California’s fire season is in full swing with many terrible wildfires and hundreds of “lesser” fires. We have very low humidity, no rain, brutally high temperatures and winds to fan these along. It is awful, and it happens every year. It seems to be to be getting worse every year.
Thousands of people have faced evacuations on short notice, and all too often many return home to piles of ashes. Each and every one of them is a tragic victim.
Brave fire fighters are dying protecting others’ property. Civilians, real people die, too. Recently the body of a great grandmother was found on top of the bodies of two great grandchildren that she was trying to protect. More than sad.
People are victims. They lose their precious, hard earned property, their livelihoods, and suffer terribly from these losses. They lose.
Bad (environmental, usually liberal, Democratic) politicians backed by sometimes violent tree huggers have refused to clear dead wood for decades. This is not only frightfully bad land management which has contributed to these disasters. It is willful bad management. It all fits with the liberal, progressive, Democrat backed agenda 21/2030 which doesn’t mind wild fires’ destruction as long as people are forced into more dense housing. (Yes, they even want farmers to live in the inner city and commute to their distant farms.) There is an abundance of @#*&% bad, runinous thinking involved.
The various federal, state and local departments of fire control seem to have an aversion regarding identifying the sources of some of these fires. While they can identify a downed power line, a flat tire, or a car fire, they are loath (scared, cowardly) to identify the human causes of fires but admit that up to 95% are human caused, either accidentally or intentionally.
Let’s all be reminded that the terrorist Islamic ISIS and al Qaeda (as well as others) monthly publications regularly urge followers to start wild fires because they cause so much ruin, are so costly, and often kill people. The Moslem publications have provided guidelines along with ways to conceal their presence when they start fires, etc.
People living in rural areas are being charged some sort of increased fire protection fees. It’s pay up or burn. Your government at work.
Insurers are big winners with these fires. With pooled risks, they are not likely to lose much money, and they typically pay less than the value of lost property. Because of fires and fire risks, they can justify raising their rates and earn ever more income.
I devised a plan that can help homeowners to protect their property from possible fire damage. I have contacted insurers offering to write articles to their magazines outlining the process and have never had a positive response. They had no interest in providing discounts to people who might have taken these measures to protect their properties. I have contacted architectural magazines with a similar offer and never had a response. Architects make money designing replacement homes. I never bothered with bankers.
Entrepreneurs are coming forward with ways to hopefully stop hot embers from blowing up under eaves into attics. Has this stop-gap/partial measure been proven effective? I hope so.
It is in the hands of people who live in high fire risk areas to stand up and demand practical, responsible fire prevention measures along with protection for their families and property. Surely, the politicians don’t give a whit as long as campaign donations keep flowing in; the ecologists and tree huggers don’t care, and let’s be honest – fire fighters although gallant also make lots of money in overtime, and part-time, on call fire fighters relish the opportunity to make money.
People in high fire risk areas can best serve themselves by tanking measures themselves.
The author who had family members who worked as fire fighters, and who has worked in the fire safety industry can be contacted at nyandjim@yahoo.com.
James E. Horn is a Retired American Diplomat
He is an activist, a writer, and a speaker who knows his subject
He can be reached at james@portervillepost.com
