Los Angeles continues to burn.
However, officials have warned that the Santa Ana winds could return, with Cal Fire warning of “critical fire weather” through to Wednesday. In a post on BlueSky, CalFire said: “Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of southern California – from Ventura to San Diego – creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread. The winds will cause increased fire activity.”
The death toll has risen to 24, according to the Los Angeles medical examiner, although officials acknowledge it is certain to rise. At least another 16 people are missing, according to Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna, who said search and rescue efforts were ongoing.
California governor Gavin Newsom said he will suspend a number of environmental laws to allow rebuilding across southern areas of the state destroyed by the wildfires.
Yeah just fucking brilliant – suspend the laws so that houses can be built in a fire zone all over again.
That’s the opposite of what he should be doing. Pacific Palisades should be made a national park, instead.
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5 responses to “Let’s do it all again”
Meanwhile, Musk says this disproves anthropic climate change.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1878466044425076930
I eagerly await Musk’s champion to inform us all how this is secretly correct.
It’s almost as if Texas is a different geographical area than California despite also being a part of the Great American desert. California didn’t have to deal with power disruptions due to gas pipes freezing (or whatever it was that Texas was dealing with during that big freeze, though there were a few wind turbines got over-iced as well).
You sell electric vehicle batteries; stop trying to fit in with the MAGA shitheads…
“The issue with LA was failure to create fire breaks and clear brush…” – Elon Musk
I saw footage of a firefighter stating he witnessed the fire leap over a five lane highway, so just how large should these fire breaks be? When I was a child (in the 1980s) an adequate and standard fire break was the width of a farm tractor, not even the width of one highway lane, and that’s not even accounting for the shoulder.
When you have the combination of Santa Ana winds and tinder-dry brush everywhere…well you have a nightmare. I have no idea how they could make fire breaks large enough.
Watching these fires I’m reminded that the concept of uninsurable used to be a thing, and was a rule of thumb as to general concepts of good ideas and bad ideas. How is it possible in current conditions (climate change, landscape evolved to burn regularly) to affordably insure property in Malibu against fire?
I haven’t heard anyone mention the concept of being uninsurable for some time. Why? Isn’t climate change a time of radical reconsiderations about where and how we live?