California is Burning

Katheryne Helendale

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In Sonoma County, firefighters have been able to continue to prevent the Kincade Fire from growing, holding it to 77,758 acres, while increasing its containment to 74 percent. Authorities have begun to allow some people back into some areas that had been evacuated.

Down south, the Getty Fire in the Sepulveda Pass area of Los Angeles County remains at 745 acres, and is now 79 percent contained. Los Angeles Fire Department has indicated this will be their last update on the fire, which had destroyed ten homes and damaged 15 others in the Brentwood neighborhood. The cause of the fire, which had started early in the morning on October 28th, was a tree branch which had been blown into high-voltage power lines.

The Easy Fire in Ventura County's Simi Valley remains at 1,860 acres, and is reported at full containment. At least two structures have burned, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Hill Fire in the Jurupa Valley area of Riverside County is reported fully contained after burning 494 acres, which is a change from the earlier 628 acre estimation. One home was destroyed and another damaged.

The 46 Fire , also in the Jurupa Valley, has bumped up to 328 acres, and is now 90 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

There is no update on the Hillside Fire in San Bernardino County.

The Maria Fire near Santa Paula in Ventura County continues to receive the majority of firefighters' attention, as they manage to gain some containment of the fire. Earlier today, the fire was reported as having burned 10,700 acres, but that number has since been amended to 9,412 acres. The fire is now 30 percent contained. At least three structures have been destroyed.
 
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Brenda Archer

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Column: California fires show it's private enterprise, not government, that can't get things right
By Michael Hiltzik

But the electricity shutoffs across the state, aimed at reducing the chance that a spark from utility equipment will start a fire, are the handiwork of our private utilities, artifacts of their failure to spend more money on their infrastructure rather than shareholder dividends.

Federal Judge William Alsup of San Francisco, who is overseeing PG&E’s probation after its criminal conviction in connection with the 2010 gas line explosion that killed eight in San Bruno, implicitly acknowledged as much in an order last January. In his order, Alsup tasked the company to “remove or trim all trees that could fall onto its power lines” as well as “identify and fix all conductors that might swing together and arc ... under high-wind conditions,” among other steps that the company had been expected to take under existing law. Alsup observed that California fire authorities blamed PG&E for 18 wildfires in 2017 and referred 12 of them for possible criminal prosecution.

He wrote of the imperative to “protect the public from further wrongs” by PG&E and “deter similar wrongs from other utilities.” Alsup further noted “PG&E’s history of falsification of inspection reports.” PG&E argued that the order was so broad it would interfere with its operations.

In July, Alsup further criticized the company for spending on campaign contributions “even quite recently” and distributing $5 billion in shareholder dividends prior to filing for bankruptcy. He demanded to know why the company had made those expenditures instead of “replacing or repairing [its] aging transmission lines ... and removing or trimming the backlog of hazard trees.”
 

Katheryne Helendale

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That sounds about right. PG&E's not alone, though. Southern California Edison hasn't been doing a stellar job of maintaining their infrastructure either. It's looking like the Maria Fire was caused by sparks from SCE's power transmission lines. Ironically, that particular line had been de-energized as part of SCE's Public Safety Power Shutoff. Re-energizing the line caused the sparks that ignited the fire.
 

Katheryne Helendale

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So, now he's basically threatening to cut off all federal funding for California's fight against its wildfires, just because we haven't "properly cleaned our forest floors. Never mind the fact that out of all the major fires burning right now, none of them are in forests.
 

Sid

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Katheryne Helendale

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The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County remains at 77,758, while containment has improved to 78 percent. All evacuation orders are being lifted, and evacuated residents are being allowed to return to their homes, or what's left of them. The fire has destroyed 374 structures.

Growth of the Maria Fire burning in the Santa Paula area of Ventura County has been halted, with the fire remaining at 9,412 acres. Containment has jumped to 70 percent as of this evening. Evacuated residents are being allowed to return to their homes.

Back to the north, in Tehama County, a new fire ignited today. Dubbed the Ranch Fire, it has burned around 500 acres south of Red Bluff. The fire has no containment at this time. Although no evacuations have been ordered as of yet, residents in the area have been warned that evacuations may be imminent.
 

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Short read written by a young woman growing up and living in California and how she views what is happening.

 

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So, now he's basically threatening to cut off all federal funding for California's fight against its wildfires, just because we haven't "properly cleaned our forest floors. Never mind the fact that out of all the major fires burning right now, none of them are in forests.
But he'll help daddy Vladdy with his fires.....
 

Katheryne Helendale

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Katheryne Helendale

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The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County remains at 77,758 acres while it inches toward containment, now at 82 percent.

The Ranch Fire in a remote part of Tehama County southwest of Red Bluff has grown to 1,308 acres, and is 15 percent contained. There is no word on whether any evacuations have been required.

The Maria Fire in the Santa Paula area of Ventura County has grown due to better mapping of the fire area. It has been adjusted to 9,999 acres. Containment is now at 90 percent, and firefighters expect to have full containment by Thursday. A total of four structures have been destroyed by the fire.
 

Katheryne Helendale

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The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County remains at 77,758 acres, and containment has increased to 86 percent. Authorities expect full containment by Thursday. Recovery efforts in the burn areas have begun as residents have been returning since Saturday to survey what is left. 374 structures, which includes 174 homes, have been destroyed.

The Ranch Fire in a remote part of Tehama County southwest of Red Bluff has exploded to 3,600 acres, more than doubling in size since yesterday. Containment remains at 15 percent. No buildings are threatened, but smoke is filling an already smoke-choked Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, as well as the Bay Area.

There is no update on the Maria Fire burning near the Ventura County town of Santa Paula.
 

Katheryne Helendale

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The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County is fully contained, according to Cal Fire. The fire has, in the 14 days it has been active, blackened 77,758 acres, destroyed 374 structures, 174 of which were homes, and damaged 60 other structures. There were no deaths attributable to the fire, but four firefighters were injured in the performance of their duties.

The Ranch Fire burning in a remote part of Tehama County southwest of Red Bluff has grown to 3,768 acres, and is now 30 percent contained.

The Maria Fire in Ventura County remains at 9,990 acres and 95 percent containment.
 
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Katheryne Helendale

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The Maria Fire in Ventura County is fully contained and effectively out, according to Ventura County Fire. The fire has burned 9,999 acres since it started a week ago, and has burned three structures. Cause of the fire is still being investigated, but a malfunction with Southern California Edison transmission lines in the area is strongly suspected.

The Ranch Fire in Tehama County southwest of Red Bluff has been adjusted to 2,534 acres, and is now 40 percent contained, as reported by Cal Fire.

Cal Fire is tracking one active fire within the State of California - The Ranch Fire in Tehama County.
 
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The Maria Fire in Ventura County is fully contained and effectively out, according to Ventura County Fire. The fire has burned 9,999 acres since it started a week ago, and has burned three structures.
When I read something like that I'm pretty sure their measurements aren't .01% accurate. Couldn't they have just called it 10000?
 

Katheryne Helendale

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Just when I was starting to think the fire season was over...

A fire sparked in the mountains above Santa Barbara this afternoon. Dubbed the Cave Fire, it has exploded to 3,300 acres since it was reported at around 4:15 this afternoon along State Route 154. At least one structure has burned, and evacuation orders are in place for the area immediately north of Santa Barbara and Goleta. There is no containment at this time.