California is Burning

[Sid]

I always thought that, whenever I win the lottery (can't be long anymore ), I would move to California to enjoy the climate and my retirement.
But I gues, it is better to redirect my dreams to southern France or northern Italy.

Damn, things are real nasty this year in California.
Make sure you all stay safe and stay informed.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

The Camp Fire near Chico in Butte County has grown to 117,000 acres, and has taken on the notoriety of being the deadliest fire in state history with 42 deaths attributed to the fire, and hundreds of people still unaccounted for. The fire is also the most destructive in state history, with 6,713 structures burned, mostly houses. Containment is at 30 percent, according to CalFire.
With 42 confirmed dead, Camp Fire is deadliest in California history. Four identified, hundreds still missing | Sacramento Bee
Camp Fire Latest Monday, November 12: 30 percent contained, 117,000 acres burned | KRCR

The Hill Fire west of Thousand Oaks has held at 4,531 acres and is now 80 percent contained.
Hill Fire Nears Containment as Woolsey Threatens 57,000 Homes | NBC Los Angeles

The Woolsey Fire burning from Simi Valley to Malibu and Calabasas has grown to 93,600 acres amid Santa Ana wind conditions today. An estimated 435 structures have burned, according to CalFire, with 57,000 structures still threatened. The Cities of Malibu, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Bell Canyon, and Topanga remain under evacuation orders. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Southern California Edison reported a power outage on a circuit near the fire's origin amid high winds. Containment of the fire is at 30 percent.
Woolsey Fire spreads to 93,600 acres as containment increases to 30 percent | KABC

Two new fires sprang up near Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, but firefighters pounced on them quickly, containing them before they could get out of hand. The Lynn Fire near Thousand Oaks was contained at around 15 acres, and the Peak Fire in Simi Valley was contained at 186 acres, but not before causing SR-118 to be closed for a few hours.
New fires break out in Southern California as Woolsey, Hill fires continue to burn | KSBY

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

The Camp Fire in the Chico area of Butte County has chewed through more acreage today, spreading to 130,000 acres, and the total number of structures consumed rose to 8,817 according to CalFire, though it's unclear whether the addition are newly-burned houses or a recalculation of houses already burned. The death toll from what is already the deadliest fire in state history has risen to 48, and hundreds are still unaccounted for. Containment increased to 35 percent as firefighters worked to hold containment lines. Reports of looting in burned areas are rising.
Camp Fire death toll now at 48, worst in state history | Sacramento Bee

The Hill Fire between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks in Ventura County remains held at 4,531 acres and is reported at 92 percent containment. In the meantime, the Woolsey Fire east of Thousand Oaks grew to 97,114 acres when the fire flared up in the Carlisle Canyon area, but firefighters are beginning to gain the upper hand on the fire as winds steer it into unpopulated areas and containment grows to 40 percent.
Woolsey fire grows to 97,000+ acres, 40 percent containment | KSBY

Edit to add breaking news: A new fire just broke out in the Rialto and Devore area in San Bernardino County where winds have whipped it to more than 30 acres in size within the last couple of hours since it was reported just after 9pm local time.
Fast-moving brush fire erupts in Rialto, Devore area | KFSN

 

[Cristiano]

PG&E could be in big financial trouble if it's found liable for California's Camp Fire

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

News regarding the Camp Fire burning in the Chico area of Butte County continues to be grim. The fire has grown to 138,000 acres, while the total number of structures burned jumped to 10,321 - 8,650 of them residences. The death toll increased to 56 as eight more bodies were found. The only good news is that the number of people unaccounted for decreased to 130. Containment of the fire remains at 35 percent.
Camp Fire death toll up to 56 as 130 are still missing | Redding Record Searchlight

The Hill Fire west of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County remains at 4,531 acres, and is 96 percent contained, according to CalFire.
http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2281

The Woolsey Fire east of Thousand Oaks straddling the Ventura and Los Angeles County line grew slightly to 98,362 acres as dying Santa Ana winds are aiding firefighter efforts to contain the blaze. A third death was attributed to the fire as another body was discovered today. The estimated number of structures burned increased to 504, with 96 others damaged. 57,000 structures remain threatened. Despite that, people are slowly being allowed back to their homes as evacuation orders lift, including the entire City of Calabasas. Containment of the fire grew to 52 percent.
Woolsey Fire: Containment increases to 52 percent as fire burns 98,300 acres | KABC

The Sierra Fire which erupted last night near the San Bernardino County community of Rialto burned 142 acres before firefighters were able to get a handle on it. It is now 85 percent contained. No structures were damaged, but several backyard fences, as well as nearby trees and power poles were scorced by flying embers as winds whipped up the flames.
Firefighters hold Sierra fire near Rialto to 147 acres; stretch of Riverside Avenue reopens | The Sun

 

[Porsupah Ree]

54m

Photos taken by a friend in the Bay, illustrating just what it's like - and bear in mind how far the Bay is from the Camp Fire.

