latimes--2020-08-21--Bay Area fires rank in the top 5 in California history

A series of wildfires burning an area larger than the state of Rhode Island have depleted California ’ s firefighting resources and triggered requests for help from across the West , the East Coast and even as far as Australia .
Since Saturday , more than 918,000 acres of California ’ s forests and shrub lands have burned , many of them sparked by a weekend lightning storm stretching hundreds of miles and stoked by one of the worst heat waves in recent memory .
The blazes include the LNU Lightning Complex fire , which at more than 302,000 acres @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The SCU Lightning Complex fire , currently covering more than 274,000 acres , is fourth largest .
“ These fires again are stretching our resources , our personnel , ” Gov .
Gavin Newsom said during a Friday media briefing .
About 96 % of the fire engines with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are already committed to wildfires , with little in the way of local assistance .
Oregon , Arizona and Washington have all sent firefighters and equipment to help , and there ’ s a pending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Newsom said .
But not all requests from California for out-of-state resources are being granted .
Officials with the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho , which coordinates interstate firefighting deployments , said they ’ ve been inundated with requests from across the West and have redirected some of California ’ s requests back home .
“ It ’ s difficult with what ’ s happening across Northern California right now , ” said Sean Kavanaugh , Cal Fire ’ s incident commander on the LNU Lightning Complex fire , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Yolo and Solano counties .
While the fires could not be predicted , the strain on firefighting resources was .
Cal Fire ’ s union leadership began sounding the alarm about a depletion of resources in the spring , when the COVID outbreak triggered early releases from prisons and with that , a loss of hundreds of inmate firefighters who annually help set up defensive lines around wildfires .
Inmate firefighters make up about 43 % of Cal Fire ’ s firefighting force .
Since the outbreak began , the California Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 800 inmate firefighters , with about 600 of those releases coming since July .
“ A combination of expedited and natural releases have contributed to the recent decrease in the conservation camp population , ” CDCR spokesman Aaron Francis said in an email .
The state is down to 1,659 inmate firefighters from the 2,255 available in April .
Overall , 1,300 inmates are deployed across the state assisting with some of the most grueling work in firefighting : marching into rugged terrain with hand tools to cut away brush and scrape @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burn .
The state hired some 800 seasonal workers “ just in time ” to offset the loss in inmates at the cost of about $ 72 million , Newsom said .
“ We have more people , but it ’ s just not enough .
We have more air support , and it ’ s still not enough , ” the governor said .
The fires in Northern and Central California have killed at least five people , destroyed 629 structures and scorched over 1,400 square miles , more than twice the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and more than three times what burned in the entire state last year .
A Pacific Gas & Electric worker also died at the time of the fires , but Cal Fire officials say it was unrelated to the blaze .
“ We can confirm that a Vacaville-based troubleman passed away while assisting first responders as they dealt with the LNU Complex Fire , ” PG & E said in a statement .
“ Out of respect for the family ’ s privacy , we won ’ t be sharing additional details at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were under evacuation orders Friday in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties for the CZU Lightning Complex fire , as firefighters hoped to use a break in the extreme heat to make progress .
Mark Brunton , a Cal Fire operations section chief , said at an evening press conference that the fire weather had improved Friday in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties with cooler temperatures ; firefighters did not observe erratic fire behavior .
The areas of most concern are communities along the Highway 9 corridor north of Santa Cruz , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the direct line of fire .
Billy See , a Cal Fire incident commander , said nearly 100 more firefighters showed over the last day , bringing their force to about 1,000 people .
The fire has burned at least 57,000 acres .
“ It ’ s still not enough , ” he said .
“ We ’ re going to continue to bring additional personnel and resources in here.
” Resources are coming in from other states , but it takes a matter of days for that manpower to arrive .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ very thin , ” See said .
See has said this fire is historic — so much that he ’ s tired of saying it .
“ I ’ m tired of saying that I ’ ve never seen something like this in 34 years of fighting fire , ” he said .
“ It ’ s a dangerous situation.
” The fire has burned through the mountainous Santa Cruz County communities of Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond , destroying a number of structures overnight .
One problem was residents who were refusing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them .
“ When people that do stay behind … try to take matters in their own hands with trying to suppress fires , it creates a bigger issue , ” Brunton said .
“ We had , last night , three separate rescues that pulled our vital — very few resources — away to have to rescue those individuals , because they put themselves in peril .
They ’ re not trained firefighters.
” He added : “ In the long run it ’ s created a bigger problem for first responders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firefighters away from the firefight to rescue them.
” Firefighters must choose which buildings to save .
“ We can ’ t save everything , ” Brunton said .
“ We have to pick and choose our targets of opportunity the best we can.
” Properties that have a cleared layer of defensible space — no flammable vegetation in a zone around property — give firefighters the best opportunity to save a home , he said .
The intense smoke caused by the fire , which is burning through timber , has limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smoke is so bad that the visibility would be akin to flying through fog or dense clouds , and it would be unsafe to have aircraft fly , Brunton said .
The evacuation zone for the fire stretches in the mountains from San Gregorio State Beach , south of Half Moon Bay , to the edge of the city limits of Santa Cruz .
The orders reached the UC Santa Cruz campus late Thursday .
Brant Robertson , a UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist , lives 100 yards from the evacuation zone on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he had not received a warning but that he and his family — his wife , 11-year-old triplets and dog — were all packed and ready to evacuate at a moment ’ s notice .
He lives in a cul-de-sac at the edge of campus and said roughly half his neighbors had already left .
Standing on his porch , Robertson said the air was thick with dust and ash , as well as larger particles — burnt leaves and fibers suspended in the wind .
“ We have all the windows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But you can still taste the smoke .
It ’ s unavoidable.
” He and his wife have been constantly following Twitter and keeping an eye on NASA ’ s satellite imagery .
“ I ’ ve lived all over the place , ” Robertson said .
“ I ’ ve been through tornadoes and earthquakes .
But this is different .
You just react to those events .
This is unusual in that we don ’ t know when the alarm is going to go off .
But there ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continuously stressful to hurry up and wait.
” He said the schools have closed for at least the next week as families and teachers evacuate .
Even though classes were being taught remotely , the evacuations have made teaching and learning impossible .
He said this last week has been exhausting , starting with the heat wave .
His phone recorded a high of 108 degrees at his house one day .
Then there were the blackouts , as the electrical grid was overwhelmed amid the heat .
He said that the supercomputers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutting on and off .
He lost a ton of data .
“ Then the storms hit , ” he said of the lightning storms that moved across the region Sunday and Monday .
“ It cooled off , but then the smoke began to build ” as a result of the fires .
And now his family is on the edge of evacuation .
With more than 18,000 students enrolled at UC Santa Cruz , the university is working to find hotel or other rooms for students , although it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the community when the evacuations were announced .
The fire also seriously damaged Big Basin Redwoods State Park , northwest of Santa Cruz , prompting a conservation group on Thursday to openly mourn the loss of California ’ s oldest state park .
“ We are devastated to report that Big Basin , as we have known it , loved it , and cherished it for generations , is gone , ” said the Sempervirens Fund in a statement .
“ Early reports are that the wildfire has consumed much of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not yet know the fate of the park ’ s grandest old trees.
” Farther inland , in the mountains east of San Jose , the SCU Lightning Complex fire has grown to more than 274,000 acres , making it the fourth largest fire in recorded state history .
It has destroyed five buildings .
So many fires burned in the numerous low mountain ranges surrounding the San Francisco Bay that the region was home to the world ’ s worst air quality earlier in the week , according to the .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ wine country .
The LNU Lightning Complex fire has blackened more than 302,000 acres , destroyed 480 structures and triggered the evacuation of nonessential personnel from Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and patients from Adventist Health St. Helena hospital in Napa County .
It was 15 % contained Friday evening as the area had cooled overnight .
The largest in the complex is the Hennessey fire , which is so big at more than 256,000 acres that on Friday it had nearly surrounded Lake Berryessa , one of California ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a number of other fires .
The activity of the Hennessey fire on its southern edge — including in the direction of Vacaville and Fairfield in Solano County — has dropped off significantly , said Chris Waters , a Cal Fire operations section chief , on Friday .
Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield has canceled its evacuations for nonessential personnel ; evacuations for parts of Vacaville were also canceled .
The Hennessey fire , however , is still active on its northern edge , and threatening Pope Valley in Napa County .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nation tribal community in Yolo County , which operates Cache Creek Casino Resort .
The second fire , the 43,286-acre Walbridge fire , in northern Sonoma County , was moving Friday toward the town of Guerneville on the Russian River .
“ Right now we have engines , dozers , hand crews and law enforcement working in the Walbridge fire right now to try and slow the spread of the fire down , ” Waters said .
“ We ’ re also organizing evacuations and warnings for the community of Guerneville.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Sonoma County coast , has stopped moving and should be contained fairly soon , Waters said .
“ These fires are burning in areas that have not burned in decades .
The fuel load is extremely high .
The conditions are very dry .
And the winds will continue to pick up throughout the day , ” Assemblyman Jim Wood ( D-Santa Rosa ) said of the fires burning in Sonoma County .
By Friday afternoon , there were more than 1,000 people fighting the LNU Lightning Complex fire in the North @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working the fire on Thursday .
Looking ahead , there is a chance that another string of lightning storms could hit the coastal mountains over the weekend , San Jose State atmospheric scientist Alison Bridger said .
The dome of heat that crawled up from Arizona last week and baked Northern California is going to reestablish itself , although temperatures won ’ t reach the same extremes , she said .
At the same time , another storm off the Mexican coast is poised to feed that heat dome moisture , which would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thunderstorms .
“ And then all you need is a little energy to spark it and you ’ ll get more lightning and thunder , ” Bridger said .
The storms would develop fairly rapidly , so it won ’ t be clear whether there will be lightning and where it would strike until possibly Sunday morning , she added .
The National Weather Service has issued a wide ranging fire weather watch for large swaths of Northern and Central California beginning Sunday morning through Tuesday , saying “ fast moving … thunderstorms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lightning and new fire starts.
” Residents Friday morning in the mountain town of Inskip in Butte County were told to pack up and leave ahead of the approaching fires .
And in Monterey County , officials have issued an evacuation warning for the Carmel Valley — known for its rolling hills , vineyards and hotels — and the adjacent Laureles Grade area , which is close to the River and Carmel fires that have already destroyed at least 38 structures .
Monterey County supervisor Mary Adams urged people to act early “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a glut of traffic on Carmel Valley Road should the order to evacuate comes.
” Meanwhile , families evacuated from their homes for more than a week in Riverside County were told they can begin to return as crews gathered momentum against the Apple fire , the first big wildfire of the season .
For all the sweltering humidity Southern Californians have been experiencing lately , it ’ s been extremely dry up north , experts say .
“ The fire concentration , the challenge we ’ re facing in the state is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor said .
Crews that were battling the Apple fire are now headed north .
And when they get there , they ’ ll be fighting fires on myriad fronts .
Rust reported from Santa Cruz , Lin from San Francisco and Serna from Los Angeles .
Times staff writers Anita Chabria in Healdsburg and Stuart Leavenworth , Luke Money and Leila Miller in Los Angeles contributed to this report .

