Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:01:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2021 21:51:30 GMT
Governor Newsom declares drought emergency in 39 counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity, Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba counties, which makes up about 30% of California's population, officials said. abc7.com/weather/newsom-declares-drought-emergency-for-39-ca-counties/10609348/ |
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,524
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on May 10, 2021 21:58:19 GMT
The new normal.
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Post by jenna on May 10, 2021 22:08:42 GMT
We knew it was happening, it's been hot as shit in the valley the past couple weeks. Time for me to yell at the neighbors over them leaving their water on so long during the hottest part of the day that they start flooding the gutters  |
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Post by ~summer~ on May 10, 2021 22:15:15 GMT
It’s so warm here and our wonderful fog seems to have gone missing.
I’m so heartbroken over this drought and the up-coming fire season.
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Post by papersilly on May 10, 2021 22:17:06 GMT
i have no doubt Los Angeles will make that list sooner or later. even with a heavy rainy season, i never assume california is out of the drought.
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Post by lucyg on May 10, 2021 22:24:28 GMT
ugh. I hate this.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2021 23:03:55 GMT
I am really worried about our fire season.
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Post by Frazzled Mom on May 11, 2021 1:41:10 GMT
People were already freaked out around here and long before Gov Newsome's announcement. We've already had a couple of smaller fires break out - the lack of rain this winter is literally causing people to consider moving. Last year's wildfires destroyed so many homes that people are absolutely terrified.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2021 1:54:22 GMT
People were already freaked out around here and long before Gov Newsome's announcement. We've already had a couple of smaller fires break out - the lack of rain this winter is literally causing people to consider moving. Last year's wildfires destroyed so many homes that people are absolutely terrified. We had two bad ones in my area due to the growth after the rainy season. You can't win. You either have lots of brush and growth from rain, or extremely dry brush and trees from lack of rain. |
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,098 
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Post by Sarah*H on May 11, 2021 2:03:02 GMT
We're planning to travel to several of those places this summer so I've been keeping an eye on the situation. It looks pretty grim right now.
I'm curious - the area where my brother lives in CO had the largest wildfire in the state's history a few months ago and I've been following the mitigation efforts they have instituted since then - they have at least half a dozen new initiatives to try to prevent that kind of fire again. There has been a massive effort to remove brush and beetle killed trees across hundreds of thousands of acres. They have also instituted a program called chipping days which requires all property owners to create a defensible space around their home to slow the spread of wildfire and provides both equipment and central locations to bring felled trees and other combustible material to be disposed of. I'd never heard of things like this before - does California have similar requirements in place?
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Post by ~summer~ on May 11, 2021 2:35:04 GMT
People were already freaked out around here and long before Gov Newsome's announcement. We've already had a couple of smaller fires break out - the lack of rain this winter is literally causing people to consider moving. Last year's wildfires destroyed so many homes that people are absolutely terrified. we’ve already had wildfires this past week and the wildfires are making me seriously consider moving - or at least buying a second home where we can escape to during fire season which used to be non existent and now gets longer each year. |
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,366
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on May 11, 2021 2:48:54 GMT
We're planning to travel to several of those places this summer so I've been keeping an eye on the situation. It looks pretty grim right now. I'm curious - the area where my brother lives in CO had the largest wildfire in the state's history a few months ago and I've been following the mitigation efforts they have instituted since then - they have at least half a dozen new initiatives to try to prevent that kind of fire again. There has been a massive effort to remove brush and beetle killed trees across hundreds of thousands of acres. They have also instituted a program called chipping days which requires all property owners to create a defensible space around their home to slow the spread of wildfire and provides both equipment and central locations to bring felled trees and other combustible material to be disposed of. I'd never heard of things like this before - does California have similar requirements in place? CA has grossly mismanaged land for many decades. The new “plan” is to require all vegetation to be remove from the foundation of your house to 30’ out. Yes, it will help preserve structures but it also removes all the plants that help shade homes and keep them cool. |
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Post by ~summer~ on May 11, 2021 2:50:09 GMT
