California 'Firestorm' Scorched Area Twice the Size of Manhattan in 24 Hours
It's officially one of the most destructive fires in California history. The Valley Fire, which ignited in Northern California on Saturday afternoon, scorched 50,000 acres—an area more than twice the size of Manhattan—within 24 hours, according to Napa Valley Patch. It has since grown to 67,000 acres and is only 15 percent contained.
West Coast @TODAYshow viewers: #ValleyFire now 15% contained w/ 585 homes destroyed. We'll have the latest at 7:00. pic.twitter.com/bh06XzusFm
— Joe Fryer (@joefryer) September 15, 2015
5 hrs after ValleyFire started, gusts climbed to 36mph and the fire spread at incredible rate http://t.co/fae2BIjub8 pic.twitter.com/TXY5170JQB
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) September 14, 2015
“It’s a true firestorm—extremely fast moving, generating its own weather conditions, and burning literally everything in its path,” Daniel Swain, a climate Earth system scientist at Stanford University, told Climate Central. “The Valley Fire is breaking all the rules in the midst of a fire season that had already rewritten the rulebook. What’s going on in Lake County is a direct manifestation of California’s record-breaking drought, and it’s pretty sobering.”
14 photos that show the devastation wrought by California's Valley Fire http://t.co/GsIDzHqYrRpic.twitter.com/lbWfQKAB8X — Mashable (@mashable) September 14, 2015
The Valley Fire has devastated California's Lake County. http://t.co/xVRdJ4eJ5V (Photo: AP) pic.twitter.com/68X2R69j7Q — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 15, 2015
Stoked by high temperatures and strong winds, the devastating fire comes amid the state's epic four-year drought made worse by climate change. Just yesterday, researchers published a study in Nature that found that last winter's snowpack was the lowest in the last 500 years.
This wildfire season has been truly historic with several Western states juggling multiple large wildfires simultaneously. More than 7.5 million acres have burned—an area roughly the size of Massachusetts. Washington saw its largest wildfire on record and the season could still set the record for total acreage burned for the entire country. Wildfires have been getting worse and they are only expected to keep getting worse. Climate Central research shows that "on average, wildfires burn six times the acreage they did 40 years ago, while the annual number of wildfires over 1,000 acres has doubled from 50 during an average year in the 1970s to more than 100 each year since 2002."
The Valley Fire, which spread to Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties, has forced the evacuation of 13,000 residents as an estimated 585 homes and buildings burned and firefighters battled the blazes. At least one person has been killed and four firefighters were injured.
Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in the two counties affected by the Valley Fire, freeing up funding and resources to battle the blaze. The Valley Fire "destroyed homes and buildings as it burned through the town of Middletown, where authorities told NBC News fire hydrants had run dry," reports NBC News. "Explosions could be heard all over town as propane tanks burst into flames, indicating that another building was being engulfed in flames."
Meanwhile, in Amador and Calaveras counties, another large fire, the Butte Fire, has now burned 71,660 acres—forcing the evacuation of 6,000 people and destroying more than 200 homes and buildings. It is currently 37 percent contained.
This is what it sounds like when a 2000 gallon propane tank ignites. #ValleyFire pic.twitter.com/36XDKdwrvN
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBCLA) September 13, 2015
Watch as this driver makes a harrowing drive out of Anderson Springs, California amidst the flames:
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Boletus mushrooms such as these are on the menu at ONA restaurant in Arès, France. Jarry / Tripelon / Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images)
For the first time ever, a vegan restaurant in France has been awarded a coveted Michelin star.
