The green/antelope valley fire in southren california was started by the water company …
They were welding a water tank and sparks flew and a hour later it was at 150 acres and spreading
I’ts 80 percent contained at last news scan
go to www.pbs.org and check out the segment on wildfires/firestorms to answer these questions. It seems the Forest Service has begun to “rethink” its fire policy. Unfortunatly, it appears to be several years too late, and the consenses is that things are going to get worse before they get better, and huge, out-of-control fires like we have now are unavoidable.
I live in an area that could be wiped out as well, although my home should be pretty safe (out on an alkali flat!) but i would be surrounded by flames!
fun times! im stocking up on marshmallows! 
heres a better, more direct link to the specific pbs site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fire/
that was supposed to be a “concerned” face and not a “oh, boy! fires are great fun” face.
(so don’t “flame” me!)
Heehee! Thanks for the links!
For what it’s worth, for Colorado to bounce back into normal moisture levels, IIRC, it would take 50 straight days of rain to get our land and our water bodies to get to normal. That’s 50 straight days of continuous rain.
It’s a fucked up situation.
While I was looking through some satellite photographs, our fires aren’t nearly as bad as many places (like Austrailia was last year) but we haven’t started our normal fire season so what makes this so tricky and so scary is the fact that we don’t normally see anything like this until July.
Scary shit, very scary shit. I can’t imagine what the rest of the season holds for us.
C Springs has seen some strange anomalies because of this fire, we have seen thunderstorms and rain concentrated in our general area because of the fire. The heat from the fire hits the cooler areas of where we live and thunderstorms begin. Strange.
In one way that’s good, in another it’s not because if any dry thunderstorms start any here on the plains, it’s going to be one big fucking cluster-fuck to put out.
techchick, there is always some hope. Sydney was saved by rain last year. It wasn’t a lot of rain, and after it fell, it was still a pretty safe bet to call the prevailing conditions “dry”, but it did the trick.
To get moisture levels back to normal would be wonderful, but of course, fifty days of non-stop rain is a big ask. But you won’t need that. A drop in wind speed, and a few scattered showers could just be enough to give the firefighters a window of opportunity. My understanding of the Colorado situation is that the firefighters have been unable to do much at all due to the smoke and wind. These guys are professional, and all they need is a small favourable change in conditions and they’ll be right in there with everything they have.
I’d suggest burning 'em at the stake as a penalty for starting it–but it would have to wait till things aren’t so dry.
(I’m not joking.)
Naw, burning at the stake is too violent.
I suggest that their paychecks are garnished and money over to the victims of this fire for the rest of their lives and that they are required to help rebuild the victims homes with back breaking work including requiring to work to reclaim the land.
Also, required to work at a homeless shelter every Sunday night for the rest of their lives. This way they can think about the lives they screwed up, so far 22 homes are confirmed to be lost.
Fires are not a funny thing. Living in the driest state in the Union has taught me that.
But sometimes, how fires start can be amusing, or at least a bit mindboggling. Of course, this situation in Colorado is not an example of the former.
But this situation in Nevada is an example of both.
(Re: my above post. I hope that this wasn’t too light-hearted for this thread. I’m not very good at gauging the Pit.)
We were incredibly lucky to get an unexpected confluence of events which allowed our firefighters to do some back-burning in the middle of the night (the wind dropped briefly, the expected 43C temperature didn’t eventuate, and we got a little rain).
Our biggest problem was the wind - we needed it in order to clear the smoke which was hampering fire-fighting operations, but it was also our greatest enemy in spreading the fires (we had many crown fires and fronts were jumping highways and dams to join up).
Let’s hope you get enough rain to take the pressure off for a few days and allows your firefighters to map out a strategy for the rest of your summer.
They just did a crawl across the screen while watching the Pikes Peak 225…
They are reporting that a 38 year old woman from Teller County who also works for the forest service has been arrested by federal prosecutors.
They imply that she intentionally set the fire.
That bitch. She is one sorry fucking CUNT.
I don’t normally say that word but if she really did do it then I hope she fries in hell over this.
From 9 news: http://9news.com/storyfull.asp?id=3638
What I read was that she intentially set it as a simple camp fire, but it got out of control.
"She admitted to starting a campfire within a designated campfire ring while patrolling the forest to enforce a fire ban, Leoni said.
“She attempted to suppress the fire but it grew,” Leoni said."
From the Associated Press story:
“Barton said she started burning the letter from her estranged husband within a designated campfire ring, where fires normally would be allowed, then tried to put out the blaze.”
Fortunately, looks like they got a handle on the blaze.
CNN.com link.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/16/colorado.fires/index.html
So it’s a “two-fer”, folks. Dumb as coal AND supposed to know better. She’s been working as a “Permanent Part-Timer” seasonal campground employee every summer for 19 years–doing this, according to the cnn.com story:
–How many times do you suppose she’s had to explain the “Extreme Fire Danger” warnings to campers?
But wait, there’s more.
Dumb as TWO lumps of coal. Start the fire–and then lie about it. Geez. 
And the blurb says the fire is now “47%” contained.
Jesus. What a stupid bitch. What a Stupid. Fucking. Bitch. I hope they throw the book at her. She’s supposed to be out there patrolling for fires, and she starts burning shit. Fucking brilliant.
That’s the worst part of this. Of all the idiots who could have started this, the idiot who did is one that should know better. Perhaps it was the arrogance of the “expert” at work here - “Well, sure campers shouldn’t have fires, but I know how to handle it.” Perhaps the legal experts on the board can fill us in: as a person who is entrusted with the care of the forests (and presumably knows the risks), is the liability greater for her than if it had been done by someone else?
I live in Arizona and I’ve seen way too many of these things. Good wishes to my neighbors to the northeast, and much sympathy to those who’ve had their lives disrupted by it.
She had to burn the damn letter from her ex?! Whatever happened to using the paper shredder? For that matter, whatever happened to forethought and common sense and, um, career experience?
:mad:
I want to scream.
I live in Bailey, and have had to pack up the house twice this summer. First for the Snaking fire, if they would just let people smoke inside that wouldn’t have happened. And the second time for a lightening strike on the ranch next to the house. The man who owns the ranch helped to put that one out. Now everything just packed and ready to go. And it’s going to stay that way for the rest of the summer.
Every so often we are are get ash from Hayman, all we need is one spark and the fire will spread to the north side of 285. To top everything off somebody set a fire Friday in the neighborhood I live in. Then there was the person setting a couple fires along 285 last week. Those idots better hope they get caught by the police. I have no problems seeing viligante justice taking over.
As for the women arrested for the Hayman fire, she is going to face many lawsuits. I just hope the Forrest Service doesn’t get sued. It isn’t their fault.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the kids that started the Snaking fire are sued when they become adults. I doubt if anybody would get any money out of them. But the rest of their lives can be made a living hell.