top
Central Valley
Central Valley
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Wed Nov 14 2018 (Updated 12/01/18)
Fire Season of 2018 Brings Historic Devastation
Investigators Looking into Role Played by PG&E and Southern California Edison in Fires
The isolated mountain town of Paradise, California, approximately 15 miles from Chico, is now in smoldering ruins, with thousands of homes, businesses and vehicles destroyed. The nearby community of Concow was also similarly destroyed. Eighty-eight people who did not survive the smoke and fire have been found thus far. The number of lives lost is expected to rise as more structures and vehicles are searched. Many of the remains are discovered in cars along escape routes. Because of the high intensity of the fire, most are unidentifiable. Hundreds of people remain missing; the fire is almost completely contained.

The cause of the Camp Fire is under investigation. Fire department radio transmissions suggest that the utility monopoly Pacific Gas and Electric could be to blame. PG&E has a history of negligence leading to deaths. In 2010 a massive gas explosion in a suburban neighborhood in San Bruno, California killed eight people. The utility company may be able to defray the cost of its negligence by up-charging consumers, meaning the public may end up paying for PG&E's negligence.

In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire has reached 100% containment, but killed at least three people, destroyed hundreds of structures, and consumed nearly 100,000 acres. The massive Woolsey Fire started on the grounds of Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL/Rocketdyne), the site of a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959, and area residents are concerned about the spread of contaminates. Southern California Edison is being investigated by state regulators for its possible role.

As the state burned, California anxiously awaited the first winter rains, seeking reprieve from the notoriously destructive "fire season" of 2018. With heavy rains finally beginning on November 21, the Camp Fire, Woolsey, and other wildfires are now either mostly contained or fully extinguished, and the hazardous air quality the fires created throughout the state has been cleared.

Read More: photo Public Risks from the Woolsey Fire and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory: A Letter to DTSC | Down In Smoke SF | photo Woolsey Fire Burns Toxic Santa Susana Reactor Site | photo City of Santa Cruz Announces Park Closures | photo UCSC Students Initiate Petition to Close Campus Due to Poor Air Quality | photo Thousands of Prisoner Firefighters Combating Wildfires in California | photo Camp Fire: Hundreds Missing in Most Deadly and Destructive Wildfire in California History | photo Massive Woolsey Fire Began On Contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Close to Site of Partial Meltdown | photo Woolsey Fire Burns Nuclear Meltdown Site that State Toxics Agency Failed to Clean Up | California Fire Near Nuclear Accident Site
2024-02-09 Catholic Anti-Choice Marchers Get an Earful from Abortion Rights Activists in San Francisco Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | Womyn | San Francisco | South Bay | U.S.2024-01-10 Wall of Shipping Containers Intended to Keep the Public Out of People's Park Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | East Bay | California2023-12-08 Largest Ever Pro-Palestine Marches in NorCal Demand End to US Aid for Israel's War on Gaza Front Page | Anti-War | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2023-10-31 Three Activists Detained at Climate Protest for Crossing Beale Air Force Base Gate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Anti-War | Central Valley | California | U.S.2023-09-29 California Climate Justice Actions in Coordination with Massive New York City March Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California2023-08-19 Environmentalists Speak Out Against Airport Expansion as Climate Disasters Accelerate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | East Bay2023-08-12 Starbucks Bus Tour Stops in San Francisco, Rallies with Allies to Support Unionization Front Page | Labor & Workers | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S.2023-07-19 Halt to Fossil Fuel Funding Demanded as Wells Fargo Operations Shut Down Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | San Francisco | U.S.2023-07-13 Demonstrations Wrack France, Boiling Over After Police Murder of Youth Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | LGBTI / Queer | International | Government & Elections | Immigrant Rights2023-07-02 A Call for Pride to Return to its Roots as a Riot in Defense of LGBTQ+ Rights Health, Housing & Public Services | LGBTI / Queer | Womyn | San Francisco2023-05-31 Reactionary "Street Art" Campaign Backed by Billionaire Michael Moritz Targeted by Graffiti Artists Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Drug War | Arts + Action | San Francisco
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$80.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network