latimes--2020-10-26--2 firefighters critically injured as blazes burn out of control in Irvine, Yorba Linda

A wind-driven brush fire broke out Monday in Orange County , critically injuring two firefighters and forcing tens of thousands of residents from their homes near Irvine amid conditions that forecasters were calling the most dangerous fire weather of the year .
The Silverado fire broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. near Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads .
The fire , which was burning in a hilly area above homes , had grown to 7,200 acres by 4:30 p.m. , officials said .
The injured firefighters , 26 and 31 , were both intubated after suffering second- and third-degree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said .
Additional details weren ’ t immediately available .
Fennessy said he visited the injured firefighters and their family members at Orange County Global Medical Center .
“ They ’ re gravely injured , ” he said .
“ We ’ re doing all we can for them.
” A mandatory was issued for about 70,000 residents in Irvine , including all homes north of Irvine Boulevard between Bake Parkway and Jamboree Road , officials said .
Homes from Irvine Boulevard to Trabuco Road and from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were also evacuated .
So far , no structures have been damaged or destroyed .
Evacuation centers were set up at seven locations , including Los Olivos Community Center , Harvard Community Center , Village Church of Irvine and Las Lomas Community Center in Irvine , and many were at capacity by late morning , the city said .
Highway 241 was shut down from Santiago Canyon Road to Highway 133 .
Portola Parkway was closed between the 241 and Jamboree Road , and Santiago Canyon Road was closed from the 241 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ p.m. , flames were burning alongside the 133 at the Irvine Boulevard overpass .
Video recorded by a KTLA-TV Channel 5 helicopter showed fire consuming vegetation on the side of the road and lapping at the bridge while cars continued to drive across , though the overpass was shut down to traffic a short time later .
Another brush fire broke out Monday afternoon near Las Palmas and Flintridge drives in Fullerton and briefly forced the evacuation of homes there , the city tweeted shortly before 12:30 p.m .
Authorities said that firefighters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents were allowed back in their homes shortly before 2 p.m .
The Blue Ridge fire , which started in the Chino Hills area of Corona , west of the Santa Ana River , had grown to 1,200 acres by Monday afternoon and damaged at least one home , fire officials said .
Corona Fire Department program specialist Denise Aguilar said the fire was burning near the Green River Golf Club , but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda , where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ east side of the city , about 2 p.m. About 20,000 residents in the Hidden Hills community of Yorba Linda as well as residents north of the 91 Freeway and east of Gypsum Canyon were evacuated .
In Irvine , many parks were closed because of the fires and high winds .
UC Irvine said it was suspending campus operations for the day because smoke and ash were making the air hazardous .
The winds were knocking over half-full trash cans and pushing them around the streets of Orchard Hills , a neighborhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire .
Almost everyone had evacuated the neighborhood of two-story stucco homes by late morning , with the exception of one or two families who were still gathering their belongings .
Not far from Bella Garden Park , Raymond Siu , 44 , stuffed his Lexus SUV with luggage and other personal items .
Breathing hard , he said he learned about the fire from police alerts on his phone and immediately began preparing to evacuate .
“ I ’ m feeling rushed , ” he said , running to his white Tesla @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seated in the white Lexus SUV , followed behind him .
Located between the Santa Ana River and Cleveland National Forest is the Green River Village , a mobile home park that found itself in the path of the Blue Ridge fire .
Residents wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smoke and hillsides on fire .
Rodrigo Suarez , 41 , who watched with his daughter , said it was just three years ago when another fire burned the hillsides across the 91 Freeway .
The mobile home park @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t think they would need to evacuate now , Suarez said .
The fire , he said , would need to jump the river and the wind was pushing it toward Yorba Linda .
“ I feel nothing is going to happen , ” he said .
But if things changed he had his truck ready and packed with important documents and cash .
He would just load up his dogs and leave the area with his wife and daughter , he said .
There was no word on how the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Southern California were experiencing fierce , dry Santa Ana winds , with forecasters warning that any fire that was to start could spread rapidly and be difficult to contain .
By 2 p.m. , the National Weather Service was measuring wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph in the fire area .
The winds were so fierce , that water-dropping aircraft aiding the firefight had to be grounded about 10:30 a.m. “ The challenge is that the aircraft will give us that extra edge , ” Fennessy , the fire chief , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get the folks on the ground in there .
It ’ s much tougher to do without that help from above.
” “ And then combined with the really dry air , that ’ s why it ’ s creating these critical fire conditions and this fast-spreading wildfire , ” said Dan Gregoria , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego .
Relative humidity had plummeted to 5 % , “ which is bone-dry , ” he said .
Gregoria said the area looked to be experiencing the worst of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions were expected to persist for another four or five hours before starting to subside later in the evening .
The winds are expected to return early Tuesday before dying off in the afternoon .
Lana Salameh , 45 , had just dropped off her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine ’ s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange .
Trees were falling from heavy winds and smoke was seeping into the house , but she had not been informed that school was canceled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9-year-old daughter , Farah Abdelbari , whose tears were soaking her pink mask at Eastwood Elementary School .
She then picked up her 11-year-old son , Omar .
“ They were scared .
It wasn ’ t easy , ” Salameh said .
“ My kids were crying , but we had to leave.
” They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at Quail Hill Community Center , which was reaching capacity .
Inside , about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks while small dogs were tied to table legs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pulled up on many of the evacuees ’ laptops , while Salameh ’ s children worked on school assignments .
Esther Lee , 55 , and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for a spot to open inside .
When Lee looked outside her bedroom Monday morning , the palm trees were swaying and a large plume of smoke had overtaken the nearby mountains .
Her home of 19 years along Portola Avenue in Irvine was being buffeted by smoke and wind , so she started packing .
About 9:30 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and quickly packed important documents into her two cars .
“ We didn ’ t have much time , and I didn ’ t want to stay too long , ” Lee said .
“ We ’ re just staying put for now because the winds can be so unpredictable.
” She and her husband , Jay , decided to stay put in a nearby park with their dog , Katara , until the couple ’ s family members in Lake Forest had an evacuation plan .
Fire officials weren ’ t aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did receive a report of a fence ablaze in someone ’ s backyard , Gonzales said .
He said the windy weather , dry vegetation and steep terrain had combined to pose a challenge to firefighters .
“ It ’ s a little bit of everything to be honest , between the high unpredictable winds — we ’ ve had reports of gusts in excess of 70 mph — of course , we have the dry brush and , as always , terrain is something we have to deal with , ” Gonzales @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aircraft grounded , it does make it a little more difficult but we have numerous resources on scene , and our goal is to control the fire and protect homes.
” Pat McGrath , 78 , was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders .
The Ridge Valley woman has no family on the West Coast .
“ I just panicked .
I started crying , ” McGrath said .
“ I ’ m cold , I ’ m hungry , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know what to do.
” Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her .
“ I was hoping there would be food or water , but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier , ” she said .
“ There ’ s a fountain down the hall , but I forgot my cane and my legs don ’ t work too well .
I think your body doesn ’ t work as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was about 8 a.m. when 24-year-old Sungho Hong was awakened by his parents .
Hong said he got up and went to look outside at the billowing , brown smoke moving over the top of the hill behind their home .
But the fire was nowhere near the community , so his parents went off to work and Hong logged into his computer for his online courses at Cal Poly Pomona .
In the middle of his political science class , he had to leave the house .
He drove his black Mercedes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sitting in his car watching the flames in the distance , he felt nervous .
He also wondered about having to email his professor to let him know why he left class .
Back at the Vistas , firetrucks and firefighters were stationed along the hillside , ready to protect homes as the blaze made its way down , threatening dozens of homes in Knob Creek , Nest Pine and Leafy Pass .
Winds from the fire contributed to a large plume of smoke over the area , and the Orange County Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outdoor activity and keep doors and windows closed .