We're planning to travel to several of those places this summer so I've been keeping an eye on the situation. It looks pretty grim right now. I'm curious - the area where my brother lives in CO had the largest wildfire in the state's history a few months ago and I've been following the mitigation efforts they have instituted since then - they have at least half a dozen new initiatives to try to prevent that kind of fire again. There has been a massive effort to remove brush and beetle killed trees across hundreds of thousands of acres. They have also instituted a program called chipping days which requires all property owners to create a defensible space around their home to slow the spread of wildfire and provides both equipment and central locations to bring felled trees and other combustible material to be disposed of. I'd never heard of things like this before - does California have similar requirements in place? CA has grossly mismanaged land for many decades. The new “plan” is to require all vegetation to be remove from the foundation of your house to 30’ out. Yes, it will help preserve structures but it also removes all the plants that help shade homes and keep them cool. and in my area PG&E has been trimming and removing trees like crazy. |
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,366
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on May 11, 2021 2:51:20 GMT
CA has grossly mismanaged land for many decades. The new “plan” is to require all vegetation to be remove from the foundation of your house to 30’ out. Yes, it will help preserve structures but it also removes all the plants that help shade homes and keep them cool. and in my area PG&E has been trimming and removing trees like crazy. That’s a good thing if they’re dead. And even living ones need to be trimmed away from power lines. |
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Post by ~summer~ on May 11, 2021 2:53:24 GMT
and in my area PG&E has been trimming and removing trees like crazy. That’s a good thing if they’re dead. And even living ones need to be trimmed away from power lines. most are living. They’ve removed massive eucalyptus all over the place and trimmed back trees like crazy from the power lines. I’m in “zone 1” or whatever the most extreme fire risk zone is called. We’ve had our home owners insurance cancelled multiple times.  Eta - I am also getting alerts that we are under “red flag warning” right now. This doesn’t usually happen until august |
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,366
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on May 11, 2021 2:58:50 GMT
That’s a good thing if they’re dead. And even living ones need to be trimmed away from power lines. most are living. They’ve removed massive eucalyptus all over the place and trimmed back trees like crazy from the power lines. I’m in “zone 1” or whatever the most extreme fire risk zone is called. We’ve had our home owners insurance cancelled multiple times.  Eta - I am also getting alerts that we are under “red flag warning” right now. This doesn’t usually happen until august I’m in Calaveras County... we’ve had a fire at least every other day for the past 2 weeks. There was just one today even. Not sure the causes but out here, most likely escaped burn piles. However, burning was suspended May 1. No clue but it’s damn early for this shit. The lake 5 min from me is woefully low already too. Eta- just checked 46% capacity and 48,000 acre feet below last year at this time. |
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MZF
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,517
Location: No. CA
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Post by MZF on May 11, 2021 3:11:07 GMT
I am really worried about our fire season. Me,too. It’ s so dry and windy☹️ |
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Post by lucyg on May 11, 2021 4:26:24 GMT
That’s a good thing if they’re dead. And even living ones need to be trimmed away from power lines. most are living. They’ve removed massive eucalyptus all over the place and trimmed back trees like crazy from the power lines. I’m in “zone 1” or whatever the most extreme fire risk zone is called. We’ve had our home owners insurance cancelled multiple times. Eta - I am also getting alerts that we are under “red flag warning” right now. This doesn’t usually happen until august We really shouldn’t have any eucalyptus in California ... it’s a big contributor to wildfire spread. Some asshole brought it to the East Bay from Australia in the 19th century and now we can’t get rid of it.  |
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Post by ~summer~ on May 11, 2021 4:46:24 GMT
most are living. They’ve removed massive eucalyptus all over the place and trimmed back trees like crazy from the power lines. I’m in “zone 1” or whatever the most extreme fire risk zone is called. We’ve had our home owners insurance cancelled multiple times. Eta - I am also getting alerts that we are under “red flag warning” right now. This doesn’t usually happen until august We really shouldn’t have any eucalyptus in California ... it’s a big contributor to wildfire spread. Some asshole brought it to the East Bay from Australia in the 19th century and now we can’t get rid of it. it's so true - they explode in fire and drop limbs in wind storms and I can't help but love them lol |
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Post by chaosisapony on May 11, 2021 15:01:24 GMT
We've had a couple of fires break out in the last week near me. One was up to 100 acres and the other was right next to a neighborhood that had to be evacuated. This is not normal for May. We'd usually get our first red flag warning in mid to late June but here we are under red flag warning right now and have been for the last week.
