California Fires

[ButchW]

I’m through discussing politics and politicians… I do live in LA Co., but not in the fire zones.. The Santa Ana winds have been blowing most of the day, but nowhere near as hard as it blew the other day.. I have lived in LA Co.for over 70 of my 77 years, and have never seen winds like that here.. I have seen stronger winds while in Jamaica during Hurricane Ivan, that was a cat. 5 hurricane..
Many years ago I and my young family were driving up the CA. Coast on Hwy1 in our old cab over camper.. I passed some guy trying to beat out a 3’ brush fire… I thought that he could use some help.. Before Icould make a U turn and get back to him, the fire as already well out of hand.. we both used shovels trying to smother it… Within a short time some Coast Guard fire fighters showed up.. Then regular firefighters (Calfire?) showed up and put me to work hauling fire hoses up an impossible hill.. Pretty soon the planes came in dumping Fostec (sp?)… The firefighter told me to hit the ground when they dumped the fire retardant, or it would knock me down… I got back in the truck and drove to the next town to get a room for the night and shower off the soot, ash and red fire retardant.. The clerk wasn’t going to give me a room.. I looked like a red painted bum… That shower was fantastic.. Those fire fighters deserve ever penny they make…
Butch

 

[Chef Duane]

Within a short time some Coast Guard fire fighters showed up..
Butch

Semper Paratus!

 

[rvlifer]

Article in the guardian said the rain in the LA region is around 2% of normal so far this year and that the forecast could be 7 more months of weather conducive to wildfires and that the fire risk could spread far north. The guardian is far from objective so take it for what it is worth and lets hope and pray they are dead wrong. 2% rainfall explains a lot.

 

[Professor David]

Article in the guardian said the rain in the LA region is around 2% of normal so far this year and that the forecast could be 7 more months of weather conducive to wildfires and that the fire risk could spread far north. The guardian is far from objective so take it for what it is worth and lets hope and pray they are dead wrong. 2% rainfall explains a lot.

Camping next to a nice couple from San Diego, they were expressing a lot of concern about the potential of future fires in their area. We have property in the Berkeley Hills that was not that far from the 91 Oakland fires. Back in 91, a colleague lost her house and was lucky to survive. She heard the noise from the fire and had to drive through a ball of fire to escape. Thoughts and very best wishes go out the Californians at this very difficult time!!!

 

[ferfer]

I think we need a feel good story. Two dogs, desperate owner, a fire fighter and total lost plus news reporter.

'Oh my God': LA man's teary reunion after pet presumed dead in fires

 

[rvlifer]

I think we need a feel good story. Two dogs, desperate owner, a fire fighter and total lost plus news reporter.

'Oh my God': LA man's teary reunion after pet presumed dead in fires

Great story. Made me happy and sad at the same time. Once some of the hysteria dies down i expect we will start seeing a good number of stories like that. There were plenty of amazing things that people have and are doing. We need to hear them.

 

[Oldgator73]

I would posit many of us here need to take up bowling; we might learn how to stay in our lane.

 

[Oldgator73]

I’m pretty much done talking the fires. It’s a terrible thing I hope nobody ever has to go through again. I really can’t imagine.

 

[Chef Duane]

I’m pretty much done talking the fires. It’s a terrible thing I hope nobody ever has to go through again. I really can’t imagine.

There are worse things but this is right up there.

 

[rvlifer]

Just saw this headline in the feed amongst the other articles on axios. I find it morbidly funny. Maybe it is the timing and my gut reaction of now they tell us or maybe it is me cringing thinking of whoever didnt think about the look of this. The title of the article is "Southern California faces rare fire warning" posted a couple of minutes ago.

 

[Lou Schneider]

The RV Forum isn't a political forum, as stated in our Rules.

Although these fires are an exceptional event let's please keep politics out of it. If anyone is interested I had to remove several dozen messages in this thread - most were repetitive back and forth arguments between a couple of members.

In over 10 years helping to moderate this forum I've never seen anything like this. If you want to argue with a particular member please take it to a private conversation - click on the envelope icon in the top menu bar.

 

[Derby6]

Sorry Lou—I thought my post was pretty level. Guess not.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Sorry Lou—I thought my post was pretty level. Guess not.

Not a problem - I deleted several messages that contained quotes from other out of line messages. Yours was one of them.

 

[JudyJB]

Very slight change of direction--I have been considering buying a condo or small house or something not too far where my oldest son lives in Napa. I have not had time to do any driving around, but I want to stay away from the heat of the valley and find something up in the hills, maybe. I don't want to noise and crowds in cities, even medium-sized ones like Napa.

Problem is, other than ridiculous prices, when I looked around on Zillow and a couple of other real estate sites for places in the country/hills, they were nearly all listed as "extreme fire hazard" areas. In other words, if you live in California in an area that is even partially wooded or scrubby, it is a potential fire hazard. And with the fires in LA, insurance costs, if you can get it at all, are going to be really ridiculous.

