latimes--2020-08-16--Massive wildfire spawns fire tornadoes in Northern California

A massive wildfire in Northern California spawned rotating columns of flames Saturday , prompting forecasters to issue a rare fire-related tornado warning .
“ It was a first for us , ” said Shane Snyder , meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno , which issued the warning shortly before 3 p.m .
Multiple videos posted to social media showed twister-like formations in the path of the Loyalton fire , which started Friday evening in the Tahoe National Forest near California ’ s border with Nevada .
The fire quickly grew to 20,000 acres and was 0 % contained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performing updated flight mapping and expected the acreage to rise , said Joe Flannery , public affairs officer for the national forest .
“ Our resources on the ground are facing extreme fire behavior , rugged terrain and warm temperatures , ” Flannery said .
Evan Bentley , severe weather meteorologist with the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center , wrote on Twitter that radar data showed at least four “ distinct anticyclonic circulations ” associated with the fire on Saturday .
One was present for more than an hour and traveled about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extreme weather phenomenon is believed to have been sparked by the rapid growth and intensity of the blaze .
“ It was hot ; it was very unstable atmospherically , ” Snyder said in an interview , “ and that allowed the fire , which is burning very hot and [ through ] lots of fuel , to really explode up in a vertical sense , up into the atmosphere.
” The hotter the air , the more rapidly it rises , he said .
“ Hot air wants to rise , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants to rise dramatically , ” Snyder said .
“ It ’ s allowed to rise because the temperature of the air the fire makes is much warmer than the air around it .
So it keeps rising until it ’ s not warmer than the air around it.
” That can send a column of smoke up tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere , he said .
And as it rises , the air underneath it needs to be replaced , creating a vortex that pulls in air from all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , changes in wind speed that occur higher up in the atmosphere cause the air to spin as it accelerates upward .
“ With that rapidly rising , then you spin up your fire tornado , ” Snyder said .
“ It starts spinning as it rises.
” Fire tornadoes are rare but not unheard of in California .
A spinning vortex that barreled into Redding during the Carr fire in July 2018 was roughly 1,000 feet in diameter and reached speeds of 136-165 mph , equivalent to a twister with a rating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scale , according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection .
The fire tornado killed a firefighter as he raced toward a neighborhood in flames , an investigation later found .
In 2008 , a whirl caught firefighters by surprise in the remote Indians fire , which was burning in extremely dry chaparral in the Los Padres National Forest .
It caused serious injuries and forced the deployment of fire shelters .
Most recently , on Wednesday , a flaming tornado was seen spinning out from the Lake fire , hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Forest above Lake Hughes .
“ The fire grew from 400 to 10,000 acres very , very quickly , in the span of a couple hours , ” Jake Miller , public information officer for the Lake fire , said Sunday .
“ So that ’ s when you start seeing those fire tornados and fire whirls starting out.
” The fire had grown to 17,862 acres and was 12 % contained as of Sunday morning .
At least 12 homes and commercial buildings had been destroyed , and about 250 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ growth had slowed considerably , challenges remained .
Triple-digit temperatures , low relative humidities and heavy fuels combined to create the potential for continued spread , Miller said .
The most active flank of the fire was the northwestern portion , which was burning into a remote area largely inaccessible by roads , he said .
“ It ’ s an area that just hasn ’ t burned in about 100 years , so there ’ s a lot of active fuel , ” Miller said .
“ That ’ s why we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heats up and kind of sparks the fire up again .
Then we have the mixture of that with the fuel out there , and the combination of those two kind of reignites the fire.
” As the fire chews through the sunbaked brush dried out by the afternoon heat , it sends up a large plume of smoke , which in turn creates its own problems by generating erratic gusty winds that fling embers into the air , he said .
“ We have been getting some spotting , which is embers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air and then drifting down and making a small fire just outside the current perimeter , ” Miller said .
“ We did see that a couple times yesterday , but we didn ’ t have those fire tornadoes , really.
” Further complicating the effort were thunderstorms that moved through the area Saturday , bringing lightning strikes that also contributed to spotting outside the fire perimeter , Miller said .
Thunderstorms were reported in the area of the Loyalton fire Saturday , and more were forecast for Sunday , threatening to ground @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Flannery said .
“ Firefighters on the line did report extreme fire behavior displayed at times , especially as overhead thunderstorm cells passed , ” he said .
“ They cause these downdrafts that can create dangerous fire conditions.
” Multiple evacuation orders remained in place for portions of Plumas , Lassen and Sierra counties .
More scattered thunderstorms were forecast for later in the day Sunday in the area north of Azusa , where the Ranch 2 fire has burned a 2,256-acre swath through the Angeles National Forest .
“ What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dry brush , the hot temperatures and the steep terrain , which makes it difficult to contain , ” said Daniela Zepeda , public information officer for the national forest .
Firefighters were working to keep the fire on the north side of San Gabriel Canyon and protect the communities of Azusa , Monrovia , Duarte and Bradbury to the south , she said .
They were also trying to keep the flames west of Highway 39 , east of Van Tassel Ridge and south of Rincon Red Box Road , Zepeda said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it was possible more could be put in place due to the active nature of the fire , which was continuing to race uphill to the north , west and east , she said .
The fire broke out Thursday in the San Gabriel River bed and was 7 % contained as of Sunday morning .
Investigators were continuing to look for a man believed to have started the fire .
Police said the suspect , identified as 36-year-old Osmin Palencia , lived in an encampment in the riverbed near the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued to burn amid scorching temperatures that forecasters said could rival a deadly seven-day heat event that struck California in 2006 .
Meanwhile , the cloud cover associated with bands of thunderstorms meant there was little chance for temperatures to cool down overnight , as is typical during the drier weather California normally sees , forecasters said .
Multiple heat records were set Saturday .
The weather service reported a high of 112 in Woodland Hills , breaking the record of 108 set in 1977 , and a high of 92 at UCLA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2003 .
Downtown Los Angeles hit 98 degrees , tying a record set in 1994 .
The heat wave was expected to persist through at least Thursday .

