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Southern CA Fires- Extreme Santa Ana Winds


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5 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

The fuck is a “private firefighter”?  Does he think they are mercenaries or something?

As mentioned further up the thread, several of the HNW insurance carriers have their own "wildfire defense" fire fighting teams that can be deployed around the country when properties insured by these carriers are in direct peril of an approaching wildfire. These teams do all the mitigation (clear/cut brush/vegetation, pre-treat with water, etc) they can to save a property before it catches on fire. Their last gasp effort is to coat the home in a fire-retardant/proof substance that is supposed to protect a home from the fire. The substance washes off with water after the fire is no longer present.

I do not know if they do anything once a home has caught on fire. I guess they'll try and put it out if the house is still worth saving. But they're more likely to move on to the next house insured by the carrier if they can't save the one they're working on then.

I haven't looked into the details in awhile but when these programs started 10+ years ago and only AIG and Chubb had the capability -- one had teams that were employees of the carrier (think that was AIG) and the other used private contractors who were vetted for quality, etc. Guess those were "private."

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9 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Not exactly. If you think you have a claim, you file it with the carrier. Carrier sends adjustor out to look. Adjustor determines is there's hail damage and if so, the cost to repair or replace said damage. If the claim is denied you can go the third-party adjustor route. You pay for the third-party adjustor, who then does their own inspection. If the TPA feels that there's damage you can use that as evidence with the carrier to reconsider. If carrier still says no, all you're left with is taking legal action if you want.

So basically there isn't a bunch of people filing fake claims over hail damage to the extent it would affect premiums?

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6 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

So basically there isn't a bunch of people filing fake claims over hail damage to the extent it would affect premiums?

I don't think so. Not with regard to damage to roofs anyways. Frivolous liability and/or auto lawsuits are much more costly to insurance companies than roof claim lawsuits, I think. A bigger driver of insurance premiums as related to roof claims is the sheer number of approved and uncontested claims paid by carriers for legit hail/wind damage in Texas. The industry is finally starting to try and put that toothpaste back in the tube with mandatory 2% wind/hail deductibles. Forget expecting insurance to replace your roof every 10 years or so. The industry wants -- and, frankly, needs -- the public to think of roofs like we do A/C units and hot water heaters and set aside a budget (rainy day fund) to save for expenses like these for our homes.

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9 minutes ago, C-Man said:

As mentioned further up the thread, several of the HNW insurance carriers have their own "wildfire defense" fire fighting teams that can be deployed around the country when properties insured by these carriers are in direct peril of an approaching wildfire. These teams do all the mitigation (clear/cut brush/vegetation, pre-treat with water, etc) they can to save a property before it catches on fire. Their last gasp effort is to coat the home in a fire-retardant/proof substance that is supposed to protect a home from the fire. The substance washes off with water after the fire is no longer present.

I do not know if they do anything once a home has caught on fire. I guess they'll try and put it out if the house is still worth saving. But they're more likely to move on to the next house insured by the carrier if they can't save the one they're working on then.

I haven't looked into the details in awhile but when these programs started 10+ years ago and only AIG and Chubb had the capability -- one had teams that were employees of the carrier (think that was AIG) and the other used private contractors who were vetted for quality, etc. Guess those were "private."

Probably puts a shitassload of PFAS directly into the groundwater. 

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21 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

We're in Altadena.  Smack in the middle of the devastation.  But we were spared.

Now you go Old California and build a bunkhouse for your neighbors. As rent, they agree to drive away any officials interfering with construction of the bunkhouse.

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5 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Now you go Old California and build a bunkhouse for your neighbors. As rent, they agree to drive away any officials interfering with construction of the bunkhouse.

Did you just volunteer us? If so I am in. I would love to catch a Dodgers game with Bruin.

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30 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Someone posted that they are now allowing a one time visit to grab essentials.  Will go this afternoon to confirm.  

Nothing makes you understand life's priorities more than having to decide what to bring with you when you evacuate.

We were in an evacuation zone 5-6 years ago. I grabbed photos, important documents, jewelry, and my Telecaster.

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27 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

So basically there isn't a bunch of people filing fake claims over hail damage to the extent it would affect premiums?

There is a subset of the roofing industry that is proactive in soliciting work for hail damage under the pretense that insurance will get the client a new roof.  Some of it is extremely aggressive in all aspects up to fraudulent claims.  That subset seems to be more prevalent in the last few decades.

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9 minutes ago, Superhero said:

Nothing makes you understand life's priorities more than having to decide what to bring with you when you evacuate.

We were in an evacuation zone 5-6 years ago. I grabbed photos, important documents, jewelry, and my Telecaster.

hypothetically, should you try to remove ammo in a fire evacuation?

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4 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

hypothetically, should you try to remove ammo in a fire evacuation?

No .Tell fire crews it is there. A few instances I know of in Bastrop. one dude owned a gun store and had secure storage at his house. He told the fire teams and they all sat back and let it go.

There were some nice things in that collection.

Edited by InkaUtexas
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Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when a firestorm exploded earlier this week. - Los Angeles Times

 

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades.

The revelation comes among growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze. Numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving firefighters struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames.

