my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » California On Fire - 2007 (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: California On Fire - 2007 Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-23-2007 10:13 AM                    Good grief, you guys have some serious problems out there! I hope everyone stays safe.  |  IP: Logged Chad M Calpito Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 10-23-2007 10:24 AM                        Yeah, it's not good out here. The air quality currently, is unacceptable. I just hope things will get better soon. It's a day by day situation right now.  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-23-2007 10:31 AM                     Fires in the west (my aunt in San Diego was told to evacuate yesterday), drought in the southeast, and we just got a surprise 2" of rain dumped on us this morning in central Ohio. (I wish I could bottle it up and send it where it is really needed!) What I found very scary was an article in the NY Times Magazine section this weekend on the water problems in the west. They point out how Lake Mead is FAR below normal and how this will affect the entire southwestern US. Please take care in Southern CA...looks like this could be a LONG winter season for all of us.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 10-23-2007 10:55 AM                     We need to seriously change how we deal with forest fires. There's been a direct correlation between us completely squelching every fire every time with an increase in the number of fires and their severity. We used to not go out and try to absolutely demolish all the fires and we had less of them and each wasn't nearly as bad. And if people think fires are always bad and not a normal thing, why do some trees evolve where they only reproduce... by having their cones explode from a fire's heat thereby launching seeds around? Hope things get better for you guys.  |  IP: Logged Jon Miller Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 973 From: San Diego, CA, USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-23-2007 11:34 AM                     IMHO, any change in how wildfires are dealt with is not going to be of much use in the conditions causing the current San Diego fires to to spread like crazy: serious drought and strong Santa Ana winds. The authorities can summon every fire battalionwithin fifty miles to help fight the inferno and it'll still be like holding back a tidal wave with a five-gallon bucket. Rant aside, things are safe where I am. Just some smoky air, that's all. Here's a few links to check on the status of these fires: CAL FIRE News 8 - KFMB-TV SignOnSanDiego (San Diego Union-Tribune) San Diego County Wildfires 2007 blog (SD Union-Tribune)  |  IP: Logged Mike Heenan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1896 From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 10-23-2007 07:11 PM                     Where in San Diego is the fire? I ask because we were there on Friday in the old town and then we went down to Misson Beach and left for home on the 8 East. I dont know if that's out of the area of the fire but I'm glad we left on Friday and not Saturday so we didn't get caught up in the traffic.  |  IP: Logged Jon Miller Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 973 From: San Diego, CA, USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-23-2007 07:34 PM                     Multiple locations around San Diego County, Mike (Google Maps link). The biggest fire is the Witch Creek fire, extending from Santa Ysabel in the east to Rancho Santa Fe to the west. The Harris fire, the next largest, extends from Portrero near the Mexican border northwest. The North County town of Fallbrook is being threatened by the Rice Canyon fire. Most of San Diego city proper including Mission Beach and surrounding communities are safe but the air around here is understandably smoky. The greatest impact is in the North County, 10-15 miles north of I-8, and near the border. Incidentally, I-8 is closed from Alpine to Descanso due to the proximity to the Witch Creek blaze. All told, this firestorm has overshadowed the Cedar fire of 2003. FWIW, classes have been cancelled in virtually every school and college, public and private alike, for the remainder of the week. What a mess.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 10-23-2007 09:05 PM                     quote: Jon Miller IMHO, any change in how wildfires are dealt with is not going to be of much use in the conditions causing the current San Diego fires to to spread like crazy I was more referring to changing the overall way we deal with fires. Any change to what I was suggesting would take years to see the "fruits" of it.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-23-2007 09:15 PM                     I'd sure like to know where those Evergreen Air 747 fire tankers are parked right about now! Mark  |  IP: Logged Jon Miller Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 973 From: San Diego, CA, USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-23-2007 09:38 PM                     I haven't heard anything about Evergreen's 747s being used here but I have seen news footage of a DC-10 tanker in red and white trim making an incredibly long dump of retardant in one of the burn areas. Very impressive!  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 10-23-2007 09:58 PM                        It might be difficult for the rest of the country to appreciate just how, uh, "insidious" those Santa Ana winds are in SoCal. The conditions are hot and dry with screaming winds blowing in the opposite direction from normal and they occur at the worst possible time of year as far as fanning the flames. Everyone who lives in hilly areas of SoCal knows the risk, and this year a whole lot of people have been hit with their worst nightmare. Am I imagining things or does Ahnuld, for whom English is a second language, express himself much more articulately and coherently in a disaster situation like this than, oh, say, um, well, never mind.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-24-2007 01:36 AM                        I have a feeling these fires are going to be stopped when nature wants them to stop. This is an "urban version" of what happened in Yellowstone Nat'l Park in 1988. Fires got out of hand, and the only thing that saved the day was September snowstorms. Good luck, Californians...plenty of well wishes coming your way from Montana.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-24-2007 09:40 AM                    Well, there's no denying that when you don't clear away dead trees or underbrush for decades because you're afraid you might displace some wildlife you're left with much more fuel for fires. I wonder how many spotted owls have lost their homes or burned to death because of some misguided policies.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-24-2007 10:08 AM                        I don't want to start an off-topic argument here, but that's why I said the California situation is an "urban" version of what happened in Yellowstone. Since the national park is kept as a natural area there is no reason to clear underbrush and such. Fires are a part of life for a forest and are necessary for it to sustain. In fact if you drive through Yellowstone today, the areas that burned in '88 look quite nice and healthy. The "misguided policy" was in effect decades ago when people squelched all fires. The only difference is the fuel. In California the fuel (at least in the cities) is man-made. But my point was that nature will control the fire, no matter where the fuel comes from.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-24-2007 11:12 AM                    And my point is that we have a responsibility to control the fuel. Since you mentioned Yellowstone, you probably know that even they have adopted a prescribed burn policy to prevent fuel building up to the point where fires would burn uncontrollably.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.