Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2018 Northern California wildfire nearly quadruples in size By DON THOMPSON AND JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press PARADISE, Calif. — A wildfire that moved so fast that firefighters couldn’t hope to stop it quadrupled in size today after destroying several thou- sand buildings and leveling much of a Northern California town of nearly 30,000 people, authorities said. Only a day after it began, the fire near the town of Para- dise had grown to nearly 110 square miles. “There was really no fire- fight involved,” said Capt. Scott McLean of the Califor- nia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, explaining that crews gave up on attacking the flames and instead helped peo- ple evacuate. “These firefight- ers were in the rescue mode all day yesterday.” The entire town was ordered evacuated, setting off a desperate exodus in which many motorists got struck in gridlocked traffic and aban- doned their cars to flee on foot. People in Paradise reported seeing much of the commu- nity go up in flames, includ- ing homes, supermarkets, busi- nesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement center. “We were surrounded by fire. We were driving through fire on each side of the road,” police officer Mark Bass said. The massive blaze spread north today, prompting offi- cials to order the evacuation of Stirling City and Inskip, two communities north of Para- dise along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The wind-driven blaze also spread to the west and reached the edge of Chico, a city of 90,000 people. Firefighters were able to stop the flames at the edge of the city, where evacuation orders remained in place today, Cal Fire Captain Bill Murphy said. The winds calmed down in the valley, but they were still shifting and erratic, with speeds of up to 45 mph along ridge tops, he said. Malibu residents ordered out as California wildfire nears Associated Press AP Photo/Noah Berger Flames consume a car dealership as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise, Calif. In Paradise, Bass evacuated his family and then returned to the fire to help rescue several disabled residents, including a man trying to carry his bedrid- den wife to safety. “It was just a wall of fire on each side of us, and we could hardly see the road in front of us,” Bass said. McLean estimated that several thousand buildings were lost in Paradise, about 180 miles northeast of San Francisco. “Pretty much the commu- nity of Paradise is destroyed. It’s that kind of devastation,” he said. Wildfires also erupted in Southern California, with reports early today of two large fires scorching about 23 square miles and threatening numer- ous communities. ABC7.com reported that 75,000 homes were under evacuation orders along the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The National Weather Ser- vice issued extreme fire danger warnings in many areas of the state, saying low humidity and strong winds were expected to continue through the evening. The fire in Paradise was reported shortly after daybreak Thursday. In the midst of the chaos, officials said they could not provide figures on the num- ber of wounded, but County Cal Fire Chief Darren Read said that at least two firefight- ers and multiple residents were injured. “It’s a very dangerous and very serious situation,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. “We’re working very hard to get people out. The message I want to get out is: If you can evacuate, you need to evacuate.” Several evacuation centers were set up in nearby towns. Residents described fleeing their homes and getting stuck in traffic jams as the flames sparked explosions and top- pled utility poles. “Things started exploding,” resident Gina Oviedo said. “People started getting out of their vehicles and running.” Many abandoned their cars WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA and trucks on the side of the road. “They were abandoned because traffic was so bad, backed up for hours,” Bass said. MALIBU, Calif. — About two-thirds of the city of Malibu was ordered evacuated early today as a ferocious Southern California wild- fire roared toward the beachside community that is home for many Hollywood celebrities. The Los Angeles County Fire Depart- ment tweeted that the fire raging through the Santa Monica Moun- tains was headed to the ocean. Malibu has about 13,000 residents and lies along 21 miles of coast at the southern foot of the mountain range. “Imminent threat!” the department said in its warning. The erupted Thursday near the northwest corner of the city of Los Angeles as the region’s notorious Santa Ana winds gusted, triggering overnight evac- uations of an estimated 75,000 homes in western Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County. The fire then pushed southward, jumped the wide U.S. 101 freeway before dawn today and pushed into the Santa Monica range. Another fire was burn- ing farther west in Ven- tura County, also moving toward the ocean. A huge thank you to all Astorians, Astoria businesses and others who generously contributed time and resources to honor Robert “Jake” Jacob Celebration of Life Nov. 3 2018 Jake gave his best to our town, and made it better for all of us. Senator Betsy Johnson | Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear | Former Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen | Andy Carson | Astoria Armory Community Center | Astoria Coffee House & Bistro | Astoria Ferry Group | Baked Alaska | Becky Johnson | Briana Smith | Bridgewater Bistro | Buoy Beer | Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa | Captain Christian Lint | Chef Chris Holen Cheryl Jacob Arata | Columbia River Coffee Roasters | Columbia Riverkeeper | Dave Gager/ Bent Rabbit Productions | Donna Quinn | Fort George Brewery & Public House Frite & Scoop | Fulios | Greg Jacob | Home Bakery | Inferno | Jeff Daly | Josephsons Michelle Roberts | Peter Pan Market | Robyn Koustik | Sara Meyer | Sarah Goodnough Street 14 Café | Terry Rosenau | Three Cups Coffee | Workers Tavern | Van Dusen Beverages “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams – this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness – and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!” Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra Don Quixote Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 A Letter from the Owners of Ken’s Custom Smoker To all Customers and Friends of, Ken’s Custom Smoker: Fall is an exciting time for all of us who love the outdoors and hunting. As you know, each Fall, Ken’s Custom Smoker opens its custom game processing season to help each of you turn your game meat into sausage or pepperoni to be enjoyed with family and friends for the next year. This year LVQRH[FHSWLRQKRZHYHUWKLVVHDVRQLVDOLWWOHGLHUHQWDVWKLVZLOOEHWKHODVW\HDURIRXUZLOGJDPH processing service. My wife Karla and I have personally processed every pound of wild game meat that has come through our facility since we started our business in the Fall of 1992. Our lives, and our business, have changed considerably over the past 26 years. With these changes, maintaining a separation between our wild game meat processing and our USDA inspected meat processing operations gets PRUHGLɝFXOWHYHU\\HDU$GGLWLRQDOO\ZHDUHERWK\HDUVROGHUDQGȴQGLQJWKHHQHUJ\WRSURFHVV ZLOGJDPHPHDWDWQLJKWDQGRQZHHNHQGVKDVDOVREHFRPHPRUHGLɝFXOWHYHU\\HDU:HKDYH always known that the day would come when we could no longer personally process our customers wild game meat and made a decision many years ago that when that day came, we ZRXOGVWRSRHULQJWKHVHUYLFHUDWKHUWKDQSDVVWKHUHVSRQVLELOLW\RWRRXUHPSOR\HHV 7KHGHFLVLRQWRVWRSRHULQJRXUZLOGJDPHSURFHVVLQJVHUYLFHZDVQRWWDNHQOLJKWO\DQGZDVDYHU\ GLɝFXOWGHFLVLRQWRPDNH$VPDQ\RI\RXNQRZZLOGJDPHSURFHVVLQJLVZKHUHLWDOOVWDUWHGIRU Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks and we would not have the business that we do today without your support over the past 26 years. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve your wild game processing needs and we are forever grateful to those of you who have been with us from the beginning and to all of you who have trusted us with your wild game meat over the years. )RURXUȴQDOVHDVRQZHZLOOEHDFFHSWLQJJDPHPHDWWKURXJK0DUFKDQGZLOOSURFHVVJDPH PHDWIRUWKHODVWWLPHRQWKHȴUVWZHHNHQGLQ$SULO Sincerely, Ken & Karla Werner
