We've got too far away from common sense. My hubby and I were in WI two years ago for my dad's funeral. We drove out to this (other) little town to pick up my youngest brother. The facility he lived in is across from a rather large lumber mill. My poor city boy hubby said, "I didn't think there were any lumber mills running anymore!" I looked at him quizzically. He says, "isn't it against the law to cut trees anymore?" I took a beat and then simply said, " When was the last time you heard about an out of control forest fire in northern WI." He didn't understand what I was saying so I said, proper forest management means you MUST cut and clear dead and dying trees or sooner or later mother nature is going to clear that forest for you...and you won't have any lumber to build with either. People who have got so far away from the land; have caused us to lose our way.
Generally accepted that forests in, for example Michigan, burned every couple hundred years long before any European settlers came to the area. Utilize it before it burns.
Only have 3.5 acres here in central Wisconsin and it's called yearly maintenance to cut up dead falls and drop standing dead trees. It's called firewood for the camp fire or for the wood stove over winter.
Mike Rowe is the epitome of an American patriot! A serious man with a great sense of humor and lots of common sense. Poor forest management! I went to the number one forestry school in the country back in early 70s. They dropped the ball for a few bucks. Upside down government, swamped with red tape and bureaucrats. 🙏⚖️🇺🇸. They have several hundred trees per acre instead of 40 trees per acre.
CA native (now happily in TN) & while this fire is getting a lot of press, CA has huge fires just about evert year due to environmentalists running the state. The whole town of Paradise burned to the ground 😡 Besides the logging roads being gone, no other fire breaks have been allowed. No dead wood, rotten trees, or brush as been cleared for many years. A fire burned so hot in the Sierra Nevada mountains, due to all the unmanaged fuels, that it literally sterilized the soil. Nothing grew for years! So, the coastal elites keep voting for these people and policies. CA should get no money until NC & TN areas wiped out by the hurricane are rebuilt.
I guess way back Malibu had regular natural fires simply burned the brush and vegetation now there they are filled with buildings in the way. Nature had no choice
Such a pleasure to hear an intelligent person speak and be able to back it up with verifiable numbers. Even more of a pleasure to hear two intelligent people speak and realize they are learning from each other. And such a personal embarrassment to me to realize that I learned so much from this one-hour discussion that, as in the "Far Side" cartoon when the student asked if he could be excused for the day because his brain was full, I need to be excused from classes for the next week. And I'm 66. Thank you Mike.
@@fakeperson4069 The malthusians were right, they just needed to take in account of the sheer wastage from the people pushing the policies that create scarcity. But the greenies will never learn.
I live in the mtns in NorCal. They used to do clear cutting in the forests to act as a fire break. Then the environmentalists came along and put an end to that. Many years ago, the first time I saw a clear- cut patch of forest I was really shocked. It was maybe a five-acre area in the back country. Then a few years later we had a wildfire that consumed 250,000 acres. After that I realized that a clear cut of five acres was a small price to pay. I'm convinced that our current leader is determined to completely destroy this state. I hear he's going to run for president. Please don't let him destroy the rest of the country.
I lived in NorCal for several years and recall that some residents in my coastal community were outraged by PG&E’s use of herbicides to manage vegetation near power lines. Their priorities regarding safety seemed misguided.
Clear-cutting has gotten a bad rap because of profit oriented logging companies that destroyed entire ecosystems. Should we, however, run rampant with using clear-cut patch works resembling the crocheted quilts your grandmother made without addressing the larger issue of global warming?
I watch a lot of news & podcasts and this is the first time I’ve heard what this guest is saying. He needs to be given a humongous platform and shout this stuff from the rooftops!
I can say as a Californian in the North state region he is very accurate but the state neglects us and the rest of the country assumes we’re part of the coastal elites.
I live in NJ and 70 yrs old. As a child, south Jersey had wildfires a few times and, as a child it was scary as hell. They started controlling burnings about 30+ yrs ago and maintained the fire roads and breaks. We have wildfires occasionally but they are not as devastating and scary they were. Losing sight of the big picture by focusing the fine details……can’t see the forest for the trees. We also have a white tail deer overpopulation here and the ‘activists’ won’t hunt to reduce the pop because they firmly believe that we can’t because we ‘stole their homes’…..they ignore the damage being done to the environment and habitats of others critters and plants by the overgrazing and the disease and unhealthy conditions of the deer they claim to care about. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
If there's overpopulation of deer maybe the bear, coyote, and wolf populations are underpopulated. Maybe population doesn't matter unless extinction is on the line. Was there over population when the bison roamed the plains in the millions? Was there overpopulation when passenger pigeons numbered billions?
When I heard the head of FEMA say that the winds were unprecedented in a television interview I looked at the records and that was wrong, fact is the strongest Santa Ana winds yet recorded occurred in early December 2011. An atmospheric set-up occurred that allowed the towns of Pasadena and Altadena in the San Gabriel Valley to get whipped by sustained winds at 97 mph (156 km/h), and gusts up to 167 mph (269 km/h). Then on Jan. 1st. this year the NWS issued a warning telling everyone of the Santa Ana winds coming and a increased risk of fires and yet it was ignored, unbelievable.
@@jenscheibner792 Academics believe that between 4.4 million and 11.8 million acres burned each year in prehistoric California. Between 1982 and 1998, California’s agency land managers burned, on average, about 30,000 acres a year. Between 1999 and 2017, that number dropped to an annual 13,000 acres. The state passed a few new laws in 2018 designed to facilitate more intentional burning. But few are optimistic this, alone, will lead to significant change. We live with a deathly backlog. In February 2020, Nature Sustainability published this terrifying conclusion: California would need to burn 20 million acres - an area about the size of Maine - to restabilize in terms of fire.
Your guest is spot on. I live in the Sierra foothills, and from 2014 to 2024 we went through several catastrophic fires, including the Paradise/Camp, King, Caldor and Dixie fires. When I talk with my arborist clients and some of the crews that work for PG&E and CalFire, they all say the same thing---our forests are pure fuel due to lack of forest management.
Dont forget about western NC and Eastern Tenn .. while LA is burning they are freezing with no help besides a strong community bond. Its a shame after watching months of footage from nc and tn. God bless these individuals. 🙏
In Australia we have the same problems, to the point where our prime minister tried to shake firefighters hands during the last bushfires and he had them refusing
It's all part of the Globalist Plan! They hate humanity and WEF is their training camp for fools who are selected into Western Gov. to push the Globalist Agenda "Population Control"!
Regarding insurance … I bought a 2000 sq-ft house in the DFW area in 2018. My home insurance was $1,100 per year then. About 4 or 5 yrs ago Texas had the “big freeze”. When I talked to my insurance agent about the insane increase in my premium, he explained that the freeze event was the single largest insurance event in Texas history. Hence, the insurance companies are forced to increase rates to essentially pay for that. My insurance is now $3,200 per yr … almost tripled! However, many large insurers are still in the state. In effect, Texans are bailing themselves out of the disaster via higher premiums. You can imagine how triggered I am when I hear about a federal bailout for Californians.
THIS. THIS THIS THIS THIS. Had the same conversation with my agent, same situation. Same fury that sheer “environmental” idiocy has been allowed to repeat in massive scale, for a totally preventable and foreseeable disaster, in CA. And ALL of our premiums will jump up even more because of it, as surely our Federal tax debt will as well.
Question. I get it if this is just paying back the insurance company (essentially). But, if your house is extra winterized in case of future events, would that make any difference in one's premiums? Just curious. I don't own a home, so I don't know how that works exactly.
Our company clears right of way for a local power co-op in a conservative state. My husband’s right of way held as a fire line in huge fire that helped firefighters save several homes. Defensible perimeters are very important. California has failed at forest management. Prayers for the families who have lost everything due to these failed policies. Thank you for having this tough conversation, Mike.
This is a wake up call for residents to be more invested in knowing their local environments better to make suggestions to local governments for optimal land management strategies regarding the offsetting of potential fire prone areas, and potential mudslide prone areas.
This needs to go viral. The best explanation for the problems for a long time. It started with the tree huggers years ago. It's all been downhill since.
