Southern California Edison has paid $900,000 to resolve a federal claim for damages from a 2014 wildfire that burned Forest Service lands in Kern County, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said Monday. The 4,392-acre Way Fire started on Aug. 18, 2014, in Wofford Heights in Kern County. Federal authorities alleged that...
Heavy Rain, Floods Lash Eastern Australia, Help With Fires
CANBERRA, Australia — Heavy rains lashed parts of the wildfire and drought-stricken Australian east coast on Friday, bringing some flooding in Sydney and relief to firefighters still dealing with dozens of blazes in New South Wales. New South Wales is the state hardest hit by wildfires that have killed at...
Victims: PG&E Still Has Rickety Power Line Near Paradise
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric is still operating a rickety power line near the one that ignited a 2018 wildfire that wiped out the Northern California city of Paradise and killed 85 people, according to an expert inspection conducted as part of a legal claim. In an inspection...
University High Retakes Fresno County Academic Decathlon Title
University High School has reclaimed its title as champion of the Fresno County Academic Decathlon. The charter high school topped a field of 29 teams in the 38th annual competition, which culminated in Saturday's Super Quiz at Central High School East — and which University also won. University High's points...
Walters: Is PG&E Seizure a Real Threat or a Bluff?
Scott Wiener must be a glutton for punishment. Just last week, the Democratic state senator from San Francisco failed, after repeated attempts and many revisions, to win Senate approval of his ambitious bill to force local communities to accept more multi-family housing. Four days later, Wiener took on another, equally...
World's Largest Volunteer Force Fights Australia's Wildfires
TOMERONG, Australia — The wildfire was behaving erratically last week, and Doug Schutz and his team needed to make a quick decision. So they moved a bulldozer from another job and used it to widen a firebreak. That likely helped prevent hundreds of homes from going up in flames. If...
Australian Crews Race to Contain Blazes as Damage Bill Soars
BALMORAL, Australia — Bolstered by cooler weather and desperately needed rain, exhausted firefighters in Australia raced to shore up defenses against deadly wildfires before the blazes flare again within days when scorching temperatures are expected to return. The first hints of the financial toll from the disaster began to emerge...
Australian Prime Minister Is Jeered in Wildfire-Ravaged Zone
PERTH, Australia — Prime Minister Scott Morrison was confronted by angry residents who cursed and insulted him Thursday as he visited a wildfire-ravaged corner of the country. Locals in Cobargo, in New South Wales, yelled at him, made obscene gestures and called him an “idiot” and worse, criticizing him for...
Technology to Keep Lights on Could Help Prevent Wildfires
LOS ANGELES — B. Don Russell wasn’t thinking about preventing a wildfire when he developed a tool to detect power line problems before blackouts and bigger disasters. The electrical engineering professor at Texas A&M University figured he might save a life if his creation could prevent someone from being electrocuted...
Wildfire Burning in California Mountains Grows
GOLETA — A wildfire burning Tuesday on Southern California mountains north of Santa Barbara forced as many as 6,300 people from their homes, but an approaching storm offered hope that the flames would be doused, authorities said. The fire was a threat to an estimated 2,400 structures, Santa Barbara County...