Talk:Sand Fire (2016)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 26 August 2021 and 25 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Saiftali, Nathanielalvarado55, Karan48220.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 03:19, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

redirect

I created a redirect to this article from Santa Clarita Sand Fire. I hope that is acceptable. Bus stop (talk) 23:33, 24 July 2016 (UTC)

clarification concerning the fuel for this fire

It is not sand burning. The combustible material is bushes and trees. I've been reverted in this edit. This source says "Firefighters have battled since Friday the so-called Sand Fire that burned 34 square miles near the city of Santa Clarita, which is north of Los Angeles, and the Angeles National Forest." Similarly this source says "The so-called Sand Fire near Santa Clarita started as a brush fire Friday afternoon and was 10% contained Saturday." That article also says "To the east, it is burning more into the forest and uninhabited areas and to the west is our main concern because (the winds) might make it push down to the flat country." My argument is that it helps the article to mention that brushes and trees form the fuel for this fire. Though it is called "Sand Fire", it is not sand which is burning. Bus stop (talk) 00:25, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

I also find here "'[b]ecause this is the fifth year of an ongoing drought we have a lot dry vegetation,' Los Angeles county fire chief Daryl Osby told a news conference. "Some of these fuels, they haven’t burned in decades" and "[t]he fire is one of a series this summer that have hit the drought-stricken state, where dried grass and bush land as well as high temperatures have helped fuel the blazes." Bus stop (talk) 00:34, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

@Bus stop: the fact that at a press conference they discussed the fact that it was burning in brush doesn't make it notable for inclusion in the article. It is is a vegetation fire (AKA Brush fire) so yes, of course it is burning in vegetation and brush. Second, you linked to Sand Canyon, California... If you look at that page you will see that it says Sand Canyon is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. This is a different sand canyon since the Fire this page is about is burning in Los Angeles County. So adding it as a link doesn't make sense. Third, please remember not to use WP:BAREURLS. There are a number of citation templates and great tools on the wiki toolbar to make adding citations super easy! If you aren't familiar with them I'd be happy to help but you've been around for years so I'd guess you know about them. --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 03:09, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

@Zackmann08:—we read here "Fighting the fire -- named for the area's Sand Canyon -- is a challenge, said Nathan Judy, fire information officer..." The point should be mentioned that the fire is "named for the area's Sand Canyon". Bus stop (talk) 04:32, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

I've raised this question at the Language Reference desk. Bus stop (talk) 04:48, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

@Bus stop: what do you mean "we"? And if you think people need to be told that SAND is not burning.... --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 05:06, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

@Zackmann08:—I also find "The so-called Sand Fire near Santa Clarita started as a brush fire Friday afternoon and was 10% contained Saturday"[1] and "Firefighters have battled since Friday the so-called Sand Fire that burned 34 square miles near the city of Santa Clarita, which is north of Los Angeles, and the Angeles National Forest."[2] It is my contention that "so-called" is used to clear up any possible misunderstanding. Bus stop (talk) 05:14, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

@Bus stop: not sure what you mean by it being your contention but the term "so-called" is used in the media all the time... No other fire article on wikipedia starts with "So Called". The Clover Fire doesn't need to explain that clover is not what is burning. We don't need to explain that Corral Fire is is not burning coral. Or that the Springs Fire was not a bunch of hot springs that caught fire. The second sentence of the article says the fire is named after sand canyon. We don't need to say "Oh and it isn't because sand is burning." Hate to break it to you but sand is not flammable. --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 19:15, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

@Zackmann08:—I am content with the sentence reading as it does now: "The fire, named for the area's Sand Canyon, is fueled by heavy chaparral and brush." By the way, you've done some nice work on the article. Bus stop (talk) 22:19, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Cause

Anyone know what caused it? Was this an act of arson?

64.183.42.12 (talk) 00:04, 26 July 2016 (UTC) QuanYin

Don't speculate! No known cause yet. If and when it is released it will certainly be added. --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 00:13, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

There should be something like The cause of the fire is under investigation in the lead (sourced). I did a cursory check for a source, but don't have the time to find one. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:65BB:2FD1:36BC:D221 (talk) 21:12, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

That kind of goes without saying... If the cause is not listed it is under investigation. --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 21:23, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Yeah, but it preempts TP questions like "Anyone know what caused it?". --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:65BB:2FD1:36BC:D221 (talk) 21:37, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Updates

A note to all those editing this article, especially Saltysailor please be careful when making play-by-play updates. Noting that "some residents were allowed to return" is not worth including. Some? How many? In what region? If you have information saying that "the evacuation order for <some community> was lifted" that is a different story. Additionally, do not continue to cite Inciweb. That page changes every day and should only be used as a source for the acreage which is also updated on here daily. Six months from now if you look back at the sources, the inciweb page for the Sand Fire will look dramatically different that it does today (July 25). If you are citing things, cite news articles which will not be changed. Plus, news articles (when properly cited) include BOTH the date the article was published AND the date on which you accessed it. --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 04:15, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

The same goes for referencing the LACFD home page...--Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 04:35, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Sand Canyon

Search results might lead readers to Sand Canyon -- which is not related to this event (being in Kern County, California). I am unsure how to handle this ambiguity; my clumsy attempt in the Sand Canyon article should be cleaned up somehow. Should this Sand Fire article have a hatnote or something? --[dynamic IP]:2606:A000:4C0C:E200:65BB:2FD1:36BC:D221 (talk) 19:27, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

I'd advocate creating a Sand Canyon, Los Angeles and then separating the two out with Sand Canyon being a Disam page. Note that I moved Sand Canyon, California to Sand Canyon, Kern County, California. Should help. --Zackmann08 (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 19:53, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Sounds okay to me. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:65BB:2FD1:36BC:D221 (talk) 21:02, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Pollock Pines?

Apparently there was a fire across the state in Pollock Pines in 2014 that was also called the Sand Fire. I consider my source on this pretty authoritative () but don't have enough here to start another article. Maybe it was just smaller? I am going to add the information I have here to the article on Pollock Pines, if anyone is looking for that fire.

Elinruby (talk) 03:09, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Camp Fire (2018) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 08:20, 14 June 2021 (UTC)