I am working on the Eaton Fire clean up. The Altadena area had many problems for firefighters to deal with. There are very few fire hydrants and not great pressure. The water system is very old, I was told much of the water lines are way under sized. There are 3 different water districts in the burn area and many hydrants were and still are out of service.
The homes were packed into what I would call a haphazard arrangement. It would appear the lots were split and resplit to maximize housing. That created small alleyways not wide enough for engine access where 6 to 8 homes were built. For the most part these homes were built in the 1920 to 1950s. Many were wood sided and some lucky ones that are still standing have cedar shake exterior walls and roofs.
Most of the streets are very narrow with most homes having very large trees that burned into the crowns and many which were toppled by the wind. It wood appear to me that there were very few places to make a stand once the homes and trees were ablaze pushed by the wind. The amount of heat and embers coupled with very little water would limit where you could make a stand.
The area of homes burned runs along the mountains for roughly 3 miles and it burned into town in some places about 2 miles. Many homes were lost in areas where no other properties burned, embers found a fuel source and torched the homes. It is a very sad situation.
One thing I know, fingers can be pointed in many directions but I don’t think politicians will allow the problems that cause this catastrophe to see daylight.
@Flames56: https://kymkemp.com/2025/03/26/mendocino-county-residents-train-to-assess-wildfire-risks-in-new-cal-fire-program/
Two weeks ago, a friend of mine was working with a faith-based volunteer work group in the Palisades fire area. They were helping residents sift through the ashes to find any high value (financial or sentimental) items like rings or items the residents really wanted as keepsakes. A couple of the volunteers had questions about what they observed going on. I have my ideas but am wondering if there is an official explanation.
In front of each house in the areas they were working, workers had dug down to the gas line connection to each house, sealed it, and then two different cement trucks followed. One poured one type (mixture) of cement, then another one followed and poured in a different type (or mixture). They could see where the work had been completed in other areas where it had subsequently been paved over. One of the cement truck drivers confirmed that they had sealed the gas lines. Has anyone heard of the official explanation or that that these lots had been converted to all electric now?
They cap the line at the main usually. This is so there is no chance of equipment hitting a above ground meter unprotected.
I think the two cement trucks were putting a sand slurry around the pipes and covered with cement slurry.
They use a cement sand slurry for 2 reasons, it doesn’t need to be compacted to carry street traffic and it can be excavated or dug through easily. When they build a new house it is easy to dig and reestablish the connection.
Another possible explanation could be related to Californias drive to eliminate the use of natural gas and replace it with electricity. Just my guess.
I’m pretty sure it is mainly just an expedient way to make all those bare lots safe for dozers and stuff that will be clearing them in the next few years. Don’t want a live gas riser among all that.
But it could have something to do with that. 2 birds with one stone and all that. If they were planning on hooking it up again then they might have dug down at the sidewalk and capped the laterals off there instead of going all the way back to the main line.
This should be a transparent issue but of course it’s not.
correct
Sand/cement slurry when curred provides greater than 90% relative compact(RC) of the soil. Which is the minimum RC to lay road base and finish pavement. For building footprints including 5’ outside of design the RC increases to 95%.
These requirements are to prevent settling, cracking and as stated can be dug through with equipment without the need to use hydraulic breakers to remove
Preaching to the Choir. The excuse of ‘Climate Change’ that is suppose to raise temps 1.5C in 100 years has little to no effect today, but makes a great scape goat, doesn’t it?
Climate change is real. It’s not the only factor, but I wouldn’t say it has no effect today. The Park Fire took off after the hottest two weeks ever recorded in NorCal, and higher overnight temps and lower humidity recovery during fires like the Dixie or Caldor meant the fires didn’t lay down as much, and we had less opportunities to make progress during night ops.
Spot on. Thank you!
Was it that the Dixie Fire didn’t lay down at night or some wack job was lighting fires across the line?
… the arsonist lit a couple of tiny fires nowhere near the front line of the fire, somewhere up above Magalia IIRC.
They accounted for a couple of dozen acres (if that) out of a full million, and had nothing to do with the fact that the Dixie came on the end of three+ months of utterly dry weather and extreme heat. I think the last notable precipitation that spring was in April, besides maybe on or two very brief showers in June, as part of storms that lit a bunch of lightning fires.
Dixie was throwing spots 1/2 to a mile past us at night. Chainsaws and line for hours then pull out, it’s past us.
Yes, climate change is real, and it’s not a dirty word, it’s a historical thing. The Ice Age changed the shape of California. More recently, another period of global cooling called the Little Ice Age gave birth to all the glaciers in the Sierra. That ended around 1900 or so, not that long ago.
Temperatures have warmed up since then and those glaciers are receding, some have pretty much melted away. Bark beetles exploited the changes in temperature and precipitation and turned millions of trees into Duraflames. When it comes to wildfires, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, the effects of climate change are kinda real.
Climate change has been caused by all sorts of different factors over the course of history. It’s possible that human activity is one of those factors today. And then we get into politics and personal beliefs. I don’t have any answers there.
Image from Little Ice Age - Wikipedia
May be checking in with current climate science and history would be a good idea. I’m neither a fire fighter not a climate scientist.
@Flyron is this a late april fools joke? who comes up with these fake problem sets and solutions?
my favorite line “Hurtado did previously introduce the bill last year, before it was rejected. However, that was before minor changes and, of course, the SoCal fires.”
lol you cant make this up. I am all for training funds but this is to help with staffing? And using the so cal fires as justification. Im just getting old and politicians piss me off.
The reason for the “increase” is the certification Fees hadn’t been raised in 20+ years before the “200-400%” increase.
I believe that the OSFM/SFT side of CAL FIRE is funded in similar fashion as CAL OSHA “user fees”
I get what she’s trying to do. But the fee’s paid pale in comparison to the FREE community College California offers for those without a degree. Finally, even a CAL FIRE Seasonal can earn $40,000+ In their first season and a top step, 9 month seasonal can make darn near 6-figures.
Agree
This is just another Ca political move to garner voters support. How does this solve the staffing shortage? It doesn’t. And somehow after the fires in LA this makes it all better. Public handouts by moving from one source to another.
Eric you are correct, look at the CA community college system for comparison.
And to say that other professions don’t require pre employment expenses? Please
Can you say college degree? Pre requisite training for tech careers?