LA Wildfires, 100K people evacuated and counting

[Mike Hunt 261]

38 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

Yeah Biden is truly tone deaf. However he does not deliberately make cruel remarks, Trump does. Trump is not tone deaf; when he’s being an a$$hole he’s aware of it. 

For the most part Biden has acted Presidential here. He didn’t immediately respond to this crisis by attacking and blaming. We’re in for a long 4 years. 

Making a joke about the worst fire situation in the history of California where so many people have lost everything?  That is a cruel as it gets.  Nothing remotely funny about the tragic fires.

[DonS 3,292]

5 minutes ago, Engorgeous George said:

I had tsunami and then earthquake filling out my trifecta ticket.

Toss in a comet and meteor showers for good measure.  (approx 2:36 mark) 

 

 

[TrailGuy 552]

37 minutes ago, TheNewGirl said:

It's not 100% false tho: 

Stronger protections for smelt = lack of reservoirs. Crucial for the smelt, but fock you and your house. 

 

 

 

Actually it is 100% false.  Yes the delta smelt is a real fish and yes there have been water restrictions to protect it.  No, none of these water restrictions in northern california had any impact on reservoir levels or water pumping ability for these fires.  Trump is shameless in spreading these lies while houses are burning.  You are shameless for defending him.

[Engorgeous George 2,123]

3 minutes ago, DonS said:

Toss in a comet and meteor showers for good measure.  (approx 2:36 mark) 

 

 

I was going to go with Desperados under the Eves at around 1.01

 

[thegeneral 2,889]

50 minutes ago, TheNewGirl said:

LOL

These were voted on and funded back in 2014 and never built. 

 

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-skelton-california-water-bond-money-20180212-story.html

 

https://bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/p1.aspx

Get on that. 

[DonS 3,292]

1 minute ago, Engorgeous George said:

I was going to go with Desperados under the Eves at around 1.01

 

The more you know

Never heard that song before as I'm only familiar with "Werewolves of London" and  "Lawyers, Guns and Money"

[TheNewGirl 1,342]

3 minutes ago, TrailGuy said:

Actually it is 100% false.  Yes the delta smelt is a real fish and yes there have been water restrictions to protect it.  No, none of these water restrictions in northern california had any impact on reservoir levels or water pumping ability for these fires.  Trump is shameless in spreading these lies while houses are burning.  You are shameless for defending him.

You realize that So Cal gets the majority of its water from Northern California run off from snow? Where does that Nor Cal run off go now? 

Why isn't it going to reservoirs in So Cal that we wanted built 10 years ago? 

 

[Engorgeous George 2,123]

5 minutes ago, DonS said:

The more you know

Never heard that song before as I'm only familiar with "Werewolves of London" and  "Lawyers, Guns and Money"

My favorite from him is Accidentally Like a Martyr followed by his death sone, Hold me in Your Heart for a While

[The Real timschochet 6,402]

I am running into unscrupulous landlords who are raising apartment prices in the LA area. This is anecdotal but I’ve spent the last 24 hours trying to arrange apartment tours for my in laws through Zillow and the prices are being updated as we speak. 

[TheNewGirl 1,342]

3 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

I am running into unscrupulous landlords who are raising apartment prices in the LA area. This is anecdotal but I’ve spent the last 24 hours trying to arrange apartment tours for my in laws through Zillow and the prices are being updated as we speak. 

Hotels are also increasing their rates exponentially. 

It's incredibly sad. 

[Strike 5,185]

4 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

I am running into unscrupulous landlords who are raising apartment prices in the LA area. This is anecdotal but I’ve spent the last 24 hours trying to arrange apartment tours for my in laws through Zillow and the prices are being updated as we speak. 

Much like you underpaying illegals to maximize your profit, they are charging what they can to maximize profit.  I'm not justifying their actions but I would never hire illegals to exploit them either.

[Fnord 2,051]

11 minutes ago, TheNewGirl said:

You realize that So Cal gets the majority of its water from Northern California run off from snow? Where does that Nor Cal run off go now? 

