California Inferno

Walter

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/24/fire.wildfire.ca/index.html

More than 20 fires have scorched 400,000-plus acres from the Mexican border to northern Los Angeles County and inland into the San Bernardino Mountains since the weekend. Authorities ordered more than 900,000 people to evacuate their homes in the face of the fires.
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I know we've got at least 3-4 SKnet members in the LA region. Has anyone been forced to evacuate yet? I guess if they have, there's little chance for them to reply. This is pretty fucked up.

cafire1.jpg


cafire2.jpg


Both pics from the Washington Post's gallery: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102400226.html?hpid=topnews
 
Proj2501

Proj2501

The images from space are insane. Really exemplifies the breadth of the crisis. Hopefully they get rainfall and this comes to an end. I believe only 2 people have died because of these fires. 1 is too many. But for how bad it is...
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah those wildfires incidents are always dramatic, for the people, the state and of course the environment. Any news on whether the fires started naturally or criminally? Unfortunately it's often the latter when it happens in Europe...
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
Aazealh said:
Any news on whether the fires started naturally or criminally?
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When I was at the Dfac the news was saying that it could have been intentional.


Found it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/ap_on_go_ot/california_wildfires_arson

WASHINGTON - Special FBI teams gathered evidence Wednesday as part of a possible arson investigation into the wildfires devastating Southern California, the agency said.
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FBI evidence response teams recovered materials they hoped would identify the source of the fires that have burned for four days. The FBI said a house was not searched, correcting earlier reports from a law enforcement official.

Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington, said the evidence response teams "have been working with other federal, state and local authorities" to identify the source of the fires.
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Rhombaad

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
These particular pyros are in deep shit when they get caught, if it's indeed proved that the fires were the result of arson. It's the wind that was such a horrible factor; they were getting gusts of wind moving 80-85 mph, making it almost impossible for fire fighters to get the fires under control. It's a miracle there's only been 2 deaths so far. Like CnC said, it's literally Hell on Earth. The satellite photos are unbelievable.
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/breakingnews/2007/10/a-suspected-ars.html

Police shoot and kill suspected arsonist

Cal State San Bernardino:

A suspected arsonist was shot and killed by San Bernardino police last night, authorities said.

The man was spotted in a remote, brushy area behind Cal State San Bernardino, said Lt. Scott Patterson of the San Bernardino Police Department.

University police called in San Bernardino officers. When officers approached the suspect, he jumped in a car and fled, Patterson said. The man drove north on Waterman Avenue, then up a dirt fire road into the foothills, he said. When officers tried to stop him, he rammed their vehicles with his car, Patterson said.

"The officers fired their weapons in self-defense, and the suspect was struck and died as a result of his injuries," Patterson said.

The shooting is under investigation, Patterson said.

The man was in an area that burned during the 2003 Old fire, about 20 miles from the Lake Arrowhead blazes, Patterson said.

"They thought there could be the possibility that he's an arsonist," Patterson said. The area "is in the path of the fire."

-- Tami Abdollah
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Proj2501

Proj2501

Wow. If he was the one, he got what he deserved. Even with the property damage alone, he caused many a great loss in their life...and I'm sure the insurance companies are happy he's dead. Less they have to pay out in the future.
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Proj2501 said:
Wow. If he was the one, he got what he deserved. Even with the property damage alone, he caused many a great loss in their life...and I'm sure the insurance companies are happy he's dead. Less they have to pay out in the future.
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Yeah, and like I said earlier, even beyond property damage, think of all the forest that's been destroyed... It'll take a hundred years to recover. Even if people rebuild their houses, now they live in a semi-desert when before it was a lush area.
 
Griffith

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah, it's been pretty interesting the last few days: woke up Sunday and could hear the winds blowing the shit out of everything, didn't hear my computer at all though and immediately knew that it also blew out the power. Since there wasn't anything else do, fortunately, I noticed that the wind was getting ready to take half the back fence, which was blowing back in fourth, flapping about five feet total from one extreme to the other. So, after stabilizing and securing the half broken fence to the trees with steel wire, I started to notice the strange orange tint coming over all the light outside, got the portable radio going and, yup, THE FIRES! Though this didn't sound like the usual seasonal fires, sounded like well... HOLY SHIT, MALIBU!? Called some people further south to check on them, see if they had power, or were currently on fire. Followed how close the fires were getting, closest one was luckily stopped outside of town, so it only got unseasonably hot, smoky, and there was even ash raining down from the sky, but then the Internet and TV came back on: crisis averted!? Almost, come to see the fucking World is on fire.