A funnel appears in a thick plume of smoke from the Loyalton Fire in Lassen County, Calif., on Saturday.
A massive wildfire in Northern California spawned rotating columns of flames Saturday, prompting forecasters to issue a rare fire-related tornado warning.
“It was a first for us,” said Shane Snyder, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno, which issued the warning shortly before 3 p.m.
Multiple videos posted to social media showed twister-like formations in the path of the Loyalton fire, which started Friday evening in the Tahoe National Forest near California’s border with Nevada. The fire quickly grew to 20,000 acres and was 0% contained as of Sunday morning. Authorities were performing updated flight mapping and expected the acreage to rise, said Joe Flannery, public affairs officer for the national forest.
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“Our resources on the ground are facing extreme fire behavior, rugged terrain and warm temperatures,” Flannery said.
Evan Bentley, severe weather meteorologist with the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, wrote on Twitter that radar data showed at least four “distinct anticyclonic circulations” associated with the fire on Saturday. One was present for more than an hour and traveled about four miles, he wrote.
The extreme weather phenomenon is believed to have been sparked by the rapid growth and intensity of the blaze.
1 / 24 A firefighting helicopter makes an approach to drop water on the Ranch 2 fire in the hills above a cluster of homes along the San Gabriel River near Azusa. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 2 / 24 LAKE HUGHES, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 15, 2020-Firefighters from the Santa Barbara County strike team tput out hot spots from the Lake Fire along Pine Canyon Road in Lake Hughes Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) 3 / 24 A house sits alone as the Lake Fire creeps its way up the hill towards Palmdale Friday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) 4 / 24 The Ranch fire burns in the hills above a cluster of homes along the San Gabriel River. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 24 A man walks by a row of homes as the Ranch Fire burns in the hills of Azusa Thursday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) 6 / 24 The Ranch fire burns in the hills above a cluster of homes along the San Gabriel River near Azusa on Thursday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 7 / 24 A Cal Fire helicopter makes a water crop on the Skyline fire behind homes on Clearing Lane in Corona. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) 8 / 24 People watch smoke and flames rising from the Ranch Fire in the San Gabriel mountains above Azusa. (Apu Gomes / AFP ) 9 / 24 A firefighter battles the smoke and flames from the Ranch Fire in the hills in Azusa. (Apu Gomes / AFP ) 10 / 24 The Lake Hughes fire burns vehicles in Angeles National Forest. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/ Associaited Press ) 11 / 24 Firefighters battle the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/ Associaited Press ) 12 / 24 Firefighters battle the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/ Associaited Press ) 13 / 24 Firefighters battle the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest o (Ringo H.W. Chiu/ Associated Press ) 14 / 24 Firefighters battle the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/ Associaited Press ) 15 / 24 Los Angeles County Firefighter Brandon Smith runs hose through a burned out home to complete mop-up in the Lake Fire. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) 16 / 24 A scorched statue stands in front of a home on Pine Canyon Road destroyed by fire along Pine Canyon in the Lake Hughes area. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) 17 / 24 The smoldering remains of a home on Pine Canyon Road that was destroyed by the Lake fire. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) 18 / 24 Melted metal from a car destroyed by the Lake fire on Pine Canyon Road. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) 19 / 24 A home burns along Pine Canyon Road near Lake Hughes early Thursday after the Lake fire burned thousands of acres. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 24 A helicopter makes a water drop along a ridge near Lake Hughes after the Lake fire burned thousands of acres. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 24 A truck sits along Pine Canyon Road near Lake Hughes early Thursday after the Lake fire burned thousands of acres. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 24 A helicopter makes a water drop on the fast-moving Lake fire near Lake Hughes. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 24 The fast-moving Lake fire blacked thousands of acres near Lake Hughes. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 24 Fire crews prepare to battle the Lake fire in Northern Los Angeles County. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
“It was hot; it was very unstable atmospherically,” Snyder said in an interview, “and that allowed the fire, which is burning very hot and [through] lots of fuel, to really explode up in a vertical sense, up into the atmosphere.”
The hotter the air, the more rapidly it rises, he said.
“Hot air wants to rise, and if it’s very hot it wants to rise dramatically,” Snyder said. “It’s allowed to rise because the temperature of the air the fire makes is much warmer than the air around it. So it keeps rising until it’s not warmer than the air around it.”
That can send a column of smoke up tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere, he said. And as it rises, the air underneath it needs to be replaced, creating a vortex that pulls in air from all around it.
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Pyrocumulus FIRENADO timelapse
Date: Aug 15,2020
Time: 2:06 PM
Location: CA State Hwy intersection 395 and 70#loyaltonfire#firenado pic.twitter.com/8YuIssdKg9 — Barry Winston (@BSWinston) August 16, 2020
At the same time, changes in wind speed that occur higher up in the atmosphere cause the air to spin as it accelerates upward.
“With that rapidly rising, then you spin up your fire tornado,” Snyder said. “It starts spinning as it rises.”
Fire tornadoes are rare but not unheard of in California.
A spinning vortex that barreled into Redding during the Carr fire in July 2018 was roughly 1,000 feet in diameter and reached speeds of 136 to 165 mph, equivalent to a twister with a rating of EF-3 on the five-level Enhanced Fujita scale, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire tornado killed a firefighter as he raced toward a neighborhood in flames, an investigation later found.
In 2008, a whirl caught firefighters by surprise in the remote Indians fire, which was burning in extremely dry chaparral in the Los Padres National Forest. It caused serious injuries and forced the deployment of fire shelters.
Most recently, on Wednesday, a flaming tornado was seen spinning out from the Lake fire, hours after the blaze erupted in the Angeles National Forest above Lake Hughes.
“The fire grew from 400 to 10,000 acres very, very quickly, in the span of a couple hours,” Jake Miller, public information officer for the Lake fire, said Sunday. “So that’s when you start seeing those fire tornadoes and fire whirls starting out.”
After examining the radar data, it appears there were 4 distinct anticyclonic circulations associated w/ the #LoyaltonFire w/ Vrot as strong as 48.6 kts
1. 2030Z-2034Z
2. 2048Z-2055Z
3. 2104Z-2113Z
4. 2116Z-2218Z
Circulation 4 was present for over an hour & traveled ~4 mi https://t.co/qg4ELrp5j6 pic.twitter.com/F63FTzwTuQ — Evan Bentley (@evan_bentley) August 16, 2020
The fire had grown to 17,862 acres and was 12% contained as of Sunday morning. At least 12 homes and commercial buildings had been destroyed, and about 250 people remained under evacuation orders.
Though its growth had slowed considerably, challenges remained. Triple-digit temperatures, low relative humidity and heavy fuels combined to create the potential for continued spread, Miller said.
The most active flank of the fire was the northwestern portion, which was burning into a remote area largely inaccessible by roads, he said.
“It’s an area that just hasn’t burned in about 100 years, so there’s a lot of active fuel,” Miller said. “That’s why we keep getting this afternoon activity — it heats up and kind of sparks the fire up again. Then we have the mixture of that with the fuel out there, and the combination of those two kind of reignites the fire.”
As the fire chews through the sunbaked brush dried out by the afternoon heat, it sends up a large plume of smoke, which in turn creates its own problems by generating erratic gusty winds that fling embers into the air, he said.
“We have been getting some spotting, which is embers from the fire getting trapped into the air and then drifting down and making a small fire just outside the current perimeter,” Miller said. “We did see that a couple times yesterday, but we didn’t have those fire tornadoes, really.”
Further complicating the effort were thunderstorms that moved through the area Saturday, bringing lightning strikes that also contributed to spotting outside the fire perimeter, Miller said.
Thunderstorms were reported in the area of the Loyalton fire Saturday, and more were forecast for Sunday, threatening to ground the aircraft needed to fight the fire, Flannery said.
“Firefighters on the line did report extreme fire behavior displayed at times, especially as overhead thunderstorm cells passed,” he said. “They cause these downdrafts that can create dangerous fire conditions.”
Multiple evacuation orders remained in place for portions of Plumas, Lassen and Sierra counties.
More scattered thunderstorms were forecast for later in the day Sunday in the area north of Azusa, where the Ranch 2 fire has burned a 2,256-acre swath through the Angeles National Forest.
“What’s driving this fire is the dry brush, the hot temperatures and the steep terrain, which makes it difficult to contain,” said Daniela Zepeda, public information officer for the national forest.
Firefighters were working to keep the fire on the north side of San Gabriel Canyon and protect the communities of Azusa, Monrovia, Duarte and Bradbury to the south, she said. They were also trying to keep the flames west of Highway 39, east of Van Tassel Ridge and south of Rincon Red Box Road, Zepeda said.
All evacuation orders had been lifted, but it was possible more could be put in place due to the active nature of the fire, which was continuing to race uphill to the north, west and east, she said.
The fire broke out Thursday in the San Gabriel River bed and was 7% contained as of Sunday morning.
Investigators were continuing to look for a man believed to have started the fire. Police said the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Osmin Palencia, lived in an encampment in the riverbed near the blaze’s origin.
The fires continued to burn amid scorching temperatures that forecasters said could rival a deadly seven-day heat event that struck California in 2006. Meanwhile, the cloud cover associated with bands of thunderstorms meant there was little chance for temperatures to cool down overnight, as is typical during the drier weather California normally sees, forecasters said.
Multiple heat records were set Saturday. The weather service reported a high of 112 in Woodland Hills, breaking the record of 108 set in 1977, and a high of 92 at UCLA, breaking the record of 90 set in 2003. Downtown Los Angeles hit 98 degrees, tying a record set in 1994.
The heat wave was expected to persist through at least Thursday.


latimes--2020-08-16--Moisture from Tropical Storm Fausto fuels Northern California storms

Another round of thunderstorms is likely overnight in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California , the National Weather Service said .
A plume of moisture fueling the storms can be traced to Tropical Storm Fausto in the Pacific southwest of Baja California .
Red flag warnings for dry lightning are widespread in Northern California , along with excessive heat warnings and heat advisories .
By late Sunday morning , isolated showers and thunderstorms were shifting northward , but another — possibly wetter — round of thunderstorms was expected , peaking in the overnight hours and into Monday morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2,500 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were recorded during a 12-hour period into Sunday morning over the Bay Area and the Central Coast , although many of those were over the ocean , the weather service reported .
Cloud-to-cloud lightning activity was nearly constant .
The lightning sparked dozens of fires in the northern , eastern and southern parts of the Bay Area and and the Santa Cruz Mountains down to Monterey .
Rain was mostly light , but there were numerous reports of gusty winds in excess of 50 mph and wind damage , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trampas , in the hills in the eastern portion of the Bay Area , reported a gust to 75 mph .
Small hail also was reported in some locations .

A moisture plume from Tropical Storm Fausto streams toward Northern California in a satellite image taken at noon Sunday.
Another round of thunderstorms is likely overnight in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, the National Weather Service said.
A plume of moisture fueling the storms can be traced to Tropical Storm Fausto in the Pacific southwest of Baja California.
Red flag warnings for dry lightning are widespread in Northern California, along with excessive heat warnings and heat advisories.
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By late Sunday morning, isolated showers and thunderstorms were shifting northward, but another — possibly wetter — round of thunderstorms was expected, peaking in the overnight hours and into Monday morning, the weather service said.
About 2,500 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were recorded during a 12-hour period into Sunday morning over the Bay Area and the Central Coast, although many of those were over the ocean, the weather service reported. Cloud-to-cloud lightning activity was nearly constant.
The lightning sparked dozens of fires in the northern, eastern and southern parts of the Bay Area and and the Santa Cruz Mountains down to Monterey. Rain was mostly light, but there were numerous reports of gusty winds in excess of 50 mph and wind damage, according to the weather service. Las Trampas, in the hills in the eastern portion of the Bay Area, reported a gust to 75 mph. Small hail also was reported in some locations.
Red flag warnings remain in effect through Monday morning.


latimes--2020-08-16--Long Beach mayor among keynote speakers at upcoming Democratic National Convention

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia will be among 17 politicians and civic leaders delivering the keynote address at this week ’ s Democratic National Convention , officials announced Sunday .
“ I ’ m excited to join some amazing Americans to talk about the future of our country and electing Joe Biden as president , ” Garcia said in a statement .
The mayor , who recently lost his mother and stepfather to complications from COVID-19 , added : “ We need to move our country forward and it ’ s going to take young people to mobilize across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice and civil rights for all.
” Garcia will be joined in Tuesday ’ s keynote address by 16 other current and former Democratic officials , including former Rep. Stacey Abrams of Georgia , state Sen. Yvanna Cancela of Nevada , Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and Rep. Colin Allred of Texas .
Having multiple speakers deliver the address is a departure from traditional convention norms .
“ These young electeds will offer a diversity of different ideas and perspectives on how to move America forward , but they will all speak to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — a future with Joe Biden at the helm , ” said a statement released by the Democratic Party .
The Democratic National Convention will take place over four nights beginning Monday from Milwaukee , although delegates and speakers will not be traveling to Wisconsin due to the coronavirus .
Former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris are set to be nominated to run against President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in November .

