In Minnesote, there is always the danger of snow buildup on the roof causing collapse. Especially if you have good insulation. Regards, Jim -----Original Message----- From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of Mike Hord Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 3:51 PM To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. Subject: Re: [OT]California wild fire > Bull pucky. It's dangerous to buy a home without thinking about what > might happen to it first. Exactly. > You can buy a house in Minnesota, out in the woods, with a poor > quality heater and freeze to death during a blizzard: "I guess that's > the price people are willing to pay to live near Lake Woebegone." But the house will still be there! Actually, I feel VERY safe living in Minnesota because there are very few options for home-destroying natural disasters here. Go down the list- what natural disasters can wreck a home? Flood, fire (forest or brush- leave normal home fires out), tornado, hurricane, earthquake. Include tsunami under flood. Flood, brush and forest fires can be mitigated by risk assessment before the home is purchased. Living less than a quarter mile from downtown Minneapolis on top of Lowry Hill, I'm not too likely to see any of them; however, every year, the spring thaw floods dozens or hundreds of homes in Minnesota, and occasionally entire towns are wiped out by brush or forest fires in outlying parts of the state. Tornadoes can hit anywhere, but here they're less common than in, say, Oklahoma. I feel fairly safe that earthquakes (and definitely tsunami) are out of the question, and hurricanes as well. All in all, my little apartment is quite unlikely to suffer from any natural disaster, as will be the house I ultimately buy in the same neighborhood. Of course, there are those who consider winter in Minnesota to be a natural disaster unto itself. Mike H. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist