September 11, 2020

A new dimension of Portland woe: "The mayor of Portland declared a state of emergency as fires burned toward the city."

NYT reports.
The wildfire crisis on the West Coast grew to a staggering scale on Friday, as huge fires merged and bore down on towns and suburbs, state leaders pleaded for firefighting help from neighbors, and hundreds of thousands of people were told to evacuate, including about one of every 10 Oregon residents....

“We have never seen this amount of uncontained fire across our state,” said Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon, where the Beachie Creek and Riverside fires threatened to merge near Portland’s suburbs. Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland declared a state of emergency on Thursday night, and residents of Molalla, about 30 miles to the south, packed highways as they fled from the approaching fires....

Several law enforcement agencies in Oregon said they had been flooded with inquiries about rumors that activists were responsible.
On Thursday, several journalists reporting on fires near the city of Molalla, Ore., said they had been confronted by a group of armed people who were worried about unverified reports of arsonists in the area. The rumors appear to have started on Wednesday night, after the Portland Police Bureau warned people on Twitter about the risk of fire during demonstrations. But there is no evidence that activists have deliberately set fires.

“We’re not seeing any indications of a mass politically influenced arson campaign,” said Joy Krawczyk, a spokeswoman with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Words that sparks suspicion: "mass" and "campaign." Has the spokeswoman seen any indications of a politically influenced arson? She's not saying. Only that that it's not a "mass... campaign"! Her words don't exclude arson or even politically influenced arson.
Three law enforcement agencies in Oregon did announce on Thursday that the Almeda Fire, which incinerated neighborhoods and is linked to two deaths, may have been deliberately set. No suspects were publicly identified, but the Ashland police chief told The Oregonian that no information pointed toward the loose collective of antifascist activists known as antifa.

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

Liz Bourgeois, a Facebook spokeswoman, said Friday morning that the company’s third-party fact-checkers determined the rumors that antifa and Black Lives Matter activists had started the fires was false. “We are reducing its distribution and showing strong warning labels for people who see it, try to share it, or already have,” Ms. Bourgeois said in a statement.

126 comments:

Drago said...

According to the Althouse lefties, 2 months ago these fires were righteous indications of an oppressed people rising up.....plus "Summer of Love".

A month ago the fires became "mythical".

A few weeks ago the fires that were once mythical became real again and were set by Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and some guys in hawaiian shirts.

Now the democraticals admit the fires are being set by lefties which is hurting the democratical poll numbers and MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!

rcocean said...

2-1 Oregon re-elects Brown, who's responsible partly or wholly, for all the disasters occurring in Oregon. She's in charge of managing the Forests, and has done zero to prevent the raging forest fires. BTW, unknown reported by the MSM, is that the Democrat Legislative Director of the Oregon Legislature was arrested during an Antifa riot in Portland. If you want to know why Brown is doing nothing about Portland, its because she supports it.

Newsome has been even more incompetent, but the yellow-dog democrats and foreigners who vote in Calf don't care.

madAsHell said...

My in-laws live in a condo looking over the Williamette river on the Niato Parkway.

They can't see the river.

If not for the press, most Democrats would be incompetent.

cacimbo said...

There is an arson. Police say they do not know who started the fire, yet a Police Chief is able to say with 100% certainty the fire was not started by antifa/blm. Does anyone believe that if the investigation finds antifa/blm is responsible that information will be acted on or shared with the public.

Nob490 said...

Interesting, the threats these fires pose to these folks. I am interested to see, and I'll bet it turns out to be so, that if people are faced with real physical threat from these fires, that all of this protest b.s. will go out the window and people will work together to protect each other.

Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think too many of these dopes have nothing else to worry about or occupy their time, and that a real problem will change their thinking, even if only for a short time.

tim in vermont said...

Don’t rule out arson in the forests in support of the “global warming” movement to end capitalism. There has been a lot of chatter that ISIS was suggesting setting forest fires as a low cost low risk terror tool with high rewards. A few cases were seen, notably in Australia.

Kevin said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

Shorter article: We don't know how these fires started, but it's 100% certain it wasn't by Antifa.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

After Trump offered to help the unjust and unfair leftwing terrorism perpetrated on the streets of left-wing Portland by leftwing antifa arsonists and terrorists - the leftists who rule Portland swatted it down like 2 yer olds...

when the rest of the nation said "Just let it burn" we were not kidding.

