If that area is so staunchly Republican, what has happened to them taking "responsibility" for themselves and building FIREPROOF homes? Aren't they the ones that spout off all the time about how people should not expect others to bail them out when the going gets tough?
Actually, they need help just like everyone else does. I just wish they would admit we ALL need help now and then.
It's not that hard to build homes that won't burn, but it IS more expensive to begin with. In the long run, it would be cost-effective were burning happens often, as it does in that area.
Perhaps the Latino/Mexican way of building stucco homes is very practical after all. They won't burn, you can stay in them protected from the fires, and they are cool in the heat.
The Media Burn California Again
Why do networks send national correspondents to California who apparently know nothing about the place? Or prefer to perpetuate stereotypes about those who live here that telegraph such an embarrassing level of ignorance?
I am speaking in particular here of CNN's Rick Sanchez. Last night, while watching CNN's coverage of the wildfires engulfing Southern California, I happened to catch Sanchez's curious report from one of the fire zones. Sanchez appeared to be dumbfounded by the idea that Californians, whom he breathlessly described as most familiar to Americans as "laidback, Chardonnay-drinking, quiche-eating" hedonists, were helping each other through perhaps the state's worst natural disaster.
By then nearly half a million Californians had been forced to evacuate their homes. "You had better call your brother," my husband phoned to tell me at around 3 pm on Monday, as the Witch Creek fire began to merge with the blaze raging in Rancho Santa Fe, where my brother and sister-in-law live. By then 12,000 San Diegans were camped out at Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley, San Diego State University and the University of San Diego had been closed, residents were being told to stay home, to keep the freeways open for firefighting crews, and the damage in San Diego County alone was edging toward $1 billion. By then the fires raged from north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border and the smoke was so heavy in the Los Angeles air near where I live, where miraculously there were no fires, that the skies were gun-metal gray.
"It hurts when I breathe," my daughter said yesterday afternoon, standing out on our driveway and surveying the bleak sky. "I'm going back in."
Only four months before, I had watched flames licking up the verdant, heavily forested hillsides of Griffith Park during that devastating fire. My daughter's school happens to be adjacent to the park, and all afternoon I anxiously watched the fierce winds, praying for them to die. Her school was not evacuated, but because Los Feliz was blocked off the 5, it had taken me nearly two hours of maneuvering on surface streets to get to her.
My point is that Californians are conversant in the ways of fire, in how we manage it or not, in ways that tourists like Rick Sanchez are not.
But Sanchez is hardly alone in the media in his ignorance, or in his callous exploitation of a tragedy for professional gain. Conservative radio host Glenn Beck apparently has never set foot in San Diego County, one of the most staunch Republican strongholds in the country. Otherwise, how could he have declared on his show Monday: "There is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing homes in a forest fire today."
Where do they get these notions? Is it something in the rarified East Coast air?
To be fair, the coverage of the California fires hasn't been all mindless stereotypes and stupidity. The best and most sophisticated coverage has come from local reporters who actually know the territory, can speak authoritatively of the Santa Anas, can compare the Cedar Fire of 2003 with the Witch Fire of 2007, who know that Julian is in San Diego County and that the 5 is the major artery connecting Mexico to Los Angeles. Who know the people of this remarkably diverse state.
Last night I also happened to catch a local reporter's moving interview with a young Hispanic woman who had fled the fire in Lake Arrowhead. She and her husband had started walking down the mountain strolling their baby when a car pulled up. Did the woman and her family want a ride? asked the driver. At this point in her story, the young woman looked at the reporter and smiled. "I said, Oh, yes! Thank you!"
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I'm sick of all this pontificating from the know-it-alls. It's our own fault, we don't know what we're doing, we got what we deserved, blah blah blah.
We don't just have fires in California, we also have earthquakes. You hear on the news about devastating earthquakes around the world, with major loss of life and property damage. Then there's a quake here, same magnitude or higher, with nowhere near the level of devastation. Why? Because of our building codes. Construction here has to comply with very strict building specifications. When they don't, you get what we had in the Northridge quake. Remember the photos? Two identical apartment buildings, side-by-side. One stayed up, the other collapsed (and where most of the fatalities occurred). The difference? One of the builders' violated the building codes, cheating on the specifications to save a few bucks.
Now, if you know of a way to build that will withstand earthquakes nor burn to the ground, I'm sure we'd all like to hear it.
