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On their instagram page LMII announced that they are closed until further notice due to the wildfires. Anyone near there have an update if their warehouse has survived or not?

Just checked a fire perimeter map and they're ok for now. High winds have abated (at least for a day or so) so hopefully there will be some containment in their direction.

Hope everyone is safe, glad to hear they are OK. Some perspective for your Monday morning, that's for sure.

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Didn't that happen to them last year too? Man! California, beautiful place to visit but...

It's pretty alarming. I'm in the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento, we had our power cut for the 2nd time over the weekend, PG&E's new response to wind storms, after last year's Paradise fire.

Looks like they had a huge evacuation in the Sonoma County / Santa Rosa area. The forecast is for the winds to pick up again on Tuesday, it's not over. Keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers.

I remember on a trip to Point Reyes that there are some pretty spectacular redwood forests near them. Do they burn much when a fire comes through?

Rf

I live near the fire zone. The latest map of fire activity suggests that the nearest "hot spot" to LMI is about 1.5 miles east of their facility. The fire has, so far, been contained just to the east of Hwy. 101 (three lanes in each direction, significant median, cement sound walls on both sides). The greatest danger was, probably, last night when we had some seriously strong winds from the east -- they took the 2017 fire across 101. Today the winds have died down, though they're expected to pick up again tomorrow morning through to Wednesday -- but not as strong as yesterday. LMI is well within the evacuation zone and certainly without power. Best wishes to all.

That's terrible I can't even imagine such a great loss to our luthier community if this gets worse. Keeping the positive vibes going!

Keep you fingers crossed, physical or spiritual.


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There are several friends from the luthiers community that live in that area, some who lost their shops in the 2017 fires. Many under the evacuation order. Lots of folks to pray for.
Ed, Redwoods are pretty fire resistant and these fires are mostly burning the brush and small trees that have been prevented from burning over the last century. The big trees you are referring to would survive. Proscribed burns and aggressive clearing needs to be done to help prevent these massive fires. The local Indians used to do it before the white man came. Smokey the Bear was a bad guy.

I think I remember reading that some of the California laws forbid the clearing of underbrush and any kind of pro-active burning. I'd have to double check but I could easily see that being a reason that some of these fires just explode with ferocity, they have alot of dry uncleared underbrush to burn, fuel for days it would seem.

Yes, there are burning restrictions, by community and season. I live in the foothills north of billm and we've been under a no burn order since May. Also there are size of burn pile and clearance restrictions that make it very labor intensive. I'm not aware of anything that restricts clearing but the equipment and labor costs can be prohibitive for most homeowners. I've got 7-8 piles ready to go when burn season opens but that probably won't happen until the rains start in November into December. If you're in a more urban area it all has to be hauled off to landfills. PRICEY!

In fact I thought it was the opposite for home owners, at least where the insurance companies are concerned. A buddy of mine who lived in Idyllwild cleared the under brush from the edge of his home to as far out as he could.

Well, we have a rental property in Meadow Vista east of Sacramento and had to spend $4000 on tree trimming and brush clearing this year supported with before and after photos or the insurance company had threatened to cancel us. All of the debris had to be hauled to a landfill at considerable cost. Several others in that and other foothill areas have lost their insurance coverage because the companies have stopped providing coverage. New insurance for those folks has been very difficult to find and several times more expensive.
Also, the reason that we have not seen more comments about this situation from folks around the burn zone is that the power company, PG&E, has shut off power to most of Northern California and not expected to turn it back on for two or more days. As of last night the phones are not working either. I've been running the generator for the last three days and use a satellite connection for internet but that takes 5+gallons of gas per day. We wouldn't have water without it either (well pump). What's also frustrating is that our grid tied solar system doesn't work when they shut off the grid.

I live in that area of Windsor about 2 miles northeast of LMI. During the firestorm 2 nights ago the firefighters made a stand in my neighborhood with , I hear, 200 engines! Not a single home was lost. We are bracing for another wind event tonight. I think LMI is in one of the safer industrial park areas. Of course nothing is guaranteed.

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Brad Hall
Mystic Dawg Guitars