I feel bad for the innocents.,. but this is some major Left-wing schadenfreude/leftwing bad-faith bad-penny karma playing out.

tim in vermont said...

"Words that sparks suspicion: "mass" and "campaign.”

Yep. Too narrow of a ‘denial’ and a lot of covering for Antifa seems to be going on here. There are a lot of loose canons in Antifa, as we have seen by the lynching of a Trump supporter in Portand. “Lynch” doesn’t mean to hang, as the KKK did, BTW, but it is a murder. tactic of mobs intended to intimidate the opposition or to carry out 'summary justice.'

Nonapod said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

And how exactly can he possibly know that for sure?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Unconstained fire?

Where are your leaders, Oregon? At home drunk on Trump hate?

Wince said...

Althouse said...
Words that sparks suspicion: "mass" and "campaign." Has the spokeswoman seen any indications of a politically influenced arson? She's not saying. Only that that it's not a "mass... campaign"! Her words don't exclude arson or even politically influenced arson.

And yet...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email... Liz Bourgeois, a Facebook spokeswoman, said Friday morning that the company’s third-party fact-checkers determined the rumors that antifa and Black Lives Matter activists had started the fires was false.

Just to be clear, this is an example of falsifying their falsification, not "The falsification of falsification."

ga6 said...

How does that go again? Oh yes; "so shall ye sow".

Fernandinande said...

It's not an emergency, it's (probably) just the result of a petty conflict.

YoungHegelian said...

At some point folks are gonna starting thinking this really is the Wrath of God, ya know?

If zombies start coming out of their graves in Portland, then we've really moved into Wrath of God territory. I give it 50/50 odds.

rhhardin said...

Rioting is about incentives.

rhhardin said...

Next there will be a reactionary right wing forest management group.

Bay Area Guy said...

I live in California and used to spend summers in Oregon.

A word of advice -- don't let the Democrats turn your state into California or Oregon. They are shameless enablers of destruction.

DKWalser said...

How is it that we 'know' that Antifa and BLM had nothing to do with starting the fires? There is a BIG difference between not knowing if they played a role and knowing that they didn't.

Francisco D said...

Liz Bourgeois, a Facebook spokeswoman, said Friday morning that the company’s third-party fact-checkers determined the rumors that ...

The fires were started by Bugaloo Boys wearing MAGA hats and TRUMP 2020 t-shirts.

Kevin said...

A new dimension of Portland woe: "The mayor of Portland declared a state of emergency as fires burned toward the city."

Fires burning toward the city: Emergency!

Fires burning in the city: Mostly peaceful.

Michael K said...

There have been reports of arson but I can't recall of it is California where arson fires are pretty common or further north.

JAORE said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara

Yet they have indications that " the fires...may have been deliberately set."

The Chief should have said, "110% false". Just as valid.

Yancey Ward said...

To be fair, arson is probably responsible for over 50% of these fires before this year. Pyromania isn't just the title of a good Def Leppard album.

JAORE said...

Pretty stealthy,a female member of Trump's Troopers, white supremacist, Rough Boy (self-identified), Klan belonging Bugaloo (sp?) sneakily becomes staffer for the top Dem Legislator in Oregon.

Bet she's been undercover for ten to fifteen minutes.

mezzrow said...

In engineering, a factor of safety (FoS), also known as (and used interchangeably with) safety factor (SF), expresses how much stronger a system is than it needs to be for an intended load. Safety factors are often calculated using detailed analysis because comprehensive testing is impractical on many projects, such as bridges and buildings, but the structure's ability to carry a load must be determined to a reasonable accuracy.

Many systems are intentionally built much stronger than needed for normal usage to allow for emergency situations, unexpected loads, misuse, or degradation (reliability).


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factor_of_safety

What sort of design margin does the city of Portland carry these days? In former days some would call this kind of threat God's Wrath. Others would just call it bad luck. Old cynical men say that you make your own luck to a great degree, and I can't argue with that. Perhaps these folks just chose poorly.

I sincerely hope they are delivered from this fiery fate. Nobody "has it coming to them..."

wendybar said...

