Katrina taught us valuable lessons dealing with the California fires

[Imagevision]

When evacuating in California I noticed no people white or black died on a freeway or outside the stadiums because they had no other place to seek refuge.

I didn't see dehydrated babies due to lack of baby formula or water, but best of all I didn't have to view police cars drive by abandoned bodies in the streets, Perhaps if Arnold was running things in New Orleans many more people would have survived? I don't know? but perhaps somebody learned something.

[Yael]

1. It isn't always about politics

Look at the timing. People in California had more warning. Secondly, they aren't locked in like the people in Louisiana. Thirdly, it isn't 118 degrees in California. Fourthly, the streets aren't filled with water where they can't be navigated.

Not everything is political...

[Breeze54]

5. It's 98 degree's in California! ~~ Hot as hell!

and I feel bad for the firefighters, with all that gear. :(

[southerncrone]

2. The people of California are not being held hostage inside the stadium

by policing units w/M16s like in NOLA. Big difference. The victims of Katrina were treated like criminals. Californians are being treated HUMANELY. They have access to escape routes that Katrina victims did not have. This is a completely different scenerio.

I do believe that California is benefiting from the tragedies of Katrina. What NOT to do.

[Mountainman]

3. Many of the people in NOLA didn't have the means that most people in the burned areas if CA do.

Just about everyone of us has a car and just about everyone of us drives daily to and from work. Evacuation to us means dumping more things in the car than any other day and getting the hell away from where ever you are.

In Katrina the poor people depend on mass transportation that wasn't running. Even the buses that were meant to help out remained parked.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Well, so far Blackwater has not gone there to kill citizens for target practice,

nor has FEMA cut the phone lines, blocked the roads and denied aid, from here and abroad.

Hopefully that will not happen, like it did here.

[BadgerLaw2010]

6. Much more mobile population, and "wall of flames, run for it!" gets a pretty universal response.

People fear fire a lot more than they fear water, even though wildfires usually don't destroy everything in a neighborhood, whereas a hurricane flood will.

[blitzen]

7. 100% Bullcrap! There is no comparing the two situations....

Is the Qualcomm center surrounded by 8 feet of water? Is the entire city of San Diego essentially cut off from all land transporation--and is a large portion of that city destroyed? Is all infrastructure and communication impossible due to massive damage? Did 2000 people just die and are thousands of others stranded on their roofs, etc, etc, etc....Did the Feds just throw up their hands and do nothing?

What a pile of crap!

[kineneb]

8. easy there... we are just slightly more prepared

it is drilled into every Californian that at any time there might be an earthquake, and what to do afterwards... we also get lots of warnings on what to do in case of fires (which do happen frequently out here)... and what to do in case of floods (which we also get)... the early warning systems for the latter two are fairly good, as our terrain can be -challenging-...

so no, you are correct in that the situations are not the same

[JVS]

9. Katrina shut down the whole area around NO. The fires have a more localized effect.