Fires in CA

[Izee]

...I have NEVER experienced what is going on in CA now.   

...You all have probably seen on the news, that there are HUGE fires burning, that are not under control.  They were caused by several days of dry thunderstorms.  So, there is smoke all over the Bay Area, where I am living, and I have asthma.  At times, during the day, I sit in the shower for an hour, letting hot water run for a few minutes, every 10-15 minutes...the steam helps clear my lungs.  I don't want to use my rescue inhaler too often.  I also use my CPAP machine, the mask covers my mouth and nose, and it has filters.  I don't go outside, my Brother delivers groceries every few days, and I write Him a check to cover the food for my Mother and I.

...So that is why I haven't entered the r/p, I am short of breath, and have a constant headache, and no energy.  I learned, the HARD WAY  a few times, not to r/p when I am sick or depressed.  I then type very slow, and can't keep up with the r/p, and that isn't fair to the other typists.  I also get very easily irritated, and have typed things that I really regretted, later.

...Please send your prayers to all of the people who have lost their homes...and also please pray that we will get some heavy rain, soon.

...And, please send prayers for the Brave Men and Women who are fighting the fires, and providing emergency services to us.

[RAGNAR]

 

[MageNathaniel1]

take care of yourself and stay safe

[Izee]

...Thank you both   *HUGS*   The two of you have been very supportive of me the last few years.  I have certainly needed it, Life didn't go as I had planned when we decided to move to another State, and everything came apart.  I believe that I have posted on the Boards of some of the things that happened.  I returned to CA, and am watching over my elderly Mother, living in the house that I grew up in.

...Now, because of my 'pre-existing health problems', I can't leave the House, now, because of the 'covid', and now the air where I live is considered 'unhealthy' every day because of the fires.  A few days ago, I tried to walk around the neighborhood, wearing one of those cloth masks...but had to come home, coughing very heavily, my eyes watering, because of the smoke that is in the air.

...And...there is no end in sight.  One of the largest complex fires...(Complex because it consists of three fires that merged)...has burned over  200,000 acres, and there is ZERO containment...and it is not very far away.  Thankfully, I am not concerned with being ordered to evacuate, our house is in a suburb, no forests even close...just some grassland.  And the NAS is in the middle of the grassland, and as a child we would often see fires start.  The Sailors put them out fairly quickly...the fires never got close to we civilians.

...Please don't think that I am trying to get pity, and such.  I am trying to focus on what I HAVE in Life, and not get pulled down by what I lost, or because my 'plans' didn't come to pass.  And, when I sit down...and write down what I have...IT IS A LOT!!!

...WEBMAZE is on the list...and a number of typists...including YOU TWO   

...I will do my best to get back into the MTC r/p, but it would be best if I just observed for a couple days, and see what was going on, and get my 'chops' back.  I miss so many people.

[MageNathaniel1]

hugs  main thing is taking care of yourself and staying safe. Happy to hear you are in a low risk area for the fire hitting you at least but I know all too well about how the smoke can be and more so with asthma not fun at all.

[RAGNAR]

 

[Izee]

...It is still VERY BAD here in the East Bay Area where I live.  The second largest fire in CA History is to the North, and another one, almost as large, is to the South.  Our City is not concerned about getting burned, there is a wide strait of water to the North (Large ships navigate in it), and the Firefighters are attacking the North end of the one to the South.  Millions of people live and work in the East Bay, so it is being protected.

...But, The Air is heavily polluted.  At times, there is thick smoke around my house, and the air is usually classed as 'Unhealthy'.  We have had a few hours, at times, when it wasn't too bad.  It is frightening, that in areas closer to the fires, their air has been classified as 'Hazardous'. 

...So, having asthma, I am not doing well.  I have very little energy, and a low grade headache, that is constant.  I have  had to force myself to eat, although that is getting better, but I can't eat very much at any given time, and my throat seems to have closed up.  I tried to eat a filet steak I had my Brother bring me, to cheer myself up, but the second bite, a small bite, got stuck in my throat.  It took me 17 minutes to get it past where it was stuck.  The next day, I chopped up what was left of the steak, and added it to a can of beef stew, and was able to eat it without any problems.

