posted on October 30, 2003 05:46:33 AM new
Good direction, austbounty!
There is a good thread here uninterupted by political agendas of those unable to suspend their bitter hate in order to consider a disaster with the appropriate attention that it deserves.
Helen
And another thread here also started by Jackswebb.
posted on October 30, 2003 07:54:39 AM newThere is a good thread here uninterupted by political agendas of those unable to suspend their bitter hate in order to consider a disaster with the appropriate attention that it deserves.
Yes, helen it was very nice of **YOU** not to continue to use every thread possible, no matter what the topic is, to post one of your Bush hating statements.
I'm sure they all appreciated you holding back on your urges this time.
posted on October 28, 2003 11:38:57 AM The news isn't reporting much about the fire....They are too busy trying to spread Bush's lies and propaganda about how positive the war is now that attacks and killings are increasing. [i]Helen
posted on October 30, 2003 04:04:48 PM new
I think it’s fair to inject criticism of eg. Bush into a discussion like this one: IF his actions or lack of are central to the problem. Just as if Clinton put in place a policy, which still contributes in a negative way to the problem of these fires.
I’m sure I have failed at many times, but I do try to keep politics out when we discussing issues like
A Prayer is needed for baby sara
An issue which requires a stretch of imagination to attribute fault to the actions of any political group.
Only Humane & Positive Comments by all, even heathens like me and Reverend Colin; including the other ‘extremists’.
Linda_K
miscreant
Helenjw
kraftdinner
fenix03
CBlev65252
gravid
Which finished with original poster saying
[b]“I am going to share this message with the parents, so they may see that total strangers gave from their hearts.
Thanks again to everyone.”[/b]
I’ll bet anything that the parents of this child were touched in a positive way.
Even 12 and I need to get in touch with our ‘feminine’ side some time.
At my kids’ school, when a small child has a problem, the little girls seem to be the first to offer real support and ‘us’ boys, more often only taunt.
Anyhow; Hug A Fire Victim Today;
OTHERWISE: I think it’s natural for people to feel as though Justice, Humanity and their God have turned their backs on then at times like these.
Last News report Here; and believe me that we are getting quite a few, told me that over 2400 Houses and 20 Human Lives have been lost, but changing weather conditions are expected to have a positive effect.
Check out this BS from Insurers & Get Ready For More!!!
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/7126282.htm
“"We want to pay for everything we owe, but we don't want to be in a situation where everyone is claiming they owned a Picasso," Yeah RiiiGHT!!
said Dan Dunmoyer, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California. The trade group represents carriers that sell about 40 percent of California's homeowners coverage.
Send This Link To Your Friends Along with that important Hug.
posted on October 30, 2003 04:17:23 PM new
When you guys telephone a big corporation; do you get the recording saying
“This call may be monitored for training or other purposes”…we do.
Call me paranoid, BUT, I ALWAYS, begin my calls to such companies of which I may anticipate future problems with…
“I DO NOT WISH TO HAVE THIS CALL MONITORED”
As I understand it, Failure to do so can result in my recorded voice being lawfully used against me.
posted on October 30, 2003 04:32:44 PM new
Again;
If I anticipate future problems with any company, I will not only take note of the time of phone call, but also ask for the telephonist’s name.
Many Companies do not obligate their staff to give their surname,
All you get is , Jane or Sue or Jack etc,, in that case I will ask ‘Which Call Centre they are in’, because they may often be in another state or even country.
Armed with such information can only help your case, in future dealings.
Unfortunately these companies often stick a young pretty face at the counter, and you are made to feel like a jerk for complaining.
Side Tip & Joke:
I once bought a new defective computer, finally got refund, (after 2 months).
Customer ‘service’ rep, told me .. ‘Look…I only work here’
I told him…
“Well George....Why don’t you fax me a copy of the company logo and I can scream at that instead”
I think he got my point.
I mentioned George Bush NOT in relation to the fire issue but rather as an aside when I commented that on my news channel, there was not much being reported that day about the fire because the propaganda war spin by George Bush was taking center stage. That will be clear to everyone who reads this thread.
BTW...Your link for the prayer thread is not working. It's Pray for Baby Sara
posted on October 30, 2003 05:15:48 PM new
Because of light rains, lighter winds, higher humidity and cooler temps fire teams are finally getting an oportunity to cut new fire breaks which they have not had an opportunity to do since the beginning. Parts of Julian have been lost but the town has fared much better than other surrounding areas. Some of the little towns you may have driven thru such as Cuyamaca and Kentwood in the Pines have suffered monumental losses. There really has not been much mention of the apple orchards but I that may be becuase they have some built in protection in the form of their irrigation systems.
There is some incredible new footage from static cameras that caught the fire in it's early stages. They showed it tonight in the news in timelapse where you can see the the growth and spread of the fire and the effect of the Santa Anas. There are two fires different that were captured by these this type of footage and DVDs were given out to press members so I'm sure it will make the national news tomorrow. Keep an eye out for them, the footage is just amazing to watch.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
FEMA spent six months studying the governor's request, then turned it down hours before fires began, saying state was already getting funds.