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia will be among 17 keynote speakers for this week’s Democratic National Convention.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia will be among 17 politicians and civic leaders delivering the keynote address at this week’s Democratic National Convention, officials announced Sunday.
“I’m excited to join some amazing Americans to talk about the future of our country and electing Joe Biden as president,” Garcia said in a statement.
The mayor, who recently lost his mother and stepfather to complications from COVID-19, added: “We need to move our country forward and it’s going to take young people to mobilize across the country to fight for healthcare, racial justice and civil rights for all.”
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Garcia will be joined in Tuesday’s keynote address by 16 other current and former Democratic officials, including former Rep. Stacey Abrams of Georgia, state Sen. Yvanna Cancela of Nevada, Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and Rep. Colin Allred of Texas.
Having multiple speakers deliver the address is a departure from traditional convention norms.
“These young electeds will offer a diversity of different ideas and perspectives on how to move America forward, but they will all speak to the future we’re building together — a future with Joe Biden at the helm,” said a statement released by the Democratic Party.
The Democratic National Convention will take place over four nights beginning Monday from Milwaukee, although delegates and speakers will not be traveling to Wisconsin due to the coronavirus.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris are set to be nominated to run against President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in November.


latimes--2020-08-16--Los Angeles County church appears ready to defy court order and hold indoor services

A Sun Valley church was planning to hold an indoor service Sunday in defiance of a court order .
In a decision issued late Saturday , the California Court of Appeal set aside a lower court order that would have allowed indoor services to take place at Grace Community Church .
The appellate court ruling temporarily halts indoor services and set a Sept. 4 hearing for complete arguments from both sides in the case .
In issuing the temporary stay , the court said the case involved “ difficult questions of law ” that could not be resolved in time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so the justices opted to leave the ban in place until the Sept. 4 hearing .
“ Los Angeles County is pleased that the California Court of Appeal recognizes the vital importance of our Health Officer Orders in protecting the lives and health of our residents as we work to slow the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus , ” a county statement released Saturday said .
“ We will continue to work closely with all religious institutions , including Grace Community Church , to make sure their congregants are protected and provided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this phase of the pandemic.
” Pastor John MacArthur indicated , however , he intended to hold an indoor service Sunday in spite of the order .
The church ’ s website listed a service scheduled for 10:30 a.m. , led by MacArthur .
On Friday , Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant had denied almost all of the Los Angeles County ’ s reasons for requesting a temporary restraining order against the church .
He agreed that it was the county ’ s burden to show “ why they should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights of churches to freely exercise religion.
” Chalfant ruled that the Sun Valley megachurch could hold indoor services if attendees wore masks and stayed at least six feet apart .
Grace church officials could not be reached for comment about the appellate court ’ s emergency stay .
But constitutional law attorney Jenna Ellis said on Twitter that county officials were using “ scare tactics ” by saying Chalfant ’ s ruling would allow all churches to resume indoor services , which would increase the spread of COVID-19 .
In filing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County ’ s first and only objective is to save lives and protect the health of our residents and communities .
We will continue to work through the legal system to ensure that the Health Officer Orders are upheld , as these are the best tools we currently have to slow the spread of this lethal virus.
” Last week , the church and county officials filed dueling lawsuits over health orders banning houses of worship from holding indoor services during the coronavirus crisis .
MacArthur brought a complaint Wednesday against Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mayor Eric Garcetti and county health officials , alleging they have shown unconstitutional favoritism in the enforcement of coronavirus regulations , to the detriment of churches .
Grace Community Church closed its doors in mid-March .
After trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the county , it reopened its doors in July .
The church said close to 7,000 people attended last Sunday ’ s service .
State and county health orders currently only allow churches to hold services outdoors , with all worshippers wearing masks and keeping a safe physical distance .

A Sun Valley church was planning to hold an indoor service Sunday in defiance of a court order.
In a decision issued late Saturday, the California Court of Appeal set aside a lower court order that would have allowed indoor services to take place at Grace Community Church.
The appellate court ruling temporarily halts indoor services and set a Sept. 4 hearing for complete arguments from both sides in the case.
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In issuing the temporary stay, the court said the case involved “difficult questions of law” that could not be resolved in time for Sunday’s church services, so the justices opted to leave the ban in place until the Sept. 4 hearing.
Local officials praised the ruling.
“Los Angeles County is pleased that the California Court of Appeal recognizes the vital importance of our Health Officer Orders in protecting the lives and health of our residents as we work to slow the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus,” a county statement released Saturday said. “We will continue to work closely with all religious institutions, including Grace Community Church, to make sure their congregants are protected and provided with accurate information about worshiping safely during this phase of the pandemic.”
Pastor John MacArthur indicated, however, he intended to hold an indoor service Sunday in spite of the order. The church’s website listed a service scheduled for 10:30 a.m., led by MacArthur.
On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant had denied almost all of the Los Angeles County’s reasons for requesting a temporary restraining order against the church. He agreed that it was the county’s burden to show “why they should be permitted to infringe on the constitutionally protected rights of churches to freely exercise religion.”
Chalfant ruled that the Sun Valley megachurch could hold indoor services if attendees wore masks and stayed at least six feet apart.
Grace church officials could not be reached for comment about the appellate court’s emergency stay. But constitutional law attorney Jenna Ellis said on Twitter that county officials were using “scare tactics” by saying Chalfant’s ruling would allow all churches to resume indoor services, which would increase the spread of COVID-19.
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In filing the appeal, officials said “Los Angeles County’s first and only objective is to save lives and protect the health of our residents and communities. We will continue to work through the legal system to ensure that the Health Officer Orders are upheld, as these are the best tools we currently have to slow the spread of this lethal virus.”
Last week, the church and county officials filed dueling lawsuits over health orders banning houses of worship from holding indoor services during the coronavirus crisis.
MacArthur brought a complaint Wednesday against Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Mayor Eric Garcetti and county health officials, alleging they have shown unconstitutional favoritism in the
enforcement of coronavirus regulations, to the detriment of churches.
Grace Community Church closed its doors in mid-March. After trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the county, it reopened its doors in July. The church said close to 7,000 people attended last Sunday’s service. State and county health orders currently only allow churches to hold services outdoors, with all worshippers wearing masks and keeping a safe physical distance.


latimes--2020-08-16--Federal judge orders COVID-19 testing at Bakersfield immigration detention facility

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered immediate testing of all detainees and staff at a Bakersfield immigration detention center where COVID-19 was spreading for weeks while officials refused to test for the virus .
After receiving results on Friday showing that nearly half of the detainees tested earlier in the week were positive for the illness caused by the coronavirus , federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to conduct quick-result testing of everyone who remained in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility .
“ I ’ m ordering that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working until they ’ re completed , ” the judge told lawyers for ICE and the private contractor that runs the facility , according to Deputy Public Defender Emi MacLean of the San Francisco public defender ’ s office .
The office represents detainees at the facility in San Francisco Immigration Court .
MacLean said the judge cited the “ deliberate indifference ” of ICE and GEO Group , the private company that manages the facility , saying , “ There ’ s no question that this outbreak could have been avoided.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday captured 11 more positive cases , MacLean said .
Of the 104 detained people remaining at the facility , which once housed more than 350 , at least 54 are positive for the virus .
Chhabria ’ s order also directed that the approximately 140 staff members at Mesa Verde be tested immediately , beginning with their next shift , and weekly thereafter .
Documents filed in the case showed that ICE intentionally did not test staff for months to avoid impeding immigration enforcement , McLean said .
The order followed a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed in April by the public defender ’ s office , the ACLU foundations of Northern California and Southern California , the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area , and the Lakin & Wille and Cooley law firms .
Initially the lawsuit sought to ensure that the facility was taking adequate measures to ensure the detainees ’ safety .
As the litigation proceeded , ICE insisted on testing only those who showed symptoms of possible infection and reported there were none , MacLean said .
But in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported to the court that a staff member who obtained a test outside of work was positive for the virus , the first of 14 who would eventually report positive tests taken on their own , MacLean said .
On July 31 the first detainee tested positive .
“ Then the real crisis started , ” MacLean said .
“ They didn ’ t have a plan .
They didn ’ t act.
” By then the facility had reduced its population to about 120 under pressure from the lawsuit .
Several symptomatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the others in another , including those who had been exposed to others who were infected , creating ideal conditions for spread , MacLean said .
“ The detention center is not safe for anyone who is there , ” she said .
“ The level of inaction and lack of concern for the individuals in their custody is stunning and outrageous.
” In an email exchange obtained by the plaintiffs , Brooke Sanchez Othon , a clinical operations specialist at Wellpath , a private Nashville-based healthcare company that provides services to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an ICE official ’ s direction to initiate testing .
The proposal to test all detainees , Sanchez Othon wrote , already had been denied “ due to the housing restrictions we face.
” “ Testing all detainees will potentially cause the same housing issue we had last week but on a larger scale , ” Sanchez Othon continued , referring to the problem of quarantining infected detainees .
“ Completing the testing is not the issue ; it is just what we will need to do with the results once they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first week of August , but the results of those tests have not yet been returned , MacLean said .
Another round of tests conducted on Tuesday and reported to the court on Friday precipitated the order .
Out of 70 tested , 32 were positive .
“ We are really scared that we will never return to our families outside , ” Hugo Lucas , who is currently detained at Mesa Verde , told his lawyers .
“ I have my daughter who is 14 years old , and I can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going on because I ’ m too scared for her.
” Attorneys said they would continue to push to improve safety conditions at the facility .
“ If ICE and GEO can ’ t guarantee the basic safety of the people in their custody , through regular testing and adequate medical care , we need to consider whether they should be allowed to detain anyone at all , ” said ACLU NorCal senior attorney Sean Riordan .

