CA fire 'victims'

[HardDrive]

[rant]

Anyone else out there think that ****ing morons who build their homes in the dry scrubland hills above LA should be entitled to:

A) A place to sleep on a gymnasium for a couple days

B) A helpful brochure entitled "A facktards guide to not building your ugly McMansion where its going to burn down every year"

C) Nothing else. Not one thin dime of the publics money.

Firefighters are dying because morons want to build their homes in a blast furnace? WTF? WHY does the rest of the country have to see this year after year? Piss off idiots. If Schwartzenuthin asks for federal disaster aid, I am going to blow a valve.

Is it REALLY that difficult to understand?

A) Don't allow development in these fire areas.

B) If you are going to allow development, insist that the developments are surrounded by firebreaks 200 yard across, and all homes have thick gauge metal roofing.

California: Suckin just a little bit harder every day

Disagree with me? Fine, I'm all full of Petite Syrah, and I'll take on the lot of ya.

[/rant]

[McLovin]

I think there are building standards set by the county as to what you can build, where, and what kind of firebreaks are necessary, the level of fire resistance of the roofing material, etc.

So when a house starts burning, I don't really have a problem with firefighters being sent out to try to put it out and save the houses. The house is legally built, and the homeowner should get that service, just like anyone else.

But public funds should NEVER be used to rebuild the house after a fire, or provide any financial aid to the homeowner. That's what insurance is for. And everyone is insured. They are either insured by a third party (i.e. an insurance company), or they are self-insured. Their choice.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

[rant]

Anyone else out there think that ****ing morons who build their homes in the dry scrubland hills above LA should be entitled to:

A) A place to sleep on a gymnasium for a couple days

B) A helpful brochure entitled "A facktards guide to not building your ugly McMansion where its going to burn down every year"

C) Nothing else. Not one thin dime of the publics money.

Firefighters are dying because morons want to build their homes in a blast furnace? WTF? WHY does the rest of the country have to see this year after year? Piss off idiots. If Schwartzenuthin asks for federal disaster aid, I am going to blow a valve.

Is it REALLY that difficult to understand?

A) Don't allow development in these fire areas.

B) If you are going to allow development, insist that the developments are surrounded by firebreaks 200 yard across, and all homes have thick gauge metal roofing.

California: Suckin just a little bit harder every day

Disagree with me? Fine, I'm all full of Petite Syrah, and I'll take on the lot of ya.

[/rant]

And don't you live in a state with the most drunks per capita other than Alaska?

I'll take the fires, mudslides and earthquakes over being whacked at random in the fast lane by some wastoid.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

When your choice is to live in the endless concrete-encapsulated sprawl-hell that is the L.A. basin, choking on the stench of ten million cars and packed in on top of other people in baking, 100+ degree heat for months on end, or to get something resembling a human existence with a back yard, some trees visible, some "personal space" from one's neighbors and the like for your $500,000, I can see why people do it - fires or no fires. It's a risk. Comes with the territory.

When I was in the market for CA property a year or so ago, I refused to look in the urbanized areas even though it made the most sense from a commute/convenience standpoint. I didn't care. And yes, I'd have gladly paid the fire insurance premiums to enjoy a quality of life that didn't make me mental for the 300+ days a year that aren't fire or mudslide season.

For your half-million dollars you can live in a glorified apartment in sweltering urban hell and die a slow death over an extended period of time from the misery of living in a soulless, artificial setting crammed in amongst (mostly stupid) other people and dealing with all the B.S. that comes with urban living, or you can live in something approximating a setting appropriate for human habitation with a small, small chance you MIGHT get unlucky each year and have to evacuate or potentially lose your property.

The "right choice" seemed pretty obvious to me and if I weren't leaving CA, I'd be looking for places on the periphery again tomorrow.

And I completely agree that public money should not go towards rebuilding private property. The people that prepare adequately never seem to have much problems.

[GH85Carrera]

I saw a TV report that mentioned part of the problem was 60 years of fire fighting. Some of the areas have not burned in 60 years and they are FULL of fuel. The perfect storm, no rain and lots of fuel.

No public money to rebuild the homes. But I feel the same way about all the folks that build a house at the edge of the ocean and cry for money when a hurricane wipes them out.

[legion]

I lived in La Verne up until 1989. I remember when the started building in the foothills.

I also remember my dad thinking it was really stupid, but I didn't understand why at the time.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Damn Jeff, tell us how you really feel.

That's the risk they took, I don't feel any pity. Watching CA mansions burn is a yearly TV program, and it never seems to get cancelled.

[charleskieffner]

kickstart kalif's aerospace industry by building MORE JET POWERED SLURRY BOMBERS AND HELOS!

MANDATE CLEARED DEFENSIBLE FIRE SPACE AROUND ALL STRUCTURES!


MORE CONTROLLED BURNS! screw the EPA!

MOVE TO ARIZONA AND SPEND MONEY! what the hell was i thinking??????...........VACATION IN ARIZONA AND SPEND MONEY.............then GO HOME!

[KNS]

Quote:

For your half-million dollars you can live in a glorified apartment in sweltering urban hell and die a slow death over an extended period of time from the misery of living in a soulless, artificial setting crammed in amongst (mostly stupid) other people and dealing with all the B.S. that comes with urban living, or you can live in something approximating a setting appropriate for human habitation with a small, small chance you MIGHT get unlucky each year and have to evacuate or potentially lose your property.


