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Prayers for Southern California

I'm from Porter Ranch, a neighborhood on the north end of Los Angeles County as it borders Ventura. The hills are gold and dry in summer but rich and green and wet and blooming this time of year - usually.

This is beyond not normal. People from LA are using the word apocalyptic for a reason.
 
The winds are picking up again tonight. It's so dry out, too. People in LA are leaving the area due to the horrible air quality. Daughter's BF is staying with us because his apartment up near West LA is so smoky and ashy. I don't smell the smoke here, but there are fine ash particles everywhere.
 
Landlords gouging as rents skyrocket! :cry2:

laist.com

Asking rents skyrocket as LA fires destroy homes

For one listing, rent jumped nearly 86% since September. In an interview with LAist, the agent said she told her client, “People are desperate, and you can probably get good money.”
laist.com laist.com
 
kenny said:
Landlords gouging as rents skyrocket! :cry2:

laist.com

Asking rents skyrocket as LA fires destroy homes

For one listing, rent jumped nearly 86% since September. In an interview with LAist, the agent said she told her client, “People are desperate, and you can probably get good money.”
laist.com laist.com
Click to expand...

No surprise. One's true nature comes out at every disaster. At first everyone is so kind and nice to each other but then ugly human greed rears its head. As I have written before here one's true nature will prevail during times of hardship and tragedy. And unfortunately that is often not pretty behavior :(
 
Dense neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades are now 99% a wasteland covered in toxic ash.
But an occasional house is still standing.

This "miracle" is absolute scientific proof that there is a God and that prayer works!!! :wall:

But seriously, these "lucky" homeowners may not be so lucky after all.
To live in an urban jungle, even one in which each house is was valued in the millions, you need more than that house.
You also need electricity, gas, water, sewage, telephone poles, cellphone towers, streetlights, gas stations, food stores, schools, trash pickup.
That infrastructure is gone.

You also aren't going to enjoy living in the middle of a giant windy wasteland of toxic ash, breathing the toxic air during months or years of clean up, followed by months or years of construction noise and congestion as thousands of new houses are constructed around you.

Also your mortgage payments don't stop or get lowered for declining property value.
You'll still have to pay your full payment which was based on your house's sale price of $XX Million, even though the house's value just went down.

It kinda reminds me of thanking God that you and your family survived the nuclear war.
But then you come out of your bomb shelter and face the aftermath ... everything's gone.
 
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kenny said:
This "miracle" is absolute scientific proof that there is a God and that prayer works!!! :wall:
Click to expand...

I have never been more convinced that there is no g-d
I am agnostic (just in case lol)
But truthfully an atheist at heart

"scientific evidence can't conclusively demonstrate that God exists"

I go by hard facts. By science.

We make up the notion of a higher power
So we feel better about things
But in truth we are all alone
Humans destroying the earth
and destroying each other

No g-d involved



IMO

And to go one step further
Religion *is* the root of all evil
IMO

Not all religious people are bad
Not all atheists are good
Being religious or not being religious does not make one a "bad" or a "good" person

But thinking you are better than someone else because of your religion is sad
And most wars are fought in the name of religion
So that is my thinking here
Religion being the root of all evil
Because man kills man using religion as an excuse
See what is happening right now
 
THE LESBIANS ARE COMING! THE LESBIANS ARE COMING!
The Los Angeles Fire Chief is one of ... THEEEEEM! :eek2:o_O
OH NOES! OH NOES!
Quick! Hide the children!

Quote to listen for ... "I have dipped my toes in the Lady Pond." :lol-2:

 
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We are using two of these from Quebec.
One was damaged in a collision with a friggin drone! :angryfire:
For repairs that Scooper had to be grounded for days while it was desperately needed.

FBI is investigating who owns and was flying the drone illegally in restricted airspace over the fire.
They're subject to criminal charges and jail time.

abc7.com

FBI working to piece together drone that damaged super scooper while battling Palisades Fire

According to officials, the plane collided with a privately-owned drone, causing significant damage to it.
abc7.com abc7.com
 
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kenny said:
I heard we are renting two of these from Quebec, Canada.
One was damaged in a collision with a friggin drone! :angryfire:
It had to be grounded for days when it was desperately needed.

FBI is investigating who owns the drone and was illegally flying it in restricted airspace over the fire.
They're subject to criminal charges and jail time.


abc7.com

FBI working to piece together drone that damaged super scooper while battling Palisades Fire

According to officials, the plane collided with a privately-owned drone, causing significant damage to it.
abc7.com abc7.com
Click to expand...

