There is a town called Coober Pedy (IIRC), famous for its opal mines.
Due to the weather in that area, most of the houses are under ground.
Wiki: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwieu9HsjbX_AhV-SGwGHbBkAzYQFnoECC4QAQ&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coober_Pedy&usg=AOvVaw3_iLlDoVZaDyaIQgGbtLDX
Fun fact: the temperature 10 meters underground is pretty constant through the year.
It will save a lot of HVAC energy costs.
Make a top side which is weather proof, meaning stone or
concrete, and use a slope or lift. to reach the living area. Concrete raft foundation, thick walls of whatever is locally available and fire proof.
Ventilation to suit.
The open part of the plot can be used for solar and wind power, off the grid or grid tied.
Then you need not worry too much.
Build away from the edge of lakes and canyons, that is common sense.
Alternately, make the roof about a meter above a meter high plinth, use that for natural light and ventilation, that will be more risky in disasters.
Due to the weather in that area, most of the houses are under ground.
Wiki: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwieu9HsjbX_AhV-SGwGHbBkAzYQFnoECC4QAQ&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coober_Pedy&usg=AOvVaw3_iLlDoVZaDyaIQgGbtLDX
Fun fact: the temperature 10 meters underground is pretty constant through the year.
It will save a lot of HVAC energy costs.
Make a top side which is weather proof, meaning stone or
concrete, and use a slope or lift. to reach the living area. Concrete raft foundation, thick walls of whatever is locally available and fire proof.
Ventilation to suit.
The open part of the plot can be used for solar and wind power, off the grid or grid tied.
Then you need not worry too much.
Build away from the edge of lakes and canyons, that is common sense.
Alternately, make the roof about a meter above a meter high plinth, use that for natural light and ventilation, that will be more risky in disasters.
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Aluminum burns like hell. Ask any Navy that used to build aluminum boats and got shot at.
Jan
Aluminum as a solid metal alone really isn’t combustible, it will self extinguish. Even so aluminum powder is, and is often used in fireworks
Aluminum boats do burn, but they have other materials involved and the weapons used against them can provide the heat required to get things going. It is also that they can melt more easily than typical steel hulls that limits them.
Also when you build an aluminum boat, the design is for light weight, so the hull is only as thick as required for the structural strength.
On large warships some used to have more than a meter of thickness at the waterline to resist torpedoes. When metal ships were first made many were of the opinion that they wouldn’t float as everyone knew steel was heavier than water!
Now it is just possible that wood boats might actually catch fire.
Aluminum boats do burn, but they have other materials involved and the weapons used against them can provide the heat required to get things going. It is also that they can melt more easily than typical steel hulls that limits them.
Also when you build an aluminum boat, the design is for light weight, so the hull is only as thick as required for the structural strength.
On large warships some used to have more than a meter of thickness at the waterline to resist torpedoes. When metal ships were first made many were of the opinion that they wouldn’t float as everyone knew steel was heavier than water!
Now it is just possible that wood boats might actually catch fire.
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There’s no doubt things have changed the last 40 or 50 yrs. There always were fires, droughts and heatwaves but what what we are seeing now is a shift so all these events seem to be piling up one after the other and on top of each other. In April this year, temperatures in India hit > 40C and last year unheard of >40 C temps in the UK. It was that dry in Norfolk where I live that for about 6 weeks we took the decision not to fire up our chimnea for fear of starting a fire inadvertently in the meadow behind us. We’ve had no rain here for a month and nothing projected for the next few weeks and this is May and June in England. Interesting times.
I remember HMS Sheffield in the Falklands conflict. Went up like a fireball when hit by an Exocet missile. That caused a complete rethink on materials used for warships.
Aluminum can burn, @1730 C under carefully controlled conditions. That's hotter than a "basic oxygen furnace" by about 100C.
FWIW, in 1982 HMS Sheffield was rumored to have been destroyed by an Exocet missile because of its aluminum superstructure. In fact the Sheffield was entirely steel. So that falsehood has to be put to rest.
