It is incredible to me that every year more and more of California burns to the ground. Understandably, the near perfect weather all year round doesn't allow for much rain but it is still sad that every year more families lose their homes and it doesn't get the press coverage it deserves until a celebrity's multi-million dollar house burns down.
"Crews battling the massive wildfire north of Los Angeles have received major assistance from the weather, allowing them to build lines around a quarter of the blaze, but the fight is far from over. "
"The fire has scorched 164 square miles of tinder-dry brush, destroyed 53 homes, and threatened more than 12,000 others. But firefighters have had one stroke of luck: with no wind blowing, they have so far been able to beat the fire back far enough to protect the suburbs of Los Angeles."
As wildfires fires continue to rage in the Angeles National Forest, polar glaciers melt, ocean levels rise, and hurricanes grow more powerful as the world gets warmer, we are looking not only at The Age of Stupid, but the rise of Dystopian Cinema.
A Dystopian world is the opposite of a Utopian one, basically: usually miserable, poverty-stricken, and dehumanizing. Last year Wall-E proved a surprise blockbuster, while 2009 brought us Alex Proyas’s Knowing, starring Nic Cage as a man facing a grim forecast for the world, McG’s Terminator Salvation, set in the future as John Connor (Christian Bale) rages against the Machines, and Neill Blomkamp’s sleeper hit District 9 with its insect-like aliens living in a fetid South African slum. Still to come: Shane Acker’s animated 9, John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the British documentary hybrid The Age of Stupid, and the latest sky-is-falling installment from Roland Emmerich, 2012: dystopian movies all.
If we’re not scared yet, we should be.
Filmmakers have been imagining the end of the world and what life would be like for its survivors since William Cameron Menzies’ 1936 H.G. Wells adaptation Things to Come. The nuclear age brought 1959’s On the Beach, followed decades later by George Miller’s 1979 Mad Max and its sequels, Ridley Scott’s 1982 Blade Runner, and more recently, Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men (2006) and Will Smith in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend (2007).
Opening September 9, the animated 9 pits friendly humanoid robots against deadly monster-bots. Set to open October 16 after its debut at the Toronto Film Festival, The Road stars Viggo Mortensen as a father trying to protect his young son (Garret Dillahunt) in a hostile, fire-ravaged world inhabited by gangs of cannibals scavenging for food. Here’s the Apple trailer. (@ link)
UPDATE: Another movie coming up that fits the bill is the Hughes brothers’ Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington as yet another warrior in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The Guardian has theories about this trend.
The post-apocalyptic disaster movie is one strain of the genre. Armed with the latest VFX, will 2012 prove as successful on November 13 as Emmerich’s other destroy-the-Earth scenarios Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow? Here’s the 2012 trailer: (@ link)As wildfires fires continue to rage in the Angeles National Forest, polar glaciers... more
Anyone living in Los Angeles knows that there has been a smokey mushroom cloud looming over our city for the last few days. This time lapse video gives an idea of its magnitude.Anyone living in Los Angeles knows that there has been a smokey mushroom cloud looming... more
Amateur Psychic by telekinesis tries to bring rain to California and Los Angeles (LA).
Amateur Psychic attempts to send heavy rain to LA to help on the drought and fire conditions there.
Amateur psychic T. Chase attempts to send rain on 8-31-09 by telekinesis to Los Angeles and California generally because of a major fire burning near LA and other fires in California. See other videos where T. Chase demonstrates psychic psychokinesis weather control by making clouds disappear or grow by psychic energy. T. Chase will attempt to help the drought situation in LA and California. What could help, is that a hurricane off the West Coast of Mexico on 8-31-09, if it could head north toward LA, and just send some of its heavy rain to LA, without the wind. So I will try to steer some of that hurricane's rain toward LA.Amateur Psychic by telekinesis tries to bring rain to California and Los Angeles (LA).... more
More than 3,000 homes are now empty due to the California wildfire, which has also charred more than 8,000 hectares of land. However, officials have stated that only 3 people have been injured by the wildfire. The hot dry weather isn't helping, but by Sunday it should cool down.More than 3,000 homes are now empty due to the California wildfire, which has also... more
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Dry conditions and strong winds in California left much of the state vulnerable to massive fires, with blaze-starters ranging from a cooking fire at a drug trafficking operation to a bird flying into a power line.
"It really goes to show you that it doesn't take much with these dry conditions to start a fire," CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant told CNN Sunday.