A federal judge has ordered immediate testing of all detainees and staff at the Mesa Verde immigration detention center in Bakersfield, where COVID-19 has been spreading for weeks.
A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered immediate testing of all detainees and staff at a Bakersfield immigration detention center where COVID-19 was spreading for weeks while officials refused to test for the virus.
After receiving results on Friday showing that nearly half of the detainees tested earlier in the week were positive for the illness caused by the coronavirus, federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to conduct quick-result testing of everyone who remained in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility.
“I’m ordering that it be done immediately, and nobody stop working until they’re completed,” the judge told lawyers for ICE and the private contractor that runs the facility, according to Deputy Public Defender Emi MacLean of the San Francisco public defender’s office. The office represents detainees at the facility in San Francisco Immigration Court.
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MacLean said the judge cited the “deliberate indifference” of ICE and GEO Group, the private company that manages the facility, saying, “There’s no question that this outbreak could have been avoided.”
Initial results from the quick tests on Saturday captured 11 more positive cases, MacLean said. Of the 104 detained people remaining at the facility, which once housed more than 350, at least 54 are positive for the virus.
Chhabria’s order also directed that the approximately 140 staff members at Mesa Verde be tested immediately, beginning with their next shift, and weekly thereafter. Documents filed in the case showed that ICE intentionally did not test staff for months to avoid impeding immigration enforcement, McLean said.
California ICE deliberately limited testing at Bakersfield immigration facility with COVID-19 outbreak On Thursday, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a searing ruling, saying ICE has “responded to the health crisis in such a cavalier fashion” that it has “lost the right to be trusted.”
The order followed a series of hearings in a class-action lawsuit filed in April by the public defender’s office, the ACLU foundations of Northern California and Southern California, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Lakin & Wille and Cooley law firms.
Initially the lawsuit sought to ensure that the facility was taking adequate measures to ensure the detainees’ safety. As the litigation proceeded, ICE insisted on testing only those who showed symptoms of possible infection and reported there were none, MacLean said.
But in mid-June, lawyers for ICE and GEO reported to the court that a staff member who obtained a test outside of work was positive for the virus, the first of 14 who would eventually report positive tests taken on their own, MacLean said.
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On July 31 the first detainee tested positive.
“Then the real crisis started,” MacLean said. “They didn’t have a plan. They didn’t act.”
By then the facility had reduced its population to about 120 under pressure from the lawsuit. Several symptomatic detainees were put in one dorm and all the others in another, including those who had been exposed to others who were infected, creating ideal conditions for spread, MacLean said.
“The detention center is not safe for anyone who is there,” she said. “The level of inaction and lack of concern for the individuals in their custody is stunning and outrageous.”
In an email exchange obtained by the plaintiffs, Brooke Sanchez Othon, a clinical operations specialist at Wellpath, a private Nashville-based healthcare company that provides services to ICE detention facilities, pushed back against an ICE official’s direction to initiate testing.
The proposal to test all detainees, Sanchez Othon wrote, already had been denied “due to the housing restrictions we face.”
“Testing all detainees will potentially cause the same housing issue we had last week but on a larger scale,” Sanchez Othon continued, referring to the problem of quarantining infected detainees. “Completing the testing is not the issue; it is just what we will need to do with the results once they are received.”
The facility began testing in the first week of August, but the results of those tests have not yet been returned, MacLean said.
Another round of tests conducted on Tuesday and reported to the court on Friday precipitated the order. Out of 70 tested, 32 were positive.
“We are really scared that we will never return to our families outside,” Hugo Lucas, who is currently detained at Mesa Verde, told his lawyers. “I have my daughter who is 14 years old, and I can’t tell her what’s going on because I’m too scared for her.”
Attorneys said they would continue to push to improve safety conditions at the facility.
“If ICE and GEO can’t guarantee the basic safety of the people in their custody, through regular testing and adequate medical care, we need to consider whether they should be allowed to detain anyone at all,” said ACLU NorCal senior attorney Sean Riordan.
Times staff writer Andrea Castillo contributed to this story.


latimes--2020-08-16--Column One: Nearly half a century ago, activists 'invaded' this California island by claiming it for

Column One: Nearly half a century ago, activists 'invaded' this California island by claiming it for Mexico

