• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • About The Valley Citizen

Is Modesto Vulnerable to Destruction by Fire?

November 16, 2018 By Bruce Frohman 2 Comments

Fire at 624 9th Street, Modesto, by David Lambert

Just outside the northern edge of the Central Valley, the Town of Paradise has been destroyed by fire. The destruction should be called a holocaust as over 6500 structures were damaged, including the town’s central core.

In light of last year’s Santa Rosa holocaust and this year’s Redding and Paradise disasters, how vulnerable is Modesto to a comparable event? Modesto has never had a fire that destroyed an entire neighborhood, so most citizens are complacent about the threat of a catastrophic event.

A common element of recent catastrophic fires has been high wind. Above a certain wind velocity, around 40 miles per hour, firefighters become unable to stop the advance of flames. Embers from a fire will skip from building to building or tree to tree or tree to building. When the wind is strong enough, embers can start a new fire as far as a quarter of a mile away.

Modesto has a large number of buildings that are not fireproof and many trees. Therefore, plenty of fuel exists for a large conflagration. Modesto also has a few windy days each year. Some days see gusts in excess of 40 miles per hour.

On a typical day, the wind is calm or light. Modesto has enough fire personnel to maintain reasonable control over any incident. The worst incidents have involved a few buildings, where outside help had to be called in. Luckily, the biggest fires have not happened during a high wind event.

What Could Cause A Large Fire on a Windy Day?

Anything that generates an open flame or sparks can start a large fire on a windy day. Here is a partial list of potential causes: fireplace ashes, fireworks, agricultural burning, an auto accident or car fire, a cigarette smoker who carelessly disposes of ashes or the butt, an arsonist, a campfire in a homeless encampment, a lawnmower that hits a rock, and arcing power lines. Any of these events taking place at the wrong time could cause a disaster, especially if citizens are not careful.

Every citizen and business needs to exercise common sense and personal responsibility, especially on a windy day. With water rationing and a drier climate, local vegetation may be more susceptible to fire now than in years past. Just because a disaster has not happened in the past does not mean that it cannot happen here.

While Modesto has a very good firefighting department, limits on capability exist. We should not be careless under the assumption that the amount of damage can be controlled. We should learn from the experiences of Santa Rosa, Redding and Paradise that everyone needs to be vigilant.

 

Filed Under: Environment

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richard Anderson says

    November 16, 2018 at 12:21 pm

    Bruce:
    Good points. Mass shootings, city-wide fires, certainly those can’t happen here. Until “it” happens, we normally feel “It can’t happen here…” I remember that’s how most people felt about AIDS back in the 1980’s…. R. Anderson

    Reply
  2. Damon Woods says

    November 16, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    Very good point, Yet, I suspet smaller towns are more vulnerable- such as Oakdale or Sonora…clearly forest thinning and a more advanced warning system is needed. My wife’s family owned a large farm in the Calistoga area for 150 years- yet last October, with one brother still living on the ranch, the fire swept through it in minutes- with no advance warning (other than maybe a phone call 5 minutes before the fire got there). They are in the middle of the re-buidling program- FEMA stepped in to clean it all up (as most of the buidlings were built before the asbestos laws were in place (1979)- that took 6 months before the land was cleared, then another six months to get permits.- which were expedited compared to the normal 12 month process.. so- all the folks who lost their homes will have to wait 12 to 24 months to get their replacement homes completed…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enter Captcha Here : *

Reload Image

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas ? ProPublica
The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas  ProPublica
Over three years, nearly 400 pregnant or new mothers died in Texas. Its system for helping the uninsured thwarts women at every turn, frustrates doctors and midwives, and incentivizes substandard care.
www.propublica.org
New Trump rule could eliminate food stamps for almost 200,000 Californians | CalMatters
New Trump rule could eliminate food stamps for almost 200,000 Californians | CalMatters
The rule is the first of three Trump-era food stamp cuts to be finalized. Under all three, roughly 3.7 million Americans, including 625,700 Californians, could lose assistance in buying groceries.
calmatters.org
Mercury-Laden Fog May Be Poisoning California?s Mountain Lions
Mercury-Laden Fog May Be Poisoning California’s Mountain Lions
A new study has found that pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains display higher mercury levels than big cats in inland regions
www.smithsonianmag.com
False Idol -- Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump
False Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump
www.rollingstone.com
Income for poorest Americans fell faster than previously thought: study
Income for poorest Americans fell faster than previously thought: study
thehill.com
California to Subsidize Growers’ Labor Camps | Community Alliance
California to Subsidize Growers’ Labor Camps | Community Alliance
By David Bacon (Editor’s note: Reprinted with permission. Originally appeared in Capital and Main, Oct. 4, 2019.) In California, many farmworkers can’t find decent places to live, or even any place at all. When the grape harvest starts in Coachella Valley, families of pickers bed down in the Mecca supermarket parking lot. In Sonoma County ?
fresnoalliance.com
Perspective | I was a drug rep. I know how pharma companies pushed opioids.
Perspective | I was a drug rep. I know how pharma companies pushed opioids.
Wining and dining aside, it’s all about building trust with doctors
www.washingtonpost.com
The One State Taking a Big Run at Health Reform
The One State Taking a Big Run at Health Reform
Washington state just passed the country’s first public option plan, and its difficult birth carries a warning for national reformers.
www.politico.com
One of L.A.?s most powerful politicians is searching for his homeless son ? cameras in tow
One of L.A.’s most powerful politicians is searching for his homeless son, cameras in tow
Herb Wesson, who is running for L.A. County supervisor, has a new campaign ad in which he is seen searching skid row for his homeless son, Doug.
www.latimes.com
This Doctors Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them ? ProPublica
This Doctor’s Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them: ProPublica
After the Blackstone Group acquired one of the nation’s largest physician staffing firms in 2017, low-income patients faced far more aggressive debt collection lawsuits. They only stopped after ProPublica and MLK50 asked about it.
www.propublica.org

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design