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OPINION: End Of An Era At Valley Center Municipal Water District

/in , /by /Valley Roadrunnerby Gary Arant

Something profound happened at 3:22 p.m. on Monday afternoon, November 19, 2018, at the Valley Center Municipal Water District. After serving as a Director for Election Division 3, Board President, and San Diego County Water Authority Representative, Gary A. Broomell walked out of the board room for the last time as a water board director. As the general manager of the district for close to 30 years, i have seen a few board members come and go.  What was profound about Mr. Broomell’s final exit was that it came after 48 years of continuous public service to the citizens, ratepayers and landowners of the Valley Center Municipal Water District.

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California’s First Real Soaking of the Season Brings Wildfire and Smoke Relief But Also a Threat of Debris Flows

/in , /by /The Weather Channelby Linda Lam and Jonathan Erdman

A major weather pattern change has arrived on the West Coast, bringing relief for California’s wildfires and choking smoke, but it may also unleash enough rain to trigger dangerous debris flows in recently burned areas of the state. Northern California’s Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in state history, is still not fully contained. Smoke from the fires has hung over millions, fouling air quality since last week in the Central Valley and Bay Area. Air quality has begun to improve but remains unhealthy for sensitive groups on Wednesday in the Central Valley of California.

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San Diego Region Can Expect Light Rain on Thanksgiving Morning

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

A low-pressure system sweeping into Southern California will produce light rain throughout San Diego County on Wednesday evening and continue into Thanksgiving Day. The National Weather Service office in San Diego said the majority of the rainfall is expected late Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning. Escondido and Oceanside are expected to receive around a quarter-inch of rainfall, while one-tenth of an inch is expected near the coast and in the western valleys. The mountains are forecast to get between a quarter-inch and one-third inch, and the deserts less than one-tenth of an inch.

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Smaller Utilities Most Exposed to California Wildfire Risk: S&P

/in , /by /Bloombergby William Green

Small water and sewer utilities in California will struggle to recover after wildfires, especially if they’re near wilderness areas or far from large cities, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. After major natural disasters in the state, utilities are typically required to front the costs of repairs and are only reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state government afterward. Utilities in towns that are small or poor, on the edge of flammable wilderness, or far from a major city will have particular trouble in paying for those costs upfront or reestablishing service quickly so they can resume collecting revenue, according to the report by credit analyst Tim Tung.

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Climate Change Will Bring Multiple Disasters at Once, Study Warns

/in , /by /CBS San Francisco

In the not-too-distant future, disasters won’t come one at a time. Instead, according to new research, we can expect a cascade of catastrophes, some gradual, others abrupt, all compounding as climate change takes a greater toll. While all regions of the globe face compounding threats, the study cited California and Florida as two prime examples close to home. “Facing these climatic changes will be like getting into a fight with Mike Tyson, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Jackie Chan — all at the same time.”

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California Areas Torched By Wildfires Face New Dangers—Flooding and Mudslides

/in , /by /Time Magazineby Tara Law

The rain that’s forecasted for later this week may give California some much-needed relief from the deadly and destructive wildfires plaguing the state. But too much sudden rainfall may pose its own dangers for land that has been burned. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the Butte County area, which is fighting the Camp Fire, for Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning. The warning states that there’s a chance of heavy rain which could trigger “flash floods, rockslides and/or debris flows” in a areas near the fire.

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OPINION: Can Gov. Brown Cut Water Deal Before He Leaves?

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Dan Walters

As the Civil War raged, William Brewer, a young botanist from upstate New York, spent five years cataloging California’s natural attributes for its Legislature. As he and his crew traversed the state by mule in their annual sojourns, living off the land, Brewer found much to commend. But in letters to his brother, decades later assembled into a must-read book, “Up and Down California,” Brewer also wondered whether its climate would impede its development.

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Crews Under Pressure To Find California Wildfire Victims’ Remains Before Storm

/in , /by /CBS News (New York)

As rain moves closer to fire-ravaged communities in Northern California, federal search-and-rescue team member Brian Ferreira said the pressure was on to find remains of victims of the Camp Fire. Almost 700 people were reported missing, and at least 79 people are dead. “The material that we’re dealing with it’s heavily, you know, ash and soot, and when the water touches that, it kinda turns to sediment, almost like soil again,” Ferreira said. “It is kinda urgent, yeah, that we get through this as quick as we can.”

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Will California Fires Create Toxic Rain? Experts Say No—Here’s Why

/in , /by /Newsweek (New York)by Shane Croucher

Experts debunked a message shared thousands of times on social media that warned of the threat of “extremely toxic” rain as a consequence of the Camp Fire in California. The Facebook post told people not to let animals or pets out into the “toxic” rain, to wash them thoroughly if they do get out, and to keep a set of “outside” clothes and to change out of them immediately upon arriving home.

 

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Thanksgiving Day Storm Will Be Weak, Short-Lived — Not Close To What San Diego Needs

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A major storm out of the North Pacific will drench parts of Northern and Central California this week. But the system will fall apart by the time it gets to Southern California, producing only minute amounts of precipitation in San Diego County on Thanksgiving Day, says the National Weather Service. “San Diego will only get about one-tenth of an inch of rain between late Wednesday night through Thanksgiving Day,” said Joe Dandrea, a weather service forecaster. “The mountains could get a little more. Then things should mostly clear up.

 

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