Today's media coverage of major events is yet another example of the "dumbing" down of America. My wife and I were visiting relatives in southern California when the Santa Ana winds and subsequent fires hit, and the reporting, even by the locals was abysmal. It was hard to get any real information about what was happening and where. The reporters give the impression of just not being very good at their jobs. They seem more like entertainers than journalists. If you want hard info the internet is a better source for information. As for the stereotyping of California and other states for that matter - that has been going on for years and yes journalists should not engage in that crap but they can't seem to resist. As a Californian, I've always wondered why the rest of the country looks down on wine drinkers, as if the only good beverage to drink is Budweiser or something like that. And what's wrong with Quiche? Better to have a grilled cheese sandwich? What it seems to reflect are long held prejudices in this country against anything that smells "intellectual" which is associated with wine drinking and quiche. Or maybe it is Franco phobia or both. It's all kind of silly when you realize how homogeneous this country has become with a Starbucks in every mall in the U.S. and McDonalds criss crossing the country. And of course the stereotyping of California is nothing compared to the media stereotyping of what happened in the aftermath of Katrina. That was particulary appalling. T.V. journalism as a profession is rapidly falling to the level of respect that car salesman get.
I am very much sick at heart to hear of anyone losing their home. A home is something special that money cannot replace. As literature dictates "Home is a place where you can go to die and nobody can turn you away" I wish only good luck for those who have lost so much.
So we're all rich, those of us who lost (or almost lost) our homes in the fire.Get educated people.We're retired middle income folks who scrimped and saved to buy our modest mountain home.This is the 2nd time in 4 years we've just missed getting burned out.Here in CA neighbors help neighbors and the evac centers are a good example.outpouring of aid has been great! We're PA transports but after 50 + years,CA is our home and we'd never live anywhere else. Fire,floods,earthquakes or whatever you throw our way,we'll pick up the pieces and put ourselves back together.Thanks to those who help us and for those of you who think we're spoiled tofu and chardonney drinkers--to hell with you ! You sure don't know our heart.
There is a general feeling of sadness for what"s happening to the counties suffering from the devastation, but we here in the Los Angeles flats feel relief that we chose to live where we do. We are getting remnants of ash on the wind, the air " which in the best of times sucks " is heavy and unhealthful and it"s hot¦or feels hot.
San Diego, Santa Barbara, Malibu, etc are a scenic tragedy. Not that I"ve been there, but seeing it on TV like everyone else, you can"t not empathize with the loss of belongings, animals and habitat. I, for one, feel badly for those who have lost homes and prized possessions, but they chose to live where there is a "view" no matter the consequences¦which are many. Developers and scenic hungry people have increased the probability of being in the way of the fires " both natural and man-made, which one or two of the fires have been estimated to be. The loss of wild animal life has to be overwhelming compared to now three human fatalities, but so little is said about that. I tend to worry more for the horses left in corrals, cows left in fields, wild animals not fast enough to out run the rapid moving flames. Call me mad (and some do), but they are the real victims who never had a choice where to live.
So, that"s the update from the bowels of hell. The good news is that the winds have died down and many of the fires are contained. There are still fires that pose concerns so it isn"t over by a long shot. Oh, and some sub-human scumbag has already been arrested for allegedly starting one of the fires the last I heard.
News from the bowels of hell.
You are right on !! All theses things are pressing problems.In our little mt.community,part of the Grass Valley fire,S.B.County which is our seat of government has consistently approved development of McMansions here on the mt. This despite the fact that we basically have only one way out in the event of a catastrophe, our water table falls every year, and that the community shows up in droves to protest development.This is what is known as MONEY TALKS.And being the biggest County in the state, S.B. always weighs MONEY against what is best for the area.Until the community can get control of land use,infrastructure and public safety, we will continue to be at the mercy of what nature throws at us. San Diego has had a Fire Captain quit because the City refused to give him the money for the resources the City desperately needed as evidenced by the Cedar fire in 2003.The good citizens of San Diego voted down a tax increase to provide equipment and new fire stations AFTER the Cedar fire.This VERY Republican county takes pride in supporting Mr. Bush's "no tax increase" for anything.Until we change those things we will continue to suffer.
Overdevelopment
water table
public corruption
bad planning
????
""Why do networks send national correspondents to California who apparently know nothing about the place? Or prefer to perpetuate stereotypes about those who live here that telegraph such an embarrassing level of ignorance?"
Don't know; but I attended the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the same gang of media idiots was there, with the same 'don't bother us with the facts' attitude.
I do hope they stayed sober more often in California this week than they did in Atlanta, though that wouldn't require much more than, say, drinking 15 hours a day rather than 18.
POTUS visits San Diego while the fires still go on. To protect POTUS they stop all firefighting flight operations - can't have anything flying.
So, for his little political show, more people will be damaged.
Amazing just how damaging and ineffective he is.
There is a word used in the intelligence community popularized by Chalmers Johnson that describes the unintended consequences of actions pursued: blowback.
Everything about the fires reeks of hubris, and the expensive homes that burned to the ground are symbolic of that. Now who in their right minds would want to build a house in an area that is obviously prone to fires and other natural disasters?
Hubris, sheer hubris.
My family's been in California since 1851. We've been through everything Mother Nature has to offer. And we're still here.