Stanley Liu ’ s family was turned away from University Community Center shelter , which was full .
The 45-year-old , his wife and son made their way to Rancho Senior Center , where they were asked prescreening health questions before entering .
Only a third of the room was occupied .
The family had packed two suitcases of clothes and was prepared to rent out a hotel room for the night if the evacuation order continued .
“ We were forced to stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and now we ’ re being forced to leave because of the fire , ” Liu said .
“ We didn ’ t want to leave , but it wasn ’ t our decision .
We ’ re worried about our safety and our home now.
” The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Tuesday afternoon amid the conditions , which also threatened tens of thousands of Southern California Edison customers with potential power shutoffs .
The warning was in effect for all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as the entire Bay Area .
As of Monday afternoon , about 22,762 customers were without power , mostly in San Bernardino County .
An additional 105,000 remained under consideration for a preemptive shutoff , according to Edison ’ s website .
Pacific Gas and Electric had said it would cut power to nearly 1 million people in Northern and Central California starting Sunday amid dangerous fire weather .
By Monday morning , more than 300,000 customers were without power .
“ We have very strong winds and very low humidities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a very strong Santa Ana event with high fire danger , ” said David Sweet , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
“ This is very typical for this time of year , but this one is very strong.
” Wind gusts of up to 80 mph led the weather service to upgrade the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys to high wind warning conditions , noting that a “ wave ” of winds could crash down into the foothills along the 210 Freeway corridor Monday .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas , with the weather service reporting a gust of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita about 6 a.m. Monday .
High winds led to the brief closure of Ontario International Airport .
The combination of winds and low humidity levels are expected to create “ the most dangerous fire weather conditions we have seen since October 2019 , ” the National Weather Service said .
Although conditions across Southern California are cooler than they have been in months — the Antelope Valley will see sub-freezing temperatures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the low humidity is still cause for concern .
“ You can be sure that the vegetation is bone-dry and tinder-dry , and so the fire threat is very high for very rapid spread of fire , ” Sweet said .
“ Along with that , you ’ ve got very strong winds , which means that lit embers and ashes could be carried for miles .
”

Ruben Vives, Stephanie Lai, Alex Wigglesworth, Hayley Smith, Faith E. Pinho, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

The Silverado fire broke out in Orange County on Monday morning amid conditions forecasters were calling the most dangerous fire weather of the year.
Orange County Monday was under siege from two wind-driven brush fires that forced 90,000 people from their homes, critically injuring two firefighters and leaving many others on edge.
The Silverado fire in Irvine broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. near Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads. The fire, which was burning in a hilly area above homes, had grown to 7,200 acres by 4:30 p.m., officials said. A second blaze, the Blue Ridge fire, had burned one home, threatened hundreds of others in Yorba Linda north of the 91 Freeway and scorched 6,600 acres by late Monday night.
The injured firefighters, 26 and 31, were hurt battling the Silverado fire. Both were intubated after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said. Additional details weren’t immediately available.
Fennessy said he visited the injured firefighters and their family members at Orange County Global Medical Center.
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“They’re gravely injured,” he said. “We’re doing all we can for them.”
A mandatory evacuation order was issued for about 70,000 residents in Irvine, including all homes north of Irvine Boulevard between Bake Parkway and Jamboree Road, officials said. Homes from Irvine Boulevard to Trabuco Road and from Jeffrey Road east to Portola High School were also evacuated. So far, no structures have been damaged or destroyed.
Evacuation centers were set up at seven locations, including Los Olivos Community Center, Harvard Community Center, Village Church of Irvine and Las Lomas Community Center in Irvine, and many were at capacity by late morning, the city said.
Highway 241 was shut down from Santiago Canyon Road to Highway 133. Portola Parkway was closed between the 241 and Jamboree Road, and Santiago Canyon Road was closed from the 241 to Live Oak Canyon Road.
Monday evening, Southern California Edison said its equipment may have started the Silverado fire.
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In a report to the state Public Utilities Commission, Edison said it was investigating whether its electrical equipment caused the blaze. The brief report said it appeared that a “lashing wire” may have struck a primary conductor, and an investigation was underway.
A crowd watches a hillside burn on Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Edison spokesman Chris Abel said the company filed the mandatory report with the PUC late Monday. A lashing wire is used to hold telecommunications cables together, he said, adding: “SCE will cooperate fully” with any investigators.
In the Chino Hills area of Corona, west of the Santa Ana River, the Blue Ridge fire burned 6,600 acres and damaged at least one home shortly before midnight Monday night. The extent of the damage was being investigated. Authorities said there were 200 firefighters combating the blaze.
Corona Fire Department program specialist Denise Aguilar said the fire was burning near the Green River Golf Club, but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda, where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast of Bryant Ranch Park, on the east side of the city, about 2 p.m.
About 20,000 residents have been evacuated from nearby areas including the Hidden Hills community of Yorba Linda, north of the 91 Freeway, east of Gypsum Canyon and south of Carbon Canyon Road. There was also a mandatory evacuation for some Carbon Canyon communities.
In Irvine, many parks were closed because of the fires and high winds.
UC Irvine said it was suspending campus operations for the day because smoke and ash were making the air hazardous.
The winds were knocking over half-full trash cans and pushing them around the streets of Orchard Hills, a neighborhood in Irvine sitting in the path of fire.
Almost everyone had evacuated the neighborhood of two-story stucco homes by late morning, with the exception of one or two families who were still gathering their belongings.
Not far from Bella Garden Park, Raymond Siu, 44, stuffed his Lexus SUV with luggage and other personal items. Breathing hard, he said he learned about the fire from police alerts on his phone and immediately began preparing to evacuate.
“I’m feeling rushed,” he said, running to his white Tesla before driving off.
A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
His family, seated in the white Lexus SUV, followed behind him.
Located between the Santa Ana River and Cleveland National Forest is the Green River Village, a mobile home park that found itself in the path of the Blue Ridge fire.
Residents wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smoke and hillsides on fire.
Rodrigo Suarez, 41, who watched with his daughter, said it was just three years ago when another fire burned the hillsides across the 91 Freeway.
The mobile home park wasn’t evacuated then and he didn’t think they would need to evacuate now, Suarez said. The fire, he said, would need to jump the river and the wind was pushing it toward Yorba Linda.
“I feel nothing is going to happen,” he said.
But if things changed he had his truck ready and packed with important documents and cash. He would just load up his dogs and leave the area with his wife and daughter, he said.
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire fueled by Santa Ana winds at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
There was no word on how the fire started. It ignited as parts of Southern California were experiencing fierce, dry Santa Ana winds, with forecasters warning that any fire that was to start could spread rapidly and be difficult to contain.
By 2 p.m., the National Weather Service was measuring wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph in the fire area. The winds were so fierce, that water-dropping aircraft aiding the firefight had to be grounded about 10:30 a.m.
“The challenge is that the aircraft will give us that extra edge,” Fennessy, the fire chief, said. “We still need to get the folks on the ground in there. It’s much tougher to do without that help from above.”
“And then combined with the really dry air, that’s why it’s creating these critical fire conditions and this fast-spreading wildfire,” said Dan Gregoria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.
Relative humidity had plummeted to 5%, “which is bone-dry,” he said.
Gregoria said the area looked to be experiencing the worst of the winds Monday afternoon, although gusty conditions were expected to persist for another four or five hours before starting to subside later in the evening. The winds are expected to return early Tuesday before dying off in the afternoon.
A firefighter sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns near Santiago Canyon Rd. &Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire. (OnScene.TV)
Lana Salameh, 45, had just dropped off her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine’s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange. Trees were falling from heavy winds and smoke was seeping into the house, but she had not been informed that school was canceled.
She hustled back to grab her 9-year-old daughter, Farah Abdelbari, whose tears were soaking her pink mask at Eastwood Elementary School. She then picked up her 11-year-old son, Omar.
