(The second in an occasional series of articles highlighting California legislative districts and candidates that could provide Democrats with a vital 2/3 majority.)

On the drive out from Santa Monica to Simi Valley, there’s a moment when you know that you’ve left Los Angeles County and ventured into Ventura.  Suddenly, the greenery recedes away, the canyon walls rise, and the scene becomes positively dramatic.  If you let your mind wander, you could picture yourself in the middle of a John Ford movie backdrop or a national monument somewhere in Utah, despite being just 35 miles from downtown LA.

I was headed out to a fundraiser, driving along the 118 Freeway, which area transportation poohbahs see fit to remind you is named the “Ronald Reagan Freeway” about every 8/10th of a mile.  Astonishingly enough, this was a Democratic fundraiser.  For a candidate seeking a seat held by Tom McClintock, arguably the most rock-ribbed conservative in the entire state.  And it’s a seat Democrats can win.  Things are changing along the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

If you want to look at it statistically, there’s no better resource than ortcutt’s fantastic rundown.  The raw numbers are pretty clear.  Over the last 5 years, Senate District 19, serving Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, along with a sliver of LA County at Santa Clarita, has gone from a 7-point Republican registration advantage to just over a 4-point one, one of the larger moves in the whole state.  The state’s districts were designed not to have any variability, and yet that’s what’s happening.  And this is not just about registration.  Feinstein and Boxer both carried this district, and in 2004 Bush carried it by a mere two points.  And that was before his disastrous second term.  For this and other reasons, the demographics are changing here.

SD-19 (here’s a map) covers major areas like Santa Clarita in LA County, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo (hello outlet malls) and San Buenavento in Ventura, and large sections of Santa Barbara County like the city of Santa Barbara.  Far more of the district is located in Ventura County, however, and the area has seen a migration of sorts, as residents priced out of the wealthier Santa Barbara housing market have moved in.  And Ventura County Democrats have been relentless.  I have seen their work up close; my region as an AD delegate stretches up through this district, and I have seen presentations of the innovative efforts that were instrumental in closing the registration gap.  These shifts did not happen by accident.  Sure, the different socioeconomic shifts played a part, as well as the failed leadership of the President and an incumbent State Senator who values budget numbers in a ledger far more than constituent services.  But more than that, they were the work of aggressive new tactics.  One of these programs is Vote Blue Committee Central Coast, designed to register and bring to the polls 13,900 new Democrats in 2008.  The group is targeting new residents, building a reliable, locally-based voter file, and encouraging vote-by-mail.  This is the kind of new tactics we need to see replicated throughout California to realize the goals of a true 58-county strategy.

This is why I’m excited about SD-19, regardless of who ultimately runs in the general election.  On the Republican side, Tom McClintock is a termed-out incumbent who is already raising money for yet another statewide run, this time for the Board of Equalization.  I’d be absolutely shocked if this committed conservative would go back on core ideology and decide to run a third term, should the ballot initiative pass and allow him to do so.  Anyway, there’s already a candidate, last year’s State Controller nominee Tony Strickland.  He has the signed endorsement of every member of the Republican Caucus.  He’s looking to join his wife, an Assemblywoman, back in Sacramento.  But he’s really just looking for something to do until Elton Gallegly retires from the Congress.  There’s no burning desire to serve the public here, just a resume-builder until Strickland graduates to the seat he thinks he’s entitled to. 

Which is why I think it’s healthy to have two excellent candidates in a primary, raising the profile of Democratic values, fighting for the right to take down Strickland next November.  We all know about Hannah-Beth Jackson from her incredible work at Speak Out California and her tireless advocacy of progressive ideals.  Let me tell you a little bit about Jim Dantona, who’s been in the race about four months and who you may not know as much about.  First of all, Ventura County Democratic activists in the area pushed very hard for him to run.  I usually give latitude to the locals on the ground for determining who is their best candidate to serve their district.  In this case, Dantona has a resume that is undeniably impressive.  After a brief baseball career with the Chicago Cubs in 1969, he taught elementary school before spending 10 years as chief of staff to longtime Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti.  Later, he founded an organization called “Baseballers Against Drugs” to teach kids the importance of staying clean and addiction-free.  And he’s a single parent of three grown children.

I attended a fundraiser for Dantona last Thursday, featuring longtime friend and former Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.  The blogger Mark Gage at Conejo Valley Democrat, who I met at the event, has an excellent writeup.  Dantona likes to style himself a “centrist,” and I have no illusions that he’ll be with the most progressive elements of the party on every issue.  But I will say this.  The three main points in his stump speech were jobs, health care for every Californian, and scrapping No Child Left Behind.  As centrism goes, I’d say he’s more Tip O’Neill than Joe Lieberman.  And he didn’t have a bad word to say about Hannah-Beth Jackson, which to me is crucial.

