KYIV/HRAKOVE, Ukraine, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Ukrainian officials shared photos on Saturday showing troops raising the nation’s flag over the main railway city that has supplied Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, as a collapse in Russia’s frontline threatened to turn into a rout.
A Reuters journalist inside a vast area recaptured in recent days by the advancing Ukrainian forces saw Ukrainian police patrolling towns and boxes of ammunition lying in heaps at positions abandoned by fleeing Russian soldiers.
With Ukrainians now having reached the city of Kupiansk, where rail lines linking Russia to eastern Ukraine converge, the advance had penetrated all the way to Moscow’s main logistics route, potentially trapping thousands of Russian troops.
Natalia Popova, adviser to the head of the Kharkiv regional council, shared photos on Facebook of troops holding up a Ukrainian flag in front of Kupiansk city hall. A Russian flag lay at their feet. “Kupiansk is Ukraine. Glory to the armed forces of Ukraine,” she wrote.
Ukraine’s security service confirmed Kyiv had forces inside Kupiansk.
In Hrakove, one of dozens of recaptured villages, Reuters saw burnt out vehicles bearing the “Z” symbol of Russia’s invasion, and piles of rubbish and ammunition in positions the Russians had abandoned in evident haste.
“Hello everyone, we are from Russia,” was spraypainted on a wall.
Three bodies lay in white body bags in a yard.
The regional chief of police, Volodymyr Tymoshenko, said Ukrainian police had moved in the previous day, and had checked the identities of local residents who had lived under Russian occupation since the invasion’s second day.
“The first function is to provide help that they need. The next job is to document the crimes committed by Russian invaders on the territories which they temporarily occupied.”
The capture of at least part of Kupiansk, if confirmed, potentially leaves thousands of Russian soldiers trapped at the frontline and cut off from supplies, including in Izium, Russia’s main stronghold and logistics hub in the northeast.
Reuters could not independently verify the situation in either Kupiansk or Izium. Moscow has acknowledged that its frontline has buckled in Kharkiv but has said it is rushing extra troops to reinforce the area. Russian-installed regional officials have called for civilians to evacuate both cities.
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Service members of the State Security Service of Ukraine patrol of an area of the recently liberated town of Kupiansk, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine in this handout picture released September 10, 2022. Press Service of the State Security Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
Britain’s Ministry of Defence in an intelligence update said: “A Russian force around Izium is likely increasingly isolated.
“Ukrainian units are now threatening the town of Kupiansk; its capture would be a significant blow to Russia because it sits on supply routes to the Donbas front line.”
Mark Hertling, a retired four-star general and former commander of U.S. ground forces in Europe, tweeted: “Make no mistake, (Ukraine) is executing a brilliant maneuver focused on terrain objectives to ‘bag’ Russians. But the Russians are helping them — by doing very little to counter.”
ZELENSKIY HAILS SUCCESS
In an overnight video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at least 30 settlements had been liberated in Kharkiv region during the advance of recent days.
“Our army, intelligence units and the security services are carrying out active engagements in several operational areas. They are doing so successfully,” he said in a video address.
Ukrainian officials have released a barrage of images of troops sweeping into previously Russian-held towns and being embraced by local residents who had been under Russian military occupation for six months.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, in a video posted on YouTube, said the Russians in Izium were almost isolated.
Ukraine’s advance in the east is by far its most rapid success in months, after a long period in which the war had shifted into a relentless grind along entrenched front lines.
It came as a surprise just a week after Kyiv announced the start of a long-awaited counter-attack to reclaim Russian-occupied territory hundreds of kilometres away at the opposite end of the front in Kherson in the south.
Less information has been made public about that operation but Kyiv has also claimed some successes there, cutting supply routes to thousands of Russian troops isolated on the west bank of the Dnipro River.
“We see success in Kherson now, we see some success in Kharkiv and so that is very, very encouraging,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a news conference in Prague on Thursday.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions have been driven from their homes and Russian forces have destroyed entire cities since launching what Moscow calls a “special military operation” to “disarm” Ukraine. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians.
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“This ruling does not touch the University’s well-established right to express to all students its sincerely held beliefs about Torah values and sexual orientation,” the group said in its filing at the Supreme Court. At the same time, the filing adds, “it may not deny certain students access to the non-religious resources it offers the entire student community on the basis of sexual orientation.”
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — A father shared his regrets with ABC7’s sister station KGO-TV, saying he didn’t do something to keep his daughter away from the man who police say killed her Thursday in a brutal sword attack.
“Every time I saw her, I would beg her. Don’t talk to him. Leave him and it seemed like the more I did that, the more she would see him.”
From that exclusive interview, Eyewitness News is learning more about the victim and the man now being held for her murder in San Carlos.
This family wants the public to know Karina Castro, to understand what she went through, and to help bring her children home. They were taken by social workers after the attack.
Castro’s grandmother, Danielle Gannon, met with KGO-TV at her home in Vallejo on Friday.
She invited the team inside to meet her son, Marty Castro – the father of the victim in Thursday’s beheading.
Castro: “She was an amazing girl.”
Gannon: “She was an amazing woman, very stubborn, determined to raise her daughters on her own.”
Karina Castro was 27 years old, got her GED, and worked as a Door Dash driver. She left behind 7-year-old and 1-year-old girls.
She had the youngest with the man now held for her murder, 33-year-old Jose Raphael Solano Landaeta.
The family says he goes by the name Rafa Solano, and that he didn’t work. KGO-TV found some rap songs he posted on YouTube.
Gannon: “He is a diagnosed schizophrenic on meds. And he would use that as an excuse for his behavior. He drank excessively and you’re not supposed to do that on those kind of medications.”
The family confirms what the investigative team learned from law enforcement sources Thursday, that Solano had been violent with Castro and she got a restraining order against him in April, but continued to interact with him.
Castro: “If there’s somebody out there abusing your daughter, don’t take off. Don’t let it go. Don’t take no for an answer. You feel responsible, no matter what anyone says.”
Gannon: “I do too, baby.”
In the day before the murder, Snapchat messages between the couple got very contentious. The I-Team obtained more than a dozen, most with language too explicit to show.
She threatens to tell the world about Solano’s criminal record that includes a rape conviction involving a minor. He calls her “snitch lip” and warns her “F*** around and find out.”
Castro fires back, “U wanna put a target on my back, ur homies gunna kno the real u” and threatens to expose his sexual relationship with another man.
She adds, “Dude, go head try and take my a** out.”
Just hours later, they had a confrontation in the street outside her apartment — her daughters safely inside.
Marty Castro: “He got really mad, went to the trunk of his car, pulled out whatever it was and killed her right there behind her car.”
Stunned neighbors saw it play out. Chapel Thorborne saw the gruesome aftermath.
Thorborne said, “The head was underneath the car and she was laying in back of the car, just severed, and then they covered her up.”
Castro’s family said they learned about the killing Thursday evening through media reports. Her father rushed to the scene and saw the fire department spraying down the blood on the street.
Castro: “When the deputy walked up, he would not confirm who it was. But I said that she owned that black Volkswagen. He said yeah, that’s required. That’s my daughter.”
