“Defunding of other city programs in order to give the LAPD billions a year has consequences,” according to a local activist.
    • Treczoks@lemmy.world
      83·
      3 months ago

      The main problem is that the houses are made from wood and cardbord, and are placed in and/or surrounded by dry-as-a-fart forests and brushwork. Which is a stupid idea in an area that is known to regularly hve forest and brushwork fires. More now with global warming, which makes the plants even dryer.

        • Treczoks@lemmy.world
          13·
          3 months ago

          Nonetheless, all the houses I have seen burning in the news were surrounded by dry trees and shrubs. And those houses burned as well as any other American cardboard houses. Somehow, I see no difference between them and houses with not as strict building codes. So either they only show homes that have been grandfathered in, or those building codes make no serious difference.

            • Treczoks@lemmy.world
              2·
              3 months ago

              I saw more LA houses in the news, and again all what was left was the chimney. To me, it looks like houses there are just part of the fuel. But one cannot tell whether those houses were the ones that were grandfathered in. And if the new regulation is in power for just a few years, just keep in mind how many new houses with new standards have been built since then.

              Unlike houses here in Europe, which are usually made of stone, bricks, or concrete. Our house has a reinforced concrete basement and floors, foam concrete insulating walls, and concrete tiles on the roof. While it would definitively see damages if placed into the middle of such a firestorm, it would resist way longer, and would not contribute to the fire. I’d say before our house would get damaged beyond the need to just clean and repaint it, everything combustible (vegetation, sheds, fences) around would be long gone.

          • ysjet@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            3 months ago

            … You realize it’s in the middle of the winter, right? All greenery is going to be dry looking, you can’t just not have greenery at all.

    • badbytes@lemmy.world
      65·
      3 months ago

      You don’t understand wildland fire mitigation very much, do you. Every penny helps you troll. And by the way, I have my red card, and a minor in forest fire management.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
    10·
    3 months ago

    At least a bunch of rich fucks in Malibu and Pacific Palisades are paying the price for it.

    Doesn’t help the lungs and bronchial passages of people with asthma and other breathing issues though. A lot of people will die who were nowhere near the fires.

  • Crikeste@lemm.ee
    199·
    3 months ago

    They cut ~2% of the budget. Anyone spewing this funding cut bullshit is a partisan hack.

    Quit being reactionary.

    • Kbobabob@lemmy.world
      8·
      3 months ago

      Why do you think it’s okay to cut funding to the fire department while keeping the police(gang) force that is notorious for not actually doing anything to help it’s citizens?

      • Critical_Thinker@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        Think about the priority of the community wealthy community members.

        Fires cause insurance payouts. This means big paydays when those ‘priceless’ works of art go up in smoke. You sell the land and buy somewhere without the insurance hikes. Win-win-win for the wealthy.

        Crime causes property values to decline. A break in is harder to deal with. Rabble protesting for fair treatment can get violent. The homeless need to be driven from the wealthy areas so the wealthy can enjoy their champagne and caviar in peace after snorting coke off of a trafficked sex slave’s tits. Police are so very valuable for keeping the wealthy safe.

        They know exactly what the right priority is… for the people who actually matter (not us.)

  • ATDA@lemmy.world
    7·
    3 months ago

    I have to do other people’s jobs. Slap some tin foil on em and throw them in to help.

  • badbytes@lemmy.world
    3·
    3 months ago

    Fire is a natural part of the ecological system. You can by time, but eventually, it will happen. Building in wildlands is a recipe for disaster, if you don’t create breaks, or defencable zones. It’s not a simple problem, with a simple solution. A big part of the problem, is building all those homes there, but if you’re gonna build, then you should protect. A lot of people build in forested areas and don’t create defensible zones, because, that’s why they move there, for pretty trees.

    • BigAssFan@lemmy.world
      2·
      3 months ago

      True, it’s a multi-level fuck-up, which nature is showing us quite clearly. Solutions would not need to be that difficult, just gradually stop burning fossil fuels, stop eating meat, build responsibly and spread money evenly. Too bad that all the people getting rich from these things have a succesful propaganda campaign going on. Nature will not be tamed however, not in the foreseeable future.

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
    21·
    3 months ago

    Just give firefighting responsibility to the cops! Then they can show up to your kitchen fire, put it out, shoot your dog, and arrest you for complaining all in one trip!

  • humble peat digger@lemm.eeBannedEnglish
    110·
    3 months ago

    Building houses without concrete and bricks and then located in the woods - what can go wrong.

    What I don’t understand- most countries have fire fighting airplanes for these things.
    How in a world US being a country with such a mighty economy - doesn’t have them or doesn’t want to use them. Pathetic

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
      7·
      3 months ago

      California didn’t used to burn like this. Yeah, there were fires, but they were far more rare and didn’t affect as many people because the state wasn’t as populous and nowhere near as short of water.

      As to your second statement, it’s bullshit. Wth the “mighty economy” statement has to do with anything. There’s a huge firefighting industry on the west coast and in California, both ground and air. They are using aircraft, even with a temporary stop due to high winds.