I’m agnostic about the primary, other than thinking it’s very good for the Democratic Party in this area to have two proud Democrats discussing important issues that people in this district haven’t heard about for 8 years.  The locals clearly see this as a terrific opportunity to change the seat and get halfway to that elusive 2/3 majority in the Senate.  And it would obviously set Republicans spinning in their McMansions to see a Democrat representing the towns along the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

What I want to do is explain what Dennis Kucinich is offering our country right now when he talks about “Strength through Peace”; to get a better understanding of what he means by peace and how it will make our country stronger as a whole. We need to understand that creating peace is not simply some idealistic hope for ending wars, but rather a very pragmatic plan that builds relationships based upon fairness and justice and which, predictably, reduces the likelihood of hostilities that lead to crimes, violence and wars. I want people to start seeing peace as a balance, not only in our foreign relationships, but here at home as well; a balance in the economy, a balance in healthcare, in education and government. And I want others to understand peace as paying us a dividend, that peace is a practical investment in our future. But, I want to begin by looking at where we are. Where is America right now?

Well, obviously we’re in Iraq, involved in a hugely unpopular and expensive occupation of that country. We are in Afghansitan and flirting with Iran and in debt to China among others to fund these campaigns.  Economically we’re in trouble with a weakening dollar, importing much more than we export, leading to a massive trade deficit. At home we are in a healthcare crisis, with a crumbling infrastructure, growing poverty rate, a shrinking middle class and some gaping holes in our constitution. The housing bubble is bursting, jobs are declining and outsourced, and inflation is eating away at the whole thing. On top of it all we are growing more and more isolated from our government, as a 70% call for an end to Iraq and overturning both Senate and House majorities isn’t enough to leave. Where’s America? It’s at the bottom of record low approval ratings for our president and our congress.

  Now, to really trace all of the reasons that we got here would take us outside the scope of this presentation. However, I want to focus on a principle that has served as a kind of underlying philosophy for a lot of the decisions that has lead us here: “peace through strength” (the direct opposite of Kucinich’s “strength through peace”). This doctrine of “peace through strength” has been floating through American policy for the last 30 years or so and has been aggressively pursued by our current President. And I think if we examine this for a moment we can gain some insight into our current situation, as well as how an America under Dennis Kucinich would differ.

  The first thing to notice about “peace through strength” is that peace is posited as a goal, or an end in itself, which will be achieved through strength. So the first thing we would want to know is what is strength? Or, how is it exactly, that we will achieve peace? 

  So, when we look at America under George W. Bush, do we see strength or do we see weakness?  I don’t know if there’s really an answer to this question because America is strong in certain areas, but very weak in others. However, if we examine the current policies, a very definite pattern starts to become clear. Power is redistributed to specific areas and further consolidated at the top, greatly strengthening the relative few, while severely weakening the majority of others. This is true both in our foreign policy and our domestic policy.

  If we start with the federal budget, we see this bloated Pentagon budget has come close to $500 Billion, a 62% increase since 2001 and this doesn’t even include the $142 Billion appropriated for Iraq. Consequently we do have a hugely powerful military, but only while we under fund our schools, watch the bridges in our weakening infrastructure collapse and, possibly worst of all, live with the 47 million people who have no health insurance and more people fall into medically related bankruptcy. But, this budget isn’t just by chance. It is directly related to this doctrine of “peace through strength” and is really only one part of the picture.

  Now, if we are pumping outrageous amounts of money into this military, then it shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise that we are utilizing this powerful military in aggressive wars. Because we have to understand that Iraq was an aggressive war based upon lies. In the beginning it was sold as a “defensive war” because, according to the intelligence, Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and could attack at any time. That was the story at least. But, we later learned that there were, in fact, no weapons at all and that the intelligence had been shaped and carefully selected by this administration. In fact, we have learned that the administration “didn’t accept intelligence to the contrary” and that there existed conflicting intelligence that was omitted from discourse, as Sen. Durbin later told us. The fact that the administration tailored the intelligence to lead us into war and didn’t allow time for the weapons inspectors to do their job shows us another way that power has been redistributed. Unilateral, Pre-emptive war and regime change has been strengthened in policy and multilateral, diplomatic efforts have been weakened. The fact that Mr. Bush only increased his hostile rhetoric towards Iran after the IAEA report indicated significant progress in compliance with inspections, shows how weak diplomatic policies have become, and is an ominous sign of things to come if we don’t challenge this type of thinking.

  Even when war can be avoided however, the solution is one of intimidation, rather than negotiation and the U.S. follows unjust policies, like the privatization of Iraqi oil reserves. In either case, war or intimidation, America’s standing in the world is undermined and hostility becomes great.

  All of this has been justified by the so-called “war on terror”. However, it’s important to keep “peace through strength” in mind, as this has definitely been the philosophy behind this war on terror and, according to the administration, protecting America. “Peace through strength” has been the doctrine for achieving national security and so this same transferal of power has occurred; a transferral of power that has included more and more corporate profits, rights and international leverage, as well as more and more power consolidated in the executive branch through unconstitutional legislation, signing statements and executive orders. Consequently, the weakening has come to the working and middle classes, Congress and Representative Government and individual civil liberites, such as habeas corpus.

