Arson Suspected In Orange County... Can Someone Explain How The Rest Started?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

This tragic occurrence is so maddeningly frustrating and sad. We had no lightening, yet our state has spontaneously combusted. WTF?

My heart pours out for all those in harm's way. May safety reign for those in any potential danger.

[Ellen Forradalom]

1. Downed power lines suspected in Malibu and Harris fires

as far as I know. Makes perfect sense, unfortunately, that these brutal winds knocked over power lines.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

2. Thank you for that. I hadn't heard that as a cause previously.

Been far too emotionally invested.

[Botany]

3. How it starts is not sure but chaparral is made to burn

Hot wind kicks up a cinder against a rock = spark = fire

An ember from a grill blows a 1000'

One bolt of "heat lightening"

a cig. thrown from a window.

With chaparral and hot dry winds it takes very little to get a fire going.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. The Grass Valley fire in Lake Arrowhead was started by a power line.

Thank goodness the winds are blowing from the northeast. Otherwise the normal wind pattern would have blown the flames right to us in Big Bear Lake. Last night was the windiest night I can remember anywhere.

[melody]

5. The Santa Anas plus high temperatures added to drought conditions

And all the chaparral and/or manzanita -- ANYTHING from an old motor without a spark arrester to an errant cigarette
will set them off. I've lived in LA all my life. Wildfires are far worse but still the norm in this time of year.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Ever Seen A Tree Explode?

It was 100 degrees plus and arid dry...I was driving home and saw a plume of smoke out my window...sure enough a tree had caught fire. I later learned that the combination of sunlight/heat and oils and other chemicals produced within plants can create internal combustion...it was a major cause for prairie fires in the Midwest.

I've heard of brush fires that have begun by someone parking their car in the wrong place and the heat from the undercarriage starting brush aflame.

Last week I was talking to a friend in LA who was concerned about the drought (as everyone out there is) and how fire time was here and the winds had been picking up out of the mountains. He warned it was any time now, and it would be real bad. His biggest bitch is that a lot of the national guard is still in Iraq and FEMA is a major clusterfuck...California is on its own.

Best wishes and hopes to all...please stay safe.

[Raine]

7. Santa Ana/Santana (devil) winds

that we get every year at this time cause power poles to topple setting off sparks...the rest is history. :-(

[porphyrian]

8. One problem is that they refuse to do controlled burns.

First, I'm not blaming the victims who have been lied to about controlled burning or who haven't even considered the idea. I'm frustrated by this preventable recurring tragedy, and certainly controlled burning is only one solution. But, it's a good one that a few people (I believe the Forestry Department is one of the big critics, though how they are saving the lumber industry money by having the land razed by wildfire almost every year, I don't understand) are staunchly, and somewhat irrationally, opposed to.

I know it's much drier out there than here in the Southeast, but I can't believe no one can engineer a way to organize controlled burns during the part of the year when the Santa Ana winds aren't blowing with hurricane force if they'd spend a second or two consulting with experts. It can't possibly be more expensive to hire a group of engineers to figure it out and implement a plan than it is to clean up after what has become an annual tragedy, especially given the cost in human lives. What the fuck, people?

[Raine]

10. The developers stop the controlled

burns cause they are scared if people see them they will be afraid to buy in those areas. :eyes: I'm not kidding, that's the reason. :-(

[porphyrian]

13. I'm so sick of developers controlling everything.

Here in Florida, they are the reason for most of the incredibly stupid policies as well. They don't give a shit about anything but their own profit. They come in, buy the local government out so they can develop whatever they want, build it, sell it and get out, leaving the aftermath for whoever has to live there. And they're usually almost done by the time the locals even know what's happening.

[Bitwit1234]

9. Sabotage??

[Initech]

11. I think I know how the toll road (CA-241/CA-133) fire started:

Some asswipe flicked a cigarette out the car window as his car was going 85MPH.

[Stephanie]

12. I am searching for a New Yorker article I read years ago

About the composition of the mountains in SoCal, and how the chaparral grass is a natural incendiary, and how the hills are destined to burn and erode toward the sea. Did anyone else see this? It was in the era when the New Yorker published long arcane articles over multiple issues.