Joseph Serna, Susanne Rust, Anita Chabria, Rong-Gong Lin II

Firefighter Ian Johnson watches as an air tanker drops retardant to keep the River fire from reaching a home in Salinas. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
A home in the Sky Ranch community burns in the Carmel fire near Carmel Valley. (Nic Coury / Associated Press)
A plume rises over a vineyard in unincorporated Napa County as the Hennessey fire burns. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Members of the Grizzly Firefighters fight the Carmel fire near Carmel Valley. (Nic Coury / Associated Press)
Mobile homes burn at Spanish Flat Mobile Villa as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through unincorporated Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Flames consume a cabin at the Nichelini Family Winery in unincorporated Napa County as the Hennessey fire burns in Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Horses stand in an enclosure as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through the Spanish Flat community in unincorporated Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Seen in a long-exposure photograph, embers burn along a hillside above Lake Berryessa as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through unincorporated Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Matt Nichols sprays water while trying to save his home as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through Vacaville. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Seen in a long-exposure photograph, embers burn along a hillside as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through unincorporated Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Bill Nichols, 84, works to save his home as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through Vacaville. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
An air tanker drops retardant as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through the Spanish Flat community in unincorporated Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires jump Interstate 80 in Vacaville on Wednesday. The highway was closed in both directions shortly afterward. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
The charred carcass of a cow rests beside a road in Vacaville. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
A firefighter walks through an area burned by the Hennessey fire along Solar Hills drive in Vacaville. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Flames from the the CZU August Lightning Complex fire approach a structure along Pine Flat Road in Felton. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
The remains of a house burned by the CZU August Lightning Complex fire in Felton. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters from Eugene, Ore., walk beside an area burning along Pine Flat Road during the CZU August Lightning Complex fire in Felton. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
A plume of smoke billows over Healdsburg as the LNU Lightning Complex fire continues to burn. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Scorched homes and vehicles fill Spanish Flat Mobile Villa struck by the LNU Lightning Complex fire in unincorporated Napa County. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Charles Chavira, left, and Thomas Henney watch a plume of smoke spread over Healdsburg as the LNU Lightning Complex fire continues to burn. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
A crew cuts down foliage and trees near some structures in preparation in Boulder Creek. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Ben Lomond firefighters work on a blaze at The Sequoia Retreat Center during the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires on Friday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters keeps watch as the fire line creeps up on Highway 9 during the CZU Lightning complex fire. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters respond to a structure fire along Riverdale Blvd. during the CZU Lightning complex fire on Sunday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Smoke hangs low in the air at Big Basin Redwoods State Park as some redwoods are still on fire on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
The Big Basin Redwoods State Park Headquarters & Visitor Center which was built in 1936 was one of the structures lost to the blaze that tore through the state park. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Hand crews work on a hillside above the Boulder Creek Community Church as the fire line creeps up on Highway 9 during the CZU Lightning complex fire on Sunday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
A house is engulfed with flame during the CZU Lightning complex fire on Sunday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters watches as the fire line creeps up on Highway 9 during the CZU Lightning complex fire on Sunday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Burned vehicles and rubble from homes are left after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire tore through Sunday in Boulder Creek, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Firefighters protect a home in the Berryessa Estates neighborhood of unincorporated Napa County, Calif., as the LNU Lightning Complex fires burn on Friday. The blaze forced thousands to flee and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Firefighters from Barstow tackle hotspots along Highway 9 during the CZU Lightning Complex fire Sunday in Boulder Creek, Calif. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
A series of wildfires burning an area larger than the state of Rhode Island have depleted California’s firefighting resources and triggered requests for help from across the West, the East Coast and even as far as Australia.
Since Saturday, more than 918,000 acres of California’s forests and shrub lands have burned, many of them sparked by a weekend lightning storm stretching hundreds of miles and stoked by one of the worst heat waves in recent memory.
The blazes include the LNU Lightning Complex fire, which at more than 302,000 acres is the second-largest fire in California history. The SCU Lightning Complex fire, currently covering more than 274,000 acres, is fourth largest.
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“These fires again are stretching our resources, our personnel,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a Friday media briefing.
About 96% of the fire engines with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are already committed to wildfires, with little in the way of local assistance. Oregon, Arizona and Washington have all sent firefighters and equipment to help, and there’s a pending request with Australia for their fire crews, Newsom said.
But not all requests from California for out-of-state resources are being granted. Officials with the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho, which coordinates interstate firefighting deployments, said they’ve been inundated with requests from across the West and have redirected some of California’s requests back home.
“It’s difficult with what’s happening across Northern California right now,” said Sean Kavanaugh, Cal Fire’s incident commander on the LNU Lightning Complex fire, which is burning in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Yolo and Solano counties.
While the fires could not be predicted, the strain on firefighting resources was.
Cal Fire’s union leadership began sounding the alarm about a depletion of resources in the spring, when the COVID outbreak triggered early releases from prisons and with that, a loss of hundreds of inmate firefighters who annually help set up defensive lines around wildfires. Inmate firefighters make up about 43% of Cal Fire’s firefighting force.
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Since the outbreak began, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has released more than 800 inmate firefighters, with about 600 of those releases coming since July.
“A combination of expedited and natural releases have contributed to the recent decrease in the conservation camp population,” CDCR spokesman Aaron Francis said in an email.
The state is down to 1,659 inmate firefighters from the 2,255 available in April.
Overall, 1,300 inmates are deployed across the state assisting with some of the most grueling work in firefighting: marching into rugged terrain with hand tools to cut away brush and scrape the earth free of anything that could burn.
The state hired some 800 seasonal workers “just in time” to offset the loss in inmates at the cost of about $72 million, Newsom said.
“We have more people, but it’s just not enough. We have more air support, and it’s still not enough,” the governor said.
The fires in Northern and Central California have killed at least five people, destroyed 629 structures and scorched over 1,400 square miles, more than twice the area of the city of Los Angeles and more than three times what burned in the entire state last year. A Pacific Gas & Electric worker also died at the time of the fires, but Cal Fire officials say it was unrelated to the blaze.
“We can confirm that a Vacaville-based troubleman passed away while assisting first responders as they dealt with the LNU Complex Fire,” PG&E said in a statement. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we won’t be sharing additional details at this time.”
More than 60,000 people were under evacuation orders Friday in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties for the CZU Lightning Complex fire, as firefighters hoped to use a break in the extreme heat to make progress.
Mark Brunton, a Cal Fire operations section chief, said at an evening press conference that the fire weather had improved Friday in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties with cooler temperatures; firefighters did not observe erratic fire behavior. The areas of most concern are communities along the Highway 9 corridor north of Santa Cruz, which have the largest number of buildings in the direct line of fire.
Billy See, a Cal Fire incident commander, said nearly 100 more firefighters showed over the last day, bringing their force to about 1,000 people. The fire has burned at least 57,000 acres.
“It’s still not enough,” he said. “We’re going to continue to bring additional personnel and resources in here.”
Resources are coming in from other states, but it takes a matter of days for that manpower to arrive.
“They’re stretched very, very thin,” See said.
See has said this fire is historic — so much that he’s tired of saying it.
“I’m tired of saying that I’ve never seen something like this in 34 years of fighting fire,” he said. “It’s a dangerous situation.”
The fire has burned through the mountainous Santa Cruz County communities of Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond, destroying a number of structures overnight.
One problem was residents who were refusing to evacuate, forcing firefighters to rescue them.
“When people that do stay behind … try to take matters in their own hands with trying to suppress fires, it creates a bigger issue,” Brunton said. “We had, last night, three separate rescues that pulled our vital — very few resources — away to have to rescue those individuals, because they put themselves in peril. They’re not trained firefighters.”
He added: “In the long run it’s created a bigger problem for first responders, because of that it took our firefighters away from the firefight to rescue them.”
Firefighters must choose which buildings to save.
“We can’t save everything,” Brunton said. “We have to pick and choose our targets of opportunity the best we can.” Properties that have a cleared layer of defensible space — no flammable vegetation in a zone around property — give firefighters the best opportunity to save a home, he said.
The intense smoke caused by the fire, which is burning through timber, has limited the use of firefighting aircraft. The smoke is so bad that the visibility would be akin to flying through fog or dense clouds, and it would be unsafe to have aircraft fly, Brunton said.
The evacuation zone for the fire stretches in the mountains from San Gregorio State Beach, south of Half Moon Bay, to the edge of the city limits of Santa Cruz. The orders reached the UC Santa Cruz campus late Thursday.
Brant Robertson, a UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist, lives 100 yards from the evacuation zone on the university’s campus.
He said that he had not received a warning but that he and his family — his wife, 11-year-old triplets and dog — were all packed and ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
He lives in a cul-de-sac at the edge of campus and said roughly half his neighbors had already left.
Standing on his porch, Robertson said the air was thick with dust and ash, as well as larger particles — burnt leaves and fibers suspended in the wind.
“We have all the windows shut,” he said. “But you can still taste the smoke. It’s unavoidable.”
He and his wife have been constantly following Twitter and keeping an eye on NASA’s satellite imagery.
“I’ve lived all over the place,” Robertson said. “I’ve been through tornadoes and earthquakes. But this is different. You just react to those events. This is unusual in that we don’t know when the alarm is going to go off. But there’s a lot of tension. It’s continuously stressful to hurry up and wait.”
He said the schools have closed for at least the next week as families and teachers evacuate. Even though classes were being taught remotely, the evacuations have made teaching and learning impossible.
He said this last week has been exhausting, starting with the heat wave. His phone recorded a high of 108 degrees at his house one day.
Then there were the blackouts, as the electrical grid was overwhelmed amid the heat.
He said that the supercomputers he uses as a physicist were intermittently shutting on and off. He lost a ton of data.
“Then the storms hit,” he said of the lightning storms that moved across the region Sunday and Monday. “It cooled off, but then the smoke began to build” as a result of the fires.
And now his family is on the edge of evacuation.
With more than 18,000 students enrolled at UC Santa Cruz, the university is working to find hotel or other rooms for students, although it’s unclear how many were on campus or in the community when the evacuations were announced.
The fire also seriously damaged Big Basin Redwoods State Park, northwest of Santa Cruz, prompting a conservation group on Thursday to openly mourn the loss of California’s oldest state park.
“We are devastated to report that Big Basin, as we have known it, loved it, and cherished it for generations, is gone,” said the Sempervirens Fund in a statement. “Early reports are that the wildfire has consumed much of the park’s historic facilities. We do not yet know the fate of the park’s grandest old trees.”
Farther inland, in the mountains east of San Jose, the SCU Lightning Complex fire has grown to more than 274,000 acres, making it the fourth largest fire in recorded state history. It has destroyed five buildings.
So many fires burned in the numerous low mountain ranges surrounding the San Francisco Bay that the region was home to the world’s worst air quality earlier in the week, according to the website PurpleAir .
One major cluster of blazes is in wine country. The LNU Lightning Complex fire has blackened more than 302,000 acres, destroyed 480 structures and triggered the evacuation of nonessential personnel from Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and patients from Adventist Health St. Helena hospital in Napa County. It was 15% contained Friday evening as the area had cooled overnight.
The largest in the complex is the Hennessey fire, which is so big at more than 256,000 acres that on Friday it had nearly surrounded Lake Berryessa, one of California’s largest reservoirs. It has merged with a number of other fires.
The activity of the Hennessey fire on its southern edge — including in the direction of Vacaville and Fairfield in Solano County — has dropped off significantly, said Chris Waters, a Cal Fire operations section chief, on Friday. Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield has canceled its evacuations for nonessential personnel; evacuations for parts of Vacaville were also canceled.
The Hennessey fire, however, is still active on its northern edge, and threatening Pope Valley in Napa County. It has neared the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation tribal community in Yolo County, which operates Cache Creek Casino Resort.
The second fire, the 43,286-acre Walbridge fire, in northern Sonoma County, was moving Friday toward the town of Guerneville on the Russian River.
“Right now we have engines, dozers, hand crews and law enforcement working in the Walbridge fire right now to try and slow the spread of the fire down,” Waters said. “We’re also organizing evacuations and warnings for the community of Guerneville.”
The third fire, the Myers fire on the Sonoma County coast, has stopped moving and should be contained fairly soon, Waters said.
“These fires are burning in areas that have not burned in decades. The fuel load is extremely high. The conditions are very dry. And the winds will continue to pick up throughout the day,” Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) said of the fires burning in Sonoma County.
By Friday afternoon, there were more than 1,000 people fighting the LNU Lightning Complex fire in the North Bay, significantly above the 587 people working the fire on Thursday.
Looking ahead, there is a chance that another string of lightning storms could hit the coastal mountains over the weekend, San Jose State atmospheric scientist Alison Bridger said.
The dome of heat that crawled up from Arizona last week and baked Northern California is going to reestablish itself, although temperatures won’t reach the same extremes, she said.
At the same time, another storm off the Mexican coast is poised to feed that heat dome moisture, which would destabilize it, laying the groundwork for thunderstorms.
“And then all you need is a little energy to spark it and you’ll get more lightning and thunder,” Bridger said.
The storms would develop fairly rapidly, so it won’t be clear whether there will be lightning and where it would strike until possibly Sunday morning, she added.
The National Weather Service has issued a wide ranging fire weather watch for large swaths of Northern and Central California beginning Sunday morning through Tuesday, saying “fast moving … thunderstorms may lead to a risk of dry lightning and new fire starts.”
Residents Friday morning in the mountain town of Inskip in Butte County were told to pack up and leave ahead of the approaching fires. And in Monterey County, officials have issued an evacuation warning for the Carmel Valley — known for its rolling hills, vineyards and hotels — and the adjacent Laureles Grade area, which is close to the River and Carmel fires that have already destroyed at least 38 structures. Monterey County supervisor Mary Adams urged people to act early “so that we don’t have a glut of traffic on Carmel Valley Road should the order to evacuate comes.”
Meanwhile, families evacuated from their homes for more than a week in Riverside County were told they can begin to return as crews gathered momentum against the Apple fire, the first big wildfire of the season.
For all the sweltering humidity Southern Californians have been experiencing lately, it’s been extremely dry up north, experts say.
“The fire concentration, the challenge we’re facing in the state is now disproportionately affecting California,” the governor said. Crews that were battling the Apple fire are now headed north. And when they get there, they’ll be fighting fires on myriad fronts.
Rust reported from Santa Cruz, Lin from San Francisco and Serna from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Anita Chabria in Healdsburg and Stuart Leavenworth, Luke Money and Leila Miller in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-08-22--Brush fire breaks out in Palmdale