  If we look at the economy we will see the same type of thing happening. Trade agreements like NAFTA and the WTO have strengthened large corporations, but weakened workers and the environment throughout the world. These corporations outsource their jobs to countries where they can pay for labor, pennies on the dollar, and avoid the costly environmental restrictions they would have to pay in the U.S., for instance. Further, the agreements have been written in such a way that prevents other costly provisions like worker’s rights. And so what is the effect of these agreements? We have huge profits for these corporations, but only at the cost of miserably exploited labor, who make near slave wages, have to work in unsafe and unsanitary conditions and who are not allowed to form unions or strike to negotiate more fair conditions. Also, we have violence done to the environment, which costs all of us in the long run. It’s important to think about our environment as a sense of wealth. Not only is protecting a clean environment necessary for human, as well as all, life, and therefore truly a form of wealth, but because of that fact, the day of reckoning will come. If clean up and repair is possible it will be much more costly then prevention and it will be the taxpayers who are given the bill. On top of all of this we import massively more than we export, facing a huge trade deficit. Even the workers in the industrialized countries lose too. They lose jobs. It has been estimated that over 3 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. alone has been lost due to outsourcing through NAFTA.

  At home we see the same power grab for the few at the top and the consequent weakening of the majority that makes up the rest of us. The concentration of wealth at the top of the population has lead to a shrinking middle class and growing poverty rate. The average CEO in the U.S. earns $475 for every dollar the average worker does. And, with a cruel sense of logic, our tax rates then have those who struggle most pay a higher tax rate than the people at the top who can best afford it. Inflation has been steadily eating away at American’s purchasing power and unions have been weakened through acts like Taft-Hartely. It’s become necessary to work more just to live at the same standard as before. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum has dropped by 42% since its peak in 1968. In fact, if the minimum wage had risen at the same rate as CEO compensation, it would be $23/hr.! People are finding it more and more difficult to buy their own homes as property values are through the roof, leading to more debt. We now have 47 million Americans without any health insurance and 50 million who are underinsured. This underinsured group is largely responsible for half of the bankruptcies in the U.S. each year. In a study out of Harvard, a couple years ago, it was found that ¾ of all medically related bankruptcies are experienced by people who have insurance. Think about that. These people had insurance, but after you add the co-pays, deductibles and medication costs to the premiums, people who get seriously ill can’t cope with the payments and have to file for bankruptcy. In fact, the study found medically related bankruptcy to have risen by 2,200% since 1981! And yet, pharmaceutical and insurance companies are experiencing record profits at the same time. Then on top of all of this the most recent report from the U.S. Labor Department found the economy lost over 4,000 jobs.

  So to sum this up then, in “peace through strength” the strength is granted only to industrialized nations, multinational corporations, the Pentagon, the Executive branch, pre-emptive war, unilateral policy, large industries like weapons, securities, oil, pharmaceutical and insurance, and the top income earners in general. And all of this has come by weakening everything else, such as less developed nations, multilateral and diplomatic solutions, the environment, education, small businesses, Representative government, the middle class, the poor, our nation’s health and our national security. These are the relationships created under “peace through strength” and so one then has to ask: Is this what peace is?

  When you look at the consequences of this doctrine of “peace through strength” the nature of “peace” that develops is peculiar. If peace is simply the absence of war, we aren’t doing very well, since we’ve already waged two wars and are laying the ground work for a third against Iran. If peace is understood as a relationship of justice and harmony we fail here as well, since the effects seem to lead to intimidation and domination instead. And we start to see that if we continue on with these ideas we create more hostility, more enemies, more crime, more suffering and more likelihood of violence and war. We start to see that this conception of strength, that causes so much weakness and injustice causes the opposite of peace. So we are forced to conclude that  this whole doctrine of “peace through strength” is impractical and flawed. We find ourselves in need of a new doctrine and way of thinking for the country.

  And this is exactly what Dennis Kucinich is doing. He’s reversing this type of thinking for a new doctrine of “strength through peace”. That is, reversing these detrimental policies in order to create the conditions for peace. Dennis Kucinich is creating policies for relationships of peace, based upon justice and equality, from which we can build from, to strengthen our standing in the world. Peace is not the end, it is the means by which you empower individuals and countries. Peace is not simply the absence of war, but the presence of diplomacy and fair negotiations. Peace is not passive isolationism hoping things will turn out for the best, but actively participating in the world and pursuing relationships. It isn’t an empty ideal to look forward to through endless wars and suffering, but rather a pragmatic tool that is forward looking, creating friends instead of enemies, true universal healthcare, an more equitable economy and a sustainable future. Peace under Dennis Kucinich is balancing the budget and slashing the bloated Pentagon budget for money here at home, ending the war and engaging the world community, creating fair trade based upon human rights, workers rights and environmental principles, universal pre-kindergarten and college, alternative energy techologies, fair tax rates, and newfound constitutional responsibility. It’s creating a safer, more secure and stronger America. Peace under Dennis Kucinich is what’s necessary for this country.

Support Dennis Kucinich!

