latimes--2020-09-27--Napa County fire with 'dangerous rate of spread' forces evacuations

A fast-moving fire in Napa County on Sunday forced evacuations north of the town of St. Helena as large swaths of Northern California faced dangerous fire weather .
The Glass fire has burned 1,500 acres about four miles northwest of downtown St. Helena , according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection , and was burning “ with a dangerous rate of spread.
” Crews were dispatched to the vegetation fire at 3:50 a.m. , and it quickly grew to 20 acres , said Tyree Zander , public information officer with Cal Fire ’ s Napa Lake Sonoma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 20 acres to about 50 acres within an hour , hour and a half , ” he said .
“ And then from 50 acres to 800 acres within a four-hour period.
” Crews reported no containment as of Sunday afternoon as the fire continued to grow rapidly .
The sheriff ’ s office posted a video of flames burning vegetation on the ground and tree limbs along a road , as thick embers strike the windshield .
The fire was burning to the north and northeast through dry brush , running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Zander said .
“ It ’ s rugged , steep terrain and limited access , and a lot of it is one-way-in , one-way-out type of roads , ” Zander said , posing difficulties to both getting fire crews into the area and getting evacuees out .
The Napa County Sheriff ’ s Office ordered mandatory evacuations along hilly areas east of a stretch of the storied Silverado Trail , known for its wineries .
Evacuations were ordered north of St. Helena and east of the town of Calistoga .
Residents of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Nixle alerts and to be prepared to evacuate if necessary .
The orders covered about 600 homes and an estimated 1,500 residents , said Janet Upton , public information officer for Napa County ’ s emergency operations center .
An additional 1,400 homes , representing about 3,500 more people , were under evacuation warnings .
Adventist Health St. Helena hospital suspended operations and evacuated its patients due to the fire .
“ We ’ re in close communication with fire officials and began transferring some patients early this morning as a precaution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital ’ s president , said in a statement .
Strike teams that included both ground and air ambulances took about 50 patients to other area hospitals , “ out of an abundance of caution , knowing what we ’ ll be up against tonight , ” when weather conditions are expected to deteriorate , Upton said .
The county , supported by the American Red Cross , opened an evacuation center at Crosswalk Community Church in Napa .
The center wasn ’ t sheltering people due to the coronavirus outbreak , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in area hotels .
About 150 people had taken advantage of the service as of Sunday afternoon , Upton said .
“ This emergency operation center ’ s been stood up for the COVID response since March and we ’ ve been planning for what we call an incident within an incident , which is , for example , these wildfires , ” Upton said .
“ And the planning ’ s paid off so we have the sheltering services in place to deal with basically wildfire in the time of COVID.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deciding what areas to evacuate because of the hot , dry and windy weather forecast for later Sunday , which raised fears of even more rapid fire growth and unpredictable behavior .
“ We are preparing in advance for the winds , ” Zander said .
“ So we ’ re going to be more precautious when it comes to evacuations and try to get those out ahead of time , to keep things rolling earlier than later.
” Much of Northern California is under a red-flag warning , which means the National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire weather conditions will occur .
The advisory is in place until 9 p.m. Monday .
Meteorologists warned about strong winds coming from the north and northeast , with gusts of up to 50 mph at the highest elevations , and critically low humidity .
“ We ’ re expecting another round of gusty winds overnight tonight into tomorrow morning , mainly at higher elevations , so above 1,000 feet or so , ” Anna Schneider , meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey , said Sunday .
“ But we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 to 30 mph.
” The conditions are the result of an area of high pressure that is sitting off the coast and expected to shift into the Pacific Northwest on Monday , creating an offshore flow that is bringing warmer and drier air over the land , Schneider said .
The fire weather warnings were issued for areas including the North Bay and East Bay Hills , as well as the Bay Area ’ s interior valleys , the Sacramento Valley , the northern Sierra and mountainous areas of the North Coast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a heat advisory until 7 p.m. Monday , as Diablo winds associated with the high-pressure system strengthening over the region are expected to bring yet another severe heat wave , the weather service said .
The weather system is expected to cut off the typical afternoon cooling sea breeze and marine layer as hotter air comes in from the north and east .
“ We ’ re in for 24 hours of potentially extreme fire conditions if they materialize as forecasted , and the National Weather Service is pretty good at their job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are planning for the worst but hoping for the best.
” San Francisco and Oakland could see temperatures in the upper 80s to around 90 on Sunday , and temperatures could increase Monday , potentially reaching into the mid-90s .
Areas farther inland could hit the mid-90s or low 100s on Sunday and Monday , the weather service said .
Strong winds were reported in Shasta County , where a fast-moving wildfire ignited Sunday afternoon near the rural community of Igo , about nine miles southwest of Redding .
The blaze grew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about a half-hour , according to Cal Fire , prompting evacuation orders and sending up a massive plume of smoke .
California has seen more than 3.7 million acres burn this year — a record in the state ’ s modern history , causing the deaths of at least 26 people and destroying more than 7,000 structures .
Five of the six largest wildfires in California ’ s modern record were fires ignited this year , and they ’ re still burning , according to Cal Fire .
The largest fire , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bay Area in and around Mendocino , Tehama and Trinity counties , has burned more than 870,000 acres , destroyed 86 structures and is 43 % contained .
One firefighter battling the August Complex fire has died .
Though the fire has been burning since mid-August , new evacuation orders were issued Sunday for parts of Mendocino and Trinity counties , and new warnings were issued for part of Humboldt County .
The North Complex fire , which is north of Sacramento and has resulted in 15 deaths in Butte County , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire has burned more than 300,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,300 structures .
The Creek fire in Fresno and Madera counties , which burned through the Sierra National Forest and forced the air evacuation of hundreds of campers cut off by flames , is 39 % contained after burning more than 300,000 acres .
The Creek fire has destroyed more than 800 structures .
The SQF Complex fire — which includes the Castle fire — in the Sequoia National Forest in Tulare County has burned more than 149,000 acres , destroyed more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contained .
And in the Bay Area , the LNU Lightning Complex and SCU Lightning Complex fires , which respectively burned in the North Bay and east of Silicon Valley , are both 98 % contained .
The LNU Lightning Complex fire burned more than 363,000 acres and resulted in five deaths , and the SCU Lightning Complex fire charred more than 396,000 acres .
The LNU fire has destroyed more than 1,400 structures , and the SCU fire , more than 200 .
The CZU Lightning Complex fire , which burned more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,400 structures in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties and resulted in one death , is 100 % contained .