Anyway, you get a mild headache and general crappy feel from the atmosphere of all this, hard to describe, low grade shitty feeling, but nothing worth complaining about, you almost don't notice it most of the time. Going to avoid any heavy breathing for a little while longer though; the winds died down a couple of days ago, smoke cleared today, and it's still unseasonably hot. That's about it from this reporter, glad I wasn't in an evac area or that my home didn't burn down.
 
P

Pencil-smith

Guest
You're a lucky man Griff.
I wish the best of luck to all the victims in the area.
 
Sparnage

Sparnage

Yeah, I have to admit if the guy who was killed was the arsonist, I have little sympathy either. Keeping prisoners behind bars costs the tax payers a shitload anywho, the expenses in damages he will have caused will be ridiculously high.

Anyway good to see you're still alive and have internet access, Griff.
 
Walter

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Wow, awesome story. Glad to hear your house is OK, Griff. How'd you get the idea to secure the fence with wire? That was some quick, decisive thinking.

How'd the dog take all the action? :guts:

Anyway, looks like the worst of the fires are behind us now. Bush is now touring the region via helicopter to make some executive decisions! :schierke:
 
P

pippin22

Hah, Bush wants to make sure he doesn't get the same rap he got after Hurricane Katrina. :ganishka:

Now we can just say: "Sure.. fly to the rescue when white people are in danger." :troll:
 
C

C

My best friend is in the NAVY, USS Ronald Regan. He has shown me multiple pictures he took from his ship. He says it's crazy down there right now, and whenever he goes to his car, it's covered in ashes. It's kind of like Silent Hill, raining ashes he says. I can only imagine.

- C
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_re_us/california_wildfires

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - Officials blamed a wildfire that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week on a boy playing with matches, and said they would ask a prosecutor to consider the case.
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The boy, whose name and age were not released, admitted to sparking the fire on Oct. 21, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht said Tuesday. Ferocious winds helped it quickly spread.

"He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," Hecht said in a statement.

The boy was released to his parents, and the case will be presented to the district attorney's office, Hecht said. It was not clear if he had been arrested or cited by detectives.

The fire began in an area near Agua Dulce and quickly spread. It was among 15 or so major wildfires that killed 14 people, destroyed some 2,100 homes and blackened 809 square miles from Los Angeles to the Mexican border last week.

Authorities arrested five people for arson during that period, but none have been linked to any of the major blazes.

All but four of the blazes are now fully contained. Firefighters on Wednesday continued to cut lines around the remaining fires and kept a close eye on the weather.

Forecasters have said moderate Santa Ana winds could pick up later in the week.

Investigators have blamed an arsonist for setting a destructive wildfire in Orange County that blackened 28,500 acres and destroyed 16 homes.

Authorities were seeking the driver of a white Ford F-150 pickup truck spotted in a canyon area around the time the fire broke out. They said they wanted to talk to the driver, but stopped short of calling the person a suspect.

Officials offered a $285,000 reward to anyone with information that will lead to an arrest and conviction.
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Eugh! Well that kid has gone and fucked up.
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20071107/us_time/willachildbechargedinthefires

The 10-year-old boy who accidentally started one of the worst California wildfires last month could face stern consequences, should prosecutors decide to bring charges. Though too young to be charged as an adult, the boy could still face millions of dollars in fines, removal from his home and possible detention as a ward of the state. For now the boy's fate - and that of his parents, who would be partially liable for any restitution payments he would have to pay - rests with Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. His office told TIME he has not yet decided how to proceed. "The matter is under review," spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons told TIME on Monday. "No decision has been made."

To bring those charges, all Cooley must decide is whether the boy knew right from wrong - an easy standard to meet, other prosecutors in the state say. "That is a lot easier to establish than you would think," said Cyndi Jo Means, a deputy district attorney in nearby San Diego County who leads that county's juvenile division arson team. "Think of your own children, even very small children; most of the time they know when they did something wrong."