It's my belief that the lack of logging has a far greater impact on California's wildfires than anything else. Yes, logging thinned the forest. Yes, it built and maintained the logging roads or forest service roads. BUT also, they were the boots on the ground. They were the first line of defense.They had the heavy equipment and experienced people running them. They also had Water trucks. Communications and knowledge to access these remote areas quickly. Logging companies ran water trucks up and down those roads, maintaining them so if a fire started, someone would get on the radio, and then they would send a water truck over and put it out. These folks lived up in these rural areas and fueled the economy in these small logging towns so that they had their own fire stations. Logging was such a major benefit to the forest,economy, and rural communities. It was NOT just another rual area it was these people's home and livelihood, so they had a vested interest in suppressing fires before they got out of hand
Logging for the public forest to keep them clear and accessible and grazing on public lands to keep the overgrowth manageable and return nutrients to the soil as herds move. Both were stopped by Democrat policies and both didn’t just benefit the environment as a whole but also the people of the communities around them.
So many questions were answered today by your interview. We are common folk and figured it all out. Why has the government denied their responsibility to this disaster. It’s as plain as day
In China, these fires would likely have been prevented because their municipal governments employ an elderly population who are out in force outside working almost every day, all day long along roadsides and riversides, and in forests and in parks continually hour after hour clearing brush, pruning trees, picking up trash, and irrigating all the surrounding plants to beautify and protect the land ---- it's called land management. These workers will never own mansions, but they're happy in their camaraderie. There are so many of them that they work at a very leisurely pace taking breaks for lunch and afternoon rest. Don't knock socialism completely. I like Steve Hackett ---- 'After the Ordeal', and 'Horizons' are beautiful pieces of music and among my favorite.
I was TDY to Vandenberg AFB back in 1991 and commented to the fire department personnel that their fire access roads into the mountains and forest areas were overgrown. They told me that environmentalists would not allow them to keep the access roads cleared. Each summer they have to hire "hot shot" crews to jump in to fight fires in their forest areas.
Went on a TDY to Vandenberg in that era with F-16 from the 144th Fighter Wing. We were not allowed to use our power units to service or start our planes by Santa Barbara county. We had to cart start our planes and run the planes throughout the preflight creating more air pollution.
I remember sitting at the fire department reading firehouse magazine. The cartoon in in was making fun of Californians forestry system. Showed a guy standing on a giant open matchbook. The picture on the inside cover was woodland and the word California. The guy was talking about building a house there. That was in the 1990s. I cant remember the articles as well as the cartoon, but I am pretty sure it was about them letting deadfall build up, especially near structures. Because it looks more "natural."
If we let nature just do her thing, she would have burned both the trees and the bugs without hesitation. If humans paid attention, we’d be doing the same thing. When we don’t get it right, this fire is a perfect example of what happens.
It's not accountability. The environmental movement truly believes that the ends justify the means. We must go to extremes to save the planet. Only small minded people don't think the same as us. We are the only people willing to make the sacrifice necessary to save the planet. They do and say all these things while accepting wheelbarrows full of money, without imagining even for a second that they don't have a dribble of common sense.
@@chriskhall What's funny is, no matter what happens to us and no matter what we do, the planet will survive just fine. Those morons would be screaming "Save the dinosaurs" were they alive then.
Why isn’t this person working with the top experts to solve this problem? We need smart individuals in our government who know how to address these issues. Thanks for sharing, Mike!
The SantaYnez Reseroir was shut down February 2024. There was more than enough time to repair the plastic cover that had a tear. and get it back on. and fill it up.
Mr. Rowe, thank you as always for helping shed light in difficult situations. I work at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles and have insight as to how we can possibly make small changes even on our side of town..
The presentation of intelligence with common sense is so incredibly refreshing. This has been a powerful presentation. How do we get the government to actually listen to science and comparisons
I just stumbled across this video and didn’t know that Mike had his own Vlog. I’m thrilled to see that this articulate, charismatic & witty individual is interviewing people that everybody should be listening to in order to get to the truth of things. At least that’s what unfolded in this video; I’m assuming that could be the direction of the channel. It’s rather unnerving to see how far away parts of American Society have gotten from good old common sense and diligent reasoning. I often wonder what our forefathers would say about the direction some of us are heading.
Did you hear what the fire chief said about whether or she is capable of carrying a man out of a burning building? Well,he should’ve have been in the building - it’s his fault for being there…how sick!
That is the attitude when you have group think…if the majority (in this case liberals) all agree their view is “truth” then anything else is just the individuals fault.
Blaming the victim for her own incompetence, and totally oblivious to her obvious lack of the physical conditioning needed for the job. She should be fired.
I have been praying for the first responders and for people in California to get safety and my prayers is for those who lost their lives and their families and homes god bless you and please be safe in Jesus name amen 🙏🏻
Why does LA need to cut the budget for the fire department I wonder? Why does NYC need to cut first responders budget I wonder? As an insignificant spec on this planet when does any of the players who are in power or who have the influence, the money . Ever become accountable. Government doesn’t work because no one in government works.
@@jenscheibner792 Granted there are fewer sprawling conurbations but still regular very destructive fires. Jasper Alberta was a heartbreaking one last summer.
Unpopular opinion, but I would posit that the registered voters who elected the bureaucrats who caused this disaster are ultimately responsible for these outcomes. Elections have consequences.
Spacing housing out also helps with traffic and gives opportunities to break it up with parks, schools and small businesses which make living in any community more meaningful. Those huge masterplan subdivisions have always looked so uninviting to me because they don't appear to have any green spaces or parks within walking distance: no places to interact with your neighbors.
3 часа назад
California is already very spaced out and that's part of the problem .... Overbuilding into fire country is part of what makes them vulnerable. I'm not saying the politicians also aren't corrupt and incompetent. Just that it becomes more difficult and expensive to protect the more you're spread out into the forest and brush. Spacing out has plenty of downsides. The cost of delivering any service (utilities, roads, public safety) increases with distance. It is also of course much more expensive, time-wasting and dangerous to get around privately when you live in sprawlburbia... ironically, people move out of the 'city" (dense urban core areas) to avoid crime but are more susceptible to traffic accidents since everyone has to drive everywhere all the time, and the design is hostile to pedestrians or cyclists.
My son who is a forester in Michigan said Trump was absolutely correct 5 years ago when he spoke about the fire prone forests in California. This disaster could have been lessened if common sense had prevailed.
And to make matters worse homeowners are NOT allowed to go check on the property that they have paid for and pay taxes on. Even after the fire has long stopped burning, but media is allowed to go into those areas? Just goes to show we OWN nothing we pay a yearly rent to the government to live here. I get the safety factor but if a homeowner wants to go check on their property they should not be stopped, inform them "we cant stop you but if you get into a bind we cant help you"
It's obvious that the government has no profitable plans for we the citizens, we have to source our means by ourselves. I started investing as a way to earn extra but it's now my main source of income; I never expected the massive yield toh...
I agree that hiring a portfolio coach is a smart move and that in this case, patience is your best friend. I make a lot of investments and cannot afford to take the risk of doing it alone. Instead, since the rona outbreak began in late 2019, my portfolio has been maintained by a qualified advisor. I only need about $86k more to reach my one million dollar ROl goal.
Sharon Duke is the licensed advisor I use. Just research the name. You'd find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment.
Thank you Mike for this episode. I lived in NV most of my life. 50+ years in the Reno area. We know, KNOW how broken CA is. And hated the influx of people fleeing CA and then trying to bring their politics with them. Now Reno is broken too. The cost of real estate has soared to an unattainable level because of that influx. Everyday blue collar folks cant afford to buy homes. And for decades we faught CA stealing our water reserves. I finally had to leave due to the smoke that fills the natural bowl that is Reno from all the fires in CA. This addresses a very broken system.
@@fakeperson4069 I was born at St Mary's and went to Sparks Middle and Sparks High. Worked for Reno PD as a civilian until I medically retired. And I just couldn't live there anymore. We left 2016. Had been living in Fernley for 20 years. Yes I commuted to Reno every day. But when 4 people were killed in there homes in direct line of sight of my house I knew it was time to go. I wasn't even in Fernley proper but rural. So 2016 we sold, packed up and moved to rural FL. At least I can breathe here. And no longer worry about snow and ice. Actual Floridians are pretty cool. The snow birds are FL version of the CA invasion there. But they are only here part of the year. Our neighbors come out if there is a disturbance to help. Or when someone's controlled burn got out of control the farmers had it mostly out before the fire department could get there. It feels like Sparks of the 70s and 80s. Kids play outside and haha occasionally do dumb stuff like using a horse to water ski in the canal. I wish you the best of luck. I think most of NV if lost to CA. Hard to believe it was the epicenter of counter culture back in the day.
