The smell of smoke from the fires around the LA area is very noticeable

[IcyPeas]

There's a layer of brownish fog covering the valley already. It was pretty windy today too. I wish there was a more effective... quicker way to extinguish these fires.

AI ain't doing nothing to come up with solutions for this!

[Lionel Mandrake]

1. What fires?

Or, rather, where are the fires? Are they in the San Fernando Valley?

[BigmanPigman]

2. There are several burning over the past 2 days...

"All the wildfires burning in Southern California right now: Here’s what to know..."

All the wildfires burning in Southern California right now: Here’s what to know | KTLA https://share.google/WjmZ2ZHOgoraIpVmi

The news of them has been posted on DU for 2 days. The largest ones are the Sandy Fire in Simi Valley, possibly started when a tractor hit a rock and sparked it.

There was the first one reported on the island of Santa Rosa which was started by a stranded boat whose owner tried to signal for help and it started the fire there. I'm sure he will be charged for that idiotic choice.

The winds were blowing from East to West but they changed direction and blew from the South which helped.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3666708

[IcyPeas]

4. The one thats probably affecting the valley is the Simi Valley one

And tomorrow is going to be extremely hot.

[BigmanPigman]

3. The smoke can be smelled in San Diego County, too.

My nose is sensitive and when I smell a fire I get alarmed. They spread so quickly. Two huge fires burned thousands of home in San Diego in 2003 and 2007 (The Cedar Fire and The Witch Fire). Pieces of ash the size of potato chips were on my car. The school where I was a teacher closed for an entire week each time (that had never happened before). The fire jumped over 10 lanes of the freeway. Several teachers lost their homes. I have emergency backpacks ready to go for an earthquake or a fire.

"The 2003 Cedar Fire was a massive wildfire in San Diego County, California, started by a lost hunter in the Cleveland National Forest, which burned over 280,000 acres, destroyed over 2,200 homes, and killed 14 people, including one firefighter. Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, it became one of California's largest and deadliest wildfires, leading to significant changes in fire prevention, technology, and emergency communication systems in the region."

?si=Lou2kNt5I30XDrVN

[IcyPeas]

5. Scares the crap out of me.

The thought of losing absolutely everything you own is devastating.

[BigmanPigman]

6. My first thought was always, "Get the dog and drive out ASAP!"

I don't have kids but my dogs were my babies and they were always my main priority.

To this day the tiniest smell of smoke makes me go into "possible evacuation" mode. Since CA has so many canyons in areas close to downtown/urban structures even those who live in what most people would think are safe areas due to all the concrete, etc fires can still consume many square miles quickly.

I remember one of the fires burning straight to the Pacific Ocean, East to West winds, nothing got in its way, it just ran out of stuff to burn since it couldn't burn water.