Social workers had already taken the girls. Gannon and Marty Castro want them as soon as possible, but CPS said they’d have to go through the application process.
Gannon says, “I want those girls. That’s what I want first, then I want Rafa to fry in jail. I don’t care what happens to him.”
As KGO-TV left, Marty Castro was in tears, calling the coroner to get his daughter’s effects, calling CPS to get his grandchildren back, and calling animal control so he can pick up her dog and two cats.
The arraignment for Solano was scheduled for Friday afternoon, but it has been pushed to Monday.
The city of San Carlos and the Community Foundation are accepting donations to help Castro’s children. You can make a donation here.
Love shouldn’t hurt, but domestic violence can happen in any relationship – regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, religion or gender. These local resources can help.
The man accused in the kidnapping and murder of Memphis mother Eliza Fletcher has been charged with an additional count of aggravated kidnapping and rape in an “unrelated” case, a report said.
Cleotha Abston, 38, is facing the additional charges, Memphis police confirmed to Fox News, without providing much information other than confirmation that the new counts aren’t tied to Fletcher’s case.
Abston, who served 20 years in prison for especially aggravated kidnapping in 2000, has been charged with murdering Fletcher, the granddaughter of a late billionaire.
Fletcher was jogging around 4:20 a.m. on Sept. 2 when she was forced into a dark GMC Terrain, Memphis police said. Her smashed phone and water bottle were also found nearby.
It’s unclear at this time how Eliza Fletcher was killed.
Surveillance footage had shown Fletcher, a 34-year-old wife and mother of two, being shoved into the car.
Abston was busted the next day after DNA linked him to a pair of slides left near the kidnapping scene. He refused to tell detectives where she was.
Her body was found Monday in the “rear of a vacant duplex apartment” in an area close to where police say Abston was seen in surveillance footage vigorously cleaning out the GMC Terrain.
Memphis police on the scene where Fletcher’s body was discovered.APA video showing the moment accused kidnapper and murderer, Cleotha Abston, cleaned out his SUV after Fletcher’s kidnapping.WREG-TV
The suspect’s brother — who was separately charged with drug and gun offenses — was among those who claimed Abston was acting “strange” and scrubbing his clothes hours after the abduction, according to an affidavit.
Authorities said Tuesday the alleged attack appears to be random, explaining that Abston and Fletchers were strangers.
It’s unclear where Fletcher died and how she was killed.
The United Kingdom is in a period of national mourning for Elizabeth until her state funeral at Westminster Abbey, expected to take place in around 10 days time and be a national holiday. Crowds continued to gather in front of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral, where she died, over the weekend as tributes to the country’s longest reigning monarch, — her legacy, wit and fashion sense — poured in. Here is the latest.
Prosecutors also offered up former federal appeals court judge Thomas Griffith, a George H.W. Bush appointee who retired in 2020 from the powerful D.C. Circuit.
Trump, on the other hand, proposed Raymond Dearie, a retired chief federal judge and Ronald Reagan appointee in the Eastern District of New York who also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Dearie, who most notably presided over the corruption cases against FIFA officials, also signed one of the warrants the FBI used to surveil 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Trump’s lawyers also nominated Paul Huck Jr., who appears to have significant ties to figures in Trump’s orbit. The former Jones Day attorney advised Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007-2008, serving in his administration at the same time Trump’s current attorney, Chris Kise, was also advising Crist, who was then a Republican but is now a Democrat. Huck is married to Barbara Lagoa, a federal appeals court judge Trump also considered for the Supreme Court. Lagoa is one of 11 judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel is soon expected to consider DOJ’s appeal of Cannon’s special master order.
Another disagreement emerged over the timeline of the special master review. DOJ proposed that the review be completed by Oct. 17, while Trump’s attorneys argued that it would take more than twice as long, requesting 90 days for the process to play out.
Cannon will now consider the proposals, as well as the Justice Department’s broader objections to the special master review before deciding next steps.
Prosecutors have said if she does not act by Thursday on their request to essentially carve-out the potentially classified documents from the special master review, they plan to take their request to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit. The Justice Department has also asked Cannon to lift the portion of her Monday order that temporarily bars investigators from reviewing documents that contain potential national-security secrets.
So far, neither side appears to have formally rejected the other side’s special master candidates, but prosecutors told Cannon that they’d only gotten Trump’s names “shortly after” 6 p.m. Friday.
The main sticking point in the special master plans laid out by both sides seems to be the set of roughly 100 documents with classification markings, such as “Top Secret.” In connection with their appeal filed Thursday, prosecutors are asking that the potentially classified records be excluded from the review process the special master would undertake.
Trump’s attorneys say that material should also be subject to assessment by the special master and they argue that Trump has the right to see and potentially assert executive privilege over any classified records that qualify as presidential records under federal law.
Notably, in the Friday night filing, Trump’s attorneys once again did not echo Trump’s claim that he had declassified any of the materials he possessed at Mar-a-Lago.
Another point of disagreement: the special master’s bill. Prosecutors say Trump should bear the entire cost, since he is the one who requested the independent arbiter. Trump’s team wants to go dutch, with each side paying half the bill.
The next action in the legal fight is expected Monday morning, when Trump’s attorneys face a deadline to respond to the Justice Department’s request that Cannon exempt the records with classification markings from the special master review. Trump’s lawyers signaled Friday that they plan to oppose such a carve-out.
The Justice Department and former President Donald Trump’s lawyers proposed two selections each to a federal judge for who should serve as “special master” in the Mar-a-Lago investigation.
District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the case, earlier this week granted the former President’s request to appoint a third-party attorney, known as a special master, to independently review the materials – including more than 100 classified documents – that the FBI seized from his Florida residence and resort.
Trump’s legal team has argued that the Justice Department can’t be trusted to do its own review for potentially privileged materials that should be siloed off from the criminal probe. The Justice Department on Thursday appealed the court-ordered special master review as it argued the order was putting US national security at risk.
Cannon has said she’ll decide “exact details and mechanics” of the special master process “expeditiously” after both sides submit their proposals, but it’s not clear when the judge will rule or what form that ruling will take.
Here are the four people nominated in the dueling proposals to serve as special master:
Thomas Griffith, DOJ nominee
Thomas Griffith, a retired federal judge and George W. Bush appointee, served on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals from 2005 to 2020. In one of his final major rulings before retiring, he wrote the majority opinion rejecting House Democrats’ attempt to subpoena Trump’s former White House Counsel Don McGahn. (The decision was later overturned.)
In the years since his retirement, Griffith co-authored a report alongside other prominent conservative lawyers and officials debunking Trump’s lies about massive fraud in the 2020 election. And he publicly endorsed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court.
Barbara Jones, DOJ nominee
Barbara Jones, another retired federal judge and a Clinton appointee, is a former federal prosecutor and a retired judge from the Southern District of New York from 1995 to 2012. She brings a lot of special master experience to the table, having recently served in that position for three high-profile criminal investigations with political implications.
She was tapped to serve as a special master to examine materials seized during an FBI raid of Rudy Giuliani’s home and office in April 2021. She was also a special master in the Michael Cohen case, to make sure investigators didn’t sweep up any documents that were attorney-client privileged. Both Giuliani and Cohen were Trump’s lawyers while they were investigated by the Justice Department.
