Hacker News with Generative AI: California

The Los Angeles wildfires are self-inflicted (wordpress.com)
I don’t ordinarily write about events “in the moment” but for this I will make an exception, as I was personally affected. Caveats aside, my family and I are safe, we evacuated for several days, and due to heroic efforts by professional firefighters and psychotically brave neighbors, my house and most of my neighborhood escaped destruction. We were the lucky ones – by far.
Wildfires, California, Climate Change, Personal Experience
27 points by surprisetalk 1 hour ago | 6 comments
Big oil pushed to kill bill that would have made them pay for wildfire disasters (theguardian.com)
In the year preceding the devastating Los Angeles county wildfires, big oil fiercely lobbied to kill a “polluter pay” bill that moved through the California senate and would have forced major fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate disasters.
Climate Change, Environmental Issues, Oil Industry, Politics, California
6 points by croes 11 hours ago | 1 comments
What is the pink fire retardant used to control the L.A. fires? (nbcnews.com)
As the wildfires in Southern California continue to burn, streaks of bright pink fire retardant have become a familiar sight.
Wildfires, Fire Retardant, California, Environmental Issues, News
7 points by heresie-dabord 17 hours ago | 2 comments
Burning Teslas Add to Toxic Mix of Pollution Delaying LA Return (bloomberg.com)
As the smoke clears from devastating Los Angeles wildfires, efforts to clean up the affected areas are being complicated by burnt-out electric and hybrid vehicles and home-battery storage systems.
Wildfires, California, Pollution, Electric Vehicles
14 points by petethomas 23 hours ago | 0 comments
Fire at Moss Landing battery plant spurs evacuations, road closures (mercurynews.com)
Flames continued to spew early Friday morning in the community of Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area in northern Monterey County after a major fire at a battery storage plant that brought evacuations.
Fire Safety, Evacuations, Battery Storage, California, Environment
9 points by Animats 1 day ago | 1 comments
Observation: HN turns into infomercials around when Californians start working (ycombinator.com)
Observation: HN turns into infomercials around when Californians start working
Hacker News, California, Work Culture, Social Commentary
15 points by lysace 1 day ago | 14 comments
California's future depends on how leaders rebuild after the Los Angeles fires (vox.com)
As fires continue to rage in and around Los Angeles, burning more than 40,000 acres since last week, destroying more than 12,000 homes and other buildings, and killing at least 25 people, two things are becoming clear: California must rebuild quickly, and it must rebuild differently.
California, Wildfires, Reconstruction, Climate Change
33 points by rntn 2 days ago | 134 comments
Ask HN: DevOps Assistance for LA Fires Relief Initiative (ycombinator.com)
Hi my name is Johan and I built and maintain https://fireaid.info - a map and resource hub to connect those affected by the fires with aid as well as resources for people to give and volunteer.
DevOps, Community, Disaster Relief, California
8 points by johanam 2 days ago | 2 comments
Homes Withstood the LA Fires. Architects Explain Why (bloomberg.com)
More than 12,000 structures have been consumed by the wildfires raging across Los Angeles this week, many of them single-family homes that have stood for decades.
Wildfires, Architecture, California, Los Angeles
39 points by JumpCrisscross 4 days ago | 77 comments
Schoenberg scores destroyed in Los Angeles fires (nytimes.com)
An estimated 100,000 scores and parts by the groundbreaking 20th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg were destroyed last week when the wildfires in Southern California burned down the music publishing company founded by his heirs.
Music, Fires, California, Loss, History
7 points by carlspeaking 4 days ago | 1 comments
California Fire Facts (gavinnewsom.com)
California, Fires, News
24 points by toomuchtodo 5 days ago | 29 comments
Two fire experts interviewed about L.A. wildfires (latimes.com)
For decades, Jack Cohen and Stephen Pyne have studied the history and behavior of wildfires. The magnitude of destruction this week in Los Angeles and Altadena, they argue, could have been mitigated. Society’s understanding and relationship to fire has to change if the conflagrations like these are to be prevented.
Wildfires, California, Environmental Issues, Climate Change
74 points by hodgesrm 6 days ago | 129 comments
California overhauled its insurance system. Then Los Angeles caught fire (grist.org)
California, Insurance, Wildfires, Los Angeles
11 points by rntn 6 days ago | 1 comments
Map of California roads for cyclers (1895) (loc.gov)
Map of California roads for cyclers.