Forget Posse Comitatus:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling up 1,500 National Guard troops to deploy to the Southern California wildfires.

He’s also asking President Bush to authorize San Diego-area military forces to begin coordinating to provide cots, first-aid equipment and possibly personnel to aid evacuees and firefighters.

This is why we have a National Guard, it sucks Arnold won’t stand up to Bush and act as he should as the Commander in Chief of our National Guard. The “National Guard” has no business in Middle East Adventurism and Arnold should publicly point out he has be emasculated as Commander in Chief of the California National Guard. As SoCal Burns, Arnold looks like shit as people wonder why our Guard isn’t available to do what they signed up for.

Today’s Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed.

To subscribe by email, click
here and do what comes naturally.

And hey, this can be an open thread, too. (Brian)

SoCal is Burning

• Changing Places » Here
  come those Santa Ana winds again….
  http://www.woodka.com/2007/10/21/here-come-those-santa-ana-winds-again/
• Metroblogging Los Angeles: Malibu Fire Update: 1 PM Sunday
  http://blogging.la/archives/2007/10/malibu_fire_update_1_pm_sunday.phtml
• Greetings from Huntington Beach: Here Come Those Santa Ana
  Winds Again
  http://hbdowntown.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/10/here-come-those.html
• Pax Nortona – A Blog by Joel Sax » Wine Dark
  Clouds
  http://paxnortona.notfrisco2.com/?p=5101
• The Disgruntled Chemist: Holy Crap
  http://thedisgruntled.blogspot.com/2007/10/holy-shit.html
• Daily Kos: Update #14 from Barbara EVACUATING…CALIFORNIA
  BURNING…
  http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/22/02646/842
• The Liberal OC » BREAKING: Wildfire Breaks Out in
  Santiago Canyon, Approaches Tustin
  http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/10/22/breaking-wildfire-breaks-out-in-santiago-canyon-approaches-tustin/
• The Democratic Daily » SoCal Burning
  http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2007/10/22/socal-burning/
• LA Cowboy: Malibu May Be Burning – But
  It’s Nothing Compared To When LA Finally Burns!
  http://lacowboy.blogspot.com/2007/10/malibu-may-be-burning-but-its-nothing.html
• Changing Places » Scary
  Night
  http://www.woodka.com/2007/10/21/scary-night/
• Changing Places » Up at
  dawn
  http://www.woodka.com/2007/10/22/up-at-dawn/
• Honestly Speaking: Malibu Presbyterian Church and a Sunday
  Morning of watching a beautiful space burn
  http://kristievosper.typepad.com/honestlyspeaking/2007/10/watching-malibu.html
• Daily Kos: Update #10 – California Wildfires
  http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/22/11433/152
• Martini Revolution » Bad Religion? —
  Los Angeles Is Burning
  http://www.martinirevolution.com/2007/10/bad-religion-los-angeles-is-burning/
• Daily Kos: California Wildfires Mothership – Liveblog
  http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/22/121255/53
• Ranch Fire: 10/22 – Monday AM Update :: The Ojai Post
  http://www.ojaipost.com/2007/10/ranch-fire-monday-am.shtml
• Politics in the Zeros » Southern California fires
  http://polizeros.com/2007/10/22/southern-california-fires/
• SierraVisions.com » Smoke from SoCal Fires
  http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/smoke-from-socal-fires/
• Metroblogging Los Angeles: Fire Live & Video Feeds
  http://blogging.la/archives/2007/10/fire_live_video_feeds.phtml
• SFist: SoCal Ablaze
  http://sfist.com/2007/10/22/socal_ablazae.php
• The Liberal OC » The Fire Near Me
  http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/10/22/the-fire-near-me/
• D-Day: Today’s Fires Are a Symptom, We Must Press for the
  Cure
  http://d-day.blogspot.com/2007/10/todays-fires-are-symptom-we-must-press.html
• LAist: Fire Storm 2007
  http://laist.com/2007/10/22/fire_storm_2007.php
• Ruck Pad: SoCal fires: the personal and the political
  http://ruckpad.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/socal-fires-the-personal-and-the-political/
• The Most Important Blog… Ever – Wildfires in California
  http://www.eriklove.com/newblog/2007/10/22/wildfires-in-california/

San Mateo County Straw
Poll

• Seeing the Forest: Live Blogging the San Mateo Country
  Presidential Straw Poll
  http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2007/10/san_mateo_count.htm
• The Left Coaster: Students for Barack Obama at the Straw
  Poll
  http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/011210.php
• Pacific Views: DraftGore Gathers Signatures
  http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/003122.html
• Daily Kos: John Edwards bests Obama, Clinton, and Kucinich
  in San Mateo straw poll
  http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/21/201553/42
• The Left Coaster: More from the Straw Poll
  http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/011212.php
• The Left Coaster: Final Pictures and Thoughts from the San
  Mateo Democratic Presidential Straw Poll
  http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/011213.php

