Does anyone else find it ironic that the current fire in Anaheim Hills appears to have been set by someone who drove a car into the brush off the 241 tollway?
The Times reported that “The blaze was sparked when a car with stolen license plates was apparently moved off the 241 toll road at the Windy Ridge toll plaza in an unincorporated area near Orange.”
There has been a lot of debate about extending the 241. Environmentalists are concerned about its impact on wildlife – and now we have a stunning example of what can happen when you encroach on pristine areas.
The rest of the debate on the 241 has centered on the fact that the extension has a PLA on it. PLAs are project labor agreements – they ban non-union contractors from bidding on select public works projects unless they send their workers to the union hall.
Nothing against unions, but PLAs are not needed. That’s what CBAs (collective bargaining agreements) are for. Public works projects ALL are under prevailing wage rules – so everyone makes union scale to begin with. All PLAs do is limit bidders, increase the cost of bids, delay projects, and they don’t even prevent striked! You can find out more about PLAs at this link.
There are many reasons to stop the extension of the 241 – take your pick. Either way, as we see the fire raging over the next few days, remember that this repercussion was one of many predicted by environmentalists. Republicans love to rip on them – but sometimes they’re right. We should pay heed to their warnings regarding the extension of the 241. And we ought not approve any public projects that have PLAs attached to them.
I believe the fire last year to the east of the toll road found the toll road used as an effective fire break to stop the fire’s westward march. So, that time the road saved the day. This time it provided access to some knucklehead or knuckleheads to torch a car right in the face of Santa Ana winds. In 1967 (or perhaps it was 1969?)the Paseo Grande fire started in Gypsum Canyon, where the toll road is now, and burned all the way to Lemon/Cowan hieghts, destroying quite a few homes there. Being older than dirt, I remember it well. My point, them hills burn periodically with no roads, with a road acting as a fire break, and with a road providing access to some knuckleheads. Don’t think there is much of a correlation between the road and fire likelihood.
Hmmm… That is quite a good point you’re raising, Art. (That is, about the wildfires.) Actually this morning on Calitics, we were talking about what goes wrong when we mess with Mother Nature and build in such sensitive, fire-prone regions. I’m sure it must feel extremely painful for these people to see their dreams go up in smoke as their homes are burned down by these wildfires. Now how much longer will it take before we realize that this pain and suffering will continue so long as we work against Nature and keep building in these naturally fire-prone areas?
It wasn’t the road that started the fire. It was an auto.