Apple Donating Additional Funds to Firefighting Efforts on the West Coast

[MacRumors]

As wildfires continue to rage across California and Oregon, Apple CEO Tim Cook today announced on Twitter that Apple plans to donate additional money to firefighting and recovery efforts across the West Coast.

Image Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press. Creek Fire near Fresno, California​

Cook previously announced fire relief donations on August 19, when a lightning storm in Northern California sparked 367 fires, including several major fires that have decimated areas in Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, Napa County, and Sonoma County.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1304477959072276480

The original fires caused by lightning have been largely contained, but hot weather and dry conditions have caused other fires to start.

There continue to be serious fires in both Northern and Southern California, such as the Creek Fire in Fresno and Madera that has burned more than 175,000 acres. Southern Oregon is facing a fire that has burned more than a million acres, and hundreds of thousands of acres have been burned in Washington.

Fires on the West Coast are expected to continue through October, a time of the year we've come to know as fire season, with high winds, low humidity, and high temperatures leading to the ignition of dry brush.

Apple has previously donated millions to wildfire relief efforts in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Article Link: Apple Donating Additional Funds to Firefighting Efforts on the West Coast

 

[gaximus]

Ironically these fires are so bad because we are so good at putting out the fires.

 

[69Mustang]

Jeebus. That looks like a literal hellscape. Like a Michael Bay after effect.

 

[dragoon2745]

What's the risk of the new Apple campus burning to the ground due to an out of control wildfire?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Thank You Apple

 

[citysnaps]

Hat-tip to Tim Cook and Apple for stepping up. It's pretty bad out here.

 

[MEJHarrison]

I'm in a suburb of Portland and my Apple Watch is telling me the Air Quality is currently 286 - Very Unhealthy. And there are places around here much worse than that.

Fires up in the mountains are common at this time of year. It's not common at all to see those effects around me. Or to see the fires creeping into civilization. Or to see parts of the city (Portland) on evacuation notice. It's usually just something going on way up in the mountains.

 

[Morgenland]

Ironically these fires are so bad because we are so good at putting out the fires.

I do not understand your kind of humor. And I don't want to.

 

[mashdots]

I'm in a suburb of Portland and my Apple Watch is telling me the Air Quality is currently 286 - Very Unhealthy. And there are places around here much worse than that.

Fires up in the mountains are common at this time of year. It's not common at all to see those effects around me. Or to see the fires creeping into civilization. Or to see parts of the city (Portland) on evacuation notice. It's usually just something going on way up in the mountains.

up in the seattle area and our air quality went from 178 to 193 in the span of 4 hours this morning. besides a short stint on the east coast, i've lived here for most of my life and it wasn't until maybe 5 or 6 years ago that we started getting smog from west coast fires. this year is definitely the worst i've seen in memory.

Huge props to Apple for helping out. The longer-lasting help we'll need is making sure our government takes climate change seriously.

 

[rneglia]

Scary times. Stay safe, everyone.

 

[gaximus]

I do not understand your kind of humor. And I don't want to.

It wasn’t supposed to be funny. Forrest fires happen all the time In nature, but they usually stay low and burn off the ground brush and dead trees, opening up new ground for trees, and it’s good for the wildlife as well. But since we started putting out fires, the brush gets to large and unwield. Now when a wild fire starts it so big that it burns all the trees and everything.

 

[iReality85]

Jeebus. That looks like a literal hellscape. Like a Michael Bay after effect.

Indeed. Here's more.

It's unfortunate that we lose so much of the environment due to careless human activity.

 

[Banks73]

It wasn’t supposed to be funny. Forrest fires happen all the time In nature, but they usually stay low and burn off the ground brush and dead trees, opening up new ground for trees, and it’s good for the wildlife as well. But since we started putting out fires, the brush gets to large and unwield. Now when a wild fire starts it so big that it burns all the trees and everything.

california does not clean up its forests, they leave all the dead brush there as apparently its not good for the enviroment to clean up the forests. Bad leadership in california.

