Fires and sensationalism
#21
It IS "sensational" and nerve wracking when it's near YOUR house.
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#22
(07-17-2018, 08:30 PM)Someones Dad Wrote: It IS "sensational" and nerve wracking when it's near YOUR house.

It was for me some few years ago when a fire went close by my neighborhood. I could see it from where I was working that day. Then I remembered, I had insurance.   Smiling
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#23
I've always felt safe during fire season. Living in the burbs I never thought it meant I would be at risk. But the Weed fire, the Santa Rosa fire, years ago, the fire in Redding have me seriously readdressing that line of thinking. It would be very easy for Roxy Ann to catch fire and come raging down through Medford. I wouldn't have much warning. I think of that Bear Creek Grass fire and look at those and wonder if it was over sensationalized at all? I heard some reports that in Redding people who were evacuating began to panic and drive irrationally and unsafely...that was the beginning...it could get worse.
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#24
(07-28-2018, 11:15 AM)Juniper Wrote: I've always felt safe during fire season. Living in the burbs I never thought it meant I would be at risk.  But the Weed fire, the Santa Rosa fire, years ago, the fire in Redding have me seriously readdressing that line of thinking.  It would be very easy for Roxy Ann to catch fire and come raging down through Medford. I wouldn't have much warning.  I think of that Bear Creek Grass fire and look at those and wonder if it was over sensationalized at all?  I heard some reports that in Redding people who were evacuating began to panic and drive irrationally and unsafely...that was the beginning...it could get worse.

 from what I saw of the Redding fire I think those houses were not even built as close together as many are in some of Medfords sub divisions.
But I think there was a lot more trees and other vegetation. I wish I could see BEFORE pictures of those neighborhoods.
The fire called the Carr fire ( Shasta) was said to be a wall of fire from a forested are that spread in to the areares with houses.
Here I found what I read earlier... Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Roxy Ann is not forested hills. I'm not saying Medford is totally safe.
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#25
(07-28-2018, 01:19 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 11:15 AM)Juniper Wrote: I've always felt safe during fire season. Living in the burbs I never thought it meant I would be at risk.  But the Weed fire, the Santa Rosa fire, years ago, the fire in Redding have me seriously readdressing that line of thinking.  It would be very easy for Roxy Ann to catch fire and come raging down through Medford. I wouldn't have much warning.  I think of that Bear Creek Grass fire and look at those and wonder if it was over sensationalized at all?  I heard some reports that in Redding people who were evacuating began to panic and drive irrationally and unsafely...that was the beginning...it could get worse.

 from what I saw of the Redding fire I think those houses were not even built as close together as many are in some of Medfords sub divisions.
But I think there was a lot more trees and other vegetation. I wish I could see BEFORE pictures of those neighborhoods.
The fire called the Carr fire ( Shasta) was said to be a wall of fire from a forested are that spread in to the areares with houses.
Here I found what I read earlier... Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Roxy Ann is not forested hills. I'm not saying Medford is safe.
Yes. I know it's not a forest.  But I don't think it has to be and that's the point I'm making.  It only has to get a foothold somehow.  the Bear Creek fire was contained, but if conditions  had been different things might have changed it only had to get into a neighborhood and get started to get that chain reaction started under the right conditions. I didn't mention only Medford.  I think that's my point. I always felt remote and safe during fire season because the fires didn't stretch down into urban areas.  But in the last few years it's happening more and more in areas that aren't forest either. Weed, Santa Rosa, Napa,  Carpenteria, Santa Barbara (in December!) Those are all California I know, but I don't think geography really knows a map or a border.  Southern Oregon is the same as northern California for the most part. If there is a significant chance of loss or life, limb or property under volatile conditions is it over sensationalizing?
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#26
Remember the fire in Santa Rosa, a few miles is not much of a buffer
http://www.ktvu.com/news/interactive-str...ghborhoods
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#27
Our old pal Taupe Hat was evacuated a couple of years back in Santa Rosa, and he didn't live in a densely forested area.
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#28
We came close in Sept(?) 2009 when the Deer Ridge Fire swept north on the east side of Medford. That was the same day as the Siskiyou Fire threatened to burn into Ashland from the south.

