can do is get out of the way, herd people to safe areas and hope that the wind dies out. I don't have the answers and I'm not going to argue with anyone because its pointless and exhausting. I can only speak from my personal observation. I'm just tired of living in an environment when you have to breathe in AQI exceeding 600 every other year for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I appreciate those that have expressed their sympathies. Our family is fortunate in having avoided catastrophe, but like others on this board, we know alot of people that were not as lucky.
So sorry @latebloomer21 and thanks for bringing it back to the reality of lost property and devastated lives... and the need for non-politicized solutions that look beyond profit motives. Prayers to all affected.
If anyone is interested in a deep (politics-free) dive on just how crazy the current fires have been, this weather guy is always a good read, and his most recent post is kinda insane.
@Smitty28 posted:The article didn't mention that Newsom is mis-managing the forests by preventing clearing out dead and dying timber. This is the biggest reason for the out-of-control fires.
Please check your facts as I believe your underlying assumption and ultimate conclusions are demonstrably wrong. The State owns less than 10% of the lands involved.
The Federal Government owns/ controls about 55% of the lands involved
@infielddad posted:Please check your facts as I believe your underlying assumption and ultimate conclusions are demonstrably wrong. The State owns less than 10% of the lands involved.
The Federal Government owns/ controls about 55% of the lands involved
Excellent point. I didn't realize so much of the forest land was controlled by the federal government. Clearly Obama was asleep at the switch during his 8 years in office 
Dangerous and devastating wildfires are ravaging the west coast. It would be great if we could focus on our baseball connections in harm's way and not resort to name calling and finger pointing on the public pages of HSbaseballweb. IMHO...
There's a tradition on HSBBW about calling out to our friends in areas of danger from natural disasters. It shows that we are connected through baseball, though we live from California to Maine, from Washington State to Florida. That's what this thread is for.
I would guess that there have been at least some baseball fields that have been in the path of the fires, whether school or recreation (LL, Ripken, etc). Is there any way to confirm if there have been?
@FL-KY Baseball Dad posted:I would guess that there have been at least some baseball fields that have been in the path of the fires, whether school or recreation (LL, Ripken, etc). Is there any way to confirm if there have been?
in previous years in NorCal, the fires have been in pretty rural areas so the loss of fields and facilities has been minimal. A lot of good ballplayers up in the north bay, though (it's where Torkleson is from). I know the local baseball community in Norcal has been great with grassroots pushes to help the affected kids restock with used equipment drives and such afterwards.
In the Camp Fire, Paradise Little League fields were wiped out along with just about everything else. They did play games about 20 minutes away in Chico. The local community and those from far away all sent funds, gear and emotional support. Many Northern California scouts put on fundraisers sponsored by Chico area organizations in support as well. The 2020 season was a miracle after fixing their fields only to be shut down by Covid-19. So the kids up there have been hit pretty hard. The Bear Fire (which borders the old burn area of the Camp Fire) while destructive, hasn't impacted any little league fields to my knowledge....yet. These two fires have caused 100 people in Butte County to have lost their lives. Sorry this is so depressing. Sooner or later these kids will get back on their fields and playing ball. And on a positive side, there seems to be a real resilience and coming together as a community up there.
@Smitty28 posted:The article didn't mention that Newsom is mis-managing the forests by preventing clearing out dead and dying timber. This is the biggest reason for the out-of-control fires.
California manages 3% of its forests. Feds control 58%, remainder in native or private hands.
@mattys posted:in previous years in NorCal, the fires have been in pretty rural areas so the loss of fields and facilities has been minimal. A lot of good ballplayers up in the north bay, though (it's where Torkleson is from). I know the local baseball community in Norcal has been great with grassroots pushes to help the affected kids restock with used equipment drives and such afterwards.
In 2017 the Tubbs fire that started in Napa County and swept through much of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, destroying over 1,500 homes, heavily damaged Cardinal Newman HS and destroyed its turf baseball field. Spencer Torkelson's school was in the same conference, as was Andrew Vaughn's (#3 overall in the 2019 draft). Oh, and my boy too. I remember Andrew being very involved in raising money for those who lost homes.
I posted a photo here at that time that I took from my son's school's field showing how it was ringed by fires the morning after the initial run. I didn't know it at the time, but one of those fires was nearby at the Little League where my boys played. Just a wonderful park and league. So it turned out that 2 former players from that league saved the fields from being destroyed.
Great story here:
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/...alley-little-league/
@JCG posted:In 2017 the Tubbs fire that started in Napa County and swept through much of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, destroying over 1,500 homes, heavily damaged Cardinal Newman HS and destroyed its turf baseball field. Spencer Torkelson's school was in the same conference, as was Andrew Vaughn's (#3 overall in the 2019 draft). Oh, and my boy too. I remember Andrew being very involved in raising money for those who lost homes.
I posted a photo here at that time that I took from my son's school's field showing how it was ringed by fires the morning after the initial run. I didn't know it at the time, but one of those fires was nearby at the Little League where my boys played. Just a wonderful park and league. So it turned out that 2 former players from that league saved the fields from being destroyed.
Great story here:
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/...alley-little-league/
yeah, I probably misspoke or was misinformed when I said "minimal". I was thinking that in relation to the amount of damage, total and the sheer disruption of lives caused by the fires. I have a few baseball friends up there who, luckily, weren't affected so that probably skewed my thinking as well.