The fire sparked by a bird hitting a power line ignited a series of blazes in Yuba County, forcing some 1,300 firefighters to the scene and officials to declare evacuations in the town of Dobbins, he said. Authorities have battled the Yuba fire since Friday and expect containment by Thursday.
In Southern California's Santa Barbara County, a weeklong blaze has charred more than 84,000 acres, investigators said. The fire originated at an illegal marijuana camp believed to be run by a Mexican drug organization, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit said in a news release Saturday night.
"I haven't heard of any other fire starting that way," said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Underhill, referring to the so-called La Brea Fire.
More than 2,000 firefighters are fighting the blaze, which is 35 percent contained, authorities said. Some homes around the Los Padres National Forest have been evacuated.
Narcotics investigators have secured the area after working for the past month to eradicate marijuana operations in the remote and steep terrain, the release said.
"It is also believed that the suspects are still within the San Rafael wilderness trying to leave the area on foot," officials said.
Twenty firefighters sustained minor injuries while trying to contain a complex of smaller fires in Northern California's Shasta County that have burned nearly at least 17,623 acres, authorities said.
CalFire spokesman Brent Saulsbury said 37 of the 40 fires -- known as the Shasta Lightning Complex -- are under control.
The area is dense with timber, giving the fires serious fuel. Rugged terrain, limited access to fire trucks and the length of time it takes to reach wildfires have hindered firefighters in recent days, he saidLOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Dry conditions and strong winds in California left... more
Another problem that could be solved if marijuana was legalized and the marijuana growing buisness was taken out of the hands of criminals.Another problem that could be solved if marijuana was legalized and the marijuana... more
After 50 years of being misled, Hawaiians are challenging a long history of misinformation leading to the creation of the State of Hawai`i and the commemoration of 50 years of its existence.
Join us in challenging U.S. propaganda by calling attention to the ‘real story’ and asserting Hawaiian independence.
When - Friday, August 21, 10 AM - 1 PM
Where - From Ala Moana Park (Diamond Head side entrance) to
Hawai`i Convention Center
Please wear black in solidarity and carry or wear a ti leaf.
This event is spearheaded by the Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance and the Institute for Hawaiian Affairs, with support from Hawaii People's Fund and Ka Lei Maile Alii Hawaiian Civic Club.Join Us In Support Of A Free Hawai`i
After 50 years of being misled, Hawaiians are... more
California residents are being urged to follow orders to leave their homes as crews struggled to control nearly a dozen wildfires burning in areas with inaccessible terrain.
"These fires will be different than most of the fires because of the terrain," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Saturday during a tour of the Lockheed Fire zone. "It's very hard to get equipment in there and the resources in there. That's why you see a lot of helicopters and fixed winged aircraft being used."
The fire has blackened more than 10 square miles of remote wilderness since Wednesday and prompted mandatory evacuations of the mountain communities of Swanton and Bonny Doon, which have about 2,400 residents and several wineries.
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi declared a state of emergency Friday for Santa Cruz County.
The blaze damaged two small structures and was threatening more than 1,000 homes and buildings. No homes were destroyed, but Schwarzenegger said 25 firefighters had been injured. The extent of their injuries wasn't immediately known.
"We pray that they heal as quickly as possible," Schwarzenegger said.
More crews have arrived to help with the blaze, which currently was being held back by a total of 2,000 firefighters, Nadim Yehia of CalFire said late Saturday. The fire was about 40 percent contained, he added.
Meanwhile, a separate fire in Yuba County north of Sacramento tripled in size Saturday to more than 6 square miles as the flames jumped the north Yuba River and began burning in Nevada County, according to CalFire spokeswoman Joann Cartoscelli. It was about 15 percent contained Saturday.
Schwarzenegger said the Lockheed Fire was among 11 burning up and down the coast in the state. Other blazes have forced evacuations and knocked out power, and smoke and ash from the growing wildfire in Santa Barbara County whirled into the Los Angeles area, prompting an unusual weather forecast of "scattered smoke."
Bonnie Bartling with the National Weather Service said that forecast was expected for the Santa Monica Mountains, San Fernando Valley, and other areas of northern Los Angeles County.
The Yuba fire, which was ignited by burning feathers from a red-tailed hawk that flew into a power line, destroyed two homes Friday, forced the evacuation of about 120 residences and knocked out power in the Sierra foothills town of Dobbins, said Cartoscelli. Residents of about 40 homes were allowed to return after evacuation orders were lifted.
She added that the number of firefighters was more than doubled to 1,300 from around the state to battle the blaze.
