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Southern CA Fires- Extreme Santa Ana Winds


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4 hours ago, austingirl said:

Watching this, I was most surprised at how slow-moving the fire was and how almost casual everyone seemed (I know they weren't actually casual) - I always imagine scenarios like this happening really quickly with everyone running around like crazy trying to evacuate. How horrible to see it come at you slowly and still not be able to stop it.

Yeah that's what gives some people the impression that the firefighters aren't doing anything or are 'just watching it burn'. That's because in this situation they're simply trying to keep the fire from spreading, as best they can. In many cases that means 'deck-gunning' (spraying water from the turret-looking nozzle on top of the engine) the burning house from the street while spraying the surrounding exposures in an attempt to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring homes. Once that kind of operation is set up, there isn't much to do except monitor everything.

At a normal house fire, you're going to get 4-10 (depending on severity, etc) fire trucks all dedicated on that one house, with everyone jumping immediately into action in different roles as soon as they roll up. That cannot happen in this scenario.

Edited by wood
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3 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

I can’t imagine any residential water lines could support every homeowner opening up a high volume line for very long. How far have y’all gotten in scoping out the requirements? I’d be very interested in doing the same in my hood if it’s actually feasible.

That's what I was thinking. It certainly wouldn't help the firefighters any when they did show up, but I suppose it might help delay or prevent the house from igniting. Another problem is that it's really only going to wet the roof of the house, and that won't keep it from burning.

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1 hour ago, SquishMitten said:

I'm not sure the math works out here. For most folks, those pumps would drain your pool in 1-2 hours max. So it's not like you can just set it and forget it. You'll have to hang around until the fire is literally right on you before you start spraying. At that point, you're going to have trouble breathing, it's going to be insanely hot, difficult to see, etc. Then, if anything goes wrong or you drain your pool and the fire hasn't passed yet, you've most likely lost the ability to evacuate. I think my wife and kids would rather have me around than the house. 

After a little more research, it looks like firefighting resources recommend having 500-1000 gallons per minute (typically by employing 2+ hydrants) to fight a residential fire. You aren't getting anything close to that out of your pool unless you've got multiple pumps. And then you're draining your pool with maybe one lap around your entire house. 

Yeah I admire the desire to protect y'all's homes, and I get it. We've lived in our house for 23 years. It's the only house we've ever owned. We raised two boys in it and have improved it dramatically over the years ... but that's asking a lot from one untrained person with one 1.5" hose. At 100 psi, the hose & nozzle alone could kill you if it gets away from you. I concur with the idea of getting good insurance, doing your best to fireproof your home well in advance,  getting your most important stuff and gtfo when the shit comes down, and then hoping for the best.

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I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

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4 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

Shake shingles have been banned in CA for a very long time.  Tile/slate and comp are all we have out here.

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Uh, yeah. Seriously impressive deployment of resources. And the fire still rolls along. Of course it's already been said, but many people out there need to understand that these conditions are historically extreme. This is a natural disaster. Like an earthquake or a hurricane, you're not stopping that. It stops when it stops. This fire will not be extinguished until conditions are favorable for it to be extinguished. We just need to be ready when the conditions favor us. Given the incredible resources being brought to bear, I believe we will be ready.

LAFD-1-13-25.jpg

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Just now, wood said:

Related to that ... one of the best firefighters I ever worked with is a lesbian. She was also the best rookie I ever helped to train. Bad ass chick with a BMF belt buckle. Hiked the entire Appalachian Trail before she became a firefighter. Alone. 0% of the time did I ever have to worry about doing her job and having her shit together. No CR.

Buddy of mine was AFD for years.  His firehouse was a pure dude-fest, just guys out-machoing each other all the time, it was kinda funny.  And yeah...the two obvious lesbians at his house gave as good as they got.  I'd have been damned happy to see either one of them bust through my door during a fire.  They were BMFs.

But, you know, none of this would have happened if LAFD was made up of entirely white dudes from the 1950s.  True fact, everyone from every conservative vantage point has told us so, so it must be true.