I remember watching two helicopters and one tanker along with a spotter plane fight the east Medford fire alone until some crews could be moved up from the Ashland fire. The Ashland fire started first, in the morning, and all the fire crews were fighting it to prevent it from getting into town. There wasn't anyone left available for the Medford fire at first.

I thought that one was close.
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#29
(07-28-2018, 02:05 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 01:19 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 11:15 AM)Juniper Wrote: I've always felt safe during fire season. Living in the burbs I never thought it meant I would be at risk.  But the Weed fire, the Santa Rosa fire, years ago, the fire in Redding have me seriously readdressing that line of thinking.  It would be very easy for Roxy Ann to catch fire and come raging down through Medford. I wouldn't have much warning.  I think of that Bear Creek Grass fire and look at those and wonder if it was over sensationalized at all?  I heard some reports that in Redding people who were evacuating began to panic and drive irrationally and unsafely...that was the beginning...it could get worse.

 from what I saw of the Redding fire I think those houses were not even built as close together as many are in some of Medfords sub divisions.
But I think there was a lot more trees and other vegetation. I wish I could see BEFORE pictures of those neighborhoods.
The fire called the Carr fire ( Shasta) was said to be a wall of fire from a forested are that spread in to the areares with houses.
Here I found what I read earlier... Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Roxy Ann is not forested hills. I'm not saying Medford is safe.
Yes. I know it's not a forest.  But I don't think it has to be and that's the point I'm making.  It only has to get a foothold somehow.  the Bear Creek fire was contained, but if conditions  had been different things might have changed it only had to get into a neighborhood and get started to get that chain reaction started under the right conditions. I didn't mention only Medford.  I think that's my point. I always felt remote and safe during fire season because the fires didn't stretch down into urban areas.  But in the last few years it's happening more and more in areas that aren't forest either. Weed, Santa Rosa, Napa,  Carpenteria, Santa Barbara (in December!) Those are all California I know, but I don't think geography really knows a map or a border.  Southern Oregon is the same as northern California for the most part. If there is a significant chance of loss or life, limb or property under volatile conditions is it over sensationalizing?

I don't disagree with any of that. I was just pointing out that Roxy Ann probably would never be a giant wall of fire
And yes these fires you speak of do indeed make me wonder about how safe anyone is when surrounded by houses.
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#30
(07-28-2018, 03:27 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 02:05 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 01:19 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 11:15 AM)Juniper Wrote: I've always felt safe during fire season. Living in the burbs I never thought it meant I would be at risk.  But the Weed fire, the Santa Rosa fire, years ago, the fire in Redding have me seriously readdressing that line of thinking.  It would be very easy for Roxy Ann to catch fire and come raging down through Medford. I wouldn't have much warning.  I think of that Bear Creek Grass fire and look at those and wonder if it was over sensationalized at all?  I heard some reports that in Redding people who were evacuating began to panic and drive irrationally and unsafely...that was the beginning...it could get worse.

 from what I saw of the Redding fire I think those houses were not even built as close together as many are in some of Medfords sub divisions.
But I think there was a lot more trees and other vegetation. I wish I could see BEFORE pictures of those neighborhoods.
The fire called the Carr fire ( Shasta) was said to be a wall of fire from a forested are that spread in to the areares with houses.
Here I found what I read earlier... Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Roxy Ann is not forested hills. I'm not saying Medford is safe.
Yes. I know it's not a forest.  But I don't think it has to be and that's the point I'm making.  It only has to get a foothold somehow.  the Bear Creek fire was contained, but if conditions  had been different things might have changed it only had to get into a neighborhood and get started to get that chain reaction started under the right conditions. I didn't mention only Medford.  I think that's my point. I always felt remote and safe during fire season because the fires didn't stretch down into urban areas.  But in the last few years it's happening more and more in areas that aren't forest either. Weed, Santa Rosa, Napa,  Carpenteria, Santa Barbara (in December!) Those are all California I know, but I don't think geography really knows a map or a border.  Southern Oregon is the same as northern California for the most part. If there is a significant chance of loss or life, limb or property under volatile conditions is it over sensationalizing?