Brush fire breaks out in Palmdale

A small brush fire broke out Saturday afternoon in Palmdale forcing the 14 Freeway to be shut down , authorities @ @ @ @ @ reported at 3:42 p.m. at Pelona Vista Park near Tierra Subida Avenue and Rayburn Road @ @ @ @ @ 14 Freeway , the Los Angeles County Fire Department said .
Firefighters were on the @ @ @ @ @ helicopters made water drops .
Videos on social media from eyewitnesses showed large flames burning @ @ @ @ @ a billow of black smoke into the air .
The Fire Department said the blaze @ @ @ @ @ and crews were mopping up .
The fire forced the California Highway Patrol to close @ @ @ @ @ of the freeway from Palmdale Boulevard to Avenue S around 4 p.m. before reopening them @ @ @ @

A small brush fire broke out Saturday afternoon in Palmdale forcing the 14 Freeway to be shut down, authorities said.
The fire was reported at 3:42 p.m. at Pelona Vista Park near Tierra Subida Avenue and Rayburn Road, not far from the 14 Freeway, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Firefighters were on the ground fighting the flames and helicopters made water drops.
Videos on social media from eyewitnesses showed large flames burning alongside the freeway, sending a billow of black smoke into the air. The Fire Department said the blaze was stopped at seven acres and crews were mopping up.
The fire forced the California Highway Patrol to close the northbound and southbound lanes of the freeway from Palmdale Boulevard to Avenue S around 4 p.m. before reopening them an hour later.
So Palmdale is on fire. Next to the freeway by Pelona Park. Be careful you guys.. pic.twitter.com/oootCSBTZT — DAN-EEL (@DgGarzaro) August 22, 2020
No injuries were reported.


latimes--2020-08-22--The fight to save one Northern California town from a fiery monster

