Hacker News: applepearlimehttps://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=applepearlimeHacker News RSShttps://hnrss.org/hnrss v2.1.1Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:09:14 +0000<![CDATA[New comment by applepearlime in "French firefighters face 'pyrocumulonimbus' for first time"]]>Do you happen to know if firebreaks or fuelbreaks are used in some of these forests? Are they seen as effective? Are they costly to set up?

From what I saw online, there are indications that firebreaks do not always work, for instance when embers fly over long distances, carried by the wind, over firebreaks, and start fires on the other side. But I would guess that firebreaks like cleared areas, for instance between settlements and forests, should be able to mitigate at least some of the fires.

]]>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 07:00:36 +0000https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49066004applepearlimehttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49066004https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49066004<![CDATA[New comment by applepearlime in "French firefighters face 'pyrocumulonimbus' for first time"]]>I can't say that I buy your argument.

Either way, firebreaks and green firebreaks seem like they could be a reasonable mitigation approach, whatever the overall causes.

Does anyone here know whether the Landes forest has good firebreaks? If not, does anyone here know why? I failed to find anything about it online.

]]>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:33:38 +0000https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065849applepearlimehttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065849https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065849<![CDATA[New comment by applepearlime in "French firefighters face 'pyrocumulonimbus' for first time"]]>But one pine forest in France has burned badly in the past as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Landes_forest_fire

Did you check for forest fires in the past?

]]>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:58:46 +0000https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065641applepearlimehttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065641https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065641