I heard about that as well. Yes, jail time for criminal charges and extra time for stupidity.
 
kenny said:
Dense neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades are now 99% a wasteland covered in toxic ash.
But an occasional house is still standing.

This "miracle" is absolute scientific proof that there is a God and that prayer works!!! :wall:

But seriously, these "lucky" homeowners may not be so lucky after all.
To live in an urban jungle, even one in which each house is was valued in the millions, you need more than that house.
You also need electricity, gas, water, sewage, telephone poles, cellphone towers, streetlights, gas stations, food stores, schools, trash pickup.
That infrastructure is gone.

You also aren't going to enjoy living in the middle of a giant windy wasteland of toxic ash, breathing the toxic air during months or years of clean up, followed by months or years of construction noise and congestion as thousands of new houses are constructed around you.

Also your mortgage payments don't stop or get lowered for declining property value.
You'll still have to pay your full payment which was based on your house's sale price of $XX Million, even though the house's value just went down.

It kinda reminds me of thanking God that you and your family survived the nuclear war.
But then you come out of your bomb shelter and face the aftermath ... everything's gone.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I told my husband this morning. Lucky your house is standing but what a terrible place to have to live in the midst of for a long time. So much clean up and rebuilding to do that will go on for years. Almost like your house got dropped in the middle of a nightmare!
 
... and since these drone-cretins suffer from recto-cranial displacement, the FBI has a special tool and buckets of KY lube for recto-cranial extraction.
But they only start with the lube if a full hour of excruciatingly painful pulling, after three bottles of Ex-Lax doesn't work.
 
Last edited:
missy said:
I have never been more convinced that there is no g-d
I am agnostic (just in case lol)
But truthfully an atheist at heart

"scientific evidence can't conclusively demonstrate that God exists"

I go by hard facts. By science.

We make up the notion of a higher power
So we feel better about things
But in truth we are all alone
Humans destroying the earth
and destroying each other

No g-d involved



IMO

And to go one step further
Religion *is* the root of all evil
IMO

Not all religious people are bad
Not all atheists are good
Being religious or not being religious does not make one a "bad" or a "good" person

But thinking you are better than someone else because of your religion is sad
And most wars are fought in the name of religion
So that is my thinking here
Religion being the root of all evil
Because man kills man using religion as an excuse
See what is happening right now
Click to expand...

^This 100%
 
FEMA will be out of money after all this, NC floods and CA fires. We still have people in tents in NC in this frigid weather with little to no help from FEMA.
 
More wind today. The toxic waste will now be blowing all over SoCal for the foreseeable future. The issues facing homeowners, workers, and the entire community are just mind-boggling. :cry2:

I'm about to go upstairs and reorganize/prioritize my crap, pack a special box or two for evacuating, figure out what to do with the stuff in the "fireproof" safe (apparently they really aren't), take more inventory photos, and then help myself to a tranquilizer.
 
kenny said:
Dense neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades are now 99% a wasteland covered in toxic ash.
But an occasional house is still standing.

This "miracle" is absolute scientific proof that there is a God and that prayer works!!! :wall:

But seriously, these "lucky" homeowners may not be so lucky after all.
To live in an urban jungle, even one in which each house is was valued in the millions, you need more than that house.
You also need electricity, gas, water, sewage, telephone poles, cellphone towers, streetlights, gas stations, food stores, schools, trash pickup.
That infrastructure is gone.

You also aren't going to enjoy living in the middle of a giant windy wasteland of toxic ash, breathing the toxic air during months or years of clean up, followed by months or years of construction noise and congestion as thousands of new houses are constructed around you.

Also your mortgage payments don't stop or get lowered for declining property value.
You'll still have to pay your full payment which was based on your house's sale price of $XX Million, even though the house's value just went down.

It kinda reminds me of thanking God that you and your family survived the nuclear war.
But then you come out of your bomb shelter and face the aftermath ... everything's gone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, because a pile of ashes is better than a whole house with personal effects and furniture still intact?

Do mortgage payments stop if the house is burned down and the insurance was cancelled prior to the fire?

Would you prefer to sleep in a tent on the streets and S"£$ in the bushes or be back in your own house (be it without electricity and water, don't think you get those in a tent either) ?


Make it make sense.
 
