Tag Archives: wildfires

October 23, 2007 Blog Roundup and Open Thread

Today’s Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed in comments, or just use this as an open thread.

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

Read This

Southern California is
Burning

Republicans Renew Dirty
Tricks Campaign While Socal Burns

Dem Leadership Fails
(Peter Stark and Us)

Local

The Rest

October 22, 2007 Blog Roundup and Open Thread

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

San Mateo County Straw
Poll

Local

The Speaker’s Pet Project

Everything Else

Catalina Wildfire UPDATE

(Video courtesy of CatalinaPhotographer.com)

Here’s an update from today’s OC Register on the Catalina Wildfire:

A wildfire that has burned an estimated 4,200 acres of hillside brush on Santa Catalina Island is now about 50 percent contained, according to a report released this morning.

Full containment is expected sometime Monday, one day earlier than previously expected. Cool, moist weather assisted firefighters overnight in making progress on containing the fire.

Residents have been allowed to return but visitors are still barred from the island until further notice.

About 4,000 people were evacuated from Avalon on Thursday night and Friday morning, as officials worried about the fire possibly creeping into town. But fortunately, Avalon has mostly been spared. Only one home and six industrial buildings on the outskirts of town have so far been destroyed.

And thank goodness for all the brave firefighters who have been busy controlling this blazing inferno! Some 21 firefighters and 5 fire engines from Orange County have been assisting all the LA County firefighters in containing this blaze. Hopefully soon, all these courageous individuals will be allowed to come home once this fire is dead and gone.

Farewell to Dante’s view

Until I visited it on a hike through Griffith Park this April, I had no idea Dante’s View even existed.  And when I found out, I became quite partial to it.  After all, my real name is Dante–it was nice to have a view named after me.

But Dante’s View is no more.

Now, it’s early May.  We should be having nice spring weather.  But no.  I live in the Miracle Mile region of L.A. and it has been in the mid-90’s the past couple of days.

And we’re also treated to news like this:

Downtown Los Angeles is close to setting a record for lack of rainfall. County officials issued a report earlier this week that found the moisture level of hillside brush was 50% lower this May than a year earlier. The brush is expected to dry considerably more during the summer and early fall.

And this:

The fire was the park’s worst in at least three decades and was the latest of several to strike the Hollywood Hills in what has been the driest year on record.

I was going to take my mom to the poppy fields by Lancaster for Mother’s Day.  But–what do you know–there aren’t any.

It’s true that we had record rainfall in 2005–but that was an aberration.  We’ve been getting increasingly drier down here in Southern California.

Our climate is changing.  I don’t know why it’s so hard to convince people that we ought to do whatever we can to at least slow it down.

How much more beauty and life will we need to lose?

Naranja News: Today’s Wild and Wonderful OC News Roundup

Here are today’s wild and wonderful OC stories that you just have to see to believe!

TABOR for All? In yesterday’s OC Register, Rep. John Ken-doll Campbell offers us an “American Taxpayer Bill of Rights” to fix all the fiscal woes that those “tax and spend Democrats” are already creating:

The road back to fiscal sanity in Washington is likely to be a long slog, unless Republicans are willing to boldly recommit ourselves to the principles that earned us the reputation as the party of lower taxes and less government. Today the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of approximately 100 fiscal and social conservatives in the House, will do just that when we unveil the American Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Unfortunately for Ken-doll Campbell, Dan Chmielewski ain’t buying any of this “TABOR talk”.

But Republicans are hardly the party of less government. The size of the California government rose under Ronald Reagan. It rose under Pete Wilson. And it’s risen under Arnold Schwarzenegger. The size of the Federal Government grew under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The president who actually reduced government: Bill Clinton, under the RE-GO initiative led by then VP Al Gore shrunk the size of the Federal Government to the lowest point since the Kennedy Administration.

Read the rest of what he has to say at The Liberal OC.

And you say only Iowa and New Hampshire have town hall meetings? Nope, not true… ‘Cuz we’ll be having a series of them in Santa Ana over the next month. OK, OK, we won’t have anyone “famous”… We’ll just be talking with our city leaders about youth issues, business development, neighborhood concerns, and more. Ryan Gene has more about it at Orange Juice.