SACRAMENTO — The Bush administration took six months to evaluate Gov. Gray Davis' emergency request last spring for $430 million to clear dead trees from fire-prone areas of Southern California.
The request was finally denied Oct. 24, only hours before wildfires roared out of control in what has become the largest fire disaster in California history.
Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs), a leader in the effort to get federal assistance for fire prevention, questioned Thursday why the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not rule sooner.
"FEMA's decision was wrong," Bono said. "The timing couldn't have been worse.... We knew this disaster was going to happen with certainty. It was only a matter of when, and we were trying to beat the clock with removing the dead trees."
If Davis had received the denial earlier, Bono said, he would have had time to wage an appeal.
FEMA spokesman Chad Kolton said the agency denied Davis' request for an emergency declaration because California was already receiving more than $40 million from the departments of Agriculture and Interior to deal with a bark beetle infestation that has damaged thousands of acres of forest in the San Bernardino Mountains.
"Federal agencies were already engaged in a very substantive way," Kolton said. "Federal assistance was already being provided."
Davis' request, made in a letter to President Bush dated April 16, took months to process, Kolton said, because "we obviously wanted to consider this issue very carefully."
Members of the California congressional delegation were informed of FEMA's decision in an e-mail last Friday, after some of the fires were already burning. Kolton said Davis' Sacramento office was also notified of the decision verbally and in a faxed letter.
In that letter FEMA offered no explanation for why it had taken six months to rule.
"FEMA recognizes the difficulty that the state of California and affected local governments are facing," wrote Michael D. Brown, undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response.
"After a careful review of the information contained in your request, the authorities granted to [Department of Agriculture] and [Department of Interior], and the resources they have already committed to the state, it has been determined that the federal assistance through FEMA is not warranted."
Bono said she had no warning that FEMA was poised to reject the state's request. She said the Southern California fires — which so far have killed 20 people and destroyed 2,612 homes in San Diego, Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties — underscore the need for changes in forestry management policies to more easily allow dead trees to be thinned from fire-prone forests. She said that even if the emergency declaration had been made and money approved, "there was no infrastructure in place to remove the trees quickly."
[ edited by Helenjw on Nov 1, 2003 07:19 AM ]
posted on November 1, 2003 06:50:28 AM new
yes fenix - That is WONDERFUL news. Received an email from a friend in Cupertino, CA. yesterday, saying it was the first rain they'd had since May. [They aren't in the fire area].
-----------
And now new blame is being leveled about, why when the fire in San Diego first started the 'waiting' helicopters, weren't ordered to start dropping water on the hot spots. The way I understood it was they were right there waiting for their orders to start....but were ordered down.
posted on November 1, 2003 08:38:01 AM new
Much of British Columbia's interior where the bad forest fires were this year is a very arid landscape and they normally have long hot, dry summers with very little rainfall. There was no snow pak for about four years.
There have been no controlled burns for many years and there was lots of debris on the forest floor. As more and more people move away from the cities in the lower mainland they build homes in the interior and tend to go further up the treed hillsides. Many do not have a green space around their properties.
I have hiked in many of the areas and the underbrush that has built up over the years is unreal.
This is an interesting article about the fires and the causes and much of it seems to match the situation in California.
posted on November 1, 2003 09:09:11 AM new
Very informative article, kiara. Thank you.
cities in the lower mainland they build homes in the interior and tend to go further up the treed hillsides. Many do not have a green space around their properties.
That statement made me think of what happened when one of our friends here first bought their year-round 9 acre lake-view property. There were many beautiful trees on their land, mostly oak and maple, with a few evergreens mixed in. They had most of them cleared before they began building their home, but did leave almost all the evergreens and a few of the maples and oaks. They did so for exactly the reasons you mention...having more 'green space' around their home....less available fuel in case of fire in this heavily forested area. They are so far away from a firehouse, that when they were building their property they were told to insure it well as it most likely would burn to the ground before the fire department could make there way that far out of town. Many of the locals came unglued. They'd be out on the lake and wondered out loud why anyone would clear the land in such a way. They were complaining how 'bald' that part of the mountain looked.
And then there are those, like my FIL and his wife who bought in the mountains of Prescott, AZ. They wanted to live 'among the trees', right up to the edge of their property...but each and every year their emails speak to their constant worry about a forest fire.
posted on November 1, 2003 01:23:32 PM new
Linda, "having more 'green space' around their home....less available fuel in case of fire. They have to seal their home against the flying embers. Some are the size of footballs or bowling balls and can fly for over a mile.
They were complaining how 'bald' that part of the mountain looked Have you noticed that most of the trees are the same size and age? That's because almost all of the forests in CA and AZ were clearcut and that makes the forest grow back very thick because there is no competition from the large trees and the sapling really take off in the clearings. Old growth forests have much more open space with about 40 trees an acre and the second growth have 300 to 500 trees an acre.
Some of the trees will survive these and become the large old growth trees. This is the natural way of the western forests and the way the open space old growth forests are made. Mans interference is what caused this thick growth although most of the clear-cutting was done over 100 years ago.
and I need to get in touch with our ‘feminine’ side some time.