Teams were trying to prevent the fire from spreading to the Colgate Powerhouse, the oldest powerhouse in the state and which provides electricity to the Dobbins area.
She said the area around the Yuba River was creating "difficult" problems, describing it as "very rough terrain. It's steep. You can't drive to it."
Farther north, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said Saturday that a week-old wildfire burning in the Los Padres National Forest was started by a campfire set by marijuana growers, part of a drug operation run by Mexican nationals.
More than 230 homes and ranches remained under evacuation orders as more than 2,000 firefighters took on that blaze, which has burned 131 square miles of timber and brush in the forest about 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It was 25 percent contained.
In Alameda County, which includes part of the Bay area, more than 400 firefighters were struggling to control a wind-driven grass fire burning an area of about 23 square miles near Tracy, according to a CalFire report. The Corral Fire was 60 percent contained, and Alameda County Fire department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said Saturday that there was no threat to the nearby interstates 5 and 580.
Click link to continue...California residents are being urged to follow orders to leave their homes as crews... more
Fire crews fanned out Friday across a parched California where wind-whipped wildfires have forced hundreds of people to flee their homes and led to an emergency declaration in Santa Cruz County.
In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Lockheed Fire has prompted officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders for the mountain communities of Swanton and Bonny Doon, which have about 2,400 residents and several wineries.
The blaze, which started Wednesday night, has blackened 6.5 square miles of remote wilderness and was only about 5 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
In Davenport, a coastal town near the Lockheed Fire, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi declared a state of emergency for Santa Cruz County as a step toward getting federal assistance for local governments and private property owners.
Garamendi was acting at the request of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was out of state attending the funeral of his mother-in-law, Eunice Shriver.
"We're entering the height of fire season in California," he said. "We need to prepare."
The governor was expected to tour the fire zone on Saturday.
The fire, about 10 miles north of the coastal city of Santa Cruz, has damaged only two small structures but was threatening more than 1,000 other homes and buildings. There have been no reports of injuries. The cause is under investigation.
Six helicopters and six fixed-wing aircraft were expected to join the firefighting effort, along with another 300 firefighters to help the roughly 700 already on the scene.
The steep, rugged terrain and dense vegetation has made it difficult to contain the blaze, so firefighters are focused on keeping flames away from homes, said Jim Stunkel, a battalion chief from San Jose.
"As the brush ignites, it's like a fireworks explosion, and the sparks rain down where the ranch houses are," he said. "As it comes toward us, we'll put hose lines down, dig a line and try to push the fire back. That's all we can do right now."
Smoke plumes extended over 50 miles from Santa Cruz to Monterey, but winds were blowing the smoke out toward the Pacific Ocean, said Richard Stedman, director of the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District. Officials were monitoring air quality but do not believe it has reached unhealthy levels.
At the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, animal care workers were assisting more than 100 animals rescued from the fire zone, including goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, alpacas, llamas and horses.
Hannah Good, a veterinarian who lives in Bonny Doon, said the workers had helped her evacuate her birds, cats, donkey, pony and dog.
"It was quite a scramble getting the animals and our family out of there," said Hannah Good, a veterinarian who lives in Bonny Doon with her partner and two children. "Once I smelled the smoke, I knew we had problems."
Farther down the coast, more than 1,800 firefighters were battling a wildfire around Los Padres National Forest that had grown to nearly 105 square miles, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Valerie Baca.
More than 230 homes and ranches in canyons and ridges near the La Brea Fire were under evacuation orders as the week-old blaze kept growing in northern Santa Barbara County. Hot, dry conditions were expected Friday.
In Alameda County, more than 300 firefighters were struggling to control a wind-driven grass fire that had grown to about 16 square miles near Tracy, said Aisha Knowles, a spokeswoman for the Alameda County Fire Department.
The Corral Fire was not threatening any structures but was moving toward the juncture of Interstate 5 and Interstate 580, where officials worried that smoke could impact visibility and traffic. It was about 20 percent contained, Knowles said.