“They were scared. It wasn’t easy,” Salameh said. “My kids were crying, but we had to leave.”
They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at Quail Hill Community Center, which was reaching capacity.
Inside, about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks while small dogs were tied to table legs. News reports of the fire were pulled up on many of the evacuees’ laptops, while Salameh’s children worked on school assignments.
Esther Lee, 55, and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for a spot to open inside.
When Lee looked outside her bedroom Monday morning, the palm trees were swaying and a large plume of smoke had overtaken the nearby mountains.
Her home of 19 years along Portola Avenue in Irvine was being buffeted by smoke and wind, so she started packing.
About 9:30 a.m., she received a mandatory evacuation notice and quickly packed important documents into her two cars.
“We didn’t have much time, and I didn’t want to stay too long,” Lee said. “We’re just staying put for now because the winds can be so unpredictable.”
She and her husband, Jay, decided to stay put in a nearby park with their dog, Katara, until the couple’s family members in Lake Forest had an evacuation plan.
Fire officials weren’t aware of any homes that had burned but did receive a report of a fence ablaze in someone’s backyard, Gonzales said. He said the windy weather, dry vegetation and steep terrain had combined to pose a challenge to firefighters.
“It’s a little bit of everything to be honest, between the high unpredictable winds — we’ve had reports of gusts in excess of 70 mph — of course, we have the dry brush and, as always, terrain is something we have to deal with,” Gonzales said. “Now that we have aircraft grounded, it does make it a little more difficult but we have numerous resources on scene, and our goal is to control the fire and protect homes.”
Pat McGrath, 78, was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders. The Ridge Valley woman has no family on the West Coast.
“I just panicked. I started crying,” McGrath said. “I’m cold, I’m hungry, I’m stressed and I don’t know what to do.”
Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her.
“I was hoping there would be food or water, but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier,” she said. “There’s a fountain down the hall, but I forgot my cane and my legs don’t work too well. I think your body doesn’t work as well when you’re stressed.”
It was about 8 a.m. when 24-year-old Sungho Hong was awakened by his parents. Hong said he got up and went to look outside at the billowing, brown smoke moving over the top of the hill behind their home.
But the fire was nowhere near the community, so his parents went off to work and Hong logged into his computer for his online courses at Cal Poly Pomona.
In the middle of his political science class, he had to leave the house. He drove his black Mercedes to the bottom of the hill. Sitting in his car watching the flames in the distance, he felt nervous. He also wondered about having to email his professor to let him know why he left class.
Back at the Vistas, firetrucks and firefighters were stationed along the hillside, ready to protect homes as the blaze made its way down, threatening dozens of homes in Knob Creek, Nest Pine and Leafy Pass.
Winds from the fire contributed to a large plume of smoke over the area, and the Orange County Health Care agency was urging residents to limit outdoor activity and keep doors and windows closed.
Stanley Liu’s family was turned away from University Community Center shelter, which was full.
The 45-year-old, his wife and son made their way to Rancho Senior Center, where they were asked prescreening health questions before entering. Only a third of the room was occupied.
The family had packed two suitcases of clothes and was prepared to rent out a hotel room for the night if the evacuation order continued.
“We were forced to stay home for months because of the coronavirus, and now we’re being forced to leave because of the fire,” Liu said. “We didn’t want to leave, but it wasn’t our decision. We’re worried about our safety and our home now.”
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Tuesday afternoon amid the conditions, which also threatened tens of thousands of Edison‘s customers with potential power shutoffs. The warning was in effect for all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties except for the Antelope Valley, as well as the entire Bay Area.
As of Monday evening, about 38,032 customers were without power, mostly in San Bernardino County. An additional 95,853 remained under consideration for a preemptive shutoff, according to Edison’s website.
Pacific Gas and Electric had said it would cut power to nearly 1 million people in Northern and Central California starting Sunday amid dangerous fire weather. By Monday morning, more than 300,000 customers were without power.
“We have very strong winds and very low humidities, and that’s causing ideal conditions for a very strong Santa Ana event with high fire danger,” said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “This is very typical for this time of year, but this one is very strong.”
Wind gusts of up to 80 mph led the weather service to upgrade the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys to high wind warning conditions, noting that a “wave” of winds could crash down into the foothills along the 210 Freeway corridor Monday.
The winds were even stronger in higher elevation areas, with the weather service reporting a gust of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita about 6 a.m. Monday.
High winds led to the brief closure of Ontario International Airport.
The combination of winds and low humidity levels are expected to create “the most dangerous fire weather conditions we have seen since October 2019,” the National Weather Service said.
Although conditions across Southern California are cooler than they have been in months — the Antelope Valley will see sub-freezing temperatures Monday and Tuesday morning — Sweet said the low humidity is still cause for concern.
“You can be sure that the vegetation is bone-dry and tinder-dry, and so the fire threat is very high for very rapid spread of fire,” Sweet said. “Along with that, you’ve got very strong winds, which means that lit embers and ashes could be carried for miles.”
Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa and the Associated Press contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-26--Earthquake: Magnitude 3.6 quake reported near Napa, Calif.

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported Monday at 6:38 a.m. Pacific time 14 miles from Napa , Calif. , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred 16 miles from Santa Rosa , Calif. , 19 miles from Sonoma , Calif. , 19 miles from Vacaville , Calif. , and 21 miles from Fairfield , Calif .
In the last 10 days , there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada , according to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occurred at a depth of 4.5 miles .
Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learning more about the system , visit our list of frequently asked questions .

The earthquake hit 14 miles from Napa, Calif., and 16 miles from Santa Rosa, Calif.
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported Monday at 6:38 a.m. Pacific time 14 miles from Napa, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred 16 miles from Santa Rosa, Calif., 19 miles from Sonoma, Calif., 19 miles from Vacaville, Calif., and 21 miles from Fairfield, Calif.
In the last 10 days, there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 4.5 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-10-26--How to watch this week's Festival of Books with Natalie Portman, Maria Hinojosa and Marlon James

Welcome to the second week of the 25th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books , Stories & Ideas !
This week ’ s lineup includes conversations with novelist Marlon James , journalist Maria Hinojosa , author Kevin Kwan and actress Natalie Portman .
All events are free .
Due to the ongoing pandemic , this year ’ s celebration of the written word is virtual .
For 25 days , writers , poets , artists , storytellers and bookstore exhibitors will be featured in 25 panels and readings — all viewable from the comfort of your home .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and how to tune in : Monday , Oct. 26 , at 6 p.m. : Marlon James , winner of the inaugural 2019 L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction and a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award , will join UCLA Afrofuturism professor Tananarive Due in a conversation about his science fiction novel “ Black Leopard Red Wolf.
” Tuesday , Oct. 27 , at 6 p.m. : Authors André Aciman , Gayle Forman , Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen talk about writing fiction for audio , and with listeners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Connor will moderate the discussion .
Wednesday , Oct. 28 , at 6 p.m. : “ Crazy Rich Asians ” author Kevin Kwan returned this year with a new novel , “ Sex and Vanity.
” He joins Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan , co-authors of “ The Royal We , ” in a conversation moderated by novelist and essayist Jade Chang .
Thursday , Oct. 29 , at 5 p.m. : USC professors Juan De Lara , Manuel Pastor and associate professor Sarah Gualtieri will explore race and immigration in Southern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panel will be moderated by professor William Deverell .
Topics include racial demographics and the economy , and the state ’ s impact on politics nationally .
This is the first half of a two-part panel on Los Angeles .
Thursday , Oct. 29 , at 6 p.m. : What and who should be remembered and memorialized across public spaces , and what should such commemorations look like ?
Members of the Civic Memory Working Group of Los Angeles , a diverse gathering of artists , architects , historians and others , will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memory ( and civic amnesia ) .