The only good thing about this is that some of my neighbors are finally taking their defensible space a little more seriously this year. Although one house across the street still has waist high grass that is now completely brown. Their house burned down in the 2017 fire, they rebuilt but still refuse to create defensible space. I don't get it at all.
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Post by LuvAgoodPaddle on May 11, 2021 15:47:18 GMT
We're planning to travel to several of those places this summer so I've been keeping an eye on the situation. It looks pretty grim right now. I'm curious - the area where my brother lives in CO had the largest wildfire in the state's history a few months ago and I've been following the mitigation efforts they have instituted since then - they have at least half a dozen new initiatives to try to prevent that kind of fire again. There has been a massive effort to remove brush and beetle killed trees across hundreds of thousands of acres. They have also instituted a program called chipping days which requires all property owners to create a defensible space around their home to slow the spread of wildfire and provides both equipment and central locations to bring felled trees and other combustible material to be disposed of. I'd never heard of things like this before - does California have similar requirements in place? CA has grossly mismanaged land for many decades. The new “plan” is to require all vegetation to be remove from the foundation of your house to 30’ out. Yes, it will help preserve structures but it also removes all the plants that help shade homes and keep them cool. My Dad lives in the central valley foothills and he's been complaining about the disposal issue for years now. He's removed dozens of dead bark beetle trees from his property over the last 5 years with no help from the state or county at a cost of tens of thousands of dollar. He has had to pay to remove and dispose all of it at a VERY high price. PG&E has even come through and took trees out along the roadside (no cost to him for those trees). There is no free or low cost way to dispose of all this dead vegetation in his area though. The foothills are filled with elderly and retired folks who flat out cannot afford these high removal and disposal prices. The biggest issue is they charge by weight to dispose in his county and it really adds up to hundreds of dollars to dispose of just one small load of heavy tree debris. The majority of home owners up there just cannot afford to get rid of it and the county and state is doing zero to help. In our state, we've had some really severe windstorms this year, causing huge pines to come down all over town. Each time, our county opened up the disposal yard for FREE! Zero cost to dispose of any storm debris. Why can't CA do something as simple as that to help out with free disposing of even just the bark beetle trees that are part of the issue? And while he takes very good care of his property, the neighboring property is vacant (but owned) and totally overgrown. Has downed trees, dead bark beetle trees, layers and layers of pine needles and vegetation. He's contacted the local fire department and county with zero help. As far as he knows, no one has contacted the property owner because it's been the same and just getting worse each year. So while he has kept his property cleaned up, the one neighboring him is a huge issue that can easily get out of control and will cause issues to his property no matter how cleaned up he keeps his side. The county should send someone in there to clean it up and send a bill to the property owner. So yes, CA is requiring the defensible space, but they sure don't do anything about vacant properties with issues and they are definitely not helping out in any way shape or form with clean up or disposal. |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 11, 2021 16:09:02 GMT
I am really worried about our fire season. I'm afraid of this for Arizona, too... we've had some of the worst fires here the past couple years (not nearly as bad as CA, but fires that have burned huge areas of the desert) and the weather just seems to have gotten getting drier and windier over the past couple years. |
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Post by flanz on May 11, 2021 16:42:54 GMT