More recently, Jones was the special master who examined materials that the FBI seized from Project Veritas, a right-wing group that often targets Democrats and media organizations with undercover stings. Jones was brought in to review materials for First Amendment and attorney-client considerations.
Paul Huck Jr., Trump nominee
Huck, who has his own law firm, had been a partner at the Jones Day law firm, which represented the Trump campaign in 2016, and a contributor to the conservative legal organization the Federalist Society.
Huck also previously served as the deputy attorney general for Florida and as general counsel to former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist – who was a Republican at the time but served as a Democratic member of the US House and is the Democratic nominee for governor in Florida. Chris Kise, Trump’s current lawyer, also worked for Crist and overlapped with Huck. They worked together at the Florida attorney general’s office.
Huck’s wife, Barbara Lagoa, was on Trump’s short list as a Supreme Court nominee after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.
Raymond Dearie, Trump nominee
Dearie, a Reagan nominee, has served as a federal judge in New York since 1986. He retired in 2011 and is now a senior judge on the circuit.
Dearie also served a seven-year term on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA court. He was one of the judges who approved an FBI and DOJ request to surveil Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, as part of the federal inquiry into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
The process that federal investigators used to secure the FISA warrants was riddled with errors and overall sloppiness, according to a DOJ inspector general report. Two of the four surveillance warrants granted by the secretive FISA court regarding Page have since been declared invalid – including one approved by Dearie in June 2017 – because of omissions and mistakes in the FBI’s submissions to the court.
The Trump team’s nomination of Dearie is notable because Trump has repeatedly criticized the FISA surveillance and has claimed – without evidence – that it was part of a “deep state” conspiracy to undermine his campaign.
The queen, 96, died on Thursday, ending her reign as the longest-serving British monarch. She held the crown for more than 70 years and led the monarchy through 14 U.S. presidencies. Leaders around the world mourned her death, with Biden remembering her as a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States.”
Details regarding the queen’s funeral have not yet been announced, but it’s expected to be held at Westminster Abbey, where the queen was crowned. The space typically holds more than 2,000 congregants, but for the queen’s coronation in 1953, extra seating was arranged to accommodate more than 8,000 people.
When King Edward VII, the queen’s grandfather, died in 1910, representatives of 70 states attended — marking the largest ever gathering of European royalty.
For the queen’s funeral, members of Europe’s royal families, prime ministers, presidents and ambassadors are expected to attend.
As a nearly 30,000-acre wildfire burned near Hemet on Friday, officials were optimistic that Tropical Storm Kay had not intensified the blaze, as many worried it could, but instead brought some relief.
Fearing the worst from intense winds and lightning, officials ordered more evacuations late Thursday in advance of the storm.
For the record:
3:22 p.m. Sept. 9, 2022An earlier version of this article stated the Fairview fire had grown to be the largest of the season in California. The McKinney fire in Siskiyou County, which burned over 60,000 acres, is this year’s largest wildfire.
But by Friday evening, officials said the “much-needed precipitation” from Kay had indeed slowed the spread of the Fairview fire, allowing them to boost containment from 5% to 40% and reduce some evacuation orders to warnings, though cautioning that the situation remained “dynamic.”
They remained concerned that the storm system could create flash floods, debris flows and other hazards.
“The concern we have is as we get more moisture from Kay itself, it could transition into thunderstorms, and thunderstorms would be too much rain too quick,” said Matt Mehle, an incident meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Flash flood and high wind warnings were in effect through Friday evening for much of the area near the wildfire, which had displaced more than 20,000 people and killed at least two. A flood watch for much of the same region was extended until midnight Saturday.
“It’s super dynamic,” said Marco Rodriguez, a public information officer with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, one of the crews assisting in Riverside County. “In the last six hours, we went from dry, heavy brush to damp and super wet conditions.”
But he warned that the fire is still “burning really hot,” making it hard to tell how much the afternoon rain would affect the flames in one of California’s largest blazes of the year.
Tropical Storm Kay was churning along the northern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula Friday evening, about 130 miles off the coast of San Diego. The system brought intense rain and winds topping 100 mph to some parts of San Diego, sparking concerns about coastal flooding in Los Angeles County and flash flooding more inland.
The storm was forecast to bring up to 7 inches of rain to Riverside County, as well as strong winds and muggy conditions across Southern California through at least Saturday.
“I’ve been on wildfires where we’ve had hail, I’ve been on wildfires where we’ve had snow and we’ve had rain before,” Mehle said, “but out of my 30-plus wildfires, I’ve never been on one where I’ve been dealing with a tropical storm as close as we are to this.”
Mehle said the probability of a flash flood is low, but would most likely occur within a 12-hour window from Friday night into Saturday morning. He said officials have been briefed for that possibility because any flash flooding would be “very high impact.”
Almost 24,000 people from Hemet to Temecula were under evacuation orders for the Fairview fire Friday morning as officials feared the worst from the tropical storm. The wildfire, which grew almost 4,000 acres overnight, expanded by less than 1,000 acres during the day Friday, to 28,307 acres.
At least 13 structures have been destroyed, and 10,000 are threatened. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were still under evacuation orders after officials Friday evening reduced some evacuation orders to warnings for communities southwest of the fire.
Before noon Friday, nearly 120 people had checked in to the Temecula Community Recreation Center, one of three evacuation shelters set up for the Fairview fire, according to shelter manager John Stone, and more were expected as the flames raged nearby.
Dozens of evacuees sat huddled around tables, many wrapped in blankets against the chilly drizzle outside.
“It was so hot when we left, we didn’t bring any warm clothes,” said Annamay Hughes, 71, who evacuated her Wilson Valley home late Thursday night with her husband and son. The turn in the weather — brought by Tropical Storm Kay — marked another anomaly for Hughes, who said she has never experienced a wildfire evacuation in her 40-plus years as a Californian.
“You don’t think of things like this until it happens to you,” she said.
Heavy rains began in San Diego and moved north, with some expected to last into Saturday.
Chris Young and his wife, who fled their Avery Canyon home Monday, said their biggest worry was the weather bringing strong winds. Through their home security cameras, they were able to confirm their house had been spared from the flames, but they worried heavy gusts could push the fire back in their direction.
“That’s our No. 1 concern — the wind blowing back into the west, bringing embers back into our canyon,” Young said from a Menifee hotel, where the couple had been holed up since evacuating. “We’re still on pins and needles, trying to stay hopeful, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”
Officials said Friday morning that strong eastern winds were creating dangerous long-range spotting that could jump flames up to a mile away, threatening some of the more populated areas west of the fire, from Hemet to Sage. It appeared the rains Friday afternoon had calmed some of the most severe winds, but officials said they could easily return.
The Riverside County Emergency Management Department warned the weather could cause “dangerous flooding and damage countywide,” such as flash flooding and mud or debris flows.
More than 2,100 crew members were working the fire Friday, as well as 16 helicopters and numerous air tankers from across the state, but officials said weather conditions grounded air operations.