Fires have already burned down the city, and NOW he's worried?? Should have been doing this months ago.

Sam L. said...

I've heard that Newport and Lincoln City, both on the ocean, have fires near them.

wendybar said...

How do they KNOW for sure BLM or ANTIFA didn't start these fires? They could have, like anybody else in America. Why are they always protecting the Radical hate spreaders??

Lucid-Ideas said...

In a saner time, one less beset by acedia and apathy, the mayor of Portland would be dragged from their house/s and hung. I hold out some hope that this might still happen, even if only metaphorically, but I'm definitely still on board for the literal version.

Ken B said...

Some fires were deliberately set. Fire fighting equipment was needed in the city, due to riots.

Ken B said...

Rcocean
Brown will win easily unless challenged by an even more extreme leftist, who might win.

Ken B said...

I saw video from a state trooper who caught a guy lighting grass along the highway. That counts as arson!

Jupiter said...

Kate Brown is loving every minute of 2020. She is a monster.

Ken B said...

If he doesn’t know who set it, how can he know who didn’t?

Birkel said...

Think how peaceful Portland will be after it has no police and is hollowed out of businesses and rational thought.

Birches said...

What about homeless encampments? That's where I'd put my money.

Bob Boyd said...

Type 11 sunrises.

DanTheMan said...

We don't know who did it, but we know with 100% certainty who did not do it.

In other words, we can't tell what is true from what we want to be true.


cf said...

Yes Althouse, thanks for identifying the evil weasel words.

Please take note, these fires are out of "Clackamas County". They follow a week where Trump-flagged trucks dared to organize, and gathered in "Clackamas" from all over to parade on the freeways between Salem and Portland. Some of em even dared drive INTO PORTLAND & the burned dwntwn zones. (it was in one of those days, you may remember, one patriot on foot was hunted and shot dead)

This show of trucks parading was a game-changer. Opposition to Oregon Leftie govt has been virtually mute during this over 100 day seige. Such a blatant show of patriots could not stand! "Clackamas" was now confirmed the evil enemy.

I can attest that by the second night of unusual winds, w forest fires already begun, all around my Clackamas area, -- ok three spots all ringing our Clackamas river and 205 freeway -- outrageous fires suddenly popped up, right off freeways, very dramatic, singular, and the sheriffs recognized foul play. Plus our gorgeous Elk Rock Island, Milwaukie's jewel on the river. I doubt such arson hits are continuing now, but on those first 2 crazy nights, pretty clear opportunists saw the easy advantage of creating mayhem among those they believe they hate.

Revenge served hot, "not letting a crisis go to waste."



bagoh20 said...

It only takes one hand on one jerk to start a terribly destructive fire that burns thousands of acres. It's happened before, and it's a very common way of these starting. The idea that someone in an already arsonist group like Antifa did such a thing is very likely. It's far less likely that someone is trying to pin destruction on Antifa, but they made it easy to do, and they want it anyway, so, even if it was someone else, "Antifa did it." is what the left calls "fake, but accurate", so suck it up.

Retail Lawyer said...

Just a few years ago arson was considered a serious crime. Now its social justice.

DKWalser said...

Picking up on my earlier point on how we 'know' Antifa and BLM had nothing to do with setting these fires. We know this in the same way we know Russia was behind hacking of the DNC's email server. In both cases it is to the benefit of someone the media supports for the public to accept the 'knowledge' as presented by the media. It helped Democrats if the public blamed Russia (and by connection, Trump) for hacking the DNC. It also helps Democrats if the public does not blame Antifa and BLM (and by connection, Democrats) for the fires. Thus, we 'know' (according to the media) that these things are true. It's beyond debate.

CJinPA said...

"antifascist activists known as antifa."

Any outlet still promoting their "antifascist" label is consciously engaging in propaganda.

RMc said...

Oh, now he's worried about Portland burning down...?!

Krumhorn said...

We really need to abandon the hands-off approach to forest management. The Dems in CA own this disaster.

- Krumhorn

Marshall Rose said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

So they know who did it then? How else can you be 100% sure?

Douglas B. Levene said...

Antifa didn't set the forest fires burning around Oregon. Hell, they haven't even managed to burn a single building in Portland, despite numerous attempts. This type of conspiracy mongering is, I suppose, typical for this year-from-hell, but it's ridiculous.