The discussion features USC professor Christopher Hawthorne , associate professor Taj Frazier and architects Frederick Fisher and Gail Kennard , with professor William Deverell moderating .
This is the second half of the two-part panel on L.A. Friday , Oct. 30 , at 5 p.m. : Maria Hinojosa , Emmy Award-winning journalist , NPR ’ s “ Latino USA ” anchor and author of “ Once I Was You , ” joins award-winning novelist Laila Lalami , author of “ Conditional Citizens , ” to explore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an American .
Times Column One editor Steve Padilla is the moderator .
Sunday , Nov. 1 , at 11 a.m. : Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen and his 6-year-old son , Ellison Nguyen , will discuss their picture book , “ Chicken of the Sea.
” Caldecott-winning illustrator Thi Bui and her 13-year-old son , Hien Bui-Stafford , also will join Sumun L. Pendakur , from the USC Race and Equity Center , for a reading and talk .
Sunday , Nov. 1 , at 12:30 p.m. : YA fantasy authors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along with debut YA novelist Jordan Ifueko , will delve into mystical world-building and the creation of strong female protagonists with moderator Sharon Levin .
Loyalty and family , warriors overcoming evil in a broken world , and sacrifices made for freedom are all on the agenda .
Sunday , Nov. 1 , at 2:30 p.m. : Times Film Critic Justin Chang will be in conversation with Academy Award-winning actress , director , producer and debut children ’ s author Natalie Portman .
Her picture book , “ Natalie Portman ’ s Fables @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classic tales .
Register ahead of time for each event at latimes.com/festivalofbooks .
You ’ ll receive an email reminder 48 hours in advance with a link to watch the event .
For more details and information , go to latimes.com/festivalofbooks .
Follow the festival on , Instagram and Facebook .
Questions can be submitted during registration .
In case you missed last week ’ s events , festival book talks are available for viewing on YouTube .
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar joined writer and religion scholar Reza Aslan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Homeland Elegies.
” Former California Gov .
Jerry Brown and former Times editor-at-large and author Jim Newton talked politics with Times columnist Gustavo Arellano .
Other guests included author and journalist Roberto Lovato and crime-fiction writers Rachel Howzell Hall , Attica Locke and Ivy Pochoda .

This week, Natalie Portman will chat with Times film critic Justin Chang about her new children’s book, “Natalie Portman’s Fables.”
Welcome to the second week of the 25th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Stories & Ideas!
This week’s lineup includes conversations with novelist Marlon James, journalist Maria Hinojosa, author Kevin Kwan and actress Natalie Portman.
All events are free. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year’s celebration of the written word is virtual. For 25 days, writers, poets, artists, storytellers and bookstore exhibitors will be featured in 25 panels and readings — all viewable from the comfort of your home.
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Here’s what’s happening this week and how to tune in:
The lineup
Monday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m.: Marlon James, winner of the inaugural 2019 L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction and a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award, will join UCLA Afrofuturism professor Tananarive Due in a conversation about his science fiction novel “Black Leopard Red Wolf.”
Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m.: Authors André Aciman, Gayle Forman, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen talk about writing fiction for audio, and with listeners in mind. Audible editor Katie O’Connor will moderate the discussion.
Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m.: “Crazy Rich Asians” author Kevin Kwan returned this year with a new novel, “Sex and Vanity.” He joins Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, co-authors of “The Royal We,” in a conversation moderated by novelist and essayist Jade Chang.
Thursday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m.: USC professors Juan De Lara, Manuel Pastor and associate professor Sarah Gualtieri will explore race and immigration in Southern California now and throughout history. The panel will be moderated by professor William Deverell. Topics include racial demographics and the economy, and the state’s impact on politics nationally. This is the first half of a two-part panel on Los Angeles.
Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m.: What and who should be remembered and memorialized across public spaces, and what should such commemorations look like? Members of the Civic Memory Working Group of Los Angeles, a diverse gathering of artists, architects, historians and others, will explore the ideas and obligations around civic memory (and civic amnesia). The discussion features USC professor Christopher Hawthorne, associate professor Taj Frazier and architects Frederick Fisher and Gail Kennard, with professor William Deverell moderating. This is the second half of the two-part panel on L.A.
Friday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m.: Maria Hinojosa, Emmy Award-winning journalist, NPR’s “Latino USA” anchor and author of “Once I Was You,” joins award-winning novelist Laila Lalami, author of “Conditional Citizens,” to explore immigration and what it means to be an American. Times Column One editor Steve Padilla is the moderator.
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Sunday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m.: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen and his 6-year-old son, Ellison Nguyen, will discuss their picture book, “Chicken of the Sea.” Caldecott-winning illustrator Thi Bui and her 13-year-old son, Hien Bui-Stafford, also will join Sumun L. Pendakur, from the USC Race and Equity Center, for a reading and talk.
Sunday, Nov. 1, at 12:30 p.m.: YA fantasy authors Marie Lu and Tehlor Kay Mejia, along with debut YA novelist Jordan Ifueko, will delve into mystical world-building and the creation of strong female protagonists with moderator Sharon Levin. Loyalty and family, warriors overcoming evil in a broken world, and sacrifices made for freedom are all on the agenda.
Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2:30 p.m.: Times Film Critic Justin Chang will be in conversation with Academy Award-winning actress, director, producer and debut children’s author Natalie Portman. Her picture book, “Natalie Portman’s Fables,” is a retelling of three classic tales.
Books Everything to know about the L.A. Times Festival of Books 2020 The 25th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Stories & Ideas kicks off this weekend. Due to the pandemic, this year’s series of free events will be virtual. Here’s everything you need to know about how to tune in.
How to watch
Register ahead of time for each event at latimes.com/festivalofbooks. You’ll receive an email reminder 48 hours in advance with a link to watch the event.


latimes--2020-10-26--UC Berkeley is disavowing its eugenic research fund after bioethicist and other faculty call it out

In late 2018 , UC Berkeley bioethics professor Osagie K. Obasogie received a campus email about a research fund available to faculty members in the School of Public Health .
He was stunned by what he read .
The Genealogical Eugenic Institute Fund , the email said , supports research and education in eugenics — a field discredited after World War II as a horrifying ideology that sought to use science to improve the human race by promoting traits deemed superior and breeding out those judged undesirable .
The judgments aligned strongly with social biases that favored white , able-bodied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used as a justification for Hitler ’ s Nazi Germany to kill 6 million Jewish people , and U.S. authorities to forcibly sterilize more than 60,000 people in California and more than 30 other states largely in the early 20th century .
But Berkeley ’ s eugenic research fund has been very much active .
The $ 2.4-million fund was offering an annual payout of about $ 70,000 in fiscal year 2020 to support research and education on policies , practices and technologies that could “ affect the distribution of traits in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to family planning , infertility , assisted reproduction technologies , prenatal screening , abortion , gene editing and gene modification , the email said .
That “ modern definition of eugenics ” included “ perspectives that shed light on not only the benefits but also the limitations and the ethics of these alternative approaches to improving the human race.
” “ I was shocked and dismayed , ” Obasogie told the Los Angeles Times .
He , along with a small group of faculty , raised their concerns with the email ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Those alarm bells prompted the school to freeze the fund and launch a review into how the university could have accepted such a gift in its modern past — it came from a family trust to the University of California Board of Regents in 1975 — for research under the banner of a now-reviled ideology .
On Monday , School of Public Health Dean Michael C. Lu disclosed the existence of the fund to the wider school faculty .
Lu , who took the school ’ s helm in July 2019 , has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fund , along with potential actions such as a public apology and a public education project on eugenics across UC campuses .
No evidence has yet surfaced that Berkeley used the money for eugenic research .
Instead , it funded a genetic counseling training program , among other uses .
But that does not absolve the school , Lu said .
