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CA fires 2020

Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,605
From extreme heat, to fires across the state thanks to that darn lightning this weekend -_-

Bay Area right now has some pretty close ones, both in the hills in the east AND around the Santa Cruz mountain range. But that's just speaking locally, there are TONS across the state right now.


Here's some resources during this time to follow that I highly recommend if you haven't yet. I re-bookmark them around this time every year to follow, and sometimes they do go down due to traffic.


Interactive CA fire map
SF Chronicle tracker
#FireMappers
Sonoma County Fire Incidents
These lists all active/recent fires, how far they have spread, and how much has been contained.

North America air quality
This spans across both US and Canada, and just need to zoom in/type your zip/postal code to check in on the air quality of your area. It's a good thing that we have masks on hand, because they sure sold out fast 2 years ago during those fires :/ Make sure to stock up on the good ones if you can and need to go out, and keep windows closed (despite the heat...) if those particle levels get too high.
PurpleAir
Smooth-running alternative, shows current air quality on a global-level.

Fire Cams
Alert Wildfire Cams
Good source to show levels of smokiness/fires in a large variety of areas.
 
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entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,197
California is having an awful 2020. Covid-19, fires, budget issues.
 
brawndolicious

brawndolicious

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,927
I'm in San Jose and just went outside for the first time today. Instantly knew fire season has begun. Hope this smoke isn't around for too long.
 
Loud Wrong

Loud Wrong

Member
Feb 24, 2020
14,106
If it helps, you can have our hurricanes to put out the flames. /s
 
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Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,853
Yeah, we really need to up our game on controlled burns. Dry brush for miles. May as well pour gasoline on everything
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,909
It's sad to think that we have an annual fire season now each year.

Quite a depressing reality.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,197
Why are fires so common in California? It just a natural thing this time of year?
 
OP
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Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,605
Loud Wrong said:
If it helps, you can have our hurricanes.
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I would prefer not to have comparisons to disasters in other areas. Per a previous thread, there were people pointing out how they had it worst, or "why didn't our disaster make the news?" and I don't want to make this a game of "who has it worse?" This is something we are dealing with currently, and disasters anywhere SUCKS, but it shouldn't be a way to put others down.
 
Mekanos

Mekanos

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 17, 2018
44,184
Boy, this early? Our fires usually wait until around October to start.
 
Tobie925

Tobie925

Member
Oct 7, 2019
65
Bay Area
climate change and we're building in places we probably shouldn't be without adequate plans and controls for wildfires.
California's natural cycle is for fires to naturally occur anyway, so native plants are kind of built to be burnt.
 
Mandos

Mandos

Member
Nov 27, 2017
31,014
entremet said:
Why are fires so common in California? It just a natural thing this time of year?
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The states eco system is designed around fire renewal, with minor fires happening to clear brush. The red wood even is adapted to survive and even birth new trees thanks to it. Combine that with counties trying to prevent Minor fires with major winds and a long rain season the brush grows to the point of major kindling.
Rl;dr suppressing minor natural fires and lots of rain in a region designed to burn on a normal basis

also I'm awaiting the yearly big one here in Santa Barbara county. It's likely to strike in the next few weeks
 
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Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,605
micri925 said:
climate change and we're building in places we probably shouldn't be without adequate plans and controls for wildfires.
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I have friends in Dublin, and ALL of their new development is up in those dry hills. There's "more homes" and then "yeahhhh that would suck if a fire gets near" which there has been a few times, dangerously close :/


reedscam said:
It looks like that CA Fire map is down right now for me. I've been using an SFChronicle interactive map to look at fire information:

www.sfchronicle.com

California Fire Map: Tracking wildfires burning across the state

Latest Cal Fire updates on active fires in California. Map shows acres burned and containment of wildfires throughout Northern California.
www.sfchronicle.com www.sfchronicle.com
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I'll add to OP as an alternative.
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,909
Curler said:
I blame the dry thunderstorm this weekend :/ Thunder with no rain was NOT a good thing...
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With fires previously it was typically 2-3 days of extreme heat, then the typical California weather system would roll right back in.

