Here we go again - more fires
 

This morning, I saw on the news that California is again experiencing bad fires and a week of unfriendly weather to come. To all Model Aers in the area, stay safe. Material things can be replaced (even a Model A) but not a life or good health.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Synchro,
West winds from San Francisco came over OUR mountains & downed many trees, then curved around the backside of the mountains, traveling Southward & turned Westward, toward Los Angeles, creating 50 to 70 MPH "MONO-WINDS" that fanned the fires into HELLS' INFERNOS!!!--Those winds often TOPPLE Big Rigs & High Profile Vehicles!!!!!
Bill W.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Prayers to all involved.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

All we have seen here for the last two days is an orange sun and smoke and ash. Tonight is suppose to be worse when the winds pickup again. Can't open the windows.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

The Model A is safely exiled to the garage until this passes....

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

ZZ,
When the fires were burning North of the Bay Area, we had LOTS of smoke clear down here, in the Central Valley. How close are you to the fires?
Bro Bill W.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

All these fires, does anyone think it may be the work of arsonists? Unfortunately, there are many unstable people at liberty who would do us harm......

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Over 20 family member in Ventura, sister in law has a beautiful 'atomic ranch' https://www.pinterest.com/andreamcar...c-ranch-house/ in harms way..50 mph winds,relative humidity under 10%,no fall rains. the problem now is fatigue,they've been wetting their roof for three days now,working a fire watch that wont end till friday, maybe. Ventura is an absolutely beautiful town,some parts 30's bungalows,mission style stucco homes,50's ranches and everything in between,parts of it is right out of 1940..

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

I don't understand why we (are government) doesn't do something about it. My suggestion would be to take about 100 of the large military and civilian aircraft that are retired and sit on the desert and convert them into fire-fighters. Place a National Guard there and have them head for any forest fire immediately with the "shock and awe" approach that we used in the first gulf war. With that many planes the fire should be knocked down before it burns any homes and hundreds of acres. Then send in the ground forces to mop up any residual embers. I can't see how this would be a cost issue when you consider the loss of property, homes, forest, animals, etc. as we seem to have fires every year somewhere. They could even fly to Australia or other locations that are in fire trouble. Just my thoughts. Jack

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

When everything is kindling,with 70 mph wind gusts and no humidity nature runs the show,man is nothing against nature wheb it strikes.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

We currently put hundreds of men on the ground is these conditions, tell me that there isn't a better way. Jack

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to start a fire like this.
It sure takes alot to put it out....
Being on the volunteer fire department in my small village, we've had fires started along the railway tracks caused by the train itself sending sparks into the ditches along side.
I agree with Jack, about all those planes could be used for relief efforts.
We once had a grass fire so out of control, we opted for the unthinkable...we extinguished the fire with liquid manure.:). (My buddy Bill W should like this one.). :)
In all sincerity, I hope for a quick end to this fire.
Jeff

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Jhowes,
There ARE a LOTS of planes that have been converted. Here, we have a HUGE Fire Fighting Base, you should see some of the HUGE Planes they fly into the Mountains, braving the WINDS/UP-DRAFTS/ETC:eek: One looks like a 767 & one is a HUGE, 6 Engine Turboprop, "maybe" a Constellation???
Friend, Rex, flew some 2 Engine plane, that had 2, 1700 Hp engines, installed!
Our Planes serve many areas, when needed. It costs Tax Payers a LOTS of MONEY & most of the time, they're just SITTING!
Their PILOTS are my GREAT HEROS, they are SUPERB PILOTS.
On my "BUCKET" list, is a desire to get 20 Minutes instruction & FLY an Open Cockpit, Biplane. Here, they used to be used for Crop Dusting, out on the Ranch, I used to FLAG for them! (WHOOOSH!)
Bill Snoopy

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

don't build houses in a fire area? much like building houses in a flood plain in Houston? don't build houses in Tornado Alley, Moore Oklahoma, just saying?

on a lighter note, a friend of mine has a Boeing-Stearman Model 75, cool plane

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

i agree the more resources the better but you run out of aircraft after a bit..60 mph wind that fire grows faster than you can put it out.Right now its uncontained,they are just trying to save structures.

Folks are going to live there,the climate is perfect,the natural beauty of the area is astounding..Houston? Moore, Ok? Im sure they are fine places with good people but there is nothing like Southern California for climate.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

It's nature's way. Been going on for long before people lived there.

Nothing man or Gov-mint can do will stop it. There is no perfect place to live. Anywhere. We just have to go with the flow. Fires, earthquakes on the West Coast. Hurricanes down South. Tornadoes in the South and Midwest. Crippling blizzards in the North and North East. Take your pick.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

I live about 25 miles south of Santa Paula where the fire started, and about 25 miles east of Ventura. California has many water dropping helicopters and fixed wing water and retardant dropping aircraft. Every fire season, super scooper aircraft are leased to fight the fires. In the case of the fires around Southern California this week, the winds are so strong (up to 60 - 80 mph) and long lasting that the aircraft can't fly safely and make the accurate water drops. Therefore, the ground crews are clearing as much brush as possible. But the winds are sending embers flying up to 1/2 mile away, and the firefighters can't keep up with it. California has some of the best firefighters in the world - they do an amazing job, but as has been said, nature sometimes defeats those efforts.

So far, I have not heard of any Model A's being destroyed. There is a club in Ventura. I hope they are all safe, and their cars remain intact.

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

Flying in the canyons is inherently dangerous. The big airplanes cannot fly when the winds have gusts of 50 to 60 miles an hour along the canyons. If you have never experience the Santa Ana winds it hard to imagine. A big rig trucker was interviewed on TV a couple of years ago near the Cajon Pass. He said "I dindn't know they had hurricanes in Southern California!"


David Serrano

Re: Here we go again - more fires
 

On last night's news service, they showed a house bursting into flames as the fire approached. The kind of roofing material you guys use doesn't help in these conditions. NO ONE here uses that bitumen based stuff for ANYTHING. I think it would be banned in a fire prone area. I live in a declared fire prone area and to build a house, there are certain materials that must be used and others banned. On the roof for example, everybody here uses either tiles (made of Terra Cotta or concrete) or steel treated to prevent rust. Exterior walls are usually brick.
I'm sure that greater attention to the materials used and the way houses are built would reduce the impact of fires just as houses built to withstand a tornado would reduce their impact. Regulators probably won't be able to act quickly enough to reduce the fire hazard of homes but now is the time to take action for future fires (and there will be more). It is up to the people who live in those areas to take preventative action for their own sake (and their children). Please do. I don't intend to lecture but we live in an area just as bad for fires as California and that has been our choice.
After bad fries here in the 1980's, I know of people who built their houses underground. No heating bills, no cooling bills and no danger from fires again. Sounds sensible to me!