Oh, absolutely. I live in a bushfire prone area and my family's all in with the local BFB. There are some "lovely big blocks of bush with a house on it" developments that would NOT get approval today because they're death traps. A bad fire went through the region 10 years ago where the people of 3 different beachside developments had to flee to the beach and be evacuated by boat...because there was only one access road. When the fire made that road too dangerous, they were trapped. Firies had been pointing out the danger of that exact thing for more than a decade at that point. Now, 11 years later, there's still only one road accessing those communities.
I can't speak for other Australian states, or even other areas of WA; but farmers in my area (Margaret River region) recognised that "burn little and often" was the best plan, and they were sufficiently knowledgeable about local conditions and fire behaviour to make that happen safely. There was very little in the way of official oversight of how a man burnt his own property, and farmers were encouraged (begged, actually) to also burn the road verges and reserves bordering their farms. Bush fire brigades were extremely local coalitions of farmers with no official training and very little government assistance. Brigades fundraised to buy equipment and members used their personal machinery. If you spotted a fire you phoned your local Brigade Captain; one of the children would be sent haring off to drag him in from the paddock, while his wife started the "phone tree" to notify other members. Dad would throw on a long-sleeved shirt, long trousers (both of heavy cotton drill) and a hard hat. That, and his everyday wool socks and leather workboots, was the extent of his protective clothing.
Also, the whole area was Hicksville; population was very low and "lifestyle blocks" didn't exist. You either lived on a cleared 1/4 acre block in a townsite, or you lived in a farmhouse in the middle of a cleared area for the express purpose of fire safety. The kikuyu "lawn" of the house yard would be watered through summer, providing a nice green firebreak that also kept the wife and kids happy. No scheme water, so that was a significant allocation of resources.
Environmental and anti-pollution movements began to take off in the 1980s, and people started to value living on "lifestyle" blocks on the fringes of towns and cities. From Perth down through the South West people started howling about habitat damage, air pollution from the smoke and how ugly burned patches look. The area was also making a name for itself for production of quality wines, smoke can ruin unpicked grapes, and the prime burning and ripening seasons overlap. Overall result; lots of pressure against controlled burns by a well-meaning but ignorant public. There was even a landmark court case, where a vineyard owner sued the Forestry Department for smoke taint on his grapes (he lost). Fortunately the responsible govt agencies toughed it out and refused to drop burning altogether, but were forced to reduce the scope and number of burns. This allowed a build up of litter we're still dealing with.
Also in the 80s, the WA government brought in compulsory training for all volunteer firies. I've seen the material and holy shit. Not only was it EXTREMELY basic (This is an axe! An axe is a useful firefighting tool!), it was written at about Grade 3 level with lots of brightly-coloured pictures and a condescending tone. Men who'd been defending their communities for decades were quite reasonably insulted, and some quit altogether.
Anyway, not really sure how this turned into an essay on the History of Firefighting in WA. It's an interest of mine. I'll shut up now, sorry.
In Western Australia too. Crown and Forestry Land are both managed by government agencies, and don't have to conform to the same fire mitigation standards as privately owned farmland. If you want to see a rant, ask a farmer who's land adjoins Crown or Forestry land, what they think about the government agency's fire management.
don't shut up - it is interesting! and its pretty similar to the east, where the rural fire brigades are all self funded and manned/womanned by volunteers who have to buy their own uniforms. When the fires happened in 2019, people in the RFS let their businesses collapse to fight the fires, they went for weeks without pay and some are still suffering the debts that were caused by keeping the rest of us safe.. I have nothing but respect for RFS volunteers - and nothing but contempt (harsh word) for people who insist on living a 'bush' lifestyle and refuse to maintain that land properly, including annual maintenance burn offs and fuel load reduction.
Yep, I remember the drought of 76-77, then my 5th grade year was cut several weeks short by Mt. Saint Helens in 1980, then I went through the Challis Earthquake in 1983, with a couple ice storms and river flooding (only about 10" over the road, not enough to stop the school bus) mixed in. And this was all in the interior west.
"-- US Forest Service, which we always have to remind ourselves is part of the Agriculture Department,--" Yes, growing trees is agriculture, just like growing soybeans, corn, vegetables, meat livestock, etc. My late husband and I managed 600 acres of loblolly pine trees and did controlled burns every winter. It got harder, though, because of urban neighbors freaking out over them. But without controlled burns your neighbors can wind up homeless from UNcontrolled burns. Sometimes neighbors can even destroy your tree farm by objecting to your cutting them as a crop. There was a court case in California in which people in a subdivision did just that because they had moved next to a private tree farm "for the view."
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to me that a lot of that harvested lumber could then be used to build low cost housing and other various sochulist projects.
Reese is very good at nailing the issue with white voters. This is why I'm not all heated up about passing the BBB. White voters will punish us for it.
Oh, absolutely. I live in a bushfire prone area and my family's all in with the local BFB. There are some "lovely big blocks of bush with a house on it" developments that would NOT get approval today because they're death traps. A bad fire went through the region 10 years ago where the people of 3 different beachside developments had to flee to the beach and be evacuated by boat...because there was only one access road. When the fire made that road too dangerous, they were trapped. Firies had been pointing out the danger of that exact thing for more than a decade at that point. Now, 11 years later, there's still only one road accessing those communities.