“Once the winds become 30 mph or greater, it’s unsafe to fly, and any extinguishing agent they’re going to drop — whether it be water or retardant — is 100% ineffective,” said Justin McGough, the Cal Fire daytime section chief working the Fairview fire.
Record heat is fueling dangerous fires across California, pushing firefighters to the limit and creating ideal conditions for more blazes to spark and spread.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday proclaimed a state of emergency for Riverside, as well as for El Dorado and Placer counties, where crews are battling the Mosquito fire, which is 0% contained and rapidly growing.
Evacuation centers for the Fairview fire have been set up at Tahquitz High School in Hemet and the Temecula Community Recreation Center and Temecula Valley High School, both on Rancho Vista Road, as evacuation orders remain in place. The Riverside County Animal Shelter in San Jacinto is available to shelter large and small animals, and the Perris Fairgrounds can take in large animals.
As thousands of homes remain threatened by the Fairview fire, many families are hoping for the best.
Olivia Perez and her two children evacuated their Aguanga home around 11 a.m. Thursday, grabbing what they could: clothes, pillows, blankets, toothpaste, food and documents.
“You see how fast your life can change,” said Perez, 55, who fought back tears as she spoke at the Temecula Community Recreation Center shelter.
Her children — 14-year-old Rio Jimenez and her brother, Uriel Jimenez, 10 — were working on homework at a table at the shelter. Uriel said he was feeling “stressed, scared and worried about everything we left in the house.” He was particularly worried about a book on George Washington Carver that he forgot to grab.
“I need it for my lessons,” he said.
Rio recalled seeing ashes, flames and smoke as they left their home, but she was hopeful the rain would help prevent a worst-case scenario.
“Even though you’re scared and start to panic, you have to stay calm,” she said.
“And pray,” her mother added.
Times staff writer Jonah Valdez contributed to this report.
The ruling was a victory for Clinton, who in April had asked the judge to dismiss the case, saying, “Whatever the utility of Plaintiff’s Complaint as a fundraising tool, a press release, or a list of political grievances, it has no merit as a lawsuit, and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
State legislation: As Republican-led states move to restrict abortion, The Post is tracking legislation across the country on 15-week bans, Texas-style bans, trigger laws and abortion pill bans, as well as Democratic-dominated states that are moving to protect abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the details on the effort to avoid more government gridlock on ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast.’
Nearly a third of House Democrats warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday against tying this month’s must-pass government funding bill to legislation spurring oil and gas drilling that is desired by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Seventy-one House Democrats penned a letter to Pelosi, D-Calif., warning that the bill’s inclusion will force them to seriously consider voting against the short-term government funding measure, known as a continuing resolution.
“In the face of the existential threats like climate change and MAGA extremism, House and Senate leadership has a greater responsibility than ever to avoid risking a government shutdown by jamming divisive policy riders into a must-pass continuing resolution,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who spearheaded the letter. “Permitting reform hurts already-overburdened communities, puts polluters on an even faster track, and divides the caucus.”
Signing on to the letter was a wide cross-section of the House Democratic Conference.
Progressive Democrats say that Sen. Joe Manchin’s side deal was with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and not themselves. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Signatories included not just progressive firebrands, like Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, but also leadership allies. The latter included Reps. Joe Neguse of Colorado and Debbie Dingell of Michigan, whom Pelosi has tasked with leading the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Neither Manchin’s nor Pelosi’s offices returned requests for comment.
Earlier this year, Manchin struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pass legislation streamlining the permit approval process to drill for oil and gas by the end of September. In exchange for the commitment, Manchin agreed to back the White House’s $739 billion climate change and tax hike package.
Schumer, D-N.Y., confirmed earlier this week that he would attach the permitting legislation to the government funding bill, which must pass by Sept. 30 or risk a shutdown.
“Our intention is to add it to the [continuing resolution], absolutely,” said Schumer.
House Democrats say the decision is fraught with risk, however.
“Such a move would force Members to choose between protecting [environmental justice] communities from further pollution or funding the government,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
Signatories included not just progressive firebrands, like Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, but also House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership allies. (Getty Images)
Progressive Democrats have long argued that Manchin’s side deal was with Schumer and not with them.
“We will be united in defeating the separate Manchin ‘permitting reforms’ that will accelerate climate change and pollute Black, brown, Indigenous and low-income communities,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. “Manchin went back on his word to get [Build Back Better] done, and we owe him nothing now.”
The permitting bill, which has yet to be made public, would set timelines by which environmental agencies must conduct reviews for proposed projects. It would also require the federal government to hold more leasing auctions for the right to drill on federal land.
Sen. Joe Manchin struck a deal to pass the permitting bill in exchange for supporting the White House’s $739 billion climate change and tax hike package. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Manchin’s biggest prize, however, is provisions of the expected bill that would catalyze approval of a natural gas pipeline running for more than 300 miles through Virginia and West Virginia. The $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline was started in 2014 and is nearly 90% complete, but has stalled in recent months among environmental lawsuits.
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline is the only project in the entire country that can bring 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day onto the market in just six months,” Manchin said in August when news of the deal first broke.
The opposition by House Democrats to the oil and gas permitting bill has put the pipeline at risk. Manchin’s GOP critics say the senator gave up any leverage to get the permitting bill through when he agreed to vote on the $739 billion climate change and tax package first.
“Joe Manchin sold out West Virginia for a signing pen from President Biden,” said Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va. “He single-handedly restarted the Biden administration’s inflation-causing spending binge.”
Haris Alic covers Congress and politics for Fox News Digital. You can contact him at haris.alic@fox.com or follow him on Twitter at @realharisalic.
Tropical Storm Kay brought sizzling temperatures, intense rain and winds topping 100 mph to some parts of Southern California, sparking concerns about coastal flooding and mudslides in fire zones.
The storm system churning along the northern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula is expected to deliver heavy rains, flash flooding, strong winds and muggy conditions through Saturday.
Kay was about 130 miles off the coast of San Diego on Friday evening, and meteorologists were surprised the storm had maintained so much of its strength as it moved into the chilly waters near California.
Usually, as tropical storms make their way north, they lose a lot of their punch, said Ivory Small, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.
“This one just keeps punching,” Small said.
Record heat is fueling dangerous fires across California, pushing firefighters to the limit and creating ideal conditions for more blazes to spark and spread.
Though Kay as a whole has steadily weakened, the storm is producing strong gusts in Southern California.
Its maximum sustained wind speeds had fallen to 40 mph, according to a 5 p.m. update by the National Hurricane Center. It will degrade into a post-tropical cyclone once its wind speeds fall below 39 mph.
“Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles mainly to the east of the center,” according to the Hurricane Center. “There are continued reports of 50-70 mph wind gusts in the mountains east and northeast of San Diego, with occasional gusts to hurricane force.”
Hurricane-force winds begin at 74 mph.
“Strong winds not directly associated with Kay’s core wind field are occurring across portions of southern California and extreme southwestern Arizona,” the Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters also said Kay was producing 2 to 4 inches of rain in the southernmost areas of California, with some isolated pockets of 6 to 8 inches of precipitation.
Rain was scattered across San Diego County in the morning and crept into Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties by the afternoon, the weather service said. Heavy rains with possible thunderstorms could still be ahead, officials warned.
