Important Takeaways:
- California Democrats are “crazy” for passing a progressive legislature that would give illegal immigrants up to $150,000 in first-time homeownership, officials said.
- The bill, AB 1840, would require the California Housing Finance Authority’s home purchase assistance program, or California Dream for All Program, to include illegal immigrants’ applications.
- The bill cleared the state Senate on Tuesday.
- In a statement to Fox News Digital, California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City argued that the legislation would exacerbate the border crisis, the housing crisis and the high cost of living in the Golden State.
- “I didn’t know it was possible to make the border crisis and the housing crisis worse with just one vote, but Democrats found a way,” Gallagher said. “Giving taxpayer-funded housing subsidies to illegal immigrants will drive costs even higher and encourage more chaos at the border.”
- “This is crazy, and it needs to stop,” he said.
- The California Dream for All program passed despite funds running out just 11 days after being instituted in June, which was awarded to 1,700 first-time homebuyers at the time.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has not said whether he will sign the bill into law if it clears the legislature before the Aug. 31 deadline.
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Important Takeaways:
- Los Angeles earthquake follows cluster of California temblors: ‘Almost don’t believe it’
- A magnitude 4.4 earthquake rumbled underneath Los Angeles on Monday, less than a week after a bigger one jolted much of Southern California.
- The U.S. Geological Survey placed the epicenter of Monday’s quake near the Highland Park neighborhood in the city’s northeast and three miles from Pasadena, California, site of the New Year’s Day Rose Parade. The tremor, which struck about 12:20 p.m. PT, was felt as far north as Bakersfield, California, and further south in San Diego, both more than 100 miles from Los Angeles.
- “No significant infra/structure damage or injuries have been noted within the city”, the Los Angeles Fire Department said after conducting a survey.
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Important Takeaways:
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will start to redirect money from cities and counties that don’t show “demonstrable results” in reducing homelessness.
- Newsom made pointed comments Thursday criticizing some local jurisdictions for not doing enough despite the “unprecedented resources” the state has provided.
- The Democratic governor’s order followed a US Supreme Court decision in June that ruled in favor of an Oregon city that ticketed homeless people for sleeping outside
- Newsom said his order emphasizes working with local service providers to get people resources and doesn’t mention citations. “This is not about criminalization. What’s criminal, is neglecting people who are struggling and suffering and dying on our watch”
- “This is not one of those political things,” Newsom said. “This is a sincerely held belief that we need local government to step up. This is a crisis, act like it.”
- Money could start being redirected in January when the state starts forming its budget proposals, Newsom said.
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Important Takeaways:
- After starting as a 25-acre wildland fire in El Dorado County early on Wednesday morning the Crozier Fire is now among the five largest active wildland fires in California.
- The fire is burning in the Swansboro/Mosquito area of El Dorado County, about 14.5 miles northeast of Placerville and around 60 miles east of Sacramento.
- As fire crews enter the third day of battling the Crozier Fire in El Dorado County, the fire saw a second night of large growth.
- The Crozier Fire gained 123 acres through Thursday night and is now being mapped at 1,705 acres.
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Important Takeaways:
- After starting as a 25-acre wildland fire in El Dorado County early on Wednesday morning the Crozier Fire is now among the 10 largest active wildland fires in California.
- Uncommonly strong winds for the area and continued hot and dry conditions have allowed the fire to rapidly grow in size within its first day.
- The Crozier Fire has now burned 1,187 acres with 5% containment. The fire had grown by 481 acres between 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
- In their morning report, CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit says the fire is burning in an area of heavy timber, thick brush and that is proving difficult to access.
- After the Crozier Fire grew by an additional 135 acres overnight, CAL FIRE has also increased the evacuation warning zones.
- California’s sixth-largest active fire grew overnight from 571 acres to 706. That is an increase of 135 acres.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Park Fire is now the fourth largest wildfire to ever tear across California.
- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Friday morning that the fire has grown to 397,629 acres and is only about a quarter contained
- At least 540 structures, including homes, have been destroyed
- Cal Fire said this week that as of Tuesday, wildfire activity is 2,816% higher than last year for the same time period.