This was an amazing conversation with an important expert. I’d never heard of Edward Ring, but he explained so clearly all these ideas that I long held. To protect the planet, we need an abundance mindset, not a scarcity mindset.
I’m somewhat an environmentalist, but a realistic one. I believe in responsible logging. I think we should all do our part to reduce the impact we leave behind. I’m all for reducing the amount of meat we eat but I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan. Too many take it too far in the other direction without looking at the whole picture.
Thats the problem these fucking environment nuts went overboard and most of them don't even have a dam clue what they are talking about and climate change is nothing but money laundering..they been coming up with shit for 50 years and none of it has came true.
i worked with california regulations and gov management and I can tell you that no one in actual management approval process will swing for this event or face accountability. people may want to FOIA the contract managements of any and all related projects to include emails, meeting notes, council minutes all the way up the hill.
I moved to rural Utah in 2022 and bought a home. I’ve had NO claims. I don’t live in a fire or flood zone. I’m also an insurance agent. My home owner insurance is going up almost 10% next month when my policy renews and I have no doubt it is because I am subsidizing blue states and cities policies.
Yes. We ALL are. Insurers have to spread the cost where they can when they’re forced to cover losses where government controls restrict them to artificially not being able to recoup losses. It’s not really any different from the enormous hospital bill people with coverage (which of course never covers it all) receive to subsidize and cover the “free” care that the indigent and undocumented receive from the same hospital.
Interview of the year! Thank you for pointing what happens when you let one party it its extreme ideas take over the government and have the politicians and lawyers ruin our lives. For this exact reason I moved out of California almost 30 years ago. Thank you Mike for standing up and speaking truth and make us think! I hope more people can view, understand and share this!
One thing that would help to stop making cities even more dense is to embrace remote working for jobs. I know not all jobs are capable of this, but many are, but they keep demonizing this. Working from home decreases traffic on the road for those that still have to go into work, it allows people to live further out and not have to move into the city.
I call it the Spotted Owl effect .. and have for many ,many years ! I've hunted the northern Sierras since the mid sixties with my father and many relatives and friends . I noticed the vast stretches of dead and dying timber and overgrowing brush way back then .. this state and the incompetence of the so called leaders and forest managers is undeniable ! Like many other things in this once great state , the forest land has gone to hell ....
After 50 years of doing work with the State of California in Construction it's both incompetence and stupidity. There are very few competent people in Government. Also with 3,000,000 illegals they use 450 million gallons of water per DAY.
@ I didn’t mention any names, but now that you have, it does reflect poorly on him whether he knew about it or not since he’s the Governor. I suspect that some people will be fired down the line sometime.
As a native-born Santa Monica in the 1950s 60s and 70s. I have always heard the conversation about population density in LA and how we have over tax the ecosystem so badly that eventually this type of disaster was inevitable. The second part of this has been the conversation or lack of conversation about the yearly fires and management of these fires. In my youth this wasn't too big of an issue because no one lived on the Hills so no homes or people were threatened but these fires have burned for centuries yearly basis some of its ecosystems is dependent on these fires. And we never listen to the natives on how to manage the forest to keep those fires manageable is a thought process never really been completely investigated concerning California fires
I had a environmental science professor once who said ideally all humans would be put into big Arcologys and kept away from nature. This is the dangerous mindset we have to be wary about with city planners.
@@jenscheibner792 Those are actual cities most of the time though, outdoors, open space, etc. This guy's proposal was more like The Line, where everything is indoors and locked away from the outside.
For what, through? Taxpayers get stuck footing the payout of a suit in the end, not the government idiots responsible for policy. Same as taxpayers will be stuck footing the Federal handouts as well as higher insurance premiums that result from deliberate mismanagement of resources in CA.
@cleverkittn the insurance and the lesson learnt. Oh and hopefully someone will look at the decision makers and sack em. Either way tax payers are screwed
Mr. Rowe, as a critical thinking Canadian Man, I appreciate your true enthusiasm for our civilization; You’re contribution to humanity will be common sense. 👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻💪🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇨🇦🇨🇦
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3 часа назад
Rooftop sprinklers... would that be so hard to do?
In El Dorado County we had the best lumber company in the nation for reservation. They were shut down, it was Pacific Lumber. They just let the forest fall in on itself for fire. That is the forest on the way to Lake Tahoe. The Roosevelt fire was totally unnecessary. The Spotted Owl was not even native to El Dorado County. I know, lived there twenty years. The other lie by the environmentalists was the red-legged frog.
I live in one of the national forests outside of LA, and thankfully, the forestry service has been working for 2 seasons to thin the forest around my town.
After six years only 2629 homes out of more than 18000 have been rebuilt in Paradise after the Camp fire. It's going to be a while. It took over 5 weeks before residents were let back in.
Since early in 2024, I have been hearing that this will be a La Niña year. In Southern California, La Niña is correlated with drought across the Southwest. The fact that Santa Winds were coming is a given; it seems like willful ignorance that we are so poorly prepared.
joycebrackbill-henderly8311 No. We already had a " reality" tv person running the show. And we all know how that turned out. And sadly come Monday he's coming back. SMDH.
33:00 a few hundred goats would work for free to keep the underbrush under control in the canyons. They just need a few livestock guardian dogs and some people to manage them. What has been the environmental cost of NOT managing the land properly? How many hundreds of years of gas engines funds to equal the air pollution generated in the last few weeks of homes and cars burning?
I too have been curious about that empty reservoir. Santa Ynez Reservoir holds 117 million gallons and supplies water and water pressure to Palisades. At first glance, it seems like a huge blunder and screams incompetence that the reservoir has been empty for almost a year... But everything seems simple to those who really have no knowledge of the particulars of a complicated system. So I did a medium dive into the reason why the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been drained. The reservoir was drained in Feb 2024 due to the need to repair a fairly small tear in the floating cover. Although small (several feet), the tear was allowing bird droppings and other contaminants into the water which is used for drinking. (A contract for repairs was awarded this past Nov ($130K) and slated be complete sometime in Feb. 2025.) The cover does a lot of things and is quite sophisticated. It has to be anchored to the sides and be flexible to allow for changes in the level of the water. It also has to be domed to allow rainwater to be pumped off. The cover reduces algae growth, reduces evaporation, reduces the need for chemicals, and maintains water quality and safe drinking water standards so we can prevent serious diseases that can and have come from contaminated reservoirs. The cover keeps debris, wildlife, bird droppings and humans from getting into the drinking water. After a bit of study, I have to say that a good cover is very important to a reservoir like this. This is an enormous amount of water that has been turned into clean drinking water at no small expense. I assume that drinking water quality would degrade fairly quickly without an intact cover. (I am reasoning on my own now.). Having a torn cover could cause all sorts of additional problems relating to health and safety and it seems clear that draining the reservoir was a reasonable thing to do because without the cover, you have a potentially dangerous mess to deal with. However, that left the city at the mercy of three, 1 million gallon tanks to supply water and water pressure to the area instead of 117 million gallons. The authorities reportedly did consider refilling the reservoir right before the fires hit because they were aware of the coming winds. However, it takes about a month (as per Grok) to refill a reservoir this size to avoid damaging the infrastructure and dropping water pressure to the rest of the system. I am no expert and am simply reporting information that I have extracted that sounds reasonable. Here is a link to an article that supports some of the information above. www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-10/as-flames-raged-in-palisades-a-key-reservoir-nearby-was-offline
Mike, this situation has been brewing in California since 1989 when they started with restricting timber harvesting, wildland thinning and management , and finally water storage and management all in the name of environmental concerns and quote unquote endangered species!