Despite the low hurdle to prosecution, Means contends the California juvenile justice system seeks to help young suspects, who can benefit from counseling and close supervision from the court and case workers. Children under 14 are nearly always charged as juveniles, not adults - no matter what the crime. "We try to help the child, and prosecuting them as adults would not be very helpful," Means said. Any finding of guilt, she added, would not follow the boy into adulthood.

Southern Californians are still sorting through the wreckage from the fires, which burned more than 800 square miles - an area 40 times as large as Manhattan - and destroyed some 2,100 homes. The 10-year-old's carelessness sparked the Buckweed fire in Los Angeles County, which destroyed 21 homes and injured at least three people. Those losses have left some residents in a less than forgiving mood. "If you accidentally set a massive fire that destroys homes, cause residents to flee for their lives and requires millions of dollars in resources to extinguish, then you damn well need to pay the piper," wrote Dave Bossert on his online newspaper, The West Ranch Beacon.
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Yeah he burned down half the state, but he's only 10. I'm pretty sure the punishment is cruel and unusual.
 
Walter

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm not too sure. I stopped watching daytime television about a decade ago. But are you implying Smokey shirked his duties when he fell off the radar? Are you saying Smokey's responsible for this? :judo:
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
Walter said:
I'm not too sure. I stopped watching daytime television about a decade ago. But are you implying Smokey shirked his duties when he fell off the radar? Are you saying Smokey's responsible for this? :judo:
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Maybe that is the case! Smokey hasn't been on tv in years. So over the years he has been watching in anger as people have been preventing forest fires without his guidance. What does he do? Stars fires and frames people for them!
 
Sparnage

Sparnage

Oh dear me, I sympathise for this child in a way you people will never understand unless you also have a juvenile fire offending record. Now for the rant...

It would've been when I was 14, so 1999 I believe. Shown below is the old orphanage that was involved.

staidansaa6.jpg

I used to live down the road from this place, occasionally went into the yards as a kid but it wasn't until I was 14 that we found a way inside. The place was amazing, so spacious and dirty, old and abandoned looking but in the coolest ways possible. Even a little creepy, stain glass windows everywhere (those that weren't long broken), my friend and I felt like we were locked in huge toy store overnight.

I then found a lighter. I always liked fire, so I started little flames on bits of paper and stuff. My friend discouraged me, but alas I was young and reckless. We came across some curtains, I flamed them but underestimated how quickly they burnt, then things got a little scary. Smoke detectors went off all through the buildings shown, you could literally hear it from ages away, never heard anything so scary in my life. We didn't stick around to find out what happened.

After I ran outside and hyperventilated for a minute or two in the yards, I considered making a break for it. But being broad daylight and the alarms going off trying to escape was futile, so we waited for people to come.
Fire engines were first, I had to guide the firemen to where the room was on the third floor. Turned out the curtains made everything black, but thankfully (god thankfully) the flame didn't get through the plaster ceiling. If it had the old building that was an accident waiting to happen would've cost countless dollars in damage likely.

Police came soon after, I got a lift to the pig barn, asked several questions, got a slap on the wrist and a 5 year good behavior bond. To put the icing on the cake, word got around school of my actions and people were calling me church burner for a while. I didn't think that was fair, it was technically an orphanage. ;D

Makes a pretty funny drinking story now for myself and my friend who was there, but I feel lucky it didn't go out of control.

So yeah, poor kid.
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah I'd feel bad for that kid if he got sent to jail for 30 years, but then again you've got to put some sense in people. It's unacceptable that negligence or whatever it was made it happen. At the very least I hope he can't sleep at night from the guilt his acts cause him.

As for you Sparnage, that's an interesting story and I also think you lucked out on that one. How did your parents react?
 
Sparnage

Sparnage

Aazealh said:
Yeah I'd feel bad for that kid if he got sent to jail for 30 years, but then again you've got to put some sense in people. It's unacceptable that negligence or whatever it was made it happen. At the very least I hope he can't sleep at night from the guilt his acts cause him.

As for you Sparnage, that's an interesting story and I also think you lucked out on that one. How did your parents react?
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Hahah, they were on holidays at the time. We decided not to tell them until they got home so it wouldn't ruin it for them. Really left that "not angry with you, just disappointed" sorta vibe, but weren't too bad about it all things considered. We all have more of a sense of humour about it now.
 
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