Hacker News with Generative AI: Wildfires

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
L.A. Fires: We Can't Let Insurance Companies Exploit the Disaster (rollingstone.com)
Mother Nature exploded in Los Angeles this month with the most damaging wildfires in the city’s, and likely the nation’s, history.
Wildfires, Los Angeles, Insurance, Disaster Relief
18 points by this_weekend 6 hours ago | 18 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
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
FBI shares photos of pieces of drone that damaged super scooper aircraft (abc7ny.com)
The FBI released new photos of a damaged water-dropping super scooper firefighting aircraft that collided with a drone over the Palisades Fire.
FBI, Drones, Aviation Safety, Wildfires
6 points by cratermoon 3 days ago | 0 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
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
Inconvenient truths about the fires burning in Los Angeles from two fire experts (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, Climate Change, Los Angeles, Environmentalism, Fire Safety
34 points by andsoitis 7 days ago | 63 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
Collision with drone knocks Canadian firefighting plane out of L.A. battle (todayinbc.com)
Authorities in Los Angeles say a Quebec water bomber is out of service after colliding with a drone while fighting wildfires Thursday.
Wildfires, Drones, Canada, Aviation, Los Angeles
4 points by cf100clunk 8 days ago | 7 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
Drone collides with firefighting aircraft over Palisades fire (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, Wildfires, Aviation, Accidents
13 points by tjohns 8 days ago | 2 comments
Mt. Wilson observatory wildfire webcam (youtube.com)
Wildfires, Observatories, California
4 points by quercusa 8 days ago | 0 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
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
Stay Safe from Wildfires When Seconds Count (watchduty.org)
Watch Duty, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, alerts you of nearby wildfires and firefighting efforts in real-time.
Wildfires, Safety, Technology, Non-profit Organizations, Emergency Response
8 points by mooreds 9 days ago | 1 comments
What we learned about wildfire smoke in 2024 (hcn.org)
The more researchers learn about wildfire smoke, the more worrisome the picture gets. Smoke contains microscopic particles known as PM 2.5 because the PM (particulate matter) measures 2.5 microns or less — small enough to easily wiggle its way into our lungs and then into our bloodstreams. Researchers have already connected the particulate matter in wildfire smoke to a higher risk of strokes, heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer and other serious conditions.
Wildfires, Health, Science, Environment
5 points by chmaynard 16 days ago | 0 comments
Arctic ecosystems that kept climate change in check are making things worse now (vox.com)
Wildfires have turned the Arctic into a net carbon emitter. That’s bad news.
Climate Change, Environment, Arctic, Wildfires
5 points by rntn 38 days ago | 0 comments
Arctic tundra is now emitting more carbon than it absorbs, US agency says (theguardian.com)
The Arctic tundra is undergoing a dramatic transformation, driven by frequent wildfires that are turning it into a net source of carbon dioxide emissions after millennia of acting as a carbon sink, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Tuesday.
Climate Change, Arctic, Environment, Carbon Emissions, Wildfires
136 points by pseudolus 38 days ago | 71 comments
The Northeast is becoming fire country (newyorker.com)
Throughout the night of November 8th, my sleep was pierced by the smell of a burning forest.
Climate Change, Environment, Wildfires, New York
48 points by gregorymichael 59 days ago | 52 comments
USFS decision to halt prescribed burns in California is history repeating (cepr.net)
Last week, the US Forest Service announced it would stop prescribed burning in California “for the foreseeable future,” stating that the decision was made as a precautionary measure to ensure the availability of staff and equipment in case of potential wildfires.
Wildfires, California, Environmental Policy, Forest Management
342 points by danboarder 74 days ago | 245 comments
The Most Desperately Needed Airplane Is Back in Production (bloomberg.com)
After the world posted its worst year for wildfires, with an area roughly the size of Nicaragua scorched in 2023, one plane model has become the most important aircraft on Earth.
Aviation, Wildfires, Climate Change, Environmental Issues, News
32 points by helsinkiandrew 125 days ago | 7 comments
An explosive California wildfire looked like a bomb went off from space (cnn.com)
Wildfires, California, Space, Natural Disasters
7 points by LinuxBender 127 days ago | 1 comments
Canada wildfires last year released more carbon than several countries (reuters.com)
Climate Change, Environment, Canada, Wildfires
38 points by will-burner 142 days ago | 10 comments
Smoke Forecast – Real time map of fires and their smoke with forecast (firesmoke.ca)
Smoke Forecast, Wildfires, Air Quality, Mapping, Canada
33 points by LinuxBender 166 days ago | 4 comments