The damage from the 2017 California wildfires in dollars could reach $60 billion+
40+ people dead, 5,700 homes/businesses destroyed or damaged, 100,000+ people have had to evacuate


http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/1867



U.S.P.S Postman Delivers Mail Santa Rosa Fires Drone Video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wsegE01zUE

"This is truly one of the greatest tragedies that California has ever faced,” California Governor Jerry Brown said on a visit to a devastated city. “The devastation is just ". It is a horror that no one could have imagined.”

California wildfires have been happening for a long time now - people having to flee and losing their home or other structure to a wildfire in California is nothing new.

"no one could have imagined it" ?? I have to disagree

the pictures of whole neighborhoods wiped out is so gut wrenching. At least with a flood or tornado you can come back and maybe save some stuff from your destroyed home, but these houses and businesses are totally gone.

Odd how the houses are completely burned yet so many trees are still there.

I think the trees are all dead and burned but have enough wet material inside them to stop them from falling over.

Sad to see this. Where are the water bombers, you'd think with the severe fires in past years that the government of california would operate an enormous waterbomber fleet.

There should probably be a waterbomber fleet on call for all of north america for use any time it's needed, with the gov'ts of canada and the us pitching in to fund it.

These days with MD-11's and MD-10's as cheap as they are, and the available conversion kits, I think we ought to have a dozen or so of them on standby for flights anywhere they're needed.

But many of the trees still have leaves and needles.

Problem is there are numerous fires ongoing across the states. Montana is also fighting a blaze and its stretching the fleet.

They are cookie cutter houses build with extremely cheap materials that are highly flammable in an area where flames are abundant. This is the equivalent of building a stick build house with dirt basement in a flood plain or on a hurricane zone.

SOME of the trees survived because they are green and distanced away from the houses but many many trees didnt make it. If you watch that video you can also see where entire sections of houses are burnt to the ground and across the street there isnt even a burnt shingle.

https://youtu.be/3wsegE01zUE?t=43

this is why you're not seeing that many of them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worlds-largest-firefighting-aircraft-grounded-by-u-s-govt/




I don't understand why CA hasn't been declared a state of emergency so maybe they can get funds to use those tankers...

CA has declared a state of emergency... http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2017/10/governor_declares_state_of_eme.html

CA has it's own fleet of smaller fire bombers, S-2T trackers operated by CalFire (I think like 20 of them stationed throughout the state). On top of that other fire fighting aircraft/companies have contracts and are frequently used with the state. I'm sure there are ANG C-130s fighting these fires, and I have seen a video of the 747 dropping in the last couple of days. The DC-10 is also used frequently in California. Funding is always an issue, but I'm sure the skies are full over Napa and Santa Rosa right now.

As others have stated, there are fires in other parts of the country. Also, even tons of firefighting aircraft will struggle to keep a fire this size under control with the winds and conditions they are facing.

In a TV interview, a fire official said the smoke was too dense in places to fly a/c safely.

"Thousands of firefighters were battling 16 major wildfires, some encompassing several smaller merged blazes, in areas north of San Francisco consumed nearly 214,000 acres (86,000 hectares) over seven days, or roughly 334 square miles, an area larger than New York City.
The 38 confirmed fatalities, including 20 in Sonoma County, make it the deadliest fire event in California history. Some 100,000 people have been forced from their homes, including 3,000 evacuated on Saturday from the city of Santa Rosa, about 50 miles (80 km) north of San Francisco, and another 250 from nearby Sonoma city. The fires have reduced many homes and businesses to piles of ash"

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-c...-winds-fuel-unwieldy-beast-idUSKBN1CG124


A woman survives the Las Vegas mass shooting only to have her home burn down in the California wildfires
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/14/us/woman-escapes-las-vegas-shooting-california-fires/index.html


nice pool with a great view but when the fires came it was more then that - it saved their lives
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/weve-got-to-go-a-california-couple-awoke-to-flames-crackling-they-couldnt-flee-so-they-jumped-in-their-pool/2017/10/13/ba1aad7c-b01c-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_caliescape-1031am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.ea5d21f95088