I don't disagree with any of that. I was just pointing out that Roxy Ann probably would never be a giant wall of fire
And yes these fires you speak of do indeed make me wonder about how safe anyone is when surrounded by houses.

nice to hear. It wasn't the main point of my post, but actually I don't think it couldn't. It would be mostly a grass type fire and if that could be contained as quickly as the Bear Creek Greenway fire, then, so much the better. To the south side of town there IS heavily forested area.  Griffin Creek hills and Jacksonville are all heavily wooded and dry as a bone.
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#31
37,000 homes evacuated.
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#32
(07-28-2018, 08:03 PM)Juniper Wrote: 37,000 homes evacuated.
 I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad
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#33
(07-29-2018, 01:09 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 08:03 PM)Juniper Wrote: 37,000 homes evacuated.
 I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad

No. I heard homes. Maybe THEY (the news) got that wrong.  I didn't mishear that because I listened to them say it twice.
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#34
(07-29-2018, 03:04 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 01:09 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 08:03 PM)Juniper Wrote: 37,000 homes evacuated.
 I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad

No. I heard homes. Maybe THEY (the news) got that wrong.  I didn't mishear that because I listened to them say it twice.

 I'm sure some news announcer got it wrong because I read 38,000 PEOPLE were evacuated numerous times in different news sites.


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#35
(07-29-2018, 03:28 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:04 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 01:09 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 08:03 PM)Juniper Wrote: 37,000 homes evacuated.
 I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad

No. I heard homes. Maybe THEY (the news) got that wrong.  I didn't mishear that because I listened to them say it twice.

 I'm sure some news announcer got it wrong because I read 38,000 PEOPLE were evacuated numerous times in different news sites.



I've heard lots of incorrect things. I heard the Penninger fire called the Hendrix fire....
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#36
Hey Juniper. This article is about your concerns that a fire similar to weed and Redding could occur here.




ENVIRONMENT
EXPERTS SAY URBAN SPRAWL, CLIMATE CHANGE HIKE WILDFIRE RISK
An aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after the Tubbs swept through in Santa Rosa, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding.
An aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after the Tubbs wildfire swept through Santa Rosa, Calif.
A structure burns as the Carr fire races along Highway 299 near Redding, Calif.
A wildfire threatens a home in Ventura, Calif.
By Sudhin Thanawala and Jonathan J. Cooper
The Associated Press While touring Ventura County neighborhoods ravaged by fire last year, Gov. Jerry Brown said drought and climate change mean California faces a “new reality” where lives and property are continually threatened by fire.
REDDING, Calif. — A fire that started in a rural community in Northern California underscored a new reality in the state when days later it suddenly roared through neighborhoods on the edge of the city of Redding: Urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to wildfires.
In the last year, neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa and the Southern California beach city of Ventura have been devastated.
Hotter weather attributed to climate change is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame municipalities that are expanding housing into previously undeveloped areas.
“There are just places were there should not be subdivisions,” said Kurt Henke, a former fire chief in Sacramento who now serves as a consultant to fire organizations. “We’re not talking about a single family who wants to build a house in the woods. I’m talking about subdivisions encroaching into the wild land urban interface that put them in the path of these destructive fires.”
Henke wants more funding from the state legislature to deploy firefighters to areas where conditions are ripe for fast-moving fires, so they can be respond quickly if a blaze breaks out.
The fire that affected Redding — a city of about 92,000 people about 250 miles north of San Francisco — started Monday about 10 miles west of the city before sweeping Thursday through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick. It then jumped the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.
Redding sits at the northern end of the agricultural Central Valley, surrounded by a scenic landscape. It has a downtown with a theater and wine bar and homes spread out in subdivisions.
Two firefighters were killed — one from the Redding Fire Department and the other a bulldozer operator hired for the fire. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and nearly 40,000 people were under evacuation orders.
Like the fires in Santa Rosa and Ventura last year, wind was a major contributor to the blaze’s spread.
“It’s ripping trees off the ground and throwing them across the street into homes,” Chad Carroll, a spokesman for CalFire said Friday. “That’s pretty strange and unusual.”
Calfire Director Ken Pimlott described the fire activity at a news conference on Friday as almost like a “tornado.”
“What we’re seeing not just here in Shasta County but literally statewide, fires that are growing exponentially,” he said.
While touring Ventura County neighborhoods ravaged by fire last year, Gov.
Jerry Brown said drought and climate change mean California faces a “new reality” where lives and property are continually threatened by fire.
The state is experiencing longer periods of warm temperatures and dry conditions that are making major fires nearly a year-round possibility, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“What we’re seeing with some of the most dangerous fires is that they’re spreading quickly, burning very hot or producing their own weather,” he said.
Still, he agreed with other experts that say the destruction was also the result of more people living closer to fire-prone areas.
“Over the years, we’re putting more people in harm’s way,” he said. “More people living in high fire risk areas than usual.”
The fire in Santa Rosa in October 2017 destroyed nearly 2,700 homes, including in one neighborhood with expensive new subdivisions on a hillside at the edge of the city. The blaze in Ventura two months later destroyed more than 500 buildings.
Jacque Chase, an urban planning expert at California State University, Chico, said U.S. government statistics show more homes are going up across the country in areas that sit on the boundary of urban areas and undeveloped land. That increases the risk of fires caused by human activity. It also means firefighters have to change their approach.
“They have to deal with actually saving lives and saving property,” she said. Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala reported from San Francisco.
[Image: Image_0.jpg] AP PHOTO/MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ
[Image: Image_2.jpg] AP PHOTO/MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ
[Image: Image_1.jpg] AP PHOTO/NOAH BERGER
[Image: Image_3.jpg] AP PHOTO/JAE C. HONG
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#37
(07-29-2018, 03:32 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:28 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:04 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 01:09 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-28-2018, 08:03 PM)Juniper Wrote: 37,000 homes evacuated.
 I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad

