Firefighters slam Trump’s illogical tweet about out-of-control California fires

TwitterFacebook

As thousands of firefighters battled uncontrolled flames in both Northern and Southern California on Saturday, President Trump tweeted out an ill-informed, distorted message about the cause of these deadly autumn infernos. 

But the firefighting community quickly rebutted the president’s rash claims, wherein he blamed “gross mismanagement of the forests,” while also threatening to cut federal support to fire management efforts. 

There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 Read more…

More about Science, Global Warming, Climate Change, Wildfires, and President Trump

View More Firefighters slam Trump’s illogical tweet about out-of-control California fires

Elon Musk is playing superhero again. This time with the California wildfires.

TwitterFacebook

As California’s deadly wildfires rage on, none other than billionaire SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk has come forth to offer help once again.

Just after midnight (ET) on Saturday morning, Musk took to Twitter (where else?) to offer help from his electric vehicle company Tesla, which is based in the state.

“If Tesla can help people in California wildfire, please let us know,” he tweeted. “Model S & X have hospital grade HEPA filters. Maybe helpful for transporting people.”

If Tesla can help people in California wildfire, please let us know. Model S & X have hospital grade HEPA filters. Maybe helpful for transporting people.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2018 Read more…

More about Tesla, Elon Musk, Wildfires, California Wildfires, and Tech

View More Elon Musk is playing superhero again. This time with the California wildfires.

How California erupted in flames overnight

TwitterFacebook

Newly-born fires torched bone-dry Northern and Southern California throughout the night of November 8. One deadly blaze in particular, the Camp Fire, ripped through 70,000 acres in just 24 hours. 

“It’s incredible,” Michael Gollner, a fire scientist at the University of Maryland, said of the uncontrollable Northern California wildfire. “I don’t know if I want to say unprecedented — but it’s getting close to that. It’s incredibly rare.” 

“That blows your mind,” Brenda Belongie, lead meteorologist of the U.S. Forest Service’s Predictive Services in Northern California, said in an interview.That impresses us in the industry.”  Read more…

More about Science, California, Climate Change, Wildfires, and California Wildfires

View More How California erupted in flames overnight

Violent fire vortex sucks up a firehose in dramatic video. What happened?

TwitterFacebook

Thousands of miles away from the deadly deluges brought by the now-tropical depression Florence, wildland firefighters are still battling extreme blazes out West. 

An intense video posted to Instagram on Sunday shows a firefighting crew’s violent meeting with a large fire vortex, known scientifically as a fire whirl. 

Wildland firefighter M.C. Schidlowsky — whose Instagram handle is mar.lowsky — posted the video taken in British Columbia, showing the vortex sucking a firehose up into the churning winds. 

The crew was powerless to pull the heavy hose back. One firefighter, after the vortex ripped the hose away, hurled a rock at the fire, seemingly in frustration. Read more…

More about Science, Firefighters, Wildfires, Science Video, and Fire Whirl

View More Violent fire vortex sucks up a firehose in dramatic video. What happened?

We have some bad news about the future of the terrible wildfires in the Western U.S.

The flames scorching the Western U.S. aren’t expected to relent anytime soon. 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gave its monthly U.S. climate report on Thursday, and they used the opportunity to show that the next coupl…

View More We have some bad news about the future of the terrible wildfires in the Western U.S.

How long does it take for today’s violent wildfires to go out?

TwitterFacebook

When a massive wildfire erupts in the United States today, it can leap over formidable rivers, produce whirling tornados of flame, and cause tens of thousands of people to flee. 

These modern infernos — enhanced by a warming climate that makes for profoundly parched land — are burning over twice as much land than they were in the early 1980s, breaking all-time records

After flames spread over tens or hundreds of thousands of acres, it can take quite a bit of time for the fire to finally go out. How long, exactly?

The length of any individual fire can vary quite a bit, Stephen Pyne, a fire historian at Arizona State University, explained in an interview. But more telling numbers can be seen in a decades-long, growing trend. On average, individual fires today burn for a significantly longer time than they used to.    Read more…

More about Science, Global Warming, Climate Change, Wildfires, and California Wildfires

View More How long does it take for today’s violent wildfires to go out?