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I did a Google search this morning on the 49er fire in Nevada County and stumbled across the following from a local blogger. First the author provided this AP quote:
"SAN DIEGO (AP) - Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters all but conceded defeat Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has already chased nearly a million people away. Unless the shrieking Santa Ana winds subside, and that's not expected for at least another day, fire crews say they can do little more than try to wait it out and react - tamping out spot fires and chasing ribbons of airborne embers to keep new fires from flaring."
To which the blogger added the following comment: "While northern California has fires, we have not had any fires like the wind driven fires of southern California. Yes, the 49er fire was wind driven but not like the southern California fires. Will some of the displaced throw in the towel and move north? I think that in the next year we will see more demand for houses in Nevada County, as some families move north: families wishing to maintain a California lifestyle but do not want to deal with wind driven firestorms (http://ncwatch.typepad.com/)."
I have no expertise in the science of fire ecology, so I must rely on the experts. It's not fair to just make things up. The question is whether the 49er fire was "not like the Southern California fires." Kate Dargan, our former CDF Battalion Chief and the current California State Fire Marshal, said, "The killer fire in your neighborhood will be one which comes up out of the South Yuba Canyon. It will be driven by a 30 mph north wind. It will quickly become a crown fire and spread south through the Lake Vera-Round Mountain plateau. The speed of the fire could easily equal that of the 49er fire, and it will burn until it reaches a defensible fuel break."
The only thing more unstoppable than a wind-driven crown fire in Nevada County is the mentality that nothing should rise above economic interests.
There is no question that there are areas of the county that are vulnerable to these uncontrollable wildfires. At the very least we should not make things worse. However, our Board of Supervisors recently passed an ordinance that would allow anyone in these vulnerable areas to build an additional 1,200 sq. ft. home on their parcel.
The only restraint in regard to fire is the state's 4290 fire standards regarding driveways and dead-end roads. There will be some help in evacuation but no help in saving the home if the fire cannot be stopped.
A number of us presented a petition to our supervisors, John Spencer and Nate Beason, asking that they reconsider this second unit ordinance. In these areas where the existing home is already at risk, adding a second home would be reckless. Our petition was rejected. Supervisor Beason responded that there are not enough of these second homes to worry about.
How many would have to lose their homes or their lives to a wildfire before he would worry?
ooo
Jim Hurley lives in Nevada City.
"SAN DIEGO (AP) - Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters all but conceded defeat Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has already chased nearly a million people away. Unless the shrieking Santa Ana winds subside, and that's not expected for at least another day, fire crews say they can do little more than try to wait it out and react - tamping out spot fires and chasing ribbons of airborne embers to keep new fires from flaring."
To which the blogger added the following comment: "While northern California has fires, we have not had any fires like the wind driven fires of southern California. Yes, the 49er fire was wind driven but not like the southern California fires. Will some of the displaced throw in the towel and move north? I think that in the next year we will see more demand for houses in Nevada County, as some families move north: families wishing to maintain a California lifestyle but do not want to deal with wind driven firestorms (http://ncwatch.typepad.com/)."
I have no expertise in the science of fire ecology, so I must rely on the experts. It's not fair to just make things up. The question is whether the 49er fire was "not like the Southern California fires." Kate Dargan, our former CDF Battalion Chief and the current California State Fire Marshal, said, "The killer fire in your neighborhood will be one which comes up out of the South Yuba Canyon. It will be driven by a 30 mph north wind. It will quickly become a crown fire and spread south through the Lake Vera-Round Mountain plateau. The speed of the fire could easily equal that of the 49er fire, and it will burn until it reaches a defensible fuel break."
The only thing more unstoppable than a wind-driven crown fire in Nevada County is the mentality that nothing should rise above economic interests.
There is no question that there are areas of the county that are vulnerable to these uncontrollable wildfires. At the very least we should not make things worse. However, our Board of Supervisors recently passed an ordinance that would allow anyone in these vulnerable areas to build an additional 1,200 sq. ft. home on their parcel.
The only restraint in regard to fire is the state's 4290 fire standards regarding driveways and dead-end roads. There will be some help in evacuation but no help in saving the home if the fire cannot be stopped.
A number of us presented a petition to our supervisors, John Spencer and Nate Beason, asking that they reconsider this second unit ordinance. In these areas where the existing home is already at risk, adding a second home would be reckless. Our petition was rejected. Supervisor Beason responded that there are not enough of these second homes to worry about.
How many would have to lose their homes or their lives to a wildfire before he would worry?
ooo
Jim Hurley lives in Nevada City.