The Bell Canyon reservoir glows orange as firefighters work to contain the the fire Sept. 27 at the Viader Vineyards & Winery. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters from the Sacramento Fire Department take part in an operation near a property along Crystal Springs Road in Napa County. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
The Glass fire burns along the Silverado Trail in Napa County near the Chateau Boswell Winery on Sept. 27. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
The Glass fire burns a distinctive building at the Chateau Boswell Winery on Sept. 27, several miles northwest of St. Helena in Napa County. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
The night sky glows red and orange from the Glass fire in Napa County on Sept. 27. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters work to contain the Glass fire along Sanitarium Road in Napa County on Sept. 27. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
An American flag flaps in the wind as the Shady fire burns structures Sept. 28 in Santa Rosa, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Wildlife is seen running into an engulfed Skyhawk Park on Sept. 28. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Santa Rosa firefighters monitor the Shady fire Sept. 27 as it makes its way toward homes along Mountain Hawk Drive in the city. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Flames from the Glass fire consume the Black Rock Inn in St. Helena, Calif., on Sept. 27. (Noah Berger/Associated Press)
An air tanker drops retardant on the Glass fire burning Sept. 27 above Davis Estates winery in Calistoga, Calif. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
The Glass fire in Napa County burns on a mountainside Sept. 28 with the Beckstoffer Vineyards in the foreground in St. Helena, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
California wine country was devastated by yet another series of wildfires overnight as flames destroyed numerous homes and other buildings in Napa and Sonoma counties and thousands were forced to run for their lives in the darkness of night.
A number of homes began to burn early Monday in the suburban eastern neighborhoods of Santa Rosa. The city of 177,000 residents, Sonoma County’s most populous, was devastated three years ago by the Tubbs fire — also driven by strong winds — that destroyed about 1,500 homes in the northwestern Coffey Park neighborhood, which was mostly built in the 1980s.
On Monday, it was the suburban northeastern neighborhoods of Santa Rosa that were burning, this time from the Shady fire.
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Whipped by powerful hot and dry Diablo winds coming from the north and east, which showered embers onto the city, flames engulfed houses in the area of Mountain Hawk Drive, which is lined with two-story tract homes in the Skyhawk development, built in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The number of structures lost was still unclear.
Deer were seen fleeing as firefighters battled the flames before dawn Monday.
Large swaths of Santa Rosa were under mandatory evacuation orders. Districts in the city’s northeast were ordered to empty, including the neighborhoods of Calistoga, Skyhawk, Melita, Stonebridge, the Oakmont retirement community and Pythian.
Busloads of older people were evacuated from the Oakmont Gardens assisted-living community as flames could be seen in the distance. Elsewhere in the city, cars jammed narrow roads as residents heeded evacuation orders.
Two other fires were also burning upwind of the fire encroaching on Santa Rosa, both of them flanking the town of St. Helena in Napa County: the Boysen fire to the west and the Glass fire to the north.
California Photo gallery: Fire burns California’s wine country A rapidly spreading wildfire has destroyed buildings in California’s wine country and threatens the cities of Santa Rosa and St. Helena in Sonoma and Napa counties.
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The Glass fire burned rapidly Sunday through Napa Valley’s famed Silverado Trail, known for its wineries. One building in flames was the distinctive stone structure at the Chateau Boswell Winery, which marked its 40th anniversary last year, several miles northwest of St. Helena.
Ash could be seen falling from the sky throughout the region, with one resident tweeting that the flakes were so large “you can hear them raining on the patio umbrella.”
In Napa County, mandatory evacuation zones had been expanded to cover the hills on both sides of the northern Napa Valley, flanking the towns of St. Helena and Calistoga.
A mandatory evacuation zone included the western portion of St. Helena, an area that includes single-family houses and a campus of the Culinary Institute of America, a renowned culinary college.
The Diablo winds have plunged much of Northern California into a red flag warning, meaning the National Weather Service has high confidence of dangerous fire weather conditions.
Such windy conditions can easily send embers aloft in the air, traveling far distances and landing to ignite new spot fires downwind.
The three wine country fires were burning in an area that has not experienced a major burn in the last century, Matt Roberts, a doctoral student in atmospheric science at the University of Nevada at Reno, said in a tweet.
Wine country was not the only danger zone Sunday night.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order for Pulga and Concow and an evacuation warning for the town of Paradise, which was mostly destroyed in the 2018 Camp fire that resulted in 85 deaths and the loss of more than 18,000 structures.
Strong winds were reported in Shasta County, where a fast-moving wildfire ignited Sunday afternoon near the rural community of Igo, about nine miles southwest of Redding. The blaze grew from 50 acres to 400 acres in about a half-hour, according to Cal Fire, prompting evacuation orders and sending up a massive plume of smoke.
Named the Zogg fire, it had grown to 7,000 acres by Sunday night.
The new threat of wildfire in wine country began before sunrise Sunday.
In Napa County, the Glass fire has burned at least 2,500 acres after starting about four miles northwest of downtown St. Helena, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and was burning “with a dangerous rate of spread.”
Crews were dispatched to the vegetation fire at 3:50 a.m. Sunday, and it quickly grew to 20 acres, said Tyree Zander, public information officer with Cal Fire’s Napa Lake Sonoma Unit.
“And then it went from 20 acres to about 50 acres within an hour, hour and a half,” he said. “And then from 50 acres to 800 acres within a four-hour period.”
Crews reported no containment as of Sunday night, with the fire continuing to grow rapidly. The sheriff’s office posted a video of flames burning vegetation on the ground and tree limbs along a road, as thick embers struck the windshield.
Glass Fire: Never wait til the last second to evacuate. This video is from Deputy Matt Macomber, one of several deputies currently evacuating parts of Napa County. pic.twitter.com/YQXFirJ0aV — Napa County Sheriff's Office (@NapaSheriff) September 27, 2020
The fire was burning through dry brush, running uphill as it was pushed by winds, Zander said.
“It’s rugged, steep terrain and limited access, and a lot of it is one-way-in, one-way-out type of roads,” posing difficulties to both getting fire crews into the area and getting evacuees out, Zander said.
Adventist Health St. Helena hospital suspended operations and evacuated its patients due to the fire. “We’re in close communication with fire officials and began transferring some patients early this morning as a precaution,” Dr. Steven Herber, the hospital’s president, said in a statement Sunday.
Strike teams that included both ground and air ambulances took about 50 patients to other area hospitals, “out of an abundance of caution, knowing what we’ll be up against,” said Janet Upton, public information officer for Napa County’s emergency operations center.
The county, supported by the American Red Cross, opened an evacuation center at Crosswalk Community Church in Napa. The center wasn’t sheltering people due to the coronavirus outbreak, but evacuees could go there to be placed in area hotels. About 150 people had taken advantage of the service as of Sunday afternoon, Upton said.
“This emergency operation center’s been stood up for the COVID response since March and we’ve been planning for what we call an incident within an incident, which is, for example, these wildfires,” Upton said. “And the planning’s paid off so we have the sheltering services in place to deal with basically wildfire in the time of COVID.”
Emergency officials were being particularly cautious when deciding what areas to evacuate because of the hot, dry and windy weather forecast as night fell Sunday, which raised fears of even more rapid fire growth and unpredictable behavior.
“We are preparing in advance for the winds,” Zander said. “So we’re going to be more precautious when it comes to evacuations and try to get those out ahead of time, to keep things rolling earlier than later.”
With winds pushing embers from the northeast toward the southwest, two more fires appeared southwest of St. Helena on Sunday night — the Boysen fire on the southwestern side of the Napa Valley and the Shady fire even farther to the southwest.
The National Weather Service’s red flag warning of dangerous fire weather is in place until 9 p.m. Monday. Meteorologists warned about strong winds coming from the north and northeast, with gusts of up to 50 mph at the highest elevations, and critically low humidity.
“We’re expecting another round of gusty winds overnight tonight into tomorrow morning, mainly at higher elevations, so above 1,000 feet or so,” Anna Schneider, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, said Sunday. “But we are also expecting some gusts below that of 20 to 30 mph.”
The conditions are the result of an area of high pressure that is sitting off the coast and expected to shift into the Pacific Northwest on Monday, creating an offshore flow that is bringing warmer and drier air over the land, Schneider said.
The fire weather warnings were issued for areas including the North Bay and East Bay Hills, as well as the Bay Area’s interior valleys, the Sacramento Valley, the northern Sierra and mountainous areas of the North Coast.
The Bay Area is also under a heat advisory until 7 p.m. Monday, as Diablo winds associated with the high-pressure system strengthening over the region brought yet another severe heat wave, the weather service said. The weather system cut off the typical afternoon cooling sea breezes and marine layer as hotter air comes in from the north and east.
Santa Rosa was forecast to hit a high of 100 degrees Monday.
California has seen more than 3.7 million acres burn this year — a record in the state’s modern history, causing the deaths of at least 26 people and destroying more than 7,000 structures.
Five of the six largest wildfires in California’s modern record were fires ignited this year, and they’re still burning, according to Cal Fire.
The largest fire, the August Complex fire burning north of the Bay Area in and around Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity counties, has burned more than 870,000 acres, destroyed 86 structures and is 43% contained. One firefighter battling the August Complex fire has died.
Though the fire has been burning since mid-August, new evacuation orders were issued Sunday for parts of Mendocino and Trinity counties, and new warnings were issued for part of Humboldt County.
The North Complex fire, which is north of Sacramento and has resulted in 15 deaths in Butte County, is 78% contained. The North Complex fire has burned more than 305,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,300 structures.
The Creek fire in Fresno and Madera counties, which burned through the Sierra National Forest and forced the air evacuation of hundreds of campers cut off by flames, is 39% contained after burning more than 300,000 acres. The Creek fire has destroyed more than 800 structures.
The SQF Complex fire — which includes the Castle fire — in the Sequoia National Forest in Tulare County has burned more than 149,000 acres, destroyed more than 200 structures and is 44% contained.
And in the Bay Area, the LNU Lightning Complex and SCU Lightning Complex fires, which respectively burned in the North Bay and east of Silicon Valley, are both 98% contained. The LNU Lightning Complex fire burned more than 363,000 acres and resulted in five deaths, and the SCU Lightning Complex fire charred more than 396,000 acres.
The LNU fire has destroyed more than 1,400 structures, and the SCU fire, more than 200.
The CZU Lightning Complex fire, which burned more than 86,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,400 structures in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties and resulted in one death, is 100% contained.
Nishimura reported from Santa Rosa, Calif.; Wigglesworth from Southern California and Lin from San Francisco.


latimes--2020-09-27--California fires: Go behind the scenes of incredible photos captured by Times staffers