The forest fires are real. I, like my neighbors here in Portland, have prepared an evacuation kit, stuff packed and ready to go, in case the fires come here. If Forest Park goes up, I'm out of here. The big question is, where to go? There are fires all around and it's not clear that there is a good route in any direction to safety.

Leland said...

Curious, when the Mayor of Portland and Governor of Oregon said they didn't want federal officials; wouldn't that include those that fight fires?

Narr said...

Fecebook has 3rd-party fact-checkers, who assure us that people Fecebook and their 3rd-party fact-checkers like and support had nothing--NOTHING YOU HEAR!!--to do with anything bad.

Narr
Case closed

Narr said...

New dementias in lefty politics.

Narr
It's Fubariffic!

stevew said...

The New York Times in its overnight email tells me that Climate Change is to blame for the fires and devastation in California. I didn't read the entire article but suspect they include the fires in the Portland area too. Funny how they agree with former President Obama's sentiment on this. No mention of how the fires actually, you know, started.

tim maguire said...

Liz Bourgeois, a Facebook spokeswoman, said Friday morning that the company’s third-party fact-checkers determined the rumors that antifa and Black Lives Matter activists had started the fires was false.

Really? Facebook has established the cause of these fires? I find that very hard to believe. I think Liz and Facebook are lying.

robother said...

What is it about the excluded middle and the Prog Left? Either there is an official mass campaign of arson announced by BLM/ Antifa, or it is 100% false that BLM or Antifa actors had anything to do with the fires. CNN describes mostly peaceful fiery protests in Kenosha. We see footage virtually every night for the last 3 months in Portland of protestors setting blazes in the streets, throwing molotov cocktails at police and attempting to set public buildings on fire. But somehow, it is absolutely ruled out by the Ashland police chief that any one of these individuals would be capable of setting fire to a tinder dry forest.

Josephbleau said...

"a Facebook spokeswoman, said Friday morning that the company’s third-party fact-checkers determined the rumors that antifa and Black Lives Matter activists had started the fires was false."

I might go along with a statement that the rumors are unsubstantiated but to declare them false is dishonest. Facebook is able now to prove a negative? You can prove a negative in certain logical structures, but their proof that antifa did not start any of the fires requires more detail. Tell me how you know it is false, please.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Washington State Trooper Ryan Burke @wspd1pio · 22h

"We got another one! Great job Trooper Morefield. A pedestrian decided to match light the grass at SR-512 and SR-7. Citizen observed and alerted 911. After a short foot chase, one is in custody and on his way to jail."

Link to tweet

Dust Bunny Queen said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

And he knows this about every fire in Oregon...how?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I still pray for rain.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Portland and the predominate WHITE LEFT

Paul said...

I just have ZERO SYMPATHY.. Z..E..R..O. Portland, Seattle, Oh heck the whole west coast.

Burn baby, burn... and tough nuts.

Known Unknown said...

"Liz Bourgeois"

Really?

Skeptical Voter said...

There are some things which can not be named--or mentioned--or whispered. And it's entirely possible that (a) some leftist (b) started a firre and (c) didn't intend to commit arson.

The "El Dorado Fire" here in Riverside County (and by now probably also in San Bernardino County) was started by some morons who used a pyrotechnic device for a gender reveal party. Did they intend to start the fire (which has been burning for six days now and is only 31% contained)? Nope. They were just stupid---and the fire doesn't care.

But yep--there's no sign of a "mass" "campaign"to set the woods on fire in Oregon. You might contemplate the weather gods mass campaign of lighning strikes in Northern California that started a bunch of forest fires. Now there's a real mass campaign for you.

Big Mike said...

Great governor you have there, Oregonians. Faced with a crisis, she can wring her hands and say “Oh! Dear!” with the best of them.

Oso Negro said...

Oregon officials: it wasn’t us or our flying butt monkeys. Honest.

FullMoon said...

Antifa or not, always going to be people who set the hills and forests on fire. Every year, every state.
Locally, last year, man actually flies in, rents a car, sets fires.

The suspect, Freddie Owen Graham, 68, had flown in from Missouri and rented a car, which he used to drive along Calaveras Road in Santa Clara County to start the fires, according to an investigation report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

zipity said...