The young Mexican Americans boarded boats and a seaplane that brought them to the shores of Santa Catalina Island .
They wore conference badges that identified them as members of a Catholic youth group , but they had wrapped paramilitary-style uniforms in blankets .
They placed them in duffel bags , alongside tents and a flag the size of a dining room table .
On land , they pretended to be tourists .
They knew that they could be arrested for what they were about to do .
Two of their men scouted the island terrain before settling on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of landfall , they trekked to a hill north of the Catalina Casino in the small town of Avalon .
There , they changed into dark brown pants , khaki shirts and their signature brown berets , from which the group took their name .
They used rope to string up their flag between the trees facing the yacht-dotted harbor .
The distinctive red , white and green with the snake-eating eagle of Mexico rippled in the breeze .
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. , someone looked up and spotted the 26 Brown Berets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We ’ re being invaded !
” a secretary in the city manager ’ s office told a councilman .
“ Mexican soldiers are claiming the island !
” It was the summer of 1972 and the mission of the Brown Berets was to occupy this land — which they believed rightfully belonged to Mexico — as a symbol of the Chicano movement .
In a scene that felt straight out of a Chicano Wes Anderson film , the 25 men and one woman traveled to a hillside above Catalina Chimes Tower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s deputies arrived at Campo Tecolote — Camp Owl — the Brown Berets ’ founder and “ prime minister , ” David Sanchez , handed them a 16-page news release .
In it , he argued that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had ceded California to the U.S. but did not cover islands offshore .
“ By this plan , we wish to bring you the true plight of the Chicano , and the problems of people of Mexican descent living in the United States , ” Sanchez wrote .
Nearly 48 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Catalina Express boat .
White flecked his eyebrows .
His brown beret now covered thinning black hair and age spots .
Time had changed not only him but also the Brown Berets ’ legacy on this island .
“ Are you going to visit Burrito Point ?
” Ariella Markowitz , a reporter who grew up in Avalon , asked after Sanchez had disembarked .
“ That ’ s what the locals call your spot , ” she said , sheepishly .
In the 1968 East Los Angeles Blowouts , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and beyond staged weeks of boycotts and protests of run-down campuses , a lack of college prep courses and teachers who were poorly trained , indifferent or racist .
The walkouts served as a catalyst for the Chicano civil rights movement .
The climax of the movement , some experts say , was the Chicano Moratorium demonstration Aug. 29 , 1970 , when about 20,000 people took to the streets of East L.A. to protest the Vietnam War .
Journalist Ruben Salazar died in the chaos after the march , struck by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Brown Berets ’ adventure — or , depending on whom you ask , misadventure — came two years later .
“ The Chicano movement was on a decline , ” said Sanchez , who was part of the blowouts and the moratorium .
“ I felt that we had to do an event that would put the Chicano movement back on the map.
” So on Aug. 30 , 1972 , they set up camp , hoping to gain publicity for la causa .
Over the next few weeks , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grocery shopping and attended church with fellow townspeople — all in uniform .
They circulated fliers to townspeople , signed by Sanchez , that ended with , “ Peace on earth and welcome to MEXICO.
” For Joe Rey , the island felt a world away from the El Paso desert where he grew up .
Some days , he visited the beach with his fellow soldados , who became like family .
He had no sympathy for anxious locals .
“ What ’ s going to happen to my family if they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” a resident asked .
“ Too bad , ” Rey told him .
He thought : “ When they took over our land , they didn ’ t care about us .
Why should we care about them ?
” The group received food from some of the 300 Mexican Americans who lived in Avalon .
Among those helping was the family of Maria Lopez , who lived on Tremont Street , along with most of the town ’ s Latinos .
Her mom and tías made enchiladas , beans and tacos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them to the Brown Berets .
“ The Mexican people here , the Chicanos , welcomed them , ” Lopez said .
“ But a lot of the gringos , they were afraid they were coming to take over.
” American flags suddenly went up across town , including a large one unfurled on the hillside above the encampment , according to the local newspaper , the Catalina Islander .
The next day , the flag was brought back with tears and cuts , which were blamed on the Brown Berets .
Late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , residents held a “ vigilante-type meeting ” to “ take care of ” the group , according to Mayor Raymond Rydell ’ s report in the paper .
A few men brought a chartered boat with the intention of putting the Brown Berets on it and sending them to the mainland .
Ultimately , a sheriff ’ s sergeant calmed the crowd and residents returned home .
The next day , a judge — joined by sheriff ’ s deputies — walked into the encampment and told the Berets they were violating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area zoned for single-family dwellings .
If they didn ’ t leave , he said , they would be arrested .
The group didn ’ t want to risk those younger than 18 being detained and sent to a youth detention center , Sanchez said .
But he admitted that the order came as a relief , as the Chicano movement was declining on the mainland and the Brown Berets had been receiving fewer supplies and funds .
“ In a way , ” Sanchez said , “ it was a blessing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month , the occupation was over .
That afternoon , the Brown Berets boarded the GT Avalon to take them to San Pedro .
As they chanted “ Chicano Power , ” the local paper reported , those on shore sang “ God Bless America.
” “ Living in the same town with these soggy , chocolate soldiers for three weeks was not pleasant for anybody , ” Rydell wrote after their departure .
“ The few among us who assisted the Brown Berets by befriending them and bringing them food were actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war with American society , who wish to destroy it , and substitute for it a racist culture based on who your ancestors were , instead of what you are.
” By 10 a.m. the day of Sanchez ’ s visit , the streets of Avalon were crowded with foot traffic .
The town has a population of about 4,000 , but it boasts over a million annual visitors .
That morning , tourists navigated golf carts — the main mode of transportation — through the 2.8-square-mile town .
Although many of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Sanchez was the only one wearing a brown beret .
As he walked through town , he struggled to remember how to reach the spot where he once camped out for nearly a month with Chicanos from California , Arizona and Colorado .
At times he flipped to a 10-page chapter on the Catalina mission in his book “ Expedition Through Aztlán.
” His memory occasionally conflicted with what he wrote .
Instead of journeying under a beating sun , Sanchez decided it would be too difficult to hike to the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no longer the 24-year-old who had laid claim to the island .
“ Excuse me , ” Sanchez asked a taxi driver .
“ How much do you charge just to take us up to Burrito Point ?
” “ It ’ s really called Campo Tecolote , ” he told the driver , once inside the taxi .
“ I was the leader of the Brown Berets that came over here and took over the island many years ago , probably before you were here.
” “ I wasn ’ t here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ but I heard about it.
” Here on Santa Catalina Island , the so-called invasion of 1972 is mostly a footnote .
In the Catalina Island Museum , among the exhibits on the island ’ s history , there is no mention of the Brown Berets ’ occupation decades ago .
Doing an exhibition on the invasion has long been on the list , but the museum doesn ’ t have artifacts related to that time .
In the former camp , off Chimes Tower Road , there are no markers — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cans .
Many of the old-timers who were on the island then , including former Mayor Rydell , have long since died .
Some who remain say the event was mostly forgotten about after the Brown Berets left .
“ It was just a blip , ” said 89-year-old Rudy Piltch , who has lived on the island for over 40 years .
“ A fascinating moment , but a brief one.
” Outside the island , it ’ s a part of Southern California history that is known by a fair amount @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roots go back generations .
But many other people , probably most , have no idea about the event .
“ It ’ s not anywhere as well known as the Chicano Moratorium , or the blowouts in ’ 68 , ” said Mario T. Garcia , professor of Chicano studies and history at UC Santa Barbara .
“ It did get attention , but I don ’ t know that it was very lasting.
” There are no books written specifically on the invasion , he said , but it was significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to teach people about Chicano history.
” “ I think a lot of the attention was focused on this idea of Brown Berets invading , or the idea that some of the people on the island felt that this was the Mexican army coming to take over Santa Catalina Island , ” he said .
“ The history lesson that David and the others were trying to teach I think got somehow subverted in that.
” The dirt crunched under Sanchez ’ s feet as he walked down a familiar path that led @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as he pointed out the spot , now covered in brush , where he ’ d pitched his tent .
And the ridge where the Brown Berets would line up for inspection each morning at 8 a.m. Not much had changed , he said .
“ I think they reserved it for us , ” he said .
He grew somber as he recalled the day the Brown Berets left the island .
He told everybody they would someday return to Catalina Island to occupy it .
But when they got back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seemed “ like a lot of people were turning against us.
” Now , he returns — at least every other year — only to visit .
Sanchez took a final look around : “ It was a good spot .
Until time ran out.
” Over lunch at Antonio ’ s Pizzeria , Piltch and Sanchez sat across from each other as they shared memories of 1972 .
Piltch , who was in his 40s at the time , recalled waking up one morning to the sight of the Mexican flag .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit of a shock to a lot of people.
” From what he recalled , Piltch said , “ a lot of the local Hispanics at the time , I think they kind of felt offended.
” Mayor Rydell ’ s report in the local paper seemed to echo that sentiment .
He wrote that islanders of Mexican descent had been “ unfairly embarrassed ” by the Brown Berets ’ presence .
“ These islanders are Americans , not Mexican-Americans , ” Rydell wrote .
“ In this real democratic community of Avalon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just Americans .
We all stand under the same flag .
Don ’ t let these racist Brown Berets confuse you.
” Piltch asked Sanchez whether he had good memories of his time in Avalon .
The only bad memory , Sanchez said , is when they were told to leave .
“ I remember there was a boat that came in … they brought all of your group down , put you on the boat and sent you home , ” Piltch said .

