Fire danger big!

[Larry Caldwell]

Christ Man, Have you actually been around the West Lately! Have you seen how
close to National Forests and other Public Lands Housing Projects are going
up???

Well of course, but why would the feds care? They aren't the ones
building the housing developments. If people want to live in the
country, they should realize that they have to provide their own
services, including fighting wildfires.

The feds generally fight fires on federal land, but they are getting
less interested in that. The preservationist political machine has
convinced congress that forest fires are a beneficial natural process,
which to congress means they don't have to fund fire fighting. In the
current political climate, trees are worthless and forest management is a
constant drain on the treasury, so forest fires are just a way of getting
rid of a lot of worthless vegetation real cheap. Meanwhile, the USFS and
BLM are busily removing fire breaks on federal land, AKA forest roads,
also at the urging of the preservationists.

You should also realize that there is no way to stop a forest fire if it
is dry and the wind is blowing. It is beyond human ability to stand in
front of that. However, it is fairly simple for your house to survive a
forest fire. Roof it with metal, side it with concrete, clean all
the debris out of your gutters, clear all vegetation for 100' in every
direction, and install several thousand gallons of water storage. That
means no cedar shakes and no cedar decks. Install a concrete patio
instead.

Either that or run the risk of losing your home to a wildfire. It's your
choice. Accept the consequences.

[Donald L Ferrt]

Post by Larry Caldwell

Christ Man, Have you actually been around the West Lately! Have you seen how
close to National Forests and other Public Lands Housing Projects are going
up???

Well of course, but why would the feds care?

It is just like people building on Coastal areas which can be damaged
by storms = They get Fed paid insurance. It is called Rep. Democracy.
Those people call their Reps in Congress and complain = They get the
ticket punched!

[Ramsey]

First thing you do in a large fire is determine which structures can
*probably* be saved and which ones are not worth trying to defend. A
shake roof, woodpile next to house, gutters full of litter and pine
straw is an automatic exclusion from the list of houses to be saved.

Post by Donald L Ferrt
It is just like people building on Coastal areas which can be damaged
by storms = They get Fed paid insurance. It is called Rep. Democracy.
Those people call their Reps in Congress and complain = They get the
ticket punched!

No, they pay federal flood insurance, which is mandated by federal law.
The feds have surveyed every 100 year flood plain in the USA, and if you
live in one, you pony up the cash for your insurance, no exceptions.
That program was instituted because insurance companies refused to insure
high risk homes.
If insurance companies start refusing to insure high risk homes in wooded
areas, federal fire insurance may become necessary. However, when only
70 homes at a time burn down, that is pretty trivial from an insurance
perspective. It is nothing like the thousands of homes that are damaged
or destroyed by a major flood or hurricane.
It might help your perspective if you read up about the Oakland Firestorm
of 1991. It destroyed 2,843 single family homes and 433 apartment units.
While there was some federal disaster assistance, the rebuilding was
funded by private insurance. The Bay Area has a modern and well funded
fire fighting capability, but in the face of high winds, high
temperatures and low humidity, all they could do was get out of the way
and retreat to defensible fire lines. That is in a city, with fire
hydrants on every other street corner and paved access to every home. I
don't believe anyone has suggested federal fire insurance.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/oakfire/contents.html
Nobody is going to fund a fire fighting effort adequate to stop a big
forest fire. If the wind is blowing the right direction, you can set
backfires to deprive the forest fire of fuel, but in the case of poorly
planned and maintained forest homes, a backfire can be just as bad as the
main fire. Fire fighters often have to make the decision to abandon
structures that are not sited in a defensible manner.

[Geoff Kegerreis]

Larry, This (Michigan) ain't the west, but here, the State of Michigan and the Feds

work together to put out fires on all land ownerships. Now, I'm not sure who pays
the
bills, but I know they do care...

Geoff Kegerreis

Post by Larry Caldwell

Christ Man, Have you actually been around the West Lately! Have you seen how
close to National Forests and other Public Lands Housing Projects are going
up???

Well of course, but why would the feds care? They aren't the ones
building the housing developments. If people want to live in the
country, they should realize that they have to provide their own
services, including fighting wildfires.
The feds generally fight fires on federal land, but they are getting
less interested in that. The preservationist political machine has
convinced congress that forest fires are a beneficial natural process,
which to congress means they don't have to fund fire fighting. In the
current political climate, trees are worthless and forest management is a
constant drain on the treasury, so forest fires are just a way of getting
rid of a lot of worthless vegetation real cheap. Meanwhile, the USFS and
BLM are busily removing fire breaks on federal land, AKA forest roads,
also at the urging of the preservationists.
You should also realize that there is no way to stop a forest fire if it
is dry and the wind is blowing. It is beyond human ability to stand in
front of that. However, it is fairly simple for your house to survive a
forest fire. Roof it with metal, side it with concrete, clean all
the debris out of your gutters, clear all vegetation for 100' in every
direction, and install several thousand gallons of water storage. That
means no cedar shakes and no cedar decks. Install a concrete patio
instead.
Either that or run the risk of losing your home to a wildfire. It's your
choice. Accept the consequences.
--
http://home.teleport.com/~larryc

[Larry Caldwell]

Post by Geoff Kegerreis
Larry, This (Michigan) ain't the west, but here, the State of Michigan and the Feds
work together to put out fires on all land ownerships. Now, I'm not sure who pays
the
bills, but I know they do care...

Various fire fighting agencies always negotiate a reciprocal fire
fighting agreement, and will send crews to other fires. The 14 Hot Shots
who died at the Storm King fire in Colorado were from Bend, Oregon. It
is mutually advantageous to share resources, since no single jurisdiction
can afford to maintain huge fire fighting crews.

[Bob Lee]

Post by Larry Caldwell

Christ Man, Have you actually been around the West Lately! Have you seen how
close to National Forests and other Public Lands Housing Projects are going
up???

Well of course, but why would the feds care? They aren't the ones
building the housing developments.

Well, as much as I enjoy a cynical comment every now and then I need to
point out a couple of reasons why feds might care:
- they are *asked* to care by the legislative branch. Check out
www.fireplan. gov
- many fed firefighters live in the woods, so they have a stake in their
neighbors and own homes
- some actually feel sort of a commitment to public service.

Post by Larry Caldwell
You should also realize that there is no way to stop a forest fire if it
is dry and the wind is blowing. It is beyond human ability to stand in
front of that. However, it is fairly simple for your house to survive a
forest fire. Roof it with metal, side it with concrete, clean all
the debris out of your gutters, clear all vegetation for 100' in every
direction, and install several thousand gallons of water storage. That
means no cedar shakes and no cedar decks. Install a concrete patio
instead.
Either that or run the risk of losing your home to a wildfire. It's your
choice. Accept the consequences.

Yep.

Bob