We absorb the images — the charred remains of a homeowner ’ s paradise , a sweeping natural vista left blackened by towers of flame — and they are startling in their reality .
And we can ’ t help but wonder : Just how do these photographers get so close ?
What runs through their minds ?
What risks do they take ?
For Times staffers Kent Nishimura and Brian van der Brug , the challenges of covering the California fires combines passion for their craft with perseverance .
They follow their own playbook , guided by instinct and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The recent West Coast blazes capped a fire streak that ’ s been unprecedented in its destructiveness and may grow worse in years to come .
Here , we go behind the scenes with Nishimura and van der Brug to better understand what makes their pictures stir our emotions .
You ’ ve covered many fires before .
How is this time different in its cruelty and intensity — and how must you adapt to get the job done ?
Nishimura : This is my third fire season and it totally feels they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead , we [ photojournalists ] started teaming up to look out for each other and keep each other safe , especially in these mountainous regions where things can get sketchier .
That ’ s what happened at the Creek fire .
It used to be everybody would travel on their own .
We ’ re competitors .
At the SCU Lightning Complex fire , there was a photographer from AP , Reuters , San Francisco Chronicle and myself .
We were telling each other : “ Hey , hey guys , look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embers , burned from inside at the base , and it could fall over at any moment .
Falling trees are deadly , if not more deadly than the fires itself , just because they ’ re so unpredictable .
Hearing this constant sound of trees crackling and shattering can be haunting .
Imagine these redwoods several hundred feet tall that have crashed across the roadway .
It sure stops you from getting places .
Van der Brug : The job of covering wildfires has changed as our climate has changed .
Looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fires were seasonal .
I ’ d take my fire bag with protective Nomex clothing , helmet and goggles off a shelf in my garage and load it into my car along with gallon-sized bottles of water at the first forecast of Santa Ana winds and September heat .
Shortly after New Year ’ s Day , it would go back on the shelf until late summer or fall , when fire season came back around .
Today , it ’ s always fire season .
The cumulative effects of climate change , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire can start anytime .
The fire bag stays in my trunk all year long .
Can you share any anecdotes about close calls , a particular shot made in life-threatening circumstances — perhaps when you were trying to get a better picture or running for your life ?
Nishimura : This past Labor Day weekend , I was with Marcio Sanchez from AP and we saw the Laguna Hotshots [ an elite forest fighting crew ] out of the Cleveland National Forest getting ready to do structural protection for plants .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up , there were really large ember wash being blown into the air , and I saw the Hotshots begin to leave the area .
That ’ s a sign , when firefighters are leaving , you should be leaving too .
So we followed them .
We decided it wasn ’ t worth it anymore to stay there .
And there was only one way out of Big Creek , but with a wall of smoke blocking us — that ’ s probably the most worried I ’ ve ever been at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see in front of me .
I just had to navigate on gut alone .
What ’ s the process when unexpected fire news interrupts your day ?
Van der Brug : When a wildfire takes off locally , many of us will just drop what we ’ re doing and go cover it .
Other times an editor will call and ask us to go .
I was recently assigned to the Bear fire in the Plumas National Forest near Oroville .
I ’ d worked on a daily assignment in L.A. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ road in the late afternoon for the 450-mile drive to the fire line .
On the previous night , the fire raged through the small mountain community of Berry Creek .
I saw incredible images of the devastation online from freelance photographers Noah Berger and Josh Edelson .
The two Bay Area photographers are some of the best in the business .
They often pair up to work wildfires , share information and watch each other ’ s back .
I messaged Edelson on the way north .
He said he and Berger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for 31 hours straight .
He said I might still find some fire on the forest but thought it was laying down after burning through to the shore of Lake Oroville .
He gave me a tip : Check out Lumpkin Road , just over the Enterprise Bridge .
At first light the devastation over the bridge was masked by thick smoke , not unlike the Central Valley ’ s Tule fog , limiting visibility to 30 feet .
Driving slowly , the view through the haze revealed smoldering remnants of homes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Propane gas shot out of broken pipes with orange flames dancing through the air .
Burned-out shells of cars and trucks were in almost every yard and on nearby roads .
Aluminum from melted wheels left gleaming rivulets of molten metal alongside them .
The same scenes unfolded for several miles — torched mailboxes , fences , a “ Keep America Great ” campaign sign melted in the heat of the flames .
Around a bend in the road , the charred skeleton of a utility pole , wires and a transformer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a year to outdo other traumatic years , from the COVID pandemic to mass demonstrations to exploding firestorms .
Describe the drama of one of your missions .
Van der Brug : Although it ’ s our goal to get to the fire front and document firefighters battling a blaze , it ’ s not always possible .
Fires move according to weather and terrain .
They often burn in inaccessible areas .
The Bear fire , which was started by lightning in August , had been smoldering for weeks before it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities near Lake Oroville .
A dense layer of smoke prohibited air resources from fighting the fire , and with it the “ air show ” that accompanies that effort .
In a day the heavy action was over ; the time to photograph 50-foot walls of flames had passed .
But hazards in the aftermath of a fire can be just as dangerous as active fire .
In rural areas you are often on your own .
Gone are residents , evacuated days earlier , as well as firefighters who have moved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Although there ’ s no active fire , it ’ s no time to let your guard down .
Fallen utility poles , wires , burned trees , narrow dirt roads coupled with no cell service can get the unprepared into trouble .
And just because a fire is out doesn ’ t mean it will stay out .
Late into one evening when I was safely back at my hotel near Sacramento , a notification on Twitter came in : # BearFire/ # NorthComplexWestZone - Heavy fire impacting Stringtown Rd w/ a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injuries to any personnel & all firefighters are accounted for .
Fire crossed Stringtown & is now running parallel w/ Maidu Run .
How do you take care of yourself and recharge ?
Nishimura : When I ’ m at a fire , I make sure I get a good amount of sleep to keep me going .
In between fires , I try to unwind and find something relaxing , like reading a book or binge-watching a show on Netflix , something low-energy .
I stock up on trail mix and protein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 16 to 20 hours each day on the fire line , or driving around looking for things to photograph in an evacuation zone , you make sure you bring your own food and a ton of water .
But you ’ re constantly drawn to the work .
Sometimes , we ’ re bone-tired but we can ’ t let the danger discourage us .
I try to focus on the task at hand , much like the firefighters who are carrying heavier equipment .
These guys are working tirelessly .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting themselves at risk saving towns , saving people ’ s homes while totally exhausted .
At some level , I think : “ Hey , if these guys can do it and they have a much more serious load , so can I .
”

We absorb the images — the charred remains of a homeowner’s paradise, a sweeping natural vista left blackened by towers of flame — and they are startling in their reality.
And we can’t help but wonder: Just how do these photographers get so close? What runs through their minds? What risks do they take?
For Times staffers Kent Nishimura and Brian van der Brug, meeting the challenges of covering the California fires requires passion for their craft along with perseverance. They follow their own playbook, guided by instinct and years of dashing to heartbreaking assignments.
The recent West Coast blazes cap a fire streak that’s been unprecedented in its destructiveness and may grow worse in years to come.
Advertisement
A firefighter battles the Creek fire as it approaches Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Here, we go behind the scenes with Nishimura and Van der Brug to better understand what makes their pictures stir our emotions.
You’ve covered many fires before. How is this time different in its cruelty and intensity — and how must you adapt to get the job done?
Nishimura: This is my third fire season, and it totally feels like they get bigger and bigger. To stay ahead, we [photojournalists] started teaming up to look out for each other and keep each other safe, especially in these mountainous regions where things can get sketchier. That’s what happened at the Creek fire. It used to be everybody would travel on their own. We’re competitors.
At the SCU Lightning Complex fire, there was a photographer from AP, Reuters, San Francisco Chronicle and myself. We were telling each other: “Hey, hey guys, look out.” There was a tree with embers, burned from inside at the base, and it could fall over at any moment. Falling trees are deadly, if not more deadly than the fires itself, just because they’re so unpredictable. Hearing this constant sound of trees crackling and shattering can be haunting. Imagine these redwoods several hundred feet tall that have crashed across the roadway. It sure stops you from getting places.
Propane gas burns at a home on Zink Road in Berry Creek, Calif., destroyed in the North Complex fire. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Van der Brug: The job of covering wildfires has changed as our climate has changed. Looking back 10 or more years ago, fires were seasonal. I’d take my fire bag with protective Nomex clothing, helmet and goggles off a shelf in my garage and load it into my car along with gallon-sized bottles of water at the first forecast of Santa Ana winds and September heat. Shortly after New Year’s Day, it would go back on the shelf until late summer or fall, when fire season came back around. Today, it’s always fire season. The cumulative effects of climate change, record-high temperatures and drought mean a catastrophic fire can start anytime. The fire bag stays in my trunk all year long.
Can you share any anecdotes about close calls, a particular shot made in life-threatening circumstances — perhaps when you were trying to get a better picture or running for your life?
A member of the Laguna Hotshots Crew fights the Creek fire as it approaches SoCal Edison’s Big Creek hydroelectric plant on Sept. 6 in Big Creek, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Nishimura: This past Labor Day weekend, I was with Marcio Sanchez from AP and we saw the Laguna Hotshots [an elite forest-fire crew] out of the Cleveland National Forest getting ready to do structural protection for plants. At one point, the wind started kicking up, there were really large ember wash being blown into the air, and I saw the Hotshots begin to leave the area. That’s a sign, when firefighters are leaving, you should be leaving too. So we followed them. We decided it wasn’t worth it anymore to stay there. And there was only one way out of Big Creek, but with a wall of smoke blocking us — that’s probably the most worried I’ve ever been at a fire.
I couldn’t see in front of me. I just had to navigate on gut alone.
In a long-exposure photo, a vehicle streaks by Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffery Shipman along California 168 in Shaver Lake. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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What’s the process when unexpected fire news interrupts your day?
Van der Brug: When a wildfire takes off locally, many of us will just drop what we’re doing and go cover it. Other times, an editor will call and ask us to go. I was recently assigned to the Bear fire in the Plumas National Forest near Oroville. I’d worked on a daily assignment in L.A. most of the day and hit the road in the late afternoon for the 450-mile drive to the fire line.
On the previous night, the fire raged through the small mountain community of Berry Creek. I saw incredible images of the devastation online from freelance photographers Noah Berger and Josh Edelson. The two Bay Area photographers are some of the best in the business. They often pair up to work wildfires, share information and watch each other’s back. I messaged Edelson on the way north. He said he and Berger were headed home after working the fire for 31 hours straight. He said I might still find some fire on the forest but thought it was laying down after burning through to the shore of Lake Oroville. He gave me a tip: Check out Lumpkin Road, just over the Enterprise Bridge.
An overturned car on Bald Rock Road in the aftermath of the Bear fire on Sept. 10 in the community of Brush Creek. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
At first light, the devastation over the bridge was masked by thick smoke, not unlike the Central Valley’s tule fog, limiting visibility to 30 feet. Driving slowly, the view through the haze revealed smoldering remnants of homes, some with only stone chimneys still standing. Propane gas shot out of broken pipes, with orange flames dancing through the air. Burned-out shells of cars and trucks were in almost every yard and on nearby roads. Aluminum from melted wheels left gleaming rivulets of molten metal alongside them. The same scenes unfolded for several miles — torched mailboxes, fences, a “Keep America Great” campaign sign melted in the heat of the flames. Around a bend in the road, the charred skeleton of a utility pole, wires and a transformer blocked further passage.
Fire trucks drive over the Bidwell Bar Bridge in thick smoke from the Bear fire on Sept. 10 in Oroville, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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This has been a year to outdo other traumatic years, from the COVID pandemic to mass demonstrations to exploding firestorms. Describe the drama of one of your missions.
Van der Brug: Although it’s our goal to get to the fire front and document firefighters battling a blaze, it’s not always possible. Fires move according to weather and terrain. They often burn in inaccessible areas. The Bear fire, which was started by lightning in August, had been smoldering for weeks before it was driven by fierce winds into the mountain communities near Lake Oroville. A dense layer of smoke prohibited air resources from fighting the fire, and with it the “air show” that accompanies that effort. In a day, the heavy action was over; the time to photograph 50-foot walls of flames had passed. But hazards in the aftermath of a fire can be just as dangerous as active fire.
Flames consume dry brush around Santa Barbara city firefighters Eric Cole, left, and Mark Kramer as the crew sets a backfire along Oro Quincy Highway on Sept. 10 in Oroville, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
In rural areas, you are often on your own. Gone are residents, evacuated days earlier, as well as firefighters who have moved on to the next hot spot. Although there’s no active fire, it’s no time to let your guard down. Fallen utility poles, wires, burned trees, narrow dirt roads coupled with no cell service can get the unprepared into trouble. And just because a fire is out doesn’t mean it will stay out. Late into one evening when I was safely back at my hotel near Sacramento, a notification on Twitter came in:
#BearFire/#NorthComplexWestZone - Heavy fire impacting Stringtown Rd w/ a handcrews bus now fully engulfed, no injuries to any personnel & all firefighters are accounted for. Fire crossed Stringtown & is now running parallel w/ Maidu Run.
The Bear fire came roaring back.
How do you take care of yourself and recharge?
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Nishimura: When I’m at a fire, I make sure I get a good amount of sleep to keep me going. In between fires, I try to unwind and find something relaxing, like reading a book or binge-watching a show on Netflix, something low-energy. I stock up on trail mix and protein bars — when you’re spending 16 to 20 hours each day on the fire line, or driving around looking for things to photograph in an evacuation zone, you make sure you bring your own food and a ton of water.
1 / 42 Lance Georgeson of Mammoth Lakes paddleboards on Tenaya Lake on Sept. 13 in Yosemite National Park. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 42 Thick smoke from multiple forest fires shrouds iconic El Capitan, right, and the walls of Yosemite Valley. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 42 Benjamin Lewis takes a photo for a group of San Diego firefighters in Yosemite. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 42 A deer grazes in Cook’s Meadow as thick smoke shrouds the iconic landmarks of Yosemite Valley. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 42 Thick smoke shrouds iconic Half Dome towering over Yosemite Valley in a view from Sentinel Bridge over the Merced River on Sept. 13. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 42 Thick smoke shrouds Tenaya Lake on Sept. 13 in Yosemite National Park. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 42 A Cal Fire truck passes a burned-out vehicle on Stringtown Road on Friday in Oroville, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 42 Propane gas burns Friday at the ruins of a home on Zink Road in the Berry Creek area of Butte County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 42 Melted goggles lie on the ground next to the burned-out truck on Stringtown Road. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 42 A crew from Trinity River Conservation Camp, a prison facility, does mop-up work on Stringtown Road on Friday, the day after a flare-up in the area. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 42 Scorched cars in Brush Creek, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 42 A firefighter battles the Creek fire as it threatens homes in Madera County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 13 / 42 Flames from the Bear fire in Oroville, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 42 A horse in a field in Butte County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 42 Frank Martinez, left, and Rick Wolfe with their nine dogs in Oroville, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 42 A fox pauses amid burned brush in Butte County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 42 A statue is singed in Butte County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 42 Lake Oroville in Butte County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 42 Firefighters work to save a home in Butte County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 20 / 42 A burned truck in Butte County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 42 A firefighter battles the Creek fire in Madera County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 22 / 42 A plume rises from the Bear fire as it burns along Lake Oroville in Butte County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 23 / 42 A table stands outside the destroyed Cressman’s General Store in Fresno County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 24 / 42 A vehicle streaks by as Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffery Shipman stands along California 168, with the Creek fire in the background on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 42 The Laguna Hotshots Crew out of the Cleveland National Forest battles the Creek fire as it approaches the Southern California Edison Big Creek Hydroelectric Plant on Sept. 6 in Big Creek, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 42 Members of the Laguna Hotshots Crew walk down Huntington Lake Road to battle the Creek fire on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 42 A member of the Laguna Hotshots Crew is silhouetted against a background of flames. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 42 The Creek fire burns along Huntington Lake Road on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 42 A vehicle streaks along California 168 as the Creek fire creeps closer to Shaver Lake, Calif., on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 42 A member of the Laguna Hotshots Crew battles the Creek fire on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 42 A firefighter conducts a back-burn operation along California 168 as the Creek fire approaches the Shaver Lake Marina. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 42 Firefighter Ricardo Gomez sets a back burn amid the Creek fire near Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 42 A firefighter works on the back-burn operation near Shaver Lake Marina. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 42 A duck swims in Shaver Lake as the Creek fire approaches on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 42 Firefighter Ricardo Gomez battles the Creek fire with a back burn. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 42 The sky glows orange around Shaver Lake on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 42 A firefighter conducts a back-burn operation amid the Creek fire near Shaver Lake on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 42 Flames leap into the sky as fire engulfs trees near Shaver Lake. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 42 The Creek fire approaches the Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 42 Firefighter Ricardo Gomez sets a back burn amid the Creek fire near Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 42 A man stands on a dock at the Shaver Lake Marina as the Creek fire approaches on Sept. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 42 Flames consume dry brush around Santa Barbara firefighters as they set a backfire along Oro Quincy Highway in the aftermath of the Bear fire in Oroville. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
But you’re constantly drawn to the work. Sometimes, we’re bone-tired but we can’t let the danger discourage us. I try to focus on the task at hand, much like the firefighters who are carrying heavier equipment. These guys are working tirelessly. It’s pretty inspiring that they’re putting themselves at risk saving towns, saving people’s homes while totally exhausted. At some level, I think: “Hey, if these guys can do it and they have a much more serious load, so can I.”