I live in the NorCal state region, my county was mentioned as the firefighters who had to go to Sacramento to get permission to go down to LA even though we are California, really highlights though this state hates this region. Your discussions was so on point, especially the nightmare of the regulations and permits from both the state in thanks to the extremist environmentalists, that likely haven’t visited to know the region, and the federal regulations. The neglect we’ve had here is intense, this is one of the few people who I have seen that worked for the state that actually gets it. Basically everyone from the Bay Area looks down on us, Sacramento only cares to cater to the coastal elites, Central Valley is drying up, and most of the state like LA don’t know we exist, even though we provide the most water to the state, erm the ocean. This severe neglect is why we keep wanting to separate to form Jefferson state, it’s not just Newsom but we had numerous other governors that didn’t really regard we exist. I fear that the damage has been done and the longer we stay as Californians, the longer it will take to recover. I worry about the state of our forests, not only have we gone through a 10 year period of droughts on and off, plus whatever damage those invasive beetles did, having trees that dense is not healthy for trees to grow strong. They need some space and light, we’ll be lucky once we clear out the brush (we are OVERWHELMINGLY a manzanita haven which is intense heat fuel for fires) or the dead/sick trees to see what is left.
If I am looking a Google Earth correctly, the historical images of the Santa Ynez Reservoir does not show an appreciable quantity of water until you go back to June of 2009. That's quite a closure for repairs.
Edward Ring, run for local office here in Sacramento if you still reside here. People like me want to keep Sacramento & California housing open. Not everyone wants to live in a copy cat apartment complex! We should have stopped the shut down of our nuclear plant in northern california, Ranch Seco. All the climate enthusiast & we let them take the lead!
⏱️ Timestamps by TimeSkip ⏱️ 00:00:00 - California Forest Overview 00:02:05 - California Policy Center Insights 00:04:28 - Accountability for Fire Management 00:05:59 - Water Infrastructure Issues 00:09:40 - Philosophy of Scarcity vs. Abundance 00:16:03 - Population Density in California 00:18:13 - Misconceptions About Land Use 00:20:00 - Forest Density Issues 00:22:10 - Urban Density Problems 00:24:10 - Chernobyl's Wildlife Recovery 00:27:10 - Nuclear Energy Misconceptions 00:30:20 - California Firefighting Regulations 00:34:20 - Challenges in Forest Management 00:39:00 - Environmentalist Perspectives 00:41:52 - Water Management Issues in California 00:43:57 - Challenges in Water Conservation Efforts 00:45:51 - Impact of Nitrogen on Bay Ecosystem 00:48:24 - Rebuilding After Natural Disasters 00:50:25 - Insurance Industry Challenges in California 00:54:20 - Firefighter Union's Role in Prevention 00:59:15 - Voter Awareness and Political Change 01:01:02 - Impact of Special Interests on Economy 01:02:34 - Exploring Other Industrial Complexes
Spot on (and quite gracious)! Facts that need to be cricket-batted into the brains of the politicians who created the assinine laws that created the situation in CA in the first place!
Los Angeles County is 5,000 square miles, 9 million people. Palisades small neighborhood of only 24,000. Los Angeles has housing stock of 3.5 million. We did NOT burn down.
My son is on an Ontario Canada fire department and there is a group from his department going down California. I can not imagine how sick all the firefighters are going to be in the future. The catastrophic impacts from this fire is so sad. My husband and son are both firefighters and they said it is so difficult for a firefighter not to be able to do their job.
Pacific Palisades HAS NO FOREST. I've written that many times in the last few days. Homeowners are required to clear brush around their own homes, there's a $500 fine but weak enforcement. We love our overgrown trees on our property and high thick privacy hedges, we knew it was going to burn and did little about it.
Homeowners are ultimately responsible to cut back the brush on their property. Notice how a few homes were completely spared? Owners were aggressive in tackling their brush issues. Ask Tom Hanks how much he paid to have his property kept clear. The Getty Villa took shrub and tree maintenance as a top priority. And they paid for it. Ironically, I have a beautiful 30 foot wide creek that runs 24-7 next to my home in Northern California. The water is the cleanest water in tho entire state. People in Southern California would die for such a water resource.
20 million years ago, California forests burned with impunity...renewed by nature. Humans bought land and built houses taking the risks of doing so. These houses still standing were built with the risks of fire and wind. Why was the Santa Ynez empty for maintenance? Earthquake stability? Was it leaking? Hindsight is 20-20...and the LAFD budget was actually increased by $53 million.
@@edgewound Cynicism is a bad way to live. The cover on the small Santa Ynez reservoir was torn and being repaired. 20 million years ago the area of the Palisades was under the ocean as tectonic plates were moving and creating volcanoes and lava flows. It's factual to say that before humans arrived both the giant Redwoods and the small Manzanita brush had already evolved thrive in fire and wind events, both actually need them for survival.
We've got too far away from common sense. My hubby and I were in WI two years ago for my dad's funeral. We drove out to this (other) little town to pick up my youngest brother. The facility he lived in is across from a rather large lumber mill. My poor city boy hubby said, "I didn't think there were any lumber mills running anymore!" I looked at him quizzically. He says, "isn't it against the law to cut trees anymore?" I took a beat and then simply said, " When was the last time you heard about an out of control forest fire in northern WI." He didn't understand what I was saying so I said, proper forest management means you MUST cut and clear dead and dying trees or sooner or later mother nature is going to clear that forest for you...and you won't have any lumber to build with either. People who have got so far away from the land; have caused us to lose our way.
Touche!
or paper products...
Generally accepted that forests in, for example Michigan, burned every couple hundred years long before any European settlers came to the area. Utilize it before it burns.
Beautifully said.
Only have 3.5 acres here in central Wisconsin and it's called yearly maintenance to cut up dead falls and drop standing dead trees. It's called firewood for the camp fire or for the wood stove over winter.
Mike Rowe is the epitome of an American patriot! A serious man with a great sense of humor and lots of common sense.
Poor forest management! I went to the number one forestry school in the country back in early 70s. They dropped the ball for a few bucks. Upside down government, swamped with red tape and bureaucrats. 🙏⚖️🇺🇸. They have several hundred trees per acre instead of 40 trees per acre.
If this show is any indication, he's a fool of the worst kind.
CA native (now happily in TN) & while this fire is getting a lot of press, CA has huge fires just about evert year due to environmentalists running the state. The whole town of Paradise burned to the ground 😡 Besides the logging roads being gone, no other fire breaks have been allowed. No dead wood, rotten trees, or brush as been cleared for many years. A fire burned so hot in the Sierra Nevada mountains, due to all the unmanaged fuels, that it literally sterilized the soil. Nothing grew for years! So, the coastal elites keep voting for these people and policies. CA should get no money until NC & TN areas wiped out by the hurricane are rebuilt.
WA State here. It's a nightmare.
Agree , children can sleep at school and eat at the mission
Californians can manage the forest or nature will. We have now seen how nature will do it...
I guess way back Malibu had regular natural fires simply burned the brush and vegetation now there they are filled with buildings in the way. Nature had no choice
Should rename the state Cant-afford-us
Such a pleasure to hear an intelligent person speak and be able to back it up with verifiable numbers. Even more of a pleasure to hear two intelligent people speak and realize they are learning from each other. And such a personal embarrassment to me to realize that I learned so much from this one-hour discussion that, as in the "Far Side" cartoon when the student asked if he could be excused for the day because his brain was full, I need to be excused from classes for the next week. And I'm 66. Thank you Mike.
The environotsees have been screaming "Protect the trees". Now there are none. Good job.
They're a death cult. They don't care about trees.
So,agree with100% and all the wildlife that died that
@@fakeperson4069 The malthusians were right, they just needed to take in account of the sheer wastage from the people pushing the policies that create scarcity.
But the greenies will never learn.
Gaven newsom wants to make la 2.0 a 15 min city
@NVArt001 there are plenty of environmentalists who are aware of this....myself being one. It's not a black or white situation. It never is.
I live in the mtns in NorCal. They used to do clear cutting in the forests to act as a fire break. Then the environmentalists came along and put an end to that. Many years ago, the first time I saw a clear- cut patch of forest I was really shocked. It was maybe a five-acre area in the back country. Then a few years later we had a wildfire that consumed 250,000 acres. After that I realized that a clear cut of five acres was a small price to pay. I'm convinced that our current leader is determined to completely destroy this state. I hear he's going to run for president. Please don't let him destroy the rest of the country.
