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Fire season is more like hell on earth than paradise, unfortunately.

_jal 5y ago
In retrospect, replacing fall with live-action Dante's Inferno was suboptimal.
raldi 5y ago
The primary reason we have a fire season at all is that we don't let people build housing in California's existing cities and towns, and so instead they sprawl out into fire-prone areas requiring long-distance power lines. https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/news/release/wui-interface-intermix https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/news/release/wui-interface-intermi...
- tryonenow 5y ago
  Actually I think the real reason is that PG&E has ≈100 year old power lines with components that are well past their service life and regularly arc/fail causing fires. But there doesn't appear to be any accountability for their lack of maintenance. https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/new-images-of-pge-hooks-on-camp-fire-power-line-released/2190709/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/new-images-of-pge-...
- CamperBob2 5y ago
  A lot of places have long-distance power lines. They don't all burn up on a regular basis. So, no, that can't be it. (That being said, yes, it would be better if power generation were decentralized, and California seems like the right place to do just that.)
  - raldi 5y ago
    Did you read the link? It’s specifically when the power lines run through fire-prone land, and also when the trees/brush interact with houses. The plants spread flames rapidly, and the buildings act as torches, keeping the fire going long after nature would’ve burned up.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  Also because people don't want to live next door to power plants (with "next door" meaning "within eyesight").
- sagarm 5y ago
  We need to stop subsidizing people who choose to live in the wildlands urban interface. It's a hazard to the rest of us.
- JoshuaDavid 5y ago
  Fire is a part of the lifecycle of many of the plants native to California. If power lines didn't spark fires, something else would (lightning if nothing else). That said, power lines do have a tendency to spark fires in remote areas on the windiest days, which is not ideal. But eliminating power lines still wouldn't eliminate brush fires.
  - raldi 5y ago
    But once you start letting people build houses in fire country, they pressure the local and state government to suppress those natural fires, and thus, instead of frequent manageable ones, we get less-frequent infernos.
agogdog 5y ago
If housing in California were affordable I'd come and sweep the forests myself.
jensvdh 5y ago
Paradise, California was hell on earth.

_jal 5y ago

In retrospect, replacing fall with live-action Dante's Inferno was suboptimal.

The primary reason we have a fire season at all is that we don't let people build housing in California's existing cities and towns, and so instead they sprawl out into fire-prone areas requiring long-distance power lines. https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/news/release/wui-interface-intermix https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/news/release/wui-interface-intermi...

tryonenow 5y ago
Actually I think the real reason is that PG&E has ≈100 year old power lines with components that are well past their service life and regularly arc/fail causing fires. But there doesn't appear to be any accountability for their lack of maintenance. https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/new-images-of-pge-hooks-on-camp-fire-power-line-released/2190709/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/new-images-of-pge-...
CamperBob2 5y ago
A lot of places have long-distance power lines. They don't all burn up on a regular basis. So, no, that can't be it. (That being said, yes, it would be better if power generation were decentralized, and California seems like the right place to do just that.)
- raldi 5y ago
  Did you read the link? It’s specifically when the power lines run through fire-prone land, and also when the trees/brush interact with houses. The plants spread flames rapidly, and the buildings act as torches, keeping the fire going long after nature would’ve burned up.
throwawayboise 5y ago
Also because people don't want to live next door to power plants (with "next door" meaning "within eyesight").
sagarm 5y ago
We need to stop subsidizing people who choose to live in the wildlands urban interface. It's a hazard to the rest of us.
JoshuaDavid 5y ago
Fire is a part of the lifecycle of many of the plants native to California. If power lines didn't spark fires, something else would (lightning if nothing else). That said, power lines do have a tendency to spark fires in remote areas on the windiest days, which is not ideal. But eliminating power lines still wouldn't eliminate brush fires.
- raldi 5y ago
  But once you start letting people build houses in fire country, they pressure the local and state government to suppress those natural fires, and thus, instead of frequent manageable ones, we get less-frequent infernos.

agogdog 5y ago

If housing in California were affordable I'd come and sweep the forests myself.

jensvdh 5y ago

Paradise, California was hell on earth.