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@YellowReadis@mathstodon.xyz @donray@mastodon.online @mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io Oh FSM, the eucalyptus was one of the factors that made the Oakland firestorm in '91 so insane. It's considered an invasive species here, but it is everywhere all around the bay.

I was a little kid at the time, but this wasn't long after my parents had bought a house, and we ended up hosting my Aunt, Uncle, cousin, and their pet pot belly pig, as well as a family they were neighbors with. The neighbor family lost their home, my third grade teacher lost her home. The Aunt, Uncle, and cousin who stayed with us were like a block or so down from the fire line. Another Aunt and Uncle were like three houses down from the fire line elsewhere in the hills, and their neighbor across the street had all their windows opened when they evacuated, so the smoke damage ruined the inside of that house. My grandparents were a couple blocks away from the fire line in another part of the hills.

Fuck, it's crazy to think it's been over thirty years since then. I think Oakland Fire still remembers the lesson from that, but it's probably been long enough that home owners in the hills aren't doing the clearing and maintenance they should be. I wonder how many people who live in the Oakland hills now lived there at the time and remember?