<p>The French edition of the Michelin guide, published Monday, awarded a star to <a href="https://www.clairevallee.com/" target="_blank">ONA</a>. The name stands for Origine Non-Animale, or animal-free origin, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55717253" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. The restaurant is located in Arès, near Bordeaux in southwestern France, and was started by chef Claire Vallée, a 41-year-old former archeologist who became a vegan after a trip to Thailand.</p><p>"[T]his star is mine, it is yours, it is that of the impossible," Vallée wrote in an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMBEB5gvqI/" target="_blank">Instagram post announcing the win</a>. "It brings Vegetable Gastronomy definitively into the closed circle of French and Global Gastronomy."</p><p>The Michelin Guide <a href="https://guide.michelin.com/en/about-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">started in France</a> in the late nineteenth century as a road guide published by the Michelin tire company. Over time, it evolved into a highly respected restaurant review guide, thanks to reviewers who secretly visited them. The hierarchy of one, two or three stars became established by 1936. The Michelin system has since spread abroad, and currently rates more than 30,000 restaurants in at least 30 territories. The guide has awarded stars to vegan restaurants in other countries, BBC News reported, but never before in its place of origin. In addition to the Michelin star, ONA also won a green star, a recognition of ethical practices.</p><p>"It felt like I got hit by a train," Vallée told AFP of the win, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/michelin-awards-star-to-vegan-restaurant-for-the-first-time-in-france" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to an AFP story published in The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Vallée and ONA had a winding road to success. Her first requests for a loan were denied by traditional French banks, who were skeptical of both her chosen location and her menu.<br></p><p>"They said the outlook for veganism and plant-based food was too uncertain," she told AFP.</p><p>Undeterred, Vallée crowdfunded her restaurant, and also obtained a loan from a bank called Le Nef, which funds ethical projects.</p><p>"This goes to show that nothing is impossible," she told AFP.</p>
<p>ONA opened its doors in 2016, according to BBC News. The restaurant offers a seven-dish gourmet menu that uses ingredients such as fir tree, boletus mushrooms and celery. However, it is currently closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>Coronavirus restrictions also made it difficult to publish this year's Michelin guide, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/france-michelin-stars/michelin-guide-offers-crumb-of-comfort-to-frances-covid-hit-chefs-idINKBN29N1ID" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>, as inspectors only had a few weeks to visit restaurants in between lockdowns. The annual guide also comes at a tough time for restaurants.</p><p>"For people who get their first star, in the period that we're suffering through, this will be at least a comfort for them," chef Sylvain Sendra of Paris restaurant Fleur de Pave told Reuters.</p>
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Samples of chocolate, strawberry and taro ice cream in the Chinese city of Tianjin tested positive for coronavirus. Alex Lau / Conde Nast via Getty Images
Ice cream samples in the Chinese municipality of Tianjin have tested positive for traces of the new coronavirus.
<p>The virus showed up in samples of chocolate, strawberry and taro ice cream produced by the Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company that were submitted for inspection, Chinese media reported Friday, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-cream-tianjin-covid-19_n_600215fbc5b697df1a05b059" target="_blank">according to HuffPost</a>.</p><p>"If you have recently purchased this product, please contact the community to report," a government press release read, as <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ice-cream-covid19/" target="_blank">Snopes.com reported</a>. "At present, the traceability of the source of the virus is still in progress."</p>
<p>The press released obtained by Snopes was released on Jan. 15 by the Tianjin Municipal People's Government. It stated that the company had been temporarily shuttered and all of its employees were in quarantine. As of Jan. 14, 700 of the 1,662 employees had tested negative for the virus and the rest were still awaiting their results.</p><p>In total, there were more than 4,800 boxes of contaminated ice cream. Around 2,090 were still in storage, but 2,750 had already shipped. Of those, more than 930 stayed in Tianjin while around 1,800 were sent outside the city, which is close to Beijing.</p>
<p>Government officials said they were working to locate all of the ice cream sold in Tianjin, The Associated Press reported. They also informed authorities in other municipalities where the ice cream was sold. So far, there is no evidence that anyone has been infected by the ice cream.</p><p>The ice cream was made with whey powder imported from Ukraine and milk powder imported from New Zealand.</p><p>University of Leeds virologist Dr. Stephen Griffin told <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-ice-cream-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-in-china-12188761" target="_blank">Sky News</a> that the positive test was probably not cause for alarm.</p><p>"It's likely this has come from a person, and without knowing the details, I think this is probably a one-off," he said.</p>
<p>Griffin speculated that the ice cream probably became infected during the production process or because of poor hygiene at the factory. The ice cream's cold temperature and fat content would then have allowed the virus to survive.</p><p>"We probably don't need to panic that every bit of ice cream is suddenly going to be contaminated with coronavirus," Griffin told Sky.</p><p>SARS, which is related to the new coronavirus, has been shown to survive as an infectious virus up to 28 days at around 39 degrees Fahrenheit, HuffPost pointed out. It also survived for an extended amount of time at colder temperatures.<br></p><p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the risk of contracting the virus from food or food packaging is low. "Currently, there is no evidence that food is associated with spreading the virus that causes COVID-19," the CDC website <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/food-and-COVID-19.html#:~:text=Currently%2C%20there%20is%20no%20evidence%20that%20food%20is%20associated%20with,thought%20to%20be%20very%20low." target="_blank">reads</a>.</p>
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Workers install solar panels on a house near downtown Oakland, California. Grid Alternatives
By Galen Barbose, Eric O'Shaughnessy and Ryan Wiser
Until recently, rooftop solar panels were a clean energy technology that only wealthy Americans could afford. But prices have dropped, thanks mostly to falling costs for hardware, as well as price declines for installation and other "soft" costs.
