The Park fire in Butte County — already the largest blaze in California this year — exploded to more than 164,000 acres by Friday morning, with its rapid spread forcing more evacuation warnings.

The growth of the fire over two days amid steady winds and hot temperatures has been dramatic, with its remote location making it difficult to fight. It was listed at 164,286 acres Friday morning and 3% contained.

Conditions on the ground are going to continue to be a challenge, forecasters say.

  • Flying Squid
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    301 month ago

    Say goodbye to more insurance companies, California.

    • The Snark Urge
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      261 month ago

      Oh no they’ll have to resort to mutual insurance run as a nonprofit? Oh the horror

      • Flying Squid
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        81 month ago

        I don’t know that even a nonprofit will be able to cover what climate change is wreaking on California in terms of wildfires.

        • The Snark Urge
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          101 month ago

          They’re a kind of insurance firm founded as a not for profit endeavor that supply mitigates the risk among a community. The insurance costs what it should to mitigate the risk - no more, no less. The policyholders are the stakeholders in the business.

          • @Darkaga
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            61 month ago

            Quite a few mutual insurance providers are struggling in places like California and Florida because they didn’t correctly price in the potential impacts of climate change. The main issue that mutual providers have is that their risk pools are much smaller and generally very regional. If your whole region is on fire then everyone is screwed.

            Additionally, they are dependent on the same reinsurance providers that other for profit insurance providers are which is already more expensive for them because of the smaller risk pool.

            • The Snark Urge
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              21 month ago

              I can see that. I’m not going to discard the idea just because some actuary didn’t do a great job though. Prices will have to increase as risk assessments rise to meet reality. Same way good fish gets more expensive the riskier things get out at sea. At some point, in theory, the markets correct to reflect these changes.

              In theory, that is.

    • @joekar1990
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      91 month ago

      Eastern Oregon is also going through a bunch of fires so itll be interesting to see if some pull out of Oregon too.

  • @assembly
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    181 month ago

    Why did the guy start the fire though. It says that he pushed a burning car into a valley to start the fire but what possible motive could someone have for intentionally doing that?

    • @[email protected]
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      141 month ago

      Maybe he was going through a divorce, and the wife wanted the car?

      Whatever the reason the guy is absolutely fucked.

      • @APassenger
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        71 month ago

        Absent diminished capacity in some important way… This shows reckless disregard for life, liberty, livelihoods, and homes.

        Entire families will now be uprooted and people are likely to die when a fire becomes a conflagration. If a single person dies, firefighter or person who could have evacuated… It goes back to this guy.

        He is fucked. And he should be.

    • @[email protected]
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      91 month ago

      People are breaking from the state of the world we have to live in. It’s slowly getting worse but it feels the pace is picking up. I’ve stopped trying to figure out what they’re thinking and just accept something broke them.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 month ago

      Possible? Mental illness. Delusion. Anxiety. Impulse control.

      Even normal people are nuts.