[rhudeboye]

Is all well with my fellow West coast board members?

Curious - Has these fires become more frequent of late or has it always been a kind of end of summer danger for that area? Seems to be getting worse.



http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-01-voa33.cfm

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

pretty crazy - i have been trying to get ahold of a friend of mine who lives right on the edge in la canada flintridge

it has definitely had an effect on the weather too

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[josephsc]

I recently saw a cool time-lapse photo/video of the fire. It looks bad....

http://www.brandonriza.com/Video/HTML/Zero...tContained.html

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Chris Vais]

As the population of California has increased, homes have been built in areas that are prone to wildfire. This is especially true in Southern California. The wild lands that surround these enclaves of homes are filled with vegetation that is highly combustable, such as manzanite and creosote bush. Then there are the imported trees, most notably the eucalyptus that were widely planted in California as a windbreak. Couple that with a three year drought and you have a potential disaster. Most of the year our prevaling winds are out of the west or northwest, coming off of the ocean from areas of high pressure. This keeps the atmoshere reasonably humid and brings the summer fog with it. However, in the late summer, we occasionally get a sift in the wind conditions where the winds come out of the east. The wind shift occurs when a large high pressure dome sets up to the east of us, over the desert. As the wind flow across the desert, the air dries out and becomes superheated. The result is the populated areas in coastal California, as far north as San Francisco exprience "Santa Ana" or "sundowner" winds that are very hot and very dry. Winds flow from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. The steeper the pressure gradient the higher the wind speed.

In uninhadited areas wildland fires routinely provide a check on vegetation growth, but in areas close to population centers we tend to fight the fires and not let the natural process control the vegetation. The big fire in LA is burning in an area that last burned 60 years ago, long before there were any homes built out there. So, unfortunately, it was an area that was ripe for a major fire.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rhudeboye]

<!--quoteo(post=79399:date=Sep 2 2009, 11:20 AM:name=Chris Vais)-->QUOTE (Chris Vais @ Sep 2 2009, 11:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->As the population of California has increased, homes have been built in areas that are prone to wildfire. This is especially true in Southern California. The big fire in LA is burning in an area that last burned 60 years ago, long before there were any homes built out there. So, unfortunately, it was an area that was ripe for a major fire.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

A lot of good points Meteorologist Chris

I read a similar point made regarding the rock slides in CA. The article mentioned that at one time they wouldn't dare build on this particular mountain side. But as the demand for homes grew, up the homes went.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Chris Vais]

<!--quoteo(post=79412:date=Sep 2 2009, 02:45 PM:name=rhudeboye)-->QUOTE (rhudeboye @ Sep 2 2009, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I read a similar point made regarding the rock slides in CA. The article mentioned that at one time they wouldn't dare build on this particular mountain side. But as the demand for homes grew, up the homes went.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Unfortunately, also true, although most communities have gotten much better about zoning seismicly unstable hillsides as open space so that they can be built on. That said, there are houses built along the EastBay Hills, within spitting distance of the Hayward fault.

My house is constructed on an engineered fill along the Bay fringe. The foundation is a post tensioned concrete slab. If the Big One ever comes, all I'll likely have to do is change the house number after it finishes floating down the street. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

That does look horrible. We went through the Witch Creek et al fires a couple of years ago, so I really sympathize with those folks. A bit North of us San Diego guys, but all too familiar. And we are just getting started with the fire season.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.