Anyone believe for one moment that none of these fires were not set on purpose by the twisted social justice warriors?

I would be shocked if it was not proven that they started these.

Temujin said...

Interesting. Major fires in California, both last year and this year, were started by arsonists. I do not recall if any of them were affiliated with a radical leftist group, but it's certainly not out of the question for people in Oregon and Washington who spend their spare time making Molotov cocktails and playing with explosives.

It's not something to be dismissed without confirming.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Brown is term-limited out. There was a recall petition to remove her that fell 1% short of the necessary signatures.

The Santiam fire started on August 16th, yet Oregon did nothing. They hoped that it would die by itself. Now that it's 1000-times bigger, and burning out residents, they've decided to fight it. This is typical "fire fighting" response in the Pacific states.

Tomcc said...

rcocean: as an Oregon resident, I can assure you that an incompetent Democratic gubernatorial candidate will prevail over a competent Republican. Which is why we have Kate Brown now.
(She put the goober in gubernatorial)

James Pawlak said...

The fires of treason withing Portland are far more dangerous than those in the near-by forest

Arson "presents a clear and present danger of death or great bodily harm to others". Those attempting to commit arson must be, without warning, shot-down by police or other
law-abiding citizens to provide IMMEDIATE protection for innocent Americans.

rcocean said...

"but it's 100% certain it wasn't by Antifa."

Of course. They don't know who started it, but it can't be Antifa. Next we'll hear about White Frat Boys in Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses. They love a fire, ask the girl in Madison. BTW, I'm glad to hear Brown has been term-limited. Like Gov Newsome, she should be recalled but won't be. Liberals/leftists JUST ACCEPT things, when done by their side. Sheep.

minnesota farm guy said...

Liberal policies are leaving OR cities burning and now the forests as well. So simple to clean up the dead trees. So difficult to put out the fires.

rcocean said...

"Antifa didn't set the forest fires burning around Oregon. Hell, they haven't even managed to burn a single building in Portland, despite numerous attempts."

They actually set buildings on fire, but the fires were put out before they destroyed the buildings. And of course, the Police have something to do with their Antifa's arson failures too. BtW, I didn't realize Oregon had Ghosts policing forest so left-wing crazies and Antifa couldn't start fires.

More liberal logic: We don't know who started the fires BUT it wasn't Antifa. Sure, they're crazy, lawless, left-wing anarchists who've been rioting for 90 days - but hey, they'd never break the law!

JaimeRoberto said...

I have no love for Antifa, but I'll wait to see some evidence before I blame them. But I can't rule it out either.

AllenS said...

True or false --

Antifa and Black Lives Matter like to start fires.

richlb said...

So this burning of Portland will actually get some mainstream news coverage.

Marc in Eugene said...

The one positive consequence of the fires with all their ash etc is that instead of 90s here in Eugene this week the highs have been in the upper 70s, maybe 80. I was very much done with high summer temperatures.

Heartless Aztec said...

People that use fireworks indiscriminately in urban settings as weapons will also play with matches indiscriminately and with malice.

tcrosse said...

Powells Books would burn for an awful long time.

eddie willers said...

The New York Times in its overnight email tells me that Climate Change is to blame for the fires and devastation in California.

So the temperature hit 451 Fahrenheit?

TreeJoe said...

When people don't know the cause of the fire and are investigating but make big bold claims about who DID NOT set the fire, we can be pretty clear about what's going on.

I'm extremely dissapointed in our political class around this. ~1/6th of our population lives on the west coastal states and from Obama through the governors they are not promoting nor doing sensible things to prevent loss of life and property from fire. They are taking the opportunity to blame "climate change" and promote policies accordingly - let's be clear that even if you accept their premise at face value, the same same science says any changes made today wouldn't alter those forest fires for 30-100 years. So WHAT THE FUCK are they doing in the meantime to protect 50 million people? De-forestation? Fire Breaks? Etc.

I'm Not Sure said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

I love the smell of truthiness in the morning.

Marc in Eugene said...