On Friday night , the tired , equipment-strapped crew of Ben Lomond ’ s volunteer firefighting team was briefed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the mountain town fire station ’ s airy and unfinished kitchen .
A collection of lightning-sparked fires had merged into one blaze that was raging in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west .
The firefighters were told that Cal Fire ’ s models suggested in the next 48 to 72 hours , the fire would move into Boulder Creek ’ s downtown .
If the crews were unable to stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pull its reinforcements and allow the fire to funnel down the valley — through Brookdale , Ben Lomond and Felton — toward Route 17 , the high-speed mountain highway that connects San Jose and Santa Cruz .
It was dispiriting news .
But local firefighters planned to wage a stand to save the communities , even without the backup .
“ No one ’ s going to stop fighting that fire , ” said Menlo Park Fire District ’ s chief , Harold Schapelhouman , who was in Boulder Creek in the early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guys are going to keep fighting , ” he said of the volunteer firefighters .
“ That ’ s just what they do .
They take the knocks and get right back up.
” The fire , dubbed the CZU Lightning Complex fire , had burned 63,000 acres , destroyed 97 structures and forced the evacuation of about 77,000 people in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties as of Saturday morning .
It was 5 % contained .
The massive blaze was one of an estimated 585 wildfires that have together burned nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ siege of lightning strikes that began Aug. 15 .
The sheer scale and number of fires has placed a strain on firefighting manpower and equipment that some officials have described as unprecedented in recent history , with incident commanders across the state reporting a lack of needed resources .
“ Basically , Cal Fire is stripped statewide , ” said Edwin Zuniga of Cal Fire , a public information officer for the CZU fire .
He said that in addition to relying on local and volunteer crews , officials have ordered out-of-state backup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the aid trickle in , but it ’ s been a slow process , he said .
With so many fires scattered across California , resources keep getting diverted elsewhere before they arrive .
“ The issue is , en route , they could possibly be diverted to a higher-priority incident , ” he said .
“ It ’ s become an issue of priority , so who has more priority over each other , and that ’ s where those resources are going to be rediverted.
” Firefighting aircraft and crews are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the greatest risk for loss of life , officials said .
Schapelhouman ’ s district is providing reinforcement .
On Friday night , his crew brought up a water tender , rig and several pallets of water and Gatorade for the exhausted crews .
They were greeted with cheers .
The men and women fighting the fires in the mountains are a storied crew .
Most of them work for other cities and municipalities in the Bay Area — such as San Jose , Berkeley , Palo Alto , Menlo Park and Redwood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responders .
For many , Friday was their day off .
But rather than sleep or take shelter , they were slogging through the rugged , mountainous terrain clearing boundaries and dousing fires where they could .
“ This is my home .
These are our neighbors .
There ’ s no way I wouldn ’ t be here fighting , ” said Todd Ellis , captain of Ben Lomond ’ s volunteer fire district , referring to the informal designations Cal Fire uses to describe firefighting zones .
Devastated by Cal Fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would stop him from fighting for his town .
“ We don ’ t do this for money .
We do this because we love our neighbors .
We love our crews .
And for us , there ’ s nothing more inspiring than helping others and using everything we have to support people and communities , ” he said .
Kustin is a legend among the fire departments of these mountain towns .
He and Schapelhouman were responders to the Oklahoma City bombing , the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Most of the firefighters have been deployed around the nation as first responders .
But , said Kustin , this time it ’ s different .
“ This time it ’ s personal , ” he said .

On Friday night, the tired, equipment-strapped crew of Ben Lomond’s volunteer firefighting team was briefed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the mountain town fire station’s airy and unfinished kitchen.
A collection of lightning-sparked fires had merged into one blaze that was raging in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west.
The firefighters were told that Cal Fire’s models suggested in the next 48 to 72 hours, the fire would move into Boulder Creek’s downtown. If the crews were unable to stop the fire there, Cal Fire would pull its reinforcements and allow the fire to funnel down the valley — through Brookdale, Ben Lomond and Felton — toward Route 17, the high-speed mountain highway that connects San Jose and Santa Cruz.
It was dispiriting news. But local firefighters planned to wage a stand to save the communities, even without the backup.
“No one’s going to stop fighting that fire,” said Menlo Park Fire District’s chief, Harold Schapelhouman, who was in Boulder Creek in the early morning hours of Saturday.
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Supplies are unloaded from a Menlo Park truck at the Boulder Creek Volunteer Fire Department fire house during the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
“These guys are going to keep fighting,” he said of the volunteer firefighters. “That’s just what they do. They take the knocks and get right back up.”
The fire, dubbed the CZU Lightning Complex fire, had burned 63,000 acres, destroyed 97 structures and forced the evacuation of about 77,000 people in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties as of Saturday morning. It was 5% contained.
The massive blaze was one of an estimated 585 wildfires that have together burned nearly a million acres in California since a siege of lightning strikes that began Aug. 15.
The sheer scale and number of fires has placed a strain on firefighting manpower and equipment that some officials have described as unprecedented in recent history, with incident commanders across the state reporting a lack of needed resources.
“Basically, Cal Fire is stripped statewide,” said Edwin Zuniga of Cal Fire, a public information officer for the CZU fire. He said that in addition to relying on local and volunteer crews, officials have ordered out-of-state backup. They’re starting to see the aid trickle in, but it’s been a slow process, he said. With so many fires scattered across California, resources keep getting diverted elsewhere before they arrive.
Ben Lomond firefighters work on a blaze at The Sequoia Retreat Center during the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
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“The issue is, en route, they could possibly be diverted to a higher-priority incident,” he said. “It’s become an issue of priority, so who has more priority over each other, and that’s where those resources are going to be rediverted.”
Firefighting aircraft and crews are being sent to areas where there is the greatest risk for loss of life, officials said.
Schapelhouman’s district is providing reinforcement. On Friday night, his crew brought up a water tender, rig and several pallets of water and Gatorade for the exhausted crews.
They were greeted with cheers.
The men and women fighting the fires in the mountains are a storied crew. Most of them work for other cities and municipalities in the Bay Area — such as San Jose, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City — as full-time firefighters and first responders.
Boulder Creek firefighters wait in front of the Boulder Creek Volunteer Fire Department fire house. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
For many, Friday was their day off. But rather than sleep or take shelter, they were slogging through the rugged, mountainous terrain clearing boundaries and dousing fires where they could.
“This is my home. These are our neighbors. There’s no way I wouldn’t be here fighting,” said Todd Ellis, captain of Ben Lomond’s volunteer fire district, referring to the informal designations Cal Fire uses to describe firefighting zones.
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Devastated by Cal Fire’s briefing, he said nothing would stop him from fighting for his town.
Carl Kustin, a volunteer with the Boulder Creek Fire District, agreed.
Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman chats with Carl Kustin, a volunteer with the Boulder Creek Fire District. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
“We don’t do this for money. We do this because we love our neighbors. We love our crews. And for us, there’s nothing more inspiring than helping others and using everything we have to support people and communities,” he said.
Kustin is a legend among the fire departments of these mountain towns. He and Schapelhouman were responders to the Oklahoma City bombing, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, among other major U.S. disasters.
Most of the firefighters have been deployed around the nation as first responders.
But, said Kustin, this time it’s different. “This time it’s personal,” he said.
Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman chats with volunteers at the Boulder Creek Fire District, during the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
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Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-08-22--Video captures helicopter rescue of firefighters trapped as flames approach

Two firefighters with the Marin County Fire Department were rescued by helicopter after flames trapped them on a ridgeline Friday @ @ @ @ @ Sheriff ’ s Office posted online , said the firefighters were about 75 yards from @ @ @ @ @ were creating their own strong , gusting winds that intensified as the helicopter neared the @ @ @ @ @ was able to attach both firefighters to a 100-foot line trailing from the helicopter , @ @ @ @ @ safety .
“ Sometimes , even First Responders need a First Responder , ” the @ @ @ @ @ on Facebook .
The rescued firefighters were caught in the Woodward fire , which has @ @ @ @ @ Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County and was 5 % contained as of Saturday @ @

Two firefighters with the Marin County Fire Department were rescued by helicopter after flames trapped them on a ridgeline Friday night.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office posted video of the dramatic nighttime rescue online, said the firefighters were about 75 yards from the advancing flames, which were creating their own strong, gusting winds that intensified as the helicopter neared the blaze.
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A tactical officer was able to attach both firefighters to a 100-foot line trailing from the helicopter, which airlifted all three to safety.
“Sometimes, even First Responders need a First Responder,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
The rescued firefighters were caught in the Woodward fire, which has burned 2,259 acres in the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County and was 5% contained as of Saturday morning.


latimes--2020-08-22--More than 1 million acres have burned in California since July as monster fires rage around Bay Area

