BajaNomad

Fires in Northern Baja California

bajaric - 1-11-2025 at 08:55 AM

In the last few days saw some reports on FB about a couple of fires. One northeast of Ensenada in the "Piedras Blancas" area and several fires south of Ejido Esteban Cantu "Cantu" on the Punta Banda Península. These were medium sized fires with large smoke plumes that were visible for miles around. Word today is the fire in Cantu is out. Fortunately, the wind died down and it did not incinerate any of the little campos in there.

Depending on political orientation, the cause of all these fires is attributed to different reasons. People on the left say that the fires are a result of human activities that have increased the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. (from 200 ppm to 400 ppm..) People on the right attribute them to "woke" politicians cutting the budget of the fire department to pay for transgender film festivals and provide sanctuary for illegal migrants.

My own view is that the cycle of drought and fire has always been present in the Californias. John Muir wrote of observing a forest fire in the Sierra Nevada. In the 1950's the Santa Ana winds stoked a fire that incinerated parts of Bel Air in Los Angeles. In the 1970's, there was a fire in San Diego County that burned from Alpine to the beach.

It does seem that these mega fires that destroy hundreds or thousands of homes are becoming more common. The Cedar fire in San Diego devestated entire neighborhoods, with many houses and apartments in Scripps Ranch burned to the ground. Ditto the paradise fire, that wiped out a whole town. These all have the common factor of housing developments built in rural or semi-rural areas that are surrounded by steep canyons full of dry brush and timber, and extreme wind events. There really is no stopping a fire under these circumstances. This time it was Pacific Palisades. The only question, really, is who is next.

David K - 1-11-2025 at 09:01 AM

Well written, bajaric! :light:

JZ - 1-11-2025 at 10:55 AM

Climate is changing. Man can't do anything about it.

What man can do is prepare and react to it. This is what wasn't done right with the latest fires.

surabi - 1-11-2025 at 10:57 AM

Seems clueless to choose to live in super dry areas and not expect that wildfires are a strong possibility, just like choosing to live in hurricane or tornado alley and not anticipating that hurricanes or tornadoes would be a risk.

cupcake - 1-11-2025 at 11:03 AM

Climate Change Indicators: Glaciers
https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indica...

The cause of climate change can be debated, but not the reality of it.

Nearly 100 percent of the world's glaciers have been receding, and this has been going on for decades.

JZ - 1-11-2025 at 11:24 AM

Quote: Originally posted by cupcake  
Climate Change Indicators: Glaciers
https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indica...

The cause of climate change can be debated, but not the reality of it.

Nearly 100 percent of the world's glaciers have been receding, and this has been going on for decades.


Agreed.

JDCanuck - 1-11-2025 at 02:15 PM

Humans survived under past climate extremes by adapting. So far we haven't seen much change in the materials or design of buildings given the risks we face. It might be time to rethink the traditional wood frame 3 story above ground home with cedar shingles and start looking at what might survive better given we have very little ability to slow the present trends in global temps, rising water levels, earthquakes, hurricanes and increased wildfires.

[Edited on 1-11-2025 by JDCanuck]

surfhat - 1-12-2025 at 02:25 PM

'Man cannot do anything about it.' Not true

I beg to differ. Mankind did act in concert to moderate the planets climate in the 80's with the expanding southern ozone hole by banning cfc's.

This worldwide approved strategy is still working to mitigate and decrease the southern ozone hole.

Mankind did this. Mankind can do much more if the will is there to overcome the power of the dollar.

What do we owe to our future generations? I have been trying to leave as small a footprint as I can going back to the days of Pack Your Trash and leave no footprints behind, or any sign of your being there.