Why isn't it going to reservoirs in So Cal that we wanted built 10 years ago? 

 

Because the decade-long drought demolished water levels in lakes and reservoirs in NorCal like Shasta, Oroville, Trinity, etc. Recent precipitation flowed into them. Note I am not stating this as fact, just as educated opinion.

[Engorgeous George 2,123]

8 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

I am running into unscrupulous landlords who are raising apartment prices in the LA area. This is anecdotal but I’ve spent the last 24 hours trying to arrange apartment tours for my in laws through Zillow and the prices are being updated as we speak. 

I have never heard of such a thing!

[TrailGuy 552]

8 minutes ago, TheNewGirl said:

You realize that So Cal gets the majority of its water from Northern California run off from snow? Where does that Nor Cal run off go now? 

Why isn't it going to reservoirs in So Cal that we wanted built 10 years ago? 

 

However, state officials dispute this claim. Most water used in Los Angeles does not come from Northern California but rather from local aqueducts and groundwater. Moreover, the fires' severity was compounded by high winds and smoke, not water shortages.

https://www.newsweek.com/why-trump-attacking-gavin-newsom-over-delta-smelt-fish-2012245

Regulations to prevent the delta smelt from going extinct have nothing to do with LA’s catastrophic fires. For one, the problem wasn’t a lack of water. Plus, most of the city’s water doesn’t even come from Northern California, as Alastair Bland reported in CalMatters.

Right now, the Metropolitan Water District, one of the sources that supplies LA, “has the most water stored in its system in the history of the agency,” Mark Gold, water scarcity director for the Natural Resources Defense Council and a board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, told Bland.

https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/394283/los-angeles-wildfires-trump-newsom-delta-smelt

Facts First: These Trump claims include exaggerations, inaccuracies and an overarching false narrative. Most notably, experts on California water policy said Wednesday that there is no basis for linking the existence of the Southern California fires or challenges in the firefighting effort to the water that is kept in the north of the state to protect the smelt and other species and ecosystems. Southern California does not have a shortage of water for fighting the fires.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/09/politics/fact-check-trump-california-wildfires-fema/index.html

Third, despite Trump’s claptrap, plenty of fresh delta water is being pumped south to fill fire hydrants and the tanks of firefighting aircraft. Hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow daily down the California Aqueduct. Major Southland reservoirs are at historically high levels. Anyway, much of L.A.’s water doesn’t even come from the Delta. It flows from the Owens Valley and the Colorado River.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-10/column-trump-shoots-his-mouth-off-as-l-a-burns-his-claims-about-fire-hydrants-dont-hold-water

[jerryskids 6,554]

47 minutes ago, Strike said:

I'll do it right now.  I 100% disagree with Trump and Musk on their H1-B visa stance.  Happy now?

What is their stance?  

[Strike 5,185]

1 minute ago, jerryskids said:

What is their stance?  

Open the floodgates and put Americans out of work.

[Fnord 2,051]

Profiteering during and after disaster is as American as it gets. Glad the good company I used to work for in SoCal never changed their prices during events like these. Profits still flowed. The bad company I worked for sure did. Owners were P's of S.

[iam90sbaby 2,472]

I’m happy that the degenerate capital of the world is burning. Hopefully the casualties are high. Get focked California 

[TheNewGirl 1,342]

4 minutes ago, Fnord said:

Because the decade-long drought demolished water levels in lakes and reservoirs in NorCal like Shasta, Oroville, Trinity, etc. Recent precipitation flowed into them. Note I am not stating this as fact, just as educated opinion.

The water wars have been going on for decades. Obama even made comments about "not wading into this." 

Again, some of the folks commenting on this thread don't live in CA and it shows. They have NO idea what we vote on, where the money comes from, etc. They focus on the fact that Trump lied; but aren't seeing our Governor tell the news that "locals will need to figure it out" when the hydrants weren't pumping enough water. 

[Hardcore troubadour 14,915]

Why were they making cuts? Why didn’t they just raise taxes on the rich and corporations? Democrats are always telling us that is what they are going to do when they win.  Well, they won California. So what’s up? 