More than 1 million acres have burned in California since July , marking a troubling early start to the fire season that has been punctuated by a series of deadly blazes around the Bay Area that have destroyed hundreds of homes and sent tens of thousands fleeing .
Firefighters on Saturday were battling dangerous blazes from the Santa Cruz Mountains to wine country and beyond , using a small break in the weather amid warnings that more lightning — which sparked many of the fires — could return Sunday .
Also Saturday , Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request for a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster the state ’ s emergency response to wildfires burning in Northern California .
The burning of about 1.1 million acres in California in just a month , according to a Times analysis , is an astonishing toll so early in fire season .
In all of 2019 , more than 259,000 acres in California burned , according to the Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center .
In all , more than 977,000 acres have burned in Northern and Central California — the equivalent of more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the size of the city of Los Angeles .
At least 744 structures have been destroyed in the last month .
Nearly a million acres have burned since Aug. 15 , which marked the start of a “ lightning siege ” during which 12,000 strikes started 585 new wildland fires , officials said Saturday .
The blazes include the LNU Lightning Complex fire , which at more than 314,000 acres is the second-largest fire in California history .
The SCU Lightning Complex fire , currently covering more than 291,000 acres , is third-largest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winds , heat and low humidity , have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate and prompted the National Guard and U.S. military to send assistance .
The Guard is providing helicopter support and a dozen 20-person crews to fires throughout the state , and the military has sent several C-130 aircraft specially equipped to act as air tankers , said Jeremy Rahn , public information officer for the LNU fire .
Even so , authorities are reporting depleted resources , with manpower and tools stretched thin by the sheer scale and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One of the biggest concerns was the CZU August Lightning Complex fire , which was raging in the remote mountainous area southwest of Silicon Valley , on the border of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties .
That fire has burned 63,000 acres and forced the evacuation of at least 77,000 people , officials said Saturday morning .
Officials evacuated the UC Santa Cruz campus and expressed concerns about some of the small mountain towns north of Santa Cruz including Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek .
The CZU fire has destroyed 97 structures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is 5 % contained , officials said Saturday morning .
The LNU Lightning Complex fire has blackened a combined 314,207 acres , destroyed 560 structures and triggered the evacuation of nonessential personnel from Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and patients from Adventist Health St. Helena hospital in Napa County .
Four civilians have died .
There were about 1,429 personnel fighting the fire as of Saturday , which Cal Fire Incident Commander Sean Kavanaugh contrasted with the Mendocino Complex fire in 2018 , which drew about 5,000 personnel , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to which nearly 6,000 firefighters were assigned .
Still , the fire remains the state ’ s top priority for resources as they become available , Shana Jones , Cal Fire unit chief , said Saturday .
“ Within an incident of this size and complexity , and with all of the fire activity throughout the state , all of our resources remain stretched to a capacity that we have not seen in recent history , ” she said .
Fire officials were bracing for a shift in the weather that was expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the Bay Area and Central Coast that was in effect from 5 a.m. Sunday through 5 p.m. Monday .
Remnant moisture and atmospheric instability from what was once Hurricane Genevieve was expected to lift up over the area , bringing a threat of thunderstorms capable of producing 50-mph winds and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes , said Cindy Palmer , meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey .
She said that normally forecasters ’ primary fear would be that the lightning strikes would start new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t generate enough rain to suppress the flames .
“ But because we have fire already on the ground , we ’ re really concerned about the gusty and erratic winds as well , ” she said .
Lightning was already striking off the coast , about 500 miles southwest of San Francisco , on Saturday afternoon , she said .
Forecasters were predicting the brunt of the storm activity would hit California on Sunday into Monday .
On the eastern edge of , the SCU Lightning Complex fire has burned 291,968 acres @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley and the East Bay and west of the Central Valley .
The fire started as 20 separate blazes but merged into three , which were mostly burning through grass and ranchlands .
About 6,000 people were ordered to evacuate , and roughly 20,000 structures were threatened .
Authorities were concerned the change in the weather early Sunday morning could lead to more rapid fire growth .
Meteorologists were predicting that starting about 5 a.m. , winds would pick up , humidity would drop and more dry lightning could strike , said Josh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fire .
“ Those three things help drive or change fire behavior , ” Rubinstein said .
“ So the message to the crews that are working out there at that time is to have a heightened sense of awareness.
” Like other fire officials , those managing the incident were contending with depleted staffing and equipment , he said .
“ No fire has the resources that they would like to have right now , ” he said .
“ This fire here , we would probably have 25 helicopters on , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are other areas that need them more desperately than we do.
” He said the state would continue to assign aircraft and crews to areas where fire posed the greatest risk to life .
“ It ’ s a marathon , not a sprint — and not on just this fire , but some of the surrounding fires that we ’ re dealing with , ” he said .
The Butte County Sheriff ’ s Office also issued an evacuation warning Thursday afternoon of Philbrook Reservoir and Inskip .
The county is contending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a collection of 34 confirmed lightning-caused fires that have burned a combined 2,623 acres .
Also burning in California is , which has consumed more than 44,000 acres in steep mountainous terrain south of Salinas in Monterey County , destroying 16 structures , damaging eight others and forcing , according to Cal Fire .
At least 3,000 structures remain threatened by the blaze , which was 12 % contained as of Saturday morning .
, burning just southwest of the River fire , has charred more than 5,523 acres and destroyed 32 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marin County , the Woodward fire had burned 2,259 acres in the Point Reyes National Seashore and was 5 % contained as of Saturday morning .
The fire was chewing through huge Douglas firs draped with moss and knobcone pines mixed with dead brush , incident commander Bernard Spielman said Saturday .
“ Stuff that ’ s usually dripping wet during the summer is not dripping wet at all , ” he said .
“ It ’ s very dry out there.
” Two firefighters with the county fire department were rescued by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ridgeline Friday night .
The Sonoma County Sheriff ’ s Office , which posted video of the dramatic nighttime rescue online , said the firefighters were about 75 yards from the advancing flames , which were creating their own strong , gusting winds that intensified as the helicopter neared the blaze .
A tactical officer was able to attach both firefighters to a 100-foot line trailing from the helicopter , which airlifted all three to safety .
“ Had it not been for that helicopter there , those firefighters would certainly have perished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Saturday at a news conference .
“ So that ’ s a quick example that even public safety personnel are facing extreme danger , with fires that can quickly change direction under changing conditions.
” Times staff writers Joe Serna and Leila Miller contributed to this report .

Rong-Gong Lin II, Alex Wigglesworth, Susanne Rust

With more than 1 million acres already burned in California since July, emergency officials braced for yet another day of dangerous fire weather on Sunday as the Bay Area reeled from deadly blazes that had destroyed hundreds of homes and caused tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
The second- and third-largest fires in California history are expected to grow in the next few days as a new thunderstorm system moves over the state, producing dry lightning and gusty winds.
The National Weather Service issued red-flag warnings across large swaths of Northern and Central California that were set to go into effect before sunrise Sunday.
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The new weather system will include frequent lightning strikes and gusty erratic winds, forecasters said. It’s unwelcome news for firefighters, who are already stretched thin as they battle multiple fires throughout the state.
Crews on Saturday were battling dangerous blazes from the Santa Cruz Mountains to wine country and beyond.
Also on Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the White House had approved California’s request for a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to wildfires burning in Northern California.
A Times analysis has found 1.2 million acres have burned in the state in just a month — an astonishing toll so early in the fire season. In all of 2019, about 259,000 acres in California burned, according to the Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center.
In all, more than 1.1 million acres have burned in Northern and Central California — the equivalent of more than 1,700 square miles, more than three times the size of the city of Los Angeles. At least 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the last month.
More than a million acres have burned since Aug. 15, which marked the start of a “lightning siege” during which 12,000 strikes started 585 new wildland fires.
The blazes include the LNU Lightning Complex fire, which at more than 325,000 acres is the third-largest fire in California history. The SCU Lightning Complex fire, currently covering more than 339,000 acres, is the second-largest.
The fires, fanned by strong winds, heat and low humidity, have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate and prompted the National Guard and U.S. military to send assistance.
The Guard is providing helicopter support and a dozen 20-person crews to fires throughout the state, and the military has sent several C-130 aircraft specially equipped to act as air tankers, said Jeremy Rahn, public information officer for the LNU fire.
Even so, authorities are reporting depleted resources, with manpower and tools overtaxed by the sheer scale and number of fires across the state.
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One of the biggest concerns was the CZU August Lightning Complex fire, which was raging in the remote mountainous area southwest of Silicon Valley, on the border of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties. That fire has burned 67,000 acres and spurred the evacuation of at least 77,000 people. Officials evacuated the UC Santa Cruz campus and expressed concerns about some of the small mountain towns north of Santa Cruz including Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek.
The CZU fire has destroyed 105 structures and threatens more than 24,000 others. It is 5% contained, officials said Saturday.
Billy See, incident commander for the fire, said the weather forecast would make firefighting difficult.
“This red-flag warning is going to hamper all of our efforts,” he said. “We’re going to see an increase in acreage over the next few days.”
The LNU Lightning Complex fire has destroyed 845 structures and triggered the evacuation of nonessential personnel from Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and patients from Adventist Health St. Helena hospital in Napa County. Four civilians have died.
There were about 1,429 personnel fighting the fire as of Saturday, which Cal Fire Incident Commander Sean Kavanaugh contrasted with the Mendocino Complex fire in 2018, which drew about 5,000 personnel, and the Wine Country fires of 2017, to which nearly 6,000 firefighters were assigned.
Still, the fire remains the state’s top priority for resources as they become available, Shana Jones, Cal Fire unit chief, said Saturday.
“Within an incident of this size and complexity,” she said, “and with all of the fire activity throughout the state, all of our resources remain stretched to a capacity that we have not seen in recent history.”
Fire officials were bracing for the shift in weather. The National Weather Service issued the red flag warning for the Bay Area and Central Coast for 5 a.m. Sunday through 5 p.m. Monday.
Remnant moisture and atmospheric instability from what was once Hurricane Genevieve were expected to affect the area, bringing a threat of thunderstorms capable of producing 50-mph winds and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, said Cindy Palmer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey.
She said that, normally, forecasters’ primary fear would be that the lightning strikes would start new fires, as the thunderstorms won’t generate enough rain to suppress the flames.
“But because we have fire already on the ground,” she said, “we’re really concerned about the gusty and erratic winds as well.”
Lightning was already striking off the coast, about 500 miles southwest of San Francisco, on Saturday afternoon, she said. Forecasters were predicting the brunt of the storm activity would hit California on Sunday into Monday.
On the eastern edge of San Jose , the SCU Lightning Complex fire has burned in multiple locations generally east of Silicon Valley and the East Bay and west of the Central Valley.
The fire started as 20 separate blazes but merged into three, which were mostly burning through grass and ranchlands. About 6,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and roughly 20,000 structures were threatened.
Josh Rubinstein, public information officer for Cal Fire, said the expected drop in humidity, dry lightning and rising winds were a destructive combination.
“Those three things help drive or change fire behavior,” Rubinstein said. “So the message to the crews that are working out there at that time is to have a heightened sense of awareness.”
Like other fire officials, those managing the incident were contending with depleted staffing and equipment, he said.
“No fire has the resources that they would like to have right now,” he said. The SCU Lightning Complex “would probably have 25 helicopters on, and we have five. Because there are other areas that need them more desperately than we do.”
He said the state would continue to assign aircraft and crews to areas where fire posed the greatest risk to life.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he said, “and not on just this fire, but some of the surrounding fires that we’re dealing with.”
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office also issued an evacuation warning Thursday afternoon covering the areas of Philbrook Reservoir and Inskip. The county is contending with the Butte Lightning Complex fire, a collection of 34 confirmed lightning-caused fires that have burned a combined 2,623 acres.
Also burning in California is the River fire , which has consumed more than 47,000 acres in steep mountainous terrain south of Salinas in Monterey County, destroying 19 structures, damaging eight others and forcing mandatory evacuations , according to Cal Fire.
At least 6,300 structures remain threatened by the blaze, which was 15% contained as of Saturday night.
The Carmel fire , burning just southwest of the River fire, has charred more than 6,600 acres and destroyed seven structures, fire officials said.
In Marin County, the Woodward fire had burned 2,259 acres in the Point Reyes National Seashore and was 5% contained as of Saturday morning.
The fire was chewing through huge Douglas firs draped with moss and knobcone pines mixed with dead brush, incident commander Bernard Spielman said Saturday.
“Stuff that’s usually dripping wet during the summer is not dripping wet at all,” he said. “It’s very dry out there.”
Two firefighters with the Marin County Fire Department were rescued by helicopter after flames trapped them on a ridgeline Friday night.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which posted video of the dramatic rescue online, said the firefighters were about 75 yards from the advancing flames, which were creating their own strong, gusting winds that intensified as the helicopter neared the blaze.
A tactical officer was able to attach both firefighters to a 100-foot line trailing from the helicopter, which airlifted all three to safety.
“Had it not been for that helicopter there, those firefighters would certainly have perished,” Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said Saturday at a news conference. “So that’s a quick example that even public safety personnel are facing extreme danger, with fires that can quickly change direction under changing conditions.”
Times staff writers Joe Serna and Leila Miller contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-08-22--With less money and more risk, waves of child-care providers call it quits

