Wild Fire Casualties...how?

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

RBIII said:

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

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People in more rural areas don't take the evacuation orders seriously and try to save their property and wait until the last minute until the 'new' direction of the fire is clear, yet find their escape route blocked by the fire. Heat and smoke can hinder your faculties, as can reduced oxygen in the air. Then there are the homeless psychotics that don't make rational decisions.

The northern California fires are a particularly fast moving fire. But don't blame the fire. We allow fire areas to be zoned for building because people demand homes and land, and politicians want growth. You can't grow without places for people to live and work.

Fires do what fires have always done: recycle organic matter into it's component parts to be used elsewhere in the ecosystem. We can manage it by doing it little by little, or a whole buttload at once. So we ignore it.

RBIII said:

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

Click to expand...

Yes, people are choosing to stay, because they don't believe the fire will get to them for whatever reason.

and some of the casualties are fire fighters. Fighting wildfires is a dangerous business.

The California fires are just horrendous. The wind is a huge factor. The fires have moved so fast, they've not had time to stay ahead of them. I don't have a answer, except don't build subdivisions in places that are natural tender boxes. But, in California, they build everywhere. Goodbye wine country.

I can't tell how ... most likely thinking they have more time or in denial of their climate.

RBIII said:

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

Click to expand...

Some wildfires are extremely fast, and it's surprising... you wouldn't think it's physically possible, but I remember seeing a video on liveleak, I think was a wildfire in some latino country, but you saw on camera these group of fire fighters running through a forest trying to get to the fire, but then it swarms them and they try to run away.... but the fire was literally creeping at like 25+ mph.... and they got burned alive on camera VERY FAST...

RBIII said:

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

Click to expand...

They stay too long. The fire jumps in front of them. Smoke inhalation. Intense heat.

Firefighters die. Fire is often very unpredictable. Remember a,few years ago when the firefighters ended up trapped and got under their foil blankets? They all died.

RBIII said:

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

Click to expand...

My family has a lot of firemen. I've personally been around out of control fires. The one thing I can tell you is...they are fast. 60 mile an hour on open ground fast. And then you consider that they cause their own wind storms which blow debris...flaming debris...into other areas and start those...it is very easy. Thank God we in Florida can prescribe burn. It saves countless lives. And we just had a major hurricane which is a blessing in disguise. The wet really helps.

I lived in that area for 22 years. I still have friends and family there. I was on the phone with some last night. My niece evacuated Wednesday with the fire line in clear view. Her home is likely gone. My brother's horse ranch has been spared so far but it came within a couple of miles. A friends home is OK but her landscape business lost over half it's regular customers due to entire neighborhoods burning.
The entire region is a series of valleys surrounded by hills up to 2,000 ft. The fires, pushed by 50mph + winds raced up one side of the hills in minutes in the middle of the night. The next day, even if the fire was only a mile away, you likely couldn't see more than a block for the smoke. You cannot run faster than those flames spread. The wind blew flaming debris over a 6 lane freeway and set structures on fire on the other side. Yeah, some people were just home asleep and never saw it coming. Some likely thought they had more time than they had or just wanted to get one more thing before leaving. And some probably thought they could save the house with a garden hose. Regardless, there are still a lot of folks missing and the numbers of dead will likely rise.
As with any disaster, always be prepared to survive them but be prepared to get the hell out when you need to get out. It's just stuff. It can be replaced.

MaggieD said:

They stay too long. The fire jumps in front of them. Smoke inhalation. Intense heat.

Firefighters die. Fire is often very unpredictable. Remember a,few years ago when the firefighters ended up trapped and got under their foil blankets? They all died.

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Back burning is really important when doing wildland fire fighting

Wow, these have been some great responses, i don't really have any follow up questions.

Thanks all.

Yes. Hubby was a firefighter for 20 years. There is now a movie about the granite mountain hot shots. There's just something about a movie where you know ahead of time that everyone will be killed! I remember when that happened. Hubby, who had been on numerous wild land confligrations, said it was bad fire management that contributed to the granite mountain tragedy. I will not be viewing that movie, although it would be interesting to see if it's anywhere near accurate.

RBIII said:

How does a wild fire (specifically the ones in California right now) cause 23 deaths and counting? Could someone describe a scenario where this is possible?

A couple i will rule out as i can imagine these cases:

1. House gets surrounded during the night in your sleep.

2. Handicap people who can't physically get away and have no help.

Any other scenarios? Are people choosing to stay like its hurricane and they can "ride" it out?

Click to expand...

A long hike trough the woods without checking for dangers on a regular basis?

MaggieD said:

They stay too long. The fire jumps in front of them. Smoke inhalation. Intense heat.

Firefighters die. Fire is often very unpredictable. Remember a,few years ago when the firefighters ended up trapped and got under their foil blankets? They all died.

Click to expand...

That's what happens, if you drive on a good road that is suddenly blocked with the fire the in front and behind you.