I lived in NorCal for several years and recall that some residents in my coastal community were outraged by PG&E’s use of herbicides to manage vegetation near power lines. Their priorities regarding safety seemed misguided.
Clear-cutting has gotten a bad rap because of profit oriented logging companies that destroyed entire ecosystems. Should we, however, run rampant with using clear-cut patch works resembling the crocheted quilts your grandmother made without addressing the larger issue of global warming?
Me too. Seen em really slow down about 98. Then in 2002 they couldnt bulldoze the lines because they might disturb some habitat
I watch a lot of news & podcasts and this is the first time I’ve heard what this guest is saying. He needs to be given a humongous platform and shout this stuff from the rooftops!
I can say as a Californian in the North state region he is very accurate but the state neglects us and the rest of the country assumes we’re part of the coastal elites.
@@kate2create738you are 💯 right !
Thank you, Mike, for continuing to shed light on the uncomfortable truths that we ALL benefit from. Keep kickin’ ass.
Right on
Amen!
I live in NJ and 70 yrs old. As a child, south Jersey had wildfires a few times and, as a child it was scary as hell. They started controlling burnings about 30+ yrs ago and maintained the fire roads and breaks. We have wildfires occasionally but they are not as devastating and scary they were. Losing sight of the big picture by focusing the fine details……can’t see the forest for the trees. We also have a white tail deer overpopulation here and the ‘activists’ won’t hunt to reduce the pop because they firmly believe that we can’t because we ‘stole their homes’…..they ignore the damage being done to the environment and habitats of others critters and plants by the overgrazing and the disease and unhealthy conditions of the deer they claim to care about. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
We are allowed road kill , 7 day week hunting. 😮. I won't tell them " deer" it's no kill in NJ.. you probably have enough..😊
- and ignorance and stupidity and huge egos.
If there's overpopulation of deer maybe the bear, coyote, and wolf populations are underpopulated. Maybe population doesn't matter unless extinction is on the line. Was there over population when the bison roamed the plains in the millions? Was there overpopulation when passenger pigeons numbered billions?
Mike Rowe is a Real Patriot.
Mike Rowe is the ceo of blue collar work
@@bryanjones3429 Blue Collar Logic...
When I heard the head of FEMA say that the winds were unprecedented in a television interview I looked at the records and that was wrong, fact is
the strongest Santa Ana winds yet recorded occurred in early December 2011. An atmospheric set-up occurred that allowed the towns of Pasadena and Altadena in the San Gabriel Valley to get whipped by sustained winds at 97 mph (156 km/h), and gusts up to 167 mph (269 km/h). Then on Jan. 1st. this year the NWS issued a warning telling everyone of the Santa Ana winds coming and a increased risk of fires and yet it was ignored, unbelievable.
Time to go on vacation...
@@jenscheibner792 Academics believe that between 4.4 million and 11.8 million acres burned each year in prehistoric California. Between 1982 and 1998, California’s agency land managers burned, on average, about 30,000 acres a year. Between 1999 and 2017, that number dropped to an annual 13,000 acres. The state passed a few new laws in 2018 designed to facilitate more intentional burning. But few are optimistic this, alone, will lead to significant change. We live with a deathly backlog. In February 2020, Nature Sustainability published this terrifying conclusion: California would need to burn 20 million acres - an area about the size of Maine - to restabilize in terms of fire.
Yes and some homes were over 100 years old that stood there during how many years of 100 mile an hour winds?
Your guest is spot on. I live in the Sierra foothills, and from 2014 to 2024 we went through several catastrophic fires, including the Paradise/Camp, King, Caldor and Dixie fires. When I talk with my arborist clients and some of the crews that work for PG&E and CalFire, they all say the same thing---our forests are pure fuel due to lack of forest management.
Mike Rowe is one of my favorite people in this world 👍
Mike is awesome 😎
Yeah, I watched his dirty jobs TV show. 👍
I love his talk!
Dont forget about western NC and Eastern Tenn .. while LA is burning they are freezing with no help besides a strong community bond. Its a shame after watching months of footage from nc and tn. God bless these individuals. 🙏
It's so easy to follow the bouncing ball. Prayers for all of he victims of these "natural disasters"
They are living in vacation tents in subfreezing weather.
Great video. My deceased brother was a forest engineer. Thanks for getting this out. It needs to be heard.
In Australia we have the same problems, to the point where our prime minister tried to shake firefighters hands during the last bushfires and he had them refusing
It's all part of the Globalist Plan! They hate humanity and WEF is their training camp for fools who are selected into Western Gov. to push the Globalist Agenda "Population Control"!
made me respect our fire fighters even more (if that was possible)
Sad
@AnnKelly-v8v
Sad is that it is largely preventable but people continue blocking the preventative measures
Failures of government leadership! They are motivated by greed and not concerned with the ethical responsibilities of their positions.
Regarding insurance … I bought a 2000 sq-ft house in the DFW area in 2018. My home insurance was $1,100 per year then. About 4 or 5 yrs ago Texas had the “big freeze”. When I talked to my insurance agent about the insane increase in my premium, he explained that the freeze event was the single largest insurance event in Texas history. Hence, the insurance companies are forced to increase rates to essentially pay for that. My insurance is now $3,200 per yr … almost tripled!
However, many large insurers are still in the state. In effect, Texans are bailing themselves out of the disaster via higher premiums. You can imagine how triggered I am when I hear about a federal bailout for Californians.
THIS.
THIS THIS THIS THIS.
Had the same conversation with my agent, same situation.
Same fury that sheer “environmental” idiocy has been allowed to repeat in massive scale, for a totally preventable and foreseeable disaster, in CA.
And ALL of our premiums will jump up even more because of it, as surely our Federal tax debt will as well.
Same, in Texas and my home owners tripled in the past few years.
Question. I get it if this is just paying back the insurance company (essentially). But, if your house is extra winterized in case of future events, would that make any difference in one's premiums? Just curious. I don't own a home, so I don't know how that works exactly.
Our company clears right of way for a local power co-op in a conservative state. My husband’s right of way held as a fire line in huge fire that helped firefighters save several homes. Defensible perimeters are very important. California has failed at forest management. Prayers for the families who have lost everything due to these failed policies. Thank you for having this tough conversation, Mike.
This is a wake up call for residents to be more invested in knowing their local environments better to make suggestions to local governments for optimal land management strategies regarding the offsetting of potential fire prone areas, and potential mudslide prone areas.
Good on ya, Mike. Tackling this right out of the gate was the move.
This needs to go viral. The best explanation for the problems for a long time. It started with the tree huggers years ago. It's all been downhill since.
Yeah ---- those trees huggers are far out. ---- You should try it some time.
It's my belief that the lack of logging has a far greater impact on California's wildfires than anything else. Yes, logging thinned the forest. Yes, it built and maintained the logging roads or forest service roads. BUT also, they were the boots on the ground. They were the first line of defense.They had the heavy equipment and experienced people running them. They also had Water trucks. Communications and knowledge to access these remote areas quickly. Logging companies ran water trucks up and down those roads, maintaining them so if a fire started, someone would get on the radio, and then they would send a water truck over and put it out. These folks lived up in these rural areas and fueled the economy in these small logging towns so that they had their own fire stations. Logging was such a major benefit to the forest,economy, and rural communities. It was NOT just another rual area it was these people's home and livelihood, so they had a vested interest in suppressing fires before they got out of hand
Logging for the public forest to keep them clear and accessible and grazing on public lands to keep the overgrowth manageable and return nutrients to the soil as herds move.
Both were stopped by Democrat policies and both didn’t just benefit the environment as a whole but also the people of the communities around them.
👍 agree
Thanks for taking the time…
Back in the day when folks had sense.
First rule of bureaucracy is protect the bureaucracy...
Gov't: We have investigated ourselves and have found no wrongdoing.
"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy."
-Oscar Wilde
So many questions were answered today by your interview. We are common folk and figured it all out. Why has the government denied their responsibility to this disaster. It’s as plain as day
No shit!
Chilling that they are talking about having plans to rebuild and the fires aren't out yet... Sound like it was planned...