Jeff, you should write for the chamber of commerce.

[Rick V]

The thing that torques my shorts most of all (not just Ca.) is that people build in these areas (where Mother Nature loves to remind you that she is in charge) is that every bodies insurance goes up. Why should I have to pay a higher premium because others chose to live in an unsafe area.

[Hugh R]

I'm sort of one of those people that you are refering to. I live on the edge of civilization at the last house in a 25 home tract. I have 18 acres of brush and another 1,000 or so acres behind me. I have the house insured to $250/sq.ft., have brush cleared out about 200 feet, and am at the bottom of the hills, not the top. I also have a terra cotta roof, but could do with stucco on the house, instead of ship lap wood. If I were to lose my house, I wouldn't look, nor expect the government to rebuild. I also have an evacuation plan with my family and my brother who lives three doors down from me.

[KevinP73]

I'm one of "those" people too. I'd rather deal with the occasional fire than live in the valley.

[gtc]

California may be messed up, but have you tried getting any specialized work done on a 911 without sending your parts down there? Ever tried to find someone local to anodize fuchs? Make a custom oil line? Case work? (ok, so Ollies recently moved out of state) Clean an oil tank or cooler? Distributor rebuild?
For the most part, California is the only place where you can find these services. Why? I have no idea...

[fingpilot]

When I lived in a canyon right behind Burbank airport, regular insurance was not available for fire. There was a state-guaranteed insurance called "The California Fair Plan". It was comparably priced with conventional insurance (had it been available), but came with mandatory fire department inspections for brush and space clearance. If you didn't do it, they would, and send you a bill.

The replacement limits and deductables were less generous as well. But it beat nothin. The place was an 1100 sq/ft tract house, no neighbors behind (the Verdugo mountains), and was nothing special. But a cul-de-sac tree-lined street with the glow of the city lights out every window.

If I caught both red lights on the way to work, it doubled my commute time to 20 minutes.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

CA Fair Plan still exists - it's a lottery-based system for people who cannot get conventional fire insurance and is run/administered by the State Insurance Commissioner's Office (he was on the radio the other day talking about this program).

CA is screwy and true that a lot of car-related businesses are located here, but with every passing day this state does its damnedest to vilify the automobile, overtax businesses and specifically destroy manufacturing-type businesses with regulations, restrictions and the like. For many years, CA has been the home of "car culture", but I foresee that changing in the coming years. CA now hates the automobile, it only likes the money it gets from them - specifically from trying to encourage people to fork over for a new car every few years. CA's love affair with classics and "old cars" is long over. But another subject for another thread I suppose...

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I think there are building standards set by the county as to what you can build, where, and what kind of firebreaks are necessary, the level of fire resistance of the roofing material, etc.

There are standards. And developers lobby every year to get the standards and the requirements lowered, and lowered, and lowered.

Originally Posted by Rick V

The thing that torques my shorts most of all (not just Ca.) is that people build in these areas (where Mother Nature loves to remind you that she is in charge) is that every bodies insurance goes up. Why should I have to pay a higher premium because others chose to live in an unsafe area.

See my above reply, and replace "developers" with "insurance companies."

[KevinP73]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

CA Fair Plan still exists - it's a lottery-based system for people who cannot get conventional fire insurance and is run/administered by the State Insurance Commissioner's Office (he was on the radio the other day talking about this program).

CA is screwy and true that a lot of car-related businesses are located here, but with every passing day this state does its damnedest to vilify the automobile, overtax businesses and specifically destroy manufacturing-type businesses with regulations, restrictions and the like. For many years, CA has been the home of "car culture", but I foresee that changing in the coming years. CA now hates the automobile, it only likes the money it gets from them - specifically from trying to encourage people to fork over for a new car every few years. CA's love affair with classics and "old cars" is long over. But another subject for another thread I suppose...

You're preaching to the choir brother. If all goes well I'll be the next one out of an auto based business and down the road to happier times.

[daepp]

Why do they allow houses to be rebuilt that are flooded year after year?

Last time I was in NOLA, I saw a guy rebuiliding (slab on grade this time as opposed to raised) his house whose yard backed tot he industrial canal. The same one that flooded during Katrina. Probably got federal aid too.

[MOMO3.2]

HardDrive:

Bravo! That was quite a rant.

I am a SoCal native. In fact, I am a 3rd generation Californian. I live in a foothill community that is right below the big "station fire". The smoke, ash, and orangey haze of the sun is starting to get a little old right now. My brother-in-law and his two brothers are all firefighters and have been putting their lives on the line to fight these fires over the past 5 or 6 days.

Perhaps the smoke and ash have weakend my constitution a little or maybe the Petite Syrah gave your rant that little extra ooomph, because I just can't seem to come up with a good response to your argument right now. You win

Here is a photo from my front yard taken yesterday afternoon. There is no more blue sky. It is solid smoke here and the sound of water dropping aircraft overhead is non-stop. I love LA!



Mike

[legion]

Don't you people realize that these fires are the #1 cause of smog in LA?

Why isn't CARB out there fighting these fires?