Article

2008-11-16 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

State of emergency declared in Los Angeles while fire raging

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Posted by Fred 2008-11-16 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top

#1 This is because of the protesters?

Posted by Skidmark 2008-11-16 01:01|| 2008-11-16 01:01|| Front Page Top

#2 "flaming" isn't just for the No on 8 crowd

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-11-16 08:14|| 2008-11-16 08:14|| Front Page Top

#3 Why do Californios insist on bulding wooden houses?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2008-11-16 08:57|| 2008-11-16 08:57|| Front Page Top

#4 Yeah, whatever happened to tile roofs, stucco walls and keeping the underbrush away from your homes?

Posted by whitecollar redneck 2008-11-16 10:31|| 2008-11-16 10:31|| Front Page Top

#5 I do agree that Caliphornians have stupid building codes wrt fires. However, no building survives in these fires. The question is why homes are built so sparsely so that there are so many combustibles (trees) near. See the Oakland Hills.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-11-16 11:02|| 2008-11-16 11:02|| Front Page Top

#6 fire-resistant roofs have been required for around 30 years. Stucco is naturally non-combustible. The problem is fuel and wind. Windblown embers driven up under non-boxed eaves are a big firestarter, expect to see boxed eaves in the next Int'l Building Code

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-11-16 11:30|| 2008-11-16 11:30|| Front Page Top

#7 Fire resistant cedar shakes. Riight. Do they come with a Prop 65 warning in case of combustion?

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-11-16 12:16|| 2008-11-16 12:16|| Front Page Top

#8 I heard on the radio that there hadn't been a fire in this particular area for something like 60 years and they haven't done any controlled burns that entire time.

Any truth to that?

Posted by Mike N. 2008-11-16 12:46|| 2008-11-16 12:46|| Front Page Top

#9 when's the last time you could buy non-fire-resistant (treated) cedar shingles for roofing? Look it up

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-11-16 13:08|| 2008-11-16 13:08|| Front Page Top

#10 as someone who planchecked for fire/building codes straight out of college in '83, I can tell you that was the code even back then ('79 UBC).

to Mike: they rarely do controlled burns except in rural areas, and not often for that either. the problem is that we put all small fires out too quickly, letting fuel accumulate on hillsides til it's a conflagration

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-11-16 13:12|| 2008-11-16 13:12|| Front Page Top

#11 My parents house in Valley Center burnt to the ground in the Paradise Fire in 2003 - in spite of being built of concrete blocks, and with concrete roof-tiles, and with all the natural brush cleared away. The fire came roaring up a natural draw with some small trees in it, caught the eaves of the garage roof from below, and then when the garage was well alight, jumped to the house. The trouble was, their parking space by the house wasn't large enough for a firetruck to turn around in, and so the PD couldn't bring a pumper truck close enough to the house to knock it down. All my parents' neighbors houses were saved because the PD could do this, keep the house wet until the fire passed by.

BTW, my mother said that when the firemen ordered her out, the fire had this awful, deep roar to it, coming up the hill towards the houses. Scary as hell to hear - and she knew there was no fighting it at that point.

However, my father, some neighbors and the firemen stayed long enough grabbing pictures off the walls, until the heat began exploding the windows inwards...

Posted by Sgt. Mom">Sgt. Mom 2008-11-16 14:21|| http://www.celiahayes.com]">[http://www.celiahayes.com] 2008-11-16 14:21|| Front Page Top

#12 My comment didn't doubt that that was the code. It doubts that they work after 5 years. When these fires get going, treated cedar shingles are a thin line of protection. But they look great the rest of the time.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-11-16 16:58|| 2008-11-16 16:58|| Front Page Top

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