<p>Today hundreds of thousands of middle-class households across the U.S. are turning to <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/tracking-the-sun" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solar power</a>. But households with incomes below the median for their areas remain less likely to go solar. These low- and moderate-income households face several roadblocks to solar adoption, including cash constraints, low rates of home ownership and language barriers.</p><p>Our <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/income-trends-among-us-residential" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">team of researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a> examined how various policies and business models could affect the likelihood of people at all income levels adopting solar. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00724-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently published study</a>, we analyzed five common solar policies and business models to see whether they attracted lower-income households.</p><p>We found that three scenarios did: offering financial incentives to low- and moderate-income households; leasing solar panels to homeowners; and lending money to buy panels, with the loan repaid on property tax bills. All of these approaches resulted in people at a wider range of income levels trying solar energy.</p>
<h2>Solar Power for Everyone</h2><p>For over a decade our team at the Berkeley lab's <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Electricity Markets and Policy group</a> has kept tabs on trends in the rooftop solar market through our annual report, "<a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/tracking-the-sun" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tracking the Sun</a>." It documents how prices have fallen, and the number of installations has risen in U.S. solar markets.</p><p>Over the past decade rooftop solar power has grown significantly in the U.S., spreading beyond initial hot spots in California and Hawaii to states such as <a href="https://www.seia.org/research-resources/top-10-solar-states-0" target="_blank">North Carolina, Florida and New Jersey</a>. The industry projects that rapid growth will continue for the foreseeable future.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwMTU2OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzgyMTgyMH0.sNBN6gsNwzI9biagSAiT0Ey04xGoJb0dvnzsueOD0lc/img.png?width=980" id="57aac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5698a7f42da3ecf5785eada2c33ac8b9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1276" data-height="644" />
Chart: The Conversation, CC BY-ND. Source: Barbose et al., 2020. Get the data
<p>More recently our researchers have combined this tracking report with data on household-level demographics and income of solar adopters, covering more than 70% of the U.S. residential solar market. Among the research products we've created is an <a href="https://solardemographics.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online interactive tool</a> that shows the demographic characteristics of solar adoption <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/projects/solar-demographics-trends-and-analysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">down to the county level</a>.</p><p>Thanks to these price and growth trends, an increasing number of state and local governments, utilities and businesses want to help lower-income customers go solar. They believe solar will cut energy bills, reduce money spent on bill payment programs, avoid pollution and create green jobs.</p><p>So far, 20 states are offering 38 programs to help lower-income customers go solar. California, the largest, has budgeted over US$1 billion for such programs. A number of utilities and solar developers, like <a href="https://www.posigen.com/" target="_blank">Posigen</a> and <a href="https://gridalternatives.org/" target="_blank">GRID Alternatives</a>, are also developing business models that work for all customers. These initiatives leverage state and federal incentives to deliver free or very low-cost solar to eligible households.</p>
<div id="1fd16" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="81c311df8ff44e84e6820ee7f5f86489"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1318076805048393728" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Donnel Baird's company makes energy-saving updates to buildings almost exclusively in low-income areas. Cutting the… https://t.co/5uWGSVnu9m</div> — NPR (@NPR)<a href="https://twitter.com/NPR/statuses/1318076805048393728">1603088973.0</a></blockquote></div>