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57 minutes ago, C-Man said:

That's how it works when there's a mortgage when the claim gets above a certain threshold. We had a water claim a couple of years back. Vault adjusted the claim and sent a check to us that we had to forward to the lender where it was held in escrow. I think we were given 1/3 of the overall claim check and then got the rest once we proved via video inspection we were doing the repairs we were supposed to be doing. At that point, First United released the remainder of the claim amount.

that is how it works when there’s no litigation involved.  In this case, I sued them and settled with them, then received the check -which they endorsed and I deposited it in my account.

So now they want the inspector to “check the insurance adjusters report have done all the repairs.”. The problem is State Farm said I needed no repairs.   I was given money to end the litigation.  When I ask them exactly what document their inspector is going to use to check that the money was spent properly, they stare at me blankly.   I just notified them they are very close to me suing them for negligent inflection of emotional distress over this - so we’ll see what happens.

The first three Chase employees I spoke with were not aware that attorneys have a lien on the proceeds  that primes chase.   The only reason I’m communicating with them is to put everything in writing in case they do something stupid in the future.  Then I’lI have my exhibits in place.

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2 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when a firestorm exploded earlier this week. - Los Angeles Times

 

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades.

The revelation comes among growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze. Numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving firefighters struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames.

Article always says would not have saved the day.

Department of Water and Power officials have said that demand for water during an unprecedented fire made it impossible to maintain any pressure to hydrants at high elevations.

Had the reservoir been operable, it would have extended water pressure in the Palisades on Tuesday night, said former DWP general manager Martin Adams, an expert on the city’s water system. But only for a time.

“You still would have ended up with serious drops in pressure,” Adams said in an interview Thursday. “Would Santa Ynez [Reservoir] have helped? Yes, to some extent. Would it have saved the day? I don’t think so.”

 

Can we just go back to talking about lack of goats?

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1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

The fuck is a “private firefighter”?  Does he think they are mercenaries or something?

There are lots of them especially in wildland firefighting.  They bid on fires and then go do the job.  They still have to have certifications.  There are also private fire departments depending on where you live.  In some states in unincorporated areas people pay subscriptions for fire department services.   

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41 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

There is a subset of the roofing industry that is proactive in soliciting work for hail damage under the pretense that insurance will get the client a new roof.  Some of it is extremely aggressive in all aspects up to fraudulent claims.  That subset seems to be more prevalent in the last few decades.

OU actually offers this as a major

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43 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when a firestorm exploded earlier this week. - Los Angeles Times

 

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades.

The revelation comes among growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze. Numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving firefighters struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames.

 

Edited by David Dennison
Inka beat me to it.
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1 hour ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when a firestorm exploded earlier this week. - Los Angeles Times

 

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades.

The revelation comes among growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze. Numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving firefighters struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames.

It’s never a good time for a war or a natural disaster and there will always be something unavailable that would have been helpful. 
 

I will just say that finding out about an ongoing repair of a reservoir cover is counter to the narrative that authorities were irresponsibly managing water. 

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1 hour ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

There are lots of them especially in wildland firefighting.  They bid on fires and then go do the job.  They still have to have certifications.  There are also private fire departments depending on where you live.  In some states in unincorporated areas people pay subscriptions for fire department services.   

That’s fucked up man

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Once you include small things like new firetruck costs and salary rises for firefighters, LAFD's budget increased by more than 7% YOY per the LA Times.  https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-10/how-much-did-the-l-a-fire-department-really-cut-its-budget

Quote

 

The City Council approved the firefighter raises in November, adding more than $53 million in additional salary costs. By then, the council had also signed off on $58 million for new firetrucks and other department purchases.

Once those two line items were added, the fire department’s operating budget actually grew by more than 7% compared to the prior fiscal year, according to the city’s financial analysts.

 

 

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1 hour ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when a firestorm exploded earlier this week. - Los Angeles Times

 

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades.

The revelation comes among growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze. Numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving firefighters struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames.

Let the recriminations begin!

 

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12 hours ago, wong said:

Do we really have LAPD rolling around in Crown Vics from the '90s?

This looks like a fucking Cops episode

https://www.police1.com/patrol-vehicle/lasd-still-has-hundreds-of-crown-vics-thanks-to-2011-stockpile

 

Quote

LOS ANGELES — Agencies across the nation have been working to phase out their fleets of Ford Crown Victoria cruisers. But the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department still has hundreds, The Drive reported.

The LASD ensured they would continue to be one of the Crown Vic’s top buyers by purchasing a “stockpile” in 2011, the last year of production, according to the report. Of the 600 cars in that final purchase, 429 are still in use.

“The Crown Victoria is a rugged and durable platform that has held up great over the years,” Sergeant David M. Davis told The Drive. He noted that veteran deputies tended to prefer the Crown Vic, while deputies newer to the force opted for the Ford Police Interceptor Utility.


 

The panther platform is one of the best American cars ever made. V8, body on frame as rugged as a pickup, Toyota-like reliability.  Mostly old-school simplicity but built with modern-day quality standards.  When they do break they are cheap to fix. If I were looking for a cheap daily driver I’d be scouring the classifieds for a Grand Marquis. 

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