collector cars in California fire

[intimeold 73]

I just watched the video, about Dennis Gage, and the Tims Special and Hudson Italia.  Well I actually watched it 3 times.  Great representation about the cars. 

 

I am thinking a different direction, than a car and motorcycle collector right now. Bear with me, I'm not trying to offend anyone. It makes me sick to see all of this destruction; which some of it could have been mitigated. All of the lives lost, families destroyed, and the classic autos we all enjoy, because current environmental policy's  and pointing fingers.

 

I am a farm owner with some forest too, and have done some logging in the distant and near past; just two years ago lastly. Also I do live in the East (PA) and up in the mountains.  Watching the videos of the two fantastic automobiles; I took my eyes off the cars and looked at the surrounding roadsides, and forest (Just brush to us).  While they drove those, they didn't pass one tree that worth anything. There wasn't a marketable "Saw Log "there.  I understand the different climate and natural plant life; but around here we would Brush Hog all of that down; to make a healthy environment for some really  nice, Good, Sustainable growth. 

 

We have done that in this area; and even taken old coal strip mines and planted  sustainable and profitable, and healthy tress in place of junk shrub growth. All the while make a  healthy place, for native wildlife to live. Believe me, if foresters in this area can get trees to grow in a barren coal strip mine;  something better can be done; than what is currently done, where this video was shot.

 

I'm finally getting a handle on what is really going on out in that CA area.  By them. Whoever, land owners, government, ??, they are putting everyone at risk of these tragic brush fires.  Someone has to take the reins and do some serious forest management. The naysayers will come back and say I do not mention the climate conditions.    I will counter and say that is ALL they want to blame it on.  There can't be a one sided approach.

 

They are leaving so much fuel  (burnable brush, worthless brush) on the forest floor, that these places are not safe to live near. 

 

I feel sorry for the people who live in those areas.

 

intimeold

 

saw·log     

/ˈsôˌlôɡ,-ˌläɡ/

noun

plural noun: saw logs

1. a felled tree trunk suitable for cutting up into timber.

[John_Mereness 217]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/us/california-wildfire-antique-car.html 

Edited November 15, 2018 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[1912Staver 386]

A major factor in tree growth is water. The areas of California that feature scrub are too dry for trees to grow. It's not just a matter of mowing down the scrub and planting trees. you would also have to irrigate anywhere you  expected the trees to survive. Essentially impossible, California is running out of water to irrigate cropland let alone forest.  Here in coastal British Columbia, several hundred miles North of California we have lots of water.

 

Greg

Edited November 15, 2018 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[ply33 152]

4 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

. . . But the fire behavior is often quite erratic . A single house is sometimes untouched while several nearby will be totally gone. . .

 

With regards to erratic behavior, there was at least one antique car spared in Paradise.

 

Edit: Oops, John_Mereness beat me to it.

Edited November 15, 2018 by ply33 (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon 207]

There are so many factors, that play into all this. I have lived in Califunny since I was five months old (proud to say I am not a native Califunnion). Grew up mostly in the suburbs of the South San Francisco Bay Area, and partly in the farming lands of the central valley. Most of my adult life in the outer "burbs" near Livermore, and the past fifteen years in heavy tree areas of the country. The house we have been in for the past thirteen years cannot hardly be seen on Google Earth because the trees here are so thick. And I like it that way.

The politics are strange. Every few years, we are threatened with insurance cancellations, and requirements to cut down ALL trees within some distance from the house (I have nearly 200 trees on my one little acre!). But i have seen more than a few fires around here. MOST, nearly all, serious destructive fires are not in the heavy trees. They are in heavy grass areas or brush areas with fifteen or less trees per acre. It is the grass and brush that spreads fire so fast! And, yes, manzanita is a torch waiting to be lit! There is no manzanita on my acre.

A few years ago, a favorite area about 40 miles from home suffered a serious fire in a tree area. About a month after the fire, we drove up to look around at the damage. It was incredible. I don't recall the acreage, but the fire had climbed up a hill, jumped a two lane road, and covered about a mile along the road. About eighty percent of the burned area, the grass was not touched. No homes destroyed. Most of the fire was about thirty feet above the ground. It went from tree to tree, flames leaping into the sky (I saw the news videos). But nearly everything on the ground survived.

 

Plenty of blame to go around. A lot of things are being done wrong. And that goes for society in general these days. A lot of things need to be looked at, and many things considered carefully. And the politicians need to quit playing the "this year correctness" games and be held accountable for bad decisions they make.

[Bill Harmatuk 61]

19 hours ago, Lebowski said:

Did anyone see the video from the Paradise fire with the '57 Nomad and '55 (?) Pontiac Safari (2 door wagon) that were completely destroyed? Pretty sad....  

I saw the picture.

Very sad.

 

Bill H

[Doug Novak 108]

One first step to helping to prevent total destruction of a house as mentioned on the Weather Channel is the use of Palm Trees in Landscaping. They show film of the tops of Palm Trees dropping huge balls of fire from the tops of these trees. They apparently ignite like fire bombs. They help explain why some neighboring homes remain while the homes with Palm Trees burn to the ground. I was shocked to see this.

[39BuickEight 481]

California has never been kind to human development.  No fresh water, earthquakes, fires, land slides, drought, houses falling into the ocean etc.  Of course some is bad planning, but much is just the nature of being there.  Nevertheless, it's a truly beautiful state that I hope to visit many times more.  I have friends that live in the mountains there, have for 15 years, and have always been spared. 