...This Event, which was soley caused by Nature, seems to have waken up some of our CA Politicians.  We hear that they are speaking with the Federal Govt about thinning the forests.  The Politicians have been controlled by the idiot Environmentalists who say that it is a 'Sin' to cut down a tree, so our forests are heavily overgrown.

[MageNathaniel1]

is there someplace you can go where you could breathe easier, away from the fires etc for a time? Having asthma myself, I can relate.

[RAGNAR]

Some news I picked up said they just intend to let some of the fires go in order to thin out the forests. That seems stupid on many levels. Thinning does not mean leveling. Then what after they begin to grow back... just let them grow unmanaged until this happens again? Maintain firebreaks in the forests. Remove large areas of debris that is prime for fires. Allow logging operations so long as they land is returned to its original condition and replanting of young trees is required. This keeps the forests on the younger healthier side. Fire is natural. It purifies and after promotes fresh growth, but not thousands of acres at a time, burning out of control, wiping out everything in its path.

Tree huggers are so "one" with nature... beat out the flames with their bodies. They will never have more value than that.

[Izee]

...Well, I am having an experience that I never expected to have, I am living in the SF Bay Area, and right now, it is considered to have...

...THE WORST AIR QUALITY IN THE WORLD!!!!  (And me with asthma... )  I always thought that I would have to travel to India, or China, for that experience.  But, here it is, in the good old USA.

..I have heard the same, Brother, and fully believe that SO MANY of the JERKS that make the important decisions in CA have the IQ and Wisdom of a swamp rat.  I dealt with a few, back when I was working as a Business Lawyer, and they just can't reason, even though the wall of their offices were COVERED with 'PAPERS' from big schools.  You could present them with fact, after fact, after fact, that related to an important decision, and they couldn't refute what you presented.  I would speak to them after they made a stupid decision, asking them if they had understood what I was telling them.  Their response was something like, "Yes, I understood what you were saying, but I made my decision by how I was 'feeling' about the issue."  I once got angry...(Yes, Rags, I can get angry at times...I know that that is a shock to you... )...and raised my voice to a Councilwoman, and said..."You have a very good brain, you should use it to gather and analyze the facts before you make a decision."  She got VERY condescending, and said..."My system of making decisions on how I 'feel' about the situation works fine."

...I changed Firms, and handled defending auto accident cases.  I was scared to death the first few Jury Trials I handled...but there was less frustration than dealing with Govt Officials.   

[RAGNAR]

Government Officials and Politicians...

Two species that need to go away making room for folks with common sense and simple solutions.

[MageNathaniel1]

true 

[Izee]

...The 'OVEREDUCATED IDIOTS' in CA are THE CAUSE OF THE EXTENT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THESE G/D FIRES!!!!

...I got a call from a Polling Operation, last week, and they asked me if I believed that 'Global Warming' was the CAUSE of the fires in CA...   I got on a ROLL...I have lived here all my life...(Except the year and a half in Kansas)...and I proceeded to lecture the IDIOT!!!

...((My Family loved to camp every year, and we would travel all over CA, and go into Forests, enter a lawful campsite, and set up a tent.  We would stay for a week, hike, and fish...and it was nice.  You could walk through the forests.     I was in Girl Scouts, and we would go to the 'Nice' Camp... ...we would sleep on cots...and eat in THE COMMISARY!!!   I was VERY thin after six weeks, there...I just couldn't hold down the food...except for SUNDAY...it was a CHICKEN DINNER!!!  I would gobble down 1/2 a chicken, that is what we all were handed...and get my five friends to give me the parts of the chicken that they didn't want to eat.  I didn't look closely at what I was handed...I just ate it.   
 
I will confess...*Blush*...I did lie, regularly, after the 1st week...in the morning. 

 At breakfast, each table was handed 1/2 a loaf of stale bread, there were six of us at a table.  We young girls were just neglected, we sat together, and tried to cope, the older girls just ignored us.  I watched how things operated...and I would go up to the window, and say that the 'Staff' sent me to get them some bread.  I was then handed an unopened, fresh loaf of bread, and took it back to my table.  The other young girls and I would DEVOUR it!!!  The older girls saw what I was doing, and I got transferred to their table, so I fetched them a full loaf of fresh bread for their table each morning.     I sat and ate with them...

