Are leftists policies partially to blame for the devastation caused by the California fires?

marke

@just_sayin

Some very persuasive arguments have been published detailing how leftist policies contributed to the disaster unfolding in the blue state. 

Fredsnephew

Argument Topic: Just saying just_sayin.

@just_sayin

Humans tend to cherry-pick  moments in history, from which they then choose to attribute blame.

The industrial revolution was perhaps a rightist agenda...So let's start there.

Or perhaps we should go back to the cave days when Og first realised the potential of fire.

Not sure what Og's political ideology was.


Out of interest, would you refer to technologically progressive ideologies as leftist or rightist?


Or maybe you're just attributing blame relative to your own short history.


Fact is, dry things burn if they catch fire.

And I think I'm correct in saying, that most wild fires are caused by either lightening strike or careless dimwits.

Barnardot

@just_sayin @Fredsnephew ;And I think I'm correct in saying, that most wild fires are caused by either lightening strike or careless dimwits.

Actually, I think you will find that most wildfires are deliberately lit by rightist pyromaniacs. The police have a dossier of all known firebugs and track their every movement during dangerous conditions. It only takes one of them to slip through the net or a new one to pop up then all Hell breaks loose.

jack

just_sayin said:

Are leftists policies partially to blame for the devastation caused by the California fires?

Hello just_:

No more than right wing policies are responsible for tornado's.  Look.  I can understand why someone would choose to live in beautiful southern California.  But, for the life of me, I have NO IDEA why somebody would CHOOSE to live in flat dusty country directly in the path of major tornado's. 

But, that's just me.

excon

just_sayin

jack said:

just_sayin said:

Are leftists policies partially to blame for the devastation caused by the California fires?

Hello just_:

No more than right wing policies are responsible for tornado's.  Look.  I can understand why someone would choose to live in beautiful southern California.  But, for the life of me, I have NO IDEA why somebody would CHOOSE to live in flat dusty country directly in the path of major tornado's. 

But, that's just me.

excon

In LA firefighters could not fight fires because there was no water or water pressure.  Leftists have not built reservoirs because of extreme environmentalists.  Leftists have not done controlled burns or allowed the cutting of forest areas to remove underbrush which feeds fires.  Leftists aren't responsible for the wind - that much is true.  However, by focusing on racist DEI policies while cutting their firefighter budget by 18 million shows you how out of touch with people they really are. 

Factfinder

@just_sayin

In LA firefighters could not fight fires because there was no water or water pressure.  Leftists have not built reservoirs because of extreme environmentalists.  Leftists have not done controlled burns or allowed the cutting of forest areas to remove underbrush which feeds fires.  Leftists aren't responsible for the wind - that much is true.  However, by focusing on racist DEI policies while cutting their firefighter budget by 18 million shows you how out of touch with people they really are. 

To be honest wasn't that budget "cut" of 18 million just off the purposed budget that still brought earmarked money for the LA fire department to the tune of 419 million? And the "cuts" were in large part just to eliminate already vacant jobs? https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-cut-175m-fire-department-budget-months-before-palisades-signed-mayor-karen-bass/15782731/

just_sayin

The LA times has confirmed  that he Santa Ynez Reservoir in the hills above Pacific Palisades, which holds 117 million gallons of water and normally feeds those tanks, had been drained and taken offline for repairs to its cover even though the state's brush fire season was ongoing.  This is indeed leftist incompetence.

Delilah6120

Argument Topic: @just_sayin

What's the causal factor of these increasing, extreme fires?

You are oversimplifying the issue with simple conclusions.

Barnardot

@Delilah6120 ;What's the causal factor of these increasing, extreme fires?

Well the rightists want to pass the blame for the fires on to the lefties for not having water but who the eff started the fires in the first place? Rightist arsonists running around with cans in of gas that’s who.

Stephen

Fredsnephew said:

@just_sayin



And I think I'm correct in saying, that most wild fires are caused by either lightening strike or careless dimwits.