ShinyPink said:
More wind today. The toxic waste will now be blowing all over SoCal for the foreseeable future. The issues facing homeowners, workers, and the entire community are just mind-boggling. :cry2:

I'm about to go upstairs and reorganize/prioritize my crap, pack a special box or two for evacuating, figure out what to do with the stuff in the "fireproof" safe (apparently they really aren't), take more inventory photos, and then help myself to a tranquilizer.
Click to expand...

Thinking of you Shiny and praying you and your family are doing well and that conditions will be improving soon
 
missy said:
I heard some insurance companies were canceling policies in California months before :(

www.newsweek.com

California insurer canceled policies months before Los Angeles wildfires

Residents in one of the neighborhoods currently being ravaged by fire, were left scrambling for coverage.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com


I feel so for everyone affected. My heart hurts. Praying this is under control very soon





And yes it’s not just limited to California . They also keep rebuilding in Nantucket too. In very risky areas. I imagine all over this happens. I understand the desire but it’s a terrible situation :(
Click to expand...

This is also true for certain parts of Florida. If you have a house on a barrier island, you likely will have to self insure. In fact most insurance companies have left the state because they don't want to pay out after a hurricane.

my insurance is...heinous. I'm not in a flood zone, Not on the beach, not on a barrier island. But they have to get their money from somewhere...
 
Arcadian said:
This is also true for certain parts of Florida. If you have a house on a barrier island, you likely will have to self insure. In fact most insurance companies have left the state because they don't want to pay out after a hurricane.

my insurance is...heinous. I'm not in a flood zone, Not on the beach, not on a barrier island. But they have to get their money from somewhere...
Click to expand...

They are getting it from everywhere. I'm not in an area that has had any disasters of the magnitude of the recent hurricanes or fires, haven't had a claim in over 10 years, but my insurance agent just told me that my homeowners is going up about $500 dollars a year. When I asked why, she said all the disasters around the country, as well as inflation and labor costs. What do you think will happen to premiums around the country when the costs of the CA fires needs to be absorbed? I'm preparing for sticker shock already.
 
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I expect there to be insurance increases all over the country after this. I think these increases are going to be our new normal. I hope we have fewer of these national disasters across the country but with climate change I don’t realistically see that happening.
 
The lawyers are out in full force, already going after the utility companies. One of them is a former friend - so happy he's been profiting off this (snarky tone, fyi). I'm sure they're all being altruistic. :roll2:
DD helped hand out supplies yesterday. A lot of people are needing water and little things like socks.

BTW, my "evacuation boxes" were all jewelry, papers, and photos. The jewelry isn't meaningful, just expensive. So stupid.
 
ShinyPink said:
The lawyers are out in full force, already going after the utility companies. One of them is a former friend - so happy he's been profiting off this (snarky tone, fyi). I'm sure they're all being altruistic. :roll2:
DD helped hand out supplies yesterday. A lot of people are needing water and little things like socks.

BTW, my "evacuation boxes" were all jewelry, papers, and photos. The jewelry isn't meaningful, just expensive. So stupid.
Click to expand...

@ShinyPink I know you have so many other things to think about, but if you can, and have the time, try to make sure all of the papers are digitized as well. Just run everything through a scanner and email it to yourself, then save it to your google docs or icloud. I had a fire in 2015, and that really forced me to rethink the way I save and organize important paperwork/documents. I hope you and your family stay safe.
 
Yeah this is bad. I'm in SoCal (not close to the fires themselves, but within a few hours). We were without power for multiple days last week due to high winds and risks related to power lines, etc. It was miserable and scary, especially with a young baby, no heat, and no hot water. Of course very happy we weren't in the fire zone, but scary anyway.

And this week we've been under an outage warning, so our power could be shut off at any time. Ugh ugh ugh
 
lovedogs said:
Yeah this is bad. I'm in SoCal (not close to the fires themselves, but within a few hours). We were without power for multiple days last week due to high winds and risks related to power lines, etc. It was miserable and scary, especially with a young baby, no heat, and no hot water. Of course very happy we weren't in the fire zone, but scary anyway.

And this week we've been under an outage warning, so our power could be shut off at any time. Ugh ugh ugh
Click to expand...

im sorry about your power situation but happy you do not live in the fire zone
 
kenny said:
Landlords gouging as rents skyrocket! :cry2:

laist.com

Asking rents skyrocket as LA fires destroy homes

For one listing, rent jumped nearly 86% since September. In an interview with LAist, the agent said she told her client, “People are desperate, and you can probably get good money.”
laist.com laist.com
Click to expand...

i just saw that on the news
i have a very low opinion of land lords as it is
the state needs to step in to stop this in its tracks
 
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