Trump blames Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom for deadly wildfires

Read today they still don't know what caused the flame to spark, but they believe it started near the Skull Rock trail in Temescal Canyon. This is what the trail looks like:



To get a perspective on how close this is to town, here's a view from the canyon. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that's the Palisades neighborhood below that burned, and Malibu is blocked by the tree on the right. The pier in the center of photo is Santa Monica.

 

Halil Silahşör on Instagram: "Fire protection system in #Japan Japan’s Fire Protection System: Overview 1. Fire Codes & Regulations • Strict laws mandate fire-resistant materials, evacuation plans, and safety systems like sprinklers and fire alarms. 2. Technology & Innovation • Automated alarms linked to fire stations, mandatory sprinklers, and advanced smoke control systems. 3. Community-Based Safety • Volunteer Fire Corps (Shōbōdan) with 800,000+ members and public awareness campaigns. 4. Earthquake-Resilient Systems • Fire systems designed to function post-earthquakes, with water storage and fire-resistant structures. 5. Fire Departments • Modern equipment, specialized vehicles, and rigorous firefighter training. 6. Evacuation Systems • Clear signage, emergency lighting, and evacuation chutes in high-rises. 7. Cultural Practices • Community fire-watch in traditional neighborhoods. 8. Fire Risk Mapping • Risk maps identify vulnerable areas for targeted action. Japan’s comprehensive approach integrates technology, regulations, and community effort, setting a global standard for fire safety. #FireSafety #Japan #DisasterPreparedness #FireProtection #EmergencyResponse #BuildingSafety #CommunitySafety #EarthquakePreparedness #FirePrevention #SafetyInnovation Here are some hashtags for your topic on Japan’s fire protection system: #FireProtection #FireSafety #JapanSafety #DisasterPreparedness #EmergencyResponse #FireFighting #CommunitySafety #BuildingSafety #EarthquakePreparedness #FireResistantDesign #SafetyInnovation #PublicSafety #FirePrevention #SmartFireSystems #UrbanSafety"

This is cool

 

I think you are right, Az. A beautiful area, it was.

Came across this photo in the LA Times earlier today. Spoke to me of the capricious nature of fire.

 

You said the state doesn’t do controlled burns. They do.

Now you link something about the feds. Not the state?

The feds took a temporary pause on their activities in Oct 2024. But yes the Feds also do controlled burns. They actually claimed a record in 2024 in CA even with the October pause. The pause was also not some new permanent policy, sounds like it’s more resource/budget related. This doesn’t necessarily even have anything to do with these fires either. The article is concerning the forests in northern CA. Federally managed lands. So when one of those fires breaks out in a national forest, it might come back to that.

I doubt either the state or the feds are fully on top of this, actually all the evidence is they are both woefully behind and probably need more resources even with all their PR about forest management and breaking records. So I’m not even arguing that. I’m just pointing out that they do in fact utilize prescribed burns. Both the state and the feds.

 

Questions:
How many Democrats in high positions secretly wanted Malibu to burn?

Did these people consciously or unconsciously take actions that increased the likelihood that Malibu would burn? Robert Barnes, who lived in Malibu for over a decade has talked about it. A friend of his wrote a chapter in a book called Malibu Burns (or Burn, Malibu Burn was the title of that chapter in that book. I'll clarify this when I find out). Barnes says that in 3-5 years it will be interesting to see who bought up burned out Malibu property. The Malibu house Barnes lived in was owned by a Mormon who designed it in such away that it could be protected by foam. Initially Barnes heard the house was burned down but turns out it survived in good shape.

Can government officials be prosecuted and jailed for criminal negligence?

 

I get the feeling that Trump literally thinks that because Canada is above the US on a map, that it is uphill from the US, and water naturally flows down downhill from it..

 

Is Southern California forest or more scrub? Whenever they show those popo bad guy flir video’s, the trees all look 6’ high

 

Without irrigation it is a desert. Chaparral, scrub, grass, conifers, oaks, and trees planted from other areas. Rainy season produces growth in the vegetation, then it dries out, becoming fuel for fires. Rinse and repeat. Steep slopes will slide without vegation to hold the soil, so clearing all the brush out is impractical and creates slide dangers.
The irrigation that feeds socal comes in via aqueducts. Owens valley, Colorado River, etc.

 

The very nature of plants that comprise the Chaparral ensures it will burn and spread quickly.

Extreme wildfire supersedes long-term fuel treatment influences on fuel and vegetation in chaparral ecosystems of northern California, USA | Fire Ecology | Full Text

Vegetation associated with chaparral is both resilient to and dependent upon infrequent, high-severity wildfires, making this an important component in maintaining the high endemism found in these ecosystems (Keeley 1991; Keeley and Davis 2007). Chaparral is characterized by unique features, such as a dense contiguous shrub canopy of twigs and leaves that contain volatile oils, supporting high-intensity crown fires with rapid rates of spread (Quinn and Keeley 2006).