I always brought a rake for some reason. haha

JDCanuck - 1-12-2025 at 04:15 PM

Surfhat: So you have reached that elusive point where you can honestly say you are living at net zero? No fossil fuel vehicles, no gas or wood stoves, no food that is produced using fossil fuels? I have been working toward that goal for at least 40 years now and am only maybe 50% there with an EV powered vehicle for 95% of our driving from a 97% renewables power grid, just built a 100% solar powered home (with propane backups in emergencies).
Meanwhile, in the world around me, Coal and other fossil fuels use is on the rise, and 33% efficient Nuclear (the other 67% wasted as heat to the environment, mainly the oceans) is increasingly seen as the answer. I don't see a lot of progress. I think it's time to think about adapting.
With all our money thrown at this issue and decades of discussions of how to get there, here's our progress on CO2 reductions to date. Add to that the 67% of new nuclear energy wasted as heat and we get something close to where we are headed:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/276629/global-co2-emissi...

But this chart shows quite clearly the countries you will need to win over on the CO2 issue: China, India, Russia, Iran, Saudis and Indonesia. Good luck on that one.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/270499/co2-emissions-in-...


[Edited on 1-13-2025 by JDCanuck]

David K - 1-12-2025 at 09:08 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
Climate is changing. Man can't do anything about it.

What man can do is prepare and react to it. This is what wasn't done right with the latest fires.


X2

surfhat - 1-13-2025 at 11:22 AM

JD, that is some creative extension on your part. Yes, there is more everyone could do. Net zero? I never claimed that. You did.

I hope you are leaving behind as small a footprint as you are comfortable with. I hope I am too in my own small way. I hope everyone plays a part in their own ways, as small as they are.

May we all in our own ways do at least something to leave a better world for future generations to come.

Net Zero is an ideal to strive toward and even a rare reality at times. I hope the Net Zero ideal becomes standard practice in the future. Our generations to come deserve nothing less from us.

Hope still does spring eternal that mankind will do more than it currently does for the future of a world we are leaving behind.





Lee - 1-13-2025 at 11:57 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
Climate is changing. Man can't do anything about it.

What man can do is prepare and react to it. This is what wasn't done right with the latest fires.


Man can do plenty about climate change. Man is cheap and in denial. Greed and profit over anything else. Conservatives play games and point fingers. Nothing new.

Little LA and surrounding can do about Santa Ana winds. More party line bullshlt laying blame on victims.

And you know what hasn't been done right -- according to what you read in the media.

Where's the conspiracy theories JZ?

JDCanuck - 1-13-2025 at 12:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by surfhat  
JD, that is some creative extension on your part. Yes, there is more everyone could do. Net zero? I never claimed that. You did.

I hope you are leaving behind as small a footprint as you are comfortable with. I hope I am too in my own small way. I hope everyone plays a part in their own ways, as small as they are.

May we all in our own ways do at least something to leave a better world for future generations to come.

Net Zero is an ideal to strive toward and even a rare reality at times. I hope the Net Zero ideal becomes standard practice in the future. Our generations to come deserve nothing less from us.

Hope still does spring eternal that mankind will do more than it currently does for the future of a world we are leaving behind.








I have to agree with all that, but we are losing ground no matter what we few do. The vast majority don't want to change so we need to adapt to what we have. Oddly, most still blame the utilities or corporations who have been the ones leading the reductions in CO2. If you look at that second chart I posted, Germany, UK Scandinavian countries and even Canada and US Corporations have been dropping their footprints. Even in Canada, 75% of slight net reductions over last 30 years came from utilities and corporations, but the general public wants faster, more fuel hungry vehicles as any trip to a grocery store parking lot will show.

Glidergeek - 1-13-2025 at 12:54 PM

Seeing as you rocket scientists turned this thread political, here's more food for thought.

"Do Plants Decay Produce CO2
When plants decay, they do indeed produce carbon dioxide (CO2). This process is part of the global carbon cycle"

"Warmer climates generally accelerate the decay process, leading to faster CO2 release"

Do Farts Contain CO2
Yes, farts do contain carbon dioxide (CO₂). According to various sources, the gases in a fart are primarily made up of nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and oxygen, with trace amounts of other gases. Among these, carbon dioxide is one of the main components

You guys also create alot of CO2 exhaling

"About 4.5 billion people around the globe do not have access to adequate sanitation, and what they do have — typically pit latrines and lagoons — are responsible for the illness of millions and a portion of the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet"




[Edited on 1-13-2025 by Glidergeek]

JDCanuck - 1-13-2025 at 01:20 PM

Your points are, I assume: We should keep our plants green and healthy, pit latrines and lagoons are not the best way to deal with sewage and we should stifle ourselves (or at least go outside where its less offensive). Can't disagree with any of that.

