OT: So things are getting pretty bad out west...
Firstly, our thoughts are with all of you dealing with this right now. I've been there myself, as our second child was born while we were evacuated from our San Diego home in 2007. It's scary stuff.
Secondly, there doesn't seem to be any hint of rain in the forecast until Tuesday. If 500K are under one of the three evacuation levels now, how high will that number be by the end of the weekend?
Lastly, does anyone really think this won't get worse every year from here on out in the PNW?
September 11th, 2020 at 5:54 PM ^
We’ve got fire north, east, and south of Steamboat. Then on Tuesday a wind storm with gusts to 113 ripped down trees all over town. We’ll be lucky to get the trails all cleared before ski season.
September 11th, 2020 at 6:22 PM ^
If your lucky the fires will come do it for you?
/s
September 11th, 2020 at 6:13 PM ^
The AQI is "only" 182 here in Reno, but earlier this week it hit 469. I did a double take, I thought it was an error. We had our outdoor swim practice cancelled. Managed to swim inside, but it still reeked of smoke.
September 11th, 2020 at 6:50 PM ^
Don't worry. The wind will switch around and blow everything that went off shore back at you in the next few days. You can get back to the 400's
September 11th, 2020 at 6:23 PM ^
Man, if could channel some of this "way in excess" rain we are getting here on the Gulf Coast of Florida, I would in a second. I hate to see land burn up - it's just not right. Godspeed to those in the way.
September 11th, 2020 at 6:26 PM ^
Lumber companies policies actually keep dead underbrush and dead trees percentages way down. Solution is to allow lumber companies to manage more acreage out west
September 11th, 2020 at 7:16 PM ^
I drive to Mount Hood all the time... I don't disagree....it is a tinderbox.
I think in places where there are old growth trees, especially Redwoods, I would manage differently..... but in a forest of common evergreens like I see on the way to Hood, I do think we should thin out some of the dead trees. I think the health of the forest could be improved if it were done in the right way for the right reasons.
I don't trust the lumber companies to determine which trees though.
September 12th, 2020 at 9:59 AM ^
You are so completely uneducated on nearly every topic that you wade into, it would be funny if this shit weren't so serious. "Lumber companies" are the reason this shit gets as out of control as it does, as they logged out all of the old growth forests which were very resilient to fire.
Forests in areas prone to wildfire do need to be managed. But putting the proverbial "fox" in charge of the "hen house" is not the way to do it.
Sometimes it's better to just STFU and remain silent, but you don't seem to have the sense to tell you that.
September 11th, 2020 at 6:31 PM ^
Reporting from Clackamas County Oregon... it is terrible out here, looks like the end of times
I live a couple of miles from where the Clackamas River hits the Willamette River. The Clackamas River Valley has one of the huge fires called the Riverside fire and this was moving down quickly in this river valley early in the week due to strong Easterly winds. I have been under evacuation warning since Monday, car is packed with all my survival gear and ready to go. Fortunate enough to not have had to evacuate.
It is odd for me to turn on CNN or Fox and see the coverage knowing if a Trump fan and a black lives matter supporter spit on each other a few miles down the road in Portland that they'd be covering it with all kinds of expert panels. Yet we have 10% of Oregon under some type of evacuation level and the only news source I've seen actually covering it is PBS. As expected.
To answer your question about the future, I moved up here from California partly because I feel this is a much better place to live in an era of global warming. I also think you folks in Michigan are in a relatively good place. My home in California was in the Sierras and I watched the fires get worse every year. I loved living there, was an hour from skiing, had bears in my yard and it was absolutely beautiful. Took a lot for me to pull the trigger and move the family up here. Even after this event I am still happy to live here. If you are an outdoors person (I love to ski), this area is great. I love the west in general. I also believe in climate change and am prepared to adjust my life accordingly. I am starting to wonder if I made a smart choice to turn down that job in Mainz Germany last year, but it is hard to beat living in the Portland area even if this event really sucks.
