Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Don't run downwind of an oncoming fire

This is one of the hard lessons of a fire in California during a Santana wind condition. Generally speaking you cannot outrun a fire, often even in your car unless you can go in another direction than the wind is going. So, if you see a fire bearing down on you from behind it is unlikely that you can physically outrun it on foot or on a bicycle and sometimes like in Paradise, even in a car or truck because the embers are going faster than you are and catching the ground on fire in front of you as you move forwards. So, unless you can run or drive to escape at right angles you might not survive if you run in the direction of the fire. One reason people died so much in the Paradise fire was that the only way out was literally downwind from the fire. So, many people had no warning at all until it was just to late to survive this fire. So, the fire department couldn't even fight the fire at first because everyone was dying. So, they had to instead try to rescue who they could because everyone was dying around them because the Only escape road was downwind and jammed up by too many hysterical people, many of who died trying to outrun this fire in their cars and trucks. IF you were on a motorcycle you might have avoided the problem if you didn't burn up or die of smoke inhalation on the way out by riding around the cars and trucks like a maniac. But, if your tank between your legs caught fire or your clothes caught on fire likely that would be it for anyone even on a motorcycle.

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