Local

• San Diego Politico: The Week in Review
  http://www.sandiegopolitico.com/2007/10/week-in-review.html
• voiceofsandiego.org: Opinion… A Commuter’s Lament
  http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/10/22/opinion/01merge102207.txt
• SFist: The Chronicle Looks at the Gavin Years
  http://sfist.com/2007/10/21/the_gavin_years.php
• News & Politics: The Snitch – Google and SF
  Gentrification: Stephen Elliott Needs to Read A Book
  http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2007/10/google_and_sf_gentrification_s.php
• BeyondChron » San Francisco Soon to be
  Union-Household Free
  http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5026#more
• BeyondChron » Clear Channel Scares Voters About
  Prop K
  http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5027#more
• A Progressive Alamedan: Upcoming events in/near Alameda
  http://progala.blogspot.com/2007/10/upcoming-events-innear-alameda.html
• Povertybarn: So Long San Francisco Treat
  http://povertybarn.typepad.com/povertybarn/2007/10/so-long-san-fra.html
• SoHum Parlance: More Mexican Marijuana talk
  http://redwoodreality.blogspot.com/2007/10/more-mexican-marijuana-talk.html

The Speaker’s Pet Project

• The California Majority Report // Today’s Fresh Meat
  http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2367
• The California Majority Report // Some Perspective on the
  Nunez Situation
  http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2366
• The California Majority Report // Skelton on Governability,
  Term Limits
  http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2368

Everything Else

• Pacific Views: After Peak Oil, Peak Food
  http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/003125.html
• Left I on the News: American Values
  http://lefti.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html#3295380382602173442
• Dump Doolittle: Tempestuous times for Placer County
  Republicans
  http://solongjohn.blogspot.com/2007/10/tempestous-times-for-placer-county.html
• Progressive States Network | Progress Amidst Conflict:
  California and Illinois Wrap up Sessions
  http://www.progressivestates.org/blog/698/progress-amidst-conflict-california-and-illinois-wrap-up-sessions
• California Progress Report – Differences Between the
  Parties in Sacramento Revealed in
  Consumer Federation of California 2007 Scorecard for Legislators
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/10/differences_bet.html
• California Progress Report – The Very Partisan Pattern to
  Schwarzenegger Vetoes in 2007
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/10/the_very_partis.html
• Dump Doolittle: Reaction to Doolittle’s votes against
  health care for poor kids
  http://solongjohn.blogspot.com/2007/10/reaction-to-doolittles-votes-against.html
• California Progress Report – California Legislative
  Roundup: Legislature’s Gains Muted
  by Governor Schwarzenegger’s Veto Pen
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/10/california_legi_16.html
• Choosing Democracy: California Reading Scores continue to
  lag for ELL
  http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2007/10/california-reading-scores-continue-to.html

(For live radio coverage, listen live to KPBS. bumped. – promoted by David Dayen)

The old diary is getting full. So please update and add to this new thread. Also, thanks to flickr use vissago for some powerful photos. WE have a new thread here, please post there.  Thanks!

The Los Angeles County Public Health office has updated their 211 page to reflect resources to assist Southland Fires 2007. Here's the page from San Diego County San Diego County Fire information

Google Map with Fire information

KPBS Google Map of San Diego fires 

Blood donations are greatly needed. The San Diego Blood Bank will hold blood drives Tuesday at two wildfire emergency evacuation sites, Qualcomm Stadium and the Del Mar Fairgrounds, officials said. Both drives will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 3 p.m

 Here are some phone numbers to get information:

Animal Evacuations: 818-991-0071
Arrowhead Schools 909-499-9900
Buckweed, Canyon Fire: 323-881-2411
Coronado Hills Fire: 619-590-3160
Grass Valley Fire: 909-383-5688
Harris, Rice, McCoy Fire: 619-590-3160
Irvine: 714-628-7085
Lake Forest 714-628-7085
Malibu: 310-456-2489
Orange County 800-540-8282
Ranch Fire: 626-574-5208
Riverside: 909.988.3650
Roca Fire: 951-940-6985
Santa Clarita Evacuations: 661-295-6366
Santiago Fire: 714-573-6200
Sedgewick Fire: 805-681-5546
Slide and Witch: Fire 619-590-3160
US Forest Line: 626-574-5208

(old information moved under the fold)

UPDATE (4:36pm Shayera) The LA Times is reporting a new fire appears to have broken out in Acton, in Antelope Valley. 15 acres have been burned so far and evacuations are in progress.

UPDATE (4:30pm David) One of the best reporters at the LA Times, Steve Lopez, is down in San Diego County, liveblogging with periodic updates.  Lopez is great at finding those personal stories, so this is well worth checking back on throughout the day.

UPDATE (4:29pm Robert) Mandatory evacuation order lifted for Del Mar. But as Terry notes in the comments, the Del Mar fairgrounds needs masks, eyewash and diabetic testing supplies. Also, pillows, blankets, and air mattresses are in demand. Mothers with babies using the Fair Grounds as a shelter need diapers and baby wipes. They can't take more large animals but they need hay. All 2000 stables are full.