No. I heard homes. Maybe THEY (the news) got that wrong.  I didn't mishear that because I listened to them say it twice.

 I'm sure some news announcer got it wrong because I read 38,000 PEOPLE were evacuated numerous times in different news sites.



I've heard lots of incorrect things. I heard the Penninger fire called the Hendrix fire....

Our local news with all the kids doing the reporting blow it fairly often LOL


Once my wife and I were watching the news about an accident on the redwood highway. I said that's not the redwood highway. She said it was and we argued.I went back to the video and looked slowly and found a sign showing it was just stock footage of some freeway in California. Laughing

They do the same thing all the time
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#38
(07-29-2018, 03:42 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:32 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:28 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:04 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 01:09 PM)tvguy Wrote:  I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad

No. I heard homes. Maybe THEY (the news) got that wrong.  I didn't mishear that because I listened to them say it twice.

 I'm sure some news announcer got it wrong because I read 38,000 PEOPLE were evacuated numerous times in different news sites.



I've heard lots of incorrect things. I heard the Penninger fire called the Hendrix fire....

Our local news with all the kids doing the reporting blow it fairly often LOL


Once my wife and I were watching the news about an accident on the redwood highway. I said that's not the redwood highway. She said it was and we argued.I went back to the video and looked slowly and found a sign showing it was just stock footage of some freeway in California. Laughing

They do the same thing all the time

It's kind of how I imagine a high school class might put on the news if they had resources.  They'll say things like "A kid fell off his bike and fell into the river. Stay tuned for news at 6 to see what people said."  Then, at 6 they repeat the story and show people saying things like "It was surprising."   Neutral Neutral
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#39
(07-29-2018, 03:42 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:32 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:28 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 03:04 PM)Juniper Wrote:
(07-29-2018, 01:09 PM)tvguy Wrote:  I think it's people not homes and I read 50000 this morning.and 10,000 fire fighters.
And Another 100 pus degree day Sad

No. I heard homes. Maybe THEY (the news) got that wrong.  I didn't mishear that because I listened to them say it twice.

 I'm sure some news announcer got it wrong because I read 38,000 PEOPLE were evacuated numerous times in different news sites.



I've heard lots of incorrect things. I heard the Penninger fire called the Hendrix fire....

Our local news with all the kids doing the reporting blow it fairly often LOL


Once my wife and I were watching the news about an accident on the redwood highway. I said that's not the redwood highway. She said it was and we argued.I went back to the video and looked slowly and found a sign showing it was just stock footage of some freeway in California. Laughing

They do the same thing all the time

This morning I read about the Carr fire and THEN I read about the Ferguson (Yosemite) fire, raging in SOUTHERN California. Neutral
Reply
#40
(07-29-2018, 03:41 PM)tvguy Wrote: Hey Juniper. This article is about your concerns that a fire similar to weed and Redding could occur here.




