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Northern California Wildfire Updates: Moc Fire Fully Contained, LNU And SCU Complexes Still Growing

in Around California

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Cal Fire released multiple updates on wildfires burning throughout the Northern California region, including the large and destructive LNU and SCU lightning complex wildfires and the Moc Fire that caused evacuations in Tuolumne County.

The Moc Fire, which began burning in Mocassin in the area of Highway 49 and Highway 120 nearly two weeks ago, reached 100% containment at 2,857 acres, Cal Fire said.

Two structures were destroyed in the fire and a total of 686 personnel were assigned to the firefight, Cal Fire said.

Tuolumne County Sheriff Bill Pooley said that withing the fire’s first six hours of burning, it erupted from 3 to 1,700 acres.

Continue Reading on Sacramento CBS local

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Trump administration halts closure of California meatpacking plant despite eight COVID-19 deaths

in People

The Trump administration intervened last week to postpone the closure of a poultry processing plant in California that had been ordered closed by local health officials after at least 392 workers tested positive for COVID-19 and eight died of the disease.

Last Thursday, Merced County public health officials ordered that the Foster Farms plant in Livingston, California, be closed within 12 hours, but the order was suspended following the direct intervention of the administration through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a result, Foster Farms has forced the plant’s roughly 2,500 workers to remain on the job, with the complicity if not outright support of the Democratic Party and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union.

Immediately following the initial public health announcement, Foster Farms emailed its workforce ordering workers to report to work that evening. Then, following a call from USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Dr. Mindy Brashears on behalf of the Trump administration, public health officials announced a 48-hour delay in the shutdown. The decision was supported by Democratic Livingston Mayor Gurpal Samra, who backed Foster Farms’ assertion that the initial shutdown time window was not sufficient.

Continue Reading on World Socialist Web Site

Wildfires continue to burn in coastal range

in Environment

Wildfires continued to burn through the hills and canyons of the coastal mountain range overlooking the West Side earlier this week.

The SCU Lightning Complex, which includes the Canyon Zone fire that started in Del Puerto Canyon Aug. 16, has grown to be one of the largest wildfires in California history.

As of Tuesday morning, the complex had burned nearly 364,000 acres in Stanislaus, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda, Merced and San Benito counties, according to Cal Fire, and was only 15 percent contained.

The Canyon Zone is the largest of the three fire zones which comprise the SCU Lightning Fire Complex.

Continue Reading on West Side Connect

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Stanislaus County experiences spike in fentanyl-related deaths

in Health

STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — A family and addiction doctor in Stanislaus County is warning residents about fentanyl-laced pain medication after the county has seen a spike in deaths.

The Modesto Police Department reports that since January the county has seen at least 20 deaths compared to just six last year.

“The color, the imprint, the scoring, everything’s the same,” said Dr. Vikram Khanna.

The little blue pills are made to look and feel like real oxycodone, but Khanna said what may look like pain medication may really be laced with fentanyl.

Continue Reading on Fox 40

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Crews Making Progress On Northern California Mega Fires

in Environment

Stanislaus County, CA — Containment is growing on a trio of lightning complex fires, two of which have each burned over 350,000 acres.

The SCU Complex Fire is 365,772 acres and 25-percent contained. It is located in the Bay Area and Central Valley. The series of lightning fires, grouped as one incident, is burning throughout the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus.

To the north, the LNU Lightning Complex Fire has burned 357,046 acres and is 33-percent contained. It is burning in the counties of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Yolo and Solano.

The CZU Lightning Fire, burning in the Santa Cruz mountains and parts of San Mateo County is 79,640 acres and is 19-percent contained.

Continue Reading on My Mother Lode

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Stanislaus farm income in 2019 was solid though not spectacular.

in Food

Stanislaus County on Tuesday reported about $3.6 billion in gross farm income last year, up slightly from 2018.

The report is a reminder of agriculture’s strength amid a COVID-19 pandemic that has made a mess of the 2020 economy in general.