UPDATE (4:11pm Robert) The SoCal Metropolitan Water District says there has been a record 652 million gallon spike in water demand, as pumps are working overtime to provide firefighters with water to fight the flames. Further evidence of the effects of climate change on the landscape…

UPDATE (4:05pm Robert) As Terry notes in the comments, ALL San Diego County schools, public and private, are closed for the remainder of the week. Meanwhile, in the San Bernardino mountains, evacuations are now in effect from Crestline to Big Bear Dam, as the flames move eastward.

 

UPDATE (3:46pm David) I'm slightly unnerved by this, although I understand the need to keep traffic flows moving in an orderly fashion.

 

At about 2:15 p.m., two Jeeps filled with National Guardsmen stopped briefly at the corner of Twin Peaks and Robert Rio roads in Poway. Two National Guardsmen hopped out, and took positions on either side of Robert Rio, decked out in camouflage and holding M-16s.

The Jeeps rumbled on north up Twin Peaks Road, and a block away, two more National Guardsmen jumped out. The troops stopped motorists trying to ride into the side streets.

UPDATE (3:27pm Shayera): hekebolos mentions that Ron Shepston who lives in Silverado Canyon in Orange County is possibly in the path of the Santiago fire. Ron is, as you know, running for Congress in CA-42.

 UPDATE (3:18pm Shayera): Remember Glenn Beck's hateful words from yesterday? Here's what his spokesman had to say today in response to our outrage: A spokesman for Beck expressed surprise that bloggers are seizing on this quotation as an example of incivility. “To most rational people, unfortunately still means unfortunately,” Chris Balfe, the show's producer, tells On Deadline through a spokesman.

UPDATE (2:44pm Shayera): The L.A. Times is reporting that 4 people who were evacuated to Qualcomm staium have died, This brings the total dead to 6. 

UPDATE (2:04pm Lucas): Easterly winds are pushing the Harris Fire away from Northwest Chula Vista and Bonita. Personally good news for me, better news for a lot of folks who were closer to harm's way there.

UPDATE (2:01pm Lucas): Poomacha fire up to 23,000 acres and headed for Palomar Mountain.  President Bush will visit San Diego County on Thursday. quote from UT blog “Alpha Project is distributing masks, food, and water to hundreds of homeless people wandering the streets without direction and shelter.”

UPDATE (1:38pm Lucas): Mandatory evacuation notice for everyone in the La Jolla Reservation area.  Evacuees are told NOT to go to Palomar Mtn. Evac Center.  Go to Borrego Springs.  Encinitas mandatory evacuation of Olivenhain east of Rancho Santa Fe Road and north of El Camino Del Norte, although there are no fires inside the city. Encinitas Senior and Community Center is open for evacuees.

UPDATE (1:29pm Lucas) Poomacha fire has burned 20,000 acres and is expected to merge with the Witch Fire at some point today.  The 76 corridor is being evacuated.

UPDATE (1:19pm Lucas): Reverse 911 evacuation calls have been issued to 1,095 Harmony Grove households as fires south and west of Escondido move on from Mt. Israel.

UPDATE (1:03pm Robert) Voluntary evacuations now in Highland, which is in the flatlands next to San Bernardino as the Grass Valley/Slide fires come down the mountain. SBD Sheriffs plead for mountain residents to evacuate: “You're interfering. You're risking our lives.” 100 buildings lost in Running Springs/Fredalba.

UPDATE (12:57pm Lucas): Checking the most recent updates to the KPBS map, earlier evacuation areas in much of Spring Valley, Bonita, and points north to SDSU are gone.  Evacuation areas immediately east of Hillsdale and Grossmont and Southeast of Lakeside are snug against the south side of I-8 covering Harbison Canyon, Crest, and west Alpine as earlier noted.

UPDATE (12:46pm Lucas): Witch Creek Fire has jumped northwest from Del Dios to the Mount Israel Community. The Ramona waterpump has failed due to power outage, correction power failure has knocked out a water pump in Ramona, knocking out all water pressure- trying to bring in generators.  Boil water in the area indefinitely, water pressure expected to begin coming online this evening.  Councilman Maienschein and staff has toured the Rancho Bernardo area and will be posting a comprehensive list of damaged and destroyed homes soon on the SanDiego.gov website.

UPDATE (12:33pm Lucas): Still only one confirmed death. 22 civilians, 21 firefighters injured. 241,000 acres burned. City of Poway reopening: South of Twin Peaks Road, East of Community Rd to Tierra Bonita in North and Donard to South, West of Ipava (corrected) and West and North of Poway Drive.

UPDATE (12:25pm Lucas) Poomacha fire is established itself on Palomar Mountain, 3,000 acres burned so far.  CalFire team on the way.  Winds throughout the region are swirling making direction tough to deal with.  Aircraft fighting Harris Fire.  Structure losses overnight in Deerborn Valley. San Miguel Peak still has emergency transmitter equipment in tact.  11 major fires burning in SoCal, 8 threatening structures. 25 air tankers in SoCal including DC-10. C-130s requested from military, may arrive late today. 40 helicopters- federal, forest service, DLM, calfire, park service, others. 6 military helicopters. Two Seahawks, 4 Blackhawks.