[TheNewGirl 1,342]

7 minutes ago, TrailGuy said:

 

You're right, I am wrong. 

 

[The Real timschochet 6,402]

11 minutes ago, Strike said:

Much like you underpaying illegals to maximize your profit, they are charging what they can to maximize profit.  I'm not justifying their actions but I would never hire illegals to exploit them either.

I don’t underpay undocumented immigrants. When I use them (for day labor only) I pay them what they ask. I don’t dicker. 
 

I do believe in free market capitalism, but I think price gouging during emergencies is wrong. 

[CaptainObvious1 323]

15 minutes ago, Strike said:

Much like you underpaying illegals to maximize your profit, they are charging what they can to maximize profit.  I'm not justifying their actions but I would never hire illegals to exploit them either.

It's all about Tim.

[The Real timschochet 6,402]

3 minutes ago, iam90sbaby said:

I’m happy that the degenerate capital of the world is burning. Hopefully the casualties are high. Get focked California 

In a forum with jerks, anti-Semites, racists (besides yourself) and trolls, somehow you always manage to to distinguish yourself as in a category all your own. It’s quite impressive. 

[Strike 5,185]

Just now, The Real timschochet said:

I don’t underpay undocumented immigrants. When I use them (for day labor only) I pay them what they ask. I don’t dicker. 
 

So if someone wants a job and is willing to work at McDonalds for $8/hr, shouldn't they be allowed to or are you the only one who gets to violate minimum wage laws if the victim is willing to take the lower wage?

[OldMaid 2,129]

We had a short evacuation placed on us last night, but are still home. The winds are blowing west and we are east of the current fire in our area. Unless something changes, I think we’re going to be ok.

From what I’ve gathered, yes, this fire might have been arson. They have a suspect in custody.

[edjr 6,578]

 

 

[TheNewGirl 1,342]

Just now, OldMaid said:

We had a short evacuation placed on us last night, but are still home. The winds are blowing west and we are east of the current fire in our area. Unless something changes, I think we’re going to be ok.

From what I’ve gathered, yes, this fire might have been arson. They have a suspect in custody.

I read that too. Just awful. 

Glad to hear that you're okay. 

[thegeneral 2,889]

19 minutes ago, iam90sbaby said:

I’m happy that the degenerate capital of the world is burning. Hopefully the casualties are high. Get focked California 

Go fock yourself.

[TK0001 99]

16 minutes ago, OldMaid said:

We had a short evacuation placed on us last night, but are still home. The winds are blowing west and we are east of the current fire in our area. Unless something changes, I think we’re going to be ok.

From what I’ve gathered, yes, this fire might have been arson. They have a suspect in custody.

Glad to hear you're well, Suze. I've been wondering about you. My step-mom's sister (my step-Aunt, I guess) lives in the Palisades and lost everything. She and her husband are in their 70's and will now have to start over. But at least they made it out.

There are currently six fires in the LA area, all which started at the same time. I don't know how common that is during wildfire season, but from my view from Michigan it certainly feels like coordinated arson.

I would be livid at the waste of taxpayer money that was supposed to be used to minimize this. Newsom requested $800M ADDITIONAL for forest management in 2023. Still the forests are (were) way too alarmingly dense and the warning signs were everywhere.

[OldMaid 2,129]

3 minutes ago, TK0001 said:

Glad to hear you're well, Suze. I've been wondering about you. My step-mom's sister (my step-Aunt, I guess) lives in the Palisades and lost everything. She and her husband are in their 70's and will now have to start over. But at least they made it out.

There are currently six fires in the LA area, all which started at the same time. I don't know how common that is during wildfire season, but from my view from Michigan it certainly feels like coordinated arson.

I would be livid at the waste of taxpayer money that was supposed to be used to minimize this. Newsom requested $800M ADDITIONAL for forest management in 2023. Still the forests are (were) way too alarmingly dense and the warning signs were everywhere.

TK!!!!!!!!  

So sorry to hear about your family in the Palisades. We’ve had 3 friends who lost everything as well. my heart is absolutely broken for them. 

