Laguna Fire 1970

Cigarettes are one of the main cause of wildfires, the other is camp fires not being extinguished properly, that is 90% of wildfires are caused by human mistakes Joyce (2017). The Texas Panhandle is going through a drought, while everyone is praying for rain. Once a wildfire starts it is very hard to control, even with the hard-working fire fighters. There are many other helpful individuals that track the signs of wildfires, such as the National Park Service.

Joan Didion in her essay, “The Santa Ana” and Linda Thomas in her essay, “Brush Fire” describes the Santa Ana in two opposing stands with similar moves. Didion's purpose in writing her essay for the Santa Ana is to inform her readers. She informs them about the Santa Ana, the effect the winds have on human behavior, and how they have to live with the Santa Ana. Thomas writes her essay to engage readers on the Santa Ana’s effect on brushes. She gives details on how the Santa Ana causes natural brush fires and the beauty it is able to create in the aftermath.

The preconditions of the area where the fire occurred were very dry land with “whipping seasonal gusts known as the Santa Ana winds and the Diablo winds” (mnn.com). The fire was started by a hunter who was lost in the woods. He believed he could be found easily if he started a small signal fire however, because of the preconditions, this small fire would spread and become the “largest single fire in California’s recorded history” (mnn.com)

In 2016 “there have been more than 4,000 wildfires in California, with well over 300,000 acres of land burned” (Kieran Cooke).

The wooden city often experienced fires but, on October 8, 1871 the firefighters were already fatigued from a large fire the night before. The previous fire also resulted in the loss of some firefighting equipment. To make matters worse, the city had been experiencing a lengthy dry spell. A steady breeze from the Southwest, in addition to the dry spell which had spanned the length of several months, would make firefighters efforts futile.

These fires highlighted that there were not enough fire fighters and resources to combat such fires. They highlighted areas that lacked emergency service protection and showed a lack of preparedness (San Diego Fire Facts, 2016). Years after the fires, some changes that came about include: wood shake shingles being banned on new construction and could not be used as roof replacements (Mainar, 2013) and 100 feet became the new defensible space, an increase from 65, between the fuel, for example vegetation, of the fire and the structure (Mainar, 2013). There’s an increase in code compliance officers in the field from two to seven (Mainar, 2013). Evacuation procedures and notices were

The county fire marshal Alan Carson, saw the fire around 1.30 am and he defined the fire was a big one. Added that the weather and

   The fire was supposedly caused by Catherine O'Leary's cow who kicked over a lantern, however this is just legend and can't be proven as the actual start of the fire. The fire burned out of control due to the windy quality of the city and possibly even the dry weather. Another contributing factor is that the fire department was sent to the wrong location, which caused them to arrived at the fire later then they should have. The Fire began on the night of October 8th and was finally put out on the 10th. The fire was extinguished by the firefighters, but was also put out due the rain that fell that day. As you can see the fire was very uncontrollable, lasted for a long period of time, and would cause severe damage to the city.

One man saw the fire and tried to get someone to use the fire box to get the fire department to send a fire truck. Sadly he had no such luck in notifying them. Fire boxes were boxes located on the street corner for people to use to alert the closest fire department, because telephones were not commonly available at that time. The other man just insisted that a fire truck had probably already been called and was on its way. The fire was so destructive because there were many mistakes and dangerous

The Triangle Factory Fire took place in New York on Saturday, March 25, 1911. The fire was marked as the worst in history of the state of New York. Men, women, and children of all ages were there but unfortunately there were more women/girls than men/boys. There were many people to not find a way out of the building but some decided to jump out of the windows for a way of escaping the fire. Majority of those who escaped by the window lost their lives. The employers had no clue of this ever happening as well as the fire department who did not have enough man power or equipment for this massive degree. Although majority of the workers died, there were some who lived to share their stories.

A significant transition that happened in early 20th century in the United States was the reform in workers’ rights after the Triangle Factory Fire. 147 died after a fire broke out in 7th, 8th, and 9th floor, mostly women. Although casualties from unsafe factory conditions were not uncommon, this devastating fire really reformed and changed working conditions and workers’ rights. The focus of this essay will be to describe and argue how the medias influence and unions cooperation reformed the factory worker life. Most of the workers in these factories were desperate immigrants struggling to make it by. With the help of the media working for their cause swift change would be following. The media was an important role as it grew support from the middle and upper class for the working conditions of working class members.

She argues that the fires are destroying homes in a sense of uncontrollable doom in the aforementioned paragraph 5, "The Santa Ana caused Malibu to burn as it did in 1956, and Bel Air in 1961, and Santa Barbara in 1964" (Didion). Didion believes that the brush fires of the Santa Ana winds are an obstacle to people due to the bad vibes and horrible fires they bring. Whereas, Thomas believes that the encroaching human population is the obstacle to the natural brush fires that are just running their

Thomas describes scenes of “orange flames” lighting the sky and families and friends watching the fires with “soft drinks” and “camera’s”. . At the same time, Didion describes the sky as “a yellow cast, the kind of light sometimes called ‘earthquake weather’ For Thomas, the fires are more than just the burning of “chaparral” and medical problems, there are memories that are irreplaceable that only the people who experience the fires can attest to. In the news, most people will hear about everything that has been burned down along with the side effects, such as sinus infections, etc. that are caused by the fire. However, people living outside of California don’t know the experiences and memories, such as families sitting together or young couples kissing that means so much to the native Californians. In Thomas’s “Brush Fire” , she shows that people who do not experience the winds and fires don’t understand that is it more than just burning something; it is a time for people in the community to come together. Science establishes both authors’ arguments and perspectives, however, Thomas uses it to show the vital role it plays in nature, specifically for the plants germination in seed pods. Furthermore, she explains how humans, without respect for nature, get in the way of these fires. It wouldn’t be a problem for many, if land developers took into account the chaparral zones, which is the direct path

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Wildfire means “a sweeping and destructive conflagration esp. in a wilderness or a rural area.” Also according to the same dictionary, wilderness means “a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings.” Forest Fires happen when there is a drought because branches and twigs die and dry out creating plenty of fuel for a fire. According to the NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center) there are about 105,534 wildfires that occur each year.

An understanding of how fires, wildfires in particular, work was a fundamental part in learning how to fight fires properly. This understanding entailed knowing what makes a fire a fire, what could cause a fire, what hinders and aids a fire’s growth, what different types of fire there are, and the characteristics of said types. Without the basic understanding of these things, it would have made the evolution of aerial firefighting next to impossible.