Almonds once again were the top-grossing farm product in 2019, followed by milk, chickens, cattle and nurseries that grow fruit and nut trees.

Milton O’Haire, the county agricultural commissioner, unveiled the report at the morning meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

He stressed, as usual, that the document does not account for farm production costs, and thus for profit or loss.

Continue Reading on The Modesto Bee

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Weekly dinners keep America Legion afloat amid pandemic

in People

Vietnam veteran and Turlock resident John Haggstrom has been cooking dinners in the American Legion Hall’s kitchen for 50 years, but none have been more important to the organization than those he’s hosting these days to raise funds during the coronavirus pandemic.

Turlock’s American Legion Rex Ish Post 88 is a haven for local veterans and community members alike, serving as a gathering place for not only those who have fought in our nation’s wars, but also as a space where birthday parties are held, weddings are celebrated and organizations can convene. Haggstrom has been an American Legion member for 54 years, he said, and the state shutdown due to COVID-19 has put the group’s mission of “continuing to serve America” at risk.

Through community outreach, veteran support and monetary donations, the American Legion makes it a point to give back to the communities they’ve already served in uniform. Post 88 previously made a majority of its funds through their beer booth, or “fun booth,” as Haggstrom refers to it, at the Stanislaus County Fair. One year the organization earned just over $100,000 in beer sales alone, but now that annual revenue is gone with the fair’s cancellation.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

Turlock businesses help feed fire evacuees

in Food

While smokey air and raining ash are the only ramifications of statewide fires suffered in Turlock over the past week, local business owners have taken it upon themselves to help the Salvation Army feed evacuees.

As the MOC Fire burns in Tuolumne County, evacuees settled into Mariposa hotels in recent days and anxiously awaited news on their homes. They didn’t have to worry about where their next meal would come from, however, as Turlock/Modesto Salvation Army Volunteer Coordinator Megan Patterson took to social media in search of businesses that were willing to donate food.

After posting a plea on the popular Facebook page Turlock To Go, the donations began pouring in. Restaurants and businesses that have helped so far include: Vito’s Ristorante & Pizzeria, Olde Tyme Pastries, MOD Pizza, Chong’s Cuisine, Willie’s Pizza and Wings, Village Fresh Market, Savor Charcuterie, Crumbl Cookies and Kraving Kebab Pizza. Local church group Hilmar Helping Hands has also contributed, as have local residents Chelsi Knowles of Cost Less Market, Lori Crivelli and Lana Casey.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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Here’s what will be required of Stanislaus County schools in order to re-open campuses

in Education

School districts in Stanislaus County have a lot of work to do before any reopen elementary schools for classroom instruction during the coronavirus pandemic.

First, an adjusted rate of infection in the county has to fall to a level where districts are eligible for waivers to reopen elementary schools for kindergarten to sixth grade students while the county remains on the state’s COVID-19 watch list.

And the numbers have not reached that level yet. Though they are falling.

The county’s rate dropped from 272 per 100,000 population to 244.5 per 100,000, as of Monday. The California Department of Public Health says the waivers to reopen elementary schools can be considered when the infection rate is 200 per 100,000 or lower.

Continue Reading on The Modesto Bee

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At least 8 released inmates were held at Turlock hotel for California’s Project Hope

in People

TURLOCK, Calif. — Stanislaus County officials confirmed at least eight inmates were held at the Candlewood Suites in Turlock as part of California’s “Project Hope.”

Project Hope is a state-funded program for inmates being released from prison during the coronavirus pandemic. It allows both state parolees and those released on Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) to quarantine or isolate in a hotel upon their release from prison.

Mark Ferriera, chief probation officer for Stanislaus County, told ABC10 that the Turlock hotel was the only Project Hope location in the county. It has seen eight inmates on PRCS held there from April to August 21, all of whom Ferriera said had their last residence in Stanislaus County.

Ferriera said inmates on PRCS are supervised by the county while, generally, those who committed serious or violent offenses are overseen by State Parole. The type of supervision the released inmate gets is based on the offense that put them in prison.

Continue Reading on ABC 10

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