San Diego County was walloped with heavy rain and wind gusts over 100 mph in the mountain areas. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the northeastern part of the county as well as Riverside County.
Forecasters say moisture from the storm still could drop about an inch of rain along the San Diego County coast, twice that amount in the valleys and 5 to 7 inches in the mountains.
The rain has the potential to disrupt the San Diego Padres’ home game against the Dodgers. The threat of foul weather led singer Alicia Keys to postpone her sold-out Friday night concert at San Diego State University.
Orange County is likely to get about a half-inch of rain, while the mountains in Riverside County could see up to 7 inches. Shane Reichardt, a spokesperson for the Riverside County’s Emergency Management Department, said the storm has escalated the potential for a public safety power shutoff. It also repositioned threats from fires to include flash flooding.
“When you look at everything that we have, with the heat we’ve had, the power concerns we’ve had, the storm, the potential for public safety shutoffs, that creates a lot of anxiety. It is a lot for the community to keep taking in,” Reichardt said.
The low desert areas, including the Coachella Valley, are also vulnerable. A flash flood watch is in effect for all Southern California mountains, valleys and deserts, meteorologists said. Parts of the desert, including Mount Laguna, Ocotillo and areas near the Imperial Valley are under a flash flood warning.
Intense winds stressed power lines and toppled trees in San Diego County, where the top wind speed was clocked at 109 mph at Cuyamaca Peak, about nine miles south of Julian.
A high-wind warning is in effect until midnight throughout the Inland Empire, the mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties and the San Diego coast and valleys. Orange County and the San Bernardino mountains and deserts are under a wind advisory. Even coastal and valley areas could see up to 60 mph winds.
“It will be noticeable,” said Elizabeth Schenk, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego. A gale warning was in effect for coastal waters, with seas as a high as 12 feet. Orange county surf conditions could reach six feet. Strong currents are expected through at least Sunday.
In anticipation of the swells and high tides, Long Beach began offering sandbags for residents in low-lying areas at fire stations and the lifeguard station at 72nd Place and Ocean Boulevard.
Protective berms have been constructed along the oceanfront peninsula near Alamitos Beach to protect nearby homes.
“Residents are advised to stay away from the coast from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., starting tonight,” Long Beach officials said in a release.
It wasn’t yet clear whether the storm would further intensify the Fairview fire — with possible lightning strikes, strong winds and the added danger of flooding — or bring just enough moisture to help quell the flames.
In National City, Courtney Jones has been tracking Kay on her phone. She grew up with storms on the East Coast.
“I was kind of expecting to wake up and look outside and see the trees bending and leaves everywhere, loose debris, but when I looked out, all I saw was puddles and people driving a little more slowly,” said Jones, 28. She was hoping the rain would alleviate the heat, but the conditions were still unbearable early Friday, what she and her family call “dog breath weather”: hot, muggy and sticky.
Daye Salani zipped out of his house in downtown San Diego without his umbrella and jacket when he left for work Friday morning.
“If I leave work and it is pouring, I don’t mind getting soaked,” said Salani, adding that it’s “been a minute” since rain has bucketed down on him. This was a rare occasion and “I’m inviting it,” he said.
Heather Leer, who lives in Hemet, near the Fairview fire, was on a layover at the Denver airport, hoping not to encounter any weather-related disruptions so she could get back to her house, which is inside the fire’s evacuation zone.
Leer’s husband, who remained at their home, had not reported any rain Friday morning, but she was worried about the winds aggravating the fire and challenging containment efforts. The blaze, which broke out Monday, had exploded to nearly 30,000 acres. The rains also could lead to flash floods and mudslides in the burn scar.
“It is a huge concern,” said Leer, 41. “We have never seen so many things, one on top of each other, happening that could potentially change our lives forever.”
In Imperial, Jorge Reyes said the rain started early Friday. It’s humid, he said, but it doesn’t feel anywhere as hot as the triple digits the city registered over Labor Day weekend.
Flash flood warnings have been issued during past monsoon seasons, but he said this is the first time he can recall one for September — or really any rain at all during this month in a calendar year.
“We don’t get rain all the time, and sometimes when there is rain, it goes around us in Yuma area or other cities,” said Reyes, 45.
In this once-in-a-millennium drought, a lawn evangelist like Jim Baird seems as heretical a sight in Los Angeles as an Angels hat at Dodger Stadium.
The storm is not expected to bring significant rain to Los Angeles County and the surrounding areas, which are likely to stay dry most of Friday, although some rain bursts and thunderstorms could develop by the evening.
Still, Los Angeles International Airport announced on Twitter that because of wind conditions, it would shift operations to have aircrafts depart from the east and arrive from the west. There were few delays, with “99% of our schedule on time so far today,” LAX said.
Meteorologists have issued a flash flood watch for L.A. and Ventura counties, as well as the Antelope Valley. Forecasters are particularly concerned about Catalina Island, which is under a coastal flooding advisory.
Southern California last felt the effects of a tropical storm in 1997, when Tropical Storm Nora caused flooding, power disruptions and traffic crashes, as well as destroyed several homes in Orange County.
Despite the coming rain, excessive heat remained an issue Friday amid a prolonged heat wave that has baked Southern California for more than a week. The temperature in downtown Los Angeles was at 80 degrees by 9 a.m., said Dave Bruno with the weather service’s Oxnard bureau. Most valley and foothill areas did not drop below 90 overnight.
Temperatures began to drop by noon, but not before setting another daily record at LAX, which recorded a high of 101 degrees, breaking the previous Sept. 9 record of 96 degrees set in 1984.
A further cooldown is coming. “Today will be the last of the extreme days,” Bruno said.
Times staff writer Gregory Yee, and Gary Robbins and Teri Figueroa of the San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this report.
“Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept,” Charles said in a televised address that was at once dignified and deeply emotional, a son’s grieving eulogy for his mother and a sovereign’s solemn oath of duty.
Recalling Elizabeth’s vow, on her 21st birthday, to serve her people for the remainder of her life, “whether it be long or short,” the 73-year-old king declared, “I, too, now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.”
As king, Charles will no longer be able throw himself into the charity work or the policy issues, like climate change, that occupied him during his long wait for the throne. Instead, he will shoulder his mother’s unique burden: imperial symbol of the United Kingdom, but a largely ceremonial figure, strictly removed from politics.
Charles’s ascent also marks a new chapter in the relationship between Britain’s head of state and its head of government — one that, under the queen, stretched back to Winston Churchill, her first prime minister. And it augured a new royal style, led by a king who has signaled he wants to reshape his family’s role in British life.
A glimmer of that new approach surfaced on Friday afternoon when Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, arrived at Buckingham Palace. The king jumped out of his vintage Rolls-Royce to engage in some distinctly democratic glad-handing, more typical of a politician on the campaign trail than a member of royalty.
To cries of “God save the king,” Charles shook hands, clasped elbows, and even accepted a peck on the cheek from the iPhone wielding well-wishers lined up outside the palace. Then he and Camilla lingered to look at the flowers and cards laid at the wrought-iron fence, before turning to walk into their new home.
Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, entering Buckingham Palace.Credit…James Hill for The New York Times
Once inside, the king recorded his nine-and-a-half minute address in the blue drawing room, a photo of the queen on the desk beside him. He made some news, bestowing his old title, Prince of Wales, on his eldest son and heir, William.
The king’s words were piped into St. Paul’s Cathedral, echoing under its cavernous dome where Britain’s political establishment gathered for a service of thanksgiving for the queen, who died on Thursday at Balmoral, her summer retreat, at the age of 96.
The rituals were the start of 10 days of ceremony that will strike some as charming and others as hopelessly out of date. Next up is an Accession Council, convened on Saturday to formally designate Charles as the king, followed by a proclamation, to be read from the balcony of the Friary Court by the Garter King of Arms. The mourning rituals will culminate with a state funeral in Westminster Abbey, the first since Churchill’s in 1965.
In London and other parts of the realm, it was a day replete with tributes to the queen. Bells pealed at St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, and Windsor Castle. Artillery guns roared in Hyde Park, the Tower of London, on the island of Jersey, and in the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar. In the House of Commons, the members stood in a minute’s silence, a rare stillness blanketing their often-raucous chamber.
Flowers left by members of the public outside the gates of Windsor Castle.Credit…Mary Turner for The New York Times
Opening the tributes in Parliament, Ms. Truss hailed the queen as “the nation’s greatest diplomat.” She recalled watching Elizabeth charm a meeting of global business executives last year. “She was always so proud of Britain and always embodied the spirit of our great country,” Ms. Truss said.
The prime minister heralded the dawn of a new Carolean age, a phrase previously used to refer to the reign of Charles II from 1660 to 1685. Praising Charles III’s commitment to issues like environmental protection, she said, “We owe him our loyalty and devotion.”
Her recently deposed predecessor, Boris Johnson, noted wryly that the queen “saw off her 14th prime minister,” after he submitted his resignation to her at Balmoral on Tuesday. “She was as radiant and knowledgeable and fascinated about politics as ever I remember,” Mr. Johnson said of their leave-taking.
Mr. Johnson, now speaking from the backbench, recalled that at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, the leader of a Middle Eastern country asked if the queen really had jumped out of a helicopter, wearing a pink dress, and parachuted into the stadium — a memorable live stunt that cemented her status as a pop-cultural phenomenon.
Later in the afternoon, Ms. Truss traveled to Buckingham Palace for her first face-to-face meeting with the king. Neither the palace nor Downing Street disclosed details of the session, though it was not hard to imagine they discussed the energy crisis and soaring inflation that is gripping the country — Ms. Truss’s most daunting challenges as she takes up the job.
If history is any guide, the relationship between the new king and Ms. Truss will remain opaque. The queen never discussed the advice she gave her prime ministers, and the prime ministers have been uniformly tight-lipped about what goes on during their weekly audiences at Buckingham Palace.
People in a pub in central London watching King Charles III address the nation before a service of remembrance at St. Paul’s Cathedral.Credit…James Hill for The New York Times
Charles, however, has never been shy about voicing his views on climate change, organic farming, architecture, or other favorite issues. When candidates for the Conservative Party leadership began raising doubts in July about Britain’s ambitious target to reach “net zero” in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Charles got involved in the debate, seizing on the record-setting temperatures set during a heat wave.
“Those commitments around net zero have never been more vitally important as we all swelter under today’s alarming record temperatures across Britain and Europe,” he said in a statement.
Given the obligation of the monarch to stay out of politics, Charles will now have to keep those opinions to himself. But that does not mean he cannot seek to influence policies in his private discussions with Ms. Truss, said Vernon Bogdanor, a professor of government at King’s College London.
“He’s got a lot more experience than this prime minister because he’s mixed with senior politicians for decades,” Professor Bogdanor said. “That’s the reverse of the position the young queen was in with Winston Churchill.”
Harold Hongju Koh, an American legal scholar who has taught at Oxford University, said the monarchy acts as a kind of “balance wheel” for the government, stabilizing the ship of state if its political leaders tip it too far in one direction.
“The Charles-Truss dynamic will inevitably unfold very differently from that of Elizabeth-Boris,” said Professor Koh, who teaches at Yale Law School. “The balance between the partners will inevitably get struck in a different place.”
For the king, the transition has also reinforced his partnership with his wife, Camilla, who made her public debut on Friday as the queen consort. It is a title her mother-in-law wished her to have. In marking her 70 years on the throne last February, the queen anticipated this moment of transition. She appealed in a personal statement for Britons to open their hearts to Camilla, as well as to Charles.
Outside Windsor Castle on Friday evening.Credit…Mary Turner for The New York Times
“When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me,” the queen wrote. “It is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
That settled a longstanding, delicate question about how the former Camilla Parker-Bowles would be known when Charles acceded to the throne. The two were romantically involved before and during Charles’s marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales. He and Diana later divorced, and Charles married Camilla. He then pursued a subtle but persistent campaign to recognize her as queen consort once he was king.
In his speech, Charles said, “I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla.” But he saved his final words for his mother. Quoting from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the king said, “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
Late in the afternoon Friday, about 70 Mosquito Fire evacuees were staying at the Baptist Church off Bell Road in Auburn, with many more people sleeping outside in their vehicles and trailers. Another evacuation center had been closed earlier in the day after the site in Foresthill fell into the evacuation warning zone.
Jim and Cheryl Pocock said the parking lot at the site in Auburn was full on Thursday night. The couple from the Todd Valley community evacuated shortly after the fire broke out and slept on cots and air mattresses in the parking lot. They hoped their home would not be destroyed. As of Friday afternoon, flames had not reached Todd Valley.
Their faith keeps them steady.
A prayer circle space is seen set up at an evacuation center at Bell Road Baptist Church in Auburn, Calif. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 after evacuating from the Mosquito Fire in unincorporated Placer County south of Foresthill.Jessica Christian/The Chronicle
“I just say, ‘OK, I gotta trust you, God,’ ” Jim said. “Our house, our trucks, our cars, everything is in His hands.”
“It’s been a long three days,” Cheryl said. “No sleep.”
Nevada officials: “Stay indoors with the windows and doors closed”
Washoe County health officials in western Nevada issued a stage 2 emergency episode alert on Friday afternoon due to the Mosquito Fire burning west of Lake Tahoe. The air quality in the Reno-Sparks area is expected to get progressively worse through Saturday and Sunday, according to the bulletin.
More than 90,000 California schoolchildren impacted by wildfires
At least 14 California school districts in six counties have closed classrooms this week due to the wildfires burning across the state according to a report from the education site EdSource.
Foresthill High School engulfed in heavy smoke from the Mosquito Fire in Foresthill Calif. on September 9, 2022. AQI levels are fast-approaching 300+ around the Mosquito Fire perimeter.Andri Tambunan/Special to The Chronicle
More than 90,500 students in 119 schools were sent home, said Tim Taylor, executive director of the Small School District Association
Newsom deploys mutual aid services to wildfires
The California Office of Emergency Services has deployed 306 local government and OES engines and 1,252 personnel through the state’s Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Friday.
Cal OES assigns local government fire agencies with fire apparatus to maintain surge capacity during day-to-day duties and major events and emergencies.