“ By accepting and using these funds over the past four decades , we must acknowledge that Berkeley Public Health has been a part of this horrific legacy of eugenics and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a letter Monday to the School of Public Health faculty .
“ It was wrong then .
It is wrong now.
” Berkeley ’ s announcement comes as campuses across the nation are stepping up efforts to repudiate those who promoted eugenics , including high-profile university leaders , amid the nation ’ s intensifying racial justice movement .
In June , USC stripped the name of former university President Rufus B. von KleinSmid from a prominent campus building .
Stanford University announced this month it would remove the name of its founding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campus buildings and streets , while a high school bearing his name was recently changed to simply Jordan High by the Los Angeles Board of Education .
At the California Institute of Technology , hundreds of alumni and faculty are petitioning to strip its buildings of the name of Robert A. Millikan , a towering figure on campus who was Caltech ’ s first Nobel laureate — but also a leader of the Human Betterment Foundation , a Pasadena-based group whose advocacy of eugenics and forced sterilization influenced Nazi policies .
Pomona College @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Laboratory after nearly 1,000 community members signed a petition .
But Berkeley ’ s eugenic research fund highlights a reality that Obasogie and other ethicists say is insufficiently discussed : Eugenic thinking did not disappear after the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed .
In some ways , it remains embedded in medicine and public health today .
In the United States , government and medical authorities no longer promote eugenics through laws allowing forced sterilization , for instance , or barring marriages with the “ feeble-minded ” or between races .
About @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — in California institutions were sterilized under the state eugenic law , which was enacted in 1909 and repealed in 1979 .
But the development of reproductive and genetic technologies today allows individuals to make some limited choices about what kinds of humans they deem most desirable and should be selected to live , said Alexandra Minna Stern , a University of Michigan expert on eugenics .
Those choices have been made possible by science ’ s ability to begin life outside a mother ’ s womb by joining egg and sperm through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s traits through prenatal genetic testing , she said .
Embryos with genetic markers for Down syndrome , for instance , may not be selected or may be subsequently aborted .
The advent of sperm banks allows would-be parents to select traits they desire — with the most popular donors being those who are white or Asian , at least 6 feet tall , athletic , with some college education , Stern said .
“ Eugenics does exist today but it ’ s morphed and changed , ” Stern said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead of eugenics.
” Deborah Bolnick , a University of Connecticut geneticist and associate professor of anthropology , said such modern issues raise moral and ethical questions .
Some make a distinction between discredited state-sponsored eugenic practices , such as sterilization laws , and what many find to be the acceptable exercise of individual freedom to choose desired traits of a child .
But it ’ s not so simple , she said .
When Bolnick poses such questions to her students , they typically believe it ethical to use technology to prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choosing against embryos , for instance , with genetic markers for Tay Sachs disease .
But what about those with Down syndrome , who can lead happy and productive lives ?
Or the growing practice of sex selection , with boys overwhelmingly favored in places like China and India ?
In one case , Bolnick said , a deaf couple wanted to select an embryo for implantation that carried the hereditary form of deafness so the family could be part of the same community but the fertility doctor refused , believing the condition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliberately brought into the world .
Stern said some disability rights advocates are concerned about the technologies — such as those in the Down syndrome community who fear they involve “ breeding them out , ” she said .
And yet the technologies can help those with fertility issues create the kind of family they desire , she added .
“ This is where you get into really dicey terrain , ” Stern said , with tension between supporting reproductive autonomy and “ the eugenic baggage ” of judgments about race , intelligence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line between developments that can advance human progress and perpetuate injustice , university ethicists said .
Gene editing technologies , such as CRISPR-Cas9 — whose discovery won a Nobel Prize in chemistry this month for UC Berkeley biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin — can alter DNA to help treat diseases but also potentially favor future generations with socially desirable skin colors , hair textures or height .
British physiologist Robert Edwards won the 2010 Nobel Prize as a pioneer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted in a 2013 commentary that Edwards was also a member of the Eugenics Society in Britain for much of his career .
The ethicists also raise questions about power and privilege , noting that those who can afford to use these technologies today tend to be educated and affluent , similar to those promoting eugenics in years past .
“ The line between using reproductive and genetic technologies to prevent heritable diseases versus enhancing future children so that they can partake in social privileges is fraught and not always clear , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ utmost attention to ensure that these technologies are not used to exacerbate inequalities.
” At Berkeley , Lu said it did not appear that the fund was ever used for the kind of eugenic research that devastated marginalized communities .
The eugenic fund was established by a family trust called the Rogers Family Foundation , which was created in 1960 by trustees and Alta Corp. Lu said they had not yet found much information about the foundation or corporation .
The fund ’ s primary stated purpose was “ the improvement of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that field generally known as eugenics , ” Obasogie said .
It was transferred to UC regents in 1975 .
It is not clear when the regents sent the funds to Berkeley , Lu said .
The first documented expenditures were in 1987 to train genetic counselors — who typically help people with family planning or address inherited conditions — until the program was shut down in the 1990s .
Since 2000 , about $ 1 million has been drawn from the account .
The disbursements include $ 138,325 for the school ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial aid for low-income students , $ 575,999 for student support and staff salary and benefits , $ 123,212 for travel and conferences , and the rest on office supplies , operations and journal subscriptions .
In recent years , the funds were primarily used by one faculty member , who has denied using them for eugenic research — an assertion supported by a review of the person ’ s academic activities , Lu said .
The dean declined to name the faculty member because the fact-finding review was ongoing .
So far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Berkeley repurpose the fund to increase financial aid for underrepresented minority students , support research with communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the eugenic ideology and establish an institute to stand against eugenics and racism .
Another recommendation is to create a “ 1907 Project , ” named for the year the world ’ s first eugenic law was passed in Indiana , that would explore the centrality of eugenics in contemporary life sciences and public health through essays and UC-wide forums .
The activities are aimed at correcting what Obasogie says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health and other scientific fields to fully acknowledge and confront their central role in giving eugenic ideologies legitimacy in the past and understanding their legacy today .
“ Regardless of what was done with the money , it was just wrong for us to take it in the first place , ” Lu said .
“ It ’ s antithetical to everything that the school stands for .
”

Osagie K. Obasogie, a bioethics professor at UC Berkeley, raised concerns after learning that the School of Public Health had a eugenic research fund.
In late 2018, UC Berkeley bioethics professor Osagie K. Obasogie received a campus email about a research fund available to faculty members in the School of Public Health.
He was stunned by what he read.
The Genealogical Eugenic Institute Fund, the email said, supports research and education in eugenics — a field discredited after World War II as a horrifying ideology that sought to use science to improve the human race by promoting traits deemed superior and breeding out those judged undesirable. The judgments aligned strongly with social biases that favored white, able-bodied and financially stable people.
Eugenics was used as a justification for Hitler’s Nazi Germany to kill 6 million Jewish people, and U.S. authorities to forcibly sterilize more than 60,000 people in California and more than 30 other states largely in the early 20th century.
But Berkeley’s eugenic research fund has been very much active.
The $2.4-million fund was offering an annual payout of about $70,000 in fiscal year 2020 to support research and education on policies, practices and technologies that could “affect the distribution of traits in the human race,” including those related to family planning, infertility, assisted reproduction technologies, prenatal screening, abortion, gene editing and gene modification, the email said. That “modern definition of eugenics” included “perspectives that shed light on not only the benefits but also the limitations and the ethics of these alternative approaches to improving the human race.”
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“I was shocked and dismayed,” Obasogie told the Los Angeles Times. He, along with a small group of faculty, raised their concerns with the email’s author, a former senior administrator.
Those alarm bells prompted the school to freeze the fund and launch a review into how the university could have accepted such a gift in its modern past — it came from a family trust to the University of California Board of Regents in 1975 — for research under the banner of a now-reviled ideology.
