
Death by Fire - DiabloD3
https://longreads.com/2017/05/08/death-by-fire/
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pdelbarba
I live in Colorado and see the fires regularly. Just about two months ago I
stepped outside on a weekend morning and smelled smoke, then saw a firebomber
fly overhead towards the mountains. It's a strange thing to get used to,
though I'm not near the forests, just close enough to get a tax-payer funded
airshow once or twice a year.

~~~
throwanem
(I'd have liked to answer your earlier question on the LGBT movement and my
opinions thereof, but found the thread killed and replies unavailable before I
had the chance. If you remain interested, drop me an email to the address in
my profile, and we can proceed via that route.)

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fujipadam
Beautifully written. While I see the horror, it read more like a romance. The
author loves fire despite her ruthlessness

~~~
Neil44
Yes reminds me a little of Cormack McCarthy.

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tomcam
Incredibly well-written and a window onto a life I prefer not to contemplate

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te
Norman Maclean's "Young Men and Fire" tells the story of the Mann Gulch
incident. Recommended.

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moritzplassnig
Read quite a bit about it over the weekend. For anybody else who's interested
in it:

\- South Canyon Fire:
[https://youtu.be/ZzGTjfTHihU](https://youtu.be/ZzGTjfTHihU)

\- Yarnell Hill Fire: [https://www.outsideonline.com/1926426/19-true-story-
yarnell-...](https://www.outsideonline.com/1926426/19-true-story-yarnell-hill-
fire)

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cko
The last paragraph reminded me of the end of "A River Runs Through It" by
Norman Maclean.

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noahmbarr
Now that's an essay

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FrozenVoid
Perhaps the idea of having forests near population centers should be
reevaluated. Clearing a few km of city-bordering forest will create a gap in
which fire will not spread, if there is nothing flammable on the ground. The
aesthetics of having "natural trees" nearby is not worth the risk, and
polluted air from forest fires definitely doesn't help the overall health.

~~~
smhost
Outdoor fires (which include wildfires) result in ~50 deaths annually in the
U.S.[0] You want to ban trees for that? I'm curious about your thoughts on how
we should deal with the actual problems we have. For example, cooking-related
residential fires, which kill ~150 people annually in the U.S.[1] Clearly it's
not worth the risk to cook our food.

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[0]
[https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v9i2.pdf](https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v9i2.pdf)

[1]
[https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/res_bldg_...](https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/res_bldg_fire_estimates.pdf)

~~~
FrozenVoid
The economic damage from ruined buildings, evacuations, burned
property/vehicles/etc is another factor. Its like living in a cheap wooden
house in tornado valley. I'm not for "banning trees", there should be just a
safety zone which separate vulnerable urban/suburban housing and forest zones.
That way fire will not become an emergency in principle. I'm just advocating
for a system where firebreaks are several km wide and prevent winds from
spreading fire material(which short firebreaks fails to do).
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebreak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebreak)
(this is the general concept )
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensible_space_(fire_control...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensible_space_\(fire_control\))