Also on Friday, Newsom announced that he has signed legislation to help protect Californians from more frequent and severe heat waves driven by climate change, building on the state’s Extreme Heat Action Plan released earlier this year.
“This week’s unprecedented heat wave is a painful reminder of the costs and impacts of climate change – and it won’t be the last,” Newsom said in a statement.
“California is taking aggressive action to combat the climate crisis and build resilience in our most vulnerable communities, including a comprehensive strategy to protect Californians from extreme heat. With lives and livelihoods on the line, we cannot afford to delay.”
The updated plan greenlights a set of bills from state lawmakers with studying on the effects of extreme heat in the state, creating an extreme heat warning system, researching the impact of heat on perinatal health, and investing in programs that counter climate change.
Nearly 6,000 people evacuated from Mosquito Fire
Approximately 5,700 people have been evacuated from areas affected by Mosquito Fire, according to Placer County Sheriff Lieutenant Josh Barhhart in an afternoon update.
Tim Mull of Michigan Bluff pets his dog Amigo while tidying up his temporary space at an evacuation center at Bell Road Baptist Church in Auburn, Calif. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 after evacuating from the Mosquito Fire in unincorporated Placer County south of Foresthill.
Jessica Christian/The Chronicle
Evacuation orders are in place in Foresthill and the Todd Valley areas.
Afternoon wind gusts of up to 20 mph have been measured around the perimeter of the Fairview Fire, while rain rates from Hurricane Kay are approaching a tenth of an inch per hour, possibly creating a race against the clock as the fire spreads toward Tamecula’s outskirts.
California will start ranking heat waves
California will create a first-in-the-nation system to rank the severity of heat waves like the one that has baked much of California for over a week. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed AB2234, which requires California’s Environmental Protection Agency to create a new ranking system no later than Jan. 1, 2025.
A homeless man named Anthony Fallstead wipes his forehead as he holds a sign that reads “Beat the Heat, Homeless Wife and I are in Need of Help” while panhandling in the scorching heat in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022.Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
Unlike hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires, heat waves aren’t ranked or named. State Assembly Member Luz Rivas, a Los Angeles Democrat who carried the bill, said the state needs a clear communication tool to warn the public about the risks of excessive heat. “Extreme heat kills, and we know it disproportionately affects lower-income communities because those individuals do not have the ability to escape the heat,” Rivas said.
Mosquito Fire threatening “critical” water, power infrastructure
The Mosquito Fire is threatening “critical power and water infrastructure,” two 60 kV and one 230 kV transmission lines and private timberlands, according to a 2 p.m. Cal Fire update.
The fast-burning fire, now in Placer and El Dorado counties, is a threat to 3,666 structures, Cal Fire said.
Fairview Fire burning towards Temecula at over 27,400 acres
Southern California’s deadly Fairfiew Fire was reportedly moving toward Temecula (Riverside County), according to NBC Los Angeles.
CalFire firefighters turn away from the fire to watch for any stray embers during a firing operation to build a line to contain the Fairview Fire near Hemet, California, on September 8, 2022.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
The Fairview Fire is burning at 27,463 acres with 5% containment, according to Cal Fire. At least two people have been killed by the blaze.
More than 8,000 firefighters battling blazes in California
As of Friday morning, there were 8,292 firefighters working on blazes across California, according to Cal Fire. “Over the weekend there will be a high risk for lightning on top of very flammable fuels across the Northern Sierra,” the agency reported.
Report of new vegetation fire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest
A vegetation fire has been reported in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, according to a new incident report from the Forest Service.
The fire is believed to be located off Wild Mad Road near the White Rock Campground. The Texas Fire is several miles south of Hwy 36 and the communities of Wildwood, Platina, and Post Mountain, the report said. “Area is remote with a current reported slow rate of spread. Fire personnel and aircraft responding.”
Report of a vegetation fire, off the Wild Mad Road. The Texas Fire is several miles south of Hwy 36 and the communities of Wildwood, Platina, and Post Mountain. Area is remote with a current reported slow rate of spread. Fire personnel and aircraft responding. pic.twitter.com/z3eiPhOJEl
PG&E reports no “abnormal conditions” at transmission pole near origin of Mosquito Fire
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. personnel found no immediate evidence of problems, such as vegetation contact or damage, with power equipment on a steel transmission pole near the origin of the Mosquito Fire, a utility spokesperson said.
Federal firefighting personnel have cordoned off the ten-year-old pole. PG&E systems detected an electrical fault on the pole around the time the fire started.
Chris Vestal, a spokesman with the Mosquito Fire incident, said equipment might be cordoned off for several reasons, such as ensuring crew safety, preserving potential evidence or to protect infrastructure.
He declined to say whether investigators suspect power equipment started the fire.
The transmission line serves the Placer County Water Agency’s power plant on the Oxbow Reservoir. It had been inspected within the last five months, according to PG&E.
The Tahoe National Forest is leading the investigation into the fire’s cause, according to Vestal.
Little wind reported at the Mosquito Fire’s start
Weather readings clocked wind gusts at 4 mph when the Mosquito fire was first reported at 6:22 p.m. Tuesday. The temperature was 97 degrees at a weather gauge near Foresthill Union Elementary school, down from an earlier high of 101.
Placer County firefighters were already battling a new fire that started earlier Tuesday and several miles north. The Hill Fire reached about 11 acres and led authorities to evacuate people out of the Giant Gap, Big Reservoir, Shirttail Creek and Morning Star Lake campgrounds.
Berkeley says Mosquito Fire is threatening the Blodgett Forest Research Station
Berkeley Forests staff said on Friday that they have confirmed with on-the-ground fire personnel that the Mosquito Fire is burning within the boundaries of Blodgett Forest Research Station.
All Blodgett Forest personnel were evacuated and marked safe before the fire entered the property. “Although the fire has not yet burned in this area, it will likely reach this portion of the property in the coming day,” the agency said in a bulletin. “Fire personnel have indicated that structure protection is their priority at this time.”
Abysmal air quality turns skies orange in Tahoe region
Ash and particulate matter coming off the fast-moving Mosquito fire has turned air quality hazardous and painted skies a hazy orange.
An Alertwildfire camera shows an eerily orange sky north of Auburn, Calif. on September 9, 2022.
Wildfire Camera/Alertwildfire
As a result of the extreme fire behavior small particles of dust, soot and ash are capitulated into the air. In the regions surrounding the blaze air quality index levels are more than 300, which can trigger serious health effects.
The extreme scene comes two years after dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires burned throughout the state, skies turned an apocalyptic-orange in places far from the flames, like San Francisco.
Hurricane Kay producing extreme weather in California
Hurricane Kay remnants are likely to bring tropical-like humidity to the Bay Area over the weekend, with a possibility of some rain, but in Southern California the tropical system is kicking up extreme weather.
Caltrans workers remove a fallen tree blocking transit on SR-79 between Paso Picacho Campground and Lake Cuyamaca on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 in San Diego, Calif. A surge of clouds and showers associated with Tropical Storm Kay off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula knocked the edge off temperatures in Southern California at times but also were a potential problem for solar generation. The storm was downgraded from a hurricane Thursday evening. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)Nelvin C. Cepeda/Associated Press
Kay is moving northward off the coast of the Baja California peninsula and has already brought upwards of two-tenths of an inch of rain to San Diego County’s Laguna Mountains and the Cleveland National Forest. There are risks for torrential downpours and flash flooding in the coming days for the canyon passes and roadways near cities like Murrieta and Escondido.