 

[MEJHarrison]

I know nothing about PurpleAir or their products or whatever scale they might be using, but here's a screenshot from purpleair.com. Relatively speaking, it's plain to see it's not a good time to be in Portland. There are places 30 minutes south showing numbers over 600 (their scale is 0-500 for some reason). Yesterday I saw a couple 700's. I'm about a 10 minute walk from the sensor I've highlighted.

 

[69Mustang]

.

Indeed. Here's more.

It's unfortunate that we lose so much of the environment due to careless human activity.

It's times like these when MR needs to allow cursing. Those shots are f'n terrifying and devastatingly sad

 

[katbel]

So sad for everyone involved in this hell 😟
Well done Apple!

 

[now i see it]

Ironically these fires are so bad because we are so good at putting out the fires.

That's exactly right.
California, Oregon and Washington have been "burning to the ground" for millions of years. Total devastation from wild fires has been part of the west coast ecosystem since forever.
Suppressing wild fires only puts off the inevitable and makes it worse the next time around because more fuel gets stockpiled from old growth.
Wildfires are inevitable and "normal". It's horrible of course when homes get burned down and people die.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

So hows this compare to the environments in Doom: Eternal? (Wouldn't know - still waiting for the Switch port.)

I just keep thinking they don't look like real pictures - they look like something out of a game or movie.

 

[pdaholic]

What's the risk of the new Apple campus burning to the ground due to an out of control wildfire?

I live a few blocks away from the “spaceship.” It’s pretty much in the middle of the South Bay, with fires on either side. The fires would have to rip through most of the cities to get to us. That said, the air is cloudy with ash, and the sky is orange. Very strange as we usually don’t have a cloud in the sky, especially during this time of the year. Like a horror movie.

 

[2010mini]

What's the risk of the new Apple campus burning to the ground due to an out of control wildfire?

Cupertino is not near wildfires right now. It would have to burn entire cities to get to the area where it is

 

[BlazednSleepy]

That's exactly right.
California, Oregon and Washington have been "burning to the ground" for millions of years. Total devastation from wild fires has been part of the west coast ecosystem since forever.
Suppressing wild fires only puts off the inevitable and makes it worse the next time around because more fuel gets stockpiled from old growth.
Wildfires are inevitable and "normal". It's horrible of course when homes get burned down and people die.

What a a load of BS. The majority of wildfires today aren't started by nature itself. What's happening isn't just nature taking it course. We as humans are causing most of the wildfires and we as humans are creating a world at which wildfires are far more common than what nature would cause. https://www.nps.gov/articles/wildfire-causes-and-evaluation.htm

 

[NavySilver]

What's the risk of the new Apple campus burning to the ground due to an out of control wildfire?

Near zero, because wildfires only burn communities when they've fully engulfed one, and that one has to be quite small to begin with. Apple Park is in the dead middle of probably the biggest swathe of suburbs in Northern California.

Moreover, even if all bets are off and the fire does reach Cupertino, the campus structure is definitely fireproof. But if that day actually comes, there will be much bigger fishes to fry, think all the people who have lost their homes or perhaps died.

 

[unobtainium]

It wasn’t supposed to be funny. Forrest fires happen all the time In nature, but they usually stay low and burn off the ground brush and dead trees, opening up new ground for trees, and it’s good for the wildlife as well. But since we started putting out fires, the brush gets to large and unwield. Now when a wild fire starts it so big that it burns all the trees and everything.

There are also now just way too many people in “interface” zones, where human habitat brushes up against the wilderness. Too many houses in the hills, too many careless hikers and campers. The population out west has exploded and the land just can’t support it. Throw in climate change and fire suppression and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

[Realityck]

What's the risk of the new Apple campus burning to the ground due to an out of control wildfire?

Zero it not in area that is at risk. Cupertino is not near any forrest.

 

[BlazednSleepy]

There are also now just way too many people in “interface” zones, where human habitat brushes up against the wilderness. Too many houses in the hills, too many careless hikers and campers. The population out west has exploded and the land just can’t support it. Throw in climate change and fire suppression and you have a recipe for disaster.

This isn't about fire suppression. This is the fact that we as humans are causing most of the fires to begin with and human caused climate change making wildfires burn for much longer. https://www.nps.gov/articles/wildfire-causes-and-evaluation.htm