Click link to continue...Fire crews fanned out Friday across a parched California where wind-whipped wildfires... more
A fire is threatening Glendale, CA. Here is the Glendale 2009 (aka Glenoaks Fire) evacuations and details. Glendale Fire Department shortly before 6 pm tonight, roughly 50 minutes ago, posted the following warning:
BRUSH FIRE - AUG. 4
A brush fire was reported on the westbound 134 freeway, just east of the 2 freeway at 4:11 pm on Tuesday, August 4. Numerous fire companies from Glendale, LA City, and Pasadena Fire are currently on scene, along with firefighting helicopters. The fire was upgraded to a second alarm at 4:45 pm and additional fire companies were dispatched. There appear to be multiple starts. Fire companies assigned to structure protection in the area of E. Glenoaks Bl. and Waltonia Dr. and nearby are standing by. The City’s new Reverse-911 system will be used to notify residents who may be impacted by this fire. An evacuation center is being set up at the Civic Auditorium. (Last update: 5:45 pm)
Evacuations: Residents in the 2100 to 2300 block of Glenoaks Boulevard
Evacuation Center: Glendale Civic Auditorium at 1401 N. Verdugo Rd. for evacuees.A fire is threatening Glendale, CA. Here is the Glendale 2009 (aka Glenoaks Fire)... more
Firefighters in several parts of the Mediterranean continued to fight wildfires on Monday (July 27) which began days ago and have left eight dead.
Thousands of acres of woodland in Spain, France, Greece and Sardinia have been destroyed by fires fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds.Firefighters in several parts of the Mediterranean continued to fight wildfires on... more
The recent increase in area burned by wildfires in the Western United States is a product not of higher temperatures or longer fire seasons alone, but a complex relationship between climate and fuels that varies among different ecosystems, according to a study conducted by U.S. Forest Service and university scientists. The study is the most detailed examination of wildfire in the United States to date and appears in the current issue of the journal Ecological Applications.
"We found that what matters most in accounting for large wildfires in the Western United States is how climate influences the build up—or production—and drying of fuels," said Jeremy Littell, a research scientist with the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group and lead investigator of the study. "Climate affects fuels in different ecosystems differently, meaning that future wildfire size and, likely, severity depends on interactions between climate and fuel availability and production."
To explore climate-fire relationships, the scientists used fire data from 1916 to 2003 for 19 ecosystem types in 11 Western States to construct models of total wildfire area burned. They then compared these fire models with monthly state divisional climate data.
The study confirmed what scientists have long observed: that low precipitation and high temperatures dry out fuels and result in significant fire years, a pattern that dominates the northern and mountainous portions of the West. But it also provided new insight on the relationship between climate and fire, such as Western shrublands' and grasslands' requirement for high precipitation one year followed by dry conditions the next to produce fuels sufficient to result in large wildfires.
The study revealed that climate influences the likelihood of large fires by controlling the drying of existing fuels in forests and the production of fuels in more arid ecosystems. The influence of climate leading up to a fire season depends on whether the ecosystem is more forested or more like a woodland or shrubland.
"These data tell us that the effectiveness of fuel reductions in reducing area burned may vary in different parts of the country," said David L. Peterson, a research biologist with the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station and one of the study's authors. "With this information, managers can design treatments appropriate for specific climate-fire relationships and prioritize efforts where they can realize the most benefit."
Findings from the study suggest that, as the climate continues to warm, more area can be expected to burn, at least in northern portions of the West, corroborating what researchers have projected in previous studies. In addition, cooler, wetter areas that are relatively fire-free today, such as the west side of the Cascade Range, may be more prone to fire by mid-century if climate projections hold and weather becomes more extreme.The recent increase in area burned by wildfires in the Western United States is a... more
It was warm dry mid May 2009 very similar to the previous year. Another indicator of a very early start to an extremely dry fire season. On this day, a combination of firecrackers and dry grass along with winds ignited this fast moving brush fire that grew quickly and threatened homes and structures. The winds and tinder dry grass and brush and a lack of humidity allowed flames to leap 40' feet into that sky.
But This year it is different than the last fire season. ... This year a bad economy that has reduced many firefighting budgets to a dangerous new low.... a bad combination in what could be most destructive fire season in California history!
" Dozers: The Commanders in the War on Fire " [10 Minute Sample] The Lick Wildland Fire Went from an illegal burn barrel to 60,000 acres almost over night. The swirling gusty winds changing direction minute per minute in deep canyons of tinder dry brush and a lack of humidity, gave the fire a life of it's own as it would make fast runs up steep ravines jumping valleys and spotting fires for miles spreading in every direction. The Lick Fire was hard on equipment and man power and also your lungs. The back bone of the war on fire are the "Fire Dozers". Caterpillar D-6 is a master of fire lines with skin of armor and heavy glass, with more times than not too small of an air conditioning unit as it many times the Dozer is engulfed much too close to the normal towering flames it is fighting. The Fire Dozer is the unsung hero of the Fire service fighting the ground attack with that same nonstop-able veracity as in the fields as on narrow Ridge tops steep canyons and other places where man alone can't go without the help of steel plate tracks clanking on their feet as they walk to their own beat. This Film is dedicated to the Fire Dozer and the People who drive them in the most dangerous conditions that exist. Without them the WAR on Fire would be lost! This is a video is the ten minute sample trailer of a larger documentary still in production.
