California Fires

[dursleyman]

Been watching the fires in California on TV and it looks like a really bad time for a lot of folks there so I wondered if any of our Wedge owners are affected. I remember at least one guy who lost his car in a previous year.

[FI Spyder]

It's been a bad year for forest fires this year, a record of about 900,000 hectares burnt in BC, Canada. Most in sparsely populated areas. We had weeks of smoke filled skies here on Vancouver Island as out flow winds brought it from interior, Washington, Montana etc. California's turn as they are at their driest before the winter rains. Unfortunately this time it's hit populated areas. Hopefully evacuations save the people, the pets and the irreplaceable cars.

[Hasbeen]

We are a bit lucky in my district. Winter was so dry, right up to now, that there is little grass to burn. With so little grass the fires can't get up into the trees, & generate crown fires, the great killer.

Some other areas in OZ are having problems, but nothing compared to these in California. I saw a picture of a burnt out area, which was just a normal suburban street, the type of area with few trees, where fires are usually not too hard to control.

We have little sympathy around here for people who build deep in the Eucalyptus forest with little clearing around them. Such houses endanger our local volunteer fire fighters, who feel they have to try to save them. However for houses in normal suburban districts to go up in mass shows how bad the problem must be.

Poor buggers.

Hasbeen

[whitenviro]

There are a couple people in the TWOA membership directory in Ventura and Ojai,but I don't know any of them. Ventura was where they held Triumphest in 2016. We took a group of Wedges up into the hills around Ojai, which is burnt to a crisp now. It was a beautiful area.

[FI Spyder]

I have a nephew in Ventura, just got an email from him saying fires are close but so far house and family are OK. Not new for them as they were in a similar situation about 10 years ago with the fire in Santa Barbara when they lived there. All they suffered was smoke damage. They're keeping us posted.