Kirsten Hove and her mom have been taking care of kids in San Francisco for decades .
Hove ’ s mother opened a day care program in her home in the city ’ s Marina neighborhood more than 30 years ago .
In 2006 , Hove and a family friend expanded the business by opening sites in their apartments nearby .
The days were long , but the women loved the work .
What took years to build , however , was dismantled by the coronavirus in just a few months .
When Californians were ordered to shelter in place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their friend were forced to close completely for a week and then reopened with only online programs .
Half of their families dropped out , and many of those that remained paid far less than the usual $ 2,600 monthly fee .
In May , as the financial strain mounted , the women were allowed to bring children back into their homes .
But several people on their staff were nervous about returning to work as the number of infections continued to climb .
They felt they had no choice but to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only the original location open .
“ I really had no idea how bad this pandemic would be , ” Hove said .
“ I thought we ’ d go in shelter in place and it would be over and we ’ d reopen again.
” Since the coronavirus shut down the state in mid-March , financial losses , concerns about exposure to the virus and navigating a maze of new safety guidelines have forced some 9,300 licensed child-care providers — almost 1 of every 4 in the state — to close , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Social Services that shows closures through July 31 .
More than 1,200 of the closings are permanent , eliminating roughly 19,000 child-care spots , the state figures show .
There is no way to know how many of the thousands of others that have shut their doors during the pandemic will eventually reopen or when , leaving the full effect of pandemic on child care uncertain .
A recent survey by the Center for American Progress estimated that California was at risk of losing more than half of its available child-care slots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the pandemic , advocates and providers pointed to the likelihood of a wave of child-care closures like the one now playing out .
The rash of closings underscores the toll the pandemic is taking on family life in California .
Experts warn the decline of child-care spots has enormous implications for how well and how quickly individual families and the state ’ s economy as a whole will be able to recover from the pandemic .
The impact is particularly acute for women of color , who typically own and work in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are often left to juggle the demands of child care and work .
“ It ’ s going to be really challenging to support an economic recovery in the state if parents can ’ t get to work on a consistent basis , ” said Lea Austin , executive director at UC Berkeley ’ s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment .
“ We can expect that this is going to undermine the ability of women to return to work.
” Most child-care businesses in the state are small , home-based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic , accounting for slightly over 80 % of the permanent closures , according to the state data .
The loss of child-care spots has not been spread evenly across California , with rural counties in the northern part of the state seeing more closures than more urban areas , according to county-level figures from the state that show permanent closures through July 7 .
Marin and Del Norte counties proportionately have seen the most permanent closures in the state , losing roughly 15 child-care slots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to state figures .
Alameda County lost 11 spots , followed by Yolo and Colusa at nine .
Southern California fared relatively better .
San Diego and Los Angeles counties , for example , lost seven and three slots , respectively , for every 1,000 children .
Families in Los Angeles have been hard hit in other ways , however , as public preschool programs have struggled to meet the needs of the poor communities they serve .
The number of child-care spots that have disappeared during the pandemic is significantly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include providers that may eventually reopen .
The reason for each closure is not included in the state data , but a survey of over 900 child-care providers conducted last month found that concerns about exposure to the virus were behind at least three-quarters of home-based closures during the pandemic .
The current spate of closures has accelerated a trend that began in 2007 with the country ’ s housing crisis and economic recession .
Between 2008 and 2016 , the number of home-based child-care centers in the state dropped by almost 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a growing number of public prekindergarten school programs and remain economically viable while often serving lower-income families and operating on thin profit margins .
While the pandemic has forced child-care operators across the U.S. to fold , California is feeling the pinch acutely .
Even before COVID-19 , 60 % of Californians lived in areas that lacked adequate access to child care , often referred to as child-care deserts .
“ The long-term picture without some public intervention , both in terms of policies and resources , is very troubling and very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child-care offerings in the state .
The pandemic has left child-care providers with two bad options : closing and joining the ranks of the unemployed at a time of deep uncertainty for the U.S. economy , or remaining open and putting themselves and their families at risk of exposure to the virus .
Jennifer Araiza cares for about a dozen kids each day at her Grand Terrace home in San Bernardino County .
To guard against the virus , she estimates she has spent about two hours each day sanitizing and an additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She goes through supplies so quickly that , for a time , she was making her own disinfectant from water , alcohol and a few drops of essential oils .
The cleaning regimen is part of broad set of guidelines put out by the state that call on child-care providers to implement a range of enhanced safety measures to protect against the virus , including social distancing , health screenings and specific procedures for how parents drop off and pick up their children .
“ At this point , we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and on off hours we ’ re required to sanitize , ” Araiza said .
“ It ’ s nonstop .
It ’ s tiring.
” Araiza spent weeks weighing whether to remain open , deciding recently to scale back to just two days a week and to work part-time as a teacher elsewhere .
“ The demands , ” she said , “ are a little more than we can bear.
” California Gov .
Gavin Newsom waived some bureaucratic requirements to make it easier for providers to remain open , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow emergency “ pop-up ” child-care facilities to help fill gaps during the pandemic .
But those steps are unlikely to make up for the wave of closures .
Some providers have found help elsewhere .
.
.
Hove , for example , received a $ 90,000 loan in May through the federal Paycheck Protection Program , which she said allowed her to continue paying teachers at their regular salaries .
But she was one of only a few thousand child-care providers in California to receive a loan — less than 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the state , government figures show .
“ We have the historic undervaluing of women ’ s work and the undervaluing of work performed by people of color combining to create this workforce that really is just overlooked , ” said Austin of UC Berkeley .
For Hove , her mom and their friend , the strain of keeping all three locations open through the pandemic was too much .
Cleaning supplies alone were costing her an additional $ 200 a week and neighbors were unhappy about the increased risk of exposure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ door .
“ I feel a great sense of sadness and loss , ” said Hove , who was moved to tears as she talked about scaling down the business they had built .
“ This business has supported me and my success .
We have over a decade of children whose lives we ’ ve impacted.
” Sharma Rani is a journalist with the Fuller Project , a global nonprofit journalism newsroom reporting on issues that affect women .

