With the fire hazard so high

[Marthe48]

why not use the bucket planes to dump water on high risk places before the fires start? Such as close to towns located in dry brush, near forests.

Just a thought, just haunted by the news of the fire. If it weren't so close to my family members, I wouldn't watch. Hoping they are under control soon. Such heartache.

[Fresh_Start]

1. they try to drop fire retardant in front of the fires

at least thats what they did in my neighborhood

but that was a relatively small fire. these fires are immense

[wishstar]

2. The winds have often been too strong for planes to fly or to accurately dump water

The extreme winds that spread the fires also keep planes grounded and dry the water so rapidly that effectiveness is limited.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Embers will

fly up to a mile and even more if the Wind Gusts are brutal.

[Nictuku]

4. All of California is High Risk

.... drought conditions.

[NotASurfer]

5. They can start to do some constructive things

California is a state that requires hot water heaters be secured against earthquakes so they might think about simple things that make an impact

New construction requires flame-resistant roofing and siding. Also any major remodels. Existing structures, each required to have flame retardant that can be applied to the exterior before evacuation (I think I've seen this on the market)

Zoning that predicates population density on how many people can evacuate in two hours

Supplemental below-grade emergency shelter in high-density population clusters

And active fire suppression onsite protecting infrastructure like water treatment, sewage treatment, electrical substations above a certain size, fire and police stations, and designated emergency shelters

It will mean housing costs go up in high-risk areas, so average square footage per house will have to decrease slightly, which I think is an acceptable trade-off

[applegrove]

6. California should buy more Super Scoopers from Quebec. They are

specifically built for fire fighting. Here is a bit on the engineering. They can foam up the water they dump and cover a football field sized area with water in one dump. They are often used to wet the land before a fire to stop its progress.

[Small-Axe]

7. It is awe-inspiring to watch the super-scoopers lay down a mile of water...

on a fire line. We saw many drops on the local news here in LA.

Most impressive.

[applegrove]

8. Let's hope people are safe from here on in.

[Small-Axe]

9. For sure.

Our nephew's home was on the edge of the fire and we watched live on TV, as a pair of super-scoopers came in and pretty well doused the fireline. Most impressive and a huge relief.

[applegrove]

10. I used to see the precursors to this model scoop up water on our

lake in Quebec. They were much smaller with not the wings the ss has. Our lake was the biggest one around for miles so any local fire and we would see the water scooped up by planes. Didn't happen often. But it was impressive. Of course the ss today are totally engineered to perfection. The old ones didn't have to pontoons on the end of the wings like they do today. Vibes to you and your peeps. Must be terribly stressful.