There's coyotes here, and I haven't seen any reason to believe they wouldn't eat goats. They'll eat anything else dead or alive.
But just like European and Asian sheperds do to avoid that their livestock is attacked by wolves, jackals or lynx, Americans should have sherperd dogs. They do not only help to keep the herd toghetter, but also are a protection to those predators. A dog (or more than one) is too dangerous to risk for those predators, as getting wounded is mostly fatal for them. Even on a stationary herd, sherperd dogs are used in southern and eastern europe where those predators are common. And good (electric) fencing can also helps with that.
A friend lives in Portugal and has sheeps, mules and goats. But also 3 sherperd dogs (Belgian Malinois breed) and his herd is never attacked by predators there and are always outside. Some other farmers who don't have those dogs are often loosing animals due to attacks of wolves and lynx there. This Belgian Malinois breed is specialised and used for centuries as sherperd dog, can work unsupervised and are feared by wolves:
A friend lives in Portugal and has sheeps, mules and goats. But also 3 sherperd dogs (Belgian Malinois breed) and his herd is never attacked by predators there and are always outside. Some other farmers who don't have those dogs are often loosing animals due to attacks of wolves and lynx there. This Belgian Malinois breed is specialised and used for centuries as sherperd dog, can work unsupervised and are feared by wolves:
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I live southeast of the heart of Mississauga its very populated with people and some coyote. I see them alone, sometimes in pairs. More rarer than coyote is seeing deer this far down here too, at least a dozen times. A buck charged me on my ATV one time, he was mad. If the doe's follow the waterways south down to port credit river, and some larger creek basins, the bucks follow. Probably because there is lots of tree and other lush growth that makes good cover. The coyote take up residence in some of the city parks. I've seen then during day time and night time. They usually see you first and you would hardly usually see them. Maybe because they are more of a nocturnal dweller but since people began feeding them, food can easily change animal habits. They have lots of rabbits and rodents otherwise. Hopefully no ones small pet.
The right dog/dogs can keep coyotes at bay.
Coyotes are a problem around here. Cats and dogs disappear all the time. The yard is not safe. They prowl during the day too, ducking from shadow to shadow. I hear them walking down the tracks right next to my house. I heard them the other day too, while I was walking on a walk/bike trail. We have just enough room here, just enough tracks and trails, just enough brush and cover, to support coyotes.
Coyotes are a problem around here. Cats and dogs disappear all the time. The yard is not safe. They prowl during the day too, ducking from shadow to shadow. I hear them walking down the tracks right next to my house. I heard them the other day too, while I was walking on a walk/bike trail. We have just enough room here, just enough tracks and trails, just enough brush and cover, to support coyotes.
Fawns, at this time of year. And I've encountered deer remains that coyotes had worked over. I don't know if the deer died naturally, had a broken leg and was killed, or had been wounded by rifle, ran off to be found by coyotes later.
Coyotes hunt in packs and take down prey much larger than them.
Their usual tactic is to have a scout/decoy, while the rest of the pack lurks in the shadows. A lone coyote can lure a dog that is way too big for one coyote to handle back to the pack.
Their usual tactic is to have a scout/decoy, while the rest of the pack lurks in the shadows. A lone coyote can lure a dog that is way too big for one coyote to handle back to the pack.
Coyotes here, outside the cities, are afraid of humans. I'm in an area that's only suitable for pasture, so cattle mostly, some sheep. The coyotes, which are unprotected by any legislation, are wise to avoid any potential encounter with a gun toting human.
None of the wildlife here is afraid of humans. Rabbits don't even stop munching when you walk into the yard. Falcons are more afraid of crows than they are people.
The most I've seen together around here is a pair. But you are correct about the luring of dogs. I have a friend who worked for the Alberta Forest Service (or whatever they called it back then) and was posted at a moderately remote station on the east side of the Rockies. The coyotes there were in larger groups, and luring dogs was a major problem.