Fires in Los Angeles

[Smallfry]

Watching the news about this. Pacific Palisades and Sunset Boulevard destroyed. Homes to the stars. Tragedy for all concerned, but mostly the staff they employ.

Going to be expensive, and I can't help wondering if we will find they are all insured through Lloyds of London, and all our premiums here in the UK will rocket.

 

[arther dailey]

what will it take for people to realise some places should nt be built on , like flood planes over here. tragedy though for many poor souls and not forgetting the wild life .

 

[addjunkie]

Going to be expensive, and I can't help wondering if we will find they are all insured through Lloyds of London, and all our premiums here in the UK will rocket.

This crossed my mind too.

 

[JimmyS]

This crossed my mind too.

And mine.

I'd think there will be a few "names" on the Lloyds register feeling pretty anxious at the moment and probably some have lost their houses in the fire as well.

 

[bricol]

Not unknown, although maybe not to this extend. I was in El Segundo and Palmdale aircraft factories 2002-4 ish - whole areas blackened. If you stood up on the hill under the Hollywood sign, all you could see over LA was smokey smog - smell it and taste it. Somewhere I have a few photos where the smoke is clearly visible.

(I bought my Miller TIG in Hollywood - step put the shop, look up, and there was the sign).

 

[Barking Mat]

Apparently alot of them are uninsurable I heard on the news this morning.

How true this is I have no idea.

 

[Mark 5]

While maybe not a rule of thumb, I get the impression a lot more timber is used in the building of American homes everywhere, when fire gets hold such builds are total destruction.

So much destruction, so much loss, rich/poor and the surrounding areas, awful.

 

[bricol]

While maybe not a rule of thumb, I get the impression a lot more timber is used in the building of American homes everywhere, when fire gets hold such builds are total destruction.

So much destruction, so much loss, rich/poor and the surrounding areas, awful.

Timber construction all over the place - I've stayed in multi-storey hotels that I watched the year before be put up using timber. Shingles on roofs that burn - that would be a problem with flying embers, something we don't tend to have with concrete or slates - although those in thatched building must be trembling in such circumstance (or 5th Nov).

I read too that insurances were cancelled for some last year. And today, that the insurance office had burnt down too - one has to hope their records were stored out of the area!

 

[roofman]

My mother-in-law lives in Northern California in a red wood area and her building insurance is $350 a month and it stipulates no tree growth so many feet from the house and no burnable debris on the shingle roofs, as in moss, pine needles etc..

 

[Morrisman]

I used to work with an ex fire fighter in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the stories he tells are almost unbelievable. The sheer size and heat that comes off a big forest fire, and they can move up to 30mph, so no trying to put it out, then jog away to safety when you realise it’s not working. And flames can leap a firebreak gap 100 yards wide, the intensity of heat it puts out.

 

[Morrisman]

My mother-in-law lives in Northern California in a red wood area and her building insurance is $350 a month and it stipulates no tree growth so many feet from the house and no burnable debris on the shingle roofs, as in moss, pine needles etc..

I think if I lived there I’d have a water sluice system that can pump hundreds of gallons an hour over the roof and walls, with a catchments system so it can be reused.

 

[Robotstar5]

While maybe not a rule of thumb, I get the impression a lot more timber is used in the building of American homes everywhere, when fire gets hold such builds are total destruction.

You can see it in some of the news footage, a blackened stone chimney surrounded by a few bits of charred wood

 

[Smallfry]

Timber construction all over the place - I've stayed in multi-storey hotels that I watched the year before be put up using timber. Shingles on roofs that burn - that would be a problem with flying embers, something we don't tend to have with concrete or slates - although those in thatched building must be trembling in such circumstance (or 5th Nov).

I read too that insurances were cancelled for some last year. And today, that the insurance office had burnt down too - one has to hope their records were stored out of the area!

They obviously have never heard of the tale of the Three Little Pigs !

A mate of mine had a thatched house for a while, could only insure contents, and not the building, which is why he moved.

Great comment about the records, hope someone had the foresight ...............

 

[roofman]

I used to work with an ex fire fighter in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the stories he tells are almost unbelievable. The sheer size and heat that comes off a big forest fire, and they can move up to 30mph, so no trying to put it out, then jog away to safety when you realise it’s not working. And flames can leap a firebreak gap 100 yards wide, the intensity of heat it puts out.

I have been pretty close to a Cali fire...the hidden death warrant is the fire consumes all the oxygen as it sucks it up in a vortex type action and on the ground you cant breath as there is nothing to breath.

 

[Dilkris]

They obviously have never heard of the tale of the Three Little Pigs !

A mate of mine had a thatched house for a while, could only insure contents, and not the building, which is why he moved.

Great comment about the records, hope someone had the foresight ...............

Its 2025 - I'm sure they will be digitally stored somewhere on a remote server.

 

[redlig]

what will it take for people to realise some places should nt be built on , like flood planes over here. tragedy though for many poor souls and not forgetting the wild life .

Are they not sitting on or near the San Andreas Fault just waiting for a bit of an earthquake?

 

[Nomad]

I think if I lived there I’d have a water sluice system that can pump hundreds of gallons an hour over the roof and walls, with a catchments system so it can be reused.

Reports are saying there was no water in the hydrants for the fire fighters, videos in twitter/X look like something out of the movies

https://twitter.com/x/status/1876901504327508292

Govenor refused to sign a declaration that would bring water into the area - to protect a local fish !

https://twitter.com/x/status/1877036020081803468

Firefighters resort to using womens handbags to carry water

https://twitter.com/x/status/1877335817254850829

Malibu waterfront has been destroyed

https://twitter.com/x/status/1877291751968329944

If anyone wants more links drop me a PM, there are plenty more but they often include topics I'd not want to put here in case I end up on the forum naughty step

 

[arther dailey]

Are they not sitting on or near the San Andreas Fault just waiting for a bit of an earthquake?

exactly

 

[Barking Mat]

Crazy thing is, it's right next to the sea ?

 

[Mark 5]

Crazy thing is, it's right next to the sea ?

Yes but sea water is the last thing to use as it posions dry land, it's used when all else fails but despite valiant efforts all else is/has failed, use the seawater.