 

California does do controlled burns, but not close to the scale that Florida does. In 2023 Florida did around 277,000 acres of controlled burns as opposed to California doing around 78,000 acres. California is also around 3 times the size of Florida as well. This damage could've been mitigated if they did much larger scale controlled burns. This isn't some new issue. Been happening for as long as people have lived in California. Lot's of blame to go around for sure.

 

Burning pine flatwoods with a moist soil and high relative humidity as in FL with prepared firelines, fire breaks and no mountains is an entirely different critter than burning highly volatile vegetation in the mountain and yet prescribed fire in FL gets away semi-frequently, turns into a wildfire, and destroys homes, private woodlands and has caused deaths - and FL has some of the best and most experienced forest management people anywhere. Also smoke management in or near residential areas as in LA prevents prescribed fires in many areas - true in FL too. Not directly comparable at a state:state level.

 

Semi-frequently? Going to need some hard data on that. Now, regarding the vegetation comparison, maybe you aren't familiar with how flammable the brush in Florida is as well(see 1998 fires for example). The mountains are an issue but not impossible to do controlled burns. Are you really trying to say that the leaders in California have handled the fires well?

 

And it is supposed to be the rainy season

 

Dont know much if anything about burning in CA except it is fraught with risk. Wildland firefighters i know refuse to go to CA to fight wildfires there (for good money) because “someone always dies”. I took a week’s training in wildland firefighting/prescribed fire (the minimum) in FL and worked a double handful of prescribed fires on WMAs in FL (busman’s holiday type of thing) and a couple of wildfires. I have some knowledge, though small, of burning in FL. Palmetto is high in oil content and burns rapidly. There are growths of palmetto that for one reason or another haven’t been burned in decades (good for bears) and burn bosses are hesitant to be the one to fire it up particularly if close to residential areas.

Controlled burns do get away in FL. If quickly contained with no structural damage it rarely comes to the public’s notice. You may remember the controlled burn in Tate’s Hell State Forest that got away and destroyed 30+ homes around Eastpoint

Eastpoint fire victims fleeing flames: 'It was like you had entered hell'
EASTPOINT – Arlene Thompson was in her yard taking pictures of what she thought was a controlled burn in the woods when hot embers started dropping from the sky and landing all around her.

Before she knew it, the air was thick with black smoke and hot from a racing inferno. It was as if the devil himself conjured a firestorm around her house, which sat on the edge of Tate’s Hell State Park in the little Franklin County fishing town.

And smoke management is critical in residential areas. If it lays down over roadways it is a hazard and if it lays down in a neighborhood it is a health hazard.
Investigators Report on the Florida I-4 Fog/Smoke Incident
Investigators have released a report on the Florida January 8 incident that we reported on in which smoke from an escaped prescribed fire may have mixed with fog causing poor visibility on Interstate 4 resulting in five fatalities in vehicle crashes.

Putting one’s name on a burn permit is a weighty thing and can have consequences. A grat deal of care is taken to ensure the burn will be within prescription- wind speed, wind direction (and future anticipated conditions) relative humidity, vegetation type to be burned, size of the burn, existence of natural and man-made breaks, moisture content of vegetation and other factors i dont recall. One wonders what the relative humidity threshold is in CA and how often it is met in S. CA. If a burn gets away and it was done outside of the matrix of factors, the permit holder can be held personally and legally responsible, a consequence that gives pause for caution before the first torch is lit or the helicopter shoots the first fire ball.

 

A few years ago a controlled burn got away in the Carson City area of Nevada and took out 12 homes. Yes, the homeowners filed suit and won a settlement, but still, it not an exact science. Generally they try to do controlled burns after there has been some precipitation, the humidity is higher, and the winds are light. That said a controlled burn in a forest with an understory of brush is different from more open terrain with no tree canopy, just very dry and highly flammable brush.

 

Hey, Tommy Tuberville is weighing in. And he's really smart!!!


“If you go to California, you run into a lot of Republicans, a lot of good people, and I hate it for them, but they are just overwhelmed by, by these inner-city woke policies with the people that vote for them,” Tuberville said on Newsmax’s “The Chris Salcedo Show,” in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

“And it … you know, I don’t mind sending them some money. But unless they show that they’re [going to] change their ways and get back to building dams and storing water, doing the — the maintenance with the brush and the trees and everything that everybody else does in the country, and they refuse to do it, they don’t deserve anything, to be honest with you, unless they show us they’re [going to] make some changes,” he added.



Tuberville says California doesn’t ‘deserve’ funding after wildfires unless it makes ‘some changes’

 

So you found 1 instance of a controlled burn that got away. That isn't close to "semi-frequently". That would qualify as "extremely rare" IMO. And the other instance has some key words in there "may have" mixed with fog. Of course controlled burns need to have the right conditions. But the fact California does a miniscule amount of controlled burns compared to Florida highlights the need for a change in their tactics. Either adapt or don't build there are the only 2 options. Keeping the status quo will result in the same thing happening down the road.

 

Yes, there are risks with controlled burns and conditions need to be right. That doesn't change the fact this was a complete failure by California to do hardly any controlled burns. It's funny that I'm seeing the left leaning posters defending what California has done with regard to the fires. Wonder why?