First thing this morning the Times was running a headline '500,000 Evacuated in Oregon'; I see they've ditched that. While I haven't sat down and myself added the totals from each area where an actual evacuation has been ordered I suspect that someone is doing some exaggerating. The Register-Guard, here in Eugene, was running that headline, too, based on a USA Today article; they've retreated to '10% of the population' i.e. 430,000. I know I can do simple arithmetic; I don't know that journalists can. Gving them the benefit of the doubt, they may be conflating the numbers of people in the two different pre-evaucation categories with the number of those who have been told to 'evacuate now'.

The anarchists and Antifa and that lot may not be starting fires (I don't have any reason myself to suppose that they are) but journalists can be counted on to make stuff up when it serves their purposes.

toxdoc said...

Re, Bleachbit and Hammers comment and link. The USNews article linked is one of those things that makes me crazy about these fine journalist. They may use Wikipedia for research but even that is a push. This quote: "According to a U.S. News analysis published in January, Portland ranks as the country's fourth least diverse large city, with a population that's 78% white, 9% Asian and only 6% Black. Of the five least diverse American cities, only El Paso, Texas, has a higher percentage of white residents." is just so unbelievable. I like El Paso a lot, but most residents look nothing like me. It is greater than 80% Hispanic... Bi-lingual White Hispanics like George Zimmerman maybe, but not Faux-Hispanic whites like Beto. The county approaches closer to 84% Hispanic. No comprendo

Marc in Eugene said...

"The numbers didn’t add up-- and the state backtracked."

Just saw this at The Oregonian. In this case, it appears to be Oregon that screwed up and not the journalists; Governor Brown's administration yet again covers itself in glory.

Rosalyn C. said...

The CA fires were started by lightening strikes. The fires developed and grew out of control in deep forest areas which were inaccessible to firefighters, thanks to the lack of logging roads, thanks to the decimation of the logging industry by environmentalists. See: Feb 25, 2019,
Wildfires Caused By Bad Environmental Policy Are Causing California Forests To Be Net CO2 Emitters


Meanwhile both the CA governor Newsom and Obama are using the same pictures of the conflagration to push for votes for Biden, blaming the fires on Trump and his views on climate change. The progressive solution is stronger gas emissions standards. They say nothing about forest management or our progressive environmental policies. Secretly Newsom has agreed that more needs to be done in forest management, but not publicly of course. It's hard to respect the guy. It's one thing to lie to the public to prevent panic and hysteria as Trump did underplaying the threat of Covid. It's another thing to lie to protect yourself and your political party's policies.

I'm also seeing criticism of Trump for not addressing the current fires, and yet when he did discuss them two years ago and the need for forest management, clearing overgrowth, he was ridiculed for suggesting that hand rakes could clean forest floors of fuel. What's he going to say now except, "Ditto" and "I told ya so."

Dust Bunny Queen said...

according to an investigation report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

Around here... we are surrounded by thousands of miles of forests. State, Federal, BLM, privately held forests....Cal Fire...used to be known as CDF (California Department of Forestry)....but more familiarly to the locals and to our volunteer fire departments, as Can't Deal with Fire

California AND Oregon have been mismanaging the forests for decades. All in the name of some sort of eco save mother earth Gaia agenda. Instead of saving, they have ignored all forest management practices and allowed rampant growth, abandoned forestry roads and created inaccessible areas that cannot be protected.

Well...at least with all this smoke, I have a real reason to wear a mask when I go outside.

tim in vermont said...

The *SCIENCE* says, in the paleoclimate studies of North America anyway, that our continent has been subject to periods, sometimes centuries long, of wildfires, not just in California. This is an inconvenient scientific finding, and therefore you won’t see it much discussed, but before blaming the fires on climate change, one would think that they would check the records of fire going back to the last ice age. Smoke from North American fires is easy to detect in the annual layers of ice in the Greenland Ice Sheet, mud cores from lake bottoms, and many other places and has been done.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Full Moon The suspect, Freddie Owen Graham, 68, had flown in from Missouri and rented a car, which he used to drive along Calaveras Road in Santa Clara County to start the fires,

Amazing!!! He could rent the same car ...which he used to drive.

I usually just have to take what they offer...like it or not.

cubanbob said...

Tomcc said...
rcocean: as an Oregon resident, I can assure you that an incompetent Democratic gubernatorial candidate will prevail over a competent Republican. Which is why we have Kate Brown now.
(She put the goober in gubernatorial).

