firenados and such

[engineergurl]

An interesting take on wildfire. I enjoyed the candid way he points out that they leave the houses alone and openly admits that they don't know how to but out structural fires, my question always used to be... why is it they always call the urban fire departments out to the fires to help us then, I used to guess it was because we were in the east and during peak season, most everyone is out west... a few pretty cool photos included in the article too

The American West is the real Fire Nation: It spends roughly half the year consumed by wildfires. In fact, since the beginning of the decade, these fires have only grown more common and more deadly. A sensible species would've fled the entire American Southwest for the frosty hinterlands of Canada long ago, but not Homo sapiens. We'll be damned if a pesky little thing like advancing walls of deathly flame keep us from hangin' out in our favorite spots. I'm Drew Miller, professional wildland firefighter. I protect people's sacred right to live in places that regularly combust. Here's what I've learned on the job ...

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_20945_5-ways-wildfire-fighting-exactly-as-insane-as-it-sounds.html#ixzz2x4lZv0MM

 

[Dleg]

I didn't read it, but when I was in CO over Christmas I watched a really good documentary, looking back at the devastation over the past two fire seasons. The bottom line was that people have moved into fire territory, and expect their homes to be protected. On the flip side, wildland fire fighting strategy calls for letting fires burn as a major tool, to move it into places where it is easier to kill. With structures in the way everywhere, this is no longer a tool, and now firefighters must risk their lives to protect structures, where they otherwise would have just stepped back and let the fire move through the area.

Obviously there are many points of view here, but I think that most rational people would agree that structures are not worth lives, but that is exactly the trade-off that we have made in many of these situations.

Too damn many people in the world...

 

[engineergurl]

I had a response typed and lost it, grrr... anyway it basicly said it is political and there is no money for prescribed burning and that contributes to the massiveness of what we have to deal with now and that it isn't so much single structures but subdivisions that are creating issues.

 

[matt267 PE]

...The bottom line was that people have moved into fire territory, and expect their homes to be protected....

The same thing is true for people moving into flood zones.

 

[Dleg]

My dad did his whole career in the USFS, and he retired shortly after a lead role in the investigation into the deaths of the hotshots in the Glenwood Canyon fire in CO in the 90s, I think. He was heartbroken by that experience, and he has had some choice words over the past few years, now that the same tragedy, which previously happened every 30-40 years or so, seems to be happening on an annual basis.

 

[engineergurl]

that fire was a big deal back in the day, now things are just different. I could rant on forever but I won't let myself get fired up. I let my red card expire and don't plan on ever renewing it, when your 20 something you learn what you are supposed to do and you are gung-ho. Then you get older and realize that you aren't allowed to do what you are supposed to do and other people are in charge of the risk of your life, better to let the certifications expire. I can say, I dug lines and I blew black snot from my nose for days, and I have a couple of cool stories, but no thanks, I would rather not be in the field anymore.