OT: DEVASTATING WILDFIRE ….Santa Monica/Palisades fire being aided by 50-80mph Santa Ana winds. 100mph possible overnight

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Knight Shift

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May 19, 2011
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Wasn't sure about another OT thread, but this is a huge fire. One in Pasadena now as well.

Thoughts and well wishes for everyone in the LA area. Hope they, their loved ones and friends are safe.

Hope everyone in the LA area is doing OK. @PatrickRU92 , @Caliknight and any others I forgot. Scary fire:









 

goru1869

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VERY sad! I saw a news report and film of bulldozers moving cars that were blocking roads making it hard for the fire dept. to get to the fires.
 

goru1869

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Daylight will not be kind to the people out there. I can't pray enough for their safety!
 

nutfromSEC117

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Nov 2, 2002
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2 and a half hours until we will start getting images of the destruction of so many buildings and homes

YouTube TV now has the 4:30am LA local news channels back on.

Fox11
NBC4
KCAL
 
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knightfan7

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Jul 30, 2003
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North of Sunset Blvd?

I had a gf many years ago who was from Pacific Palisades. We used to visit her who family lived down the road from Pali High but don't remember all that much about the area.
 
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RU848789

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Jul 27, 2001
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The footage is insane and tragic. When we were talking about this last night in the weather thread I kept wondering how bad things were going to look in daylight and it's worse, way worse. 2 dead from the fires, but fear more given how little time people had to evacuate.

The winds have just been crazy with gusts up to 99 mph seen in the canyons, fueled by a big high in the Great Basin and the powerful low in Baja, both sending Santa Ana winds SW to the coast. Combined with very low humidity levels around 10% and very dry conditions (6th driest Oct-Dec in LA history), the fires just keep growing rapidly. Fortunately, winds should die down tonight.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-weather-winds-fire-southern-california-wednesday/story?id=117453087
 

Knight Shift

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I just heard from PatrickRU. He & his wife are OK. Nothing moving in their direction right now.
Man, this is devastating to watch. James Woods' 94 year old neighbor in the hospital. See a lot of posts on X and other social media laughing to celebrating certain celebrities losing their homes. That's cold and uncalled for, regardless of anyone's positions on things people agree or disagree with. A person's home is their home, and it is devastating to see people lose their homes, personal belongings, pets, neighbors and their neighborhoods.

 

nutfromSEC117

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Currently Lower wind gusts in some areas helping fire crews save several houses.

Winds still high enough ( 50mph Malibu beach/ simi valley ) to cause further devastation but the hurricane gust are most likely over.

5-6 hours of day light remaining before this area has to survive another terrible night
 

Caliknight

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This didn't happen. We lose 90% of the water we get in the form of rain. In 2014 California voters overwhelmingly voted to invest billions in reservoir builds. The amount built? Zero.

Combine that with a reckless disregard of existing funds, such as the LA Mayor cutting roughly $20MM from the last fire budget and maybe those hydrants would have been pressurized. To say we were woefully unprepared would be an understatement. This was always going to happen.

As someone who is on the ground and who has numerous friends that have lost homes, to say the people are pissed would be an understatement.
 

Caliknight

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Very, very bad. Fire fighter can fight fires all day. They can't fight wind. We had a fire in my canyon a number of years ago. I personally saw it go from the size of a small house to the 5 or 6 football fields in less than 45 seconds. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Utterly frightening. Fortunately for us the winds were going the direction where few homes were. Had it come at us, we all would have lost our homes in a matter of minutes.
 
Jan 12, 2015
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Unreal.

Who Is Kristin Crowley? Los Angeles Fire Chief Faces Wave of Anger​

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is facing a wave of anger amid wildfires in the state, which have forced thousands to evacuate from their homes.

It comes as authorities have said the four fires, which have burned more than 4,000 acres, have not yet been contained. Some firefighters have also reported hydrants being dry, preventing them from being able to stop the blazes, according to reports.

Such reports have prompted some social media users to slam Crowley's leadership of the fire department.

Four fires are currently burning in Los Angeles, including the Eaton fire near Altadena, which has burned 1,000 acres, the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades, which has burned 2,900 acres so far, and the Hurst fire, north of San Fernando, which has burned 500 acres.

In the last hour or so, a fourth, smaller fire—the Tyler fire—has been reported by the state's fire authority in Riverside County, which is currently burning about 15 acres in size.