latimes--2020-09-27--A Stockton spoken word poet became an unlikely reality television star

This morning we ’ ll be taking a brief break from the usual coronavirus and wildfire apocalypse programming to talk about a poet from the Central Valley , and his unlikely journey into millions of living rooms .
Brandon Leake honed his craft at open mike nights on the campus of a small Christian college in Redding , on slam poetry teams , in high school classrooms and wherever else he could .
Raised by a single mother on the south side of Stockton , he was accustomed , as he put it , to “ playing this game of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” But he also knew his calling .
By 2017 , the year Leake first auditioned for “ America ’ s Got Talent , ” he had visited to perform spoken word poetry or lead workshops with their Black student unions .
For those unfamiliar with the nuances of modern reality television , “ America ’ s Got Talent ” is a bit like a high school talent show , if you fed said talent show a massive amount of steroids and then coated everything with the hyper-produced sheen of prime-time network television @ @ @ @ @ @ @ glitzy guest appearances and grand-looking stages .
The show , which just finished its 15th U.S. season , is part of the global “ Got Talent ” franchise created by wise-cracking British entertainment mogul Simon Cowell .
In 2014 , the brand was recognized by Guinness World Records as “ the world ’ s most successful reality TV format ” for its spinoffs in 58 countries and territories .
Leake , a former high school English teacher who now works as an academic counselor at a local community college , was flatly rejected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 .
The show ’ s contestant roster had been home to ventriloquists , magicians and acrobatic troupes , along with the dancers , comedians and musicians .
But it was not yet ready for a performance poet .
In American life , poetry is often relegated to the dustbins of academia and narrow-audience obscurity .
It ’ s less popular than jazz and knitting , according to government data cited by the .
Even spoken word poetry , which skews younger and less stodgy than the written stuff , rarely has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here ’ s how poetry critic David Orr put it in his 2011 book “ Beautiful and Pointless , ” which was obviously about the state of modern poetry : “ For decades now , one of the poetry world ’ s favorite activities has been bemoaning its lost audience , and then bemoaning the bemoaning , then bemoaning that bemoaning , until finally everyone shrugs and applies for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
” I don ’ t know if Leake has ever applied for a grant from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his hand at auditioning for “ AGT ” again in 2020 .
After making it through the entrant rounds , he received a call from producers in mid-March , just as the coronavirus was beginning to rewrite the narrative in the U.S .
They told him that if he wanted to do the show ( and , by extension , make history as spoken word poet to be granted a spot ) , he would have to be in Los Angeles the next morning .
His wife , Anna Leake , had just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when he told her the news , she told him he had to go .
He let her nap for a few hours and then headed south toward Hollywood .
As he was driving through the night , Leake ’ s 17-year-old Honda broke down on the Grapevine .
He had barely had a wink of sleep when he finally made it to the Dolby Theatre .
And Simon Cowell immediately expressed his skepticism before Leake had even begun his first performance , telling him : “ I don ’ t really understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be honest with you.
” But rather than intimidating him , Leake said that Cowell ’ s words excited him .
“ I can be your introduction to this world , ” he remembered thinking .
“ Let ’ s do this.
” And as the season continued , something even stranger than a spoken word poet earning a spot in a prime-time talent competition happened : Leake became something of a breakout star on the show , generating headlines with his deeply personal and powerfully rendered performances .
Viewers and judges watched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poems about the Black Lives Matter movement and his mother ’ s fear that someday her son ’ s own name might become “ America ’ s next most popular hashtag , ” along with his grief over his little sister ’ s death in infancy and his yearning for his father .
During the first installment of the show ’ s finale Tuesday night , with more than 5 million viewers tuning in , he performed a spoken word poem in the form of a prayer for his baby daughter .
Earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in and out of Zoom classrooms , talking to students at his Stockton alma mater , Edison High .
But now he stood alone on the empty faux streets of the Universal Studios back lot , looking like a skinny college kid under the harsh spotlights .
For 3 minutes and 52 seconds , he spoke directly to his 6-month-old daughter , Aaliyah .
He grappled in urgent rhymes with the most intimate and universal of relationships , telling his child how he prayed his own inadequacies did not “ become a family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his sins to the cemetery “ before they ever become hereditary.
” He told her how there was no longer time for fear or faltering when he felt so compelled to plant the best of himself in her , to guide her toward what she wanted to be .
He finished with an “ amen , ” his head bowed and hands folded in worship .
And then the camera cut back to “ America ’ s Got Talent ” host Terry Crews standing in a sharp suit , a giant glowing star @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the set behind him .
Noting how powerful the performance had been , Crews asked the judges for their take .
“ I ’ ve never experienced anything like this in my life , and especially on this show , ” celebrity judge Howie Mandel said , adding that he had never really experienced poetry before .
But the television personality and comedian , whose signature stand-up bit involved pulling a latex glove over his head and inflating it with his nostrils , had been an unlikely champion of poetry on the prime-time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run .
He awarded Leake a coveted “ Golden Buzzer ” early in the season , granting him a straight shot to the live shows , and heaped praise during his performances .
By backing Leake , one could argue that Mandel did more to shepherd poetry into American homes than perhaps any other public figure during the last six months .
“ Like Howie said , this is a new experience for me and I have loved it , ” actress Sofia Vergara said next , sitting at the judges ’ table @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s so meaningful.
” Finally , the third judge , Heidi Klum , took her turn .
“ I truly believe you deserve a show in Las Vegas , ” Klum told Leake , marking perhaps the first time those words had been uttered in that order to a poet .
“ And we , as people , we deserve more artists like you.
” The judges had had their say , but the final winner — like at least some American elections — would still be decided by the voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Crews said with great gravitas Wednesday night , as a socially distanced audience seated in neat rows of studio golf carts looked on .
“ America has voted .
The winner of the one million dollars and the star of the headline show in Las Vegas is ... [ an interminably long 15-second pause ] ... Brandon Leake.
” Fireworks rose over the Universal Studios gates as Leake fell to his knees in joy and surprise .
In interviews after his win , he said he wanted to cut a check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student loans , to go on a world poetry tour and to keep investing in Stockton .
Speaking by phone on Friday , he told me he planned to lead student poetry workshops in the city , particularly in “ our disenfranchised south- and east-side communities , ” and get back to a writing curriculum he had been teaching at a prison northeast of town .
He might even try his hand at acting and directing .
I asked him what he hoped his students and former students were thinking Wednesday night , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prize for his very personal work .
“ I hope that they were able to see themselves , ” he said .