The young Mexican Americans boarded boats and a seaplane that brought them to the shores of Santa Catalina Island.
They wore conference badges that identified them as members of a Catholic youth group, but they had wrapped paramilitary-style uniforms in blankets. They placed them in duffel bags, alongside tents and a flag the size of a dining room table.
On land, they pretended to be tourists. They knew that they could be arrested for what they were about to do. Two of their men scouted the island terrain before settling on a small patch of land.
Within days of landfall, they trekked to a hill north of the Catalina Casino in the small town of Avalon. There, they changed into dark brown pants, khaki shirts and their signature brown berets, from which the group took their name.
They used rope to string up their flag between the trees facing the yacht-dotted harbor. The distinctive red, white and green with the snake-eating eagle of Mexico rippled in the breeze.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., someone looked up and spotted the 26 Brown Berets in military formation on the ridgeline.
Members of the Brown Berets rest in a campground on Catalina Island in 1972. The group claimed the island in the name of Mexico. (David Sanchez)
“We’re being invaded!” a secretary in the city manager’s office told a councilman. “Mexican soldiers are claiming the island!”
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It was the summer of 1972 and the mission of the Brown Berets was to occupy this land — which they believed rightfully belonged to Mexico — as a symbol of the Chicano movement. In a scene that felt straight out of a Chicano Wes Anderson film, the 25 men and one woman traveled to a hillside above Catalina Chimes Tower and set up camp.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived at Campo Tecolote — Camp Owl — the Brown Berets’ founder and “prime minister,” David Sanchez, handed them a 16-page news release. In it, he argued that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had ceded California to the U.S. but did not cover islands offshore.
“By this plan, we wish to bring you the true plight of the Chicano, and the problems of people of Mexican descent living in the United States,” Sanchez wrote.
Nearly 48 years later, Sanchez stepped carefully off the Catalina Express boat. White flecked his eyebrows. His brown beret now covered thinning black hair and age spots.
David Sanchez, founder of the Brown Berets, rides the Catalina Express. Decades ago, the activists staged a so-called invasion of Catalina Island to occupy the land as a symbol of the Chicano movement. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Time had changed not only him but also the Brown Berets’ legacy on this island.
“Are you going to visit Burrito Point?” Ariella Markowitz, a reporter who grew up in Avalon, asked after Sanchez had disembarked.
“Where’s that?” Sanchez said.
“That’s what the locals call your spot,” she said, sheepishly.
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Sanchez burst out laughing.
::
Brown Berets David Sanchez, second from left, Fred Lopez, Carlos Montes and Ralph Ramirez in 1968. (Los Angeles Times Archive / UCLA)
In the 1968 East Los Angeles Blowouts, at least 10,000 students from East L.A. high schools and beyond staged weeks of boycotts and protests of run-down campuses, a lack of college prep courses and teachers who were poorly trained, indifferent or racist.
The walkouts served as a catalyst for the Chicano civil rights movement.
The climax of the movement, some experts say, was the Chicano Moratorium demonstration Aug. 29, 1970, when about 20,000 people took to the streets of East L.A. to protest the Vietnam War. Journalist Ruben Salazar died in the chaos after the march, struck by a sheriff deputy’s tear gas projectile.
The Brown Berets’ adventure — or, depending on whom you ask, misadventure — came two years later.
“The Chicano movement was on a decline,” said Sanchez, who was part of the blowouts and the moratorium. “I felt that we had to do an event that would put the Chicano movement back on the map.”
So on Aug. 30, 1972, they set up camp, hoping to gain publicity for la causa.
Members of the Brown Berets, a Chicano civil rights group, listen to a speaker on June 9, 1968. (Herald-Examiner Collection / Los Angeles Public Library)
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Over the next few weeks, the Brown Berets marched through town, went grocery shopping and attended church with fellow townspeople — all in uniform. They circulated fliers to townspeople, signed by Sanchez, that ended with, “Peace on earth and welcome to MEXICO.”
(Los Angeles Times)
For Joe Rey, the island felt a world away from the El Paso desert where he grew up. Some days, he visited the beach with his fellow soldados, who became like family. He had no sympathy for anxious locals.
“What’s going to happen to my family if they kick us out of the island?” a resident asked.
“Too bad,” Rey told him. He thought: “When they took over our land, they didn’t care about us. Why should we care about them?”
(Almost half a century later, Rey is no longer a fiery young leftist. In fact, the 72-year-old is a conservative Republican who freely admits that it was fun, but there’s no way he would support such an action now.)
The group received food from some of the 300 Mexican Americans who lived in Avalon. Among those helping was the family of Maria Lopez, who lived on Tremont Street, along with most of the town’s Latinos.
Her mom and tías made enchiladas, beans and tacos for the group. Her father delivered them to the Brown Berets.
“The Mexican people here, the Chicanos, welcomed them,” Lopez said. “But a lot of the gringos, they were afraid they were coming to take over.”
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‘The Chicano movement was on a decline. I felt that we had to do an event that would put the Chicano movement back on the map.’ — David Sanchez, founder of the Brown Berets
American flags suddenly went up across town, including a large one unfurled on the hillside above the encampment, according to the local newspaper, the Catalina Islander. The next day, the flag was brought back with tears and cuts, which were blamed on the Brown Berets.
Column One A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times. More stories
Late one Thursday night, on Sept. 21, residents held a “vigilante-type meeting” to “take care of” the group, according to Mayor Raymond Rydell’s report in the paper. A few men brought a chartered boat with the intention of putting the Brown Berets on it and sending them to the mainland.
Ultimately, a sheriff’s sergeant calmed the crowd and residents returned home. The next day, a judge — joined by sheriff’s deputies — walked into the encampment and told the Berets they were violating a town ordinance prohibiting camping in an area zoned for single-family dwellings. If they didn’t leave, he said, they would be arrested.
The group didn’t want to risk those younger than 18 being detained and sent to a youth detention center, Sanchez said. But he admitted that the order came as a relief, as the Chicano movement was declining on the mainland and the Brown Berets had been receiving fewer supplies and funds.
“In a way,” Sanchez said, “it was a blessing in disguise.”
So, after nearly a month, the occupation was over. That afternoon, the Brown Berets boarded the GT Avalon to take them to San Pedro. As they chanted “Chicano Power,” the local paper reported, those on shore sang “God Bless America.”
“Living in the same town with these soggy, chocolate soldiers for three weeks was not pleasant for anybody,” Rydell wrote after their departure.
“The few among us who assisted the Brown Berets by befriending them and bringing them food were actually fraternizing with misguided militants who are at war with American society, who wish to destroy it, and substitute for it a racist culture based on who your ancestors were, instead of what you are.”
::
Reporter Ariella Markowitz, left, photographs David Sanchez as he hugs Catalina Island resident Maria Lopez in Avalon. Lopez’s family cooked meals for the Brown Berets during their protest in 1972. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
By 10 a.m. the day of Sanchez’s visit, the streets of Avalon were crowded with foot traffic. The town has a population of about 4,000, but it boasts over a million annual visitors.
That morning, tourists navigated golf carts — the main mode of transportation — through the 2.8-square-mile town.
Although many of the visitors wore masks because of the pandemic, Sanchez was the only one wearing a brown beret. As he walked through town, he struggled to remember how to reach the spot where he once camped out for nearly a month with Chicanos from California, Arizona and Colorado.
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At times he flipped to a 10-page chapter on the Catalina mission in his book “Expedition Through Aztlán.” His memory occasionally conflicted with what he wrote.
Instead of journeying under a beating sun, Sanchez decided it would be too difficult to hike to the former encampment. After all, he was no longer the 24-year-old who had laid claim to the island.
“Excuse me,” Sanchez asked a taxi driver. “How much do you charge just to take us up to Burrito Point?”
David Sanchez flips through his book “Expedition Through Aztlán.” His memory of the Catalina occupation occasionally conflicts with what he wrote. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s really called Campo Tecolote,” he told the driver, once inside the taxi. “I was the leader of the Brown Berets that came over here and took over the island many years ago, probably before you were here.”
“I wasn’t here,” the taxi driver said, “but I heard about it.”
Here on Santa Catalina Island, the so-called invasion of 1972 is mostly a footnote.
In the Catalina Island Museum, among the exhibits on the island’s history, there is no mention of the Brown Berets’ occupation decades ago. Doing an exhibition on the invasion has long been on the list, but the museum doesn’t have artifacts related to that time.
In the former camp, off Chimes Tower Road, there are no markers — only shards of bottles and discarded beer cans.
Many of the old-timers who were on the island then, including former Mayor Rydell, have long since died. Some who remain say the event was mostly forgotten about after the Brown Berets left.
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“It was just a blip,” said 89-year-old Rudy Piltch, who has lived on the island for over 40 years. “A fascinating moment, but a brief one.”
Outside the island, it’s a part of Southern California history that is known by a fair amount of people, mostly Mexican Americans whose roots go back generations. But many other people, probably most, have no idea about the event.
“It’s not anywhere as well known as the Chicano Moratorium, or the blowouts in ’68,” said Mario T. Garcia, professor of Chicano studies and history at UC Santa Barbara. “It did get attention, but I don’t know that it was very lasting.”
David Sanchez, who was part of the Chicano Moratorium, told everybody the Brown Berets would someday return to Catalina Island to occupy it. Now, he returns only to visit. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
There are no books written specifically on the invasion, he said, but it was significant because the Brown Berets were “trying to teach people about Chicano history.”
“I think a lot of the attention was focused on this idea of Brown Berets invading, or the idea that some of the people on the island felt that this was the Mexican army coming to take over Santa Catalina Island,” he said. “The history lesson that David and the others were trying to teach I think got somehow subverted in that.”
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The dirt crunched under Sanchez’s feet as he walked down a familiar path that led off the main road. He smiled as he pointed out the spot, now covered in brush, where he’d pitched his tent. And the ridge where the Brown Berets would line up for inspection each morning at 8 a.m. Not much had changed, he said.
“I think they reserved it for us,” he said.
He grew somber as he recalled the day the Brown Berets left the island. He told everybody they would someday return to Catalina Island to occupy it. But when they got back to the mainland, he said, it seemed “like a lot of people were turning against us.” Now, he returns — at least every other year — only to visit.
Sanchez took a final look around: “It was a good spot. Until time ran out.”
::
Over lunch at Antonio’s Pizzeria, Piltch and Sanchez sat across from each other as they shared memories of 1972.
Piltch, who was in his 40s at the time, recalled waking up one morning to the sight of the Mexican flag. He described it as “a little bit of a shock to a lot of people.”
From what he recalled, Piltch said, “a lot of the local Hispanics at the time, I think they kind of felt offended.”
David Sanchez, right, talks to Catalina Island resident Rudy Piltch at a restaurant in Avalon. “It was just a blip,” Piltch, 89, said about the Brown Berets’ protest. “A fascinating moment, but a brief one.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Mayor Rydell’s report in the local paper seemed to echo that sentiment. He wrote that islanders of Mexican descent had been “unfairly embarrassed” by the Brown Berets’ presence.
“These islanders are Americans, not Mexican-Americans,” Rydell wrote. “In this real democratic community of Avalon, there are no hyphenated Americans … just Americans. We all stand under the same flag. Don’t let these racist Brown Berets confuse you.”
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Piltch asked Sanchez whether he had good memories of his time in Avalon. The only bad memory, Sanchez said, is when they were told to leave.
“I remember there was a boat that came in … they brought all of your group down, put you on the boat and sent you home,” Piltch said.
Sanchez laughed, before he responded:
“This is our home.”


latimes--2020-08-16--Coronavirus complicates California's worst power shortage in two decades