A teacher checks the temperature of a child at a Ladybug Childcare & Preschool in San Francisco’s Marina District. The coronavirus crisis has caused many California child-care centers to close.
Kirsten Hove and her mom have been taking care of kids in San Francisco for decades.
Hove’s mother opened a day-care program in her home in the city’s Marina neighborhood more than 30 years ago. In 2006, Hove and a family friend expanded the business by opening sites in their apartments nearby. The days were long, but the women loved the work.
What took years to build, however, was dismantled by the coronavirus in just a few months.
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When Californians were ordered to shelter in place in March, Hove, her mother and their friend were forced to close completely for a week and then reopened with only online programs. Half of their families dropped out, and many of those that remained paid far less than the usual $2,600 monthly fee.
In May, as the financial strain mounted, the women were allowed to bring children back into their homes. But several people on their staff were nervous about returning to work as the number of infections continued to climb.
Kirsten Hove, left, works with two children doing watercolor paintings. Teachers and children at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool must wear a mask at all times, according to coronavirus safety precautions. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
They felt they had no choice but to close two of their sites, keeping only the original location open.
“I really had no idea how bad this pandemic would be,” Hove said. “I thought we’d go in shelter in place and it would be over and we’d reopen again.”
Hove’s experience reflects a tough reality playing out across California.
Since the coronavirus shut down the state in mid-March, financial losses, concerns about exposure to the virus and navigating a maze of new safety guidelines have forced some 9,300 licensed child-care providers — almost 1 of every 4 in the state — to close, according to data from the California Department of Social Services that show closures through July 31.
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More than 1,200 of the closings are permanent, eliminating roughly 19,000 child-care spots, the state figures show. There is no way to know how many of the thousands of others that have shut their doors during the pandemic will eventually reopen or when, leaving the full effect of pandemic on child care uncertain. A recent survey by the Center for American Progress estimated that California was at risk of losing more than half of its available child-care slots.
More comprehensive hand-washing instructions to guard against the coronavirus are one of the changes at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool in San Francisco. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
In the early, chaotic weeks of the pandemic, advocates and providers pointed to the likelihood of a wave of child-care closures like the one now playing out. The rash of closings underscores the toll the pandemic is taking on family life in California.
Experts warn the decline of child-care spots has enormous implications for how well and how quickly individual families and the state’s economy as a whole will be able to recover from the pandemic. The effect is particularly acute for women of color, many of whom own and work in child-care centers, and mothers, who are often left to juggle the demands of child care and work.
“It’s going to be really challenging to support an economic recovery in the state if parents can’t get to work on a consistent basis,” said Lea Austin, executive director at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. “We can expect that this is going to undermine the ability of women to return to work.”
Most child-care businesses in the state are small, home-based operations like Hove’s. They have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, accounting for slightly more than 80% of the permanent closures, according to the state data.
The loss of child-care spots has not been spread evenly across California, with rural counties in the northern part of the state seeing more closures than more urban areas, according to county-level figures from the state that show permanent closures through July 7.
Edith Amaya, left, a teacher at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool, checks in with Ellis Watkins, 2½, after taking her temperature. The children bring their own lunches at the center in Marina District. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Marin and Del Norte counties proportionately have seen the most permanent closures in the state, losing roughly 15 child-care slots for every 1,000 children younger than 5, according to state figures. Alameda County lost 11 spots, followed by Yolo and Colusa at nine.
Southern California fared relatively better. San Diego and Los Angeles counties, for example, lost seven and three slots, respectively, for every 1,000 children. Families in Los Angeles have been hit hard in other ways, however, as public preschool programs have struggled to meet the needs of the poor communities they serve.
The number of child-care spots that have disappeared during the pandemic is significantly higher since the county-level figures do not include providers that may eventually reopen.
The reason for each closure is not included in the state data, but a survey of more than 900 child-care providers conducted last month found that concerns about exposure to the virus were behind at least three-quarters of home-based closures during the pandemic.
The current spate of closures has accelerated a trend that began in 2007 with the country’s housing crisis and economic recession. Between 2008 and 2016, the number of home-based child-care centers in the state dropped by almost 30%, as they struggled to compete with a growing number of public prekindergarten school programs and remain economically viable while often serving lower-income families and operating on thin profit margins.
Kirsten Hove, second from right, leads preschoolers in stretching exercises at the start of the day at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool. Hove’s mother opened a day care program in her San Francisco home more than 30 years ago. In 2006, Hove and a family friend expanded the business by opening sites in their apartments nearby. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
While the pandemic has forced child-care operators across the U.S. to fold, California is feeling the pinch acutely. Even before COVID-19, 60% of Californians lived in areas that lacked adequate access to child care, often referred to as child-care deserts.
“The long-term picture without some public intervention, both in terms of policies and resources, is very troubling and very bleak,” Austin said of the child-care offerings in the state.
The pandemic has left child-care providers with two bad options: closing and joining the ranks of the unemployed at a time of deep uncertainty for the U.S. economy, or remaining open and putting themselves and their families at risk of exposure to the virus.
Jennifer Araiza cares for about a dozen kids each day at her Grand Terrace home in San Bernardino County. To guard against the virus, she estimates she has spent about two hours each day sanitizing and an additional four hours doing deeper cleans every weekend. She goes through supplies so quickly that, for a time, she was making her own disinfectant from water, alcohol and a few drops of essential oils.
At Ladybug Childcare & Preschool in San Francisco, teacher Edith Amaya sanitizes toys and other items used by children. Each child is given a separate set of toys and items to use. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
The cleaning regimen is part of a broad set of guidelines put out by the state that call on child-care providers to implement a range of enhanced safety measures to protect against the virus, including social distancing, health screenings and specific procedures for how parents drop off and pick up their children.
“At this point, we’re working about 12-hour days Monday through Friday and on off hours we’re required to sanitize,” Araiza said. “It’s nonstop. It’s tiring.”
Araiza spent weeks weighing whether to remain open, deciding recently to scale back to just two days a week and to work part-time as a teacher elsewhere. “The demands,” she said, “are a little more than we can bear.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom waived some bureaucratic requirements to make it easier for providers to remain open, and the Department of Social Services has started to allow emergency “pop-up” child-care facilities to help fill gaps during the pandemic. But those steps are unlikely to make up for the wave of closures.
Some providers have found help elsewhere. . Hove, for example, received a $90,000 loan in May through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which she said allowed her to continue paying teachers at their regular salaries. But she was one of only a few thousand child-care providers in California to receive a loan — less than 1% of all of the loans issued in the state, government figures show.
“I feel a great sense of sadness and loss,” said Kirsten Hove, who had to scale down her child-care business due to the financial strain caused by the pandemic. Above, Hove talks to Leila Twitchell, 4. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
“We have the historic undervaluing of women’s work and the undervaluing of work performed by people of color combining to create this workforce that really is just overlooked,” said Austin of UC Berkeley.
For Hove, her mom and their friend, the strain of keeping all three locations open through the pandemic was too much. Cleaning supplies alone were costing her an additional $200 a week and neighbors were unhappy about the increased risk of exposure that came with a day care next door.
“I feel a great sense of sadness and loss,” said Hove, who was moved to tears as she talked about scaling down the business they had built. “This business has supported me and my success. We have over a decade of children whose lives we’ve impacted.”
Sharma Rani is a journalist with the Fuller Project, a global nonprofit journalism newsroom reporting on issues that affect women.


latimes--2020-08-22--A loophole is allowing thousands of California students to use pandemic-shuttered classrooms

Five-year-old Jameson Miniex twisted his fingers into his curly hair , watching with rapt attention as a teacher in a blush-colored hijab read a book for the first day of school .
Around him , other Los Angeles Unified School District kindergartners scribbled their assignments and stretched their hands in the air , each working behind a clear plastic partition that is now as much a part of school ’ s visual lexicon as milk pints and chalkboards .
But these L.A. students aren ’ t back in school .
Instead , they ’ ve joined thousands of youngsters who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tutoring programs such as this one — many alongside their pre-COVID classmates , and some in the very classrooms that were shuttered by the pandemic .
“ We were one of the first in the state to provide camps to the children of first responders , ” said Sir Robinson , co-director of camps for STAR Education , the academic nonprofit that runs Jameson ’ s program and others like it around the state .
“ Now we ’ re acquiring new buildings and making sure they can hold the highest number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all child care , day camps are considered essential in California .
But with school starting remotely and private tutors reserved for a rarified few , many public school children have returned to modified summer camps and after-school programs for the fall , in what Professor Artineh Samkian of USC Rossier School of Education called “ a middle-class version ” of expensive backyard pods .
In many cases , what were once their classrooms have been converted into day cares for the children of district employees , while many private schools have transformed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Each one of these instances is unique and distinctive , ” Gov .
Gavin Newsom said when asked about such programs at a news conference Wednesday .
“ There ’ s over 1,000 school districts in this state .
... You ’ re going to see people testing the boundaries of some of these state orders.
” In fact , experts said , the workarounds appear common and increasingly uniform — and it ’ s unclear that any of them run afoul of state rules .
That ’ s because day camps are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and enrichment programs , most are exempt from licensing requirements , at least for part of each year , and it ’ s not clear how officials would know when those exemptions expire .
The state Department of Social Services , which licenses most other forms of child care , has no record of how many day camps there are or how many children attend them .
Neither does the L.A. County Department of Health , which is responsible for ensuring that those camps follow coronavirus safety rules .
“ Los Angeles County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , permit , or approve the operation of day camps , ” outside of inspecting things such as swimming pools and food service , a department representative wrote in an email .
While DPH “ can require adherence ” to pandemic precautions , “ there is no state or local licensing required ” for camps .
On Wednesday , Newsom thanked officials for “ their enforcement in this space , ” without clarifying what if any enforcement had occurred .
Most license-exempt programs bill themselves as strictly observing social distancing and sanitation protocols @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purview .
( Some also feature lengthy contagion-specific liability waivers . )
And while unlicensed camps could face fines if they operate beyond the 12-week exemption period — an epoch in 2020 time — the agency that would fine them is simultaneously responsible for hundreds of thousands of children in day cares and preschools , 60,000 more in foster care , and 400,000 Californians in nursing homes .
“ Community Care Licensing doesn ’ t really have the bandwidth to enforce that , ” said Kim Kruckel , executive director of the Child @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s only so many people to deal with so many crises.
” Some teachers worry that private schools may reopen as “ camp ” in name only , violating the governor ’ s July 17 executive order .
A Cal/OSHA spokeswoman said the agency could investigate specific workplace safety complaints — rooms with more than 12 children , for example , or lax enforcement of mask rules — but it has no more power over the operation of license-exempt programs than social services or the health department .
Without licensing , there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is or isn ’ t .
Even licensed day-care programs such as those run by school districts look little different from school .
Meanwhile , demand from working parents has surged .
“ Parents are panicked , because [ remote learning ] did not work out for them in the spring , ” said STAR Education founder Katya Bozzi , who now spends her days cold-calling churches and scouting out parking lots in search of space for the 1,200 children on her waitlist .
“ They ’ re basically either crying on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re completely lost .
Somebody has to help the kids with school , and the parents have to work.
” Some , like nurse Elizabeth Diep , are single parents with essential jobs .
Others can no longer balance remote work and Zoom school ; they feel they ’ ve been given an impossible choice between their present livelihoods and their children ’ s academic future .
“ It reached the point when families said to us , we don ’ t know if our school ’ s going back , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could you add a few weeks more , ” said Brian Green , executive director of the Westside Jewish Community Center .
“ If the parents need us , we would like to be there for them.
” Like the students at STAR , JCC campers bring their own device and headphones , and are helped to log into classes being livestreamed from their various schools and complete their assignments in a space set aside for that purpose .
But while Jameson and other STAR students do worksheets or calisthenics between their online @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and skip rope and play guitar — exactly as they did through the summer .
“ That ’ s the same model we ’ re going to use through the school year , ” said Angelika Getmanchouk , head of school at WorldSpeak , a private elementary school in Westwood that reopened as a camp in May .
“ Whatever needs to be done , you just roll up your sleeves and you do it.
” Public schools , too , have scrambled to provide in-person help for some parents .
Glendale Unified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the neediest tenth of its 13,000 elementary schoolers .
LAUSD has opened “ supervision centers ” to manage online instruction for the children of its employees , using workers from its after-school programs .
“ This is child care at its best , because we ’ re lifting the burden off the shoulders of families who have been desperately seeking child care but can ’ t afford it , ” said Glendale Supt .
Vivian Ekchian .
“ The reality is we have high school kids who are left in charge of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not a good way to allow anyone to learn.
” But her district is unique .
To serve the same proportion of LAUSD elementary school students would require more than 2,500 classrooms and at least as many educators — equivalent to more than 10 % of the district ’ s entire K-12 teacher corps .
Many of those resources are already being used to support the children of teachers and other district staff , leaving public school families to pay out of pocket for the care they need , if they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a minimal fee is problematic , ” said Samkian , the USC professor .
“ Even though it might seem nominal , when you add multiple siblings and many , many months , it is really cost prohibitive.
” That ’ s what happened to Diep , the nurse , who spent the summer working with critically ill COVID patients in Redlands .
Her two children have been in a Boys and Girls ’ Club camp from 7 a.m to 5:30 pm .
every weekday since April , but at $ 150 per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summer camp standards — the cost has become unsustainable .
“ I ’ m taking on a second full-time job to pay for it , ” she said .
“ My second job will be in the ER .
I ’ ll be working on the weekends through the winter.
” For her and many others , camps fill a desperate need .
But the more of them that open , and the longer they run , the more frustrated she feels .
“ My children have been in day camp since April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” either with coronavirus or the constant colds and stomach bugs they used to bring home , Diep said .
“ If a day camp is able to do it , why couldn ’ t the school ?
”