ENVIRONMENT
EXPERTS SAY URBAN SPRAWL, CLIMATE CHANGE HIKE WILDFIRE RISK
An aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after the Tubbs swept through in Santa Rosa, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding.
An aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after the Tubbs wildfire swept through Santa Rosa, Calif.
A structure burns as the Carr fire races along Highway 299 near Redding, Calif.
A wildfire threatens a home in Ventura, Calif.
By Sudhin Thanawala and Jonathan J. Cooper
The Associated Press While touring Ventura County neighborhoods ravaged by fire last year, Gov. Jerry Brown said drought and climate change mean California faces a “new reality” where lives and property are continually threatened by fire.
REDDING, Calif. — A fire that started in a rural community in Northern California underscored a new reality in the state when days later it suddenly roared through neighborhoods on the edge of the city of Redding: Urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to wildfires.
In the last year, neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa and the Southern California beach city of Ventura have been devastated.
Hotter weather attributed to climate change is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame municipalities that are expanding housing into previously undeveloped areas.
“There are just places were there should not be subdivisions,” said Kurt Henke, a former fire chief in Sacramento who now serves as a consultant to fire organizations. “We’re not talking about a single family who wants to build a house in the woods. I’m talking about subdivisions encroaching into the wild land urban interface that put them in the path of these destructive fires.”
Henke wants more funding from the state legislature to deploy firefighters to areas where conditions are ripe for fast-moving fires, so they can be respond quickly if a blaze breaks out.
The fire that affected Redding — a city of about 92,000 people about 250 miles north of San Francisco — started Monday about 10 miles west of the city before sweeping Thursday through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick. It then jumped the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.
Redding sits at the northern end of the agricultural Central Valley, surrounded by a scenic landscape. It has a downtown with a theater and wine bar and homes spread out in subdivisions.
Two firefighters were killed — one from the Redding Fire Department and the other a bulldozer operator hired for the fire. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and nearly 40,000 people were under evacuation orders.
Like the fires in Santa Rosa and Ventura last year, wind was a major contributor to the blaze’s spread.
“It’s ripping trees off the ground and throwing them across the street into homes,” Chad Carroll, a spokesman for CalFire said Friday. “That’s pretty strange and unusual.”
Calfire Director Ken Pimlott described the fire activity at a news conference on Friday as almost like a “tornado.”
“What we’re seeing not just here in Shasta County but literally statewide, fires that are growing exponentially,” he said.
While touring Ventura County neighborhoods ravaged by fire last year, Gov.
Jerry Brown said drought and climate change mean California faces a “new reality” where lives and property are continually threatened by fire.
The state is experiencing longer periods of warm temperatures and dry conditions that are making major fires nearly a year-round possibility, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“What we’re seeing with some of the most dangerous fires is that they’re spreading quickly, burning very hot or producing their own weather,” he said.
Still, he agreed with other experts that say the destruction was also the result of more people living closer to fire-prone areas.
“Over the years, we’re putting more people in harm’s way,” he said. “More people living in high fire risk areas than usual.”
The fire in Santa Rosa in October 2017 destroyed nearly 2,700 homes, including in one neighborhood with expensive new subdivisions on a hillside at the edge of the city. The blaze in Ventura two months later destroyed more than 500 buildings.
Jacque Chase, an urban planning expert at California State University, Chico, said U.S. government statistics show more homes are going up across the country in areas that sit on the boundary of urban areas and undeveloped land. That increases the risk of fires caused by human activity. It also means firefighters have to change their approach.
“They have to deal with actually saving lives and saving property,” she said. Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala reported from San Francisco.
[Image: Image_0.jpg] AP PHOTO/MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ
[Image: Image_2.jpg] AP PHOTO/MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ
[Image: Image_1.jpg] AP PHOTO/NOAH BERGER
[Image: Image_3.jpg] AP PHOTO/JAE C. HONG

I was just talking to a mother of 4 special needs adopted children today and she was expressing her concerns to me about how vulnerable she feels now, in a way she hasn't before. She was separated from her older school age children in their home during the Penninger fire.  She couldn't reach them because of the roadblocks as she tried to get to them.
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