This way beyond mere incompetence. This is willful malice.

Browndog said...

Let's check in with the Oregon State Police-

Oh, nevermind. Let's just see what the Paper of Record has to say.

Althouse will blog it!!

If you went to the Oregon State Police twitter feed you'd see that almost all the fires are being set within a stones throw of I-5 (lazy ass Antifa), and several antifa have been arrested.

But......Let's blog the NYT!!

It's the PAPER OF RECORD.

5M - Eckstine said...

I think BLM/ANTIFA hired arsonist right out of jail school as street troops. Perfect fit.

For Facebook to know that the previously hard to pin down membership of ANTIFA is not responsible for these fires means that Facebook employees are embedded into the ANTIFA movement top down. Probably one out of ten rioters would have to have a Facebook association.

Which leads me to think Facebook probably has several private Burn Portland down ANTIFA groups. And probably at least one of them is heavily populated by Facebook employees creating supportive burn threads that we can't see.

Barr should start looking here.

tim in vermont said...

"Next there will be a reactionary right wing forest management group.”

One of your better comments. They are probably designing a logo and posting cryptic stuff to go back and point to on Twitter right now.

hawkeyedjb said...

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” Chief Tighe O’Meara told the newspaper in an email.

Well then, he must know how the fires were started . Why isn't he telling? Has anyone asked him?

Milwaukie guy said...

I may be stuttering a bit, I just got started on the thread and a searched for "fuel load."

Comrade Kates explanation for the fires was dry conditions, climate change, natch, and a "huge fuel load." Note here, the fires are in National or State Forests. In 15 years, I've never heard of a Weyerhauser tract burning.

On our side of the Cascades, healthy forest is considered 40 large trees per acre. When you start getting more, the trees aren't as healthy [more limbs out of the sun] and underbrush grows. You have more fire-prone biomass. Also, that increased biomass sucks up more water and less filters down into the aquifer.

Bigger and bigger fires. If only humans could invent a way to thin the forests....

The Democrats and rabid Greens have destroyed logging in the Pacific NW, in California, too, destroying rural economies in the bargain. The PNW is the greatest region in the world to sustainably harvest soft lumber. Which is why the U.S. gets most of its soft lumber from British Columbia where, presumably it's done in that nice Canadian way, unlike the barbarian Oregon rednecks.

As I breathe this truly shitty air, have friends who have had to evacuate because their homes or farms are in the way, the town of Detroit where I'd stop for a burger and a beer two or four times year destroyed down to two buildings; I am so goddamn angry at the government, from the Statehouses and governors to Congress and all recent presidents.

I can't blame Trump at all, of course, and I hope he will take up sound forest management practices in the 2nd Term.







Milwaukie guy said...

I'd like to add, clear cuts create edge communities which have greater biodiversity. By law they're always replanted. Why do bears like clear cuts? Because that's where the berries grow. Deer and different birds like open areas, too.

Clear cuts are also fire breaks. And the logging roads to service them help fire crews to get to the fires that you want to suppress. Of course, in healthy forests you can do controlled burns. For some species, you even have to roast them up a bit for them to reproduce.

As a watershed warrior, I appreciate the need to buffer the creeks. But let's not get carried away. Everywhere it rains it will go downhill and get bigger, most of the time all the way to the ocean, if you can believe that. Watershed Protection is a favorite tool of the Enviro-Nazis.

wildswan said...

Antifa did not start the Oregon fires nor did they start fires in Portland. The Portland fires were started by white supremacists. In any case, they did not happen. The forest fires were started by climate deniers. Harvey Weinstein, Bill Clinton and Jacob Blake have nothing in common except that they are all well-regarded by Democratic Party leaders. Nancy Pelosi was set up by the owner of a hair salon but knows China is our friend. Lincoln and the North supported the Confederates during the Civil War due to their systemic racism. Just some nibbles from the banquet of truth set before us these days.

narciso said...

I found it,


https://althouse.blogspot.com/2019/04/bidens-announcement-video-is-anchored.html

Narr said...

Good luck to y'all in the fiery West!

Narr
Please keep reporting

I'm Not Sure said...

