California Weather: What's Next?

[@archerfire77]

Great work Michael, those firefighters are incredible just being there and fighting the impossible

[@ELGRINGO1967]

A big salute to all the firefighters and first responders

[@saranebeling6375]

Thank you for you great work and impartiality. Appreciate you!!

[@carlschmitt9562]

Thanks for urging preparation for the fires before the fires and wind event started!

[@marcchristoph8270]

Been watching and subscribed for years. What you do is fantastic work and always something to catch daily. I live in the Reno area and always appreciate your insight. Your usage of data and your analysis are always spot on I appreciate your transparency and ability to relay this information much clearer than just about anyone else out there. As I mentioned on other replies, ignore the trolls. Amazes me how much people live in hate and fear and only want to be miserable instead of trying to work together. Finding blame before compassion. Finding hate before love. People want to find someone to blame for these fires? Feel free, after the fires are out and dust has settled. Keep up the good work, you may not know me but I'll happily help defend you from idiots any day of the week.

[@HazeOfWhearyWater]

Holding authority responsible for its incompetence is not "hate." It is necessary.

[@marcchristoph8270]

@@HazeOfWhearyWater Is today the right time? That's the question. Same argument is made for mass shootings. It's never "too early" to discuss gun reform, but even I would agree if an event is ACTIVE and people are in DANGER, it's not the right time to find blame or cause. What part do you disagree? In a couple weeks when things settle down, the imminent danger is over, lives aren't in jeopardy, then yes. Absolutely investigate based on what is actually happened by starting at the fire and working backwards. That's how ALL POST PORTEMS are supposed to work. You start at the incident and go backwards, with NO pre-existing assumptions. You look at every path, you ask yourself WHY? Ever heard of the 5 WHYs? Assuming now and trying to assign blame without all the facts just causes unnecessary fear and anger. Perhaps that is what you want. The point is to PREVENT this in the future as best as possible. By assuming, things never get better.

[@barbaraperkins3747]

And DO NOT FLY DRONES! One already hit a Super Scooper plane and took it out of the fire fight due to a hole in the wing! Now there’s only one still working.

[@mm669]

That's awful. I thought they had technology that automatically grounded drones during emergencies? Maybe that's just for government stuff VIP's.

[@barbaraperkins3747]

@ it was one of only two leased from Canada and it’s unlikely to be repaired in time to fight these five raging fires.

[@Justfishcatches]

And who ever that drone operator is will face federal prison time for flying an unlicensed drone.

[@barbaraperkins3747]

The two Super Scoopers working together were key to saving lives and homes. So far, they don’t seem to have any leads. Heard it’s $75,000 fine plus jail if they find the owner.

[@jeffwalther]

My daily journal says we haven't had rain since March14th in Murrieta, CA.

[@somerandomguy7458]

10 months of no rain

[@tylershepard4269]

Hoping for a pattern change here soon. This damn ridge seems to be so persistent in the extended forecasts. I hope that changes soon.

[@MaryViolasse]

Electricity out for days in a portion of Rubidoux. The winds have been horrible. We are heartbroken for our friends in Los Angeles.

[@Coasterbeing]

Thank you, Michael!

[@1ouncebird]

Thanks much Michael.

[@lisac3291]

❤🙏 for L.A.

[@Whitewater11]

I agree with you about the blame game. It's sickening to see the politicization of this tragedy. I HATE CA government but these attacks are obviously just an excuse for the political fangs to come out.

[@Bluelightning23]

It's political because the politicians aren't funding firefighters, and Gavin Newsom diverted water into the sea to protect some damn fish. You are also part of the problem.

[@SamWilkinsonn]

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” - Winston Churchill

[@ELGRINGO1967]

Well said

[@Ramenscooter]

Hate is a strong word

[@craighamley3669]

Blaming without facts is just propaganda, & honestly this all goes back to the deregulation of the FCC (under Ronald Reagan): allowing the birth of Fox News and all the copycat networks and social media trolls - not that a few of the "left-leaning" outlets don't occasionally get things wrong, but it isn't the same as on the right where EVERY SINGLE THING is pushed out onto the public through this lens of outright hatred & disdain for anybody that dares to think differently... it's frankly disgusting and it's harmful to American democracy and culture.

