Sun setting through wildfire smoke cloud. Fire vicinity under "GO NOW" evacuation notices.

[George McGovern]

We are 30-35 miles away from the affected area. Safe.

[secondwind]

1. What an amazing photo!!!!!

[George McGovern]

3. Thank You secondwind! Its circumstances are bad, but needed to be shown.

[usonian]

2. NEVER FAR ENOUGH!

Oak Fire, I got this shot, the haze allowed sunspots to be seen.



I was paying a bill and met someone whose house burned.
Just heartbreaking.
Everyone stay safe.

[George McGovern]

4. It is heartbreaking usonian. Nonetheless, you got quite a shot there.

[usonian]

6. Thanks, I want to get back to flowers!!

That was with the new Coolpix, effectively 1800mm.
I will post some photos of firefighting aircraft later on.
Quite the firefighting Air Force, all kinds of planes, and helicopters.

Everyone in the west (EVEN those flooded areas!) have an evacuation kit ready, with your important printed documents, and treasured photos, and computer backup drives and medications and ..... well, that's for another post.

BE READY, BE SAFE.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. What a great, though heartbreaking shot, my dear George!

Fires do make for interesting skies, but the heartbreak of peoples' lost homes, livelihoods and lives really overrides that.

Love the red sun!

Thank you for bringing this fantastic photo plus all the sorrow and heartbreak that go with it, my dear George!

[George McGovern]

7. You are welcome CaliforniaPeggy. I have not shot wildfire-tainted skies to avoid attendant sorrow

nor to glorify unusual sky-scapes no matter how spectacular. But tonight's smoke cloud stretched across the sky looked very different than normal and I'm hoping we can connect it with the sadness, destruction and think good thoughts for the people who go through such trauma.

[usonian]

8. Don't feel bad about the post, George.

It's part of life in the west. You got an unusual shot. Let's all benefit from this.

If it causes a single family to prepare an evacuation plan, and like my neighbor, hire a crew to clear brush and trees near their house, it will have done some real good. With the extreme weather, more people who don't know the drill will need to plan.

CalFire offers a lot of resources.
https://www.readyforwildfire.org/

The first day I moved into my home, they paid a visit and made suggestions (OK, the former owner wasn't so aware). Then I cleared a hillside near the home. The Oakland Hills Fire many years ago was a wake-up call that urban areas can be just as risky as forests, and far more densely populated.

CalFire has a "defensible space" recommendation for the area near homes.
This is the brochure describing defensible space, home hardening and how to create an action plan for your family.

https://www.readyforwildfire.org/wp-content/uploads/Ready-Set-Go-Plan-09_CALFIRE_sm.pdf. (2.3MB PDF)
Has some items that I wasn't aware of.

It's a good summary, but it's worth looking at the entire site.
Beyond wildfire, there are more resources at https://www.ready.gov/. (DHS)
Remember that the Coast Guard is part of DHS, and the Coast Guard is Always Ready, Semper Paratus, and the very best!

Everyone be ready!

[George McGovern]

15. I do and I don't usonian. But the don't overrides the do because it is an unusual image.

Thanks for all your resources. Good to have them published.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. Incredible photo, George. Thanks so much for sharing it!

I'm on the East Coast, Northern New York, but I ran into a long time Californian friend in the store today and we were talking about the differences. Here, we're only worried about the heat, California has much more serious issues, wild fires, lack of water and my friend was relating how they could shut off your power. Please stay safe!

[George McGovern]

11. You are most welcome Rhiannon12866! I'm from once rural Connecticut. You're right about differences!

My wife and I are in a safe area thank you. I surely hope your California Friend is too. Thank You!

[usonian]

16. Oh, they did. Twice.

Once during the Oak fire, and later, for about 18 hours. The back story, for non-Californians, is that PG&E was found guilty of neglect of equipment, such that a 100 year old insulator let go and caused a devastating fire; I think it was the Paradise fire, and there were others. They went into bankruptcy and were allowed to exit it. Since then, I give them credit for massive tree clearing around power lines, and committing to running many lines underground, though that is impossible in rugged terrain. It also means that they set the trigger on "glitches" very low, metaphorically like "I saw a squirrel, shutting down", out of safety and "CYA" concern.

So power went out the other day. The "official" reason was weather (there was none) and some 15 hours later, helicopters were flying around looking for downed lines. My opinion, it really was a squirrel, and power came back on, roughly at shift change time. (THIS IS ALL OPINION, they never say what really happened unless CalFire determines a cause that's fire-related)

Now, this is not to critique George's photo. He presented a very unusual scenario, with that plume. But I want to explain some of the madness that is PG&E to others, and to share some great resources that CalFire and DHS make available widely.

Even if they help you keep a grass fire from burning down your front porch or garage, or a flood from ruining your parents' wedding photos, this will have served a good cause.

FWIW, I *did* email Jeff Bezos to create temporary housing for the thousands who lost homes in Paradise CA, and there in the idea of drop boxes so that people could buy stuff from Amazon and send it to fire victims, but he had other concerns, maybe space rockets. The housing probably would have turned a profit and later helped relieve the housing shortage.

So much for capitalism to the rescue.

Read the stuff I referenced above.
I'll post cool air-tanker photos in a while.

Stay safe, everyone.

[George McGovern]

17. usonian -- Pacific Gas & Electric's neglect and the subsequent Paradise fire was horrible.

Just horrible. At the least the company appears to have developed a conscience. Doing what should've been done previously.

Which brings this image to mind — in the aftermath of the Paradise fire, the so-called president proclaiming that all they needed to do was rake leaves and it wouldn't have happened. Just one of his monumental-mental-lapses.

[usonian]

18. Just stunning.

The first eye-opener was the 2010 gas explosion in San Bruno. IIRC, they faked inspections of a gas main until it let go, destroying homes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bruno_pipeline_explosion

(spare you the details)
On January 13, 2012, an independent audit from the State of California issued a report stating that PG&E had illegally diverted over $100 million from a fund used for safety operations, and instead used it for executive compensation and bonuses. ...

And that's BEFORE the many devastating fires determined to be caused by aging/defective electrical equipment.

[brer cat]

10. I'm glad you are safe, George.

That is an outstanding shot, although quite sad to think about.

[George McGovern]

12. It is quite sad brer cat. But y'know, when I saw that sky last night I ran and got my camera.

Thank you for your safety concerns. We are fortunate to not "live in the trees," and therefore not as susceptible to wild fire as other places.

[Callalily]

13. It's amazing how something so devastating can be so beautiful!

[George McGovern]

14. Isn't it Callily. I can justify this picture, but not the devastation. Thank You!