southern california is on fire. almost every city.

[Grakthis]

According to you, sympathy and empathy are wasteful emotions. What a great way to live your life.

They are both wonderful emotions.  Save them for people who deserve them.

The very nature of tragedy is often that it is self-inflicted.  There is a difference between wishing it didn't happen and feeling sorry for the people it happens to.

I wish it didn't happen.  But Wildfires of this nature are directly CAUSED by the people who live there.  No other significant natural disaster in the US fits that description.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, ice storms, tornados... all of those are done TO us.  Wildfires are done BY us.

[tricia]

But Wildfires of this nature are directly CAUSED by the people who live there.  No other significant natural disaster in the US fits that description.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, ice storms, tornados... all of those are done TO us.  Wildfires are done BY us.

Not necessarily.  Lightning strikes can also cause wildfires.

[Grakthis]

Not necessarily.  Lightning strikes can also cause wildfires.

It's not the spark that is the issue.  It's the fact that if these occured naturally they would be small and would burn themselves out over maybe a mile or two.

The problem is that we put out fires so quickly, and do everything we can to stop them, on the west coast that when one finally breaks free it's got WAAAY more flamable material to burn than it should.

Like, immagine you kept piling sticks up in a room.  Everyday you put a few more down.  If you burned the sticks once a week, the fire would be small and tolerable.  If you wait a year, it's gonna burn the whole house down.

That's what happens out west.  They keep piling up sticks and they keep putting out the small fires.

[Laura]

it's so depressing in my town. the smoke from the mountain fire or wherever the fire that i saw yesterday was is heading into the part of town where i live. it's so weird though, there's all this smoke over the city, but i haven't smelled smoke this whole week not even today. my mom said because the wind is blowing towards the oceans or something? i dont exactly remember.

its really eery here, i can't imagine what its like in san diego & all the cities that got it worse than us

Not necessarily.  Lightning strikes can also cause wildfires.

It's not the spark that is the issue.  It's the fact that if these occured naturally they would be small and would burn themselves out over maybe a mile or two.

The problem is that we put out fires so quickly, and do everything we can to stop them, on the west coast that when one finally breaks free it's got WAAAY more flamable material to burn than it should.

Like, immagine you kept piling sticks up in a room.  Everyday you put a few more down.  If you burned the sticks once a week, the fire would be small and tolerable.  If you wait a year, it's gonna burn the whole house down.

That's what happens out west.  They keep piling up sticks and they keep putting out the small fires.

so we're just supposed to let fires have a chance of killing people & not put it out? your an idiot.

CA caught their own state on fire and now they are asking for MY help bailing them out.

Why should I?  They are just gonna rebuild right on the coals and catch their houses on fire again in 2 years.

are you a firefighter? if not, why in the world would they ask for your help? you dont even live here

[tylor2000]

Not necessarily.  Lightning strikes can also cause wildfires.

It's not the spark that is the issue.  It's the fact that if these occured naturally they would be small and would burn themselves out over maybe a mile or two.

The problem is that we put out fires so quickly, and do everything we can to stop them, on the west coast that when one finally breaks free it's got WAAAY more flamable material to burn than it should.

Like, immagine you kept piling sticks up in a room.  Everyday you put a few more down.  If you burned the sticks once a week, the fire would be small and tolerable.  If you wait a year, it's gonna burn the whole house down.

That's what happens out west.  They keep piling up sticks and they keep putting out the small fires.

That is not always the case grakthis.  I think we know now part of the problem is the laid off seasonal firefighters.

[MyMelody]

Insurance IS a good idea for homeowners. Survival kits are good too, even if you don't own a home.

The only reason we Northern Californians don't have the same kind of fires (we're getting the same winds) is that we've gotten a lot of rain recently. Otherwise, all of California would be up in flames. Scary thought. They're already having to ship our firefighters down to help out.

[Laura]

ok now i can smell smoke..i just went to open my window. i dont know if there are anymore fires in my town or if its just from the fire that happened yesterday but yeah. if i can smell it in my room it must be really bad outside. glad i dont have to go anywhere till tomorrow!

[tricia]

Insurance IS a good idea for homeowners. Survival kits are good too, even if you don't own a home.

The only reason we Northern Californians don't have the same kind of fires (we're getting the same winds) is that we've gotten a lot of rain recently. Otherwise, all of California would be up in flames. Scary thought. They're already having to ship our firefighters down to help out.

They sent firefighters from my town (San Antonio) too

[LimeTwister]

Same in NC.

[tylor2000]

Insurance IS a good idea for homeowners. Survival kits are good too, even if you don't own a home.

The only reason we Northern Californians don't have the same kind of fires (we're getting the same winds) is that we've gotten a lot of rain recently. Otherwise, all of California would be up in flames. Scary thought. They're already having to ship our firefighters down to help out.

They sent firefighters from my town (San Antonio) too

I don't know, I think in Northern California they aren't called the Santa Ana winds.  It's a totally different climatic situation.  Partially because of the geography...at least when you get up towards the Bay Area.  The San Fernando Valley is completely different then the Desert areas east of the Southern California coastline.  I've seen models (maps) showing the dynamics of the Santa Ana winds through the Los Angeles Region, as well as larger regional ones with a more general visual description of the normal behavior the Santa Ana winds in areas around and south of Los Angeles, including San Diego.  There is a reason they are concerned about them because they are not just high winds but very dry high winds that suck moisture out of everything as they move towards the ocean.  And it is extreme.  Dry desert air which is very thirsty for moisture moving past at very fast speeds increasing the rate of evaporation.

Are there any fires in Mexico near the area?

[MyMelody]

Oh, okay. I don't consider myself much of a meteorology expert, so almost anything I say concerning the subject could be completely wrong.

[vcfan]

The smoke was really bad around here today.

And it's been confirmed that the Santiago fire was intentionally lit by a human being. Great.

[Laura]

so was one of the ones in my town. maybe the 2nd one from today near my town, im not sure yet.

[Manda]

It still smells like smoke, a friend of mine's buddy was sent to Irvine to go put out the fires (he's a fire fighter) after he just got done helping in Malibu.   I hope he's okay.

[tylor2000]

Oh, okay. I don't consider myself much of a meteorology expert, so almost anything I say concerning the subject could be completely wrong.

I'm not either, I'm just relating what I believe to be true.  And what I've learned about the environment of the situation at hand.