So far only 1 of them is being attributed to arson. And no, they didn’t all start at the same time.

[Alias Detective 1,389]

38 minutes ago, OldMaid said:

We had a short evacuation placed on us last night, but are still home. The winds are blowing west and we are east of the current fire in our area. Unless something changes, I think we’re going to be ok.

From what I’ve gathered, yes, this fire might have been arson. They have a suspect in custody.

Great to hear.  How is your water pressure?

[HellToupee 1,583]

wow
 

 

Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when firestorm exploded

By Matt HamiltonStaff Writer  

Jan. 10, 2025 8:39 AM PT

30 minutes ago

 

The Santa Ynez Reservoir as seen from above in September 2022.

(Hayley Smith/Los Angeles Times)

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades. 

The revelation comes among growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze. Numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving firefighters struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames. 

Department of Water and Power officials have said that demand for water during an unprecedented fire made it impossible to maintain any pressure to hydrants at high elevations.

Had the reservoir been operable, it would have extended water pressure in the Palisades on Tuesday night, said former DWP general manager Martin Adams, an expert on the city’s water system. But only for a time.

“You still would have ended up with serious drops in pressure,” Adams said in an interview Thursday. “Would Santa Ynez [Reservoir] have helped? Yes, to some extent. Would it have saved the day? I don’t think so.”

A DWP official acknowledged that the reservoir’s absence likely contributed to some diminished pressure and dry hydrants in upper regions of the Palisades. 

However, a spokesperson for the utility said in a statement that DWP was still evaluating the effect of the reservoir being placed offline, and that staffers were conducting a root-cause analysis. 

“Our primary focus is to provide water supply throughout the city,” the DWP spokesperson said, adding, “The system was never designed for a wildfire scenario that we are experiencing.”

It’s unclear when the reservoir first went offline. Adams said it had been out of service “for a while” due to a tear in the cover and that DWP’s vast storage and supply infrastructure still provided water to residents without disruptions, until this week. 

Water pressure in the upper Palisades is sustained with three storage tanks, which hold 1 million gallons each. The tanks, part of a network of more than 100 across the city, are located at successively higher elevations in the coastal, hilly neighborhood, with water pumped up to the tanks, then flowing down by gravity to maintain pressure. 

By 3 a.m. Wednesday, all three tanks had gone dry. 

DWP Chief Executive Officer Janisse Quiñones said the tanks could not be refilled fast enough and that demand at lower elevations hampered the ability to pump water to tanks at higher elevations. In one case, DWP crews attempting to reroute water to refill a tank had to be evacuated, officials said.

Quiñones said four times the usual demand for water on the trunk line over a 15-hour period led to drops in water pressure.

Had the Santa Ynez Reservoir been in use in that period, Adams estimated, that demand might have been three times as high. Water in the reservoir would have fed the firefighting equipment and helped the pump stations push water to the storage tanks. But the reservoir “wouldn’t have lasted forever and would not have been a fix-all,” Adams said. 

“Eventually, you would have gotten to the same place,” he added. Adams cautioned that he was basing his assertion on a rough estimate, and that he had not calculated the specific impact. 

Whether the reservoir would have had a meaningful impact on fighting a blaze of such intensity remains unclear. Researchers said urban water systems like DWP’s were not designed to fight wildfires that overtake whole neighborhoods. 

The National Weather Service had warned of “life threatening” winds before the fire broke out. By then, Adams said, the DWP’s options were limited. He noted that fire risk is not exclusive to the Palisades but is present across L.A. County. 

Had DWP held water in the reservoir with a ripped cover, the water would have been legally undrinkable except in emergencies. 

And had the utility opted to start filling the reservoir over the weekend, in advance of the extreme winds, Adams said it was unclear whether the water could have been added fast enough to be useful.

“They would have been betting that there would be a fire that wipes out the whole neighborhood, which of course, no one has ever seen before,” he said. “It would have been a strange bet.”