We knew it was happening, it's been hot as shit in the valley the past couple weeks. Time for me to yell at the neighbors over them leaving their water on so long during the hottest part of the day that they start flooding the gutters Can you report them to the local water district? It would be good to speak with them first, but that is a possibility. When we were in severe drought and I was saving every precious drop of cold water in the shower, etc., we had a small rupture in one of the small irrigation lines and our front sidewalk was being watered unnecessarily. Someone reported it to the Water District and we were notified. It felt a little crummy that no one spoke with us first, but it was the way we found out what was happening and had it repaired right away. I love our community and the life we've built here in coastal CA over the past 32 years, but the drought, wildfires and earthquake threat sure dampen the joy. I'm amazed that property values continue to skyrocket. (I know almost every geographic area has its natural disaster risks, but I sure miss growing up in a part of Canada where the only real one was blizzard conditions, where being indoors, at home, provided a feeling of safety that I just don't have here.) |
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Post by flanz on May 11, 2021 16:44:39 GMT
i have no doubt Los Angeles will make that list sooner or later. even with a heavy rainy season, i never assume california is out of the drought. We had a very poor rainy season in Santa Barbara county... but for now we're enjoying the fog aka May Gray and I'm hoping for plenty of June Gloom too. Beats worrying about fire threat, hands down. |
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Post by flanz on May 11, 2021 16:45:37 GMT
I am really worried about our fire season. Me too! And for several years now, it's lead to a "why bother" mindset when I think about home improvements. For real. |
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Post by papersilly on May 11, 2021 16:46:52 GMT
i have no doubt Los Angeles will make that list sooner or later. even with a heavy rainy season, i never assume california is out of the drought. We had a very poor rainy season in Santa Barbara county... but for now we're enjoying the fog aka May Gray and I'm hoping for plenty of June Gloom too. Beats worrying about fire threat, hands down. the overcast days have been great haven't they? i love them! i hope they last well into june too. i want to enjoy them before the inevitable santa ana winds and fire season kick in big time. |
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Post by flanz on May 11, 2021 16:49:44 GMT
Our daughter is planning a simple outdoor wedding in a redwood grove in the Oakland Hills in September. Fire or smoke threat is a real possibility. |
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Post by ntsf on May 11, 2021 16:53:46 GMT
the eucalyptus was brought from australia in the 1860's to provide a lumber tree. they picked the wrong kind and it does not produce useable lumber (but it can feel koalas). there was a lot of trade back and forth due to a gold rush in australia.
much of the forested land in CA is not state or county land but us forest service or national park service land. the pine beetle situation.. made much worse by the changing climate.. has killed off millions of acres of forest. there is no way to log your way out this situation.
some counties take the fire clearing more seriously than others.. and have more money to hire staff to deal with it. there was a news story yesterday of insurance for homeowners in the foothills of going for $10-15,000 a year. unaffordable to many.. so seniors are selling.
and yesterday there was a small fire in brush at golden gate park in san francisco. we have urban problem with fire too. but a big problem is people who want to live out in the forested areas.. and their homes can't always be defended.
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,524
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on May 11, 2021 17:04:02 GMT
I looked into moving last year when the wildfires were bad, but unfortunately all the states I'd consider moving to were on fire as well. If people don't take climate change seriously there will not be a 'safe' state. All states will have extreme weather.
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Post by flanz on May 11, 2021 17:06:36 GMT
I looked into moving last year when the wildfires were bad, but unfortunately all the states I'd consider moving to were on fire as well. If people don't take climate change seriously there will not be a 'safe' state. All states will have extreme weather. With so much pollution caused by industry and with the almighty dollar in the hands of a few ruling this country, I fear it's too late. Of course we must try, but we have done so much harm to this planet in just 70 years and the rate of devastation is exponential. Hard not to feel like we're totally F'ed! |
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