On Monday, School of Public Health Dean Michael C. Lu disclosed the existence of the fund to the wider school faculty. Lu, who took the school’s helm in July 2019, has asked for feedback on renaming and repurposing the fund, along with potential actions such as a public apology and a public education project on eugenics across UC campuses.
No evidence has yet surfaced that Berkeley used the money for eugenic research. Instead, it funded a genetic counseling training program, among other uses. But that does not absolve the school, Lu said.
“By accepting and using these funds over the past four decades, we must acknowledge that Berkeley Public Health has been a part of this horrific legacy of eugenics and its disastrous impacts,” Lu wrote in a letter Monday to the School of Public Health faculty. “It was wrong then. It is wrong now.”
Berkeley’s announcement comes as campuses across the nation are stepping up efforts to repudiate those who promoted eugenics, including high-profile university leaders, amid the nation’s intensifying racial justice movement.
In June, USC stripped the name of former university President Rufus B. von KleinSmid from a prominent campus building. Stanford University announced this month it would remove the name of its founding president, David Starr Jordan, from campus buildings and streets, while a high school bearing his name was recently changed to simply Jordan High by the Los Angeles Board of Education.
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At the California Institute of Technology, hundreds of alumni and faculty are petitioning to strip its buildings of the name of Robert A. Millikan, a towering figure on campus who was Caltech’s first Nobel laureate — but also a leader of the Human Betterment Foundation, a Pasadena-based group whose advocacy of eugenics and forced sterilization influenced Nazi policies. Pomona College recently announced it would rename its Millikan Laboratory after nearly 1,000 community members signed a petition.
But Berkeley’s eugenic research fund highlights a reality that Obasogie and other ethicists say is insufficiently discussed: Eugenic thinking did not disappear after the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed. In some ways, it remains embedded in medicine and public health today.
In the United States, government and medical authorities no longer promote eugenics through laws allowing forced sterilization, for instance, or barring marriages with the “feeble-minded” or between races. About 20,000 people — disproportionately nonwhite and poor — in California institutions were sterilized under the state eugenic law, which was enacted in 1909 and repealed in 1979.
But the development of reproductive and genetic technologies today allows individuals to make some limited choices about what kinds of humans they deem most desirable and should be selected to live, said Alexandra Minna Stern, a University of Michigan expert on eugenics.
Those choices have been made possible by science’s ability to begin life outside a mother’s womb by joining egg and sperm through in vitro fertilization and assess the embryo’s traits through prenatal genetic testing, she said. Embryos with genetic markers for Down syndrome, for instance, may not be selected or may be subsequently aborted.
The advent of sperm banks allows would-be parents to select traits they desire — with the most popular donors being those who are white or Asian, at least 6 feet tall, athletic, with some college education, Stern said.
“Eugenics does exist today but it’s morphed and changed,” Stern said. “Some people call it ‘newgenics’ instead of eugenics.”
Deborah Bolnick, a University of Connecticut geneticist and associate professor of anthropology, said such modern issues raise moral and ethical questions. Some make a distinction between discredited state-sponsored eugenic practices, such as sterilization laws, and what many find to be the acceptable exercise of individual freedom to choose desired traits of a child. But it’s not so simple, she said.
When Bolnick poses such questions to her students, they typically believe it ethical to use technology to prevent agonized suffering and certain early death by choosing against embryos, for instance, with genetic markers for Tay Sachs disease.
But what about those with Down syndrome, who can lead happy and productive lives? Or the growing practice of sex selection, with boys overwhelmingly favored in places like China and India? In one case, Bolnick said, a deaf couple wanted to select an embryo for implantation that carried the hereditary form of deafness so the family could be part of the same community but the fertility doctor refused, believing the condition was a defect that should not be deliberately brought into the world.
Stern said some disability rights advocates are concerned about the technologies — such as those in the Down syndrome community who fear they involve “breeding them out,” she said. And yet the technologies can help those with fertility issues create the kind of family they desire, she added.
“This is where you get into really dicey terrain,” Stern said, with tension between supporting reproductive autonomy and “the eugenic baggage” of judgments about race, intelligence and disability.
Science walks a fine line between developments that can advance human progress and perpetuate injustice, university ethicists said.
Gene editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas9 — whose discovery won a Nobel Prize in chemistry this month for UC Berkeley biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin — can alter DNA to help treat diseases but also potentially favor future generations with socially desirable skin colors, hair textures or height.
British physiologist Robert Edwards won the 2010 Nobel Prize as a pioneer in developing in vitro fertilization. Obasogie noted in a 2013 commentary that Edwards was also a member of the Eugenics Society in Britain for much of his career.
The ethicists also raise questions about power and privilege, noting that those who can afford to use these technologies today tend to be educated and affluent, similar to those promoting eugenics in years past.
“The line between using reproductive and genetic technologies to prevent heritable diseases versus enhancing future children so that they can partake in social privileges is fraught and not always clear,” Obasogie said. “This deserves our utmost attention to ensure that these technologies are not used to exacerbate inequalities.”
At Berkeley, Lu said it did not appear that the fund was ever used for the kind of eugenic research that devastated marginalized communities.
The eugenic fund was established by a family trust called the Rogers Family Foundation, which was created in 1960 by trustees and Alta Corp. Lu said they had not yet found much information about the foundation or corporation. The fund’s primary stated purpose was “the improvement of the human race through research and education in that field generally known as eugenics,” Obasogie said.
It was transferred to UC regents in 1975. It is not clear when the regents sent the funds to Berkeley, Lu said. The first documented expenditures were in 1987 to train genetic counselors — who typically help people with family planning or address inherited conditions — until the program was shut down in the 1990s.
Since 2000, about $1 million has been drawn from the account. The disbursements include $138,325 for the school’s budget deficit, $72,647 for financial aid for low-income students, $575,999 for student support and staff salary and benefits, $123,212 for travel and conferences, and the rest on office supplies, operations and journal subscriptions.
In recent years, the funds were primarily used by one faculty member, who has denied using them for eugenic research — an assertion supported by a review of the person’s academic activities, Lu said. The dean declined to name the faculty member because the fact-finding review was ongoing.
So far, faculty and staff have suggested that Berkeley repurpose the fund to increase financial aid for underrepresented minority students, support research with communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the eugenic ideology and establish an institute to stand against eugenics and racism.
Another recommendation is to create a “1907 Project,” named for the year the world’s first eugenic law was passed in Indiana, that would explore the centrality of eugenics in contemporary life sciences and public health through essays and UC-wide forums.
The activities are aimed at correcting what Obasogie says has been the failure of medicine, public health and other scientific fields to fully acknowledge and confront their central role in giving eugenic ideologies legitimacy in the past and understanding their legacy today.
“Regardless of what was done with the money, it was just wrong for us to take it in the first place,” Lu said. “It’s antithetical to everything that the school stands for.”


latimes--2020-10-26--They sounded the alarm about Northern California's wildfire risks, but little help arrived

The warnings were there in black and white less than a year after the Camp fire killed 85 people in their homes and driveways and on the road .
To avoid the next Paradise , a grand jury warned , Butte County needed to reduce its wildfire risks .
That included identifying key evacuation routes and reducing grass , brush and timber fuel .
“ Other foothill communities such as ... Berry Creek ... although sparsely populated , are even more vulnerable , ” the report warned .
“ This is due to narrow , one-way-in and -out roads overgrown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these roads were to become impassible , the loss of life could be substantial.
” But before all the necessary work was done , fire returned to Butte County .
On the morning of Sept. 8 , two remote fires converged above the middle fork of the Feather River in Plumas County .
Flames raced down the steep canyon walls and jumped the water , igniting a ferocious crown fire on the opposite side .
The blaze rolled southwest like a wave , as canyon-funneled winds launched red-hot firebrands ahead of it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Berry Creek that night and killed 15 people in the county overall , many of them in the rural town as they tried to escape .
