(x-posted from DailyKos)
The skies are finally clearing above Los Angeles. For days, they've been that peculiar yellowish color. The Station fire, largest in county history, is 42% contained. So far, the official cause is arson.
Meanwhile, the city of Los Angeles has imposed water rationing, and hundreds of miles to the north, the California state legislature prepares to tackle the water issue. Governor Schwarzenegger claims that the cause of the drought is the Delta smelt, a two inch long fish.
Everything has a cause, but some causes are more important than others.
Not to be completely depressing on New Year's Eve, but this article about the impact of climate change on the California landscape is a must-read.
Where celebrities, surfers and wannabes mingle on Malibu's world-famous beaches, there may be only sea walls defending fading mansions from the encroaching Pacific. In Northern California, tourists could have to drive farther north or to the cool edge of the Pacific to find what is left of the region's signature wine country.
Abandoned ski lifts might dangle above snowless trails more suitable for mountain biking even during much of the winter. In the deserts, Joshua trees that once extended their tangled, shaggy arms into the sky by the thousands may have all but disappeared.
"We need to be attentive to the fact that changes are going to occur, whether it's sea level rising or increased temperatures, droughts and potentially increased fires," said Lisa Sloan, a scientist who directs the Climate Change and Impacts Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "These things are going to be happening."
We could be talking about the end of ski season as we know it (at least with real snow), less rainfall in the south and the attendant issues with water supplies and wildfires, the potential for 10-year drought cycles, a wiping out of the Joshua trees that line the high desert, the death of both giant sequoias and untold amounts of marine life, and resource skirmishes, particularly between farmers in the Central Valley and the more populous cities.
Oh yeah, and rising sea levels of up to 20 feet.
Will the rising sea swamp the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the nation's busiest harbor complex, turning them into a series of saltwater lakes? Will funky Ocean Beach, an island of liberalism in conservative San Diego County, become, literally, its own island [...]
The changing sea will present trouble for much of the state's land-dwelling population, too. A sea level rise of 3 to 6 feet would inundate the airports in San Francisco and Oakland. Many of the state's beaches would shrink.
"If you raise sea level by a foot, you push a cliff back 100 feet," said Jeff Severinghaus, professor of geosciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. "There will be a lot of houses that will fall into the ocean."
We can pass laws and write regulations and pat ourselves on the back, and we can encourage new technologies that may reduce carbon output, but we'd better also prepare for the inevitability of the changes the world's population has already put into motion. They're particularly acute in this state.
Now that you're completely depressed, happy new year!
They're Baaaaack! (Cross-posted from OpenLeft, thanks to a gentle nudge from Lucas O'Connor.]
I live in Long Beach, walking distance from San Pedro Bay, the southern edge of the Los Angeles Basin, and today there are wildfires raging on the other edge of the Los Angeles Basin. Over 100 houses have been evacutated, and over 2,000 acres burned so far. I can look out my window as I type this and see the smoke. It's not as bad as the fires one month ago. But it's a stark reminder of quickly and easily those fires could return. So I'm going to republish an article I wrote about the fires for Random Lengths News.
The image below combines a satelite photo of the fires from last month with Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother." She was a refuge from the most famous megadrought of the last century. But there's been much worse centuries ago, and there's much worse to come, according to scientists I spoke with.
I was going to make this a quick hit but it's a little too ridiculous to not allow for comments.
File under "heckuva job from the gang that can't shoot straight" in your FEMA folder. It was announced earlier today that FEMA's external affairs director Pat Philbin would not be promoted to head of public relations for the director of national intelligence. The decision comes after Philbin set up a fake briefing in which actual reporters called in but could not ask questions while Deputy Director Harvey Johnson took questions from FEMA employees.
FEMA Director David Paulison said disciplinary measures are being taken against several employees over the staged California Wildfire briefing, which Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff ripped as "one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've ever seen since I've been in government." Dana Petrino, in her infinite brilliance, noted that "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House."
FEMA, interestingly, is one of the few organizations to have not come under particular criticism for its response to the wildfires and its performance has been well received for the most part. But I guess even (apparently) doing things right doesn't preempt obfuscation and coverup these days.
As the smoke begins to clear in San Diego, the stories and reactions to the fire will start competing with the recovery effort atop the fold. First on the minds of many in government seems, not surprisingly, to be response time and firefighting capacity. Unforunately, Republicans are again demonstrating that they make up in bluster what they lack in remote semblance of coherence. Southern California Republican Congressmen such as Duncan Hunter, Brian Bilbray, Darrell Issa, Jerry Lewis, Elton Gallegly and Dana Rohrabacher have been lining up for every available reporter to knock Governor Schwarzenegger and the state's CalFire bureaucracy for supposedly impeding firefighting efforts throughout the region last week. They've flown so dramatically off the handle in fact that even Chris Reed has it right on their craziness- or at least part of it:
The congressmen who are doing such a good job exposing the state's bureaucratic tomfoolery in its wildfire response have some explaining to do themselves. Couldn't they have spared an earmark to cover the cost of outfitting the California Air National Guard's C-130 with a fire-retardant tank, something that was promised to happen after the 2003 wildfires but never did?