I can't speak for other Australian states, or even other areas of WA; but farmers in my area (Margaret River region) recognised that "burn little and often" was the best plan, and they were sufficiently knowledgeable about local conditions and fire behaviour to make that happen safely. There was very little in the way of official oversight of how a man burnt his own property, and farmers were encouraged (begged, actually) to also burn the road verges and reserves bordering their farms. Bush fire brigades were extremely local coalitions of farmers with no official training and very little government assistance. Brigades fundraised to buy equipment and members used their personal machinery. If you spotted a fire you phoned your local Brigade Captain; one of the children would be sent haring off to drag him in from the paddock, while his wife started the "phone tree" to notify other members. Dad would throw on a long-sleeved shirt, long trousers (both of heavy cotton drill) and a hard hat. That, and his everyday wool socks and leather workboots, was the extent of his protective clothing.
Also, the whole area was Hicksville; population was very low and "lifestyle blocks" didn't exist. You either lived on a cleared 1/4 acre block in a townsite, or you lived in a farmhouse in the middle of a cleared area for the express purpose of fire safety. The kikuyu "lawn" of the house yard would be watered through summer, providing a nice green firebreak that also kept the wife and kids happy. No scheme water, so that was a significant allocation of resources.
Environmental and anti-pollution movements began to take off in the 1980s, and people started to value living on "lifestyle" blocks on the fringes of towns and cities. From Perth down through the South West people started howling about habitat damage, air pollution from the smoke and how ugly burned patches look. The area was also making a name for itself for production of quality wines, smoke can ruin unpicked grapes, and the prime burning and ripening seasons overlap. Overall result; lots of pressure against controlled burns by a well-meaning but ignorant public. There was even a landmark court case, where a vineyard owner sued the Forestry Department for smoke taint on his grapes (he lost). Fortunately the responsible govt agencies toughed it out and refused to drop burning altogether, but were forced to reduce the scope and number of burns. This allowed a build up of litter we're still dealing with.
Also in the 80s, the WA government brought in compulsory training for all volunteer firies. I've seen the material and holy shit. Not only was it EXTREMELY basic (This is an axe! An axe is a useful firefighting tool!), it was written at about Grade 3 level with lots of brightly-coloured pictures and a condescending tone. Men who'd been defending their communities for decades were quite reasonably insulted, and some quit altogether.
Anyway, not really sure how this turned into an essay on the History of Firefighting in WA. It's an interest of mine. I'll shut up now, sorry.
In Western Australia too. Crown and Forestry Land are both managed by government agencies, and don't have to conform to the same fire mitigation standards as privately owned farmland. If you want to see a rant, ask a farmer who's land adjoins Crown or Forestry land, what they think about the government agency's fire management.
don't shut up - it is interesting! and its pretty similar to the east, where the rural fire brigades are all self funded and manned/womanned by volunteers who have to buy their own uniforms. When the fires happened in 2019, people in the RFS let their businesses collapse to fight the fires, they went for weeks without pay and some are still suffering the debts that were caused by keeping the rest of us safe.. I have nothing but respect for RFS volunteers - and nothing but contempt (harsh word) for people who insist on living a 'bush' lifestyle and refuse to maintain that land properly, including annual maintenance burn offs and fuel load reduction.
They'd go too long not trimming, then cut way back, so they wouldn't have to come again for a long time.
When he says "folks back home" remember home is a yacht with a Maserati parked at the dock.
Yep, I remember the drought of 76-77, then my 5th grade year was cut several weeks short by Mt. Saint Helens in 1980, then I went through the Challis Earthquake in 1983, with a couple ice storms and river flooding (only about 10" over the road, not enough to stop the school bus) mixed in. And this was all in the interior west.
I blame Stockholm syndrome. Dude would play the biggest venues in Vegas but had to be driven to North Town to get a room.
Remind me again why Arizona can't have two Senators like Mark Kelly?
But can we use leaf blowers?
Maybe very early--but that stopped when Frank refused to play anywhere that treated Sammy differently.
"-- US Forest Service, which we always have to remind ourselves is part of the Agriculture Department,--" Yes, growing trees is agriculture, just like growing soybeans, corn, vegetables, meat livestock, etc. My late husband and I managed 600 acres of loblolly pine trees and did controlled burns every winter. It got harder, though, because of urban neighbors freaking out over them. But without controlled burns your neighbors can wind up homeless from UNcontrolled burns. Sometimes neighbors can even destroy your tree farm by objecting to your cutting them as a crop. There was a court case in California in which people in a subdivision did just that because they had moved next to a private tree farm "for the view."
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to me that a lot of that harvested lumber could then be used to build low cost housing and other various sochulist projects.
Anyone ever drive through Glenwood canyon on 70? How tf would you rake something like that?
2 divisions of troops with leaf blowers.
Reese is very good at nailing the issue with white voters. This is why I'm not all heated up about passing the BBB. White voters will punish us for it.
30mm leafblower gatlings mounted in attack helicopters