Five-year-old Jameson Miniex twisted his fingers into his curly hair, watching with rapt attention as a teacher in a blush-colored hijab read a book for the first day of school.
Around him, other Los Angeles Unified School District kindergartners scribbled their assignments and stretched their hands in the air, each working behind a clear plastic partition that is now as much a part of school’s visual lexicon as milk pints and chalkboards.
But these L.A. students aren’t back in school. Instead, they’ve joined thousands of youngsters who log into class from day camps and tutoring programs such as this one — many alongside their pre-COVID classmates, and some in the very classrooms that were shuttered by the pandemic.
“We were one of the first in the state to provide camps to the children of first responders,” said Sir Robinson, co-director of camps for STAR Education, the academic nonprofit that runs Jameson’s program and others like it around the state. “Now we’re acquiring new buildings and making sure they can hold the highest number of children as safely as possible.”
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Like all child care, day camps are considered essential in California. But with school starting remotely and private tutors reserved for a rarified few, many public school children have returned to modified summer camps and after-school programs for the fall, in what professor Artineh Samkian of USC Rossier School of Education called “a middle-class version” of expensive backyard pods. In many cases, what were once their classrooms have been converted into day cares for the children of district employees, while many private schools have transformed into camps for the term.
“Each one of these instances is unique and distinctive,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said when asked about such programs at a news conference Wednesday. “There’s over 1,000 school districts in this state. ... You’re going to see people testing the boundaries of some of these state orders.”
In fact, experts said, the workarounds appear common and increasingly uniform — and it’s unclear that any of them run afoul of state rules. That’s because day camps are virtually unregulated in California. Like tutoring and enrichment programs, most are exempt from licensing requirements, at least for part of each year, and it’s not clear how officials would know when those exemptions expire. The state Department of Social Services, which licenses most other forms of child care, has no record of how many day camps there are or how many children attend them. Neither does the L.A. County Department of Health, which is responsible for ensuring that those camps follow coronavirus safety rules.
“Los Angeles County Department of Public Health does not regulate, permit, or approve the operation of day camps,” outside of inspecting things such as swimming pools and food service, a department representative wrote in an email. While DPH “can require adherence” to pandemic precautions, “there is no state or local licensing required” for camps.
Kindergartner Abigail Sirignano, 5, jumps from one square to the next while playing a game with other students during an exercise period at Eco Station in Culver City. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
On Wednesday, Newsom thanked officials for “their enforcement in this space,” without clarifying what, if any, enforcement had occurred. Most license-exempt programs bill themselves as strictly observing social distancing and sanitation protocols, the health department’s primary purview. (Some also feature lengthy contagion-specific liability waivers.)
Advertisement
And while unlicensed camps could face fines if they operate beyond the 12-week exemption period — an epoch in 2020 time — the agency that would fine them is simultaneously responsible for hundreds of thousands of children in day cares and preschools, 60,000 more in foster care, and 400,000 Californians in nursing homes.
“Community Care Licensing doesn’t really have the bandwidth to enforce that,” said Kim Kruckel, executive director of the Child Care Law Center. “There’s only so many people to deal with so many crises.”
Some teachers worry that private schools may reopen as “camp” in name only, violating the governor’s July 17 executive order. A Cal/OSHA spokeswoman said the agency could investigate specific workplace safety complaints — rooms with more than 12 children, for example, or lax enforcement of mask rules — but it has no more power over the operation of license-exempt programs than social services or the health department. Without licensing, there’s little to say what a camp is or isn’t. Even licensed day-care programs such as those run by school districts look little different from school.
Meanwhile, demand from working parents has surged.
“Parents are panicked, because [remote learning] did not work out for them in the spring,” said STAR Education founder Katya Bozzi, who now spends her days cold-calling churches and scouting out parking lots in search of space for the 1,200 children on her waitlist. “They’re basically either crying on the phone or they’re venting or they’re completely lost. Somebody has to help the kids with school, and the parents have to work.”
Some, like nurse Elizabeth Diep, are single parents with essential jobs. Others can no longer balance remote work and Zoom school; they feel they’ve been given an impossible choice between their present livelihoods and their children’s academic future.
“It reached the point when families said to us, we don’t know if our school’s going back, we don’t know when, could you add a few weeks more?” said Brian Greene, executive director of the Westside Jewish Community Center. “If the parents need us, we would like to be there for them.”
Like the students at STAR, JCC campers bring their own device and headphones, and are helped to log into classes being livestreamed from their various schools and complete their assignments in a space set aside for that purpose. But while Jameson and other STAR students do worksheets or calisthenics between their online classes, JCC campers weave friendship bracelets and skip rope and play guitar — exactly as they did through the summer.
“That’s the same model we’re going to use through the school year,” said Angelika Getmanchouk, head of school at WorldSpeak, a private elementary school in Westwood that reopened as a camp in May. “Whatever needs to be done, you just roll up your sleeves and you do it.”
Danny Osborne, wildlife director for Eco Station in Culver City, holds Sketch, a 5-foot-long, 40-pound American alligator, while teaching children about wildlife. At left is kindergartner Jameson Miniex. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Public schools, too, have scrambled to provide in-person help for some parents. Glendale Unified School District has substitute teachers running classrooms for the neediest tenth of its 13,000 elementary schoolers. LAUSD has opened “supervision centers” to manage online instruction for the children of its employees, using workers from its after-school programs.
“This is child care at its best, because we’re lifting the burden off the shoulders of families who have been desperately seeking child care but can’t afford it,” said Glendale Supt. Vivian Ekchian. “The reality is we have high school kids who are left in charge of supervising their younger siblings. It’s not a good way to allow anyone to learn.”
But her district is unique. To serve the same proportion of LAUSD elementary school students would require more than 2,500 classrooms and at least as many educators — equivalent to more than 10% of the district’s entire K-12 teacher corps. Many of those resources are already being used to support the children of teachers and other district staff, leaving public school families to pay out of pocket for the care they need, if they can afford care at all.
“Even a minimal fee is problematic,” said Samkian, the USC professor. “Even though it might seem nominal, when you add multiple siblings and many, many months, it is really cost-prohibitive.”
That’s what happened to Diep, the nurse, who spent the summer working with critically ill COVID patients in Redlands. Her two children have been in a Boys and Girls Club camp from 7 a.m. to 5:30 pm. every weekday since April, but at $150 per child per week — a steal by summer camp standards — the cost has become unsustainable.
“I’m taking on a second full-time job to pay for it,” she said. “My second job will be in the ER. I’ll be working on the weekends through the winter.”
For her and many others, camps fill a desperate need. But the more of them that open, and the longer they run, the more frustrated she feels.
“My children have been in day camp since April 6 and they have not gotten sick,” either with coronavirus or the constant colds and stomach bugs they used to bring home, Diep said. “If a day camp is able to do it, why couldn’t the school?”