Highway 193 shut down due to Mosquito Fire
California State Route 193, which runs through Placer and El Dorado counties, has been closed due to the Mosquito Fire, according to an update from Caltrans. The expected reopening time for the highway, which is located inside the mandatory evacuation area, is unknown at this time. “Please avoid the area if possible to allow emergency crews access,” the agency said.
Mosquito Fire explodes to nearly 30,000 acres
The Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties grew to 29,585 acres in size late Friday morning, according to information posted by the U.S. Forest Service.
Wildfire smoke, cloud cover could reduce solar production up to 60%
The grid could see up to a 60% reduction in solar production — about 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts — due to wildfire smoke and cloud cover Friday, grid operator COO Mark Rothleder said in a Friday morning press call.
On Thursday, the grid saw a 30% reduction in solar production — about 3,000 to 4,000 megawatts — because of cloud cover and smoke, Rothleder said. Demand peaked Thursday around 48,300 megawatts, significantly lower than the 50,000+ megawatts of demand seen in prior days of the heat wave.
The sun peeks through heavy smoke over an evacuation center at Bell Road Baptist Church in Auburn, Calif. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 after evacuating from the Mosquito Fire in unincorporated Placer County south of Foresthill.Jessica Christian/The Chronicle
Demand is expected to peak Friday at 46,118 megawatts, with the grid having current capacity of 54,739 megawatts, as of 10:50 a.m.
Forestville couple forced to flee Mosquito Fire fears for fate of their home, and their cats
As the Mosquito Fire sparked and then exploded into a massive inferno in California’s Gold Country foothills Wednesday, Mary Garbe was celebrating her 68th birthday in her Forestville mobile home, the fire was heavy on her mind.
But when local Sheriff deputies arrived the next day urging them to evacuate, she told her husband, Ken, 72, she wouldn’t go.
Their seven cats, including five kittens, still hadn’t returned home. She didn’t want to leave them behind.
“I’m not going,” she told her husband, Ken. “They’re going to have to handcuff me.”
By Friday morning, the smoke grew heavier, the air choking them as the temperatures pushing into triple digits and her husband convinced her to leave.
“I just kept yakking at her,” he said. They left their front door open, in hopes the cats would return, grabbed their important documents, a safe filled with the last of their money and headed to the Baptist church in Auburn which had opened as an evacuation center, joining thousands of residents forced to flee their homes.
Mary wondered about her cats.
“I miss them,” she said.
Ken worried about the home.
“We’re going to be homeless if the trailer burns out, and 72 is too old to be homeless,” her husband said.
Federal grants available for Mosquito Fire
Gov. Gavin Newsom today said California has received a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support local agencies as they battle the Mosquito Fire. The grants “enable local, state and tribal agencies to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs,” Newsom’s office said.
Wildfire smoke to push into Bay Area today and Saturday
Smoke from the Mosquito Fire has made it over to the Bay Area, bringing hazy skies with it.
“Today it’ll start to disperse out a little bit, but tonight we’ll get higher concentrations of smoke coming back into the Bay Area,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah McCorkle.
Smoke from fires across the state pushes into the Bay Area today and tomorrow, but most of the smoke is expected to be elevated. Pay attention to air quality alerts from local air quality districts and get the latest information at https://t.co/WQ0XLAmi67. pic.twitter.com/QJqg08kuoE
Tropical Storm Kay in southern California has changed wind patterns to east-west, carrying the smoke from Mosquito Fire to the Bay Area, McCorkle said. The smoke could start veering north Saturday, McCorkle said.
Most of the smoke is at elevated levels, McCorkle said. Currently, air quality in the Bay Area ranges from “Good” to “Moderate” on the Air Quality Index, according to AirNow, a service operated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Terrible, no good, very bad air quality” across California
The Mosquito Fire is causing “terrible, no good, very bad air quality” across California’s Central Valley, according to Jeff Beamish, a meteorologist at Sonoma Tech. As of 9:45 am, he said that most regulatory and retail air monitors reported an unhealthy air quality index score from the region east of downtown Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. Cal Fire officials said they have been unable to accurately map the fire perimeter due to smoke conditions
Some 2,000 structures threatened by Mosquito Fire in El Dorado County
El Dorado County reports 2,000 structures imminently threatened by the Mosquito Fire, with another 11,500 in warning zones, with more than 17,000 residents affected. The fire continues to be fast-moving, forcing one evacuation shelter, Cool Community Church, to close after it fell into the evacuation warning zone.
Placer Sheriff reports 100-foot flames in Mosquito Fire
Flames as high as 100 feet shot through the trees as the Mosquito Fire tore through Foresthill, according to an update from the Placer Sheriff . “Fire crews worked hard to knock them down,” the office said in a tweet.
The fire has now expanded to 14,250 acres and is 0% contained, Cal Fire said. The fire has quadrupled in size and spread across El Dorado and Placer counties. “Assigned personnel continued to improve existing control line and build new control lines, and also assessed and prepared structures threatened by the fire,” the agency said in an update Friday. “The fire is burning in extremely difficult terrain including steep canyons where directly attacking the fire can be difficult.”
Hazardous air quality recorded near Mosquito Fire’s perimeter
Air quality index levels are fast-approaching 300 and above around the Mosquito Fire perimeter Friday morning, while more scattered 150-200 (unhealthy) levels are being measured all along the Northern Sierra. Prevailing winds at the higher levels of the atmosphere (15-20,000 feet) will shift and become easterly winds this afternoon thanks to the remnants of Kay to our south. This is important because the core of the pyrocumulus clouds fanning smoke from the fire are around that height. So we can expect some of the particulates from the smoke to waft into the Sacramento Valley and parts of the Bay Area, decreasing air quality further on Friday.
The Chronicle’s Air Quality map showed unhealthy and very unhealthy air ringing Lake Tahoe as a result of the Mosquito Fire.
The Chronicle
Unhealthy air swirls around Lake Tahoe
The Chronicle’s Air Quality map showed unhealthy — and in some places, very unhealthy — air quality around Lake Tahoe, likely due to the smoke billowing off the Mosquito Fire.
Patches of unhealthy or very unhealthy air were recorded across a vast swath of Northern California northeast of Sacramento.
Hellish images show Mosquito Fire raging across multiple counties
Images captured by wildfire cameras showed hellish plumes of smoke created by the fast-moving Mosquito Fire. Persistent hot, dry conditions were expected to help the fire grow at a rapid pace overnight.
Newsom declares state of emergency due to wildfires
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Placer and El Dorado counties due to the Mosquito Fire and in Riverside County due to the Fairview Fire on Thursday afternoon. Both wildfires are threatening multiple communities and have forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents. The declaration frees up state resources to help residents affected by the fire and to help firefighters battle the fires.
The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed.
The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station remain as both sides accuse each other of shelling it.
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