LA Woman lyrics
I see your hair is burnin'
Hills are filled with fire
If they say I never loved you
You know they are a liar
The whole world is watching our hills that are filled with fire.
My wife and I live within a block of the border line between Los Angeles and the independent city of West Hollywood. Countless times over the years, we've seen smoke from numerous wildfires that raged outside of the flat area known as the Los Angeles Basin where we live. I had always assumed that the odd geography of this very obnoxious city exempted me from paranoia about wildfires. The Santa Monica mountains taper down to the Hollywood Hills which stretch across the middle of the City, keeping the hottest desert air away from Hollywood, downtown LA and the long list of suburbs along the coastline -- at least most of the time. Occasionally, offshore winds will push the cool maritime air out to sea and it and gets really hot for a day or two.
I assumed for the 23 years that I have lived here that those hills would block the wildfires that so frequently burn through the nearby mountain ranges and deserts.
Earlier tonight, I discovered the error of my presumption, as the "Sunset Fire" pushed its way toward Hollywood Blvd., which runs east and west across the city, in the shadow of those Hollywood Hills. The authorities ordered evacuation of the heavily populated area north of Hollywood Blvd.
That area is two miles north of where we live. I had never thought through the reality of evacuation, even though they are commonly imposed during Fire Season. I complacently based my lack of concern about possibly having to run for my life on my faith in the Fire Department to be able to stop a fire as it comes over the Hollywood Hills.
So my wife and I scrambled around to put together a survival kit and I moved the car to a convenient place to speed off from if the evacuation order were issued. Then I realized that there would be literally thousands of cars full of hapless Angelinos running for their lives, racing with us to get -- where?
I answered my own question -- I would find some place to park, and we would spend the night in the car. I would worry about tomorrow when it gets here.
Kind of like what the end of America will be like.
As I write this in my bedroom, it looks like I will be able to continue living here for a while. The Fire Department blocked the fire's advance before it got to Hollywood Blvd.
This is no guarantee that another won't roar through the Basin before dawn. If I don't get burnt to a crisp in my sleep, I'll check in tomorrow. . . .
If they say I never loved LA, you know they got it by the balls.
Comments
My heart goes out to you
and your spouse.
Please keep us updated.
I am at a loss for extending help to you beyond my hope for your safety and well-being, friend.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
We are ok
It is 7:20am here and the winds outside are mainly calm -- for now. Hardto say how much a threat to us remains. The monster fire around Malibu is still running amok, according to the TV news, but it is very unlikely that it will meander through 30 miles of urban sprawl to get to Weho.
We've been looking to move our residence back to Pasadena, where we used to live until 2013. Many of the residences that we considering are now destroyed.
So much dislocation -- I'm pleasantly surprised that the boob toob has not yet started the blame game. That should start soon as red and blue cultists will blame the losses on each other.
Is this a great time to be alive, or What?
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
I was thinking of those lyrics just last night.
I would have been long gone were I you. Risk of looters over risk of fire? Best of luck to you and yours.
About the blame game. So far, I have seen two main threads. One refers to tax breaks for oil companies which has starved CA of funds which "might have" been spent on fire protection. Sure. Might also have been spent on a lot of other things. The other blames Mayor Blass for reducing the firefighting budget. What is certain is that this is like snow in New York City. You don't get to become governor, and you don't get to run for president if you can't manage the blizzards, or wildfires in your case.
I love the way 'We just don't know how this happened.' is the meme here. Just in case your smart and ambitious AG decides he can make a name for himself prosecuting PG&E.
Mary Bennett
We would have bailed,
if we had any place to go.
Also, we could see exactly where the front edge of the Sunset Fire was from the helicopter video on the toob. It would take a while to get to us -- and we were ready to bolt at any moment to get to Anywhere.
Same holds true this morning.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Another day in paradise
Take care fire with fire.
I've gotten a lot of gratuitous advice from acquaintances, family, etc., after our own natural disasters here.
I don't think flooding can be compared to the fires, but all disasters I think have certain elements in common. I've been reluctant to offer my actual thoughts in this regard, although I've written them down a few times, because I think they're too personal or too emotional in nature. Please take this with a grain of salt. My views aren't as upbeat as people would like them to be, especially during the recent holiday season.
The main thing I will say is that the aftermath of such disasters continues for longer than people think, regardless of the immediate physical impact. Someone close to me, does a kind of social triage with the onslaught of victims of the continuing impact, physical, psychological, social, etc., at a major hospital, trying to make arrangements of some kind or another, for victims of these repeated shocking disasters in our area.
On the news they warned us that more injuries were sustained during the immediate recovery period as hazardous conditions exist resultant to storm damage, etc. Then there are later health consequences that result from the stress of the new and difficult living conditions one must deal with. In addition to this is the impact of dishonest and greedy business people who exploit the needs of vulnerable victims with indifference. I think this is a good thumbnail. I say this not to discourage anyone. I just think disaster victims need to know about this, the disaster goes on for the victims, long after the fire is extinguished or after the flood waters recede.
We lost three people in our immediate neighborhood over the holidays. We knew two of these people, and greeted them daily more or less for years. They were elderly as they say, like me, but I'm sure the additional stress of the holidays, "the merry season," was a substantial factor triggering their respective ends. We are trying very hard here, to control our emotional reactions to all of the above. God help the disaster victims, every single one, whether those disasters are man made or acts of nature, or both. I hope their neighbors, civil servants, health care providers, and everyone else who can do so helps them too, and they aren't limited to relying on the lotto or "god."
In any case, fire with fire, I hope you and your loved ones, friends and acquaintances are safe and sound as they can be. I mean that sincerely.
語必忠信 行必正直
As if on cue the blame game is off and flying: NY Post
This weird pissing match about water hydrants is based upon the premise that the clowns holding down public office really know how much water is enough to fight fires during a 100 mile per hour windstorm with less than 5% humidity. This echoes the talking head rap about the "terrorist" who ran over a bunch of people on New Year's Eve -- it was a failure of counter-terrorist policy.
Could somebody please explain how you keep a motherfucker from driving on the sidewalk?
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Insurance cancelled just months ago
.
Posted this in the OT too.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/state-farm-canceled-hundreds-pa...
So people are SoL after their homes burned down.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Thoughts?
People were claiming that this is what happened in the Hawaii firestorms too.
See my sigline.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Aw, snoops,
nothing to see here, just like Maui, just like the Canadian wildfires.
Squirrel!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Janisse Quinones is head of the
Board of Water and Power, the person who oversees water hydrants in the LA area. She is the highest paid public official in the local government. She was a former employee at PG & E. They increased the yearly salary from over $440,000, to $750,000, to entice her to accept the job that entails keeping water in the hydrants.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981