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Thread: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

  1. #21
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    Relatively speaking, farms and vineyards have been spared, being on bottomland. It's the brushy hills and suburban development in those areas that has been catastrophically affected, along with adjacent city areas. Little of this is under Forest Service jurisdiction. It is not an area particularly prone to mudslides, just minor slumps in winter. The finger pointing of blame is just beginning. Heavy winds knocked over some trees, bringing down power lines and popping a few transformers. Our giant utility provider has tended to subcontract the necessary tree trimming to a lot of questionable outfits. But there are, at the same time, literally hundreds of millions of dead trees in the state due to drought and especially pine beetles; so it's an almost overwhelming problem overall. But having lived through several major fires myself without any loss, it amazes me how negligent some property owners and jurisdictions are about brush clearances.

  2. #22
    Les
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    Trees and brush offer shade and give privacy....it's a wonderful deflection for the harsh sun. However, that should be done responsibly. The brush tends to be right down explosive after so many years of drought and v. often it's a repeat of the history. No doubt Preston would verify this. I look at the photos and feel for the folks effected....it reminds me of several WW II visuals.

    Les

  3. #23
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    A lot of the destruction occurred in the city, e.g., Santa Rosa, where the structures are situated close together. In such a setting it is impossible to clear a defensive zone around your house as its the guy's house next door that's going to catch fire and spread to yours, not the garden brush or tree.

    Thomas

  4. #24
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    Yeah, over in a part of Santa Rosa facing the hills, and where there's a lot of commercial development involving highly flammable building materials like vinyl and aluminum. Now the fires are headed toward where there are quite a few cute woodsy old homes in the forest with wood shingle siding. The air quality has slightly improved here; but it's still too sneezey to be outdoors, so it's been a darkroom day for me. Have some very nice prints in the washer right now, but am a bit anxious because I've been unable to reach friends in the North Bay. Most of them live outside the fire zone per se, and this is most likely a loss of cell tower situation ... but still it's worrisome.

  5. #25
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    Just got finished developing the C-41 from the past couple of days of shooting. The negatives look good and are hanging to dry. While I was waiting for the developer to come up to the proper temperature, I suddenly got the idea that I should have shot a couple of frames with the 120 soft focus: I think that would enhance the image. Next time.

    According to the air quality agency, todays air quality is worst today in many location than yesterday. Although last nights wind event didn't materialize as bad as expected, another round of offshore wind is due in tomorrow .as is expected to be worse. New evacuations are still taking place in the north bay.

    Thomas

  6. #26

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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    There's a little rain forecast (in so far as any forecast a week out is reliable around here) for late next week. I doubt it will do much for the fires, but it might clean the air a bit. I work in the hills above Berkeley, and the smoke is just sitting across the Bay. The webcam (The View) at www.lawrencehallofscience.org shows it pretty well.

  7. #27
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    Interesting. I drove over the top there above Tilden one day this past summer, and was astounded to see how much grass and brush had accumulated around houses and barns the moment I hit the Lafayette city limit line. The very next week, there was that fire above Lawrence Hall. Reminds me of twenty years ago when I was pleading with a rich young couple to badger the city to cut the dead eucalyptus trees in the vacant lot across the street. Nothing was done, and that was exactly where the catastrophic Oakland Hills fire began the next month. That couple was among the first to lose their home, along with its muti-million dollar art collection. Now a lot of attention is being paid to the hills, but both Berkeley and Oakland are having an epidemic of industrial and warehouse fires due to negligence in those neighborhoods.

  8. #28
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    There's a big discrepancy between the national park's air quality rating and the air quality board's. Both measure particulate concentrations in micrograms/m^3. The lowest reading so far in todays bay area reading is 60 (Sebastopol) which the air quality board classifies as "moderate" (51-100) but the NPS rate as "unhealthy" (55.5-150.5).

    Thomas

  9. #29

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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    And the Federal Government's response is?????

  10. #30
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Nor Cal, So Cal, Fire and smoke!

    Napa photographer looses studio, art, and house: http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/A-...photo-14337448

    Thomas

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