Wed Jun 27, 2012, 02:56 PM

hedgehog (30,406 posts)

How bad is bad?

We went through an ice storm here a few years back, and the same happened to our folks a year or so later. I know from experience that you can't really convey the extent of a weather catastrophe with photographs. So now we are seeing photos of a stand of trees burning in Colorado, or some people driving though smoke. There are photos of cars sitting in water in Florida. What we really need are maps showing the number of houses involved, or the actual area of the fire. I don't know why some network doesn't wise up and do some overlays on Google Earth.

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6 replies	Author	Time	Post
How bad is bad? (Original post)	hedgehog	Jun 2012	OP
It changes hour to hour, sometimes minute to minute in strong wind	Warpy	Jun 2012	#1
I'm thinking a Google Earth photo with a line drawn around the	hedgehog	Jun 2012	#2
Did you look at what I posted?	Warpy	Jun 2012	#3
Sorry - I didn't see the spot to click the satellite image -	hedgehog	Jun 2012	#4
It's made even harder by the fact that only a house by house inspection	Warpy	Jun 2012	#6
Bad is you die, or lots of other people die.	bemildred	Jun 2012	#5

Response to hedgehog (Original post)

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 03:06 PM

Warpy (69,137 posts)

1. It changes hour to hour, sometimes minute to minute in strong wind

but this is the most recent map of the Waldo fire I found, http://kdvr.com/2012/06/26/map-waldo-canyon-fire/

Usually if you plug the name of the fire + map, you'll get something similar. Zooming in and clicking on "satellite" will show you what has been threatened and/or destroyed within that line. Current satellite photos would be useless because of the heavy smoke layer.

I was looking at that area on Google Earth last night. Most of the houses were absolutely enormous and most had small yards choked with trees and other vegetation, nice to look at but a recipe for disaster.

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Response to Warpy (Reply #1)

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 03:10 PM

hedgehog (30,406 posts)

2. I'm thinking a Google Earth photo with a line drawn around the

burned over area would show what was lost.

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Response to hedgehog (Reply #2)

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 03:17 PM

Warpy (69,137 posts)

3. Did you look at what I posted?

Did you zoom in? Did you look at the streets? Did did you click "satellite" and look at the houses?

It's there. Any house surrounded by trees is likely gone.

Other disasters have similar maps. You just have to look at them.

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Response to Warpy (Reply #3)

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 05:52 PM

hedgehog (30,406 posts)

4. Sorry - I didn't see the spot to click the satellite image -

but yes - that's what we need to be seeing on the news programs.

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Response to hedgehog (Reply #4)

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 11:23 PM

Warpy (69,137 posts)

6. It's made even harder by the fact that only a house by house inspection

after the fire has roared through will tell people whose houses are gone, which ones are damaged, and which are standing intact.

Wildfires are weird. When Los Alamos burned down here in 2004, there were street after street of burned out houses with maybe one or two still standing, a little scorched but fine. They're almost as capricious as tornadoes to the east.

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Response to hedgehog (Original post)

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 06:26 PM

bemildred (67,502 posts)

5. Bad is you die, or lots of other people die.

If everybody lives, no major medical issues, it's an annoyance, it's not really bad.

Colorado looks pretty serious, but not lots of people dead yet, just some property damage.

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