Prayers going out.

[hoser]

Ok, It's time for one of Hosers stupid questions. Do they use sea water to fight fires? To see those multi million dollar homes burned to the ground and the waves hitting the shore right behind them. Before someone says salt water pollutes the ground, think about it. What happens if the is a 20-30+ foot storm surge from a Pacific hurricane, and offshore earthquake causing a massive tsunami. I'm pretty sure there are not all that many private water wells in that area, so ground water pollution won't be an issue. Also, I know for a fact that there are fire systems that don't require electrical power to use. We had it at the mill I worked at, upon a power failure emergency diesel pumps automatically started up delivering a boatload of fire water. And to say it's unsightly, well if I lived there, I would have a system right in my front ward if it meant my home would be safe. Like I said, it's probably a stupid question.

 

[markinmichigan]

Excellent question! I have no idea.

Mark in Michigan

 

[stetam]

They said salt water corrodes their pumps so it is not used.

Steve

 

[hoser]

They said salt water corrodes their pumps so it is not used.

I think that is a cop out. What about all the inboard and outboard boat motors that are in the saltwater day in and day out for years and they don't fall apart. Just an excuse to not have to do the right thing. If that is the case and they feel corrosion is a detriment, there are also post pump operation systems that upon shutdown a freshwater flush will occur. Not rocket science.

 

[SeabeeRon]

It's pretty apocalyptic. I haven't seen anything anywhere on how all these fires started. But I sure wonder about that. Here, it's burn days aplenty and people are burning their leaves and pine needles and what not daily. But it rained here for weeks before all that. Socal hasn't been getting much rain I heard.

When we had the CZU Fires here in the Santa Cruz Mtns a few years ago it felt apocalyptic but that events pales in comparison to this one!

There are so many more people living in those hills and mountains in the LA area.

 

[Xxray]

I think that is a cop out. What about all the inboard and outboard boat motors that are in the saltwater day in and day out for years and they don't fall apart. Just an excuse to not have to do the right thing. If that is the case and they feel corrosion is a detriment, there are also post pump operation systems that upon shutdown a freshwater flush will occur. Not rocket science.

I saw footage when this first started of a yellow twin engined aircraft dropping sea water, it would land on the water and scoop up, then take back off, in one motion. It would dump the water, fly back to the sea and repeat the process.
Helicopters also use dump buckets of sea water, so the answer is yes, they do use sea water to a degree, but the amount is probably minuscule compared to the much larger DC-10 and 747, which drop not water but retardant [which is not dropped directly on the fire but rather in its path] So it would seem that one compliments the other, one attempts to contain, the other [in conjunction with ground crews] tries to extinguish.

 

[randy]

My thoughts to everyone in LA. As a displaced Angeleno myself, admittedly by 3000 miles and 57 years, I'm feeling this emotionally myself.

And please keep the political and technical opinions (unless you are an actual firefighter) out. Not the time for it.

Thoughts and prayers.

 

[Xxray]

My thoughts to everyone in LA. As a displaced Angeleno myself, admittedly by 3000 miles and 57 years, I'm feeling this emotionally myself.

And please keep the political and technical opinions (unless you are an actual firefighter) out. Not the time for it.

Thoughts and prayers.

And please keep the moderation to the mods, you hardly need to be a professional firefighter to have a valid "technical" opinion, and politics is swirling all around this, as it is in most everything else that affects our lives.

 

[hoser]

And please keep the political and technical opinions (unless you are an actual firefighter) out. Not the time for it.

I'm not a firefighter; however, I was one of the people where I worked that had to ensure these systems were in good working order and functioned perfectly in case of an emergency. Firefighters may know how to use these systems, but I would be hard pressed to think they know how to trouble shoot all the control systems in place and maintain their functionality. If you know what I mean.

 

[airbornebob]

The aftermath is going to be as catastrophic as the event... all that land is now cleared of EVERYthing and when the rains come the erosion will be devastating. What is the most heartbreaking is that due to the high cost of replacing the homes most insurance companies have dropped those proprieties months ago.

 

[SeabeeRon]

Seems like some of you don't read the Forum Rules and have trouble understanding what they mean.

Keep up with politically slanted comments and some vacations will be handed out!

This thread, to my understanding, was created to offer support to those who have lost so most, EVERYTHING in some cases, to this horrible event. Have a bit of common decency for God's sake.

 

[Coin-Saver]

At a time like this I don't think peoples politics or how much money anyone has matters. Many of those folks will be dropped by their insurance if they haven't been already. Losing everything you own hurts no matter how much money you have. Things like this should bring people together not push them apart. I just hope no more lives are lost.

 

[Xxray]

I haven't seen anything here even slightly disparaging towards victims, quite the opposite - Its the elected & appointed perps that need a light shone on them, and even that is at a bare minimum. If the root causes of such a debacle are not closely examined, if people are not held accountable for their actions in the fear that someones feelings will get hurt, then we are doomed to repeat.

Not saying that that should be hashed out here, I would have unloaded long ago if able. But some people just seem to want to pray and wish for kinship and kindness, that simply is not going to do.

 

[LovestheShiny!]

The root cause of the Cali fires are the voters. You get the government and leadership you elect.

 

[hoser]

As much as I feel terrible for what has happened in LA, it's the folks that aren't filthy rich, and probably have more than one mansion to go to that I feel sorry for. They have nothing anymore. However, in one respect they are still lucky. Think about the people that lost their homes out east after the hurricanes came through and are living in tents, temps are below freezing, and it's snowing. Don't forget those folks and keep them in your thoughts as well.

 

[SeabeeRon]

As much as I feel terrible for what has happened in LA, it's the folks that aren't filthy rich, and probably have more than one mansion to go to that I feel sorry for. They have nothing anymore. However, in one respect they are still lucky. Think about the people that lost their homes out east after the hurricanes came through and are living in tents, temps are below freezing, and it's snowing. Don't forget those folks and keep them in your thoughts as well.

Totally agree Bill! It always shakes out that way for whatever disaster has happened, so very sad!

 

[Xxray]

In fact, SoCal is already getting massive amounts of fed aid thrown at them within days - Not so with hurricane victims.

Unfortunately, impossible to effectively discuss here.

 

[Rudy]

<SNIP>

Unfortunately, impossible to effectively discuss here.

Agreed, this is not the proper forum for those kinds of discussions.

 

[Xxray]

Here is an interesting post pertaining to hosers question about seawater being used to fight fires, very knowledgeable guy [and yes even a professional fire fighter].
For those who don't feel like watching, yes it sure can be used. It is being used by aircraft as we speak, not sure about ground crews. Could be pumped for miles using relay pumps and 6" hose that the US military has in stock nearby. Contingency plans obviously should have been made long ago for using sea water as a backup for the reservoir system for just such a worse case scenario that we are seeing right now.

 

[Rudy]

In spite of repeated efforts and warnings by the staff, this thread keeps logging politically slanted posts, most of which have been deleted.

We are short staffed right now and have no time to continue monitoring this thread, therefore, this thread is now closed. Sorry Hoser, we know you meant well.