"The Democrats and rabid Greens have destroyed logging in the Pacific NW, in California, too, destroying rural economies in the bargain."

And these are the people who want to manage the climate of the planet Earth.

Milwaukie guy said...

@cf, do you live real near Milwaukie Guy?

AllenS said...

I'm 100% certain that the fire was not started by Helen Keller.

walter said...

Booger-looooos!

walter said...

Alex Berenson
@AlexBerenson
·
10h
And here’s @cdcgov warning ordinary (non-N95) masks will do nothing to protect you against wildfire smoke because “they do not catch small particles.”
Fun fact: smoke particles are far larger than #SARSCoV2.
Your mask protects... well, no one.

walter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ambrose said...

Who here thinks NYT would honestly report, if true, that fires were being set by leftists?

Scotty, beam me up... said...

The City of Portland is already burned out from the inside. Instead, it will provide a much needed fire break for the forest fire fighters. Thank you, Mayor Wheeler, for your insightful and forward thinking on letting your friends burn the place down!

Michael K said...

My firemen son was in Billings MT helping a friend with some construction. I was a bit concerned about him driving down the I 5 route to CA. I talked to him today and they drove straight south from Billings and through Cody WY, so avoided all the trouble to the west.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Amazing!!! He could rent the same car ...which he used to drive.

Just think about that a tiny bit longer....and you realize that someone probably spent a lot of money to send their kid to an Ivy League school for 6 years (4 years undergrad, 2 graduate) just so they could get a newspaper job and write that monstrosity of a sentence.

It boggles the mind!

Bunkypotatohead said...

It's only trees.

Bob Smith said...

I knew some of the fires two years ago were arson when I saw the video footage. When there are five on one hillside in 15 minutes. Arson

zefal said...

Can't they just pretend blm and antifa started the fires and therefore they're a good thing?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Leftwing arsonists in Portland would never start fires elsewhere.
No way, man.

Michael McNeil said...

I-5 is way out of the way as a way to get from Billings, MT, to Calif. anyway.

Big Mike said...

The big question is, where to go? There are fires all around and it's not clear that there is a good route in any direction to safety.

If Zuckerberg and his supposed “fact-checkers” were Japanese, I would trust their assertion that Antifa was not involved with setting the fires, because if they got it wrong they would be culturally obligated to feel a deep sense of shame, certainly resigning their jobs and perhaps even committing seppuku (ritual suicide). As lefty Americans they’ll just say “oopsie” and move onto their next false “fact.”

cf said...

Yes, Milwaukie Guy, I live along kellogg creek, down from Bob's Red Mill.

Equipment Maintenance said...

I'm in the southeast, and I'm just not concerned about the west coast fires. Partly because they're so far away, mostly because I know the people there hate my guts.

Douglas B. Levene said...

There is as much evidence that Antifa started the forest fires as there is that the Proud Boys did. That is to say, none. Evidence matters. The facts matter. Bullshit speculation is just that.

Dude1394 said...

Deal with it yourself. You didn’t care if your downtown people were being murdered, looted, raped and their life’s work destroyed, but now you want help. Crocodile tears here.

Dude1394 said...

Any politician who is brain dead enough to assert a negative with 100% certainty must be a democrat.

Drago said...

Some people burned things.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...


dudes playing with molotov cocktails lighting their feet on fire in the streets of portland - they have nothing to do with fire.


No no - It's those booogaloo prouders or something... in Hawaiian shirts. better cancel MASH.

Michael K said...

ichael McNeil said...
I-5 is way out of the way as a way to get from Billings, MT, to Calif. anyway.


I have in the past tended to use I 5 as the fastest route. They did fine. I had forgotten how far east Billings is.

Jim at said...

Partly because they're so far away, mostly because I know the people there hate my guts.

Not all of us. Some of us - due to family/job/etc - don't have much of a choice but to live here. Plus, you need allies behind enemy lines.

ken in tx said...

Maybe O'Meara knows it wasn't antifa because he's in antifa and it wasn't on the schedule.

Bruce Hayden said...

“I have in the past tended to use I 5 as the fastest route. They did fine. I had forgotten how far east Billings is.”

What’s weird though is that it is only maybe 60% of the way across the state. It’s a big state, notably wider than long.