This morning we’ll be taking a brief break from the usual coronavirus and wildfire apocalypse programming to talk about a poet from the Central Valley, and his unlikely journey into millions of living rooms.
Brandon Leake honed his craft at open mike nights on the campus of a small Christian college in Redding, on slam poetry teams, in high school classrooms and wherever else he could. Raised by a single mother on the south side of Stockton, he was accustomed, as he put it , to “playing this game of life with the decks stacked against you.” But he also knew his calling.
By 2017, the year Leake first auditioned for “America’s Got Talent,” he had visited “every single high school in town” to perform spoken word poetry or lead workshops with their Black student unions.
Advertisement
For those unfamiliar with the nuances of modern reality television, “America’s Got Talent” is a bit like a high school talent show, if you fed said talent show a massive amount of steroids and then coated everything with the hyper-produced sheen of prime-time network television. Think celebrity judges and hosts, glitzy guest appearances and grand-looking stages.
The show, which just finished its 15th U.S. season, is part of the global “Got Talent” franchise created by wise-cracking British entertainment mogul Simon Cowell. In 2014, the brand was recognized by Guinness World Records as “the world’s most successful reality TV format” for its spinoffs in 58 countries and territories.
Leake, a former high school English teacher who now works as an academic counselor at a local community college, was flatly rejected by the “AGT” screeners in 2017. The show’s contestant roster had been home to ventriloquists, magicians and acrobatic troupes, along with the dancers, comedians and musicians. But it was not yet ready for a performance poet.
In American life, poetry is often relegated to the dustbins of academia and narrow-audience obscurity. It’s less popular than jazz and knitting, according to government data cited by the Washington Post . Even spoken word poetry, which skews younger and less stodgy than the written stuff, rarely has a place on the national public stage.
Here’s how poetry critic David Orr put it in his 2011 book “Beautiful and Pointless,” which was obviously about the state of modern poetry: “For decades now, one of the poetry world’s favorite activities has been bemoaning its lost audience, and then bemoaning the bemoaning, then bemoaning that bemoaning, until finally everyone shrugs and applies for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.”
I don’t know if Leake has ever applied for a grant from the NEA, but he did try his hand at auditioning for “AGT” again in 2020.
Advertisement
After making it through the entrant rounds, he received a call from producers in mid-March, just as the coronavirus was beginning to rewrite the narrative in the U.S.
They told him that if he wanted to do the show (and, by extension, make history as the first spoken word poet to be granted a spot), he would have to be in Los Angeles the next morning. His wife, Anna Leake, had just given birth two weeks ago, but when he told her the news, she told him he had to go. He let her nap for a few hours and then headed south toward Hollywood.
As he was driving through the night, Leake’s 17-year-old Honda broke down on the Grapevine. He had barely had a wink of sleep when he finally made it to the Dolby Theatre. And Simon Cowell immediately expressed his skepticism before Leake had even begun his first performance, telling him: “I don’t really understand poetry, I’m going to be honest with you.”
But rather than intimidating him, Leake said that Cowell’s words excited him. “I can be your introduction to this world,” he remembered thinking. “Let’s do this.”
And as the season continued, something even stranger than a spoken word poet earning a spot in a prime-time talent competition happened: Leake became something of a breakout star on the show, generating headlines with his deeply personal and powerfully rendered performances.
Viewers and judges watched in awe as Leake performed spoken word poems about the Black Lives Matter movement and his mother’s fear that someday her son’s own name might become “America’s next most popular hashtag,” along with his grief over his little sister’s death in infancy and his yearning for his father.
During the first installment of the show’s finale Tuesday night, with more than 5 million viewers tuning in, he performed a spoken word poem in the form of a prayer for his baby daughter.
Earlier in the day, he had been in and out of Zoom classrooms, talking to students at his Stockton alma mater, Edison High. But now he stood alone on the empty faux streets of the Universal Studios back lot, looking like a skinny college kid under the harsh spotlights.
For 3 minutes and 52 seconds, he spoke directly to his 6-month-old daughter, Aaliyah.
He grappled in urgent rhymes with the most intimate and universal of relationships, telling his child how he prayed his own inadequacies did not “become a family legacy,” that he could carry his sins to the cemetery “before they ever become hereditary.”
He told her how there was no longer time for fear or faltering when he felt so compelled to plant the best of himself in her, to guide her toward what she wanted to be. He finished with an “amen,” his head bowed and hands folded in worship.
And then the camera cut back to “America’s Got Talent” host Terry Crews standing in a sharp suit, a giant glowing star and a stylized L.A. skyline emblazoned on the set behind him. Noting how powerful the performance had been, Crews asked the judges for their take.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life, and especially on this show,” celebrity judge Howie Mandel said, adding that he had never really experienced poetry before.
But the television personality and comedian, whose signature stand-up bit involved pulling a latex glove over his head and inflating it with his nostrils, had been an unlikely champion of poetry on the prime-time stage throughout the show’s 2020 run. He awarded Leake a coveted “Golden Buzzer” early in the season, granting him a straight shot to the live shows, and heaped praise during his performances. By backing Leake, one could argue that Mandel did more to shepherd poetry into American homes than perhaps any other public figure during the last six months.
“Like Howie said, this is a new experience for me and I have loved it,” actress Sofia Vergara said next, sitting at the judges’ table in a sequined black-and-white bustier. “It’s so meaningful.”
Finally, the third judge, Heidi Klum, took her turn. “I truly believe you deserve a show in Las Vegas,” Klum told Leake, marking perhaps the first time those words had been uttered in that order to a poet. “And we, as people, we deserve more artists like you.”
The judges had had their say, but the final winner — like at least some American elections — would still be decided by the voting public.
“It’s time,” Crews said with great gravitas Wednesday night, as a socially distanced audience seated in neat rows of studio golf carts looked on.
“America has voted. The winner of the one million dollars and the star of the headline show in Las Vegas is ... [an interminably long 15-second pause] ... Brandon Leake.”
Fireworks rose over the Universal Studios gates as Leake fell to his knees in joy and surprise.
In interviews after his win, he said he wanted to cut a check to Sallie Mae and pay off his student loans, to go on a world poetry tour and to keep investing in Stockton.
Speaking by phone on Friday, he told me he planned to lead student poetry workshops in the city, particularly in “our disenfranchised south- and east-side communities,” and get back to a writing curriculum he had been teaching at a prison northeast of town. He might even try his hand at acting and directing.
I asked him what he hoped his students and former students were thinking Wednesday night, as they watched him take the grand prize for his very personal work.
“I hope that they were able to see themselves,” he said.


latimes--2020-09-27--Driver arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at Yorba Linda police brutality protest

A woman was arrested Saturday on suspicion of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after driving her car into a crowd during a demonstration in Yorba Linda involving protesters against police brutality and counter-demonstrators , authorities said .
Tatiana Turner , 40 , of Long Beach was being held at the Orange County Jail Intake-Release Center in Santa Ana in lieu of $ 1 million bail , according to jail records .
Investigators believe she was part of a group that planned the protest , the Orange County Sheriff ’ s Department said .
Two people were injured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dennis Breckner of the Sheriff ’ s Department .
One man suffered two broken legs and was hospitalized , and one woman suffered major and moderate injuries throughout her body , he said .
The original protest was advertised as a march against police brutality , social injustice and systemic racism , according to a flier posted on Instagram by the Urban Organizers Coalition .
It was scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday outside the Yorba Linda Library on Imperial Boulevard .
A counter-demonstration held by Trump supporters was slated to start at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off , with protesters on one side shouting “ Black Lives Matter , ” and their counterparts yelling “ U.S.A. , ” according to the Orange County Register .
The Sheriff ’ s Department received multiple reports of physical confrontations between the two groups , Breckner said .
At least one person was pepper-sprayed by a protester or counter-protester , the Sheriff ’ s Department said .
Authorities also received reports that someone was displaying a firearm .
Breckner estimated that there were a total of 250 people from both sides .
Shortly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media shows a white car driving into a group of people , many of whom were waving Trump 2020 and American flags .
“ The people in the crowd that were hit were in the Trump support group , ” Breckner said .
The Sheriff ’ s Department declared an unlawful assembly and put out an order for the crowd to disperse .
One other person — Jason Mancuso , 46 , of Anaheim — was arrested for refusing to disperse , but the area was mostly cleared by 4 p.m. , Breckner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to jail records .
One of the organizers of the Urban Organizers Coalition , who asked that her name not be used out of safety concerns , said later her group had been at the protest for only a few minutes before Trump supporters crossed the street and came into the library parking lot where the protesters were gathering .
“ We were not there to fight , or for violence , we were there to express our feelings , and the community of Yorba Linda was not happy with us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Someone came up to her , she said , and told her , “ I am a racist and you need to get out of my town .
You need to go back where you came from.
” Later she said members of her group were sprayed with bear mace .
“ Today was the most scared I have ever been , ” she said .