With constant extreme heat for over a week, none of the fires that get started even gets a chance to gets containment, or at least not very much if any.
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,909
Curler said:
I have friends in Dublin, and ALL of their new development is up in those dry hills. There's "more homes" and then "yeahhhh that would suck if a fire gets near" which there has been a few times, dangerously close :/

I'll add to OP as an alternative.
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It's towards Pleasanton, so right next door, but not quite there yet.

If it doesn't cool down soon though, it'll be there sooner rather than later.

Rough times.
 
ReAxion

ReAxion

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,882
a tiny tear in my eye when it's extremely green after one rain in late winter/spring, for i know what it will be in a few weeks.
 
Fushichou187

Fushichou187

Member
Nov 1, 2017
3,314
Sonoma County, California.
Thanks for this. We in it now.

Some additional map/tracking resources:

#FireMappers

Not all fires are a CAL-FIRE situation and won't appear on their map until they are. This a good map aggregating a bunch of known active fires & evacs, but may not have detailed info on containment. But at least you can see the fire's name and go from there.

For Sonoma County (and other nearby North State counties):

County of Sonoma Fire Incident Map

They GIS people at the county doing real good work here. A map of the fires nearby, evac zones, and access to wildlife cameras that are pointed in the direction of the fires.
 
Kmonk

Kmonk

#TeamThierry
Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,695
US
Fushichou187 said:
Thanks for this. We in it now.

Some additional map/tracking resources:

#FireMappers

Not all fires are a CAL-FIRE situation and won't appear on their map until they are. This a good map aggregating a bunch of known active fires & evacs, but may not have detailed info on containment. But at least you can see the fire's name and go from there.

For Sonoma County (and other nearby North State counties):

County of Sonoma Fire Incident Map

They GIS people at the county doing real good work here. A map of the fires nearby, evac zones, and access to wildlife cameras that are pointed in the direction of the fires.
Click to expand...
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Thanks for Sonoma County info. A friend of mine from back home called this morning to say they were evacuating everyone west of Guerneville. Despite this, the Napa fire is so bad that I'm having trouble getting good info in SoNoCo. It's really dark when so much of the state is burning that it's almost impossible to issue targeted alerts.
 
OP
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Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,605
Komo said:
I'd recommend also checking this site to see what the fire cams are seeing in your area.

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This is a good source to show how bad smoke levels are in a huge varieties of areas. Added to OP.


Fushichou187 said:
Thanks for this. We in it now.

Some additional map/tracking resources:

#FireMappers

Not all fires are a CAL-FIRE situation and won't appear on their map until they are. This a good map aggregating a bunch of known active fires & evacs, but may not have detailed info on containment. But at least you can see the fire's name and go from there.

For Sonoma County (and other nearby North State counties):

County of Sonoma Fire Incident Map

They GIS people at the county doing real good work here. A map of the fires nearby, evac zones, and access to wildlife cameras that are pointed in the direction of the fires.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Added these to OP too, since some of the other sources keep going up and down, it's good to have more alternatives.
 
nilbog

nilbog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,154
Damn, looks like it's creeping close to my parent's town again.

Stay safe NorCal!
 
Fushichou187

Fushichou187

Member
Nov 1, 2017
3,314
Sonoma County, California.
Kmonk said:
Thanks for Sonoma County info. A friend of mine from back home called this morning to say they were evacuating everyone west of Guerneville. Despite this, the Napa fire is so bad that I'm having trouble getting good info in SoNoCo. It's really dark when so much of the state is burning that it's almost impossible to issue targeted alerts.
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Yeah they're not taking any chances with West County. That was the big concern with Kincade last year; that it'd jump the 101 and light up allllllll that overgrowth in the west that hasn't burnt in like.. 100 years?