Instead, Duncan Hunter funneled $63 million into the DP-2 Vectored Thrust Aircraft boondoggle. And Dana Rohrabacher worried more about buying expensive planes the military didn't want than about helping California's wildfire-fighting capacity. This is from a May story in the Washington Post:
... Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has made one of the biggest earmark requests in the new Congress, seeking $2.4 billion to build 10 more C-17 planes -- which the Pentagon has said it does not need.
These gentlemen have ended up discussing almost every issue in the country, all in the context of the fire. And they've managed to be completely wrong every time. So without further ado, an "oh the humanity" sampling from the past week.
Today is the second day with a special SoCal wildfire blog roundup. In a little while, I'll post a blog roundup on other topics that will cover the last couple days.
The images are strikingly similar. People of color, including children, standing in the middle of a disaster, crying out for help.
First it was Katrina. Today it's the aftermath of the San Diego County wildfires, where Latino families at refugee centers are reporting family members being taken away by U.S. Border Patrol agents, according to reports on Spanish-language radio and TV. More on the flip...
Normally I go through between two and three hundred blog posts for one day of California Blog Roundups. Today there were right around 500 posts in my feed reader, and almost the entire difference was the fires in Southern California.
To that end, everything below the fold is about the fires, and there's a lot. I will try to catch up with everything else tomorrow.
This is cross posted at the Huffington Post. If you've seen California Lt. Governor John Garamendi on CNN or MSNBC today, you'll agree with his statement that, "we need our troops back from Iraq."
This post deals with that.
Today, we all extend our sympathies and prayers to those devastated by the wildfires in California. Millions of Americans are impacted by this natural disaster.
Neighbors should help neighbors in their time of need. As Governor of New Mexico, I ordered two fire crews (strike teams, with 5 engines and 21 crew members each) to California. As a candidate for President, I donated to the American Red Cross and I encourage you to do so as well, click here to do so.
But as someone who believes the war in Iraq is a complete disaster and that we need to get our troops out now (www.getourtroopsout.com), I look at the natural disaster in California and feel compelled to also ask President Bush and every candidate who thinks it is okay for our troops to remain in Iraq until 2013 or longer - where is our National Guard?
It is a sad irony that yesterday, the very day I sent fire crews to California, 300 more New Mexico National Guard members were sent to Iraq. Just when we need them most at home, more of our brave men and women, true public servants, are sent away to a war we cannot win.
Never before in our history has our National Guard, a group of dedicated men and women who serve our country and provide critical aid in the time of natural disasters been used, and re-used, for so long to fight a war tens of thousands of miles away.
In California, the Guard force is authorized to have over 21,000 members. Today, that number is just under 15,000. Why the decline? I believe it has nothing to do with a diminished commitment to service, but rather is a frustration with having that commitment abused, and families turned upside down, just so President Bush can continue to pretend his war can succeed.
George Bush, his Republican friends and the Democrats who continue to allow this war to continue have not only broken our military, they've broken our National Guard.
The news this morning had images of Americans fleeing to a huge sports arena for shelter during a natural disaster that struck a familiar chord. When Katrina struck and the floods hit two years ago, a good portion of the Louisiana National Guard was in Iraq. How many people died in the days it took to get proper personnel on the ground in New Orleans? Today, as the fires rage, California has National Guard men, women, and critical equipment thousands of miles away in Iraq.
They need to come home. We need them here.
This has gone on long enough. When a national disaster hits, our states depend on the National Guard. Right now, President Bush is robbing Peter to pay Paul to continue his disastrous adventure in Iraq, and when tragedy hits us here at home, Americans are stuck with the bill. This cannot continue.
Bush won't end this war. Congress must. And they must end it now. We shouldn't have to wait until January, and we certainly can't wait until 2013 - we need our troops out of harm's way and our National Guard members back home where they belong.
Join my call at www.getourtroopsout.com to push Congress to begin ending this war now. Not in January, not next spring, not next year - now.
The war in Iraq is a tragedy, and compounding it by leaving our citizens here at home defenseless is an even greater crime.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
They're Baaaaack! (Cross-posted from OpenLeft, thanks to a gentle nudge from Lucas O'Connor.]