Even if somebody else started the fire.. one would assume CA had a plan of action, to nip it in the bud. 😬
DEI
In China, these fires would likely have been prevented because their municipal governments employ an elderly population who are out in force outside working almost every day, all day long along roadsides and riversides, and in forests and in parks continually hour after hour clearing brush, pruning trees, picking up trash, and irrigating all the surrounding plants to beautify and protect the land ---- it's called land management. These workers will never own mansions, but they're happy in their camaraderie. There are so many of them that they work at a very leisurely pace taking breaks for lunch and afternoon rest. Don't knock socialism completely. I like Steve Hackett ---- 'After the Ordeal', and 'Horizons' are beautiful pieces of music and among my favorite.
I was TDY to Vandenberg AFB back in 1991 and commented to the fire department personnel that their fire access roads into the mountains and forest areas were overgrown. They told me that environmentalists would not allow them to keep the access roads cleared. Each summer they have to hire "hot shot" crews to jump in to fight fires in their forest areas.
Went on a TDY to Vandenberg in that era with F-16 from the 144th Fighter Wing. We were not allowed to use our power units to service or start our planes by Santa Barbara county. We had to cart start our planes and run the planes throughout the preflight creating more air pollution.
I remember sitting at the fire department reading firehouse magazine. The cartoon in in was making fun of Californians forestry system. Showed a guy standing on a giant open matchbook. The picture on the inside cover was woodland and the word California. The guy was talking about building a house there. That was in the 1990s. I cant remember the articles as well as the cartoon, but I am pretty sure it was about them letting deadfall build up, especially near structures. Because it looks more "natural."
Yes, I remember reading something about protecting the bugs. They didn’t want to clear the dead trees because bugs lived in them.
If we let nature just do her thing, she would have burned both the trees and the bugs without hesitation. If humans paid attention, we’d be doing the same thing. When we don’t get it right, this fire is a perfect example of what happens.
No one’s accountable anymore, that’s the problem.
It's not accountability. The environmental movement truly believes that the ends justify the means. We must go to extremes to save the planet. Only small minded people don't think the same as us. We are the only people willing to make the sacrifice necessary to save the planet.
They do and say all these things while accepting wheelbarrows full of money, without imagining even for a second that they don't have a dribble of common sense.
By design, easiest to defeat... divide and conquer... into slavery.
@@chriskhall What's funny is, no matter what happens to us and no matter what we do, the planet will survive just fine. Those morons would be screaming "Save the dinosaurs" were they alive then.
True. Congress holds hearing after hearing and no one goes to prison, gets fined or even loses their job.
No one is accountable because they’re all Democrats
Why isn’t this person working with the top experts to solve this problem? We need smart individuals in our government who know how to address these issues. Thanks for sharing, Mike!
Pres Trump told them what needed to be done four yrs ago and they did nothing... Why??
Thank you so much. God bless you Mike for the truth.
The SantaYnez Reseroir was shut down February 2024. There was more than enough time to repair the plastic cover that had a tear. and get it back on. and fill it up.
I just saw a report that the work on the Santa Ynez Reservoir HAS NOT YET STARTED despite it being empty since Feb(?) 2024. ???
Was left empty on purpose. Time will tell. The difference between conspiracy theory and fact is about 6 months.
Mr. Rowe, thank you as always for helping shed light in difficult situations. I work at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles and have insight as to how we can possibly make small changes even on our side of town..
The presentation of intelligence with common sense is so incredibly refreshing. This has been a powerful presentation. How do we get the government to actually listen to science and comparisons
I hope California is listening
You think so 🤔
I can’t say this as smoothly as you guys do, but brother, you answered all the questions. Thanks Mike Rowe for this interview.
No one in government is ever held responsible.
Very true they are above the law
I just stumbled across this video and didn’t know that Mike had his own Vlog. I’m thrilled to see that this articulate, charismatic & witty individual is interviewing people that everybody should be listening to in order to get to the truth of things. At least that’s what unfolded in this video; I’m assuming that could be the direction of the channel. It’s rather unnerving to see how far away parts of American Society have gotten from good old common sense and diligent reasoning. I often wonder what our forefathers would say about the direction some of us are heading.
The answer is “nobody.” We don’t do accountability in this country anymore. It hurts our feelings….🙄
Spot on!
Did you hear what the fire chief said about whether or she is capable of carrying a man out of a burning building? Well,he should’ve have been in the building - it’s his fault for being there…how sick!
Sorry - “shouldn’t have been” in the building
thats Didn't Earn It at work
Just like she shouldn't be there...
That is the attitude when you have group think…if the majority (in this case liberals) all agree their view is “truth” then anything else is just the individuals fault.
Blaming the victim for her own incompetence, and totally oblivious to her obvious lack of the physical conditioning needed for the job. She should be fired.
I have been praying for the first responders and for people in California to get safety and my prayers is for those who lost their lives and their families and homes god bless you and please be safe in Jesus name amen 🙏🏻
Great show men. Thank you !
Why does LA need to cut the budget for the fire department I wonder? Why does NYC need to cut first responders budget I wonder? As an insignificant spec on this planet when does any of the players who are in power or who have the influence, the money . Ever become accountable. Government doesn’t work because no one in government works.
Mike is an American to the bone gem.
Thank you for an intelligent discourse on an important topic.
Six years ago, the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA foreshadowed this.
Four hundred years of recorded history in the LA basin, The Valley of Smoke, foreshadowed this. The Camp Fire exposed the possible magnitude of fire.
@@andrewlayton9760 They didn't care then and didn't make any changes...
Re lack of forest management: Same situation in Canada therefore massive forest fires lately.
Difference no people in Canada..
@@jenscheibner792 Granted there are fewer sprawling conurbations but still regular very destructive fires. Jasper Alberta was a heartbreaking one last summer.
Unpopular opinion, but I would posit that the registered voters who elected the bureaucrats who caused this disaster are ultimately responsible for these outcomes. Elections have consequences.
Yes, but don't blame those who voted sanely and have lost everything anyway.
I stated basically the same thing on another podcast, and my comment was gone in seconds.
Fascinating conversation. So much common sense it's almost painful.
Spacing housing out also helps with traffic and gives opportunities to break it up with parks, schools and small businesses which make living in any community more meaningful. Those huge masterplan subdivisions have always looked so uninviting to me because they don't appear to have any green spaces or parks within walking distance: no places to interact with your neighbors.
California is already very spaced out and that's part of the problem ....
Overbuilding into fire country is part of what makes them vulnerable.
I'm not saying the politicians also aren't corrupt and incompetent.
Just that it becomes more difficult and expensive to protect the more you're spread out into the forest and brush. Spacing out has plenty of downsides. The cost of delivering any service (utilities, roads, public safety) increases with distance.
It is also of course much more expensive, time-wasting and dangerous to get around privately when you live in sprawlburbia... ironically, people move out of the 'city" (dense urban core areas) to avoid crime but are more susceptible to traffic accidents since everyone has to drive everywhere all the time, and the design is hostile to pedestrians or cyclists.
My son who is a forester in Michigan said Trump was absolutely correct 5 years ago when he spoke about the fire prone forests in California. This disaster could have been lessened if common sense had prevailed.
I have loved Mike Rowe being in my life ever since early days of DIRTY JOBS series.
This conversation got much better than expected.
And to make matters worse homeowners are NOT allowed to go check on the property that they have paid for and pay taxes on. Even after the fire has long stopped burning, but media is allowed to go into those areas? Just goes to show we OWN nothing we pay a yearly rent to the government to live here. I get the safety factor but if a homeowner wants to go check on their property they should not be stopped, inform them "we cant stop you but if you get into a bind we cant help you"
My main concern is how to survive all of these financial and political crisis, especially in light of the US political power scuffle
It's obvious that the government has no profitable plans for we the citizens, we have to source our means by ourselves. I started investing as a way to earn extra but it's now my main source of income; I never expected the massive yield toh...
I agree that hiring a portfolio coach is a smart move and that in this case, patience is your best friend. I make a lot of investments and cannot afford to take the risk of doing it alone. Instead, since the rona outbreak began in late 2019, my portfolio has been maintained by a qualified advisor. I only need about $86k more to reach my one million dollar ROl goal.
Magnificent! Could you please provide additional information about the coach who mentors you? might save me a lot of money
Sharon Duke is the licensed advisor I use. Just research the name. You'd find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment.
