quote Originally posted by cliffw: maryjane, I have been to your house in Cleveland TX just outside of N Houston. In the middle of a National forest. Thick with trees, Pine. I can not picture how the forest floor can be cleared of dead tree fire fuel.

Very easily. Controlled burns, or what they called 'prescribed burns'. The US and Texas Forest service did it every year, switching from section to section. The crap on the forest floor burns but the fire doesn't get up into the tree limbs or tops. They are basically replicating what nature (via lightening) would do every few years. Texas A&M has a big part in deciding which area needs a burn and when. It works.

https://www.texastribune.or...dle-prescribed-burn/


Do the controlled burns sometimes get out of hand? Probably, but not very often.
Now, most of what you read about a prescribed burn by the Forest Service says they do them only under certain weather and growing conditions. That's BS in East Texas.
Them suckers burn day or night, burn ban,wind or calm...because they're so good at controlling and fighting fires. The whole county can be in a absolute lockdown red flag burn ban, where ya can't even legally light your bbq grill, and the Forest Service guys will be out there burning thousands of acres. They know their business.




They pay attention to ONLY 1 thing. Humidity. They won't light anything if humidity is low.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-27-2025).]

The annual wildfire fighting exercise in Calif is held at USMC Camp Pendleton. Marines, navy and civilian firefighters work together to develop and train using air assets to fight wildfires.

https://verticalmag.com/new...s-to-camp-pendleton/

Camp Pendleton, much like Fort Hood here, has had it's own share of munition caused wildfires. They've gotten pretty good at fighting their own and other folks' fires.

https://www.dvidshub.net/ne...respite-firefighters
I've watched Fort Hood's birds drop water several times, from my back porch, but they're usually UH 60s.


Unlike USMC where both Pendleton and Miramar has a lot of air assets, there really is just a handfull of helos here at Fort hood nowadays, as Ft Hood is an armor installation and it is HQ of 3rd Corps. But, most of Third Corps' helos are at Ft Riley Kansas now. Nothing at Ft Hood but armor, arty, a few UH60s and a small handfull of Chinooks. Just enough aviation to support training and emergencies. Oh, and 1 full armor division... with room and support for a 2nd one I'm told.

This sure as hell shook the house and woke me up a few days ago. MICLIC. by the time I got out to the back porch, all I could see was the cloud of smoke going up in the air.
I didn't know what it was till I read about it yesterday on Ft Hood's website.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-27-2025).]

The three dams that were eliminated/tore down were by the Oregon border- and the water was only used for power generation....The three reservoirs were basically silted up to where they were no longer effective....Also, the water could NEVER reach any part of California except straight to the coast at the very northern edge of California.

Here is an actual map....



Also, the "CA Blocking Oregon fire trucks" story on social media is BS....And, water from the Pacific northwest cannot flow into California- unless someone spends a Trillion dollars building new canals and tunnels....

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 01-29-2025).]