They do have some "super-scoopers" - airplanes that can scoop up ocean water and drop it (2 i think; a few years ago they borrowed 1 or 2 from British Columbia). They also have 10-15 or so water-dropping helicopters (some of whom are using pool water now). However, when the Santa Ana winds are blowing as hard as they have been for the past few days, you cannot fly a helicopter or a low-flying aircraft without endangering the crew and anyone on the ground. The winds are too strong and too variable for safe flying. This does not mean that some pilots won't go up, but most are grounded.

In these kinds of conditions, the winds are the real culprit; they're hot and dry (it's like walking into a furnace when they're blowing; I still do double takes out here when the winds are actually cooling) and come off the desert, so they carry no moisture, funnel through the mountains picking up speed as they go, and then scream down into the valleys. They act like a bellows in a fireplace on any kind of spark.

Most of my childhood weekend trip spots are gone along with my summer camp.

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Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis

That's a good explanation. That Santa Ana is a bitch.

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

I also just saw pictures of specially outfitted 747s and DC-10s dropping water along with KC-10s. These planes could really only go up today once the winds died down.

Things seem to be slowly coming under control; a friend just e-mailed that at least the sky wasn't pumpkin-colored today. It's still incredibly smoky and ash-filled, but she can't see flames or reflection of flames today.

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Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis

Calis had/has over 90 firefighting aircraft on the runways...but you know that thing that started this little thing..the Santa Anas... well high winds and manmade aircraft are NOT 2 peas in a pod if you know what i mean

Stop spreading the truth your being a hinderance to all the conspiracy theorists. I'm sure when the smoke clears(no pun intended, ok pun intended) it will all fall on the shoulders of Iraq, race, Feds denial of help. I'm sure if Don Abrams and the SF Chronicle state that type of garbage, it's nothing but the truth.

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"I'll vote for him if he's the nominee, but I'll continue to think he's a complete phoney." BrooklynCat 3/23
http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/pol...r-race-11.html

That is so lame, right out of the "obnoxious Obama supporter" playbook 3/17
http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/pol...r-race-37.html
RE-ELECT DAVID OH COUNCIL AT LARGE 2011

A disturbing twist:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...eda-fire_x.htm

From 2003.

I blame George Bush and republicans in congress.

Right, and I blame him for the Lindberg kidnapping.