Unimaginable Events in California (2 Viewers)

[CJ_London]

they are using air tankers that can refill their tanks by skimming across the water.

They use those in the Mediterranean. Suspect it is fake news but a friend who lives in Mallorca swears it is true tells me they found a diver in the middle of a forest fire on the island - he'd been scooped up...

But I suspect it is based on this story from 26 years ago

The Scuba Diver

The Scuba Diver.

www.johnpratt.com

 

[GaP42]

I suspect there are 2 other factors affecting the ability to fight these fires:
1. The demand for water, from hydrants and domestic taps/faucets, affected the availability of the water - the water system in urban areas is not designed to handle wildfires of that scale, and the demand for water exceeded the capacity to deliver - the water pressure could not be maintained- not so much the storage of water.
2. The above was exacerbated by the inability to fight the fires using airborne equipment due to the strong winds, This equipment is suited to fighting fires in inaccessible areas - but not in urban areas.
Shocking to see the destruction of property and the devastating effect on the lives of the people there.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Actually high wind speed was the number one factor.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The only folks I know who fly in hurricane-force winds are the hurricane hunters who fly out of NAS Pensacola. I knew a guy who was the radioman (an RM3) on a P3 Hurricane Hunter. The P3 is a turbo-prop airplane, not a jet. My friend Mike said he had ridden through several big storms during his time on active duty.

While it depends on the helicopter, MOST choppers are not rated to fly in hurricane-force winds. Particularly with heavy loads like a tank full of water. Therefore, as long as the winds are at that speed, I'm pretty sure the tanker choppers are in "NO GO" status.

 

[GaP42]

Actually high wind speed was the number one factor.

Notice I was talking about factors affecting fighting the fires, not what caused them to be uncontrollable.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Notice I was talking about factors affecting fighting the fires, not what caused them to be uncontrollable.

I noticed.

If the fires were set intentionally during a high wind event, it's not climate change either.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I noticed.

If the fires were set intentionally during a high wind event, it's not climate change either.

Even if merely carelessly set, not climate change either. At most you could claim climate change for the conducive conditions. But that is getting ahead of the story. We still need to see if investigations point to nature, accident, or arson. And the truth is, other than being typically nosy folks (inquiring minds want to KNOW), we can live with waiting for an answer.

 

[Cotswold]

True, but the salt pollution of the ground would be a result. Not to mention if it fell on any cars that hadn't been melted quite yet, their finishes might not be pristine either.

We were in Greece some years back and a hillside caught light near a town. They used two huge transporter type planes that flew over the sea and scooped up huge amounts of water, then turned and dumped it onto the fire. That went on most of the day.