The reservoir is one of several operated by DWP across the city, which have a combined capacity of more than 4.1 billion gallons of water. Including aqueduct reservoirs, the city can store more than 91 billion gallons across its vast infrastructure. The Santa Ynez complex, at 117 million gallons, is among several sources of water in the area, including a large pipeline from Stone Canyon and a smaller site, the nearby Palisades Reservoir.

The utility designs the system with redundancies and multiple sources of water. In a statement, the agency said that none of its infrastructural assets failed Tuesday and early Wednesday but that the “intensity” of the fire disrupted the contingencies in place. 

Joseph Ramallo, a chief communications officer for DWP, said the reservoir was scheduled to reopen in February. The maintenance, he said, was needed to comply with water quality regulations. 

Adams said that if the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been in normal use with a fully repaired cover, the water level would likely have been well below maximum capacity. 

In the winter, water levels are kept purposely lower because of a seasonal decline in water use by residents. If water remains stagnant in a reservoir, there is a risk that the disinfectant, chloramine, will break down and chlorine will evaporate, leaving behind ammonia that could foster bacterial growth in the water supply.

“You would not have had a whole pile of water just sitting there,” Adams said. “That’s the battle in water storage — you’ve got to keep your tanks and reservoirs fluctuating.”

Furious residents have pointed to the lack of water pressure as one factor contributing to the destruction of 5,300 homes and buildings in L.A., Santa Monica and Malibu. Civic leaders like L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park and developer Rick Caruso have pointed to the issue as a sign of poor infrastructure upkeep.

[TK0001 99]

15 minutes ago, OldMaid said:

TK!!!!!!!!  

So sorry to hear about your family in the Palisades. We’ve had 3 friends who lost everything as well. my heart is absolutely broken for them. 

So far only 1 of them is being attributed to arson. And no, they didn’t all start at the same time.

Same time frame? Like within a week or so? I don't honestly know, just asking. I also don't know how common these fires are, when not whipped up to apocalypse levels by the Santa Anas.

[HotRod 69]

I saw that nothing blue was burned.  Odd.

[OldMaid 2,129]

3 minutes ago, TK0001 said:

Same time frame? Like within a week or so? I don't honestly know, just asking. I also don't know how common these fires are, when not whipped up to apocalypse levels by the Santa Anas.

More wind = more fires. We had hurricane force winds blowing. I think they reported we had gusts up to 100mph. I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation like this before. We have had more than one fire break out within the same time frame before, but not 6. 

[TK0001 99]

1 minute ago, OldMaid said:

More wind = more fires. We had hurricane force winds blowing. I think they reported we had gusts up to 100mph. I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation like this before. We have had more than one fire break out within the same time frame before, but not 6. 

Wind doesn't make fire, though. My point is they were started somehow, then the Santa Anas gold hold of them. And I don't know how common small fires are. My guess is there are a lot that get put out immediately, like from errant camp fires or someone tossing a cigarette butt. These six just got out of control immediately.

Or it was a coordinated arson attempt.

I'm torn.

[HotRod 69]

4 minutes ago, TK0001 said:

Wind doesn't make fire, though. My point is they were started somehow, then the Santa Anas gold hold of them. And I don't know how common small fires are. My guess is there are a lot that get put out immediately, like from errant camp fires or someone tossing a cigarette butt. These six just got out of control immediately.

Or it was a coordinated arson attempt.

I'm torn.

They want you to think it's climate change to push through the green new scam.  But we all know it's arson.  Probably caused by the same people pushing the green new scam.

https://x.com/Dj_YQL/status/1877364351956611099

[OldMaid 2,129]

8 minutes ago, TK0001 said:

Wind doesn't make fire, though. My point is they were started somehow, then the Santa Anas gold hold of them. And I don't know how common small fires are. My guess is there are a lot that get put out immediately, like from errant camp fires or someone tossing a cigarette butt. These six just got out of control immediately.

Or it was a coordinated arson attempt.

I'm torn.

Speculation is that one of them started by fireworks leftover from New Year’s. 

[TK0001 99]

I'm not dismissing the fact it could just also be crazy people not affiliated with anything or who have no agenda. There are tons of crazy people out there, especially in Southern Cali.