And Arsonists. If my memory serves, there were quite a few arrested over the wildfires in Greece. Not sure how many were actually charged and convicted.

just_sayin

Delilah6120 said:

What's the causal factor of these increasing, extreme fires?

You are oversimplifying the issue with simple conclusions.

The fires are a natural occurrence and have been happening for as long as their have been forests.  In nature these fires would start and burn - reducing undergrowth and making major larger fires less likely.  California's policies of 1) not doing controlled burns, 2) not allowing logging to remove underbrush, 3) putting out all fires have contributed to more dangerous larger fires.

The fact that the reservoir that provides water for the fires in this area is empty during their fire season is also the fault of leftist politicians.  The failure to adequately fund the fire fighters budget is another failure of leftist politicians.  

I know, I know - one should never ever ,not ever ,blame a leftist politician for the things that they have done.and are responsible for  I think that's part of the oath that ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and what's the other one that nobody watches, MSsothething, take.  Anyway, there is a lot of evidence that leftist politicians made the situation much worse.

Factfinder

@just_sayin

The LA times has confirmed  that he Santa Ynez Reservoir in the hills above Pacific Palisades, which holds 117 million gallons of water and normally feeds those tanks, had been drained and taken offline for repairs to its cover even though the state's brush fire season was ongoing.  This is indeed leftist incompetence.

On that point we agree. 

Stephen

Factfinder said:

@just_sayin

The LA times has confirmed  that he Santa Ynez Reservoir in the hills above Pacific Palisades, which holds 117 million gallons of water and normally feeds those tanks, had been drained and taken offline for repairs to its cover even though the state's brush fire season was ongoing.  This is indeed leftist incompetence.

On that point we agree. 

I do like PJW. Is delivery is brilliant most of the time. It appears that Trump had it on the head when he spoke about  a  lake being drained . 6years ago!

The Truth About The Wildfires

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHh-_3FshO4

Barnardot

@just_sayin ;The fires are a natural occurrence and have been happening for as long as their have been forests.

Yeah sure and by the same token, pyromaniacs are a natural occurrence. Gasoline is a natural occurrence and a box of matches is a natural occurrence.

just_sayin

Barnardot said:

@just_sayin ;The fires are a natural occurrence and have been happening for as long as their have been forests.

Yeah sure and by the same token, pyromaniacs are, a natural occurrence. Gasoline is a natural occurrence and a box of matches is a natural occurrence.

I'm not saying that the guy who was in the country illegally, and was arrested with a blow torch, is 'natural'.  I'm pointing out that in nature, fires happen all the time, such as from lightning.  

Stephen

Are leftists policies partially to blame for the devastation caused by the California fires?

@just_sayin Well they haven't helped.

Jules1

@just_sayin
Winds and dry ground is a very good start for fires that get out of control, let's stop raging over DEI to distract from actual issues in the world today, did you know that tens of thousands of innocent civilians died in Gaza? Did you know that there is a genocide of the Uyghur people in China? What does it matter that a black woman is a firefighter when millions are dying for the goods you consume? 

BryceChristensen

So I was taught responsible forestry was something like this:
Remove standing deadwood in dry areas.  They help a fire gather intensity and speed.
Remove collections of brush and ground cover.  They help a fire start and turn from a brush fire into a forest fire by providing enough to catch live trees on fire.
Starting small, controlled fires can help to deny fuel from a potential fire in fire-prone areas.

California is reported to have ended all of these practices in light of a set of practices designed to maximize animal habitat.  It's a nice idea- if the forest fires aren't necessary for the forest life cycle and if the people aren't living among the forest, meaning a forest fire doesn't ruin a bunch of human lives or potentially kill people.

In similar vein, as others have mentioned, some of the fires took place in an area where the lines that would have provided water to fight the fires came from a drained reservoir.

And, to finally add something to the discussion, another problem is California's aging electricity grid, which has been linked to the start of several fires.