[@Whatsnormal637]

Cold clear this morn and last few days 36-40° Sun is warm, air is cold. Sunroom heats up good 66-68°. 🌞

[@lauracochran3213]

👍 thx

[@jetlagrob]

San Diego desperately needs rain pleeeaaase😢

[@nicscharing]

If January flies by without any cold cold days or rain, we could be due for such a warm and hot spring and summer, people are not prepared

[@artemisXsidecross]

👍

[@PrincessTS01]

you need to make a new graphic for fire hurricanes

[@12jasroxy]

Thanks for mentioning the blame game BS.

[@lukeknocks]

Warm as heck in the bay area the past couple of days

[@robtippin9111]

😎

[@sushibar777]

Thank you for saying that the blame game does not help. With those winds and all that dry tinder, any spark will result in an uncontrolled fire.

[@dort5436]

Is the long range forecast a dry La Nina???

[@LonaPua_Pouliuli-Popoki]

🤙Aloha y'all .. Sips dips & chips I'm not in disagreement with pairing wine & nachos

[@carlschmitt9562]

The videos show that houses with Stucco on the exterior walls and ceramic roof tiles were burning. Maybe free speech will lead to some conversations with some useful content to prevent fire destruction.

[@Patrick_Ross]

No home can be made 100% fireproof but certain building materials give a house a far better chance of survival. And in an intense wind driven firestorm like this one, it’s extremely difficult to keep the fire from entering the home through various avenues. Much of the problem in Southern California is that homes are built in areas that should never have been built on plus they are built too close together then the lots covered with vegetation that often comes right up to the homes. Fire experts have extolled the need for defensible space for decades and yet very few heed those warnings.

[@Kvill13]

It feels like natural disasters are just getting worse and worse every year.

[@Patrick_Ross]

Correct. Climate change and overdevelopment are the main reasons why.

[@davidfairless1028]

This is not natural. Unless arson is a natural occurrence.

[@Kvill13]

@davidfairless1028 oh, yeah.

[@Patrick_Ross]

@@davidfairless1028 - 90 mph winds can easily knock trees over onto power lines.

[@johnp9988]

🍻

[@HazeOfWhearyWater]

The "blame game" ABSOLUTELY helps. Incompetence needs to be rooted out. Starting with politicians.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

You cannot stop all fires under such dramatic conditions when millions of people live in an area that is one of the most fire prone areas on the planet. Simply not possible.

[@HazeOfWhearyWater]

@@CaliforniaWeatherWatch Especially without operational fire hydrants.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Plenty of fire hydrants were being used and they could not put out the fire, they are still using them and yet the fire burns, even with air support, and support from all over the country the fires continue. Fires are going to burn no matter how prepared you are, the same way hurricanes and tornadoes will form and cause problems no matter how prepared you are or how good your infrastructure is. Fire is a natural part of the landscape here. With millions of people living here, it gets multiplied.

[@HazeOfWhearyWater]

@@CaliforniaWeatherWatch Your opinion. "Plenty" of fire hydrants. This is NOT what is being reported. Then there is the pulled funding by both the Mayor and the Governor. Why are you so bent on excusing incompetence? This Governor has A LOT to answer for on that score.

[@HazeOfWhearyWater]

@@CaliforniaWeatherWatch I lived down there for years and saw a lot of fires. Excuses don't fly if you are not prepared. The stories coming out are that they were very, very negligent.

[@busby777]

Soaking wet and cold in the San Bernardino mountains, plus day two with no electricity

[@Patrick_Ross]

I’m curious as to why you’re soaking wet with clear skies?

[@editorgyrl17]

Hopefully power on soon. My elderly mom is down next to Loma Linda and it came on last night at midnight, after two full days off.