And the numbers..

 

[Dillon Levenque]

It's still pretty hazy here on the coast, but not as bad as it was last week. It never got as bad as those pictures Sredni had. We've got one more mountain range between us and the SF Bay Area; that blocks some of the worst of it.

 

[Govi]

Here in Santa Cruz county, south and behind a 2000 ft high mountain range from the San Francisco Bay Area, the smoke pollution was so severe that exercise in the open air caused coughing fits in me after 45 minutes exposure. The hills normally visible from our deck were hidden and the temperature had dropped to chilly; it's been unseasonably warm here this autumn due to global warming effects. It was like a dense fog; any more dense and driving safety would have required speed reductions.

.​

 

[Dillon Levenque]

Yeah, they were saying Santa Cruz was worse. Probably because of the way the mountains tuck in around to the north*, whereas I'm almost on the edge of the Salinas Valley. Topography matters.

*That alignment is what gives Santa Cruz area a fabulous climate; there often is nearly a twenty degree difference in daytime summer temps between the cities of Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove, at opposite ends of Monterey Bay about 25 miles apart. Santa Cruz 80, PG 60.

 

[Lori Claremont]

We drove down the I-5 corridor from the Bay Area to Los Angeles yesteday.

The smoke was quite thick going up to the Pacheco Pass, and then there was a constant haze all the way down to the Grapevine.

Curiously, as we approached Tejon Ranch the smoke was thicker than it had been through most of the central valley.

We finally broke through the smoke about halfway up the Grapevine and as we're now in Anaheim, well clear of the Woolsey fire, the skies are clear.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

The South end of the Central Valley frequently gets the worst of it, because the crap in the air has nowhere to go from there.

We haven't had it too bad in my part of the Valley - not as bad as the Bay area and the Sacramento Valley, but it's been pretty hazy here, with lowered temperatures, orange sunsets and moonrises and moonsets, and occasional smoke smell in the air. There's also a couple of long-burning forest fires in the Sequoia National Forest that are adding to the haze here.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

The numbers for the Camp Fire that leveled the community of Paradise in Butte County continue to rise: The fire has grown to 141,000 acres, the number of structures burned increased to nearly 12,000, the number of dead from the fire rose to 63, and the number of missing people jumped up to 631 - many from Magalia, north of Paradise. The fire's containment also increased, to 40 percent.
Camp Fire: Death toll up to 63 as nearly 12,000 structures destroyed | Redding Record Searchlight
Camp Fire: Death toll rises to 63, over 600 missing | KGO

Down south, the Hill Fire west of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County remains at 4,531 acres, and is now 99 percent contained. Just to the east, the Woolsey Fire has been held to 98,362 acres as light winds helped firefighters bring containment up to 62 percent. The number of structures destroyed increased to 548, with the number damaged increasing to 157, according to CalFire. Those numbers are expected to go up as damage assessment progresses.
Shift In Winds Help Firefighters Further Contain Woolsey Fire | KCBS

There is no new update on the Sierra Fire burning near Rialto in San Bernardino County.

A new fire, the Briggs Fire, sparked in the Ventura County hills near Santa Paula and has burned 150 acres and is 90 percent contained (updated figures from CalFire). No structures are threatened by this blaze.
Briggs Fire: Santa Paula brush fire burns 75-100 acres | KABC

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

It looks like, if PG&E is found to be liable for the Camp Fire, it'll be its customers that will end up paying for it all:
PG&E customers may end up footing Camp Fire liability claims | KFSN

 

[Selinica]