September 11th, 2020 at 7:16 PM ^
I'm hosting my family at my house who evacuated from Clackamas County. This is supposed to be a once in a generation event, so hang in there. This is indeed a great place to live if you love the outdoors - just don't tell too many more Californians about it.
September 11th, 2020 at 7:21 PM ^
thanks dude, I was actually going to head to the Clackamas town center and open part of my house to a needy family who has evacuated.... at least let a camper park on my property
September 11th, 2020 at 7:29 PM ^
If you are on Facebook, go to the "The Wildfires in Clackamas County" page where people are posting needs and offer to help. Sad to see such damage in people's lives, but encouraging to see so many people willing to sacrificially help.
September 12th, 2020 at 8:54 AM ^
The problem is that those once in a generation events are happening every few years now. Not just forest fires, but floods, etc.
September 11th, 2020 at 6:42 PM ^
It's just long term controlled community spread..oh wait thought this was another Covid thread.
Sorry, this is a climate change denial discussion...my bad.
/s
September 11th, 2020 at 6:50 PM ^
SF went from bizarre orange hellscape with relatively breathable air on Wednesday to ashy gray unbreathable haze/fog today.
The fires themselves aren't near the city; we're not really in any danger of that (unlike surrounding areas). However, there's a tremendous amount of smoke and ash in the air, and it's likely to remain for the next few days. It seems the smoke and ash tend to flow toward the Golden Gate, so our air quality often sucks when there are large fires anywhere within a couple hundred miles.
Stunningly, it seems things are even worse up in Oregon/Washington. Feel for you guys.
Stay safe everyone. Man, all this crap sucks.
September 11th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
I lived in the Bay Area for about a decade and the pictures I've been seeing on the news of San Francisco are just crazy... I feel you guys have had it pretty bad too
September 11th, 2020 at 7:36 PM ^
It's not been great, that's for sure. SF has done a really good job (mostly) fending off Covid, but it's been a tough summer for sure.
Fire and pestilence - keep the damn locusts away, please! And frogs!
September 11th, 2020 at 7:10 PM ^
Here's the map in my County just outside of Portland
September 11th, 2020 at 7:23 PM ^
I am a member of that Milwaukie Elks being used as an evacuation center. You must be OK if you are on the net?
I am in the green area on that map just above Oregon City
September 11th, 2020 at 7:27 PM ^
I'm in Lake Oswego - also still a green area. We're doing fine but a lot of people in Clackamas County have lost so much. I work in EMS/Fire and emergency medicine and have spent the last 3 days trying to help save the universe through Zoom calls from Fire Dept conference rooms.
September 11th, 2020 at 11:39 PM ^
I live close to both you and Western. Good to know there are some wolverines nearby.
It’s absolutely horrific here. The air quality is at dangerous levels, and we’re pretty concerned about our toddler. Luckily we have an expensive HEPA filter we can run in his room at night.
Hope you guys stay safe! Have to just hunker down until this passes, but I’m heartbroken for those who have lost loved ones and/or homes.
September 11th, 2020 at 7:32 PM ^
Good luck to all of you and stay safe.
It looks like you could get a little rain next week which will hopefully help some. The big Pacific storms out of the Gulf of Alaska appear mainly headed for BC for the next two weeks. Hopefully one of those drops south as you really need a big fall rain maker to get this under control. Winter can't get here soon enough out west.
September 11th, 2020 at 7:25 PM ^
In case you haven't seen it, drone footage of SF during the orange hellscape set to music from BladeRunner2049:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_m9TUP_t_Y
That's normally during peak daylight hours, too.
September 11th, 2020 at 11:02 PM ^
edited: I am embarrassed by my drunken stoned rant of last night
heading back to see how I can help
September 11th, 2020 at 11:57 PM ^
I appreciate your sentiment. Thank you for helping out. My wife and I are going to help out at the convention center this weekend.
September 11th, 2020 at 11:58 PM ^
Good for you and your Elks for helping people out.
I mentioned it above, but I live really close to you in the PDX area. This year has been overwhelming in so many fucking ways, and I understand what you are trying to say (even if I don’t totally understand all of it).
Hang in there Western.
