Memo to the fire lookie loos

I shouldn’t have to post this, but Sacramento never ceases to amaze me. From News10.net:

Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Christian Pebbles said the fire spread rapidly, stretching across the length of a football field within minutes. Fire officials said they have not determined how the fire started, but the creosote-soaked trestle fueled intense black smoke that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.

The fire brought rush-hour traffic to a halt on the Capital City Freeway bordering the state fairgrounds as commuters stopped to look at the blaze. Some even got out of their cars and began walking towards the flames, forcing officials to use megaphones to warn spectators away.

As if the blazing heat wasn’t enough to keep folks from stopping? Gadzooks:

Brief direct contact with large amounts of coal tar creosote may result in a rash or severe irritation of the skin, chemical burns of the surfaces of the eyes, convulsions and mental confusion, kidney or liver problems, unconsciousness, and even death. Longer direct skin contact with low levels of creosote mixtures or their vapors can result in increased light sensitivity, damage to the cornea, and skin damage. Longer exposure to creosote vapors can cause irritation of the respiratory tract.

As always, stay classy Sacramento…

Author: RonTopofIt

RonTopofIt is a complex personality, as are most of the small breed of modern day renaissance millionaires. He wishes more people were like him and yet believes that it takes all kinds. You've met RonTopofIt many times, you just don't remember him.

14 thoughts on “Memo to the fire lookie loos”

  1. Just as bad, News10 used the entire time slot of Jeopardy! to run non-stop fire coverage. We were getting caught up on the DVR of the week’s shows & were ticked to see all fire all the time instead of our favorite game of answers and questions. “What is ‘GRRRRRRRR’?”

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  2. Not to mention that it appears after reading this post that burning creosote-soaked trestles can be very dangerous to your health!

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  4. I watched the entire news10 coverage of the fire. Then I switched to channel 3. I checked channel 13, but they didn’t interrupt basketball for even one second. Why is basketball more important than telling people to stay away from carcinogenic smoke?

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  5. I had a unique experience last night, as I left home at about 6 to go to the much maligned Arco Arena to see Indiana vs. Gonzaga. KFBK informed me what the heck all the burning and smoke was about. But when I arrived at Arco, every person in the place was standing still in the concourse, eyes locked on Duke being emasculated by VCU on CBS13. When that game ended, CBS13 promptly switched over to the fire coverage, but by then all the sports people were done watching their sports game on TV and returned to their seats to watch more sports. Sports, sports, sports.

    I saw a UNC fan with a shirt that said “COACH K EATS BABIES”… heh

    Oh, also! most of the fans were watching CBS13’s high def coverage. But just before a certain VCU stud nailed a penalty stripe jumper with 1.8 seconds to go I hear an uproar behind me… I turned to see a smaller group watching a smaller tv with News10’s coverage…which was LIVE not on 3 second delay like CBS13’s!!

    But the kicker was when the final Duke shot missed its mark…

    News10 people: Yay!!! Duke lost yay!!!

    [three second pause]

    CBS13 people: Wow!!!! I can’t believe Duke just lost!!!

    (Dialogue approximated)

    This was my most insane rambling comment ever.

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  6. In the future, everyones’ life will be on a 3 second delay.

    And we must all join together to INSIST that the new testle NOT be made of dangerous flamable materials. Maybe- oh, I dunno, Hemp? At least the lookie loos wouldn’t be in danger from the smoke. Tho there might be a sudden (leisurely) run (mosey) on Cheetos and Dong Dings…

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  8. WCC basketball roolz!
    Too bad about the Zags star player getting pinched with a bag of weed, they might have actually had a chance against the Hoosiers.

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  10. i think my favorite person on the news was this girl who saied, “i called my dad and he said stay inside because the smoke was toxic”..(she makes a look of disgust or “whatever”), “but we came out here anyways so…” All this while she has a small child on her shoulders.

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  11. It was psychedelic mushrooms, actually. And he wasn’t *the* star player, but a fairly important component of a non-star team.

    And Raivio isn’t happy with him. If they used to be friends, they certainly aren’t now.

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  12. Ok, this is getting ridiculous. The fire is completely extinguished and people are still slowing down to rubberbneck on bus 80. Can we all just agree that there was a fire, now there’s not and hit the gas pedal?

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  13. smoke is bad for you? incredible! i wonder what percent of the people walking towards smoke had college degree’s…..

    people got sent home from my work cuz they had been near the smoke and were feeling waay ill.

    also, the sacbee said the new trestles will be made of concrete and other non-hazardous mat.s…

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  14. sac-eats said: Ok, this is getting ridiculous. The fire is completely extinguished and people are still slowing down to rubberbneck on bus 80. Can we all just agree that there was a fire, now there’s not and hit the gas pedal?

    see… not only is smoke harmful to your health, but it’s also highly addictive.

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