TimesOC: Veteran firefighters are stunned by how quickly today’s wildfires spread
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Good morning, it’s Wednesday, June 30. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.
Much has been reported about the unprecedented heat wave that stalled over Oregon, Washington and western Canada this week, making lives miserable for a populace unused to a need for air conditioning. It was hot in the Southland last week, but we did not see thermometers burst in Orange County in quite the same way they did for our friends in the north. At least not so far, but we’re early into the summer season.
There is reason for all of us to keep our eyes on the changing weather patterns, the drought and attendant wildfire conditions for our personal safety. My colleagues Faith E. Pinho and Alex Wigglesworth this week report that state officials say it’s the incredible rate at which such conditions are accelerating that is of great concern. They caution that we face a summer of widespread wildfires and mandatory water conservation.
California joins Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana and Idaho in “experiencing extreme and exceptional droughts, the two most severe types, reports my colleague Celina Tebor.
Here at home vegetation has dried out, and conditions are as bad now as we more typically experience in the fall, according to the reports.
“We’re seeing fires move fast,” Chief Brian Fennessy of the Orange County Fire Authority told reporters Pinho and Wigglesworth. “Fires that normally would be an acre, 2 acres, 5 acres, so far this year are getting to 30, 50 and beyond. We are seeing fire spread that is even stunning many of us that have been doing this for a very long time — fire spread that could quite easily surprise many of the citizens within this region.”
And so we must consider ourselves forewarned. A look back at a few of the fires just within the past seven months might be in order to refresh our minds:
— One typically hot, arid and windy October week last year found firefighters battling two Orange County blazes, the Blue Ridge and Silverado fires. While the entire region was blanketed with the smoke and ashes, it was the residents of Yorba Linda and Irvine who faced the brunt of those fires, and many were ordered to evacuate their homes.
— The Bond fire last December led to mandatory evacuations in Silverado Canyon, Modjeska Canyon, Williams Canyon, Black Star and Baker canyons and portions of Portola Hills and Foothill Ranch.
—And just this month a small series of brush fires cropped up along the 73 toll road near Newport Coast at around 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, reminding some locals of the devastating 1993 Laguna Canyon fire. The progress on the June 16 blazes was stopped by more than 100 firefighters in less than three hours, so O.C. dodged catastrophe on those.
A final word to the wise: This week the National Interagency Fire Center raised its preparedness level to 4, the second-highest level it has. The last time it was raised that high was in 2002, one fire official told Pinho and Wigglesworth. “And prior to that, the last time was 1991,” he said.
MORE NEWS
— The driver accused of being an accessory to the alleged May road rage killing on the 55 freeway is now out on bail, officials at the Orange County district attorney’s office confirmed on Monday. Jail records indicate that Wynne Lee, 23, was released on Saturday on a bail of $100,000.
— Four children and two adults were injured Monday afternoon when a charter school bus collided with a minivan in Santa Ana.
— More than 180 people applied to be considered for the seat on the Huntington Beach City Council that was left vacant when controversial Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz abruptly resigned. The sitting council members will conduct interviews with prospective candidates on July 9 and 10. The final deliberations and appointment are scheduled to take place at a council meeting on July 20.
— A Garden Grove man pleaded not guilty Friday in the sexual assault of a fellow patient at a Huntington Beach hospital early last week. Adrian Alfredo Sanchez, 27, faces several felony charges including assault
with the intent to commit sexual offense and rape in relationship to the incident.
— A labor shortage, one of the after-effects of the 15-month-long closures forced by the pandemic, has reached the shores of Newport Beach. Civic leaders there have decided to meet the challenge head-on by creating the first Newport Beach Job Fair, which takes place from noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Civic Center. About 25 businesses on the hunt for prospective employees will be represented there.
— Laguna Beach Unified School District employees will receive a 4% salary increase for the 2021-22 fiscal year, after a collective bargaining agreement was ratified last week. Under the salary schedule adopted, teachers in the district will receive a minimum of $63,865 for less than 10 years of experience, a bachelor’s degree and up to 55 graduate semester units.
— Costa Mesa-based Boy Scouts of America Troop 339 celebrated 60 years as an organization on Saturday. Dozens of people, including Scouts, family members and troop alumni showed up for the event at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.
SPORTS
— The family of the late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the team and two former employees after his overdose death almost two years ago, alleging that an Angels employee supplied drugs to multiple players.
— Laguna Beach’s Nyjah Huston, who has made millions off his enormous skill as a skateboarder, brings a fierce commitment to training to a rebellious sport, writes sportswriter David Wharton in a feature story prior to the 26-year-old’s trip to Tokyo to compete in the Summer Olympics. “People assume they know you, but they don’t,” Huston told Wharton. “I’ve made money from a young age but it’s never taken away from my love of skateboarding. I don’t just do this for money.”
— Grant Stuard, who was taken with the last pick of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, received the traditional Mr. Irrelevant surf lesson at 50th Street in Newport Beach on Saturday. On Monday he was feted at the annual Irrelevant All-Star Lowsman Banquet at the Cannery restaurant.
LIFE & LEISURE
— Muralist Nancy Hadley recently completed a huge painting of a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, whose wingspan stretches 65 feet, on the exterior wall of a Quonset hut at Pacific Mesa Properties in Costa Mesa, on a portion of the former Santa Ana Army Air Base. The site manager of the acreage where several Quonset huts are still standing hopes to see more of them boasting artwork depicting Orange County’s history.
— The cities of Laguna Beach and Newport Beach have put their summer trolley services back into action. In Laguna you can ride the trolley daily through Labor Day, while Newport’s free Balboa Peninsula trolley runs on weekends.
— “The Amazing Spider-Man Show” on the Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure features a robotic Spider-Man stunt double that soars more than 65 feet into the air. One of the secrets behind the “Stuntronics” on display is that a robot can’t stick a landing, so some sleight of hand comes into play. Read my colleague Christi Carras’ interviews with the Imagineering pros behind the scenes.
— On Sunday we mark Independence Day. Is your backyard barbecue repertoire becoming stale? Food columnist Ben Mims offers up his chicken, ribs and tri-tip recipes for a celebratory Fourth of July feast.
— Dotty McDonald, 91, logged more than 2,000 hours as a Newport Beach Police Department volunteer until a surgery took her off the streets. Now, she supports officers by giving them gift cards — lots of them. On Monday, she presented a whopping $6,000 in gift cards to Police Chief Jon Lewis for use by employees during the long holiday weekend ahead.
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