Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California wildfires are being contained, but there is still lots of work to be done
The three wildfires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres this month in Southern California are starting to get under control, but the firefight is far from over.
As of Sunday morning, the Airport, Bridge and Line fires all remained under 40% containment.
Line Fire
The most contained of the three is the Line Fire, which started on Sept. 5 near Base Line Road in Highland.
In an update issued at 6:42 a.m. Sunday, Cal Fire stated that the fire was active as Saturday turned to Sunday due to a dry airmass at higher elevations.
“The fire smoldered and crept on the ground in the lower elevations under the marine layer,” Cal Fire said in their most recent situation summary. “Cool conditions prevail across the fire area, and late Sunday and into Monday, light rain is possible. Firefighters are strengthening control lines and mopping up hot spots.”
The Line Fire stands at 38,421 acres with 36% containment as of Sunday morning. Preliminary damage assessments indicate that only three structures have been damaged with one destroyed; three civilian and firefighter injuries have been reported due to the Line Fire, officials confirmed.
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Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) -
A water dropping helicopter flies into thick smoke to drop water on the approaching Line fire which engulfed a home on Pine Cove Drive Sept. 10, 2024 in Running Springs, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
A home destroyed by the Line Fire is seen in Running Springs. (KTLA)
Evacuation orders remain in place for some areas. More information can be found on Cal Fire’s Line Fire incident page.
Airport Fire
The second most contained of the three fires is the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties, which has been burning since Sept 9.
On Saturday evening, the Orange County Fire Authority stated that the fire remained at 23,519 acres with 19% containment.
Despite the progress, crews still observed “active fire behavior” near Modjeska Peak and Sugar Loaf throughout the day.
“Substantial progress was made toward Bell Canyon through the combined efforts of heavy equipment, hand tools and aerial support,” OCFA said in a post to Facebook. “Ongoing efforts are focused on preventing further property loss and establishing a containment line to confine the fire within its current boundaries.”
According to OCFA, “favorable” weather conditions persisted Saturday and light precipitation in the forecast should aid in the firefight. They did note, however, that despite the break in the heat, the dry vegetation still exhibited active fire behavior, which indicates the continued risk of increased fire activity.
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Orange County, California September 10, 2024- A house burns from the Airport Fire in El Cariso Village along Ortega Highway Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Orange County, California September 10, 2024- A rabbit crosses Ortega Highway as the Airport Fire burns out of control in the Santa Ana Mountains Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Orange County, California September 10, 2024-Orange County firefighters from engine 126 battle the Airport Fire along Ortega Highway in the Santa Ana Mountains Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Orange County, California September 10, 2024-Orange County firefighters from engine 126 battle the Airport Fire along Ortega Highway in the Santa Ana Mountains Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
A firefighter battles the Airport Fire, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in El Cariso, an unincorporated community in Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) -
A Smokey Bear sign in front of the raging Airport Fire. The Airport Fire originating from Trabuco Canyon, now makes its way through Lake Elsinore on the Ortega Freeway. The fire is now 19,000 acres and has forced evacuations to Lake Elsinore residents. (Photo by Jon Putman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) -
LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – 2024/09/11: A Cal Fire bulldozer retreats as there Airport Fire overtakes Ortega highway. The Airport Fire originating from Trabuco Canyon, now makes its way through Lake Elsinore on the Ortega Freeway. The fire is now 19,000 acres and has forced evacuations to Lake Elsinore residents. (Photo by Jon Putman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) -
An American flag are seen in front of a house in flames at El Cariso Village in flames as the Airport Fire burns on September 10, 2024 in Lake Elsinore, California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images) -
Orange County, California September 10, 2024-Fountain Valley firefighters battle a house fire along El Cariso Road as the the Airport Fire burns in the Santa Ana Mountains Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
As of the latest assessment, 24 structures had been damaged by the Airport Fire, with a further 109 destroyed.