She is active on the
TE LE GRAM
Thank you Mike for this episode. I lived in NV most of my life. 50+ years in the Reno area. We know, KNOW how broken CA is. And hated the influx of people fleeing CA and then trying to bring their politics with them. Now Reno is broken too. The cost of real estate has soared to an unattainable level because of that influx. Everyday blue collar folks cant afford to buy homes. And for decades we faught CA stealing our water reserves. I finally had to leave due to the smoke that fills the natural bowl that is Reno from all the fires in CA. This addresses a very broken system.
We agree with 1000% we’re in Reno ! They killed Reno😢
I mean we agree with u 1000%
@@fakeperson4069 I was born at St Mary's and went to Sparks Middle and Sparks High. Worked for Reno PD as a civilian until I medically retired. And I just couldn't live there anymore. We left 2016. Had been living in Fernley for 20 years. Yes I commuted to Reno every day. But when 4 people were killed in there homes in direct line of sight of my house I knew it was time to go. I wasn't even in Fernley proper but rural. So 2016 we sold, packed up and moved to rural FL. At least I can breathe here. And no longer worry about snow and ice. Actual Floridians are pretty cool. The snow birds are FL version of the CA invasion there. But they are only here part of the year. Our neighbors come out if there is a disturbance to help. Or when someone's controlled burn got out of control the farmers had it mostly out before the fire department could get there. It feels like Sparks of the 70s and 80s. Kids play outside and haha occasionally do dumb stuff like using a horse to water ski in the canal. I wish you the best of luck. I think most of NV if lost to CA. Hard to believe it was the epicenter of counter culture back in the day.
This was an amazing conversation with an important expert. I’d never heard of Edward Ring, but he explained so clearly all these ideas that I long held. To protect the planet, we need an abundance mindset, not a scarcity mindset.
I’m somewhat an environmentalist, but a realistic one. I believe in responsible logging. I think we should all do our part to reduce the impact we leave behind. I’m all for reducing the amount of meat we eat but I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan. Too many take it too far in the other direction without looking at the whole picture.
WE have no logging in Pacific Palisades.
Are you talking about these things called reason and common sense? I keep hearing these things exist…
Thats the problem these fucking environment nuts went overboard and most of them don't even have a dam clue what they are talking about and climate change is nothing but money laundering..they been coming up with shit for 50 years and none of it has came true.
*SuperCutealien "I’m all for reducing the amount of meat we eat" Why are you for reducing meat consumption?
I think it is "environmentalism" vs. good stewardship of the land. The first is basically a cult at this point.
i worked with california regulations and gov management and I can tell you that no one in actual management approval process will swing for this event or face accountability. people may want to FOIA the contract managements of any and all related projects to include emails, meeting notes, council minutes all the way up the hill.
Ok, then just abolish all of those positions.
What a nightmare we have allowed to happen with ridiculous regulations!!
750k to be totally incompetent 😮 !!!
WTF!
Very competent, stooge in place to take heat for e lites lande grabb. Wake upp
I moved to rural Utah in 2022 and bought a home. I’ve had NO claims. I don’t live in a fire or flood zone. I’m also an insurance agent. My home owner insurance is going up almost 10% next month when my policy renews and I have no doubt it is because I am subsidizing blue states and cities policies.
Yes. We ALL are. Insurers have to spread the cost where they can when they’re forced to cover losses where government controls restrict them to artificially not being able to recoup losses.
It’s not really any different from the enormous hospital bill people with coverage (which of course never covers it all) receive to subsidize and cover the “free” care that the indigent and undocumented receive from the same hospital.
sound data and then a mind open enough to integrate the data. Intellectual honesty; very, very rare.
Interview of the year! Thank you for pointing what happens when you let one party it its extreme ideas take over the government and have the politicians and lawyers ruin our lives. For this exact reason I moved out of California almost 30 years ago. Thank you Mike for standing up and speaking truth and make us think! I hope more people can view, understand and share this!
One thing that would help to stop making cities even more dense is to embrace remote working for jobs. I know not all jobs are capable of this, but many are, but they keep demonizing this. Working from home decreases traffic on the road for those that still have to go into work, it allows people to live further out and not have to move into the city.
Love you Mike Rowe! 💪
And I couldn't agree with you MORE!
Yes!!!! Someone is telling the truth about the forests!!!!!
I call it the Spotted Owl effect .. and have for many ,many years ! I've hunted the northern Sierras since the mid sixties with my father and many relatives and friends . I noticed the vast stretches of dead and dying timber and overgrowing brush way back then .. this state and the incompetence of the so called leaders and forest managers is undeniable ! Like many other things in this once great state , the forest land has gone to hell ....
That reservoir had been sitting empty since February 2024. Total incompetence or stupid, maybe both, take your pick
Eleven months and nothing done. Ain’t that a kick in the teeth…
It’s empty when you look it up on maps.
After 50 years of doing work with the State of California in Construction it's both incompetence and stupidity. There are very few competent people in Government.
Also with 3,000,000 illegals they use 450 million gallons of water per DAY.
Well, just don't blame Newsom for that. He's launching an investigation. (Yes, I also find that both pathetic & laughable)
@ I didn’t mention any names, but now that you have, it does reflect poorly on him whether he knew about it or not since he’s the Governor. I suspect that some people will be fired down the line sometime.
As a native-born Santa Monica in the 1950s 60s and 70s. I have always heard the conversation about population density in LA and how we have over tax the ecosystem so badly that eventually this type of disaster was inevitable. The second part of this has been the conversation or lack of conversation about the yearly fires and management of these fires. In my youth this wasn't too big of an issue because no one lived on the Hills so no homes or people were threatened but these fires have burned for centuries yearly basis some of its ecosystems is dependent on these fires. And we never listen to the natives on how to manage the forest to keep those fires manageable is a thought process never really been completely investigated concerning California fires
Everyone complains about population growth but you never see a protester at the maternity ward
Yup, overpopulation and all the cars.
I had a environmental science professor once who said ideally all humans would be put into big Arcologys and kept away from nature. This is the dangerous mindset we have to be wary about with city planners.
Sounds like 15 min cities...
@@jenscheibner792 Those are actual cities most of the time though, outdoors, open space, etc. This guy's proposal was more like The Line, where everything is indoors and locked away from the outside.
The insurance companies should be able to sue the government in cases like this. When clear negligence has gone on and resulted in this horror.
For what, through? Taxpayers get stuck footing the payout of a suit in the end, not the government idiots responsible for policy. Same as taxpayers will be stuck footing the Federal handouts as well as higher insurance premiums that result from deliberate mismanagement of resources in CA.
@cleverkittn the insurance and the lesson learnt. Oh and hopefully someone will look at the decision makers and sack em.
Either way tax payers are screwed
Mike Rowe would be an excellent president
Mr. Rowe, as a critical thinking Canadian Man, I appreciate your true enthusiasm for our civilization; You’re contribution to humanity will be common sense.
👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻💪🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇨🇦🇨🇦
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Rooftop sprinklers... would that be so hard to do?
In El Dorado County we had the best lumber company in the nation for reservation. They were shut down, it was Pacific Lumber. They just let the forest fall in on itself for fire. That is the forest on the way to Lake Tahoe. The Roosevelt fire was totally unnecessary. The Spotted Owl was not even native to El Dorado County. I know, lived there twenty years. The other lie by the environmentalists was the red-legged frog.
Thye smelt are a joke. We net them year round in MI...
Great first episode of the new year.
I live in one of the national forests outside of LA, and thankfully, the forestry service has been working for 2 seasons to thin the forest around my town.
Awesome.
After six years only 2629 homes out of more than 18000 have been rebuilt in Paradise after the Camp fire. It's going to be a while. It took over 5 weeks before residents were let back in.
Wow! One of the best discussions recently. Awesome! Thank you so much!
The man with the absolute plan!!! Get yo rearend back to discovery and make those shows great again!!!
Since early in 2024, I have been hearing that this will be a La Niña year. In Southern California, La Niña is correlated with drought across the Southwest. The fact that Santa Winds were coming is a given; it seems like willful ignorance that we are so poorly prepared.
Mike Rowe for President! 😁
joycebrackbill-henderly8311 No. We already had a " reality" tv person running the show. And we all know how that turned out. And sadly come Monday he's coming back. SMDH.
Outstanding video! Thank you, Mike and Crew.