<h2>Reducing Upfront Costs</h2><p>In our study we evaluated five policies and business models to see which ones helped low- and moderate-income households go solar:</p><ul><li>Financial incentives targeted at low- and moderate-income households, usually rebates or other incentives to reduce upfront costs.</li><li>Leasing rooftop solar systems, which reduces upfront costs.</li><li>Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, or PACE, which allows customers to finance energy improvements through their property tax payments. Currently, residential PACE is available only in California, Florida and Missouri.</li><li>Financial incentives such as rebates offered to customers of any income level.</li><li>"Solarize" campaigns, in which customers band together in a group purchase to get a good price.</li></ul><p>The study includes data on more than 1 million residential rooftop photovoltaic systems installed on single-family homes in 18 states from 2010 to 2018. We compared modeled household-level income estimates for solar adopters with area median household incomes from U.S. Census data.</p><p>We found that three of the interventions – targeted incentives, leasing and PACE – effectively increased adoption equity. These approaches are boosting sales to low-income customers in existing markets and helping solar companies move into new markets, such as low-income areas where solar sales have been weak or absent.</p><p>Policies that don't address the needs and constraints of low-income households, like the federal income tax credit, have not had much effect on equity. And solarize campaigns are rarely pitched to low-income buyers.</p>
<h2>An Untapped Customer Base</h2><p>When solar expands into new markets and neighborhoods, it can have a spillover impact. If a system is installed in a neighborhood that had no solar before, neighbors who see it will be more likely to adopt it themselves. Moving into new markets may have greater potential effects on low-income adoption rates than reaching lower-income households in existing markets.</p><p>Expanding sales to low- and moderate-income households can also tap a larger base of potential customers. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) found in a study that <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy18osti/70901.pdf" target="_blank">42% of rooftops</a> where solar power could work are on low- and moderate-income housing.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwMTU3My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjE4OTAyNX0.UVbQEoxvTLZCawz6SI2FdRpydlLelnwinJ78iac6p9E/img.jpg?width=980" id="cc3d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bfc6f221c67576352dc4aae047667ed5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="778" />
A 2018 study estimates that installing rooftop solar systems on low- and moderate-income housing could provide up to 42% of all rooftop technical potential in the residential sector and improve energy affordability in low-income communities. NREL
<p>As the solar market grows, decisions to install solar systems are increasingly driven by the prospect of saving money, rather than strictly by green values or buyers' interest in new technologies. A survey led by NREL found that roughly half of people who decided to install solar in California, New Jersey, New York and Arizona in 2014 to 2016 <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/solar/seeds/2014-2016-study.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">identified cost savings as a primary factor in their decision to adopt solar</a>.</p><p>For low- and moderate-income households, the financial benefits of solar power can make a big difference. Many lower-income households carry a large energy burden, meaning that energy and utility costs consume a large share of their income. Across the U.S., low-income households <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-0582-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spend about three times more of their income on energy costs</a> than other households. Solar power can reduce those energy burdens by providing on-site power at a lower cost than grid electricity.</p><p>Making homes more energy efficient is an established strategy for cutting energy bills, but there's growing interest in having solar play a role. Deploying solar power for low- and moderate-income households can be a way to fulfill policy and social goals like creating jobs and improving the environment.</p><p><em>The study described in this article was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office.</em></p>
<p>
<em>Galen Barbose is a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.<br/>
</em><em>Eric O'Shaughnessy is a research consultant at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.<br/>
</em><em>Ryan Wiser is a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statements: Eric O'Shaughnessy is a renewable energy research analyst at Clean Kilowatts, LLC. Ryan Wiser is a board member of the Clean Energy States Alliance. </em><em>Galen Barbose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/cheaper-solar-power-means-low-income-families-can-also-benefit-with-the-right-kind-of-help-151907" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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Lakota spiritual leader Chief Arvol Looking Horse attends a demonstration against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico in front of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 28, 2015. Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden is planning to cancel the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on the first day of his administration, a document reported by CBC on Sunday suggests.