A total of 14 injuries to civilians and firefighters have been reported.
More information on the Airport Fire, including maps of areas still under evacuation orders, can be found here.
Bridge Fire
The Bridge Fire, burning in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, is the least contained of the three active SoCal wildfires as of Sunday morning.
Burning since Sept. 8, the Bridge Fire initially remained small before exploding late last week, eventually spanning over 51,000 acres at its peak on Thursday.
Cooler weather over the weekend aided fire crews, but in their latest status update, Cal Fire said that several parts of the blaze remain active.
“The northwest corner of the fire was most active [Saturday] … although interior ‘islands’ of unburned vegetation remain in the northern part of the fire, firefighters also plan to go direct and continue holding and securing their containment lines to protect the communities of Wrightwood, Pinon Hills and beyond,” officials stated. “To the northeast, the fire has reaches drainages on the west side of the north fork of Lytle Creek; however, firefighters are prioritizing dozer lines and direct attack wherever possible to stop the fire’s spread.”
“The east side of the fire is less active, [but it] still presents risks to residents in the Mount Baldy area so evacuation orders remain in effect,” Cal Fire added. “On the south side, firefighters are still holding their containment line at Sunset Peak while they continue contingency line construction below it…this area of the fire is where they were able to increase containment percentage by two percent.”
Six structures have been damaged and 19 have been destroyed as of the latest damage assessment, although Cal Fire noted that upwards of 11,500 structures remain threatened by the fire.
Only two injuries have been reported as a result of the Bridge Fire. Click here for the latest updates from Cal Fire, including a map detailing evacuation order zones.
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Firefighters watch as the Bridge Fire burns near homes in Wrightwood, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) -
Dozens of homes have been destroyed as the Bridge Fire continues burning in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. (KTLA) -
Dozens of homes have been destroyed as the Bridge Fire continues burning in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. (KNN) -
Two firefighters look out over the remains of a home destroyed in the Bridge Fire, in Wrightwood, California on September 11, 2024. Out-of-control wildfires surrounding Los Angeles continued to grow on September 10, forcing families to evacuate and blanketing the sky with choking smoke. Three separate blazes have erupted around the United States’ second-biggest city, fueled by a punishing heat wave and fanned by gusting winds. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) -
WRIGHTWOOD, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Firefighters spray down the remnants of a destroyed home near a destroyed vehicle (FOREGROUND) during the Bridge Fire which has now burned more than 47,000 acres in Angeles National Forest on September 11, 2024 in Wrightwood, California. Three large wildfires are currently burning in Southern California after igniting amid an intense heat wave in the region. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) -
WRIGHTWOOD, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Firefighters spray down the remnants of a destroyed home near a destroyed vehicle (FOREGROUND) during the Bridge Fire which has now burned more than 47,000 acres in Angeles National Forest on September 11, 2024 in Wrightwood, California. Three large wildfires are currently burning in Southern California after igniting amid an intense heat wave in the region. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) -
The Bridge fire is seen racing up the San Gabriel Mountains toward the ski resort community of Wrightwood on Sept. 10, 2024, near Glendora, California. (Getty Images)
As for the causes of the three fires, the Line Fire was allegedly set intentionally by a 34-year-old man from Norco and the Airport Fire started due to a spark from heavy equipment being operated by Orange County Public Works employees, although some have accused the workers of negligence or even “accidental arson.”
The cause of the Bridge Fire remains under investigation.
According to Cal Fire, there have been 6,126 wildfires in California this year which have scorched over 992,000 acres, destroyed 1,229 structures and led to one civilian death.
The future of voice to text is here.
I’ve been testing a variety of tools that make taking notes, transcribing audio, and even voice typing faster and easier than ever.
If you have a smartphone, you’re already halfway there!
Google’s Pixel Recorder app is free and built into their smartphone. It’s excellent for transcribing meetings, lectures, and conversations – all in real time.