This was a chapter in the county ’ s fire history that Berry Creek resident Denise Bethune had hoped would end differently .
“ I ’ ve been working on trying to make this not happen for a year and a half , ” said Bethune , 51 .
“ I wasn ’ t fast enough .
I didn ’ t get it done.
” As Californians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire season on record , residents such as Bethune who have tried to reduce their community ’ s risks describe their efforts as an act of near-futility .
Neighbors can be uninterested or too busy to help , she said .
Municipal coffers may be empty , and accessing state or federal grant dollars is a byzantine application process that sucks up any free time left after tending to work and family .
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials agree the process can take too long but blame it on environmental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups will be vying for support in the coming years .
“ We ’ ve been on this treadmill for a long time where we plan a project ... and the project burns up before we can start it , ” said Calli-Jane DeAnda , executive director of the Butte County Fire Safe Council , which saw a planned fuel reduction project burn in the 2018 Camp fire .
“ It ’ s just tragic that we continue to allow this to happen.
” Ten acres of land brushing up against the California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family from the city of Citrus Heights , near Sacramento , to the small town of Berry Creek .
“ It ’ s probably the best move we ever made , ” Bethune said .
“ The people are real .
It ’ s a different way of life.
” That changed dramatically two years ago , however , when the Camp fire erupted two miles away and shook Bethune to the core .
If the winds that were funneled through the Sierra that morning had blown south instead of north , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Berry Creek that suffered , not Paradise .
As soon as the Butte County Grand Jury released its findings on what could be done to avoid another disaster , Bethune went to work .
“ I ’ ve gone to politicians , I ’ ve gone to scientists ... .
I went to [ state Sen. Jim ] Nielsen with the grand jury report — I took that to him too — and I had outlined and noted everything , ” she said .
“ Everything I outlined I said , ‘ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ” But little help materialized , residents say , although some acknowledge that the Camp fire decimated the county ’ s tax base and triggered turnover among its staff .
Two years ago , the state approved a grant for more than $ 800,000 to reduce vegetation along Berry Creek ’ s main roads , but the work was never completed because it was slowed down , in part , by California ’ s environmental approval process , said U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa ( R-Richvale ) , whose district includes Paradise and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not talking rocket science here , ” the congressman said .
“ The work the fire safe council does is pretty straightforward around roadways and communities .
It shouldn ’ t have to be a scientific discovery of the atom every time you want to get this done.
” In 2019 , Cal Fire completed 35 fuel-mitigation projects around vulnerable towns and evacuation routes , aided by a streamlined environmental approval process with the state Natural Resources Agency .
One of those was in Butte County near Oroville , where the North Complex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple houses that definitely got saved .
They ’ re pretty happy they put that there , ” said Dave Derby , a forester in Cal Fire ’ s Butte County unit .
Bethune , meanwhile , recalled hounding state and local officials for two months just to find out who was responsible for managing the area around the one road in and out of town , Oro Quincy Highway .
It turned out to be a county responsibility .
“ I did what I could .
It never got done , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blackberries on the sides , for God ’ s sake.
” In February , Butte County Public Works announced a fuel mitigation project for Oro Quincy Highway once again , and Bald Rock and Zink roads , which are used by locals .
Bethune said that work was also never done .
“ From the standpoint of ingress egress , it would ’ ve helped , ” Derby said of the projects .
“ But when you have a wind-driven fire , even a 600-foot fuel break doesn ’ t mean much.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — a teen holding his dog — was found along Oro Quincy Highway .
Eight others died in or near homes off Bald Rock Road , according to locations of the dead provided by the Butte County Sheriff ’ s Office .
Repeated requests by The Times for comment from the county public works department went unanswered .
Although Cal Fire has allocated millions of dollars to Butte County to reduce its fire risks since the Camp fire , none of those dollars flowed to work in Berry Creek .
“ Throughout my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the money , ” said Nielsen ( R-Tehama ) , who recommended the federal government contribute more .
“ The greatest weight should be on the local citizenry ... as to where resources should be deployed.
” Because no one can predict where and when a wildfire will start , treating fuels around one community and not another is really an act of speculation , Derby said .
There ’ s too much overgrown forest to get it all , it grows back too fast and the environmental regulations to treat it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he added .
“ Welcome to my world , ” Derby said .
“ It ’ s not just the fire safe councils .
I oversee vegetation management for the Butte unit and we put together ... prescribed fire projects , and I ’ ve had a few of them burn up before I could get to them.
” For its part , the U.S. Forest Service too has struggled to fund its own forest management projects and has a backlog of millions of acres of mitigation work , including federal lands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government leadership , Bethune and her peers on the local fire safe council — a group of preparation-minded volunteers — have struggled to protect their homes from fire .
An attempt to designate local block captains to keep neighbors informed during emergencies lost momentum when COVID-19 hit , members said .
When the fire safe council couldn ’ t find funding to purchase communications equipment — a recommendation from the grand jury — Bethune joined a Community Emergency Response Team training course .
Funding for that equipment was in the process of being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrived first .
“ It ’ s just frustrating when you know what needs to happen , but it ’ s not a rich area , per se , ” Bethune said .
“ With the population , we ’ re pretty low income , and we don ’ t get the attention.
” About 100 miles to the southwest in Santa Rosa , a Sonoma County grand jury discussed the vulnerability of its high-risk communities after the wine country fires in 2017 .
And just like Berry Creek , a handful of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pressed for action .
In this case , it was the Upper Mark West Fire Safe Council , which had gotten the funding — but not yet completed the plans — for a small local fuel break to protect neighborhood homes .
It burned .
An earlier request to fund seven miles of fuel reduction along St. Helena Road , where homes were lost to the Glass fire last month , was turned down .
“ Unfortunately , Mother Nature just did that fire break for us , ” said Lynn Garric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Garric has lived in unincorporated Sonoma County outside Santa Rosa since 1974 , but she didn ’ t feel truly vulnerable to wildfire until 2015 , when the deadly Lake fire destroyed almost 1,300 homes and sent smoke south into Garric ’ s neighborhood .
“ It really showed us what could happen if we weren ’ t prepared better , so that really spurred us forward , ” she said .
But attempts to secure funding have been challenging , in part because of Cal Fire ’ s less-than-clear guidance , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal program and grant funding in her regular job , the agencies allocating the money usually provide a scoring rubric with their rejection notices , giving the applicant some sense of how to improve the application next time .
But Cal Fire offers no such explanation when it turns down a project , Garric said , leaving residents in the dark as to how to improve their chances .
The current model isn ’ t doing enough to help rural Californians protect themselves , said Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin , whose district @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who lost her own home in the 2017 Tubbs fire .
“ They develop a wildfire protection plan that prioritizes vegetation management , and they can get no funding for them , ” Gorin said .
“ The funding we have statewide is really inadequate to meet the needs of even dedicated homeowners , and that ’ s absolutely what we need to work on.
” If Californians want to get ahead of the increasing wildfire threat , they ’ re going to have to spend the money before disaster strikes , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Council executive director .
“ We know what needs to happen , and we have the people who are willing to do it .
We need a greater number alongside us to help , ” DeAnda said .
“ I think the state has been awakened .
We really can make a difference .
And we really do need to invest in these rural areas .
”

A destroyed homestead in the town of Berry Creek, Calif., which was devastated by the North Complex fire in early September.
The warnings were there in black and white less than a year after the Camp fire killed 85 people in their homes and driveways and on the road.
To avoid the next Paradise, a grand jury warned, Butte County needed to reduce its wildfire risks. That included identifying key evacuation routes and reducing grass, brush and timber fuel.
“Other foothill communities such as ... Berry Creek ... although sparsely populated, are even more vulnerable,” the report warned. “This is due to narrow, one-way-in and -out roads overgrown with heavy vegetation. If any of these roads were to become impassible, the loss of life could be substantial.”