WELP. Now nature was like "fuck it. We'll start there this time."

and you ain't wrong about the volume of stuff happening all at once making it difficult to get out information and other resources. I'm hearing that SoCo Fire isn't getting air support for the one that's causing the west county evacs because resources are stretched too thin and are needed to combat threats to denser urban centers.
 
CountAntonio

CountAntonio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,730
Brush fire in my backyard a few years ago. Not looking forward to this shit again. Already had a sizable fir in our city last week and three or so in the county. SoCal here.
 
gcubed

gcubed

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,786
Friends are packed and waiting to get the word they need to leave in Scotts Valley... I lived on the NorCal coast for a while, fires on this side seemed rare.
 
RastaMentality

RastaMentality

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,130
The state goes to 100° for a week and the entire infrastructure crumbles? Seems like bad omen for the future.
 
Loud Wrong

Loud Wrong

Member
Feb 24, 2020
14,106
Curler said:
I would prefer not to have comparisons to disasters in other areas. Per a previous thread, there were people pointing out how they had it worst, or "why didn't our disaster make the news?" and I don't want to make this a game of "who has it worse?" This is something we are dealing with currently, and disasters anywhere SUCKS, but it shouldn't be a way to put others down.
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It wasn't meant as a comparison. It was meant as a means of putting out the fires. Just a stupid joke, sorry for the offense it caused. Just a coping mechanism during a shitty time all around.
 
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Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,605
RastaMentality said:
The state goes to 100° for a week and the entire infrastructure crumbles? Seems like bad omen for the future.
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I mean, those dry thunderstorms are also something to blame as well, and not much you can do to prevent those from starting fires much :/

Loud Wrong said:
It wasn't meant as a comparison. It was meant as a means of putting out the fires. Just a stupid joke, sorry for the offense it caused.
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Oh no worries, kind of flew over my head with everything going on today >_> Just put it there as a general disclaimer because of what happened before.
 
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OP
Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,605
RastaMentality said:
But the fact that our entire power grid can't handle 100° weather and increased usage is just crazy
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Yeah, and that's a whole thing on its own :/ Increased usage I can imagine will get worse this week, if everyone are shutting their windows from the smoke, and just staying inside. Got to go for a walk around last night before things got bad, who knows when it will clear up before it's ok to go back out again :/
 
nilbog

nilbog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,154
KdKYSE0.jpg


AngryGoldenIsabellinewheatear-size_restricted.gif
 
RebelStrike

RebelStrike

Member
Apr 28, 2020
703
It's not a natural fire but another one to add to the list is the USS Bonhomme Richard fire in July, it was so bad the entire city reaked of chemicals :(. 2020 definitely hasn't been kind to California.
 
Carbon

Carbon

Deploying the stealth Cruise Missile
Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,897
entremet said:
Why are fires so common in California? It just a natural thing this time of year?
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NickatNite said:
Hot and Dry summers
Poorly maintained infrastructure (gas & electric)
Climate Change
High Winds
A lot of fires just happen naturally
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Add to that the Bark Beetle problem. The droughts of recent years caused many pine and fir trees in CA forests (mostly Sierra Nevadas and So Cal Mountains) to be more susceptible to beetle infestation, which killed many more trees than normal. So you have forests filled with what are essentially 200ft towers of kindling. And even when we do get rain, until those trees are culled or decompose naturally, they stay dead and can still be a major accelerant years later during dry seasons.

So, largely a symptom of climate change, but a much more specific cause which will linger for years even in-between dry seasons.
 

asun

Member
Nov 10, 2017
453
Historically, California has a well-studied fire cycle tied to its mediterranean climate and fire-dependent chaparral. The periods when fires occurred used to be several months out of the driest part of the year. Prior to the last decade or two, the destructiveness of fires was tied to active fire suppression that led to significant accumulation of flammable material and urbanization in fire-prone areas.

With the significant global warming we've been experiencing, however, everything dies and becomes tinder earlier in the year. It's basically a huge accelerant and has been turned a decadal process into a yearly process.
 
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