How are you folks out in Cali doing in these fires - I've seen some pictures on TV of houses/businesses with quite a few old cars/trucks around them especially the fires along the Vegas route (I-15?)
Prayers for you and your families

 

Likewise, any FTE'ers hurt by the flooding in LA? Don't we have some members in Baton Rouge?

 

Fires out here in the uninhabited areas are an annual occurrence kinda like Spring flooding in the East/Midwest. It is problematic when the fires reach homes and businesses that border these areas. I had a close call some weeks ago with a storage barn where I keep most of my projects/parts...fire got to within a quarter mile before the CalFire crews knocked it down. I can't say enough good things about the fire crews, these guys are supermen and women. I have a friend who retired on a medical after being hit by a fire retardant drop, damn near killed him. I guess the good thing about fire is that it can be extinguished, not much to do about water except push it around and wait for it to drain off. Those folks in the New Orleans area just can't seem to get a break...hearts go out for them.

 

Its so sad to see folks loose everything they have, weather its to fire flood , tornado, or huricane. I live on a ridge with canyons on two sides and living with the threat of wildfires is a yearly fear. This year we have been very lucky that any small fires were knocked down pretty fast due to the wonderful job done by our local and state Firefighters. The last big one that took out several houses and surrounded the whole town was I think five years ago. The fact that Dick, started this thread, is just another reminder of how special the folks on this site are. Thanks Dick.

 

Just saw on the news this morning that the Summit Inn burned down. This was an iconic Route 66 diner on I-15 at the top of the Cajon Pass. Stopped there many times on the way to Las Vegas, another piece of historic Americana lost. Owners say that they will rebuild...ironically the massive sign next to the freeway still stands.

 

Obviously hopeful that lives and property are spared. We live with Earthquakes and seasonal Fires as a norm. This current drought is killing us. Fires are more frequent, with dried out fuel to deal with.

I have plans to attend our 46th annual fishing trip at the Kern River next weekend. I usually go through the fire-ravaged Cajon Pass and there's another "Cedar Fire" a few miles from Kernville, though we camp 20 miles up the river from there. Watching Cal-Fire reports closely.

 

There are dead trees everywhere around this area and people are spending a lot of $$$ on tree remove

 

I was in the Sacramento/Placerville area last week...there wasn't anything green to be seen anywhere except for a few trees.


Couldn't believe how brown everything is. Disaster just waiting to happen.

 

Wildfires in California. Flooding in Louisiana. Does anybody else think that the time is long overdue for a series of national pipelines to move water from where it is excess to where it is needed? Oh, that's right. There is no profit in that. And this series of pipes would also help to alleviate droughts wherever they might occur. But again, there is no profit in it.

Later!
Mr. Ed

 

I had thought about that as well, but as with everything the devil is in the details...pushing water through a pipe is not an easy task and would require many pumping stations, BIG bucks. California has many options but has chosen crazy projects like bullet trains and such. There is a sea water desalinization plant (privately funded and operated) opening here that will take salt water and convert it to drinking water and will service 10,000 homes. Waste water reclamation projects proved that much of the water that is pumped into the sea could be reclaimed and reused but people couldn't get past the thought that their drinking water was once their toilet water.

 

There have been a few very good programs on public television covering not only the cal. water programs past, present, future, but the salinity problems that go hand in hand. personally I think over population, not just here but world wide is really out of control. The Ca bullet train is supposed to bring I've heard 20 million additional people into an area that can not provide them water at present. Urban sprawl is a juggernaut that needs to be addressed. Besides there's not enough old Ford trucks or junk yards around for all those extra people.

 

Didn't Kalifornia prevent farmers from irritating their crops because of a two inch fish called the smelt recently?

 

Jimmy, I saw a program on the salinity issues brought about by fertilizers used in the inland valleys where much of the nation's food is raised in the winter months. They have processing plants now that remove the salt from the runoff water and pump the residue back to the ocean. That residual water has a higher level of salinity than the ocean water!
As for smelt...that and almond growers are in the spotlight now as homeowners are being asked to conserve more water. Some areas of the state have used so much ground water that the ground elevation has dropped as much as 10 ft. Where are those rising oceans that Al Gore promised us?

 

Thank you for the update Charlie, that is good to hear. Any progress in the right direction is good news indeed.