Wildfires

[Back2Lawrence]

Or perhaps the area East of the Mississippi isn't essentially a desert...

[KUTradition]

geography is hard (actually, no…mich is just an idiot)

https://fire.airnow.gov/

[ousdahl]

airbnb owners are pretty much out of control. the last two times i have rented the owners required 100% payment up front. they charge a rediculous cleaning fee. then require me to leave the place exactly like it was when i checked in. what is the cleaning fee for if i do all the cleaning.

they have gotten out of control. i say trash the phucqueing place.

actual image of michhawk in his airbnb.

[ousdahl]

but yea, leave it to mich to take a story like that and thing it's the airbnb owners who are out of control.

With that said, yea mich, I mostly agree. I think it's time we ban airbnb into oblivion. think it's actually happening in some places.

and yea, it is pretty goofy that airbnb renters require you to clean AND charge you a clean fee.

If it's that much an issue, one solution - and, this is quaint, I know - is to stay at a good old fashioned hotel.

[ousdahl]

both started during active fire bans. Tho, that requires 1. yall paying attention to such things in the first place, and 2. yall heeding such bans even if you are paying attention, rather than being a bunch of entitled assholes and ignoring/defying bans instead. Big things to ask from yall, I know.

do your local offices (BLM, Forest Service) flag fire pits when there are restrictions?

we were up in the Uintas last weekend and were cruising around scouting for future spots when we notice not just a camp fire smoking/shouldering, but a massive log that the jackasses attempted to burn (cuz, ya know prepping with actual firewood is too goddamn difficult) was smoldering outside of any sort of fire ring

fortunately we had plenty of water with us

people fucking suck, and i’m starting to think that a lack of basic consideration is the rule rather than exception

yea, BLM/Forest Service does flag fire pits during restrictions - usually put signage or tape or something over the pits. There's usually signage along forest roads toward popular camping/recreation areas, too. The issue is, there are only so many established fire pits they can flag.

And, the bigger issue is entitled tourists being entitled tourists. many folks see a sign on a fire pit and think, oh it's just THAT particular pit in which we can't have a fire, so let's just build another fire not in that pit/somewhere else. The mindset of the average yall is, "well we didn't drive this far to NOT have a big ol fire on vacation."

Or, heck, folks see the ban signage, and think, "Well that don't apply to US, so let's rub it in those stoopid yall's faces, and fire it up!" They may not have had plans to even have a fire, but when they're told not to, they can't not. (for reference, think about the pure defiance exhibited in the covid 19 thread.)

in other words, yea, people fucking suck.

[TDub]

it's a west of the mississippi problem. there are no wildfires east of the mississippi because we care.

because we care...lol. youre an idiot.

theres less wildfires east of the Mississippi because there's not much wild left east of the Mississippi. Cities don't burn like wildlands and grasses do....the fire department resources are higher where the cities are...

keep your cities.....if everything east of the Mississippi fell off the face of the earth I wouldn't notice much.....other than we'd need a new pdub.

[ousdahl]

also, imho authorities aren't strict enough about enforcing bans, and levying penalties for offenders.

It seems like the forest rangers and sheriffs and such are too likely to just politely issue a warning, which don't do shit. If there ever was a time to throw the book at someone, it's someone violating a fire ban.

Fine the shit out of them, cuff em, throw their asses in jail, make them come back for court dates, do everything you can to make them not only learn their lesson, but go back to Texas and tell all their friends how much trouble yall got in.

[ousdahl]

it's a west of the mississippi problem. there are no wildfires east of the mississippi because we care.

because we care...lol. youre an idiot.

theres less wildfires east of the Mississippi because there's not much wild left east of the Mississippi. Cities don't burn like wildlands and grasses do....the fire department resources are higher where the cities are...

keep your cities.....if everything east of the Mississippi fell off the face of the earth I wouldn't notice much.....other than we'd need a new pdub.

that's a good point about how little wild land is left east of the Mississippi.

But, the bigger issue still may be just how arid things are out west.



the western pockets of green on this map are prob deceiving, too, cuz even if it's green, it's also high elevation. So, even if it is some green forest or something, a good rain shower evaporates so fast that it's bone dry again in no time.

Combine that with the extended drought conditions so much of the west is experiencing, and...fuck.

[KUTradition]

it's a west of the mississippi problem. there are no wildfires east of the mississippi because we care.

because we care...lol. youre an idiot.

theres less wildfires east of the Mississippi because there's not much wild left east of the Mississippi. Cities don't burn like wildlands and grasses do....the fire department resources are higher where the cities are...

keep your cities.....if everything east of the Mississippi fell off the face of the earth I wouldn't notice much.....other than we'd need a new pdub.

there’s also this:



i don’t think there are proportionally fewer fires (though there may be). but, there’s definitely fewer severe or major fires, for all the reasons mentioned above

[KUTradition]

goddamnit, Ousie

(my map is better though)

[ousdahl]

lol

re: proportionally fewer fires, that's prob a good point too.

Even if there is some fire that breaks out back east, with conditions what they are there, it's prob easier to contain, and less likely to quickly get out of control.

I think other correlated factors are things like lightning strikes (more frequent at elevations, which are also drier), and human activity (yall coming out west to camp and hunt and shoot fireworks, particularly in wild public land areas)

[TDub]

all of that is true, particularly the arid conditions.

I just think its funny mich thinks its because "they care" lol so out of touch

[KUTradition]

the Forest Service, NPS and BLM discriminate geographically, donchaknow

[TDub]

it's a west of the mississippi problem. there are no wildfires east of the mississippi because we care.

because we care...lol. youre an idiot.

theres less wildfires east of the Mississippi because there's not much wild left east of the Mississippi. Cities don't burn like wildlands and grasses do....the fire department resources are higher where the cities are...

keep your cities.....if everything east of the Mississippi fell off the face of the earth I wouldn't notice much.....other than we'd need a new pdub.

that's a good point about how little wild land is left east of the Mississippi.

But, the bigger issue still may be just how arid things are out west.



the western pockets of green on this map are prob deceiving, too, cuz even if it's green, it's also high elevation. So, even if it is some green forest or something, a good rain shower evaporates so fast that it's bone dry again in no time.

Combine that with the extended drought conditions so much of the west is experiencing, and...fuck.

im actually surprised ao much of western Montana is considered semi arid. The area west of the rockies is pretty forested and green. I suppose it is dry, pine forest as opposed to wet fern and fir forests like the cascades. Eastern Montana....well..yea...

[zsn]

it's a west of the mississippi problem. there are no wildfires east of the mississippi because we care.

Did someone move Quebec west of the Mississippi and forgot to tell the rest of us?

[ousdahl]

I saw a thing the other day along the lines of, "more acreage in Quebec has burned in the last 30 days than in the last 30 years combined"

but I dunno if it was legit

[KUTradition]

so, people are jumping into the sea in order to flee the wildfires on Maui

[jfish26]

Weird climate. A lot of the island is surprisingly arid, and it’s always windy.

[KUTradition]

Weird climate. A lot of the island is surprisingly arid, and it’s always windy.

not to beat a dead horse, but i’d be shocked if localized aridity hasn’t been increasing…soil moisture loss, etc

[jfish26]

Wonder if the Maui Invitational is on pause.