UPDATE (12:18pm Lucas) Breaking reports of two new fires burning independently on Camp Pendleton

UPDATE (12:16pm Lucas) Residents allowed to return to their homes in Del Mar Heights (South of Via de la Valle, West of 5, North of Torrey Pines Beach) and in Scripps Ranch (South of Beeler Canyon Rd, West of Sycamore Canyon Rd, East of 15 and North of MCAS Miramar).

UPDATE (12:07pm Lucas) Reverse 911 evacuation notices are going out to 924 more homes in Valley Center and Palomar Mountain area. Mission Hills High School has room for 200, Calvin Christian High School can take 100.  Palomar Observatory remains the recommended evac center for Valley Center and Palomar Mtn. areas.

UPDATE (12:00pm Lucas): Bush is blah blahing right now about the fires.  Looking at the KPBS map, evacuation areas ahead of the Harris Fire now include wide swaths of Spring Valley and Bonita but (news to me at least) extends north through parts of Encanto and Lemon Grove up College Avenue all the way to SDSU and near I-8. Wow.

 

UPDATE (11:46am Shayera): The L.A. Times is reporting a second death in the Santa Clarita area. No details have been released.

UPDATE (11:39am Lucas): National Guard Troops are being deployed to Qualcomm and Del Mar Fairgrounds to aid in the evacuation of the elderly out of the fire and smoke.  650 fire crews from throughout the state are now battling fire in Fallbrook, information is difficult to come by from the region.

UPDATE (11:33am Shayera): Reports are saying there is a fire broken out in the Newhall area. It appears to have broken out overnight. As of the time of the report 12 acres had been burned. The fire is being reffered to as the Meadow Ridge incident.

UPDATE (11:25am Lucas): KPBS in San Diego went off the air overnight when its broadcasting antenna was knocked out by fire on Mount San Miguel.  They have moved to 94.9fm for continuing coverage locally.

UPDATE (11:22am Lucas): official tally as of 11am in San Diego is 513,000 people under mandatory evacuation and 12,000 more under voluntary evacuation.  Mission Hills High School will remain open for evacuees for the next two days. Fire on the north side of Lake Hodges has reached the Del Dios community. Reports of houses burning in Quiet Hills and Lomas Serenas.

UPDATE (11:16am Robert) Santiago Fire in OC continues to menace the Portola Hills development but no homes have yet burned. OCFA is less confident about saving homes in Modjeska Canyon, concerned that they do not have enough hand crews or helicopters to fight in the backcountry. Animal shelters are available al El Toro HS, the OC animal shelter near The Block in ORange, and at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. 

UPDATE (10:48 am Shayera): Los Angeles County Fire Department officials will hold community meetings in Malibu and Agoura Hills over the next two days to give residents updates on the status of the fires, road closures and evacuation sites.

The first meeting will be held at 7 tonight at Malibu High School, 30215 Morning View Drive. The second meeting will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road, Calabasas.

 UPDATE (10:31am Lucas): Mandatory evacuation orders are being issued via reverse 911 to about 1200 homes in Fairbanks Ranch.  Evacuate to Encinitas Senior Center or Carlsbad High School.

UPDATE (10:23am Lucas): San Pasqual Academy suffered major damage. Poomacha fire has burned 40 homes on Rincon and La Jolla Reservations and some on Barona reservation.  Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento began delivering supplies early this morning.

UPDATE (9:45am Lucas): Comprehensive fire update via UT Blog:

The Harris Fire is 70, 000 acres and 5% contained.  Firefighters are looking for full control of this fire on November 4th. 250 residences have been damaged and 200 have been destroyed. 5 firefighters and 20 civilians have been burned and there was 1 civilian fatality. Currently we have 65 Engines, 9 fire crews, 2 dozers, 5 water tenders, 3 airtankers, 2 helicopters, 2 helitankers, (500 firefighters).

The Witch Fire is 164,000 acres and 1 percent contained. There have been 7 injuries to firefighters and to 2 civilians. Communities Threatened: San Diego, Poway, Ramona, Escondido, Lakeside, Valley Center, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe, Rincon, Wildcat Canyon. Currently there are 218 engines, 17 dozers, 14 fire crews, 17 water tenders (1492 firefighters). 500 residences destroyed – 250 damaged, 100 commercial properties destroyed – 75 damaged, 50 outbuildings destroyed – 50 damaged.

The Rice Fire is 6,100 acres and 0% contained, firefighters are looking for full containment on November 1st. 500 residences have been destroyed and 30 have been damaged. 1 Firefighter has been injured. Currently there are 55 engines, 6 fire crews, 1 dozer (170 firefighters). Fire is making major runs toward Fallbrook, and may burn in to Santa Margarita and Sandia Creek drainages. It is anticipated this fire will combine up with Rosa fire which started in Riverside. 