A woman was arrested Saturday on suspicion of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after driving her car into a crowd during a demonstration in Yorba Linda involving protesters against police brutality and counter-demonstrators, authorities said.
Tatiana Turner, 40, of Long Beach was being held at the Orange County Jail Intake-Release Center in Santa Ana in lieu of $1 million bail, according to jail records. Investigators believe she was part of a group that planned the protest, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.
Two people were injured in the incident, said Sgt. Dennis Breckner of the Sheriff’s Department.
One man suffered two broken legs and was hospitalized, and one woman suffered major and moderate injuries throughout her body, he said.
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The original protest was advertised as a march against police brutality, social injustice and systemic racism, according to a flier posted on Instagram by the Urban Organizers Coalition.
It was scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday outside the Yorba Linda Library on Imperial Boulevard.
A counter-demonstration held by Trump supporters was slated to start at the same time. The two groups faced off, with protesters on one side shouting “Black Lives Matter,” and their counterparts yelling “U.S.A.,” according to the Orange County Register.
The Sheriff’s Department received multiple reports of physical confrontations between the two groups, Breckner said. At least one person was pepper-sprayed by a protester or counter-protester, the Sheriff’s Department said. Authorities also received reports that someone was displaying a firearm.
Breckner estimated that there were a total of 250 people from both sides.
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Shortly before 3 p.m. video posted on social media shows a white car driving into a group of people, many of whom were waving Trump 2020 and American flags.
“The people in the crowd that were hit were in the Trump support group,” Breckner said.
The Sheriff’s Department declared an unlawful assembly and put out an order for the crowd to disperse. One other person — Jason Mancuso, 46, of Anaheim — was arrested for refusing to disperse, but the area was mostly cleared by 4 p.m., Breckner said. Mancuso was cited and released, according to jail records.
One of the organizers of the Urban Organizers Coalition, who asked that her name not be used out of safety concerns, said later her group had been at the protest for only a few minutes before Trump supporters crossed the street and came into the library parking lot where the protesters were gathering.
“We were not there to fight, or for violence, we were there to express our feelings, and the community of Yorba Linda was not happy with us being there,” she said. Someone came up to her, she said, and told her, “I am a racist and you need to get out of my town. You need to go back where you came from.”
Later she said members of her group were sprayed with bear mace.
“Today was the most scared I have ever been,” she said.


latimes--2020-09-26--PG&E cut power to 11,000 customers in Butte County early Sunday, plans to extend outages to 54,000 m

PG&E cut power to 11,000 customers in Butte County early Sunday, plans to extend outages to 54,000 more

Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to 11,000 customers in Butte County early Sunday and plans to extend the outages to 54,000 more customers in the Central Sierra by late afternoon , as dry , unseasonably hot conditions and strong winds continue to increase fire danger across much of Northern California , officials announced Sunday morning .
There was a sliver of good news in the update by PG & E , as the outages announced Sunday will affect far fewer customers than the utility had planned just a day earlier — a total of 65,000 customers potentially left without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down from the previous estimate of 89,000 .
“ The weather conditions have improved , ” said Fiona Chan , a PG & E spokeswoman .
“ We are closely monitoring the situation.
” The second phase of the shut-off Sunday is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and affect customers in Alpine , Amador , Calaveras , El Dorado , Lake , Napa , Nevada , Placer , Plumas , Shasta , Sierra , Sonoma , Tehama and Yuba counties .
Fifteen customers in Kern County will be affected in the third @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hit county is El Dorado , home to Placerville and east of Sacramento , where more than 27,000 customers are expected to lose power .
In Sonoma County , Chan said , only two customers will be affected .
Utility officials said that a “ public safety power shut-off ” is necessary because hot and dry conditions , combined with expected high wind gusts , pose an increased risk for electrical-system damage that could ignite fires in areas with dry vegetation .
Gusts of up to 55 mph are expected in some areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 p.m. Saturday through early Monday .
The warnings cover from just above Redding southeast into the Sierra foothills , parts of the Sacramento Valley , and areas in and around the San Francisco Bay Area , including the North Bay mountains , East Bay hills and interior valleys .
David Sweet , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard , previously said a large area of high pressure covering almost the entire West Coast is expected to build over the weekend .
Temperatures could climb 10 to 20 degrees above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the forecast conditions — which include sustained winds , low humidity and summer-like temperatures — will make it easier for fires to both start and spread .
That ’ s unwelcome news in a region where crews are still working to contain some of the largest wildfires in California history .
Those include the northeast of Oroville — which has burned more than 305,000 acres and has become one of the deadliest and in the state ’ s history .
Containment on that blaze is at 78 % .
The mammoth has charred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Mendocino , Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests , southwest of Redding .
That blaze is 43 % contained .

Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to 11,000 customers in Butte County early Sunday and planned to extend the outages to 54,000 more customers in the Central Sierra by Sunday evening, as dry, unseasonably hot conditions and strong winds continue to increase fire danger across much of Northern California, officials announced Sunday morning.
There was a sliver of good news in the update by PG&E, as the outages announced Sunday will affect far fewer customers than the utility had planned just a day earlier — a total of 65,000 customers potentially left without power in parts of 16 counties, down from the previous estimate of 89,000.
“The weather conditions have improved,” said Fiona Chan, a PG&E spokeswoman. “We are closely monitoring the situation.”
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The second phase of the shut-off Sunday is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and affect customers in Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba counties.
Fifteen customers in Kern County will be affected in the third phase around 7 a.m. Monday.
Power should be restored for all customers by Monday night, utility officials said.
The hardest hit county is El Dorado, home to Placerville and east of Sacramento, where more than 27,000 customers are expected to lose power. In Sonoma County, Chan said, only two customers will be affected.
Utility officials said that a “public safety power shut-off” is necessary because hot and dry conditions, combined with expected high wind gusts, pose an increased risk for electrical-system damage that could ignite fires in areas with dry vegetation. Gusts of up to 55 mph are expected in some areas.
Red flag warnings are now in effect for much of Northern California from 9 p.m. Saturday through Monday afternoon. The warnings cover from just above Redding southeast into the Sierra foothills, parts of the Sacramento Valley, and areas in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, including the North Bay mountains, East Bay hills and interior valleys.
David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, previously said a large area of high pressure covering almost the entire West Coast is expected to build over the weekend. Temperatures could climb 10 to 20 degrees above normal in some areas.
Officials said the forecast conditions — which include sustained winds, low humidity and summer-like temperatures — will make it easier for fires to both start and spread.
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That’s unwelcome news in a region where crews are still working to contain some of the largest wildfires in California history.
Those include the North Complex fire northeast of Oroville — which has burned more than 305,000 acres and has become one of the deadliest and most destructive in the state’s history. Containment on that blaze is at 78%.


latimes--2020-09-28--So much for shaking hands and kissing babies: How COVID-19 is reshaping L.A. campaigns

