I pit wildfire news coverage

The BBQ Pit
21

Last year our public radio station had a fantastic google map of all the fires in the county, overlaid with evacuation areas, etc. I googled and couldn’t find anything similar yet for this year’s fires.

I did go to KPCC’s website (thinking that public radio will probably have better coverage than the network news) and found a link to a fire department blog - there’s a similar map on a smaller scale here:

If you haven’t checked out your public radio stations up there, I highly recommend them. At least down here, they seem to have better coverage of local events. And I hope that you NEVER see your house on the TV news, because at that point you’re totally screwed!

22

Thanks for the link. Kinda freaked me out at first, until I realized the red zones indicated the evacuation areas, not where the fire is right now…ABC7 announced they had their own interactive map online, but I couldn’t find it (unless they meant this map, which only shows road closures.)

On the bright side, the winds aren’t nearly as strong today (still dry as fuck, however…I can practically hear my lips cracking!) and the local stations are showing regular programming, which is a good sign. If things stay as they are, this fire season will go down as a very minor one, by comparison.

Heh…I still have the DVD I made of the Topanga Fire back in '05. It was exciting, but not the type of excitement I’d like to repeat anytime soon…

All flippancy aside, I hope everyone stays safe…especially you San Diego liberals! :smiley:

23

Our home was under a voluntary house evacuation last year during the wildfires. It means you can, if you choose, go to the evac. center. Apparently you can also take your horses too.

24

KGS, your lack of understanding and compassion amazes me. You apparently have no idea what’s involved in losing a home and everything in it. Do you think you could get everything you wanted to save in the trunk of your car? Could you do it in an hour or less? Think about losing all your clothes, family heirlooms, pictures, electronic devices, tools, etc., etc. Not to mention having to move into a rental while you fight with an insurance company to cover your loss and rebuild your home. I live in SD county, and I have friends who can tell you how fire insurance coverage only partially indemnifies your loss.

Wishing such a disaster on anyone is the sign of a sick mind.

25

You know what? Go fuck yourself, jerkass. Not that it’s any of your business, but I do know what it’s like to lose everything, and not just material possessions, either. Frankly, if the worst thing that ever happens in your life is losing all your wedding photos and family heirlooms, then YOU ARE LUCKY and you should THANK GOD that you got off so easy. Just take my word for it, okay?

Please explain how I “wished disaster” on anybody.

26

I think the few we’ve got are all Dopers! :stuck_out_tongue:

27

Sure…

As I said, “Sign of a sick mind.”

28

In that case, you are a cold-hearted monster who revels in the sufferings of others, rather than an ignorant douche revelling in the sufferings of others. Our mistake.

You mean, aside from nakedly revelling in the sufferings of others because you don’t like their political views?

29

Is this still about that “rich white Republicans” remark? Aw, man. Very well…it was a joke, okay? I was just being satirical. Sorry if my humor offended anyone.

That’s not entirely accurate, but at least you’re getting warm. I’m just what society made me out to be, however.

30

It didn’t offend. You did.

31

In my 25-plus years of being involved in wildland fire fighting, I’ve never found the media to report wildland fires as news as it is occurring. Instead, it’s all about showing sensational images to garner ratings and/or beat the competition. Yeah, that’s a pretty wide brush. I’ve met many a reporter, print and video, willing to to work with us and cover “the rest of the story.” But some editor and/or producer back in their cushy office decides otherwise. If the story ever make it on air or in print, it’s long after the need to publish/broadcast it has expired.

At the same time, I’ve also met many reporters more concerned about building their video portfolios to further their careers than just doing meat and potatoes reporting. Unfortunately, they have complicit fire managers to assist them. They are easy to spot as they wear their Nomex yellow and green, sans hats and gloves, shirts untucked, doing a standup with flames in the distance.

You want to report on my fire near an active fireline? We can accommodate. We will provide you with full gear (helmet, gloves, clothes, fire shelter) while you bring your boots (that meet fire standards). We’ll give you a crash course in fire shelter deployment (and you will pass the practical to our satisfaction). Only then will you go out with us to near the fireline (we choose the location) and do your standup, all under our explicit instructions and watchful eyes. Any deviation from the rules and you are out of there with no discussion or explanation. Safety takes precedence at all times.