A late-summer heat wave in Southern California typically sends people fleeing to movie theaters , shopping malls and crowded beaches in search of a cool respite .
But the coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of places where people once gathered , upending those routines .
So as temperatures soared Friday , many people instead stayed at home with their air conditioners blasting .
Even though many offices and businesses were closed due to the pandemic , that intense demand — along with other factors including a dearth of power coming in from other states — was enough to create @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly 20 years , officials said .
On Saturday night , another round of temporary blackouts was ordered in parts of the state .
The California Independent System Operator , the body that runs the electric grid for most of California , declared a statewide Stage 3 emergency Friday evening and ordered utilities to shed about 1,000 megawatts , prompting rolling blackouts across the state .
A single megawatt powers about 750 homes , spokeswoman Anne Gonzales said .
It was the first time since 2001 that state electric grid operators have had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precise causes of the power shortage remained somewhat of a mystery on Saturday .
The rolling blackout of two decades ago occurred after deregulation of the energy markets , which led to manipulations for profit by companies like Enron .
One question going forward will be what role market forces or planning by regulators played in the shortage .
At the same time , California has seen a shift in its power supply over the last two decades , relying more on solar and gradually less on fossil fuels .
The blackouts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , cut power to more than 130,000 Southern California Edison customers and approximately 220,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in Northern California ’ s El Dorado , Napa , Marin , San Mateo and Sonoma counties .
In addition to the spike in demand , the sheer breadth of the heat wave , which covers a huge swath of the western United States , was a key culprit .
The record heat caused electricity shortages in many neighboring states , preventing them from exporting excess power to California , officials said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when there ’ s a need in California , power will flow into the state from out-of-state generation , and that helps meet the demand , ” said Robert Villegas , spokesman for Southern California Edison .
“ But when other states are also experiencing high heat conditions and extensive demand on their systems , a lot of that power would stay closer to where it ’ s produced.
” In some ways , the power shortage was counterintuitive given how many offices and businesses are closed due to the pandemic .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demand has followed the usual pattern : climbing during the workweek and trailing off over the weekend , according to Gonzales .
Officials initially thought this would prevent further interruptions over the weekend , but Saturday night , both Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric announced more blackouts .
Southern California Edison also warned of more blackouts .
Utility companies across the state were urging customers to help conserve energy by doing things like setting the thermostat no lower than 78 degrees and unplugging unused appliances .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told you when you were little , it was in fact true , ” Villegas said .
“ Don ’ t leave the refrigerator door open while you ’ re thinking about what to get from inside .
Don ’ t leave the back door open because it does let the heat in .
Turn off lights when you ’ re not using them .
… The simple things are really where it ’ s at here.
” The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused cities and counties across the state to rethink how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ component of how the region protects its residents during heat waves .
The centers often attract the elderly and people with underlying health conditions that make them particularly susceptible to heat as well as illness .
A notice on Kern County ’ s website laying out new precautions says people seeking refuge will be screened for fevers and other COVID-19 symptoms before entering a cooling center and those displaying signs of the disease will not be allowed inside .
Once inside , people will be asked to stay six feet apart and will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face covering , the website says .
The city of Los Angeles , which opened cooling centers Friday , is also screening for COVID symptoms at the door and then requiring people to stay masked and separated once inside .
Staff are wearing personal protective equipment , including masks and gloves .
“ Normally our facilities can hold a lot more people , but due to COVID the capacity is diminished , ” said Emergency Management Coordinator Sonya Young Jimenez .
As of Saturday afternoon , Jimenez said she was unaware of anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were suspected of having COVID-19 .
At the same time , large brush fires burning in the Angeles National Forest above Lake Hughes and Azusa severely compromised air quality , causing public health officials Saturday to warn people to avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure and putting yet another limit on options to escape the heat .
“ I think there ’ s a variety of factors we all need to be concerned about , ” said Margie Otto , spokeswoman for Pasadena Power and Water .
“ There ’ s the potential for wildfires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and all of the power generation sources.
” The utility received a directive from Cal ISO to shed load at about 7:30 p.m. Friday , followed by another notification a half-hour later that it was no longer necessary , she said .
About 1,500 of its 65,000 electrical customers were without power for 30 minutes .
Southern California Edison cut power to roughly 132,000 of its 5 million customers Friday night , each for about an hour , Villegas said .
All customers had their power restored by 8 p.m. , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the blackouts ] will be done in small blocks that include portions of communities , so we don ’ t shut down a county or something like that , ” he said .
He said the utility is also careful to avoid cutting off power to critical facilities like hospitals and public safety buildings .
The goal of the controlled shutoffs is to avoid longer and more widespread outages due to equipment failures that can result when high demand overburdens the system , he said .
The utility has also deployed emergency management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respond to and repair those types of outages for the duration of the heat wave .
“ We totally understand it ’ s a hardship when you ’ re without power , especially in this time when options are limited , ” Villegas said .
“ With students being at home now starting school online and people working from home , of course their livelihoods and their education are things that we ’ re looking at so we ’ re trying to minimize as best we can interruption to people in their homes.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gas & Electric to implement rotating blackouts Friday night .
The utility shut off power to about 58,700 customers in San Diego County and southern Orange County for roughly an hour each , it said .
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said its customers were not affected by the statewide blackouts because the department generates , imports and transmits its own electricity and was able to meet the city ’ s demand .
In fact , the utility , which has never had to implement rolling blackouts due to excess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ megawatts to California ISO between 5 and 9 p.m. , spokesman Joe Ramallo said .
Still , he said , the heat strained local power distribution networks , leading to isolated outages unrelated to the statewide rolling blackouts as some equipment became overloaded and failed .
About 1,000 of the DWP ’ s 1.5 million customers were without power as of Saturday morning , most of them in the San Fernando Valley .
On Friday night , localized outages were reported in Sunland and Wilmington , Ramallo said .
The problem can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these , when nighttime temperatures don ’ t drop enough for the electrical equipment to cool down , he said .
“ It ’ s like running your car at 100 mph nonstop and not giving it a break , ” Ramallo said .
“ You ’ re eventually going to have some problems that pop up , and in this case there will be failed equipment and transformers.
” Officials expressed cautious optimism that they ’ d be able to get through the next couple days without additional blackouts .
The California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order rolling outages for the rest of the weekend , Gonzales said .
“ The temperatures are expected to be a bit lower than yesterday and it ’ s the weekend , so we see a bit less demand , ” she said .

At Woodley Park in Van Nuys, Blanca Celaya of Winnetka and her family enjoy the shade. She holds her 3-month-old son, Jason Celaya. Beyond are her daughter Celia Barinese and husband, Jaime Paiz. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
The scene at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro on Aug. 14, where a cooling breeze kept the shore comfortable. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
The Telles family of the San Fernando Valley enjoys the water of the Santa Ana River in Jurupa Valley. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
At the Santa Ana River in Jurupa Valley, Mike Garcia of Norco and his children Jose, 7, and Monica, 10, employ multiple stay-cool techniques. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Jacob Debreceni, 16, with friends Ismael Fuentes, left, and Kevin Lemus, cools off with the help of a backyard waterslide in Mira Loma, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
An employee of a hot dog stand works inside the eatery along the boardwalk in Santa Monica. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Liz Saul reads a novel on her iPad in the comfort of an air mattress in Venice. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters prepare to defend a home as flames from the River fire approach in Salinas on Aug. 17. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Aug. 16. Numerous lightning strikes sparked brush fires throughout the region. (Noah Berger / Associated Press )
A funnel appears in a thick plume of smoke from the Loyalton fire in Lassen County, Calif., on Aug. 15. (Katelynn & Jordan Hewlett via Associated Press)
Watts residents pick out clothing during the Children Mending Hearts weekly food and clothing giveaway at the Watts Empowerment Center. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Jon Galapago takes a break from the heat in a hammock during a day of fishing at Lake Evans in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Benjamin Cole II shows son Barreth Cole, 5, a routine while joining members of Barry’s Bootcamp as they conduct a workout session at the Watts Empowerment Center. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
L.A. Rams rookie outside linebacker Terrell Lewis towels away sweat as temperatures soar at the Rams training facility in Thousand Oaks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
After a day at the beach, Sebastian Grand, 11, left, Leo Grand, 13, and Constantin Condraschi, 12, of Orange County have pizza at a Slice of New York Pizza in Seal Beach. (Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
The Holser Fire burns through the night just east of Lake Piru, where actress Naya Rivera died in mid-July. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
A late-summer heat wave in Southern California typically sends people fleeing to movie theaters, shopping malls and crowded beaches in search of a cool respite.
But the coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of places where people once gathered, upending those routines.
So as temperatures soared Friday, many people instead stayed at home with their air conditioners blasting. Even though many offices and businesses were closed due to the pandemic, that intense demand — along with other factors including a dearth of power coming in from other states — was enough to create the most serious statewide energy shortage in nearly 20 years, officials said. On Saturday night, another round of temporary blackouts was ordered in parts of the state.
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The California Independent System Operator, the body that runs the electric grid for most of California, declared a statewide Stage 3 emergency Friday evening and ordered utilities to shed about 1,000 megawatts, prompting rolling blackouts across the state. A single megawatt powers about 750 homes, spokeswoman Anne Gonzales said.
It was the first time since 2001 that state electric grid operators have had to take the drastic step.
The precise causes of the power shortage remained somewhat of a mystery on Saturday. The rolling blackout of two decades ago occurred after deregulation of the energy markets, which led to manipulations for profit by companies like Enron. One question going forward will be what role market forces or planning by regulators played in the shortage.
At the same time, California has seen a shift in its power supply over the last two decades, relying more on solar and gradually less on fossil fuels.
The blackouts, which typically lasted an hour or two, cut power to more than 130,000 Southern California Edison customers and approximately 220,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in Northern California’s El Dorado, Napa, Marin, San Mateo and Sonoma counties.
In addition to the spike in demand, the sheer breadth of the heat wave, which covers a huge swath of the western United States, was a key culprit. The record heat caused electricity shortages in many neighboring states, preventing them from exporting excess power to California, officials said.
“Because we’re all interconnected, when there’s a need in California, power will flow into the state from out-of-state generation, and that helps meet the demand,” said Robert Villegas, spokesman for Southern California Edison. “But when other states are also experiencing high heat conditions and extensive demand on their systems, a lot of that power would stay closer to where it’s produced.”
In some ways, the power shortage was counterintuitive given how many offices and businesses are closed due to the pandemic.
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But even during these conditions, overall electricity demand has followed the usual pattern: climbing during the workweek and trailing off over the weekend, according to Gonzales. Officials initially thought this would prevent further interruptions over the weekend, but Saturday night, both Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric announced more blackouts. Southern California Edison also warned of more blackouts.
Utility companies across the state were urging customers to help conserve energy by doing things like setting the thermostat no lower than 78 degrees and unplugging unused appliances.
“I always tell people that everything your mother told you when you were little, it was in fact true,” Villegas said. “Don’t leave the refrigerator door open while you’re thinking about what to get from inside. Don’t leave the back door open because it does let the heat in. Turn off lights when you’re not using them. … The simple things are really where it’s at here.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused cities and counties across the state to rethink how they operate cooling centers, another crucial component of how the region protects its residents during heat waves. The centers often attract the elderly and people with underlying health conditions that make them particularly susceptible to heat as well as illness.
A notice on Kern County’s website laying out new precautions says people seeking refuge will be screened for fevers and other COVID-19 symptoms before entering a cooling center and those displaying signs of the disease will not be allowed inside. Once inside, people will be asked to stay six feet apart and will be “encouraged” to wear a face covering, the website says.
The city of Los Angeles, which opened cooling centers Friday, is also screening for COVID symptoms at the door and then requiring people to stay masked and separated once inside. Staff are wearing personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves.
“Normally our facilities can hold a lot more people, but due to COVID the capacity is diminished,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Sonya Young Jimenez. As of Saturday afternoon, Jimenez said she was unaware of anyone having to be turned away because they were suspected of having COVID-19.
At the same time, large brush fires burning in the Angeles National Forest above Lake Hughes and Azusa severely compromised air quality, causing public health officials Saturday to warn people to avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure and putting yet another limit on options to escape the heat.
“I think there’s a variety of factors we all need to be concerned about,” said Margie Otto, spokeswoman for Pasadena Power and Water. “There’s the potential for wildfires, the high heat, energy use and all of the power generation sources.”
The utility received a directive from Cal ISO to shed load at about 7:30 p.m. Friday, followed by another notification a half-hour later that it was no longer necessary, she said. About 1,500 of its 65,000 electrical customers were without power for 30 minutes.
Southern California Edison cut power to roughly 132,000 of its 5 million customers Friday night, each for about an hour, Villegas said. All customers had their power restored by 8 p.m., he said.
“Typically what happens is [the blackouts] will be done in small blocks that include portions of communities, so we don’t shut down a county or something like that,” he said. He said the utility is also careful to avoid cutting off power to critical facilities like hospitals and public safety buildings.
The goal of the controlled shutoffs is to avoid longer and more widespread outages due to equipment failures that can result when high demand overburdens the system, he said. The utility has also deployed emergency management crews throughout its service territory to quickly respond to and repair those types of outages for the duration of the heat wave.
“We totally understand it’s a hardship when you’re without power, especially in this time when options are limited,” Villegas said. “With students being at home now starting school online and people working from home, of course their livelihoods and their education are things that we’re looking at so we’re trying to minimize as best we can interruption to people in their homes.”
Cal ISO also directed San Diego Gas & Electric to implement rotating blackouts Friday night. The utility shut off power to about 58,700 customers in San Diego County and southern Orange County for roughly an hour each, it said.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said its customers were not affected by the statewide blackouts because the department generates, imports and transmits its own electricity and was able to meet the city’s demand.
In fact, the utility, which has never had to implement rolling blackouts due to excess demand, was able to sell 225 megawatts to California ISO between 5 and 9 p.m., spokesman Joe Ramallo said.
Still, he said, the heat strained local power distribution networks, leading to isolated outages unrelated to the statewide rolling blackouts as some equipment became overloaded and failed. About 1,000 of the DWP’s 1.5 million customers were without power as of Saturday morning, most of them in the San Fernando Valley. On Friday night, localized outages were reported in Sunland and Wilmington, Ramallo said.
The problem can be particularly acute during prolonged heat waves like these, when nighttime temperatures don’t drop enough for the electrical equipment to cool down, he said.
“It’s like running your car at 100 mph nonstop and not giving it a break,” Ramallo said. “You’re eventually going to have some problems that pop up, and in this case there will be failed equipment and transformers.”
Officials expressed cautious optimism that they’d be able to get through the next couple days without additional blackouts. The California ISO does not expect to have to order rolling outages for the rest of the weekend, Gonzales said.
“The temperatures are expected to be a bit lower than yesterday and it’s the weekend, so we see a bit less demand,” she said.