 As a young adult, I backpacked alone...that was dangerous...but...that is me.  I was always very careful, and if I heard male voices nearby, I would just get off the path, find a place to hide, and wait until they were gone.  A few years ago, I had to drive North for a case, going along the road I had driven years earlier, and was ASTONISHED at how thick the forests were along the road.  I arrived at the City, and then got onto a small plane, and the Pilot flew me over the forests...the case involved flooding...but I was DISMAYED at how thick the forests were...and just HOW MANY DEAD TREES I SAW!!!  That is the area that is burning now...and there is a LOT more!!!))

...The IDIOT polltaker hung up on me...She was just looking for a "Yes, Global Warming is causing all of this" answer.

...MORONS...It is due to a number of factors...but the BIGGEST cause of fires that go on for weeks...and months...is...

...BAD FORESTRY MANAGEMENT!!!!   

...JERKS!!!!!!

[Izee]

...Just to clarify...

...I didn't give the 'backstory' to the woman, i just explained that I was very familiar with the forests here in CA, and saw how they were being mismanaged.  You SIMPLY can't let forests grow so thick that their branches are stuck together, and dead trees are standing all around them.  The dead trees EXPLODE when they get on fire, and...well...there goes the Forest.

...If anyone wants to prove me wrong...

...HAVE AT IT!!!!

...I looked on line, anyone can do it, and saw pictures taken of forests in the 1880's...and now.  The old pictures showed very mature trees, that were far apart.  The recent pictures showed trees side by side, with dead trees intermixed, in the SAME AREA!!!!

...Now, the pictures of the areas would show...IMHO...burnt out areas.

...GOVERNMENTAL IDIOTS!!!!...letting MORONS FROM THE SIERRA CLUB TELL THEM WHAT TO DO...

..."DON'T clear out deadwood...DON'T thin trees...DON'T set firebreaks around...

...*GRRRRR*

...If I seem to be EMOTIONAL...it is because I am EXPERIENCING IT!!!!   Smoke lies around our neighborhood...day after day...week after week...now for over a month!!!   I read in the papers of people getting sick...my asthma keeps me awake, unless I am wearing my breathing mask, getting clean air PUMPED into my lungs!!!  I am very worried about my elderly Mother, I read in the papers of Hospitals being overrun, and about how we all have to stay inside.  Again, it ISN'T about the virus...it is because the air is UNHEALTHY and at times HAZARDOURS to breathe!!!   Because of the G/D FIRES that a wise Gov't could have prevented...and a wise Gov't DID prevent such...until the Liberal Democrats took over.  The Liberal Democrats whined..."Oh, we cannot cut down a tree..."

...My advice to all other States...is VERY CAREFULLY look at political candidates.  If they are talking the 'Utopian Crap' that our Governor, and others, are talking...VOTE THEM OUT!!!!

...The GREAT U.S. doesn't need any more Californias.

...I keep speaking to my elderly Mother, who I am watching over, about moving.  We could sell the house for a lot of money, and buy a better one in another State...and have money left over.  *Sad Smile*  That is what my Ex and I did when we moved to Kansas...we bought a BETTER house there with just the equity we had in our CA house.

...But...my Mother just doesn't want to move.  This is Her home of over 50 years...She is very elderly, and a bit weak...and dragging Her to another State, where She wouldn't have Her friends would not be kind.  *S*  They play pinocle twice a week...and if one can't make it...I sit in so that they can play partners pinocle.  She has stopped the games...we have been under a 'lockdown' for several months, by order of the Governor, and the games stopped. 

(They made a rule that my Mother and I can't be partners...we just seem to know how to play the cards to win...even when we have a very small meld.  We don't cheat...we just seem to know how to do the 'play'... ...I will hand it off to Her, and She will hand it off to me, and we collect the cards.  She tells me that She can tell what I am thinking...and I believe it.  I was VERY WELL BEHAVED in H.S.     I couldn't hide anything from Her.   )

...We just stay inside, and don't go out.  Hopefully, the rains will start soon...and the air will clear.

[MageNathaniel1]

hopefully the fires are controlled and out soon for everyones sake including your breathing. I agree with you on forest mosmanagement not alleged climare chanfe being the root cause. ca is far too liberal and caves to the extreme left often.