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39 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

We must read the same internet.  All this time, I thought screens on vents and chimneys were to prevent hot stuff from getting out, not from getting in.  Presuming of course that the internet is right.

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16 minutes ago, shakahorn said:

We must read the same internet.  All this time, I thought screens on vents and chimneys were to prevent hot stuff from getting out, not from getting in.  Presuming of course that the internet is right.

Attic vent screens aren’t metal.  Screens on a chimney would be.

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3 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Can anyone verify that the Santa Ana wins today are blowing west rather than east? I’ll hang up and listen. Or fap.  Or both. 

Weather Underground still shows wind from the west at 4 mph, but predicts them to be out of the north and increasing starting around 8 pm.

Edited by wood
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7 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Iphone weather shows winds in Malibu out of the west.  Looks like there are north/east winds coming off the mountains in other areas of LA

yeah, I’m hoping that the Sherman Oaks and Encino areas get winds from the east or northeast.  

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1 hour ago, Catpfish said:

I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

I'm not sure what they do in California, but a prevalent design in Texas is to vent the attic with an air flow from soffit vents which travels up and exits on the roof ridge  vent.

An exterior wood soffit and wood roof trim would burn and then travel rapidly into the attic via the same path as the venting air. It is a pretty vulnerable design for fire.

In the case of these fires, I dont think it matters much.

My own house has a closed attic with a metal roof and I have been considering replacing the wood soffit with hardiboard and flashing the exposed wood.  The rest of the exterior structure is stucco, stone, and exposed concrete with aluminum clad wood windows, so with the improvements, we could probably fend off a wildfire considering there are no other structures close by and minimal trees. You never know though. Fire is like water.  It finds a way.

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1 hour ago, wood said:

many people out there need to understand that these conditions are historically extreme. 

hmm, because twitter seems to imply that everybody knew this was coming and we deliberately ignored the signs and also deliberately sabotaged any infrastructure needed to fight these fires which were obviously coming at the time that everybody had marked on their calendar.

it's also weird because since i've lived here (~25 years), everybody always talks about earthquakes and what's going to happen when the "big one" comes. there are real, live, functioning humans that won't live out here "because of the earthquakes".

can't they just let us know when all the historic natural disasters are coming so we know who to vote for and make sure there are no minority groups involved? it's not that complicated.

i blame the weathermen. sorry, "meteorologists".

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9 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

hmm, because twitter seems to imply that everybody knew this was coming and we deliberately ignored the signs and also deliberately sabotaged any infrastructure needed to fight these fires which were obviously coming at the time that everybody had marked on their calendar.

it's also weird because since i've lived here (~25 years), everybody always talks about earthquakes and what's going to happen when the "big one" comes. there are real, live, functioning humans that won't live out here "because of the earthquakes".

can't they just let us know when all the historic natural disasters are coming so we know who to vote for and make sure there are no minority groups involved? it's not that complicated.

i blame the weathermen. sorry, "meteorologists".

The fires were intentionally set so the UN One World Globalists could built 15 minute cities.  

Duh.

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2 hours ago, Catpfish said:

I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

Despite having been read on the Internet, this is correct.  One of the first things you should do if there is a fire nearby is to turn off your HVAC system.  We live in pretty much the absolute worst spot in Austin for this type of fire to happen and have folks out to the neighborhood annually for fire prep and training. This is one of the number one things they bring up every time.  The other major one is to not have wooden fencing touching your house.  Fires spread on them like a little highway through the neighborhood.  If you have a wood fence near the structure, go knock it down before you get out of dodge. 

Edited by Samson's Wig
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7 hours ago, Catpfish said:

I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

I’ve read the same. You gotta nail some steel siding pieces over them or something 

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7 hours ago, Catpfish said:

I was reading (on the internet, so it has to be right) that many of the homes burned not from embers on the roof, but from embers being drawn into the attic through the airflow vents.  Once inside, there isn't much that could be done.  Does that sound right?  In looking at pictures of houses on fire, many seem to have fire resistant roofs like Spanish tile or composition shingles.  I know that fire resistant does not equal fire proof.

This is correct. I saw several different videos where the fires started in the attics. 

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