latimes--2020-08-16--Rare lightning storms threaten California after 'wild night' sparks multiple Bay Area fires

Rare lightning storms struck the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey Bay region Sunday morning , sparking multiple vegetation fires in Santa Clara , San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties .
There ’ s an elevated risk of fire danger across wide swaths of California on Sunday because of the risk of lightning .
Thunderstorms are also possible across Southern California .
“ Wild night in the San Francisco Bay Area .
This is probably the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm event in memory for Bay Area , & it ’ s also one of the hottest nights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , climate scientist with UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research .
A three-acre wildfire was reported in the area of 20730 Brush Road in the mountains south of Los Gatos in Santa Clara County .
At 3:17 a.m. , the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection tweeted that it was wind-driven and had threatened structures and that , with power lines down , officials were starting evacuations .
Subsequent rain , however , helped to slow the fire ’ s spread .
But elsewhere in the Bay Area , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that ’ s making these lightning storms especially dangerous , in combination with the high winds , Swain tweeted .
Peak gusts of up to 74 mph were reported in the Santa Cruz Mountains , and up to 70 mph in Marin County .
The erratic wind gusts are capable of causing power lines to fall , downing trees and making driving difficult , the National Weather Service said .
“ Remember , if you can hear thunder , you are close enough to be struck by lightning , ” the weather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when thunder roars , go indoors.
” By 4:27 a.m. , Cal-FIRE said firefighters were at the scene of seven vegetation fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties .
California is also suffering through an oppressive heatwave , with records across the state falling for the date .
In Los Angeles County , Woodland Hills hit a high of 112 , breaking the old record of 108 , set in 1977 , and UCLA hit a high of 92 , breaking the record set for the date in 2003 , when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the Bay Area , Napa hit a high of 103 on Saturday , breaking the record of 102 , set in 1906 ; the temperature in Gilroy shot up to 108 , breaking the high for the date set only last year , when the mercury hit 104 .
Downtown Sacramento hit a high temperature on Saturday of 111 degrees , breaking the previous record for the date , last set in 1920 , when the temperature reached 108 degrees .
The searing heat caused power consumption to spike , forcing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday night .
Two brush fires in Southern California continued Saturday to burn thousands of acres , force hundreds of people from their homes and contribute to unhealthy air quality across the region .
Times staff writers Tony Barboza , Jack Dolan , Paul Duginski , Leila Miller and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report .

Lightning is seen in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday.
Rare lightning storms struck the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey Bay region Sunday morning, sparking multiple vegetation fires in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.
There’s an elevated risk of fire danger across wide swaths of California on Sunday because of the risk of lightning. Thunderstorms are also possible across Southern California.
“Wild night in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is probably the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm event in memory for Bay Area, & it’s also one of the hottest nights in years,” tweeted Daniel Swain, climate scientist with UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
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A three-acre wildfire was reported in the area of 20730 Brush Road in the mountains south of Los Gatos in Santa Clara County. At 3:17 a.m., the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection tweeted that it was wind-driven and had threatened structures and that, with power lines down, officials were starting evacuations. Subsequent rain, however, helped to slow the fire’s spread.
But elsewhere in the Bay Area, the thunderstorms seemed mostly to be dry. And that’s making these lightning storms especially dangerous, in combination with the high winds, Swain tweeted. Peak gusts of up to 74 mph were reported in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and up to 70 mph in Marin County.
The erratic wind gusts are capable of causing power lines to fall, downing trees and making driving difficult, the National Weather Service said. “Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning,” the weather service said. Officials say that “when thunder roars, go indoors.”
By 4:27 a.m., Cal-FIRE said firefighters were at the scene of seven vegetation fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.
It most definitely arrived ... @CIRA_CSU imagery impressive for lightning output (hundreds) coupled with strong convective winds #CAwx pic.twitter.com/rpLGoeWK12 — Rob Mayeda (@RobMayeda) August 16, 2020
California is also suffering through an oppressive heatwave, with records across the state falling for the date. In Los Angeles County, Woodland Hills hit a high of 112, breaking the old record of 108, set in 1977, and UCLA hit a high of 92, breaking the record set for the date in 2003, when the high for Aug. 15 was 90 degrees.
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California Coronavirus complicates California’s worst power shortage in two decades People staying home with air conditioners blasting, plus a dearth of power from other states results in the worst statewide energy shortage in nearly 20 years
In the Bay Area, Napa hit a high of 103 on Saturday, breaking the record of 102, set in 1906; the temperature in Gilroy shot up to 108, breaking the high for the date set only last year, when the mercury hit 104.
Downtown Sacramento hit a high temperature on Saturday of 111 degrees, breaking the previous record for the date, last set in 1920, when the temperature reached 108 degrees.
The searing heat caused power consumption to spike, forcing rolling blackouts in parts of California on Saturday night.
Two brush fires in Southern California continued Saturday to burn thousands of acres, force hundreds of people from their homes and contribute to unhealthy air quality across the region.
Times staff writers Tony Barboza, Jack Dolan, Paul Duginski, Leila Miller and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.