I believe the coastal redwood forests are equipped to weather any threat that wildfires present, just as they have endured for untold millenia before the most recent fires.
Hello; Thee are some trees built by nature and time to endure most fires. Some need smaller fires in order to have their seeds to germinate. Not sure if the costal redwoods are in the category but the trees I am thinking of are evergreen types. For some reason bristlecone pine comes to mind but I am not sure if it is the one that sheds seeds after a fire.
The trick is how hot and how long the fire lasts. In natural conditions it is my understanding the fires were somewhat regular and so did burn off the ground cover ,which is the fuel, fairly quickly. The adult trees can endure a faster moving fire and then let out their seeds into the new ash is what I recall. My guess is there is some truth about how fire suppression by people has allowed a build up of ground fuel well above what would happen under more natural conditions.
I have a friend who was a forester for the army at the Sunny Point Military complex on the Cape Fear river near Wilmington NC. His crew did regular burns on that reservation to prevent the buildup of ground fuel among the southern pines common there. There is some risk to this practice but over all it does keep any wild fires from becoming extra hot and intense.
Of course a build up of ground fuel is not the only contributing factor to the fires out west. The droughts and the high winds play a big part in making the fuel more ready to burn and to move the fires along. I do think however having tons of extra fuel which built up over years of fire suppression likely makes the fires much more intense.
To the somewhat related point of residents needing to install ground rods to help control potential electrical issues, this is my take. Back when my area had some years of drought and when the fires started getting bad I took some extra steps on my property. I made extra efforts to keep my lawn mowed. ( this was not a chore as it grew poorly in the dry) I also made an effort to keep the leaves under control as our fires were in the fall. I believe Gatlinburg burned in November. I kept leaves out of my gutters and such. I do not recall hearing that our fires were due to power company equipment and also have not heard of the need for extra ground rods. I guess I will install some extra rods if such becomes the thing to do.
I do think companies ought to have proper equipment but there is usually a catch. How much extra are the customers willing to pay to have a company go to what might be considered over and above basic safety measures? I am sure power companies could do better in the area of fire safety but at what cost?
I would like to have all power lines underground. That would reduce power outages during storms and at the same time reduce fire hazards. Such is a very expensive way to go is my understanding. Some land owners do have the utilities underground but so far I have three poles on or close to my property.
Again I am too far away with limited information but it seems to me that pushing a power company into bankruptcy does reduce it's ability to deal with the equipment problems in the near term. Roving or fire feared blackouts would not be a popular thing for me to live with on a regular basis. I do not intend to make a hard judgment because of my limited information, but looking at the situation from afar it seems the financial punishment made the power companies less able to make things better. How wrong is my impression on this?
, hasn't got to that rambling stage yet
