General > General Technical Chat
Californians out of electricity cant get gasoline to generators!
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CatalinaWOW:

--- Quote from: Marco on October 13, 2019, 02:17:22 am ---
--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on October 13, 2019, 02:11:25 am ---Isolation isn't feasible when fires become large enough. A big fire essentially creates its own weather system and rains fire across vast distances. You can't cut a 50 square mile desert to live in for everyone.

--- End quote ---

A couple embers flying across a large fire break can be handled by a garden hose, fighting the beginnings of a fire across a firebreak is a problem of an entirely different order than trying to put out a forest fire ... and a surmountable problem.

--- End quote ---

Many of these fires occur because someone was sure that they could control a couple of embers with a garden hose.  Under high wind, high fuel, high temp and low humidity conditions it is truly stunning how rapidly a fire can grow from match size to hectare size.  And the flying embers from these large fires are not small.  Burning branches nearly a meter long have been observed landing three and more kilometers from the nearest flame front.   Often they don't arrive alone, but are in a shower of branches.

The best, and partial solution for this is deliberate burns during less stressful times of year.  But less stressful is relative and these "controlled burns" do get out of hand fairly often.  No one likes the smoke they generate, and the rabid environmentalists can't see beyond the current trees dying and the politicos and bureaucrats hate the high costs involved in doing them, so it isn't likely to happen.
Marco:
An urban environment is not a high fuel environment. The fires in Paradise and similar situations couldn't be fought because the actual high fuel fire from the forest simultaneously lights the entire side of the town, while spewing heat which make staying anywhere near impossible. You are not fighting embers with a garden hose next to an actual forest fire right next to your home ... you will be dead.
don.r:
If only you had raked your forests like those crafty Finns.
Someone:

--- Quote from: IanB on October 13, 2019, 02:03:31 am ---
--- Quote from: rstofer on October 13, 2019, 12:53:56 am ---And no, we can't underground the 500 kV lines.  At best, the technology is new and, at worst, it is 25 times as expensive.  True, once undergrounded things are a lot better but keeping high voltage in one place is no ease task.
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The 500 kV lines aren't at any risk from adverse weather conditions. They are suspended from strong metal towers high above the ground and far away from any trees. High winds just make them swing a bit.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-28/damaged-power-transmission-tower-near-melrose-south-australia/8393000
Adverse weather seems to be alive and well.
IanB:

--- Quote from: Someone on October 13, 2019, 04:10:09 am ---Adverse weather seems to be alive and well.

--- End quote ---

Yeah, well, tornadoes are something special. They are not just regular high winds.
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