[@jassa2784]

Why does pacific get these high pressure?

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

These highs form over other oceans as well, and its not always in the same place on the Pacific Ocean

[@hollisclark6076]

The instinct to blame is understandable but it shows how much denial people are in about risk. I hope for people to recognize that Mother Nature has no mercy and rebuilding efforts must comply with Nature's demands or we will face repeated catastrophes of massive proportions.

[@Patrick_Ross]

Exactly! These conflagrations are primarily the result of poor planning, (building in areas that never should have been developed), planting non-native vegetation next to homes, and climate change. There will be many similar events and they will increase in frequency, size and intensity.

[@Wright6994]

@@Patrick_Rossoverbuilt with old infrastructure doesn’t help matters but yeah I fully agree with you both.

[@Ali-ct9pb]

Maybe it was God, the creator, and maker of All things.

[@LarryRobinson55]

Felt a 3.7 quake this AM in San Francisco.

[@teds.4819]

As far as the blame game, agree that now may not be the time for it, but there is govt culpability and needs to be brought to light and addressed at some point. Otherwise, disasters like this will continue. Thanks for the forecast, though, keep up the good work.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

What do you suggest anyone does with bone dry conditions and 80+ mph winds? There is no fighting fires under these conditions.

[@taraupchurch9389]

"As far as the blame game, agree that now may not be the time for it, but..." 🙄

[@1800luce]

Santa Ana winds are nothing new. The weather service predicted this event days before. No preparation was made which was failure of the state and local government. Yes, let the blame game begin so another event like this will be handled competently by people who know how to lead. Proactive not reactive.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

I called this weather setup 5 days in advance. These were different from Santa Ana winds, stronger and affected more areas. NOT typical Santa Ana Winds! There is no way to stop ALL fires under such dramatic conditions, it would be the same as saying that all Tornado/Hurricane/Flood/Winter Storm Damage needs to be stopped, and you wouldn't dare say such a thing.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

yes, we have had these big wind events before, and we have had firestorms since we settled the area also

[@Bluelightning23]

The wind does not excuse politicians, not funding the firefighters or bringing water to southern california.

[@Patrick_Ross]

There is plenty of water in Southern California. Be careful which politicians you listen to, especially if they have orange skin and are known as pathological liars.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Water and Firefighters can't put out a fire in bone dry conditions with 50-100mph winds.

[@Patrick_Ross]

@@Bluelightning23 - there is plenty of water in Southern California.

[@terrykoch1250]

does no one ever bother looking at the pressue and volumn vales are doing for the water?

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Fire destroys plumbing of houses, adding to the volume loss.

[@craighamley3669]

Thank you for having the class to bring up how harmful the blaming is! As to the water supply issue, any fire fighter who's been on an incident involving block after block of homes all going up simultaneously can tell you that there is going to be a huge problem with water pressure, because in each and every home that's gone up in flames the water pipes burst and free flow, while simultaneously there's a huge demand to fight the actual fire. Also, I live in a very high fire-danger area (Truckee), and have been through many, many evacuations, friends of mine lost everything in the Sonoma County wildfires, and I have multiple family members who have now lost everything in the Palisades fire. For DJT to say we've done nothing to mitigate fire danger in CA is a flat out lie, it's irresponsible, & it's hurtful on a level I cannot even begin to describe. I have personally removed upwards of 25 dead lodgepole pines (killed by bark beetle infestations from the drought 10 years ago) and 23 yards of flammable brush and duff in the last two years alone from our property. Defensible space work is mandated BY LAW in almost every danger area in CA, and the Ca Dept of Forestry and USFS have done a ton of work to try to get our forests under control, but it is a very big problem in a very big state, and frankly we have spent a couple hundred years unnaturally suppressing forest fires so we shouldn't expect to be able to eliminate the problem overnight. If there's really such a thing as karma, I won't be surprised to see a Category 5 hurricane make a direct impact on Maralardo in the next couple years🤬🤬🤬!!!