<p>The words "Rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit" were reportedly listed on a briefing note shared by the Biden transition team with U.S. stakeholders as part of a roundup of Biden's planned day one executive actions. <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/america-votes/biden-to-prioritize-blocking-of-keystone-xl-pipeline-extension-1.5270600" target="_blank">CTV News</a> also reviewed the briefing documents, and a source familiar with Biden's thinking told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-keystone/biden-to-cancel-keystone-xl-pipeline-permit-on-first-day-in-office-cbc-idINKBN29N00A" target="_blank">Reuters</a> that the President-elect is planning to cancel the pipeline as one of his first acts.</p><p>"The Biden administration halting the Keystone XL pipeline is a momentous sign that he is listening, taking action and making good on his promises to people and the planet," Kendall Mackey, 350.org Keep It In the Ground campaign manager, <a href="https://350.org/press-release/biden-kxl-executiveorder/" target="_blank">said</a> in response to the news. "This decision to halt the Keystone XL pipeline on day one in office sets a precedent that all permitting decisions must pass a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> test and respect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous-rights" target="_self">Indigenous rights</a>."</p><p>Mackey expressed hope that Biden would also end the equally controversial <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline" target="_self">Dakota Access</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/enbridge-line-3" target="_self">Line 3</a> pipelines.</p><p>The Keystone XL pipeline was first announced in 2005, CBC News reported. The pipeline is being built to carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day, stretching about 1,200 miles from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska. From there it would connect with the original Keystone pipeline that carries oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.</p>
<p>The pipeline has long been opposed by environmental and Indigenous groups, who are concerned about its climate impacts and the potential for leaks to harm <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> and pollute <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" target="_self">drinking water</a>, CTV News reported. Protests prompted the Obama administration to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/breaking-president-obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline-1882117930.html" target="_self">rescind the permit in 2015</a>, but President Donald Trump reversed this decision with an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-dakota-access-pipeline-2211697835.html" target="_self">executive order</a> in early 2017.</p><p>Biden's decision to once again rescind the permit is not surprising. His advisers have said in the past that he would move to block it again, according to <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-keystone-xl-pipeline-permit_n_60051931c5b6efae62f9d263" target="_blank">HuffPost</a>. Biden's campaign has vocally opposed the pipeline since May, according to CTV News.</p><p>The news has sparked opposition in Canada.</p><p>"I am deeply concerned by reports that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden may repeal the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL border crossing next week," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jkenney/status/1350957580106006533/photo/1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Doing so would kill jobs on both sides of the border, weaken the critically important Canada-U.S. relationship and undermine U.S. national security by making the United States more dependent on OPEC oil imports in the future."</p>
<p>Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., said the country still stood behind the pipeline and that it fit within Canada's climate plans, CBC News reported.</p><p>"The Government of Canada continues to support the Keystone XL project and the benefits that it will bring to both Canada and the United States," Hillman said.</p><p>Meanwhile, in a bid to make the project more appealing to Biden, owner TC Energy announced a plan on Sunday to reach zero emissions by 2030, hire union workers, sign Indigenous equity partners and install a $1.7 billion solar, wind and battery-powered operating system for the pipeline.</p><p>However, Canadian environmental groups and parties were pleased with the news.</p>
<p>"This is what true climate leadership looks like," Annamie Paul, leader of the federal Green Party, told CTV News.</p><p>Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada, urged Canadians to follow suit and move away from the pipeline, which he likened to "beating [a] dead horse," CBC News reported.</p><p>"The Biden administration offers us a fresh start on addressing the climate crisis with a willing partner, so let's not blow it by pushing pipelines," Stewart said.</p>
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A plume of smoke from wildfires burning in the Angeles National Forest is seen from downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 29, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
California is bracing for rare January wildfires this week amid damaging Santa Ana winds coupled with unusually hot and dry winter weather.
<p>High winds, gusting up to 80- to 90 miles per hour in some parts of the state, are expected to last through Wednesday evening. Nearly the entire state has been in a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought">drought</a> for months, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which, alongside summerlike temperatures, has left vegetation dry and flammable.</p>