JZ - 1-13-2025 at 06:13 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
That’s why we all carry insurance.


You need to do some research on that one. Seems you missed a few memos.

JDCanuck - 1-13-2025 at 07:25 PM

Jz: We are finding the same issues here with insurance. Highest risks are either no longer covered or have increasingly huge deductibles if they do occur. More and more people are finding their houses destroyed by landslides or overland floods (second most common disaster risk) and only then finding their insurance doesn't cover those risks at all when they read the very detailed limitations in the standard contracts. Earthquakes, which are the highest risk here are about 40% of the premium cost, but only cover damage that exceeds the 30% deductible. It would take an extremely large earthquake to do that much damage to your home.


In Baja, is it worth getting insurance for earthquakes, hurricanes, fires and floods or is the payout as unreliable as it is up here and it would be better to carry the liability insurance alone??


[Edited on 1-15-2025 by JDCanuck]

JZ - 1-14-2025 at 10:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JDCanuck  
Jz: We are finding the same issues here with insurance. Highest risks are either no longer covered or have increasingly huge deductibles if they do occur. More and more people are finding their houses destroyed by landslides or overland floods (second most common disaster risk) and only then finding their insurance doesn't cover those risks at all when they read the very detailed limitations in the standard contracts. Earthquakes, which are the highest risk here are about 40% of the premium cost, but only cover damage that exceeds the 30% deductible. It would take an extremely large earthquake to do that much damage to your home.


That is not good news JD.


Ateo - 1-15-2025 at 07:44 AM

On behalf of the snobby “better than you Nomads” I’d like to say that any bull loney BS talk about LA City Fire and California in a thread about Baja and on a Baja website should be terminated or moved to OT slums.

Just your daily reminder from a sarcastic a hole……

You trolls should get in touch with your Baja selves and judge others less. Yes, I’m judging you and this whole thread/thing is ridiculous…..

People are in pain. Where’s your manners? Have you no shame?

Answer: we all lose our manners sometimes and get taken over by the beast inside of us that wants to pontificate our inner marooon which is really just a conglomeration of brain activity and past experiences and what we recently read on social media burping into this website.

Only way to escape it is for a second. Hopefully a second will get you to take yourself less seriously for a few seconds.

Adios for a few seconds…..

[Edited on 1-15-2025 by Ateo]

Lee - 1-15-2025 at 10:06 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Ateo  
On behalf of the snobby “better than you Nomads” I’d like to say that any bull loney BS talk about LA City Fire and California in a thread about Baja and on a Baja website should be terminated or moved to OT slums.

Just your daily reminder from a sarcastic a hole……

You trolls should get in touch with your Baja selves and judge others less. Yes, I’m judging you and this whole thread/thing is ridiculous…..

People are in pain. Where’s your manners? Have you no shame?

Answer: we all lose our manners sometimes and get taken over by the beast inside of us that wants to pontificate our inner marooon which is really just a conglomeration of brain activity and past experiences and what we recently read on social media burping into this website.

Only way to escape it is for a second. Hopefully a second will get you to take yourself less seriously for a few seconds.

Adios for a few seconds…..

[Edited on 1-15-2025 by Ateo]


Wow. That's a good read Ateo. My thoughts exactly.

Political junkies? Don't remember where password is for OT but you can get it from a moderator. JZ is OP for first 14 posts there and will welcome your debate about politics.


cupcake - 1-15-2025 at 10:24 AM

I don't know what the reality is/was of fighting the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires in Alta California. Both sides have made what I consider to be good points. But I can say that I was here during the entire time, about two hours drive to the east of the fires, and the winds were very strong, especially the night when those two fires mentioned above broke out.

