OT: Update on SoCal Weather

[RU848789]

Pepperdine mitigation and wildfires, including Woolsey fire:

Buildings on Pepperdine’s campus are constructed with fire-resistant materials and the landscaping features fire-resistant plants. Additionally, the university says it ensures brush and other potential fuel for wildfires is cleared at least 200 feet from campus buildings each year, creating firebreaks.

“Our buildings feature fire-resistant materials and irrigation systems that protect the surrounding landscape. Additionally, we maintain defensible space around campus structures and have dedicated water reservoirs for firefighting,” Friel said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/14/us/why-pepperdine-doesnt-evacuate-students-even-when-flames-are-close-to-campus/index.html

Pepperdine University: Here's what happened during the Woolsey Fire

Officials said the shelter-in-place protocols have been successful protocol for two decades

www.desertsun.com

It's really not that hard to fireproof houses from what I've read, but as you noted so many just don't want to do that for aesthetic reasons; these things should be insisted on for any rebuilds. Although, I would imagine these things wouldn't work so well in a very densely populated area, like a city with houses a few feet apart (think NB or Ocean Grove or many others in NJ - fortunately, we usually don't have the low RH and ridiculously high winds combined like they do in the desert - when we have really high winds, most of the time it's associated with precip).

 

[Knight Shift]

It's really not that hard to fireproof houses from what I've read, but as you noted so many just don't want to do that for aesthetic reasons; these things should be insisted on for any rebuilds. Although, I would imagine these things wouldn't work so well in a very densely populated area, like a city with houses a few feet apart (think NB or Ocean Grove or many others in NJ - fortunately, we usually don't have the low RH and ridiculously high winds combined like they do in the desert - when we have really high winds, most of the time it's associated with precip).

There was an Ocean Grove fire with winds, but likely not nearly as intense as Santa Anna winds experienced in the LA area. I highly recommend that documentary Bring Your Own Brigade. As a Londoner, the film maker was shocked but not surprised at the resistance and failure to adopt common sense measures to protect their homes from destruction. She attributed it to an American mentality, which is not necessarily incorrect. I think she referenced something about living "free".

Maybe that town in/near Paradise, CA can adopt the New Hampshire license plate saying and modify it to "Live Free and Die." As a person who is fairly keen about personal freedoms, sometimes common sense has to intervene and yielding your freedom to plant vegetation 5 feet away from your home is a very small infringement on my property rights if it preserves my home.

But you also nailed it. Almost any kind of remediation measure to protect from mother nature is not aesthetically pleasing. Houses built on pilings raised 10-15 feet from the ground are not particularly attractive to prevent flood damage--but the mitigation measure does work. Sometimes it's worth giving up 5 to 15 feet of your freedom to preserve the homestead.

 

[fsg2]

There was an Ocean Grove fire with winds, but likely not nearly as intense as Santa Anna winds experienced in the LA area. I highly recommend that documentary Bring Your Own Brigade. As a Londoner, the film maker was shocked but not surprised at the resistance and failure to adopt common sense measures to protect their homes from destruction. She attributed it to an American mentality, which is not necessarily incorrect. I think she referenced something about living "free".

Maybe that town in/near Paradise, CA can adopt the New Hampshire license plate saying and modify it to "Live Free and Die." As a person who is fairly keen about personal freedoms, sometimes common sense has to intervene and yielding your freedom to plant vegetation 5 feet away from your home is a very small infringement on my property rights if it preserves my home.

But you also nailed it. Almost any kind of remediation measure to protect from mother nature is not aesthetically pleasing. Houses built on pilings raised 10-15 feet from the ground are not particularly attractive to prevent flood damage--but the mitigation measure does work. Sometimes it's worth giving up 5 to 15 feet of your freedom to preserve the homestead.

Maybe it just ties back to my 5th grade report on ancient Swiss lake dwellers, but I've always found stilted houses to be pretty cool. The built-in carport is a bonus. The ones that aren't even at the beach and stick out like sore thumb are even better.

I'd say the same for fireproof houses - or at least this one that's been showing up all over:

https://na.rdcpix.com/b962547e541c039284741a372cc5a36ew-c3980676773srd_q80.jpg