Art & Inspiration Paradise,Ca. Fire survivor

My cousin Mike works for AT&T , currently assessing the needs in the Paradise California community to restore service in the area , He came across this Model T unscathed . one of the few bright spots in his workday

 

And it's a beauty.

 

One bright spot. Lots of thought and prayers needed though.

 

I don't own a TV, but I watched a private YouTube hour long car tour of Paradise roads and side streets to show whose homes survived and who's were gone for relatives that lived in other States. I was pretty surprised to see some homes that made it, despite every one on the same street had been lost.

worse yet is some YT vids saying that many hundreds of people are missing.

.

 

Well, it has survived 100 years, maybe it will survive 100 more.
I saw an interview where one guy cleaned up all the brush from around his house and stayed there and kept it wet and his home survived. They need to start doing controlled burns of the underbrush so this isn't a yearly occurrence.

 

A bright spot indeed..... May it live for another 100 years.....

 

yep, amazing what survives and what doesn't - so many people living (?) in make shift tent camps. now some rain is coming which should help fighting fire, and clear air some. but, being in a tent with very little to your name it will not be good

 

A guy on the FORDBARN offered this article concerning the "T" and it's owners
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/us/california-wildfire-antique-car.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

Sad story indeed...

 

Unfortunately here's a picture of his house and 41 Plymouth.

 

Gruesome scenes , Devastating for most of the people involved .

 

yes the cars mean nothing, when lives are lost... many of the areas of California were so beautiful with the trees and forests, I can see why people would want to live there, never thinking about the danger. really sad.

 

Why are trees standing and the house is burnt to the ground? Trees aren't flammable???

 

Trees are thick and take a while to burn through (plus they are growing and have fluids in them, slowing the burn). Stick framing and other sheet materials in a house are thin, dry, and burn quickly.

I recently read that some building codes require a thick wood member for upper framing instead of steel, because the wood would last longer (steel would bend/collapse due to the heat) and allow people to escape the building.

 

I read somewhere that the car sat on a trailer outside hooked to late model truck...He lost everything but that.

 

I think I'd still take that Fleetline (or is it a big Olds/Buick?) over a local car. I know where one sits and you can't even hardly see it in the winter it's been in the same spot so long and covered by vines and crap.

 

mikhett. The trees survive around homes hit with fire retardant dropped from planes, but if no one is there to fight the fire its kinda pointless. The trees will likely die soon exposed to that much heat.

 

A lot of tree and plant species are well adapted to fire. Thick scaly bark provides insulation. Lodgepole Pine has cones that pretty much needs the heat of fire to open up, and release the seeds.

 

The picture of the T-bird was interesting the globs of aluminum on either side of it are likely the cool old valve covers and the transmission

 

With the loss of so many lives it is awkward to ask a car question. Does the gas in the cars just vaporize, none of them look like the tanks exploded. Bob

 

From the car fires I have seen the gas just burns as it turns to fumes and doesn't usually explode at lest in older rigs. It may be vaporized at a high rate though.
As far as the trees go the trees in post 12 may be standing but most likely are dead with no needles and few branches left on them. You can see that up 35 miles from my house where we had a big forest fire a few years ago. there are thousands of standing dead trees that are more pole than tree. It is on reservation land and the native firewood cutters have been cutting a lot of them down.
Trouble is that when people move out on those areas where developments are carved out of the forest with more forest left than maybe is wise those beautiful trees are the fuel for these kinds of fires as is the brush and grass in the canyons around Malabu.
A couple that are near and dear to me live SE of there in the Berry Creek area and the fire missed their place by about a mile and as far as I know they haven't been allowed home yet far as I know. They spent years on their boat sailing all over their world, sold the boat a few years ago and moved up there and came that close to loosing it all.

 

Exactly one year ago, my wife and I were visiting her aunt in Chico. I took a little side trip to Paradise to purchase a spare tire well for my 55 Country Sedan from a gentleman named Jim Angel, who had a backyard full of mid-50's Fords and parts. (He also had a 55 T-Bird in his garage that had been mildly customized by the Barris Brothers.)
I tried texting him to see if he and his family were alright. I have not heard back. I checked the missing persons list, and thankfully, did not see his name. I pray they are fine.

 

in post #12 above?

 

In our fire 2012 Colorado, The 500 gal propane tank just burned no explosion like a Jason Borne movie, the gas tanks, fuel cells in cars and trucks 5 just burned, same with paint thinner, paint, my rifle and pistol reloading supplys (gun powder) just burned some loaded ammo popped but explosions fragments didn't go further than 5 ft. loaded guns fired rounds in cambers, unload all stored weapons as they could present a danger to fire fighters!

 

Such a tragedy! We have been burned over twice, the insurance doesn't cover most of the cost. Most of what you lose, can never be replaced. It's really hard to understand how aweful this experience is, unless it happens to you... And lives being lost is the worst of all.

My heart and prayers go out to those poor folks. It's good to see the "T" survive!

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

My wife's cousin Eddie lives in Magalia, CA. right next to Paradise CA. Magalia is almost a total loss too. He was in the Bay Area when the fire broke out. His wife was at the hospital for an appointment. She was told everybody had to evacuate while she was in the doctors office. She had just enough time to get home and get the dogs and some cats, some of the cats wouldn't come out and had to be left behind. They thought they lost everything. Eddie has a 70 Chevy stepside that he's had since the 70's, and his Dads flag, as well as some other personal stuff of his dads in the house. His Dad did a tour or two in Vietnam, came home and was killed in a helicopter crash about a month later. They found out last Saturday that their house, as well as their daughters house across the street are one of about 8 houses that survived untouched by the fire. Don't know if they have been able to get in to see the places yet. They were told it could take up to six months before they can go home

 

I'm 200 miles away from the fire and the smoke was so thick here in the Bay Area I could not see Mission Peak which is a 2500 foot peak in the hills here about 5 miles from where I live. all week I've been coughing and had a headache. we had rain today and cleaned things up nicely

 

Before I moved out of CA. I lived at the base of mission peak on Little Foot Place in Fremont.