Maps, History, Cycling, California
117 points by grajaganDev 6 days ago | 68 comments
Joan Didion on Los Angeles Real Estate, and Ignoring the Big One (1989) (newyorker.com)
Los Angeles, Real Estate, Essays, Journalism, California
9 points by marban 7 days ago | 2 comments
California Fires Expose a $1T Hole in US Home Insurance (bloomberg.com)
The wildfires terrorizing Los Angeles this week have been like something out of a movie: vast, fast-moving, unpredictable, merciless.
California, Wildfires, Insurance, Climate Change, Finance
5 points by paulpauper 7 days ago | 0 comments
Drone collides with firefighting aircraft over Palisades fire, FAA says (latimes.com)
A drone collided with a firefighting aircraft flying over the Palisades fire on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Drones, Aviation Accidents, Wildfires, California
23 points by throw0101c 8 days ago | 5 comments
House designed on Passive House principles survives Cali wildfire (reddit.com)
Architecture, Sustainability, California, Wildfires
14 points by dasKrokodil 8 days ago | 6 comments
One of CL-415 Super Scooper Planes Taken Out of Palisades Fire Fight by Drone (twz.com)
A drone’s collision with a water-dropping aircraft fighting the Palisades fire in Los Angeles caused temporary grounding of all aircraft working that fire and took out one of just two amphibious planes capable of repeatedly scooping 1,600 gallons of water from the ocean and delivering it onto nearby flames, Cal Fire told The War Zone.
Wildfires, Drones, Aviation, California
10 points by nradov 8 days ago | 16 comments
TikTok tells staff impacted by wildfires to use sick hours if they can't work (techcrunch.com)
Wildfires are currently devastating the greater Los Angeles area, burning over 45 square miles, torching over 1,300 structures, and putting nearly 180,000 people under evacuation orders as of Thursday. And yet, TikTok’s LA-based employees are being told to either continue their work from home or use their personal/sick days if that’s not possible, while the company’s LA office remains closed due to power outages caused by high winds.
Wildfires, Social Media, Labor, Business, California
184 points by sylvainkalache 8 days ago | 183 comments
Mt. Wilson observatory wildfire webcam (youtube.com)
Wildfires, Observatories, California
4 points by quercusa 8 days ago | 0 comments
California's insurance is in crisis. The solution will cost homeowners a ton (cnn.com)
California, Insurance, Homeowners, Costs
18 points by this_weekend 9 days ago | 20 comments
Show HN: LA Wildfire Satellite Analysis (github.com/xingyzt)
Analysing satellite imagery of the Palisade and Eaton Fires
Wildfires, Satellite Imagery, Data Analysis, Open Source, California
116 points by xingyzt 9 days ago | 60 comments
A Supermarket in California (1955) (poetryfoundation.org)
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
Poetry, California, Literature, Culture, 1950s
50 points by squircle 9 days ago | 22 comments
LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed (theregister.com)
With several major wildfires raging out of control in Los Angeles County, fire crews are risking their lives to protect people, homes, and a key NASA facility.
Wildfires, California, NASA, Emergency Response
359 points by rntn 9 days ago | 645 comments
Self-driving Tesla steers Calif. tech founder onto train tracks (sfgate.com)
Self-driving cars, Accidents, Technology, California
15 points by quantified 12 days ago | 1 comments
High electricity prices in California have nothing to do with renewables (pv-magazine-usa.com)
New research from Stanford University has shown that California could massively rely on renewable energies to cover its electricity demand without risks of blackouts and high energy prices.
Renewable Energy, California, Energy Prices, Research
9 points by toomuchtodo 12 days ago | 4 comments
Californians Say X Blocked Them from Viewing Amber Alert (wired.com)
Earlier this week, the California Highway Patrol sent an Amber Alert push notification to phones in the Los Angeles area about a 14-year-old girl that authorities believed had been abducted. But instead of conveying vital information that could help locate the victim within the notification itself, the law enforcement agency linked to a post from its official X account, a practice it adopted six years ago.
Social Media, Law Enforcement, California, Amber Alert, Technology
12 points by jaredwiener 15 days ago | 5 comments
Seagulls were a factor in collapse of California's iconic Santa Cruz wharf (sfgate.com)
Weather, Wildlife, Infrastructure, California
9 points by bryan0 20 days ago | 1 comments
California's population is no longer in decline (ktla.com)
Despite all the noise surrounding the “California exodus,” or mass migration out of the country’s most populous state, California grew in population in 2024 — although that growth wasn’t massive.
California, Population Growth, Demographics
12 points by madihaa 21 days ago | 4 comments