Knocking on doors .
Mingling at meet-and-greets .
Crowding into campaign offices with volunteers .
Weeks ahead of the November election , many of the familiar rituals of stumping for votes are off the table during the COVID-19 pandemic , drastically changing what it looks like to run for office in Los Angeles .
Candidates are debating over video calls , rather than in community centers or church halls .
Many politicians are barely using — or forgoing entirely — campaign offices that would ordinarily be full of volunteers , yard signs and cold pizza .
And door knocking , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaching out to voters , has been called off by many candidates .
It ’ s unclear how such changes will affect the upcoming contests in Los Angeles , where spots on the City Council , the county Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles Unified school board are up for grabs .
“ It ’ s a brand new world , ” said Eric Hacopian , a political consultant who is not working on any L.A. city or county campaigns in November .
“ You can ’ t make predictions when there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of.
” For council candidates , the pandemic only adds another layer of uncertainty to an election that is already unusual : This is the first time those races will coincide with a presidential election , a shift expected to radically increase turnout .
The biggest change , for most campaigns , is the elimination of door knocking .
In the race to represent an L.A. council district spanning from Sherman Oaks to Silver Lake , both Councilman David Ryu and his opponent Nithya Raman have credited door knocking for past successes — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got him onto the council as a City Hall outsider , Raman for a strong showing in the March primary that forced the councilman into an unusual runoff .
Ryu campaign manager Julia Duncan said that although their volunteers miss the chance to talk face-to-face with voters , many people seem to be more receptive to phone calls .
“ People are home .
Maybe they ’ re bored .
They may be more willing to pick up the phone and have a conversation with a stranger , ” Duncan said .
Other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the nonprofit executive running against Ryu , has held online volunteer trainings and fundraisers — including a “ virtual reunion ” with cast members from the television show “ Parks and Recreation.
” State Sen. Holly Mitchell , who is running for county supervisor against L.A. City Councilman Herb Wesson , said that moving her meet-and-greets online has had an unexpected upside .
“ If somebody is going to show up at an event for you , they probably already know you , ” Mitchell said , mentioning usual barriers like finding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ via Zoom , if your friend says , ‘ Hey , I heard about this woman , do you want to meet her ?
’ you might be more inclined to learn about the campaign.
” Moving that politicking online , however , can come at the cost of some of the usual campaign fanfare and camaraderie .
Michael Trujillo , a political consultant advising L.A. school board candidates Marilyn Koziatek and Tanya Franklin , said both campaigns plan to try to recapture that excitement through car caravans with signs and honking .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ home , so you try to be creative and get them out of the house in a way that ’ s fun and safe , ” he said , describing the caravans as an “ old school ” tactic with renewed relevance amid the pandemic .
Campaigns are also setting up “ text parties ” on Zoom for volunteers who are texting voters , allowing them to easily consult campaign leaders and share information when voters have unexpected questions , Trujillo said .
And County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas , who is running for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September kickoff rally to Zoom — a virtual event emceed by a KJLH radio host that included remarks from Rep. Karen Bass .
“ It still felt , at least for me , that it captured the essence of a kickoff — of being part of something , ” said Fernando Ramirez , campaign manager for Ridley-Thomas .
Meanwhile , Ridley-Thomas ’ opponent , attorney Grace Yoo , is taking an unusual step for candidates in the COVID-19 era : continuing to knock on doors to reach voters .
Yoo said she wears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents step out to talk .
So far , she said , the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive .
“ Maybe there were some people at home that just didn ’ t open the door — but I think some were really happy to see me , because they haven ’ t had too many human interactions , ” Yoo said .
Some candidates have emphasized their handling of the crisis as they seek office : Wesson campaign advisor John Shallman said the L.A. councilman , who is seeking to become a county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ turned what would have been his campaign into a community service program , ” handing out food , diapers and masks .
And if some of those masks bear his name ?
“ Campaigns can give swag to people — we ’ re doing things people can actually use , ” Shallman said .
“ He ’ s decided to spend his time in the community , working to get folks what they need to survive.
” Hacopian said that questions of campaign tactics will probably be “ marginal issues ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic : more people voting by mail .
That will likely speed up the timetable for candidates to get out their messages to Angelenos who are mailing in ballots , especially as voters are urged to act early because of postal delays , he said .
People “ may vote quite early , before you ’ ve even had a chance to reach them , ” said Mark A. Peterson , professor of public policy , political science and law at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs .
Peterson added that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the pandemic will shape decisions about local candidates , including whether voters will take incumbent politicians to task for L.A. ’ s handling of the COVID-19 threat .
On the flip side , Raman campaign co-manager Meghan Choi said she feared that the loss of face-to-face talks could hurt challengers .
“ If you ’ re a grassroots campaign and one of your strongest assets is engaging voters and turning out new people , it can be a little harder , ” Choi said .
“ Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation .
@

Nithya Raman, center, who is running to unseat Councilman David Ryu, talks to access center associate Sally Nowak at Safe Space for Youth in L.A. in June.
Knocking on doors. Mingling at meet-and-greets. Crowding into campaign offices with volunteers.
Weeks ahead of the November election, many of the familiar rituals of stumping for votes are off the table during the COVID-19 pandemic, drastically changing what it looks like to run for office in Los Angeles.
Candidates are debating over video calls, rather than in community centers or church halls. Many politicians are barely using — or forgoing entirely — campaign offices that would ordinarily be full of volunteers, yard signs and cold pizza. And door knocking, long revered as the gold standard for reaching out to voters, has been called off by many candidates.
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It’s unclear how such changes will affect the upcoming contests in Los Angeles, where spots on the City Council, the county Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles Unified school board are up for grabs.
“It’s a brand new world,” said Eric Hacopian, a political consultant who is not working on any L.A. city or county campaigns in November. “You can’t make predictions when there’s no patterns to go off of.”
For council candidates, the pandemic only adds another layer of uncertainty to an election that is already unusual: This is the first time those races will coincide with a presidential election, a shift expected to radically increase turnout.
The biggest change, for most campaigns, is the elimination of door knocking. In the race to represent an L.A. council district spanning from Sherman Oaks to Silver Lake, both Councilman David Ryu and his opponent Nithya Raman have credited door knocking for past successes — Ryu for the 2015 upset that first got him onto the council as a City Hall outsider, Raman for a strong showing in the March primary that forced the councilman into an unusual runoff.
Ryu campaign manager Julia Duncan said that although their volunteers miss the chance to talk face to face with voters, many people seem to be more receptive to phone calls.
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“People are home. Maybe they’re bored. They may be more willing to pick up the phone and have a conversation with a stranger,” Duncan said.
Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu, right, talks with Modesta Zapata, left, and Gabriel Reilich at the Larchmont Farmers Market on Sunday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Other campaign events have migrated online: Raman, the nonprofit executive running against Ryu, has held online volunteer trainings and fundraisers — including a “virtual reunion” with cast members from the television show “Parks and Recreation.” State Sen. Holly Mitchell, who is running for county supervisor against L.A. City Councilman Herb Wesson, said that moving her meet-and-greets online has had an unexpected upside.
“If somebody is going to show up at an event for you, they probably already know you,” Mitchell said, mentioning usual barriers such as finding child care and fighting traffic. “But via Zoom, if your friend says, ‘Hey, I heard about this woman, do you want to meet her?’ you might be more inclined to learn about the campaign.”
Moving that politicking online, however, can come at the cost of some of the usual campaign fanfare and camaraderie. Michael Trujillo, a political consultant advising L.A. school board candidates Marilyn Koziatek and Tanya Franklin, said both campaigns plan to try to recapture that excitement through car caravans with signs and honking.
“Everyone’s been stuck at home, so you try to be creative and get them out of the house in a way that’s fun and safe,” he said, describing the caravans as an “old school” tactic with renewed relevance amid the pandemic.
Big thank you to everyone who joined us for Saturday's virtual zoom kick off rally and phone bank! #MRTforCD10
Watch the highlights: https://t.co/bnVCsFQu2l — Mark Ridley-Thomas (@MRTempower) September 18, 2020
Campaigns are also setting up “text parties” on Zoom for volunteers who are texting voters, allowing them to easily consult campaign leaders and share information when voters have unexpected questions, Trujillo said.
And County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is running for a Crenshaw-to-Koreatown council seat, took his September kickoff rally to Zoom — a virtual event emceed by a KJLH radio host that included remarks from Rep. Karen Bass.
“It still felt, at least for me, that it captured the essence of a kickoff — of being part of something,” said Fernando Ramirez, campaign manager for Ridley-Thomas.
Meanwhile, Ridley-Thomas’ opponent, attorney Grace Yoo, is taking an unusual step for candidates in the COVID-19 era: continuing to knock on doors to reach voters. Yoo said she wears a mask and keeps her distance when residents step out to talk. So far, she said, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Maybe there were some people at home that just didn’t open the door — but I think some were really happy to see me, because they haven’t had too many human interactions,” Yoo said.
Human rights activist Melvin Snell, who was a District 10 candidate in the primary, stopped by recently to pick up Yoo campaign materials to distribute on my behalf. So glad to have his endorsement and boots-on-the-ground support. Thank you, Melvin! #Campaign2020 pic.twitter.com/HjToGFNrg5 — Grace Yoo (@GraceYooCD10) September 18, 2020
Some candidates have emphasized their handling of the crisis as they seek office: Wesson campaign advisor John Shallman said the L.A. councilman, who is seeking to become a county supervisor, scaled back more traditional campaigning and “turned what would have been his campaign into a community service program,” handing out food, diapers and masks.
And if some of those masks bear his name? “Campaigns can give swag to people — we’re doing things people can actually use,” Shallman said. “He’s decided to spend his time in the community, working to get folks what they need to survive.”
California Program to house homeless people in hotels is ending after falling short of goal After reaching less than 30% of its goal to shelter homeless people who are vulnerable to the coronavirus, Project Roomkey is starting to phase out in the face of funding uncertainty.
Hacopian said that questions of campaign tactics will probably be “marginal issues” compared with a bigger change tied to the pandemic: more people voting by mail. That will probably speed up the timetable for candidates to get out their messages to Angelenos who are mailing in ballots, especially as voters are urged to act early because of postal delays, he said.
People “may vote quite early, before you’ve even had a chance to reach them,” said Mark A. Peterson, professor of public policy, political science and law at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Peterson added that it’s unclear how the ongoing pressures of the pandemic will shape decisions about local candidates, including whether voters will take incumbent politicians to task for L.A.’s handling of the COVID-19 threat. On the flip side, Raman campaign co-manager Meghan Choi said she feared that the loss of face-to-face talks could hurt challengers.
“If you’re a grass-roots campaign and one of your strongest assets is engaging voters and turning out new people, it can be a little harder,” Choi said. “Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation.”


latimes--2020-09-27--Search for pilot continues after plane debris found in waters off Isla Vista

Divers and other rescue personnel were searching for a missing pilot in the waters off Isla Vista on Sunday after witnesses reported her single-engine plane suddenly losing altitude after taking off from Santa Barbara Airport , authorities said .
Mike Eliason , a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department , said the Cessna was believed to be occupied only by the woman piloting it .
He said it took off from Santa Barbara shortly after 7 a.m. and was bound for Lake Tahoe .
Eliason said some witnesses reported seeing the plane lose altitude , while others reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offshore .
Emergency responders from the county and from the U.S. Coast Guard scrambled to respond , and about 90 minutes later found a sheen on the water that smelled like aviation fuel and then “ debris that was consistent with the markings and the color scheme ” of the Cessna .
The dive team of the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department was called in to assist in the search .
The water at the crash site is from 180 to 250 feet deep , Eliason said .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .

