The fires in California

[herpastcanchangethefuture]

Is anyone else watching in disbelief? It just so awful to see so many people lose their home and I keep thinking about all the animals who would have been terrified and trapped too. I was watching the news on it last night and people were saying their insurance companies had recently revoked their insurance so they won’t be covered.

It’s just awful.

DH’s cousin is now under an evacuation order.

What the fuck has Sadiq Khan got to do with anything?

Climate change does matter in this

Yes there are lots of things all coming together but that's because life is messy and complex. The old nursery rhyme all "for the want of a horse shoe nail " springs to mind

the cost of recovering from this and the costs of protecting more and more locations form more impacts all are climate costs - costs thats its highly unlikely we would have had without climate change. Some want to deny it, but all that does is make the situation worse and contribute to future grief

You wouldn't get on a plane if it had a high change of crashing - don't treat the planet any different

Yes, but changing land management strategies, clearing and controlling these at-risk areas with fire breaks etc, is going to be far easier in improving things in the short run than any change we can make on global climate.

Monty Don was talking about the problems of climate change because his garden has flooded - then went on to say that the property is on a flood plain!

There's no excuse to not change what you can just because there is a bigger problem in the background that is much harder to solve.

I think that poster is a racist who is angry that some mayors aren’t white.

Also wondering about Sadiq Khan’s relevance to all this.

Sadly this is the reality of climate change.

Heart breaking.

Not on that scale, and it's not only the famous who have been affected. If you can't summon up some compassion then don't post. You are just making yourself look like a dick.

10 people now confirmed killed.
10, 000 properties destroyed.
And it isn't over yet.

Usually climate change zealots who are resorting to this to push their agenda. It is currently under investigation.

Usually climate change zealots

Any evidence to back up arson "usually" being committed by climate change zealots?

My issue is why so much TV coverage? 2 channels were showing a news special last night FFS. Yes it's awful but so are the floods in Bangladesh, earthquakes in Japan etc which occur regularly and they don't get a tenth of the coverage. Maybe it's because the affected people are poor and not white?

Think about what you express. I'm here.

It's terrible.

I sat with an 8o year old African American lady last night in the hotel we were evacuated to.

She has lost everything and does not even know how to start with finding long term accommodation.

She did not even have a car to get to the hotel.

A kind neighbor brought her in her car.

You do understand there are three major fires going on not just in the wealthy enclave of Pacific Palisades but also in West Hills and Altadena both ordinary neighborhoods (for LA) where regular working people like nurses and teachers and store cashiers have lost homes over 10,000 of them so far.

This is an unprecedented natural disaster like nothing we have ever experienced in the city. It's not the time to be comparing it to other things and dismissing people's suffering with the ' high net worth' brush stroke you so casually splashed across this forum.

Your 'meh' and your attitude is offensive to us here in LA battling this three headed mega fire-and if you saw the devastation of ordinary people who have lost their homes, maybe you would change your tune.

Sadly what I know having met enough people over the years, whose abilty to be crass in the face of others' pain... maybe you wouldn't because some people are just cut from the cloth they are cut from.

I would be ashamed of myself for being so utterly vapid about others suffering. Take a long hard look.

Over 10,000 people have lost their homes, from all walks of life and they are are suffering in LA right now and your comments are revealing who you are as a human being. Time to reflect on your words.Who are you?

Of course rich or poor matters.

Having a second home, or money to rebuild, certainly helps. In the immediate present having money to book into a hotel also helps, I bet some people are sleeping on relatives living room floors which is not so pleasant.

its horrible for everyone but even more for people who will literally be homeless.

This made me laugh.

The reason these fires are so bad is the unusual conditions which are climate change caused

We are also badly managing the risk in the uk also - because it costs - clearing out drains, creating buffer zones, building on existing never mind future flood zones; not building more reservoirs for the inevitable drought, not building homes and streets to protect against the future heat - I could go on

In years to come people will still simultaneously deny climate change and rage that nothing was done to prevent disasters.

if you don't believe in climate change there is no need to protect against something that has never happened before

What will solve the problem is insurers refusing to pay out. People literally will not be able to rebuild in high risk areas. I'm also hoping it will get people to think about living more lightly on the planet, but I saw in the NY Times that the Trump folks are blaming equal opportunity hiring practices in the fire department for the fire. This also made me laugh.

The earth is going to burn down and flood, and people will still be saying...it is those darn climate change zealots as they take their long haul flight. The human race is doomed to extinction it seems. We all will win the Darwin award. I'm sure the Gaia will breathe a big sigh of relief when we are gone.

Yup.

@bbooksunderthebed - I don't disagree that having money & good insurance makes it easier after the event. But having been in the position this summer of watching an uncontrolled fire moving towards my house. When you are scrambling , trying to pack whatever you can & get out. It doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank,how good your insurance is as a human it is absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking.

Flight Radar 24 is showing where the fire fighter helicopter and news channel planes are located in real time.

It's extraordinary the way reporters and just people are able to get so close to the burning buildings- I would have thought everything would be too hot. It makes it so immediate somehow....

@midgetastic Yep. Excellent post.

The day must surely come whereby NO buildings/homes can be built in vulnerable areas anymore. Status is one thing related to an area like the Palisades, but it doesn't apply to all vulnerable areas either.

Dry, desert scrubland areas (everywhere) that are prone to high winds are disasters waiting to happen where they are populated. access, gas stations, utility lines (the cause of one major US fire), threats to life and property will just have to be curtailed or stopped. That applies whether or not climate change is your belief, it is more than that, maybe developers, local authorities, the quick buck etc. Same applies the world over, and it doesn't just mean wildfires since many areas are prone to floods, mudslides, and so on, but are still highly populated.

I do realise that people have to live somewhere, but no more permits for building in vulnerable areas would be a start.

I don't get why it's allowed in the first place, but money is presumably a big factor in there somewhere.

Altadena has been populated for at least 100 years (though not as densely). My relatives have lived there since the 70s.