<p>Utilities Southern California Edison and PG&E, which serves the central and northern portions of the state, warned it may preemptively shut off power to <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video/5210115-windy-day-leads-to-power-outages-across-socal/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9JllK1SZVMaOyTcSPMtz2yTJMEzjA1-ewH0jlXS8ErQfBGoYoUQzLkgsQ2XdiSXPB__KPOEPr6jKlzvPlIHE-DRQks1w&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hundreds of thousands of customers</a> to reduce the risk of electrical fires sparked by trees and branches falling on live power lines. The rare January fire conditions come on the heels of the <a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/top_story/us-wildfire-record/?swcfpc=1&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8J34_XzeF9edIHUyWCob9FzH21HcdNtnGEzKe57FhbzP1j06o2GW8tHYO1xN1bTsoE4CtXCt9eZX9OTs0VazLQF-EdXw&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">worst wildfire season ever recorded in California</a>, as climate change exacerbates the factors causing fires to be more frequent and severe.</p>
<p>California is also experiencing the most severe surge of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with hospitals and ICUs over capacity and a stay-at-home order in place. Wildfire smoke can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/covid-19/reduce_exposure_to_wildfire_smoke_covid-19.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8pwsakJDXRpqNUYp2rUNBxpRo6yWEGZWgqUDq0B3umewiF90tjbzeY8jzM7OGOp3JavCAnHMGKSiwcLSzXisrxrDvNSA&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase the risk</a> of adverse health effects due to COVID, and evacuations forcing people to crowd into shelters could further spread the virus. </p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/widespread-high-winds-to-rattle-california-raise-wildfire-danger/884509?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Eax-LVSHD77m31Q-7Uuc8YeOXmdnOVHbYcDVQEHXlJj0O_xrW2EyGYPCtTbzR77x96FRkz9ZfUcFKg0fKaniMj94SJA&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">AccuWeather</a>:</p><blockquote>In the atmosphere, air flows from high to low pressure. The setup into Wednesday is like having two giant atmospheric fans working as a team with one pulling and the other pushing the air in the same direction.<br></blockquote><blockquote>Normally, mountains to the north and east of Los Angeles would protect the downtown which sits in a basin. However, with the assistance of the offshore storm, there will be areas of gusty winds even in the L.A. Basin. The winds may get strong enough in parts of the basin to break tree limbs and lead to sporadic power outages and sparks that could ignite fires.</blockquote><blockquote>"Typically, Santa Ana winds stay out of downtown Los Angeles and the L.A. Basin, but this time, conditions may set up just right to bring 30- to 40-mph wind gusts even in those typically calm condition areas," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.</blockquote>
<p> <strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/mountains-fires-california-wildfires-8ba368f1df8f3b8b86cd4383fb07d3e2?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_2TsBvEuOAjOUeIXd5QR7BG1qL_yPgPNfHrgmk1VzhBRLtsAY0SxGZofngcMaFvqzffLIkaA_Y5DqRkmXeYqVU_FKVyQ&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AP</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-16/strong-potentially-damaging-winds-possible-for-l-a-region-early-next-week-forecasters-say?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9UI-jgYPhwU5v-5DrnU5pOlW3eMYXNzTE5NEqI7vFqstbf8QHFdViaothnL4Mygy9w_j-qHEwqNAjicAzbotGbguPB9w&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LA Times</a>, <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Fire-weather-in-January-Red-flag-warning-coming-15879766.php?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8-1w5paD4uknirx8pjc5dFWN0wwlFwy3JAA1K0JzJpgQbaDFWAxz7LkSRHD9YJPFuAnBar3w1sxgdqHsreRk8qgvfzWg&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/01/18/los-angeles-high-winds-wildfires/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8HEUcGj2kafFgLH0pfa_nZcE2SfFK81KjUTDmZFX5Ula889Ce3j7wPMGbwjzpspDzFxHeOo6fMlCGV3wPQIONKox0pyA&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>, <a href="https://weather.com/news/news/2021-01-18-california-high-winds-impacts-power-shutoffs?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8am47ZGT4AXeHDSux4Qe5BYM0CPpYZUUu9o4umO9MwD-FeAhgda_Z3wpikOFfZ-AHKreYOneNPaa1kCR09tjgzkXWSDg&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Weather Channel</a>, <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/widespread-high-winds-to-rattle-california-raise-wildfire-danger/884509?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Eax-LVSHD77m31Q-7Uuc8YeOXmdnOVHbYcDVQEHXlJj0O_xrW2EyGYPCtTbzR77x96FRkz9ZfUcFKg0fKaniMj94SJA&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AccuWeather</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/realestate/california-wildfires-rebuild.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--7pE4Jx7sSztHhqcJfdQkj7RR25etHYD7zb8PaTYkfNTpmF6w4E5Ze8hkm64Pk7kPTVt9jXUSg2FXnf0JCTkrOYMosEA&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, Slideshow: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2021/01/15/realestate/california-wildfires-housing.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uC-_9KXNyR0mHuU2fz6-EwNsNTmRwH0ULGVFeXjtbQxTbLI6lXG5HKOqhhSdp9zwd_yE2r52o6n0_FMC2Qi9PAHSzsQ&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York Times</a>; Climate Signals Background: <a href="https://www.climatesignals.org/climate-change-wildfires?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8osQfRMRxXDwJ3trP4wTKPA-Zk7vfEugJXrCJZ2g2rdaxsUYl75_F-t27gOEEobPTTPR2dQnUt9Se3KdPrCUtv5lapLg&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Wildfires</a>, <a href="https://www.climatesignals.org/node/10048?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=107179902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Xo0epd5mwYleW7xliwO7gmsg7yA6dHJNBJfmINkX2Edh4XQ-oMAhx-xrgNKq9d_B31Xl3j5uTWMKH2LRxDU5jawBP9Q&utm_content=107179902&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2020 Western wildfire season</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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