[Tig] SoCal Fires - no posts?

[Rob Lingelbach]

On Oct 24, 2007, at 1:45 PM, Jim Houston wrote:

> While there are 5000+ homes right on the edge of the fire, this is a
> problem
> throughout the West now because people are building in areas in which
> there are known fires every decade or two.

Short memories, as also happens with building in earthquake zones.   
Mike Davis' book "City of Quartz" and also McPhee's "Control of  
Nature" are excellent resources explaining the dangerous and at times  
absurd development in Southern California.   McPhee's focus is more  
on debris flows from the San Gabriels, which sometimes leave boulders  
several miles from their origin, and points out the the San Gabes are  
rising a few inches a year, so are very young mountains and quite  
'active' geologically.

There is also a cycle at work in Southern California that starts with  
drought for about 8-9 months in the summer and fall; then fires; then  
debris flows from the ensuing rainy season that are sometimes more  
dangerous than the fires because they can't be stopped, and occur  
because the slopes of the hills are denuded by the fires.  A flight  
over the San Gabriels shows debris flow catch basins at the mouths of  
almost every canyon, and many of them are already filled, so are  
fairly useless during large events.   Living anywhere in the bottom  
of a canyon or at the mouth of one which experiences periodic fires  
is asking for trouble.

> Too many of these fires started suspiciously, so there were some clear
> copy-cat arsonists at work.

Joseph Wambaugh's book about LA's most famous arsonist is a good  
start at realizing where some of these arsonists get their training.

(disclaimer: I don't sell books, I instead share them with my  
friends :) )
--
Whenever people agree with me I sense I must be wrong.  [Oscar Wilde]
Rob Lingelbach   rob at estudiosmega.com.br
http://www.colorist.org