Hacker News with Generative AI: Wildfires

L.A. is getting fire recovery wrong. Two experts explain how to do it better (latimes.com)
One month later, two wildfire experts argue that the destruction didn’t have to be as bad as it was.
Wildfires, California, Disaster Recovery, Urban Planning
5 points by PaulHoule 17 hours ago | 0 comments
California's Fair Plan Gets $1B Bailout (nytimes.com)
California’s home insurance plan of last resort, designed for people who can’t get coverage on the private market, does not have enough money to pay claims from the Los Angeles wildfires and is getting an infusion of cash from regular insurers.
California, Insurance, Wildfires, Finance, Government
5 points by lxm 8 days ago | 1 comments
Dataviz: Wildfires and Climate Change (nasa.gov)
Earth's warming climate is amplifying wildland fire activity, particularly in northern and temperate forests.
Climate Change, Wildfires, Data Visualization, Earth Science
4 points by ohjeez 10 days ago | 0 comments
L.A. power utility found irregularities on equipment where wildfire broke out (nytimes.com)
Southern California Edison said video evidence had led it to look more broadly at whether its equipment might have been the cause of the deadly blaze.
Wildfires, Utilities, California, Investigations, Safety
30 points by MilnerRoute 12 days ago | 25 comments
State Farm seeks 22% emergency rate hike (ocregister.com)
State Farm General requested a 22% emergency rate hike in California on Monday, Feb. 3 to cover losses from the Los Angeles County wildfires and stop its “financial deterioration,” the company wrote in a letter filed with the state’s insurance commission.
Insurance, California, Wildfires, Finance
17 points by milleramp 17 days ago | 27 comments
Call of Duty studio co-founder pleads guilty to crashing drone into aircraft (theregister.com)
A Culver City, California resident has admitted to crashing his drone into a 'Super Scooper' firefighting aircraft battling the Los Angeles wildfires. His guilty plea spares him up to a year in prison, according to the Department of Justice.
Drones, Accidents, Law Enforcement, California, Wildfires
4 points by weinzierl 17 days ago | 0 comments
Man pleads guilty in drone crash with Quebec water bomber fighting L.A. fires (cbc.ca)
Drones, Wildfires, Law, Canada
4 points by throw0101c 21 days ago | 0 comments
Volvo FM Electric semi trucks helping to fight wildfires in NSW, Australia (electrek.co)
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is putting the new, 600 km Volvo FM Electric semi truck through its paces as they work to decarbonize their emergency vehicle fleet and keep Australia safe from the devastating effects of wildfires.
Electric Vehicles, Wildfires, Australia, Sustainability
6 points by zfg 27 days ago | 6 comments
New Fire Explodes North of Los Angeles, Forcing Evacuations (nytimes.com)
A new brush fire rapidly exploded on Wednesday north of Los Angeles, bringing new terror to Southern California more than two weeks after wildfires first tore through the region.
Wildfires, California, Natural Disasters, Evacuations
9 points by this_weekend 30 days ago | 1 comments
Invasive Plants Are Fueling California's Wildfire Crisis (wired.com)
Fire has always shaped the landscape in California. But today it burns hotter, more frequently, and spreads farther than ever before—a shift driven by human development, climate change, and the prevalence of invasive species, which are non-native plants that have negative effects on local ecosystems. Grasses and trees brought to California for agriculture, landscaping, or by accident, have transformed the state’s fire dynamics.
Invasive Species, Wildfires, California, Climate Change, Ecology
11 points by pseudolus 31 days ago | 2 comments
Wildfires are erasing California's climate gains, research shows (2022) (news.uchicago.edu)
A new analysis finds the wildfires in 2020 alone make up 30 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Change, California, Wildfires, Environmental Science
40 points by amichail 33 days ago | 37 comments
They Built Their Fireproof Dream Home. Even If It Lasted, Would They? (nytimes.com)
They had built their house on a rugged peak in the Santa Monica Mountains to maximize the views, and now Phillip and Claire Vogt went to their bedroom window and saw fires burning in the nearby canyons and black smoke rolling across the Pacific Ocean.
Wildfires, Housing, California
7 points by anyonecancode 33 days ago | 3 comments
After the Fires (profgalloway.com)
My hometown of Los Angeles is experiencing wildfires that have torched a surface area greater than Boston or San Francisco. Students at UCLA, my alma mater, were warned to prepare for an evacuation order that, thankfully, didn’t come. Friends lost homes, others don’t know if their houses are still standing, or they’re contemplating moving back to what feels like a blast zone. At least 12,000 structures have been destroyed.
Wildfires, Los Angeles, Climate Change, Natural Disasters
4 points by Brajeshwar 33 days ago | 0 comments
There are no grown-ups in California (vox.com)
Wildfires are on the mind here in California. It’s still not clear exactly to what degree the devastating Los Angeles fires were the product of gross mismanagement by the city and state governments, with lots of new details still emerging about the steps they could have taken and didn’t.
California, Wildfires, Government, Politics
5 points by wging 34 days ago | 1 comments
More than 1,100 inmates help Cal Fire battle for less than $30 a day (abc7.com)
Over 1,100 California inmates have been working around the clock in challenging conditions - including howling winds and toxic smoke - to help Cal Fire battle the Eaton and Palisades fires, the largest and most destructive of about a half-dozen fires that burned in the Los Angeles area in the past two weeks.
Wildfires, California, Prison Labor, Inmates
10 points by geox 34 days ago | 0 comments
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
67 points by surprisetalk 35 days ago | 25 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
19 points by this_weekend 35 days ago | 26 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 35 days 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 35 days 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
34 points by rntn 36 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 38 days ago | 0 comments
Some 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, many of them single-family homes that have stood for decades.
Architecture, Wildfires, Los Angeles, Housing
45 points by JumpCrisscross 38 days ago | 81 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 40 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 41 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 41 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 42 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 42 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 42 days ago | 5 comments
House designed on Passive House principles survives Cali wildfire (reddit.com)
Architecture, Sustainability, California, Wildfires
14 points by dasKrokodil 42 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 42 days ago | 16 comments