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Important Takeaways:
- The largest wildfire in the U.S. swelled to over 600 square miles (1,550 square kms) on Tuesday night, bigger than the city of Los Angeles, fire officials in California said, as thousands of firefighters battled the blaze in a wilderness area north of Sacramento.
- More than 5,500 firefighters from across California and other states were working around the clock to douse the Park Fire, burning in the state’s Central Valley, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Sacramento, the capital.
- The fire grew to 386,764 acres (156,517 hectares), becoming the fifth largest wildfire in Californian history, officials said.
- The Park Fire on Tuesday surpassed the size of the 2020 Creek Fire in Fresno County, which burned almost 380,000 acres (153,780 hectares), fire officials said. But it is still smaller than the state’s largest fire on record, the August Complex fire of 2020, which burned more than 1 million acres (404,685 hectares) in seven counties in northern California.
- The Park Fire – fueled by dry grass, brush and timber – is fast-moving, said Fire Capt. Dan Collins of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or Cal Fire.
- “This fire has lots of fuel that is receptive to burning, and it’s hard to get to,” he said. “Our fire line is 260 miles (673 kms) around, that’s the size of three Lake Tahoes. It can take two-three hours to get personnel in there over the terrain.”
- The National weather service says no rain is in sight this week, and hot and extremely dry weather will prevail, he said.
- Temperatures will reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8°C) on Wednesday and highs could hover at that level until next Monday, he said, with relative humidity dropping to as low as 7%.
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Important Takeaways:
- A magnitude 4.9 earthquake followed by several strong aftershocks shook Southern California early Monday afternoon.
- According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at 1 p.m., with the epicenter roughly 13 miles northeast of Barstow in San Bernardino County. The impact was felt across a wide swath of Southern California, including metropolitan Los Angeles and northern San Diego County.
- The USGS initially measured the quake as a 5.1 magnitude but quickly downgraded it to 4.9. It was followed by several significant aftershocks measuring 3.5 and 2.7.
- There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
- Thousands of earthquakes are recorded in California each year, but the vast majority are extremely minor. According to the USGS, only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15 to 20 are greater than magnitude 4.0.
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Important Takeaways:
- Northern California’s Park Fire has surpassed 368,000 acres burned as evacuation orders affect four counties—Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas.
- Cal Fire reported that containment remained at 12% as of Monday morning. The Park Fire is the largest wildfire in the state so far this year and the sixth-largest wildfire in California history, burning 368,256 acres as of Monday morning, Cal Fire reports.
- The fire has scorched an area more than five times the size of the city of Sacramento.
- …spreading at a rapid rate of 4,000 to 5,000 acres per hour on Friday. Most of the burn area was in Tehama County with the flames spreading north toward Shasta County
- 4,200 residents are under evacuation.
- As of Sunday evening, 100 structures have been destroyed and crews expect this number to fluctuate in the coming days.
- The Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday they had arrested a man suspected of starting the fire. As detailed by the DA’s office, a man was seen pushing a car that was on fire down into the gully near Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park — allegedly spreading the flames that would become the Park Fire.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Park Fire started Wednesday afternoon in a park and grew from about 6,400 acres late Wednesday night to 45,550 acres Thursday morning, then topped 164,000 acres — some 256 square miles — Friday morning, Cal Fire said. Containment had been at 3%, but it fell to zero percent.
- Cal Fire arson investigators have arrested a 42-year-old Chico man on suspicion of starting the blaze, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced. Officials later identified the suspect as Ronnie Dean Stout II.
- His arrest followed reports of a man seen pushing a burning car into a gully at around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the upper part of Bidwell Park, where the blaze broke out, the district attorney said. The car slid 60 feet down an embankment and went up in flames completely, sparking the Park Fire.
- Ramsey said the man was then seen calmly leaving the area among other residents who fled as the fire rapidly grew.
- The Park Fire is currently the largest, but far from the only, wildfire burning in California. And farther north, in Oregon, the Durkee Fire grew so large and powerful it created its own weather.
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