California Fires

[johngalt]

The first lawsuit is in against PG&E for a sparking line.

PG&E (and their investors) are in a deep hole. CA rules makes them liable for all fires, whether their equipment had anything to do with it or not. In essence, if a power line runs through an area that has a fire, they are automatically held responsible regardless of the facts.

 

[Westie1]

Problem though with PG&E is that they have a history of doing things on the cheap. They've been know to do things like use the wrong pipe on gas lines. When the gs main blew in San Bruno some years back, it took their people over 30min to figure out they had a problem and figure out how to shut down the line.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

PG&E (and their investors) are in a deep hole. CA rules makes them liable for all fires, whether their equipment had anything to do with it or not. In essence, if a power line runs through an area that has a fire, they are automatically held responsible regardless of the facts.

You're right that utility companies are responsible for fires traced to their equipment wether they are correctly following regulations or not, but if there's a fire where a PG&E power line just happens to be, that doesn't mean they are automatically responsible. Like if a camper caused a fire in the vicinity of a power line then they are to blame.
A side note, If PG&E utility caused this, rates will skyrocket for everyone including the victims if they find a new home.

 

[Westie1]

Reportedly, CalFire has said the of 21 major fires last year at least 17 were caused by PG&E lines, poles, and other equipment. Also, They've said if they are at fault, a bankruptcy filing will follow.

 

[625-7]

For the life of me I don't understand why anyone still lives in California. The fires, the draughts, the Santa Anna winds, the taxes, the building inspectors, and the politics. They probably wonder why we stay where there are hurricanes.

Well ya gotta live somewhere

 

[walkinghorse]

The Legion Lake fire that started in Custer State Park last December was over 50,000 acres and was started by a tree falling into a power line in high winds. A legal action has been started against the power company for under mining the tree creating a hazard.
The park superintendent said that as bad as the fire was (no loss of life and no buildings burned!) the fire cost was much cheaper than what clearing underbrush would have been.
They do log actively here, and have prescribed fires to clear underbrush to minimize wildfires.
Lightning appears to be the major cause but there are a lot of fires started by "human caused". Very aggressive responses by multiple agencies including volunteer fire departments really helps! Finding ways into the small fires starting is often a problem though.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

The Camp fire {Paradise} now is over 125,000 acres & has claimed over 50 lives. The Sheriff is still counting the remaining homes & burned out places for more bodies. Worst fire disaster in Calif. history. And it's still burning. Supposed to rain next week.

 

[LVSteve]

The BBC are saying that the death toll from the Camp Fire is up to 63 and the list of missing has spiked to over 600. An ugly quote from the piece:

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said rescue workers had been dealing with "extraordinary" levels of "chaos", which had made it hard to pin down the number of missing.

California wildfires: Number of missing leaps to 600 - BBC News

 

[rwsmith]

Good Lord....

The BBC are saying that the death toll from the Camp Fire is up to 63 list of missing has spiked to over 600. An ugly quote from the piece:

California wildfires: Number of missing leaps to 600 - BBC News

There are already a large number of deaths associated with these fires. 600 missing??????
Man that is really bad.

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

I fear it might take weeks to find all the deceased. People were trapped and running on foot anywhere they could. Many of the stories out of there are pure horror but there are many miracles as well of people being saved by others. There are a lot of wonderful volunteers going in every day to rescue injured animals and feeding/watering others that are okay. Some of these animals have been reunited with their owners who have been ecstatic because in many cases their pet is all they have left. My thanks and prayers to all the firefighters, crews, and volunteers that are helping there! These people are amazing!!!!

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

Wyatt Burp and anyone here that knows the names of our members from Paradise, here is a list of the 600+ that are considered as missing. People are already being located from this published list. If you have information about someone on the list please call the Butte County Sheriff's office at 530-538-6570; 530-538-7544; or 530-538-7671.

More than 600 people considered missing in Camp Fire

 

[6518John]

My God! Are there 100's of dead people out there undiscovered or burned completely up? This is beyond belief and horror.

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

The "Missing List" has grown to over 1,000 now. They are locating some people that didn't know they needed to report to the Sheriff as safe. My friend's son is part of a search crew and yes, sadly, they are sifting ash for remains. Many of the missing are over 80. This is going to take months. Rain is expected next week which is going to help the fires but will complicate searching.

There are hundreds of people living in tents too. There are not enough shelters and 4 of the Red Cross shelters broke out with Norovirus and are under quarantine. Some in tents are being told they need to leave by Sunday. I do not know why but the Red Cross is telling them they have to leave. Luckily FEMA opened up today. I hope they can get all these people into shelters and housing quickly.

Prayers for all.

 

[shouldazagged]

Air quality in Los Angeles as of today was rated one of the worst in the world. Smoke is so bad that San Francisco schools closed.

I fear it's a safe bet that some of the elderly people who are missing died of smoke inhalation before the fire got to them, and some old and sick people in unburned areas may develop fatal pneumonia from the hazardous air. A friend of my sister lives in Northern California. She says they've sealed their house as completely as they can, but it still reeks of smoke and the air indoors burns their eyes and noses.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Thanks for the local updates Grip_Maker's_Wife. Those sufferers are in our thoughts and Prayers.

It seems an event whose scale goes beyond what emergency planners prepare for, like New Orleans after Katrina.

 

[Cardboard_killer]

The bad news is that 33% of forest land is under California state control.

California only directly controls 3%, the other 30% is owned privately or is Tribal owned. Most all of the privately owned parcels are owned for the purposes of logging already.

And, as you say, the vast majority is owned by the Feds and controlled by Washington DC. Which is trying to cut funding to preventative services in the early proposed spending recommendations.