Every time we've had a major earthquake, there have been stories of transplants fleeing the state because they can't take it.
It's not hubris to be able to take the bad (fires, earthquakes, floods) with the good (spectacular scenery, supportive neighbors and friends). It's strength of will and determination and good old-fashioned pioneer spirit.
If the homes are expensive, why on earth don't they build them in ways that are fireproof? Makes NO sense.
I live in Idaho but I once lived in San Francisco and I generally love California. I've been watching the fires with some concern ( I have Family and friends in the area) and I think Californians are doing just fine. Most of the dissing of California and those who live there is nothing more than jealousy coupled with ignorance.
Some day maybe I'll be able to move back. Northern, CA would be my choice. In my experience the people who "flee" California and those who constantly dis all things Californian are not the kind of people who you want to live with anyway. Personally, I think California should secede from the Union.
The 'they' that is always criticizing and making fun of California; exactly which state are they comparing it to? Alabama?, New Jersey? Tennessee? Florida? Where is this model state that California compares unfavorably to? California has it all. Beaches. Skiing. Lake Tahoe. Death Valley. Hollywood. San Francisco open your Golden Gate. Berkeley. We don't need no stinking rest of the country. For what?
Right on. I live in the Bay Area and it is among the best places in the state, which is the best in the country!
Count me in on the movement for secession... let's see: CA--big tax donor state that gets screwed by Washington constantly.
Cheers...
uglicoyote
as a 2nd generation californio
i couldn't agree more.
i just wish the people who "flee" to California would "flee" back out.
a population of 38 mil is about 30 mil to many
By the way, that "dumpster dog" mentality DOES NOT apply to the many thousands of individual Americans and charities (AND Louisianians themselves) that stepped up, and are continuing to step up, to help down here. If it weren't for them, those folks on rooftops would now be so many bleached skeletons, the remnants of their tattered clothing flapping like battle flags of the vanquished.
Americans are WONDERFUL. It's America I worry about.
Well is it as bad as Fox reporting on almost every program that Al-Quiada were responsible for the fires, because of a 4 year old memo.
I lived in California. The developers are building in what used to be called rattle snake country, in the foothills. And face it So Cal is a desert where there will always be these types of fires. They need to look at their land use rules and change them. What bothers me is that all our insurance rates will go up now because of these million dollar houses, that really are way overpriced. I know that probably some middle class homes burnt also, but having lived out there a middle class income does not buy these houses. Housing is a joke there, no one can afford a house anymore. California is a beautiful state to visit but try to live there. It is too expensive.
The irony of that is that if you cut down on the amount of land that's free to build property on, the price of the homes that are there will get even worse.
Good post. What's amazing is that this natural disaster that happens almost every year, catches some East-coasters and all of the news media by surprise.
Southern California is a well-watered desert (Almost nothing would grow there if it wasn't watered daily) that receives around 13 inches of rain in the LA area and around 9.90 inches of rain in the San Diego area PER YEAR. Compare these rainfall totals to cities like Washington DC " 38.63 inches, Seattle - 38 inches, and Orlando, FL - 48.11 inches. Even with drastically lower amounts of rain this year - only 2 inches of rain in LA - the conditions are ALWAYS ripe for fire between March and October when the average rainfall for that period is around 1 inch of rain. (Statistics from http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/normrain.html )
With that said, this natural disaster should not catch anyone by surprise and state and local officials should be continuously prepared for it.
What should also come as no shock to many is the fact that the media have nothing better to do than make a spectacle out of this terrible thing that is affecting the lives of so many. I've watched countless news reports that make the claim that the conditions are just so bad this year...well, that may be true, but it happens almost every year, therefore, it is more common than they will admit. But, then again, if they admit that they would have to go back to reporting on Ellen Degeneres.
And let's not forget that the majority of these fires were deliberately started by arsonists who wait and prepare for the annual fall Santa Anas to set them. This is *fire season*, and it happens every single year. The primary reason for the huge amount of acreage burned is 1) well-meaning environmental-protection laws that prohibit brush-clearing and thus result in a huge build-up of dry tinder; and, 2) lack of manpower/funding to do the necessary brush clearing where it is not prohibited. Add all that fuel, wind, arson, perhaps some a-hole who thoughtlessly throws his lit cigarette-butt out his car window while driving through a canyon, and the NORMAL dryness of this time of year together...and this is what results. Now that the wind has died down, the fires will too.
Global warming is a problem, but the fires are a natural cleansing process that have been around forever.
Glenn Beck is yet another example of why we have the global reputation of "hating" one another and therefore, hating everyone else, and, display it admirably by stormtrooping, torturing and killing. Californians have shown fortitude and great resilience against a terrible firestorm. Wouldn't it have been great though, if we were'nt in Iraq and had all the resources of National Guardsman and military available?
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Posted October 24, 2007 | 04:46 PM (EST)