33:00 a few hundred goats would work for free to keep the underbrush under control in the canyons. They just need a few livestock guardian dogs and some people to manage them. What has been the environmental cost of NOT managing the land properly? How many hundreds of years of gas engines funds to equal the air pollution generated in the last few weeks of homes and cars burning?
I too have been curious about that empty reservoir. Santa Ynez Reservoir holds 117 million gallons and supplies water and water pressure to Palisades. At first glance, it seems like a huge blunder and screams incompetence that the reservoir has been empty for almost a year... But everything seems simple to those who really have no knowledge of the particulars of a complicated system. So I did a medium dive into the reason why the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been drained. The reservoir was drained in Feb 2024 due to the need to repair a fairly small tear in the floating cover. Although small (several feet), the tear was allowing bird droppings and other contaminants into the water which is used for drinking. (A contract for repairs was awarded this past Nov ($130K) and slated be complete sometime in Feb. 2025.) The cover does a lot of things and is quite sophisticated. It has to be anchored to the sides and be flexible to allow for changes in the level of the water. It also has to be domed to allow rainwater to be pumped off. The cover reduces algae growth, reduces evaporation, reduces the need for chemicals, and maintains water quality and safe drinking water standards so we can prevent serious diseases that can and have come from contaminated reservoirs. The cover keeps debris, wildlife, bird droppings and humans from getting into the drinking water. After a bit of study, I have to say that a good cover is very important to a reservoir like this. This is an enormous amount of water that has been turned into clean drinking water at no small expense. I assume that drinking water quality would degrade fairly quickly without an intact cover. (I am reasoning on my own now.). Having a torn cover could cause all sorts of additional problems relating to health and safety and it seems clear that draining the reservoir was a reasonable thing to do because without the cover, you have a potentially dangerous mess to deal with. However, that left the city at the mercy of three, 1 million gallon tanks to supply water and water pressure to the area instead of 117 million gallons. The authorities reportedly did consider refilling the reservoir right before the fires hit because they were aware of the coming winds. However, it takes about a month (as per Grok) to refill a reservoir this size to avoid damaging the infrastructure and dropping water pressure to the rest of the system. I am no expert and am simply reporting information that I have extracted that sounds reasonable. Here is a link to an article that supports some of the information above. www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-10/as-flames-raged-in-palisades-a-key-reservoir-nearby-was-offline
Mike, this situation has been brewing in California since 1989 when they started with restricting timber harvesting, wildland thinning and management , and finally water storage and management all in the name of environmental concerns and quote unquote endangered species!
I live in the NorCal state region, my county was mentioned as the firefighters who had to go to Sacramento to get permission to go down to LA even though we are California, really highlights though this state hates this region. Your discussions was so on point, especially the nightmare of the regulations and permits from both the state in thanks to the extremist environmentalists, that likely haven’t visited to know the region, and the federal regulations. The neglect we’ve had here is intense, this is one of the few people who I have seen that worked for the state that actually gets it. Basically everyone from the Bay Area looks down on us, Sacramento only cares to cater to the coastal elites, Central Valley is drying up, and most of the state like LA don’t know we exist, even though we provide the most water to the state, erm the ocean.
This severe neglect is why we keep wanting to separate to form Jefferson state, it’s not just Newsom but we had numerous other governors that didn’t really regard we exist. I fear that the damage has been done and the longer we stay as Californians, the longer it will take to recover. I worry about the state of our forests, not only have we gone through a 10 year period of droughts on and off, plus whatever damage those invasive beetles did, having trees that dense is not healthy for trees to grow strong. They need some space and light, we’ll be lucky once we clear out the brush (we are OVERWHELMINGLY a manzanita haven which is intense heat fuel for fires) or the dead/sick trees to see what is left.
So glad to hear u explain we agree with u!
No one will be accountable. Nothing will happen, it's not going to change. It's mind boggling
But the governor just said they have every reservoir full, every water tank full. He needs to be gone for being such a liar.
If I am looking a Google Earth correctly, the historical images of the Santa Ynez Reservoir does not show an appreciable quantity of water until you go back to June of 2009. That's quite a closure for repairs.
Edward Ring, run for local office here in Sacramento if you still reside here. People like me want to keep Sacramento & California housing open. Not everyone wants to live in a copy cat apartment complex! We should have stopped the shut down of our nuclear plant in northern california, Ranch Seco. All the climate enthusiast & we let them take the lead!
Good conversation. Thank you!
⏱️ Timestamps by TimeSkip ⏱️
00:00:00 - California Forest Overview
00:02:05 - California Policy Center Insights
00:04:28 - Accountability for Fire Management
00:05:59 - Water Infrastructure Issues
00:09:40 - Philosophy of Scarcity vs. Abundance
00:16:03 - Population Density in California
00:18:13 - Misconceptions About Land Use
00:20:00 - Forest Density Issues
00:22:10 - Urban Density Problems
00:24:10 - Chernobyl's Wildlife Recovery
00:27:10 - Nuclear Energy Misconceptions
00:30:20 - California Firefighting Regulations
00:34:20 - Challenges in Forest Management
00:39:00 - Environmentalist Perspectives
00:41:52 - Water Management Issues in California
00:43:57 - Challenges in Water Conservation Efforts
00:45:51 - Impact of Nitrogen on Bay Ecosystem
00:48:24 - Rebuilding After Natural Disasters
00:50:25 - Insurance Industry Challenges in California
00:54:20 - Firefighter Union's Role in Prevention
00:59:15 - Voter Awareness and Political Change
01:01:02 - Impact of Special Interests on Economy
01:02:34 - Exploring Other Industrial Complexes
Spot on (and quite gracious)! Facts that need to be cricket-batted into the brains of the politicians who created the assinine laws that created the situation in CA in the first place!
Real MEN!
Wow! What a treat to find common sense and concise explanations. I need to find more. Thank you
LAFD having half of their engines out of service isn't helping.
He makes so much sense and I appreciate Mike’s input as well.
This is a very *unnatural* disaster.
Read the Bible , everything is in there ! So many prophecies have unfolded before us. Read Joel 1&2 , revelation 8.7 .
I appreciate your perspective. Thank you for continuing to be a common sense voice for those of us who feel the same way.
Los Angeles County is 5,000 square miles, 9 million people. Palisades small neighborhood of only 24,000. Los Angeles has housing stock of 3.5 million. We did NOT burn down.
Thank you from someone who has never been there before actually Midwest
My son is on an Ontario Canada fire department and there is a group from his department going down California. I can not imagine how sick all the firefighters are going to be in the future. The catastrophic impacts from this fire is so sad. My husband and son are both firefighters and they said it is so difficult for a firefighter not to be able to do their job.
Pacific Palisades HAS NO FOREST. I've written that many times in the last few days. Homeowners are required to clear brush around their own homes, there's a $500 fine but weak enforcement. We love our overgrown trees on our property and high thick privacy hedges, we knew it was going to burn and did little about it.
Does that mean this was negligence on the part of property ownefs? Since it was their responsibility to clear up brush around their homes?
Homeowners are ultimately responsible to cut back the brush on their property. Notice how a few homes were completely spared? Owners were aggressive in tackling their brush issues. Ask Tom Hanks how much he paid to have his property kept clear. The Getty Villa took shrub and tree maintenance as a top priority. And they paid for it. Ironically, I have a beautiful 30 foot wide creek that runs 24-7 next to my home in Northern California. The water is the cleanest water in tho entire state. People in Southern California would die for such a water resource.
The Santa Monica mountains national recreation area is under the control of the National Park Service.
20 million years ago, California forests burned with impunity...renewed by nature. Humans bought land and built houses taking the risks of doing so. These houses still standing were built with the risks of fire and wind. Why was the Santa Ynez empty for maintenance? Earthquake stability? Was it leaking? Hindsight is 20-20...and the LAFD budget was actually increased by $53 million.
@@edgewound Cynicism is a bad way to live. The cover on the small Santa Ynez reservoir was torn and being repaired.
20 million years ago the area of the Palisades was under the ocean as tectonic plates were moving and creating volcanoes and lava flows.
It's factual to say that before humans arrived both the giant Redwoods and the small Manzanita brush had already evolved thrive in fire and wind events, both actually need them for survival.