September 12th, 2020 at 12:57 AM ^
My son works at Squaw Valley...lives in Truckeee, CA...for the second time he is out of work. First from covid, now the fire smoke is too thick for outdoor dining....i told him it's time to come back east...÷
September 12th, 2020 at 1:58 AM ^
It'll take a lot of convincing. There's nothing like Tahoe out east. S--- valley (soon to be renamed) is one of the premier ski resorts in North America. Tough to give up that lifestyle.
September 12th, 2020 at 2:33 AM ^
There will be better years.
September 12th, 2020 at 5:44 AM ^
They need to double penalties for arson.
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/09/man-arrested-charged-with-arso…
September 12th, 2020 at 8:48 AM ^
I am absolutely convinced that climate change is happening, but I also believe that environmentalists are forever trying to pick up pieces of shit by the clean ends. There is no perfect answer to our energy needs; all of them require some sort of compromise.
Personally, I think nuclear is the best answer for the foreseeable future in terms of the net environmental impact, economics, and availability. Unless we dramatically increase battery storage capacity (or some equivalent that allows us to store the energy produced on sunny/windy days) wind and solar will never achieve the minimum level of assurance of supply we need. However, batteries come with their own drawbacks, not the least of which is the kind of materials they use. Cobalt, as just one example, does not come from places with nice people to strike deals with, and those same people aren't too particular about things like human rights, child labor, etc.
September 12th, 2020 at 9:26 AM ^
Completely agree on nuclear being the long-term answer.
Speaking of wind, my FIL was telling me that those giant windmill blades only have a shelf life of about 20 years, and they're not recyclable, so apparently we have a giant graveyard for them somewhere in Montana. I have not researched this myself, and he admittedly gets most of his news from Facebook, but it wouldn't surprise me if this is true. Environmentalists always omit key details.
September 12th, 2020 at 10:07 AM ^
Environmentalists always omit key details.
Nearly everyone does that to suit their purposes. Not really fair to just toss that at "environmentalists" feet like that.
I have no idea whether what you posted is true, or not, but they're made of steel so why wouldn't the metal by recycled? It just doesn't make any sense to me, logically.
September 12th, 2020 at 11:03 AM ^
Turbine blades are not made of steel, they are made of composite materials that are hard to recycle.
September 12th, 2020 at 11:33 AM ^
This is correct: they are typically manufactured from carbon fiber materials that are cured in gigantic autoclaves (basically, ovens). They are more durable than most metals, do not decay, are are just about the most inorganic things you can imagine. But, hey, "free energy."
September 12th, 2020 at 1:46 PM ^
I will now sit in the corner and STFU
September 12th, 2020 at 12:41 PM ^
As I noted earlier in this thread I am becoming more and more bullish on hydrogen. I’m an engineer who works on energy policy issues and for the 20 years that I’ve been working on climate policy, nuclear and carbon capture and storage have been held out as the answer, billion dollar projects (see Southern - Vogtle, and Santee Cooper for nuclear and Southern Kemper - for carbon capture) have been multi billion dollar failures. At the same time, the price of technologies like wind, storage, solar and hydrogen keep coming down. f you look at the projects industry is investing in widely, it’s not nuclear.
We absolutely need to get much better about waste disposal problems for almost every technology we use, but to say that is on environmentalists is missing the big picture. Industry doesn’t focus on it, policy rarely encourages it. Until the republican party gets back in the game and starts focusing on market mechanisms to solve environmental problems, we’re going to be left with less than ideal solutions. When you have just one party focused on solving the problem of climate change, it is not surprising that not enough energy goes to real solutions to secondary impacts like waste issues.
I am at least marginally hopeful about small scale nuclear, but that industry needs to deliver on some of its promises before people are going to be willing to bankroll more billion dollar projects. Even if the small modular nuclear reactor project being planned in Idaho happens by 2029 (a big if in my mind), the pace with which hydrogen development is happening may mean that the nuclear industry has come in a day late and a dollar short yet again.
September 12th, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
If dumbasses keep doing stupid gender reveals without taking precautions, wildfires are inevitable.