Firefighters continuing to work on the August Complex, but switching management teams on the South Zone. The US Forest Service reported several thousand more acres burned on the Complex yesterday, now gaining on 863,000 acres across all three of its zones. The entire Complex is 38 percent contained, that number down 1% from a day before. The fire is sprawling, burning a huge swatch of land on the Mendocino National Forest and also spreading onto the Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests. Fire officials say they’re trying to bolster containment lines, taking out trees, finding smoldering hot spots and continue to manage containment lines near structures. They’re also reinforcing dozer lines north and west of Pillsbury Ranch where there are still mandatory evacuation orders. Today there will be a new management team on the South Zone.
Congressman Mike Thompson is having another of his virtual town halls related to the COVID-19 pandemic. His next, is next Thursday, Oct. 1st at 7 pm. This time around, his special guest is Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. She’s the chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. The two will discuss the congressional response to the pandemic. Lake Co News reports this is the 15th in the Congressman’s series of town halls on the pandemic. It’s held over Zoom and Congressman Thompson’s Facebook page. He represents the state’s 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital has had an outbreak of Covid-19 in its medical surgical unit so patients are being quarantined. Apparently the patients were exposed by a hospital employee, so they’re being isolated within the unit. The Press Democrat reports an official with the National Union of Healthcare Workers says there are 19 patients quarantining. The hospital CEO says it’s out of an abundance of caution and the patients are at low risk. He also says a new case popped up at the hospital in an employee but it was unrelated to an outbreak in August when 26 employees and less than five patients were infected.
There’s a new chancellor for the California State University system, the first person of color to ascend to the position. Fresno State President Joseph Castro was named as the 8th chancellor on Wednesday by the board of trustees. He’s also the first native of California, first Mexican-American and first CSU president who got the job. He will replace the retiring Chancellor Timothy White in January. And Castro says he went after the job due to the pandemic because the system needs a strong leader. The Governor weighed in saying he has an extraordinary record. Castro also says he’s already talking to legislative leaders and Gov. Newsom.
The state’s health and human services secretary says flu season is close and since that could overwhelm hospitals, he’s urging flu shots. Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly says if there’s a severe flu season this fall and winter it could overwhelm California hospitals even as the state sees progress in Covid-19 infection rates. Health officials are recommending all Californians six months and up should get a flu shot this year. California has reported almost 791,000 confirmed cases, the most in the country.
Get ready for a new set of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). PG&E reports several thousand people in Northern Calif. could lose their power this weekend. The utility company says they notified their customers yesterday afternoon of the possibility. They could start to power people down tomorrow night depending on the forecast. But right now it looks like hot and dry conditions with fast moving wind is coming. And that can trigger power downs to prevent the utility company’s equipment from starting wildfires. The utility company giving warnings hours before and says they’ll be in touch at least once a day during the PSPS event, and it’ll take about 12 hours to get the power back on, once they have an all clear.
Nail Salons get to reopen across the state even in Purple Tier counties. The state health dept. says beauty industry representatives have kept in touch with them on protocols for opening indoors. The nail salons had been blamed on high coronavirus transmission rates so they could only be open outdoors. Many opened outside under tents and in parking lots. There was an outcry after hair salons and barber shops were allowed to open, but not nail salons. The state health and human services secretary says since case and hospital rates are down, it was a good sign to allow other businesses to reopen.
Yosemite National Park is reopening. After shutting down due to smoky conditions, the national park announced they’ll allow visitors in this morning. They had closed last week due to smoke from the Creek Fire which brought unhealthy air, at hazardous levels to the area. There were closed roads that reopened last Sunday to through traffic only. You will need a day use reservation to go into the park and for campsites, you can book online. You can also check the status of the roads into the park there. The Creek Fire is burning northeast of Fresno and has charred more than 291,000 acres and is 34% contained. Officials in the National Park say they’re continuing to monitor air quality and are keeping in touch with local and federal public health experts on smoke impacts.
Board Supervisor John Hashak and his wife, Janice, both long time teachers are retiring from their teaching jobs. The Willits News reports after 50 years of combined service for each, they’re hanging up their hats. The two have each taught different subjects throughout their careers, John for 18 years at Willits High in Foreign languages, English Language, History and more. He also has taught elementary and middle school. Janice has taught at Blosser Lane for 21 years, leading classes in English Language, and also taught history classes at Willits High.
The Mendocino County Grand Jury mandated to be a watchdog of sorts for the workings of government, writing up a report on the Parlin Fork Fire Work Group. High marks for the group in its report from back in February after a site visit. The district is located in the Jackson State Demonstration Forest on Highway 20 and is part of the state Department of Corrections and Rehab managed by correctional officers and operated with Cal Fire. It’s also the oldest conservation camp in Northern California. It helps inmates learn new skills and serve the community. The visit before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. The Grand Jury reported the camp looked to be managed well and there was a dedicated staff who were to be commended for maintenance and being positive role models for inmates.
Fire weather watches this weekend so PG&E triggering public safety power shutoffs. Watch for the National Weather Service to issue weather warnings for most of Northern California this weekend and parts of Southern California next week as temperatures get to triple digits is some areas. Pacific Gas & Electric telling their customers to be prepared with fire weather, comes intentional power downs to prevent their equipment from catching on fire and spreading. Tens of thousands of people have already been warned their power could be off for at least two nights in high fire-risk conditions. PG&E says they will inspect their lines, then re-energize them, and that could take 12 hours. There are more than 2 dozen major wildfires burning in the state including the August Complex, the largest in state history. The US Forest Service reports the fire has charred nearly 870,000 acres and is still under 40% contained. The strongest winds are expected tomorrow into Sunday.
The Governor has signed Assemblyman Jim Wood’s bill into law so pharmacists can administer the COVID-19 vaccine once we get one approved that is proven effective by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Assemblyman Wood says as we’re getting ready for the approval, it’s critical to be prepared to deliver it to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Pharmacists have long been administering flu and other routine vaccinations. Wood says if we want our children to go back to school and if we want to get back to work and together with friends and family, we’ve got to make sure all Californians have access to an FDA-approved and effective vaccine as soon as it’s available.
The new incident management team has taken over the massive South Zone of the August Complex Fire. The total acreage on the fire is nearly 870,000 acres and it’s 40% contained. The US Forest Service says crews continue to make progress in the Pillsbury Lake area, mopping up after successful firing operations earlier this week. And other crews are working on firelines in the Elk Creek drainage and the Sanhedrin Wilderness to prevent further fire spread to the west. As we’ve been reporting, the east side of the South Zone is fully contained. It’s being monitored to make sure it stays that way. There are still Evacuation Orders in the South Zone for areas of both Mendocino and Lake Counties.
A Christian school in Ukiah has reopened. The Ukiah Junior Academy which is located in a local vineyard has children back in class. The Principal Rick Nelson says they were worried long periods of isolation away from school would be harmful to students’ psychological well-being and says they felt a reopening was necessary. Nelson says they put protocols in place to keep children safe. They were able to open after being cleared by the county health department and sending a waiver to the state health department. They have students from kindergarten through sixth grade at in-person classes; seventh-through tenth grades are distance learning until further notice.
