NATION
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 9A
70,000 in Southern California to evacuate after blaze grows
By Christopher Weber
and Olga R. Rodriguez
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A
fast-moving wildfi re forced
evacuation orders for 70,000
people in Southern Cali-
fornia on Monday, Oct. 26,
as powerful winds across
the state prompted power
to be cut to hundreds of
thousands to prevent utility
equipment from sparking
new blazes.
The smoky fi re exploded
in size to over 6 square
miles within a few hours of
breaking out around dawn
in Orange County, south
of Los Angeles. Strong
gusts pushed fl ames along
brushy ridges in Silverado
Canyon and near houses in
the sprawling city of Irvine,
home to about 280,000
residents. There was no
containment.
Two fi refi ghters, one 26
and the other 31, were crit-
ically injured while bat-
tling the blaze, according to
the county’s fi re authority,
which didn’t provide
details on how the injuries
occurred. They each suf-
fered second- and third-de-
gree burns over large por-
tions of their bodies and
were intubated at a hospital,
offi cials said.
Kelsey Brewer and her
three roommates decided
to leave their townhouse
before the evacuation order
came in. The question was
where to go in the pan-
demic. They decided on
the home of her girlfriend’s
KNBC-TV via Associated Press
Smoke and fl ames from the Silverado fi re threaten ar-
eas near Irvine, California, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. The
fast-moving wildfi re has forced evacuations for 60,000
people in Southern California as powerful winds across
the state prompted power to be cut to hundreds of thou-
sands to prevent utility equipment from sparking new
blazes.
mother, who has ample
space and lives alone.
“We literally talked about
it this morning,” Brewer
said, adding that she feels
lucky to have a safe place to
go. “We can only imagine
how screwed everyone else
feels. There’s nowhere you
can go to feel safe.”
Water-dropping helicop-
ters were briefl y grounded
because the strong winds
made it unsafe to fl y. Offi -
cials didn’t immediately
know the cause of the fi re,
one of several that broke out
across the region, including
another one in Orange
County.
About 355,000 power
customers — estimated
at about 1 million people
— were in the dark in the
northern part of the state as
offi cials issued warnings
for what could be the stron-
gest winds in California
this year. Firefi ghting crews
that had been at the ready
overnight quickly contained
small blazes that broke out
Sunday in Northern Cali-
fornia’s Sonoma and Shasta
counties. The causes were
under investigation.
North of San Francisco,
a Mount St. Helena weather
station recorded a hurri-
cane-force gust of 89 mph
late Sunday and sustained
winds of 76 mph. Some
Sierra Nevada peaks reg-
istered gusts well over 100
mph.
The “shut-offs probably
did prevent dangerous fi res
last night. It’s almost impos-
sible to imagine that winds
of this magnitude would not
have sparked major confl a-
grations in years past,” said
Daniel Swain, a scientist
with UCLA.
Early vote total exceeds 2016;
GOP chips at Dems’ advantage
By Nicholas Riccardi and
Angeliki Kastanis
Wallowa County Humane Society
Special hours 11-4 • Oct. 31 st
119 E Main St
Enterprise OR 97828
Associated Press
WASHINGTON —
With seven days before
Election Day, more people
have cast ballots in this
year’s presidential elec-
tion than voted early or
absentee in the 2016 race
as the start of in-person
early voting in big states
led to a surge in turnout
in recent days.
The opening of early
voting locations in
Florida, Texas and else-
where has piled millions
of new votes on top of the
mail ballots arriving at
election offi ces as voters
try to avoid crowded
places on Nov. 3 during
the coronavirus pandemic.
The result is a total
of 58.6 million ballots
cast so far, more than the
58 million The Associ-
ated Press logged as cast
through the mail or at
in-person early voting
sites in 2016.
Democrats have con-
tinued to dominate the ini-
tial balloting, but Repub-
licans are narrowing the
gap. GOP voters have
Open House
Door
prizes
Punch, refreshments,
treats for kids
(come in costume)
Pets are available for adoption
Mark Vergari/The Journal News via AP
Voters line up Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in front of the library
in Yonkers, New York, as the fi rst day of early voting in the
presidential election begins across New York state.
mail-voting fraud.
On Oct. 15, Demo-
cratic registrants cast 51%
of all ballots reported,
compared with 25% from
Republicans. On Sunday,
Democrats had a slightly
smaller lead, 51% to 31%.
The early vote totals,
reported by state and
local election offi cials
and tracked by the AP,
are an imperfect indi-
voters are expected to
vote on Election Day.
Analysts said the
still sizable Democratic
turnout puts extra pres-
sure on the Republican
Party to push its voters
out in the fi nal week and
on Nov. 3. That’s espe-
cially clear in closely
contested states such
as Florida, Nevada and
North Carolina.
PARK CLOSED,
ACCESS TRAIL OPEN
The public campground at the Wallowa Falls
Hydroelectric Project, known as Pacific Park,
located at the south terminus of the Wallowa
Lake Highway (OR St. Hwy 351) is currently
closed to all public use. The construction in
the campground vicinity required under the
new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
operating license for the project has been
substantially completed and the powerhouse
tailrace rerouted to the north of the
campsites. PacifiCorp plans to re-open Pacific
Park for the 2021 recreation season. We are
actively working out campground management
details and are not taking reservations at this
time. Details will be announced once the plan
is finalized. The access trail to the Wallowa
Falls Dam on the Upper East Fork Wallowa
River has reopened. If you have any questions
regarding the Wallowa Falls Hydroelectric
Project or the closure of Pacific Park, please
email recreation@pacificorp.com or leave
a message on our recreation phone line at
503-813-6666.
Paid for by Committee to reelect Steve Clements.
What will you
put under the
tree for
that person
who has
everything??
Rice or
noodle bowls.
Microwave and
oven proof.
©2020 PacifiCorp
We’re open with
more ideas
541.910.0550
PUBLIC NOTICE
1601 6th Street, La Grande corner of 6th and Penn