Advantage Janet? In case you forgot, our Special Election for County Supervisor is still in court. However, there was an interesting turn of events inside the courthouse yesterday. Peggy Lowe has the latest in Total Buzz. And finally…

“Do I stay or do I go?” Ellyn Pak talks about that grueling decision that thousands of Anaheim Hills and East Orange residents had to face as the threat of fire loomed over their neighborhoods in today’s OC Register.

UPDATE: Windy Ridge (Anaheim) Fire Now Contained

(Video courtesy of atL3x on YouTube)

Here’s the latest update on the Windy Ridge Wildfire, courtesy of The OC Register:

It’s now contained. The fire is now 100% contained, and should by fully controlled by 6 p.m. tomorrow.

But we’ve still got plenty of firefighters on the scene. Over 400 firefighters and 800 total personnel are still there. However, crews are now being sent home.

Pretty big price tag. The cost of fighting this fire is estimated at $1.5 million, but expected to double.

Firefighters injured. Three firefighters had minor to moderate injuries. One was treated for smoke inhalation, while another had an allergic reaction to an insect bite. A firefighter who suffered an ax wound to the face had his injury upgraded from minor to moderate.

3 structures have burned. One single-family home with a shake roof in the 6800 block of Avenida de Santiago in Anaheim Hills was damaged. Two outbuildings in the 6900 block of Overlook Terrace in Anaheim Hills were destroyed.

2,740 homes still evacuated. 240 of them are in Anaheim Hills, while 2,500 of them are in Orange. All evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes.

The roads are open again. All roads are open, including all lanes on the 241 toll road.

Hopefully once the fire has been put out, everyone can return home safely. And hopefully, those three families who have lost their homes will be able to find new homes very soon.

Tonight’s Windy Ridge (Anaheim) Fire UPDATE

(Video courtesy of watashiwabritney on YouTube)

Here’s the latest update on the Windy Ridge Wildfire, courtesy of The OC Register:

2,740 homes have been evacuated. 240 of those homes are in Anaheim Hills, and 2,500 are in Orange. All evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes. Residents in the Hidden Canyon area in Anaheim Hills are still under voluntary evacuation. Only residents will be allowed into the neighborhood.

3 structures were burned today. One single-family home with a shake roof in the in Anaheim Hills was damaged, while another two houses in Anaheim Hills have been completely destroyed.

80% contained? So far, that’s the latest estimate. As of tonight, 2,080 acres have been burned.

Some roads are still closed. Most roads in Anaheim Hills and East Orange are open. However in the vicinity of Serrano and the Hidden Canyon area in Anaheim Hills, the roads are still closed. Only residents are allowed in. Only two lanes are open on the 241 toll road.

Firefighters are still on the scene. Right now, over 100 fire engines, 5 bulldozers, 20 strike teams, 20 hand crews, about 600 firefighters are working to contain the fire. However, 800 firefighters and structural firefighters who worked here yesterday were dismissed today.

Was this arson? A burning abandoned car with stolen license plates ignited vegetation about 50 feet off the 241 toll road yesterday morning, and authorities are feeling quite sure now that this caused the great fire. Police suspect that this car was deliberately set on fire, and they are asking anyone who saw suspects running from the vicinity Sunday morning to call authorities.

All of us in OC are watching what happens at Windy Ridge right now. And yes, I’m still hoping that all these poor folks can return home safely and soon.

Windy Ridge (Anaheim) Fire UPDATE

(Video courtesy of watashiwabritney on YouTube)

Here’s the latest update on the Windy Ridge Wildfire, courtesy of The OC Register:

1,220 people were evacuated. And though some people were allowed to return home last night, many must still stay away from their own homes as the threat of fire looms nearby.

4 structures have been destroyed. Fortunately, only 2 of those were single-family residences. But still, as the temperatures rises and humidity drops today, more homes may be threatened.

30% contained. So far, 2,036 acres have been burned. However, authorities are hoping that not too many more become scorched as they expect to fully contain the fire within the next 24 hours.

Two firefighters were injured. And now, both firefighters injured have been treated. One was treated for an ax wound to the face, and the other for smoke inhalation.

Did a really stupid criminal cause all this? Apparently, this all started when some jackass criminal set fire to a car with stolen license plates (Hmmm… I wonder who stole them…). Seriously, why are such idiots allowed to roam this earth freely?

So anyways, this is what’s happening in OC right now. Let’s just hope that all these poor folks can return home safely and soon.