Fire season could bring complications to states already battling Covid-19
Air pollution from wildfire smoke increases susceptibility to the coronavirus leading to worsened health conditions for both those near fires.
From the WashPost: Federal government blasts PG&E’s deal with fire victims.
The Diva admits to being baffled by the issues raised here. She welcomes comments from those who understand them.
From the BBC news: Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. Thanks to Ian McLean for the citation.
Update on Jan.6 from CNN: Smoke in Australia’s capital is so bad that the agency responsible for emergency management shut down
Update on Jan.7: Number Of Animals Feared Dead In Australia’s Wildfires Soars To Over 1 Billion. Ecologists at the University of Sydney and WWF Australia estimate that a billion is a conservative figure.
From Govtech.com: Online Resources Offer Relief to California Fire Victims. As public safety agencies work to contain and stop all of the fires that have struck California, various online and physical resources play a significant role in helping victims recover from and cope with their losses.
From the WashPost: California has difficult choices to make. Its politicians keep avoiding reality.
Dealing with the massive fires requires some tough decisions.
From the WashPost: As fires rage, California refines an important skill: Evacuating. An excerpt:
Cities are using emergency powers to send mobile alerts to all residents. Authorities are giving far more time to families and businesses to leave danger zones, which have expanded in size. And residents are quicker to trust the calls to evacuate. The new evacuation strategies are a sign of how California, strung between the dueling risks of fires and rolling power outages, is adapting to a new reality many officials attribute to climate change.
Why the Cleanup From California’s Camp Fire Could Hit a Major Roadblock. A potential problem has emerged: Nearly half of the property owners in the hill country around Paradise have not given the government permission to enter their properties to do the work.
Preliminary cleanup has already begun for what may be a $2 billion-plus effort, said to be the largest and costliest in state history. The main work, involving a complete scraping and clearing of burned-out properties, is scheduled to begin later this week.
Insurance companies are more pro-active than many of us would have guessed. See: Technology shapes insurance companies’ response to wildfires
From the NYTimes: In a Warming California, a Future of More Fire. The recent cycle of drought and deluge in California led to major fire risk. Climate change makes that cycle worse.
Some Personal Preparedness Advice: Fleeing the California Wildfires: What to Take and When to Evacuate
From CNN, this account of the fire protection measures in place at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles: Getty Museum says it’s ‘safest place’ for art if fires threaten