SchwarzeneggerI just changed my plans for tomorrow. Declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara and going to see the fire.about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry
Not exactly the BarackBerrySchwarzeneggerI just changed my plans for tomorrow. Declared a state of emergency in... more
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Gov. Mark Sanford has declared a state of emergency for the South Carolina county where a fire has burned thousands of acres near one of the state's busiest tourist areas.
Sanford on Thursday ordered the state of emergency for Horry County. He said the blaze has destroyed dozens of homes and consumed 15,000 acres, or about 23 square miles, nearly double earlier estimates.
No injuries have been reported.
But about 2,500 people have been evacuated, mostly in the Barefoot Landing area near North Myrtle Beach. There are three shelters set up in the area, housing a total of about 250 people. Sanford said the fire is continuing to spread and more people may be affected.
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NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — A coastal wildfire spread early Thursday toward one of the busiest tourist stretches in South Carolina, burning dozens of homes and forcing hundreds to flee in the middle of the night. No injuries were reported.
Police banged on doors to awaken residents as strong winds pushed the blaze through a wooded swath toward the Barefoot Landing development, a sprawling complex of houses, condominiums and golf courses separated from the main route through Myrtle Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway.NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Gov. Mark Sanford has declared a state of emergency for... more
A thick blanket of smoke covers North Texas, including the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, as drought conditions and high winds spread wildfires like ... well ...A thick blanket of smoke covers North Texas, including the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, as... more
In the summer of 2007, a large portion of Arctic Sea ice - about 40 per cent - simply vanished. That wasn't supposed to happen. At least not yet. As recent as 2004, scientists had predicted it would take another 50 to 100 years for that much ice to melt. Yet here it was happening today.
It raised the question: Had global warming suddenly pressed the gas pedal to the floor? If so, the world was in for quite a climate ride - dramatic, jarring changes in climate much sooner than expected. Climate scientists were deeply worried.
"It really caught the scientific community by surprise," Professor James Ford, a McGill University geographer and Arctic expert recalled. "The Arctic system is close to crossing the threshold beyond which we will get dramatic changes in climate."
The sudden mass melting brought an earlier ice event into new perspective. In 2005, scientists at the Canadian Ice Service, the nation's leading ice specialists, were examining satellite images when they noticed that the Ayles Ice Shelf, which is about as big as the island of Montreal, had suddenly broken free from the top of Ellesmere Island and floated away.
Vincent Warwick, an Arctic expert at Université Laval, said at the time: "This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years. We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead."
The ice melt of 2007 seemed to confirm Warwick's fears. Reports since then claim the Arctic ice could be gone by 2013.
We have already crossed some critical climate thresholds. The world not only has to drastically cut back its greenhouse gas emissions but also begin to take steps to deal with the inevitable changes that global warming will cause. The much-feared tipping points - which would cause massive icecap and ice shield melting, and plunge the world headlong into severe weather systems, causing broad devastation and rising seas - seem increasingly probable.
This is why, scientists say, the United Nations climate talks that began this week in Bonn, Germany, and will culminate in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, are so important. They are a last chance for the world to come to its senses and negotiate an agreement to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists have been warning about these tipping points for decades, but few politicians have listened. Most industrialized countries led by the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe have continued to pump increased amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere despite promises to reduce emissions below 1990 levels.
Developing countries like China and India have taken no steps to curtail their emissions. With a new coal-fired power plant coming on stream every week, China is now the world's biggest GHG producer.
The atmosphere now contains 387 parts per million of carbon dioxide. This is more than the Earth has seen in the last 650,000 years. Pre-industrial levels were about 270 ppm, which remained pretty well constant over the 100,000 years mankind has walked the Earth. Scientists say that because of a delayed reaction, we have yet to experienced the full effect of what we already have put into the atmosphere. That effect will unravel in the decades to come. Meanwhile, we're adding about 30 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually or about 2 ppm. Last year alone, global GHGs increased three per cent.To the twelfth hour.
From the article:
In the summer of 2007, a large portion of... more