[JACK M 937]

Is it true at Yellowstone Park that a man caused fire will be fought while a naturally ignited fire such as lightning will be left to burn?

I drove thru the park several years ago and it looked like they NEVER clear down limbs and trees making most forest areas not even walkable past the shoulder of the road.

I think its a 'let nature take its own coarse' thing.

 

[60FlatTop 3,807]

I use a business sever based in western New York. No earthquakes, tropical storms, or major geological/climate issues. The server people notified me of their new back up sever located in San Francisco.

I just said "Huh!"

[John348 552]

19 minutes ago, JACK M said:

 

I think its a 'let nature take its own coarse' thing.

 

 

One of my sons works for the National Park Service and that is pretty much the policy 

[auburnseeker 1,455]

1 hour ago, John348 said:

 

One of my sons works for the National Park Service and that is pretty much the policy 

That is the same thought in NY state on the Adirondack state park.  They keep buying up the land so it will never be logged again then just let the forest go to hell.  They used to have fire towers on many of the mountains that. were manned.  They have gotten rid of all the functional ones and only saved a few for posterity. 

One day they will find out they created the perfect storm which maybe is there end goal.  Let some of the top ranking officials homes get burned by a forest fires or worst yet family hurt or or worse,  then you will probably see an immediate policy change. How much forever wild land do you need? Let the rest be properly managed forest.   The new logging methods take everything including the small limb wood and chip it for paper on the spot then take it to the mill so there is very little left to become tinder.  It also gives the animals a place to graze for food. Which they have a hard time doing in an unmanaged forest.  Especially with more and more farms being turned into woods that then get sold to the state.

It sucks people in NY city make policy for how we can live in the park 4 hours away. 

I saw turn of the century 1800's to 1900's photos of my hometown in the center of the park and many showed a tree or two and every other area cleared farm land or logged clear,  so none of it is Virgin forest. 

[Dave Fields 138]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/us/california-wildfire-antique-car.html?partner=rss&emc=rss   Many people have called the Model T Ford indestructible. This 1915 brass T was amazingly left unhurt in the California fires. 

 

 

[Laughing Coyote 454]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/classic-cars/1915-ford-model-t-somehow-survived-the-california-fires/ar-BBPMAnp?li=BBnb4R5

[John_Mereness 217]

I am sure you will see more here over time, but between work (or lack of work), dealing with housing, insurance, and ... - my guess is everyone is pretty busy doing "life management."

[mike6024 386]

Interesting article and a good video

 

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8974620-181/a-battle-to-stay-alive?

 

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by mike6024 (see edit history)

[Lebowski 119]

7 hours ago, mike6024 said:

 

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8974620-181/a-battle-to-stay-alive?

 

This is a very well written story. It made me feel like I was there. Hopefully all of the people and animals in the story survived. It was well worth reading....

[jfreakofkorn 13]

i just hope that they have insurance paid up on them .... if not, just hope, some of them can be saved 

[Doug Novak 108]

On 11/15/2018 at 10:52 AM, Doug Novak said:

One first step to helping to prevent total destruction of a house as mentioned on the Weather Channel is the use of Palm Trees in Landscaping. They show film of the tops of Palm Trees dropping huge balls of fire from the tops of these trees. They apparently ignite like fire bombs. They help explain why some neighboring homes remain while the homes with Palm Trees burn to the ground. I was shocked to see this.

 

Just heard another story about the Ambulance crew, stuck in the fire with their 3 patients that they rescued from the Hospital. They got into a garage after their Ambulance had caught fire. They said the roof of the house next to the  garage had a thick covering of dry out Pine Needles and knew  the house was doomed to burn down, and it did. Fortunately they had radioed in for help and a Fire truck came to the rescue. Earlier they had texted their wives that they didn't think they would make it out.

[BucketofBolts 8]

Reminds me of the proverb: "There for the grace of God go I".   The phrase, allegedly from a mid-sixteenth-century statement by John Bradford, "There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford", in reference to a group of prisoners being led to execution.This unfortunate California fire tragedy could happen to any of us. We should all reflect on how lucky we are. Collecting old cars and keeping the automobile history preserved is wonderful. It is my passion.  However, when seeing the harrowing stories fireman and police officers and ambulance drivers  that risked their lives to help others and to hear these horror stories of family's trying to escape   what appears to be almost a certain horrific death makes one ponder.  Being safe, healthy, loved, and with Family is what life is really about.  

[Paul Dobbin 394]

Here is a story if a 1915 Model T that survived the fire.  Good story with a happy ending

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/11/16/1915-ford-model-t-somehow-survived-the-california-fires/

[Dave Fields 138]

1912 Staver I live in the southwest and the forests have definitely been mismanaged. People have been fined for clearing dead wood. 

[Dave Fields 138]

More photos, and sadly no doubt many more to come. Two Packard coupes destroyed. 

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by Dave Fields (see edit history)

[nick8086 324]

The bad thing that happens is:

 

If the cost of your homeowners insurance rises each year, it’s typically to account for inflation and the rising costs of doing business, not the amount of your coverage increasing.

[Lebowski 119]

On 11/19/2018 at 2:07 AM, mike6024 said:

Interesting article and a good video

 

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8974620-181/a-battle-to-stay-alive?

 

 

 

This guy is one of the many unsung heroes helping to save lives during and after the fire. May God bless him and the others who rescue cats, dogs and other helpless animals out there....