For most of us who have to deal with PG&E that sadly isn't much of a surprise, as it stands their attitude towards their customers is more of a "fuck you" than most other companies, even when it relates to things they have done and are to blame for be it not performing line maintenance or poisoning the groundwater.
Added fun currently is the loopholes people are having to jump through for the FEMA aid (which amounts to a small group up north of Chico who haven't exactly told anyone they are there). They are only offering aid to people who owned their house and had insurance, and are requiring proof the house has been lost. Since nobody is really being allowed into the area yet, nobody can check so nobody is getting help. The reports from fire/police teams of burned houses and lost property is not sufficient.
Throw in some viral outbreak at the camps and the red cross and other places simply not having any food stamps or any sort of substantial aid and then top it off with "the insurance companies may pay out the claim or may not and cite the overall costs or something but they will likely cease to do business in CA or at least that part of it and leave the people sans insurance" and the fire having hit the water supply at lake oroville and the potential rain later this season.
As it is the wal-mart is having the parking lot cleared of people as they are worried that the hill will slide down and leave the lot full of stagnant water and other health/life risks. Plus with how the water flow usually goes as fall/winter starts, it's likely the streams and rivers will be heavily polluted by the ash and mud, plus the lake itself will probably become not exactly a safe source of drinking water.
The entire county is going to be not doing so well for the next few months on top of the needs of everyone who has been displaced, and the lack of much in the way of aid is not helping.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Wow! What FEMA is doing over there is a huge load of bullshit! That's about what I'd expect from an organization headed by a Trumpster. But I guess this is what it means to Make America Great Again.

 

[Selinica]

The lack of federal funds being released (well, okay, and the threats to completely withold it) is probably why what little of FEMA is there is doing that.
So in a way it's a bit worse than that.

That said they are in search of any doctor since right now the medical aid is what volunteers are in the area with medical experience and a lot of medical and nursing students from the university, so for people wanting to help out there are plenty of options that can help more than the unreleased aid.
Food is a big one right now as well is my understanding.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

The air quality forecast for the San Joaquin Valley tomorrow:

Daily Air Quality Forecast

Look at the purple at the north end of the Valley. The AQI forecast for San Joaquin County at the north end of the valley is 290 - only ten points away from being in the Hazardous range, where I'm pretty sure most of the Bay area and the Sacramento Valley are at.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

More grim numbers regarding the Camp Fire burning in the Chico area of Butte County: The death toll has risen to 71 as eight more bodies have been found. More than one thousand people are reported missing. The fire itself has grown to 146,000 acres as containment also increased to 50 percent. Air quality from the southern San Joaquin Valley to the northern Sacramento Valley and the Bay Area ranges from Unhealthful to Hazardous.
Death toll stands at 71, more than 1,000 still missing | Camp Fire Updates | KXTV

Down south, the Hill Fire west of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County has been reported as fully contained after burning 4,531 acres and four buildings, damaging two others.
http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2281

The Woolsey Fire east of Thousand Oaks has held for a second day at 98,362 acres, while containment improved to 78 percent. 713 structures have been destroyed since the fire started eight days ago. Damage assessments are still ongoing.
Containment grows to 78% at Woolsey Fire | KSBY

There is no update for the Briggs Fire in the Santa Paula area of Ventura County, last reported at 150 acres and 90 percent containment, according to CalFire.

 

[Sredni Eel]

Update on the situation:

Fuck Trump. We don't want him throwing paper towels at us right now.

The air quality was so bad yesterday that San Francisco exceeded the record for most polluted city in the world, even over Beijing and parts of India.

Schools closed all over, including the entire East Bay, the South Bay, most of the Peninsula, the North Bay, and basically everywhere except Palo Alto. Our schools stayed open, in spite of AQI of well over 250. Unsure why. None of our buildings have filtration. Have you ever dealt with 300 elementary age kids who haven't been allowed outside in over a week? Oh. My. God.

That said, we don't have snow days in California, as a rule. We have fire days. Many kids in the northern part of the state won't be able to attend school for a very long time, unless their parents relocate.

The air quality so far today is in the red where I live. Still unhealthy, but better than it's been. I have an N95 mask, and whatever protection it provides is negligible because you have to work harder to get enough oxygen when you're breathing through one of those things.

Current tally: close to 1000 people missing* and 72 dead. Rescue workers are still sifting through the rubble with pointy sticks and cadaver dogs. The death toll will go higher, because the retirement community has not been searched fully yet.


*officials say that people reproting missing persons are adding to the confusion because they sometimes don't know how to spell a person's name, so all spellings of a name are considered a missing person. This will take weeks, if not months, to sort out.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]