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But before all the necessary work was done, fire returned to Butte County.
On the morning of Sept. 8, two remote fires converged above the middle fork of the Feather River in Plumas County. Flames raced down the steep canyon walls and jumped the water, igniting a ferocious crown fire on the opposite side.
The blaze rolled southwest like a wave, as canyon-funneled winds launched red-hot firebrands ahead of it, preheating its path. The fire overtook Berry Creek that night and killed 15 people in the county overall, many of them in the rural town as they tried to escape.
This was a chapter in the county’s fire history that Berry Creek resident Denise Bethune had hoped would end differently.
“I’ve been working on trying to make this not happen for a year and a half,” said Bethune, 51. “I wasn’t fast enough. I didn’t get it done.”
As Californians reel from the state’s worst fire season on record, residents such as Bethune who have tried to reduce their community’s risks describe their efforts as an act of near-futility.
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Neighbors can be uninterested or too busy to help, she said. Municipal coffers may be empty, and accessing state or federal grant dollars is a byzantine application process that sucks up any free time left after tending to work and family. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials agree the process can take too long but blame it on environmental regulations, and experts say hundreds of groups will be vying for support in the coming years.
“We’ve been on this treadmill for a long time where we plan a project ... and the project burns up before we can start it,” said Calli-Jane DeAnda, executive director of the Butte County Fire Safe Council, which saw a planned fuel reduction project burn in the 2018 Camp fire. “It’s just tragic that we continue to allow this to happen.”
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Ten acres of land brushing up against the California wild was what lured Bethune and her family from the city of Citrus Heights, near Sacramento, to the small town of Berry Creek.
“It’s probably the best move we ever made,” Bethune said. “The people are real. It’s a different way of life.”
That changed dramatically two years ago, however, when the Camp fire erupted two miles away and shook Bethune to the core. If the winds that were funneled through the Sierra that morning had blown south instead of north, she reasoned, it would’ve been Berry Creek that suffered, not Paradise.
As soon as the Butte County Grand Jury released its findings on what could be done to avoid another disaster, Bethune went to work.
“I’ve gone to politicians, I’ve gone to scientists.... I went to [state Sen. Jim] Nielsen with the grand jury report — I took that to him too — and I had outlined and noted everything,” she said. “Everything I outlined I said, ‘This is what we need in Berry Creek.’”
But little help materialized, residents say, although some acknowledge that the Camp fire decimated the county’s tax base and triggered turnover among its staff.
Two years ago, the state approved a grant for more than $800,000 to reduce vegetation along Berry Creek’s main roads, but the work was never completed because it was slowed down, in part, by California’s environmental approval process, said U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), whose district includes Paradise and Berry Creek.
“We’re not talking rocket science here,” the congressman said. “The work the fire safe council does is pretty straightforward around roadways and communities. It shouldn’t have to be a scientific discovery of the atom every time you want to get this done.”
In 2019, Cal Fire completed 35 fuel-mitigation projects around vulnerable towns and evacuation routes, aided by a streamlined environmental approval process with the state Natural Resources Agency. One of those was in Butte County near Oroville, where the North Complex fire reached. “I saw a couple houses that definitely got saved. They’re pretty happy they put that there,” said Dave Derby, a forester in Cal Fire’s Butte County unit.
Bethune, meanwhile, recalled hounding state and local officials for two months just to find out who was responsible for managing the area around the one road in and out of town, Oro Quincy Highway. It turned out to be a county responsibility.
“I did what I could. It never got done,” Bethune said. “They mowed the blackberries on the sides, for God’s sake.”
In February, Butte County Public Works announced a fuel mitigation project for Oro Quincy Highway once again, and Bald Rock and Zink roads, which are used by locals. Bethune said that work was also never done.
“From the standpoint of ingress egress, it would’ve helped,” Derby said of the projects. “But when you have a wind-driven fire, even a 600-foot fuel break doesn’t mean much.”
One of the fire’s victims — a teen holding his dog — was found along Oro Quincy Highway. Eight others died in or near homes off Bald Rock Road, according to locations of the dead provided by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.
Repeated requests by The Times for comment from the county public works department went unanswered.
Although Cal Fire has allocated millions of dollars to Butte County to reduce its fire risks since the Camp fire, none of those dollars flowed to work in Berry Creek.
“Throughout my career, the big communities sop up all the money,” said Nielsen (R-Tehama), who recommended the federal government contribute more. “The greatest weight should be on the local citizenry ... as to where resources should be deployed.”
Because no one can predict where and when a wildfire will start, treating fuels around one community and not another is really an act of speculation, Derby said. There’s too much overgrown forest to get it all, it grows back too fast and the environmental regulations to treat it often take too long to get approved, he added.
“Welcome to my world,” Derby said. “It’s not just the fire safe councils. I oversee vegetation management for the Butte unit and we put together ... prescribed fire projects, and I’ve had a few of them burn up before I could get to them.”
For its part, the U.S. Forest Service too has struggled to fund its own forest management projects and has a backlog of millions of acres of mitigation work, including federal lands in California.
In the absence of government leadership, Bethune and her peers on the local fire safe council — a group of preparation-minded volunteers — have struggled to protect their homes from fire.
An attempt to designate local block captains to keep neighbors informed during emergencies lost momentum when COVID-19 hit, members said. When the fire safe council couldn’t find funding to purchase communications equipment — a recommendation from the grand jury — Bethune joined a Community Emergency Response Team training course.
Funding for that equipment was in the process of being obtained last month, but the fire arrived first.
“It’s just frustrating when you know what needs to happen, but it’s not a rich area, per se,” Bethune said. “With the population, we’re pretty low income, and we don’t get the attention.”
About 100 miles to the southwest in Santa Rosa, a Sonoma County grand jury discussed the vulnerability of its high-risk communities after the wine country fires in 2017.
And just like Berry Creek, a handful of motivated residents took those concerns to heart and pressed for action.
In this case, it was the Upper Mark West Fire Safe Council, which had gotten the funding — but not yet completed the plans — for a small local fuel break to protect neighborhood homes. It burned. An earlier request to fund seven miles of fuel reduction along St. Helena Road, where homes were lost to the Glass fire last month, was turned down.
“Unfortunately, Mother Nature just did that fire break for us,” said Lynn Garric, a member of the council.
Garric has lived in unincorporated Sonoma County outside Santa Rosa since 1974, but she didn’t feel truly vulnerable to wildfire until 2015, when the deadly Lake fire destroyed almost 1,300 homes and sent smoke south into Garric’s neighborhood.
“It really showed us what could happen if we weren’t prepared better, so that really spurred us forward,” she said.
But attempts to secure funding have been challenging, in part because of Cal Fire’s less-than-clear guidance, she said. When Garric has applied for federal program and grant funding in her regular job, the agencies allocating the money usually provide a scoring rubric with their rejection notices, giving the applicant some sense of how to improve the application next time.
But Cal Fire offers no such explanation when it turns down a project, Garric said, leaving residents in the dark as to how to improve their chances.
The current model isn’t doing enough to help rural Californians protect themselves, said Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin, whose district was hit by the Glass fire and who lost her own home in the 2017 Tubbs fire.
“They develop a wildfire protection plan that prioritizes vegetation management, and they can get no funding for them,” Gorin said. “The funding we have statewide is really inadequate to meet the needs of even dedicated homeowners, and that’s absolutely what we need to work on.”
If Californians want to get ahead of the increasing wildfire threat, they’re going to have to spend the money before disaster strikes, said DeAnda, the Butte County Fire Safe Council executive director.
“We know what needs to happen, and we have the people who are willing to do it. We need a greater number alongside us to help,” DeAnda said. “I think the state has been awakened. We really can make a difference. And we really do need to invest in these rural areas.”