I remember one fire where we took a camera crew up a closed road so they could shoot water drops on a distant ridge. Before we allowed them out of the vehicle, we had it turned around (facing the way out), driver remained in the vehicle, engine running. They could shoot only where we allowed them to stand, in full fire gear with fire shelters attached to their belts. One of us watched the TV crew, another had a fire radio while the third remained behind the wheel. Any perceived change in the fire by any of us meant the show was over, in the vehicle and we were out of there. Of course, the news helicopters means reporters don’t have to do this anymore as they are outside of our authority (but not always jurisdiction. Big fires have temporary flight restrictions in place - TFRs.) But the choppers can stay out of the TFR area and shoot from quite a distance.

Good luck and keep us informed.

32

You might rummage around this site:
USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Service

It’s cool because it’s automatically updated (I think) based off remote sensors, so you don’t have to wait for someone to get around to giving an update. The Google Earth mashup is the best map I’ve found on there so far. Not great, but better than a slap in the head.

But still, your best real time data comes from standing in your back yard and scanning the skyline for smoke. Pretty lame in this day and age isn’t it?

33

Latest news:
Most of the fires are 80% contained, except the Porter Ranch fire which is 20% contained. It might be fully contained by now, haven’t checked in awhile. All evacuation orders have been lifted. No more lives or homes have been lost since Monday (as far as I can tell.) Weather report calls for calm winds and lower temperatures, with a slight chance of rain on Saturday. TV coverage is down to five-minute reports, mostly repeating evacuee interviews and a lady who was reunited with her lost kitty.

Still kinda smoky outside, but improving. Looks like everything’s copasetic. Until next October…

Damn straight. Last night, the 10 o’clock news hour ended like this: “Looks like the firemen have a handle on this blaze, no homes are currently threatened, so we wish you a pleasant evening and hope you’ll tune in tomorrow. Stay safe, everyone.”

On a different channel, the 11:00 news started like this:
“FIRE!! FIRE!! HOMES DESTROYED!! HORSES EVACUATED!! RESIDENTS FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES!!!”

:rolleyes:

34

Dope coverage from my apartment complex:

Dope recording of Stoney Point, the rock on Topanga Canyon that burned.

I watched a ton of the news, almost all of the footage was north of the 118, and well east of Topanga. The smoke I show in the first video is from fire close to my apartment. Footage I saw on various news sites was not within a mile of here.

Stoney Point is one of the most recognizable features in Chatsworth (visible from the freeway, and for about 2 miles of Topanga and the local valley) and got very little coverage compared to the fires north and east of there.

Were homes threatened here? Absolutely - directly south of Stoney Point are several horse ranches, and the largest outdoor firewood seller in the area. By the way, as I drove by there during the fire, he was standing on a ladder hosing down his firewood, watching the flames get closer and closer. There’s also a church, and other structures of note.

BOTH sides of the road were on fire. I was returning from a dr.'s appointment during the Topanga stem of the fire - huge embers were slamming into the car, and the heat from the flame was noticeably heating up the inside of the car. The smoke was so thick, no one could drive more than 5 MPH, and emergency vehicles were streaming up the road like mad.

We were some of the cars exiting the freeway when that guy got killed. There was a mad rush of cars driving west on the 118 east (the wrong way) and exiting on the onramp. And that was to get to Topanga, where the guardrails on both sides of the freeway were on fire and you felt like a rotisserie inside your car.

When I did finally find a good .gov map of the area, the fire looked like a huge C shape around where I live - fire 2-3 blocks north, 2 blocks west, and 3 blocks south of us. But we weren’t under evacuation orders because we’re on the floor of the valley, not on the hill (which is west of us). The news showed none of that.

35

I was wondering how directly threatened Chatsworth was. The news showed a few spot fires in that area, but only briefly – I suppose the Chatsworth homes weren’t “rich” enough (I’ll dispose of my “white/Republican” comment for now) to merit media attention. Either that, or the smoke was too thick to get a solid newsworthy visual.

I wish the news had paid more attention to the fire line between the 118 Fwy and the Simi Hills. THAT’S where the major battle was – the smoke in my canyon was thick, the sky was inky dark, and it was clear that the wildfire really wanted to burn through here and continue straight to Malibu. The LAFD won, though. They really proved their mettle last month, sure wish I could’ve watched them in action.