A search was underway Sunday for the pilot of a small plane that went down in the waters off Isla Vista.
Divers and other rescue personnel were searching for a missing pilot in the waters off Isla Vista on Sunday after witnesses reported her single-engine plane suddenly losing altitude after taking off from Santa Barbara Airport, authorities said.
Mike Eliason, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, said the Cessna was believed to be occupied only by the woman piloting it. He said it took off from Santa Barbara shortly after 7 a.m. and was bound for Lake Tahoe.
Eliason said some witnesses reported seeing the plane lose altitude, while others reported seeing a large splash about two miles offshore.
Emergency responders from the county and from the U.S. Coast Guard scrambled to respond, and about 90 minutes later found a sheen on the water that smelled like aviation fuel and then “debris that was consistent with the markings and the color scheme” of the Cessna.
The dive team of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was called in to assist in the search. The water at the crash site is from 180 to 250 feet deep, Eliason said.
“It’s a terrible tragedy that this happened,” he said.


latimes--2020-09-27--Fires rampage through wine country, destroying numerous homes in Santa Rosa

California wine country was devastated by yet another series of wildfires overnight as flames destroyed numerous homes in Napa and Sonoma counties and thousands were forced to run for their lives in the darkness of night .
A number of homes began to burn early Monday in the suburban eastern neighborhoods of Santa Rosa .
The city of 177,000 residents , Sonoma County ’ s most populous , was devastated three years ago by the Tubbs fire — also driven by strong winds — that destroyed about 1,500 homes in the northwestern Coffey Park neighborhood , which was mostly built @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was the suburban northeastern neighborhoods of Santa Rosa that were burning , this time from the Shady fire .
Whipped by powerful hot and dry Diablo winds coming from the north and east , which showered embers onto the city , flames engulfed houses in the area of Mountain Hawk Drive , which is lined with two-story tract homes in the Skyhawk development , built in the late 1990s and early 2000s .
The number of structures lost was still unclear .
Deer were seen fleeing as firefighters battled the flames before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rosa were under mandatory evacuation orders .
Districts in the city ’ s northeast were ordered to empty , including the neighborhoods of Calistoga , Skyhawk , Melita , Stonebridge , the Oakmont retirement community and Pythian .
Busloads of older people were evacuated from the Oakmont Gardens assisted-living community as flames could be seen in the distance .
Elsewhere in the city , cars jammed narrow roads as residents heeded evacuation orders .
Two other fires were also burning upwind of the fire encroaching on Santa Rosa , both of them flanking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County : the Boyson fire to the west and the Glass fire to the north .
The Glass fire burned rapidly Sunday through Napa Valley ’ s famed Silverado Trail , known for its wineries .
One building in flames was the distinctive stone structure at the Chateau Boswell Winery , which marked its 40th anniversary last year , several miles northwest of St. Helena .
Ash could be seen falling from the sky throughout the region , with one resident tweeting that the flakes were so large “ you can hear them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Napa County , mandatory evacuation zones had been expanded to cover the hills on both sides of the northern Napa Valley , flanking the towns of St. Helena and Calistoga .
A mandatory evacuation zone included the western portion of St. Helena , an area that includes single-family houses and a campus of the Culinary Institute of America , a renowned culinary college .
The Diablo winds have plunged much of Northern California into a red flag warning , meaning the National Weather Service has high confidence of dangerous fire weather conditions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ aloft in the air , traveling far distances and landing to ignite new spot fires downwind .
The three wine country fires were burning in an area that has not experienced a major burn in the last century , Matt Roberts , a doctoral student in atmospheric science at the University of Nevada at Reno , said in a tweet .
Wine country was not the only danger zone Sunday night .
The Butte County Sheriff ’ s Office issued an evacuation order for Pulga and Concow and an evacuation warning for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destroyed in the 2018 Camp fire that resulted in 86 deaths and the loss of more than 18,000 structures .
Strong winds were reported in Shasta County , where a fast-moving wildfire ignited Sunday afternoon near the rural community of Igo , about nine miles southwest of Redding .
The blaze grew from 50 acres to 400 acres in about a half-hour , according to Cal Fire , prompting evacuation orders and sending up a massive plume of smoke .
Named the Zogg fire , it had grown to 7,000 acres by Sunday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in wine country began before sunrise Sunday .
In Napa County , the Glass fire has burned at least 2,500 acres after starting about four miles northwest of downtown St. Helena , according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection , and was burning “ with a dangerous rate of spread.
” Crews were dispatched to the vegetation fire at 3:50 a.m. Sunday , and it quickly grew to 20 acres , said Tyree Zander , public information officer with Cal Fire ’ s Napa Lake Sonoma Unit .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 50 acres within an hour , hour and a half , ” he said .
“ And then from 50 acres to 800 acres within a four-hour period.
” Crews reported no containment as of Sunday night , with the fire continuing to grow rapidly .
The sheriff ’ s office posted a video of flames burning vegetation on the ground and tree limbs along a road , as thick embers struck the windshield .
The fire was burning through dry brush , running uphill as it was pushed by winds , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rugged , steep terrain and limited access , and a lot of it is one-way-in , one-way-out type of roads , ” posing difficulties to both getting fire crews into the area and getting evacuees out , Zander said .
Adventist Health St. Helena hospital suspended operations and evacuated its patients due to the fire .
“ We ’ re in close communication with fire officials and began transferring some patients early this morning as a precaution , ” Dr. Steven Herber , the hospital ’ s president , said in a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ground and air ambulances took about 50 patients to other area hospitals , “ out of an abundance of caution , knowing what we ’ ll be up against , ” said Janet Upton , public information officer for Napa County ’ s emergency operations center .
The county , supported by the American Red Cross , opened an evacuation center at Crosswalk Community Church in Napa .
The center wasn ’ t sheltering people due to the coronavirus outbreak , but evacuees could go there to be placed in area hotels .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the service as of Sunday afternoon , Upton said .
“ This emergency operation center ’ s been stood up for the COVID response since March and we ’ ve been planning for what we call an incident within an incident , which is , for example , these wildfires , ” Upton said .
“ And the planning ’ s paid off so we have the sheltering services in place to deal with basically wildfire in the time of COVID.
” Emergency officials were being particularly cautious when deciding what areas to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and windy weather forecast as night fell Sunday , which raised fears of even more rapid fire growth and unpredictable behavior .
“ We are preparing in advance for the winds , ” Zander said .
“ So we ’ re going to be more precautious when it comes to evacuations and try to get those out ahead of time , to keep things rolling earlier than later.
” With winds pushing embers from the northeast toward the southwest , two more fires appeared southwest of St. Helena on Sunday night — the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Napa Valley and the Shady fire even farther to the southwest .
The National Weather Service ’ s red flag warning of dangerous fire weather is in place until 9 p.m. Monday .
Meteorologists warned about strong winds coming from the north and northeast , with gusts of up to 50 mph at the highest elevations , and critically low humidity .
“ We ’ re expecting another round of gusty winds overnight tonight into tomorrow morning , mainly at higher elevations , so above 1,000 feet or so , ” Anna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Service in Monterey , said Sunday .
“ But we are also expecting some gusts below that of 20 to 30 mph.
” The conditions are the result of an area of high pressure that is sitting off the coast and expected to shift into the Pacific Northwest on Monday , creating an offshore flow that is bringing warmer and drier air over the land , Schneider said .
The fire weather warnings were issued for areas including the North Bay and East Bay Hills , as well as the Bay Area ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the northern Sierra and mountainous areas of the North Coast .
The Bay Area is also under a heat advisory until 7 p.m. Monday , as Diablo winds associated with the high-pressure system strengthening over the region brought yet another severe heat wave , the weather service said .
The weather system cut off the typical afternoon cooling sea breezes and marine layer as hotter air comes in from the north and east .
Santa Rosa was forecast to hit a high of 100 degrees Monday .
California has seen more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a record in the state ’ s modern history , causing the deaths of at least 26 people and destroying more than 7,000 structures .
Five of the six largest wildfires in California ’ s modern record were fires ignited this year , and they ’ re still burning , according to Cal Fire .
The largest fire , the August Complex fire burning north of the Bay Area in and around Mendocino , Tehama and Trinity counties , has burned more than 870,000 acres , destroyed 86 structures and is 43 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Complex fire has died .
Though the fire has been burning since mid-August , new evacuation orders were issued Sunday for parts of Mendocino and Trinity counties , and new warnings were issued for part of Humboldt County .
The North Complex fire , which is north of Sacramento and has resulted in 15 deaths in Butte County , is 78 % contained .
The North Complex fire has burned more than 305,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,300 structures .
The Creek fire in Fresno and Madera counties , which burned through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air evacuation of hundreds of campers cut off by flames , is 39 % contained after burning more than 300,000 acres .
The Creek fire has destroyed more than 800 structures .
The SQF Complex fire — which includes the Castle fire — in the Sequoia National Forest in Tulare County has burned more than 149,000 acres , destroyed more than 200 structures and is 44 % contained .
And in the Bay Area , the LNU Lightning Complex and SCU Lightning Complex fires , which respectively burned in the North Bay and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 98 % contained .
The LNU Lightning Complex fire burned more than 363,000 acres and resulted in five deaths , and the SCU Lightning Complex fire charred more than 396,000 acres .
The LNU fire has destroyed more than 1,400 structures , and the SCU fire , more than 200 .
The CZU Lightning Complex fire , which burned more than 86,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,400 structures in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties and resulted in one death , is 100 % contained .
Nishimura reported from Santa Rosa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lin from San Francisco .

Kent Nishimura , Alex Wigglesworth, Rong-Gong Lin II