Authorities say none of the blazes have been contained and that there is "no possibility" of bringing them under control. According to the LA Fire Department, the situation remains "very dangerous" and wind speeds are "worsening."

The Los Angeles Times also reported that some firefighters battling the blazes said on internal radio systems that hydrants were coming up dry, meaning they did not have enough water to put out the fire.

An LA Department of Water & Power spokesman confirmed reports of reduced water flow from hydrants but provided no details on the number or scope of the issue. In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, the agency said crews were working to maintain water supplies, which rely on water tanks.

The extent and cause of the problem remain unclear. Similar hydrant issues hampered firefighting efforts during Ventura County's Mountain fire in November when inactive water pumps delayed hillside water delivery.

Amid such issues, Crowley is facing scrutiny.
 

Knight Shift

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May 19, 2011
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Unreal.

Who Is Kristin Crowley? Los Angeles Fire Chief Faces Wave of Anger​

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is facing a wave of anger amid wildfires in the state, which have forced thousands to evacuate from their homes.

It comes as authorities have said the four fires, which have burned more than 4,000 acres, have not yet been contained. Some firefighters have also reported hydrants being dry, preventing them from being able to stop the blazes, according to reports.

Such reports have prompted some social media users to slam Crowley's leadership of the fire department.

Four fires are currently burning in Los Angeles, including the Eaton fire near Altadena, which has burned 1,000 acres, the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades, which has burned 2,900 acres so far, and the Hurst fire, north of San Fernando, which has burned 500 acres.

In the last hour or so, a fourth, smaller fire—the Tyler fire—has been reported by the state's fire authority in Riverside County, which is currently burning about 15 acres in size.

Authorities say none of the blazes have been contained and that there is "no possibility" of bringing them under control. According to the LA Fire Department, the situation remains "very dangerous" and wind speeds are "worsening."

The Los Angeles Times also reported that some firefighters battling the blazes said on internal radio systems that hydrants were coming up dry, meaning they did not have enough water to put out the fire.

An LA Department of Water & Power spokesman confirmed reports of reduced water flow from hydrants but provided no details on the number or scope of the issue. In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, the agency said crews were working to maintain water supplies, which rely on water tanks.

The extent and cause of the problem remain unclear. Similar hydrant issues hampered firefighting efforts during Ventura County's Mountain fire in November when inactive water pumps delayed hillside water delivery.

Amid such issues, Crowley is facing scrutiny.
A lot of missing information. Why would be people be angry at the Fire Chief for lack of water in the hydrants? That is a public utilities issue. The Fire Chief is not responsible for supply water to the hydrants.


From the article you quoted:

"When she was nominated to her position in 2022, she had been with the fire department for 22 years, having been a firefighter, paramedic, engineer, fire inspector, captain, battalion chief, assistant chief, fire marshal and deputy chief. She became Los Angeles' first female fire marshal in 2016. When she took the firefighter exam in the late 1990s, she ranked among the top 50 out of 16,000 applicants."
 

RU05

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Jun 25, 2015
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Very, very bad. Fire fighter can fight fires all day. They can't fight wind. We had a fire in my canyon a number of years ago. I personally saw it go from the size of a small house to the 5 or 6 football fields in less than 45 seconds. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Utterly frightening. Fortunately for us the winds were going the direction where few homes were. Had it come at us, we all would have lost our homes in a matter of minutes.
I heard there were Cat 4 level winds out there. That to me is the craziest part of this story.

Unfortunately big Ca fires are all to common these days.
 
Jan 12, 2015
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A lot of missing information. Why would be people be angry at the Fire Chief for lack of water in the hydrants? That is a public utilities issue. The Fire Chief is not responsible for supply water to the hydrants.


From the article you quoted:

"When she was nominated to her position in 2022, she had been with the fire department for 22 years, having been a firefighter, paramedic, engineer, fire inspector, captain, battalion chief, assistant chief, fire marshal and deputy chief. She became Los Angeles' first female fire marshal in 2016. When she took the firefighter exam in the late 1990s, she ranked among the top 50 out of 16,000 applicants."
I didn't specifically blame her for the lack of water supply...but maybe that she be a top priority of a Fire Chief in dealing with the public officials, no? And you're right there is more to this story...
 
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