The Griot office cross streets are Sand Canyon and Alton. How is this important? Sunday Night I drove my two older boys to the end of Sand Canyon (roughly 5 miles from the office) and we watched the fire work its way along the Road that separates the wilderness from Irvine. That particular Road is "Portola".

So at the corner of Sand Canyon and Portola we watched to see if the fire would jump Portola and enter Irvine proper. Fortunately the OC Fire Department was right there dousing any sparks. This coupled with the fact that the other side of Portola was recently clear cut for housing development. There isn't anything to burn on the Irvine side. We stayed until the police chased us away.

Just a vignet into Irvine local......We were driving along a brand new housing development. Some of the houses were still under construction and some were already occupied. On one side of the road we were on was a ridge that basically on fire. The other side was new homes. As I was driving along I glanced into a new home that was clearly occupied. Inside a big bay window I could see the back side of a mans' head. He was sitting on the couch watching a big screen TV. On the TV I could read the caption "Irvine Fire" and the pictures where of the fire. I couldn't help it.......I yelled out my window, "Turn Around!" I don't think he heard me but its the thought that counts.

The Good news for us at least, is that this is basically the tip of Irvine. So after that point the fire had basically passed by us and the Griot Office.

http://www.theforumlounge.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2252&stc=1&d=1193159303

When are we going to stop this madness brought on by the "environmentalist"?

We have had knowledge of how to manage forest and undergrowth for a Century now and it has been taught in Universities around the US under the name of "Forestry" (duh)

Controlled burns had for years in the 70s and earlier been a very effective way of deterring these disasters and some how in the 80s and 90s the environmentalist interject themselves into the business of the US Forestry Department and completely change an effective way of preventing these disasters from happening.

Understand, these burns are not anything new.......it just so happens that people are involved now with Homes and business getting torched. Burning the undergrowth on a moist day with no winds is a controllable situation.......and by "this is not new" Do some of you understand that many Pine Trees can only seed when the pine cone gets burned?? So these Pines through natural evolution waits for a fire from natural causes (lightening strikes) and the Cones that have dropped onto the ground "Shoot" a seed as many as 20 feet away once the cone is ignited. Thereby spreading the Pines seed. With out the fire the seed lies dormant in the Cone until a squirrel digs it out and eats it.

No natural fire, no pine cone spreading the seed. So saying that all fire is bad or unnatural is wrong......just wrong

Controlled burns are the way to keep these disasters from occuring and keeping people safe.

And this is not a California thing at all. You need to think back a few years. Florida Burned for weeks. Texas Burned for weeks. Other states have burned as well.

We have two choices, we can return to what has been demonstrated for decades to work,


--------------Or------------------

we can foot the bill for a fleet of Super Tanker DC10s to sit dormant for 11 months and then spring to action and drop water.

The prior takes a small company of men and the local Fire department to accomplish. The later takes Money Years of manpower to build and then supply the manpower to operate and maintain.

Lets not be stupid on this one.

i lol @ fires

When are we going to stop this madness brought on by the "environmentalist"?

We have had knowledge of how to manage forest and undergrowth for a Century now and it has been taught in Universities around the US under the name of "Forestry" (duh)

Controlled burns had for years in the 70s and earlier been a very effective way of deterring these disasters and some how in the 80s and 90s the environmentalist interject themselves into the business of the US Forestry Department and completely change an effective way of preventing these disasters from happening.

Understand, these burns are not anything new.......it just so happens that people are involved now with Homes and business getting torched. Burning the undergrowth on a moist day with no winds is a controllable situation.......and by "this is not new" Do some of you understand that many Pine Trees can only seed when the pine cone gets burned?? So these Pines through natural evolution waits for a fire from natural causes (lightening strikes) and the Cones that have dropped onto the ground "Shoot" a seed as many as 20 feet away once the cone is ignited. Thereby spreading the Pines seed. With out the fire the seed lies dormant in the Cone until a squirrel digs it out and eats it.

No natural fire, no pine cone spreading the seed. So saying that all fire is bad or unnatural is wrong......just wrong

Controlled burns are the way to keep these disasters from occuring and keeping people safe.

And this is not a California thing at all. You need to think back a few years. Florida Burned for weeks. Texas Burned for weeks. Other states have burned as well.

We have two choices, we can return to what has been demonstrated for decades to work,


--------------Or------------------

we can foot the bill for a fleet of Super Tanker DC10s to sit dormant for 11 months and then spring to action and drop water.

The prior takes a small company of men and the local Fire department to accomplish. The later takes Money Years of manpower to build and then supply the manpower to operate and maintain.

Lets not be stupid on this one.

The forestry service here in florida burn sections every year. not the same sections or all at once but different, rotating sections. They even know when, how long, and how hard to burn to get the best result. as a result we in the appalachicola national forest havent had a severe fire(other than lighting which was still manageable) in quite some time. the undergrowth that is laregly unnatural as a result of clearcutting and planting in ages past is kept down and the forest in parts have returned to a more natural state. the rest of the country could use this and not have so many problems.

the florida fires were in areas not maintained this way due to burning scares and hype. burn or BURN your choice!

not all the tankers sit idle for most of the year. The SuperScoopers that Canada is lending to California right now are an example; they deploy where they're needed.

But your points about controlled burn are spot-on. When I was 9 I had to help fight a forest fire outside my town that wouldn't have happened if the treehuggers hadn't spiked trees that were slated for the chop to create a break between the forest and town edge.

As a side note, we fought that fire 'till it appeared to be out - only to have it flare up two days later. That's when I learned such fires can actually go underground, burning through the network of roots.

not all the tankers sit idle for most of the year. The SuperScoopers that Canada is lending to California right now are an example; they deploy where they're needed.

But your points about controlled burn are spot-on. When I was 9 I had to help fight a forest fire outside my town that wouldn't have happened if the treehuggers hadn't spiked trees that were slated for the chop to create a break between the forest and town edge.

As a side note, we fought that fire 'till it appeared to be out - only to have it flare up two days later. That's when I learned such fires can actually go underground, burning through the network of roots.

this is due to burning too hot and too long. a light, swift fire will bur off low lying foliage, kill problematic sticks and underbruch and eco-trash(ie FUEL!!!)

in addition to that many species NEED fire to develope properly and mature not only in germination but also long term health. If pine trees are in neat sraight close rows they will not grow properly in size and not be right for the eco system, the oaks will not drop acorns etc. the effect is clearly seen in the deer anbd other animals as they are smaller, less healthy, less size antlers for their age etc. IT IS ALL INTERCONNECTED and the way it should be for a reason. God took a=care of it for years just fine with fire. mother nature has a plan! we shouldnt dissuade it too much or bad things happen and travel down the line... to us even!

SC does controlled burns especially on our islands.