Apple’s Voice Memos App recently added transcriptions if you’re upgraded to iOS 18.
Samsung’s Voice recorder app now offers transcripts too – as long as you’re on their latest One UI 7 software. (Check Settings > About Phone > Software Information)
Got an older phone? Try Otter.AI. It works great for transcriptions across devices and you get 300 minutes a month free.
Don’t want to tie up your phone?
I’ve been testing AI-powered digital audio recorders from a startup named Plaud.
The Plaud Note is thin, records for hours, and can even clip to the back of your phone to record calls. Just make sure you know your local laws before using that feature.
The Plaud Pin can be clipped to your shirt or worn on your wrist for hands-free recording.
Both devices sync audio to a companion app that auto transcribes and summarizes.
You get five hours of transcription a month included, with options to pay for more.
Pricing for each gadget starts around $160 dollars.
Want to transcribe audio files on your computer?
My favorite Mac app is MacWhisper. You can even get it completely free – although paid versions are avaialble with more features and options.
On Windows, check out Vibe Transcribe, also free.
And for a web-based option, Whisper Web gets the job done.
Finally, if you want to type less and talk more… there’s an excellent AI voice-to-text app called Wispr Flow. It was previously Mac only but just became avaialble for Windows, too.
One you install it, you pick a hotkey. Then, instead of typing just press and hold down that key and dictate what you want to write.
Since it uses the power of AI, you can even stumble or ramble and it will clean up your words and get the punctionation right.
It’s a gamechanger for responding to emails fast! You get 2,000 words free each week with options to pay for more.
Enjoy your newfound time!
An alleged attack on a state prison officer by a 43-year-old inmate transferred from Los Angeles County is being investigated as attempted homicide, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials announced Tuesday.
The March 18 incident at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad reportedly unfolded just before 9 a.m. on what authorities describe as a “dayroom floor.”
The inmate, Anthony G. Ramirez, is believed to have pulled an improvised weapon from his waistband before attempting to attack custody staff member, according to a CDCR news release.
“Staff immediately responded, disarming Ramirez and placing him in handcuffs without incident,” the release detailed.
The 43-year-old, who was transferred to SVSP in 2008 after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, with enhancements for the use of a firearm and causing great bodily injury or death, was placed in restrictive housing pending the investigation and possible felony prosecution by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Both Ramirez and the custody staff member were examined by medical personnel who noted no serious injuries.
Officials said that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association was notified of the incident and prison staff were offered peer support services and employee assistance programs.
Salinas Valley State Prison, opened in 1996, houses more than 2,400 minimum, medium, maximum and high-security inmates. The facility also offers vocational programs and academic classes and employs some 1,800 people.
A toxic algal bloom leaving an increasing number of marine mammals stranded along Southern California beaches shows no signs of subsiding and “will only get worse,” officials said Monday.
“This week, we saw more stranded dolphins (both alive and deceased) than we saw during the major domoic acid (DA) bloom in 2023,” Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) Los Angeles posted on Facebook.
Recent tests showed DA-producing algae levels have increased, and officials believe that trend will continue in the coming weeks. “We anticipate that it will only get worse,” the post read.
MMCC asked the public not to approach sick dolphins or sea lions on the beach because they can become aggressive upon awakening from a seizure.
“This is a safety issue for people and their pets as much as it is for the marine mammals,” officials said.
Beachgoers were also urged not to push stranded dolphins back into the water, saying it can reduce their chances of survival.
More information about domoic-acid poisoning can be found at https://marinemammalcare.org/domoic-acid/.
The volume of sick marine mammals has also had a financial impact on the MMCC.
“Our team is working heroically to respond to every call and to rescue every animal they can. Please share this post and give now at marinemammalcare.org/donate to give these marine mammals a second chance at life!” the MMCC stated.
Anyone who encounters a sick or stranded marine mammal can alert the nearest lifeguard and call 1-800-39-WHALE to make a report.
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