#napa-wildfires

#napa-wildfires

"They didn't even try to fly away. They just feebly made noise," a woman told the Santa Barbara Independent on Saturday after spotting over two dozen dead or dying cormorants near Goleta Beach. "A few were on their stomachs, wings spread [and] gasping for breath.... Heartbreaking."

"What's the consequences if we allow 800 residents to be in a severe fire with no evacuation routes? We're being asked to choose between two really bad options."

"Nobody is asking for this. None of the farm groups want this. No one in conservation wants this. Nobody." Robert Bonnie, former Forest Service undersecretary, highlights widespread opposition to the reorganization.

Beatriz Coca, a retired psychologist, discovered the need for a temporary power pole during her home construction process, highlighting the complexities faced by many rebuilding their homes.

"This is going to help fill that gap in minutes to hours lead time that's vital to know where the heaviest rain is going to hit," Ralph said. "And when and what communities are going to be affected so people in the preparedness community and water resource management community can take action to help protect people's lives and property."

"Fire-hardened homes are the future of the state of California," said El Dorado County Supervisor George Turnboo.

The surge of water, more than 22,400 gallons a second, plunged from the foot of Warm Springs Dam, launching a fine mist above. That was the spectacle of abundance last week at Lake Sonoma, the North Bay's largest reservoir, where the U.S. Army Corps was releasing what dam managers call an "oversupply" - the welcome product of heavy runoff from recent storms.

A week later, powerful Santa Ana winds arrived, picked up some bits of rubber from one of the tractor's scorched tires and carried them over the containment area into dry vegetation, bringing the fire back to life, according to investigators. The subsequent blaze, the Mountain fire, burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed roughly 250 homes and structures in Camarillo Hills and nearby communities in western Ventura County.

The exact volume of the spill remains unknown as crews continue to monitor the site. Tiffen noted that a final estimate will not be available until reports are submitted to state regulators, adding that the massive volume of stormwater currently in the river makes testing for pathogens more difficult. "It's complicated by the amount of storm water and how that would affect testing regardless of a spill," Tiffen said. "Because it tends to muddy the water, so to speak."

One year ago, Nancy Ward, then the director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency to spearhead the cleanup of toxic ash and fire debris cloaking more than 12,000 homes across Los Angeles County. Although Ward's decision ensured the federal government would assume the bulk of disaster costs, it came with a major trade off.