The New American Digest

We don’t have hurricanes or tornadoes or floods (I’m on top of a hill) but we do have fires. And this year’s shaping up to be the worst I’ve seen here in over 25 years.

It was an extremely dry winter; snowpack is about 40% of normal – the lowest ever recorded here; below 70% is the drought threshold. Boise metro is under a Drought Emergency Ordinance (I believe such things when the golf courses turn brown. If they stay green, it’s a political emergency).

We’ve had several small fires in the region – early this year – and I live at the edge of a sagebrush/cheat grass covered hillside.

We had a fire come upslope in this neighborhood a few years ago. Five fire depts and a sort-of paved road stopped the advance – Had it hopped the road … but it didn’t. One guy had flames up to the edge of his newly laid sod 10 ft off his house. No damage to structures.

I’ve played this game before …

$1400 of insurance.

Obtained one – with more available – 255 gallon tank. It (will) sit near an eavestrough to funnel rainwater into the tank (screened of course). [ a “please take it off our hands” bargain) ($400 if purchased). NPT drain fitting.

Through one end of a 2″ suction hose with a strainer into the tank … ($110)
Will drop hose and strainer in through the top – minimize debris.

And feed it into a 2″ high-pressure trash pump such as this Northstar ($700) 135gpm, 94psi unit

Put a 2″-to-1½” reducer on the output ($25 ea) – cause the pump itself will empty that tank in 2 minutes running full bore

which connects to 100ft of 1½” fire hose ($110)

where I can control the flow of water through a brass fire nozzle ($40)

A bit above the equivalent of a USFS Type 6 fire truck (150 gal/50gpm/100psi/300ft hose). Not quite a Type 5 which carries 400 gal at 100psi at 50 gpm on a pickup frame comparable to a Ford F550 4×4.

I don’t need the truck.

It’s what the pros would show up with for initial attack before the heavy stuff arrives … and $1400 is cheap compared to what a house fire – even a minor one – would cost.

One does not simply open the nozzle and let the water fly …

Idaho became the 43rd state on July 3, 1890.
George Washington took command of the rebel army in 1775
General Lee headed back south after a failed visit to Pennsylvania in 1863.

Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) and Jim Morrision (Doors) died on this date 2 years apart (1969/1971)

… but it would feel like plagiarism

Go read DiveMedic at Areo Ocho “More Surveillance“

“Merely refusing to have any of this hardware is no longer good enough.“

I’m of two opinions (or more):
Note that I’m of the belief that such surveillance and the tools to make it possible are “Weapons of War” – “arms” so to speak – and therefore covered by the 2nd Amendment. Traditionally, spies are hung.

1) Fight Back:
Defense vs anti-Defense (as opposed to “Attack”) – “Countermeasures”: It’s amazing how much equipment of the type necessary to mount an effective counter-defense is available to the common public. It’s not free though: the difference between a 30-30 deer rifle and a sniper rifle.

2) Learn To Love It:
It’s impossible to get away from it and it’s only going to get more pervasive in a real hurry; they’re building – right now and underway – massive multi-billion dollar factories to mass produce more advanced tools. 2 years from now: the 2028 elections?
(Indiana, N Carolina, New York ($100B for one facility), Ohio, Arizona, Idaho, Texas)

One major player is now the #1 company by market capitalization: Nvidia at $5.5T … which makes 1 company the #3 ranked by GDP, behind the US as a whole and China (Germany close behind $5.4T at #4). There are 14 companies worth $1T or more.

“Data Centers” using AI sounds so much better than “it’s a central gathering and interpretation point for surveillance information“. AI is not what people hope for but it’s a damn good search and compile engine. So there’s not really any point in worrying about the overwhelming expansion of surveillance technology – it’s here and we get daily evidence that the justice system is seriously flawed at best. And you are being judged of everything you do in public … and home in same cases (Alexa?)

Nothing will change short of a >MAJOR< event that forces a disabling of the system. The war with Iran is not such a major event but could lead to one – say something like a nuke on DC …

Your life will change. Take the Blue Pill until then.

I held a red card for several years and worked a couple of campaign fires https://www.dankolaw.com/blog/what-is-a-campaign-fire/

I guess combat exceeds it – (usually) no one’s shooting at you … but …

When you’ve spent 3 nights sleeping on a hose bed, you’re working a line – your buddies up and down the line nearby, the flames suddenly burst up around you, you find you’re surrounded by flames – a burnover … you’re hoping a tanker plane drops the retardant next to you, not on you.

You’re hoping the plane shows up.

On Saturday, June 27, while working on a wildfire in western Colorado, five federal firefighters were involved in a burnover incident resulting in shelter deployment. Two firefighters are being treated for burn injuries, and three others did not survive. The identities of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service and U.S. Forest Service firefighters are being withheld pending notifications.

You don’t deploy shelters unless a dire emergency – dire as in the “you’re dead but don’t know it yet” stage, but that baked potato sack might help you survive anyway. Or at least help us find your bodies afterwards.

I still have my potato sack laying around here someplace, packed up and never used. It’s old and of no use anymore except for memories.

The fire, originally started June 26, was caused by lightning near the Colorado-Utah border. Saturday saw extreme fire behavior, which is expected to continue on Sunday, according to the the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit. Firefighters are evaluating conditions and determining the “safest and most effective suppression tactics.”

Damn! RIP brothers – Hell of a way to go …