The Poomacha Fire is 1,000 acres and 0% contained. This fire is located at Highway 76 and Pauma Valley (Thomas Brother Map Page 409 E7). The fire originated in a structure and spread into the vegetation.  There has been 8 injuries to firefighters. There are 15 engines, 2 water tenders (60 firefighters). The fire started on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. The fire has spread into Valley Center and Yellow Brick Road areas. Law Enforcement has started the reverse 911 to initiate evacuations of entire Hwy 76 corridor.

The McCoy Fire is a U.S. Forest Service fire and is 300 acres and 50% contained, full containment is expected on the 23rd. 1 structure has been destroyed and there have been no reported injuries.

UPDATE (9:40am Lucas): UT Blog update on Witch Fire progress. 35 structures damanged in Rancho Santa Fe over night, mostly homes. Las Colinas neighborhood was burned through destroying several homes.  Now jumping the San Dieguito River and heading into Fairbanks Ranch. The fire line is San Dieguito Road with tanker planes dropping fire retardant.

UPDATE (9:25am Lucas): Evacuation update for Coastal areas from UT blog: A mandatory evacuation is ordered for the following areas within the City of Del Mar: All areas east of Crest Road, San Dieguito Road, Oribia Road, Avenida Primavera (along Crest Road), Serpentine Drive, Gatun Street, Balboa Avenue, Zapo Street. Other areas of the city have not been issued a mandatory evacuation order. However, it is strongly suggested that all residents pack necessary belongings and be prepared to evacuate if a mandatory order is issued. Del Mar residents who are unable to self-evacuate should call 858-704-3694.

In Solana Beach; A voluntary evacuation is strongly recommended for the following areas within the City of Solana Beach: All areas east of Interstate 5 (I-5), Areas along the north border of the city, between I-5 and Highway 101.

UPDATE (9:23am Lucas): CalFire rep is talking about the Santa Ana winds starting to break down in some areas, allowing firefighters to get ahead of flames in places.  Poomacha Fire updated numbers: 800 acres burned, evacuees directed to Palomar Observatory.  Fire is burning north from Lake Hodges to the Quiet Hills area of Escondido with firefighters stationed at houses and helicopters making water drops. UCSD Medical Center is open despite some reports to the contrary.  As many as 1,000 houses now destroyed.  Fixed-wing tankers are in the air making drops on Harris and Witch Creek Fires.

UPDATE (9:10am Lucas): from DailyKos liveblog “Mayor Sanders is asking for licensed doctors and nurses to relieve current medical staff at Qualcomm Stadium. Licensed personnel willing to volunteer for an 8-10 hour shift are asked to report to Gate “A” at Qualcomm Stadium.”

UPDATE (8:55am Lucas) I-15 is now fully open in both directions in North County San Diego.

 UPDATE (8:45am David) I'm hearing Michael Chertoff speaking which scares the heck out of me.  The calvary is coming (Could they, um, not come)!  Word of a new fire in the Rancho Cucamonga area around the 210 and 215 Freeways. 

UPDATE (8:23am Lucas): SDG&E is requesting power conservation all day.  Several transmission lines are down and transformer explosions are a fire risk.  San Pascual Fire was started by exploding transformer.  Overtaxing the lines could lead to further failure.

UPDATE (8:20am Lucas): Witch Fire update from CalFire verbatim with breaks removed from UT Fireblog: “* 164,000 acres. One percent contained.
* Seven firefighters and one civilian have been injured. Two additonal injuries were reported this morning – it is unknown as yet if they were firefighters or civilians. 500 homes destroyed. 250 damaged. 100 commercial properties destroyed, 75 damaged.  50 outbuildings destroyed, 50 damaged. Winds are blowing south and south west at 10 t0 20 miles per hour. The temperature is 75 degrees, humidity is at 6 percent. The fire is passing through several communites including parts of San Diego, Poway, Ramona, Lakeside, Valley Center, San Marcos, Rincon, Wildcat Canyon and Rancho Santa Fe, said Cal Fire Capt. Don Camp. The fire is burning between Interstates 5 and 15 and is heading west towards the beach.

UPDATE (8:16am Lucas): Total Evacuees now at 500,000 throughout the county.  U-Haul is offering free storage for 30 days on a first come/first served basis.  Anyone with air mattresses, padding, blankets, sleeping bags- bedding is in shortest supply at Qualcomm and presumably elsewhere.  People were sleeping on the asphalt in the Qualcomm parking lot last night.

UPDATE (7:50am Lucas): Fire Stat updates. Rice Fire: 6100 acres burned, 1 injury, 500 homes burned, 30 damaged. Winds at 50mph, burning on both sides of I-15 towards Fallbrook, may merge with Riverside's Rosa Fire.  Fallbrook could be threatened in 12 hours, Fallbrook and Oceanside in 24 hours. 0% containment.  Harris Fire: 70,000 acres burned, 200 homes destroyed, 250 damaged, homes destroyed could reach 500.  Fire moving rapidly Southwest into Chula Vista/ Otay Lakes area. 5% contained.