[@azishappy2035]

Totally agree, on all points~

[@dottiecramer4770]

Thank you Michael for reporting the science! The entire earth has been heating up causing changes in “normal weather patterns” .

[@mateoh.3735]

Nope. There is no excuse for the empty palisades reservoir or the other numerous reservoirs throughout the state that are kept at lower than 50% capacity after two years of historic rain in Southern California because the money that the citizens of our state voted for that was supposed to be used to repair and maintain them has been squandered and diverted to other pet projects. People need to be held accountable for this period.

[@marcchristoph8270]

And now is not the time to perform a post mortem, is it? The disaster is on going right now. Let people focus on saving lives and property. Let the people with the power to make immediate decisions focus on tasks at hand. Once these fires are out, dust has settled, the post mortem can begin then. Not before. Facts not feelings.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

The reservoir is damaged and being repaired, just so you know. And according to experts, would not have saved the day. There is no way to fight fires when conditions like this exist. And southern California did not receive "historic" rainfall.

[@SunnySimpleLife]

All these people want to live in wind prone areas in the hills but not assume any of the risk of that.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

There is risk no matter where you live, meteorologically speaking

[@latecommer100]

I would agree if it wasn’t just a continuation of incompetence . I live here, and those of you from else where don’t really know what your talking about.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Where you live doesn't determine how much you know about fire weather, or the meteorology behind what happened.

[@bernardbrennan242]

Thanks but I do blame the politicians here in California this water management has been going on for over a decade fire season comes EVERY year we pay way to high of taxes for subpar service

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Catching and storing water is EXTREMELY difficult. Fighting these fires with all the water in the world is even harder.

[@Bluelightning23]

Anyone who thinks not looking at the politicians who have done little to nothing to make thing better are part of the problem. Maybe you're sitting cozy with power in your house not threatened by fire.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

There was no way to prepare for these conditions. Fires will break out and spread when you have winds this strong, bone dry conditions and millions of people, period.

[@marcchristoph8270]

Why politicize it now? Right now? These are unprecedented. There's always opportunities that were missed after every disaster, hindsight is amazing. I don't think record high winds and extremely dry conditions are to blame on the governor. Do you voice this same vitreol at DeSantis for allowing millions of homes to be built in storm surge and hurricane wind exposure zones?

[@kathleentutuma.7211]

​@@marcchristoph8270 Epic earthquakes & landslides, too - people will still blame others for not saving possessions & doing more.

[@Bluelightning23]

You prepare for these conditions by not cutting the fire department funds and not diverting water to the ocean and not adding legislation to prevent you from getting that water because of some stupid fish.

[@Bluelightning23]

​@@marcchristoph8270Opportunities were missed during the paradise fire a few years ago. They should've fixed that problem and Southern California Edison. All they're doing is cutting people's power off they're not fixing anything

[@Bluelightning23]

Again stop making excuses for incompetent people

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Firestorms, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Flooding, Winter Storms and Tornadoes aren't anyone's *Fault*

[@Bluelightning23]

​@CaliforniaWeatherWatch your right, lack of water and firefighters are.

[@charlesbeckner7657]

No excuse for deplorable preparations.

[@CaliforniaWeatherWatch]

Nothing you can do to prepare for these conditions

[@marcchristoph8270]

See Florida. A perfect example of the same government hubris, no? People die and homes destroyed and they have days of warning, yet keep building more and more homes in swampland, marshes, and barrier islands. But Newsome should be held accountable for reducing water storage into winter? Forgot about Oroville already when that was over capacity? Damned if the do, damned if they don't.

[@charlesbeckner7657]

@@CaliforniaWeatherWatch Don't editorialize. I click for weather period.

[@areareare9953]

@@charlesbeckner7657 Says the guy editorializing.

[@marcchristoph8270]

@@charlesbeckner7657 Do you know what "Irony" means? I am guessing not.