Random thoughts/Off topic/Last post wins


 
When I see wildfires rage through areas like this it makes me think I should implement a self-hosted / self contained fire defense system. At the same time I wonder if it would be able to stop a wind driven fire. I'm up north and our wind patterns are much different from the Santa Ana winds but once a fire is raging and wind driven there is very little that will stop it.
 
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My wife said Canada has sent down some huge water-dropping planes or helos that can work with ocean water. It will likely stunt or kill the vegetation, though. Bad part of that is if we get some heavy rains, mudslides occur.
 
Ed P said:
My wife said Canada has sent down some huge water-dropping planes or helos that can work with ocean water. It will likely stunt or kill the vegetation, though. Bad part of that is if we get some heavy rains, mudslides occur.
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sea water is 3.5 % salinity

The scooper planes I've seen can hold about 1,500 gallons, or about 12,500 pounds of water.

If my math is correct ( keep in mind it is after 5pm ) each load of water will have about 400 pounds of salt.

edit: I had the plane's capacity off by 10x and fixed it.
 
DanHoo said:
sea water is 3.5 % salinity

The scooper planes I've seen can hold about 15,000 gallons, or about 125,000 pounds of water.

If my math is correct ( keep in mind it is after 5pm ) each load of water will have about 4,000 pounds of salt.
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At this point, if you're on fire, who cares? It's still wet. And the most important thing is knocking the fire down
 
Another aspect is that sea water is corrosive and can severely damage the equipment if it is not designed to work with it. From what I'm reading, and I am certain there will be an in-depth study when this is over, there is no shortage of water in the reservoirs...the problems they have had has been with the infrastructure, the hydrants and pipelines in the upper elevations. California is in much better shape water-wise than we were a few years ago.
 
I cannot make a comment there one way or the other re that. I guess things will be coming out at some point. Though from an outsider looking in, it seems like the powers that be over there did not spend wisely on their infrastructure. Also it seems like the governors priorities were not in the right place. I recall many years ago while visiting my cousins, aunt and uncle in that current fire are. They pointed out all the fire breaks cut into places and such and that level of care seems to have fallen out of favor with current powers that be.
 
If the water supply to fight the fire is from a hydrant, then water being available or not is supply vs demand on a very localized level. Water systems are not built for every home and every hydrant to be run wide open. Pressure will drop and eventually the local storage will be depleted.

This is another reason I've thought of a self contained system. A swimming pool with 15,000 gallons of water, a suitable pump and means to run the pump when the electricity is shut off, and adequate sprinkly / sprayers. The question is, will that be enough to stop a wall of wind driven fire?

They have commercial setups that use foam that cost $20K to $50K or more. I'm thinking something that would be much less, and might do just as well.
 
IMO, the good folks out west have lost sight of how important it is to control fuel, and especially dry fuel. Let it grow or accumulate close to buildings and structures, and bad things tend to happen. Most of us really do not have a good understanding of just how fast dry fuel fires can spread in a hot dry wind. As otherwise noted here, critical infrastructure has not been maintained.

And worse.... insurance companies have hit with more catastrophic claims than the underwriters had assumed. Apparently, in multiple states, the companies have been asking for premium increases, and stopping new policies and renewals when the increases have not been allowed.

Buckle up, folks. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
 
There are several things that caused this situation.
There really isn’t enough water in California to keep up with its growth.
Yes even with California having an exodus it is still growing.
As much as I don’t care for the team that plans or manages things I do feel for the people that lost their homes.

Mark, I apologize for my quick response to you.
I was wrong for doing that.
 
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