Two steps that can be taken to increase your house's chances in such fires are:
1) Don't let vegetation grow close to your house. Having a 100 foot space all the way around your house can make a big difference in a fire.
2) Make sure fire ember casts do not have an easy access to your house's attic area. There is a big difference between normal external attic vents and ember resistant vents. As well, fire resistant glass windows may not shatter from the intense heat, while regular glass windows will shatter and let the fire/embers into your house. The goal is to not give the fire easy access to the inside of your house, because once it has that access, the house will be gone quickly.

[Edited on 1-15-2025 by cupcake]

David K - 1-15-2025 at 10:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by cupcake  
I don't know what the reality is/was of fighting the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires in Alta California. Both sides have made what I consider to be good points. But I can say that I was here during the entire time, about two hours drive to the east of the fires, and the winds were very strong, especially the night when those two fires mentioned above broke out.

Two steps that can be taken to increase your house's chances in such fires are:
1) Don't let vegetation grow close to your house. Having a 100 foot space all the way around your house can make a big difference in a fire.
2) Make sure fire ember casts do not have an easy access to your house's attic area. There is a big difference between normal external attic vents and ember resistant vents. As well, fire resistant glass windows may not shatter from the intense heat, while regular glass windows will shatter and let the fire/embers into your house. The goal is to not give the fire easy access to the inside of your house, because once it has that access, the house will be gone quickly.

[Edited on 1-15-2025 by cupcake]


Great info, thanks for sharing for the homeowners.

Lee - 1-15-2025 at 11:06 AM

Quote: Originally posted by cupcake  
I don't know what the reality is/was of fighting the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires in Alta California. Both sides have made what I consider to be good points. But I can say that I was here during the entire time, about two hours drive to the east of the fires, and the winds were very strong, especially the night when those two fires mentioned above broke out.

Two steps that can be taken to increase your house's chances in such fires are:
1) Don't let vegetation grow close to your house. Having a 100 foot space all the way around your house can make a big difference in a fire.
2) Make sure fire ember casts do not have an easy access to your house's attic area. There is a big difference between normal external attic vents and ember resistant vents. As well, fire resistant glass windows may not shatter from the intense heat, while regular glass windows will shatter and let the fire/embers into your house. The goal is to not give the fire easy access to the inside of your house, because once it has that access, the house will be gone quickly.

[Edited on 1-15-2025 by cupcake]


Fire mitigation. What has happened around the burn areas around LA wouldn't pass mitigation.

In the remote Rockies where I live, Wildfire Partners (a county organization) will meet with homeowners and show them what needs to be done. We pray for a fire ban every Summer.

https://research.noaa.gov/looking-back-at-colorados-marshall... 1,000k+ homes with 100 mph gusts. No one saw it coming.

JZ - 1-15-2025 at 12:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by cupcake  
I don't know what the reality is/was of fighting the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires in Alta California. Both sides have made what I consider to be good points. But I can say that I was here during the entire time, about two hours drive to the east of the fires, and the winds were very strong, especially the night when those two fires mentioned above broke out.

Two steps that can be taken to increase your house's chances in such fires are:
1) Don't let vegetation grow close to your house. Having a 100 foot space all the way around your house can make a big difference in a fire.
2) Make sure fire ember casts do not have an easy access to your house's attic area. There is a big difference between normal external attic vents and ember resistant vents. As well, fire resistant glass windows may not shatter from the intense heat, while regular glass windows will shatter and let the fire/embers into your house. The goal is to not give the fire easy access to the inside of your house, because once it has that access, the house will be gone quickly.



Great advice.

At my house in Colorado they are constantly clearly brush around the houses. We are at about 7,000 foot elevation. Very rural, lots of pine trees and lots of strong winds. The local government will come around and pickup the brush piles.

We put about 50-100 feet of rock in front of our house as you suggested. Will have to check out the windows and vents. Our windows are crap, I know that.

The good news is there is a small fire house about 2 miles from us and a much bigger one 10 minutes away.


[Edited on 1-15-2025 by JZ]