Having done this quick research, I can understand why so many of the fire victims are talking about their insurance being cancelled in the past year or so. I am guessing a lot of people will leave California if they cannot insure their properties. What do you do??

Other son lives in Ohio, so that would be cheaper and easier to get insurance, but not as scenic, though there are some very nice smaller towns where i would not mind living there.

 

[DonTom]

. I am guessing a lot of people will leave California if they cannot insure their properties. What do you do??

For one thing, do not ever even think about paying off the house. As soon as you do your insurance will likely be cancelled. Likewise, don't buy in a CA high risk fire area without a mortgage. Put down as little as you can get away with.

AFAIK, all the mortgage companies must each take a small percentage of the high risk. Without the mortgage, you're on your own. I can tell you several real-life stories about this stuff. My Auburn house is in a very high-risk area. I have to make sure the mortgage balance never gets too low--that I always owe money on it until the day I die. If the balance gets too low, I will do a refinance for more cash that I do not need. That is better than not being able to insure, IMO.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

but I want to stay away from the heat of the valley and find something up in the hills, maybe.

The hills of the Napa area will not make much difference in the summer temps. It's all low elevation hills around there.

If you want cooler, your best bet will be to get closer to the bay or the ocean, not the low elevation hills.

However, Napa is usually tolerable even in the summer:



-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Chef Duane]

Your homeowners mortgage payment is comprised of PITI; Principal, Interest, Taxes, & Insurance. The insurance portion is typically mandated by your mortgagee as part of your overall payment. If you pay off your mortgage your payment and insurance will go away, yes, but you will then have to find private homeowners (dwelling) insurance as you probably wouldn't want to live in a home that is not insured. And you will have to pay taxes separately also.

In the California situation I suspect most lenders are going to jack up insurance rates 1. because they will use the LA fires situation as justification for higher rates, and 2. you'd be buying a property that has been already officially designated 'high fire risk.' If you can afford all that then you probably would be OK but I would be really wary of the housing market in California for the next few years if only because of the volatility and uncertainty wrought by the LA fire situation. Even though you'd be in NorCal, the SoCal fire consequences will ripple through the entire state.

 

[zulu]

I am guessing a lot of people will leave California if they cannot insure their properties. What do you do??

Nope. In CA, if you can't find fire insurance through a private company, there is the CA Fair Plan, the insurance of last resort which is funded by all the state insurance companies.

I've had to use it ever since moving to CA about 5 years ago.

 

[Onyrlef]

For one thing, do not ever even think about paying off the house. As soon as you do your insurance will likely be cancelled. Likewise, don't buy in a CA high risk fire area without a mortgage. Put down as little as you can get away with.

AFAIK, all the mortgage companies must each take a small percentage of the high risk. Without the mortgage, you're on your own. I can tell you several real-life stories about this stuff. My Auburn house is in a very high-risk area. I have to make sure the mortgage balance never gets too low--that I always owe money on it until the day I die. If the balance gets too low, I will do a refinance for more cash that I do not need. That is better than not being able to insure, IMO.

-Don- Reno, NV

What difference would the amount of the down payment make? It's the term which determines when the lien is satisfied. A 30 year fixed term with 5% down will take just as long to payoff as a 30 year fixed term with 50% down. If your house burns, the insurance provider is going to pay x amount. It doesn't matter to them what % of the insured value goes toward the unpaid principal on the lien and what % to the equity the homeowner has in the property.
When you say "AFAIK" mortgage companies take a small % of the risk, is that a guess?

 

[Onyrlef]

Very slight change of direction--I have been considering buying a condo or small house or something not too far where my oldest son lives in Napa. I have not had time to do any driving around, but I want to stay away from the heat of the valley and find something up in the hills, maybe. I don't want to noise and crowds in cities, even medium-sized ones like Napa.

Problem is, other than ridiculous prices, when I looked around on Zillow and a couple of other real estate sites for places in the country/hills, they were nearly all listed as "extreme fire hazard" areas. In other words, if you live in California in an area that is even partially wooded or scrubby, it is a potential fire hazard. And with the fires in LA, insurance costs, if you can get it at all, are going to be really ridiculous.

Having done this quick research, I can understand why so many of the fire victims are talking about their insurance being cancelled in the past year or so. I am guessing a lot of people will leave California if they cannot insure their properties. What do you do??

Other son lives in Ohio, so that would be cheaper and easier to get insurance, but not as scenic, though there are some very nice smaller towns where i would not mind living there.

The "FAIR" program in California insures homeowners who can't access insurance in the marketplace. Someone on here brought attention to that earlier. Florida is having the same issues with insurers leaving the State over elevated risk assessments.They're businesses, like any other business, they're not going to operate in an area where they're losing money.