California
California history reduced to ash with Borel fire's destruction of Havilah
There was gold in these hills.
Hidden in the rugged Sierra Nevada amid sprawling pine forests, Havilah was once a bustling mining town where stamp mills pulverized rock from the region’s mines and prospectors panned for precious metals in the late 19th century.
In its heyday, the town’s main drag featured saloons, dance halls, inns and gambling houses. Townsfolk witnessed midday gunfights, manhunts for wanted murders and stagecoach robberies, and they wagered gold dust on horse races, according to Los Angeles Times archives.
But for nearly a century, long after the feverish search for gold subsided, Havilah had been considered something of a ghost town, with only about 150 residents. Foundations were all that remained of most of its historic buildings when fire swept through the town July 26.
The fast-moving Borel fire, which has scorched nearly 60,000 acres as of Friday, destroyed some of the last vestiges of Havilah in just 24 hours, including a replica courthouse, which served as a small roadside museum for decades.
Roy Fluhart, whose ancestors had homesteaded in the area around the Great Depression, had tried to preserve the town’s rich history. As president of Havilah’s historical society, he and his relatives helped curate the courthouse with historic documents and photographs, antique mining tools and other artifacts from the region’s past.
“We lost everything,” Fluhart said. “The sad part is, the museum was an archive, and it’s lost now. Son of a gun. … We didn’t really have time to get anything out.”
It wasn’t just the town’s history that was lost.
Bo Barnett, whose house was destroyed, managed to escape with his dogs and the clothes on his back. Barnett, whose wife died a month ago, expressed remorse that he didn’t have time to collect her ashes.
“Fire was raining down upon us,” Barnett said, as his eyes welled with tears. “I wasn’t sure what I was driving into. My tires were melting on the road. It was horrible.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent much of his childhood in the sparsely populated mining community of Dutch Flat in Placer County, lamented the loss of a fellow gold rush community on Tuesday. Wearing aviator sunglasses and a ball cap, he toured the wreckage in Havilah, walking up to the remnants of the town museum and pulling a novelty Uncle Sam coin bank from the blackened rubble.
“Towns wiped off the map — places, lifestyles, traditions,” Newsom said at a news conference. “That’s what this is really all about. At the end of the day, it’s about people, it’s about history, it’s about memories.”
In recent years, devastating wildfires have obliterated some of California’s gold rush towns, erasing the history of one of the most significant eras in 19th century America. Havilah joins the likes of Paradise and Greenville, small communities that saw influxes of prospectors, followed by population exodus and, more recently, devastation.
Havilah credits its origin to Asbury Harpending — a Kentuckian who plotted to seize California and its gold to support the Confederacy during the Civil War. In 1864, Harpending, indignant after his conviction for high treason, ventured to present-day Kern County’s Clear Creek region. He found deposits of gold and christened the area Havilah, after a gold-rich land in the book of Genesis.
Although Harpending had no land rights, he established a sprawling mining camp and sold parcels to incoming miners in what many believed could be a second gold rush. In 1866, Havilah became the seat of the newly established Kern County, a title it held for eight years until Bakersfield became the principal city. He stayed only two years but made a fortune: $800,000.
“I was literally chased from absolute poverty into the possession of nearly a million dollars,” Harpending wrote in his autobiography. “I discovered a great mining district and founded a thriving town. And if the matter of paternity is ever brought up in court, it will probably be proved to the satisfaction of a jury that I am the father of Kern County.”
As gold became harder to find, people deserted Havilah, and its buildings fell into disrepair. Those who remained attempted to commemorate the community’s mining legacy and pioneer heritage. In 1966, for the centennial of Havilah’s founding, residents finished building the replica courthouse. They later built a replica of the town’s schoolhouse, which doubled as a community center.
Historical markings along Caliente-Bodfish Road indicate buildings that once existed: barbershop, a blacksmith, the Grand Inn and a livery stable. Some large plaques also pay tribute to historic events such as the last stagecoach robbery in Kern County in 1869, in which a gunman made off with $1,700 in coinage and gold bullion.
Wesley Kutzner, a historical society member and Fluhart’s uncle, helped build the replica courthouse alongside his parents and other locals. Although the historical society couldn’t afford fire insurance, Kutzner said he has resolved to clean up the property and rebuild, the same way the community did nearly 60 years ago.
“The plan is to rebuild,” Kutzner said. “It’s going to be a community effort. It’s going to be a tough road home, but we’ll get it done.”
One resident who plans to rebuild is Sean Rains. He left Bakersfield two years ago and moved to Havilah with his girlfriend and their pit bull, seeking the tranquility of the mountains. Rains, a miner and countertop fabricator, had also been one of the few people holding onto hope of finding buried treasure in Havilah.
In his front yard, Rains kept a shaker table and other equipment to sift soil for flecks of gold.
It was “nothing to make us rich,” he said, but he did find some.
“They say it’s everywhere,” Rains said. “It’s just a matter of whether it’s enough to make it worth your while.”
Rains was also recruited into the historical society. He read old letters in which a sheriff had remarked that the town’s only pastimes were robbing stagecoaches and horse racing. Another recalled how pioneers hauled their carriages over the mountainous terrain by rope.
The historical society had recently installed a water hose at the replica schoolhouse. Because Rains lived nearby, he was asked to help defend the schoolhouse if there was ever a fire.
“I gave them my word,” he said.
So once Rains saw fire crest the mountaintop behind his home and swiftly descend into the valley, he rushed next door to start up the schoolhouse’s water pump. He sprayed down the building and extinguished embers under its front porch.
He eventually turned his attention to his own one-story house, dousing it until the trees in his yard caught fire. He, his girlfriend and their dog sped away in his pickup truck.
“It was licking our heels on the way out of here,” Rains recalled. “It was right on top of us. The winds were crazy in that thing, going in all different directions. It was sucking branches right off the trees. The whole mountain was engulfed.”
Rains returned to town the next morning, walking along Caliente-Bodfish Road to see what was left of Havilah.
The valley’s pines and oaks were charred, and much of the landscape was covered in white ash. Rains’ two-bedroom home was burned to its cobblestone foundation. Two cars he had been restoring were scorched husks. His two ATVs were reduced to skeletal frames.
The schoolhouse survived.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Polling shows Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco leading the pack, while eight Democrats split the liberal vote.
Democrats face nightmare scenario in California governor’s race
Polling shows Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco leading the California governor’s race, while eight Democrats split the liberal vote.
Democrats’ 2026 comeback could be spoiled by California electing a Republican governor, as two GOP candidates are leading in recent polls.
Experts forecast a potential “blue wave” in the midterm elections, as Democrats have recently overperformed in special elections, including flipping a state senate seat in President Donald Trump’s own Palm Beach, Florida, district on March 24.
But the party is facing a nightmare scenario in the nation’s most populous state, where polling shows Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco leading the pack in the June 2 nonpartisan primary. The state’s liberal majority is split among eight Democratic contenders.
The Democrats’ dilemma stems from California’s unusual election system, in which the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the November general election. A Berkley ISG survey released March 18 of more than 5,000 registered voters showed Hilton, a conservative TV host, receiving 17% of the vote while Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, held 16%.
In third was Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, with 14%, then former Rep. Katie Porter holding 13%, followed by Tom Steyer at 10% and the five other Democratic candidates each getting 5% or less.
Other yardsticks show a similar trend, such as a March 18 survey commissioned by the California Democratic Party showing the two GOP candidates on top with Swalwell, Porter, and Steyer in a three-way tie for third place.
California Democrats enjoy a 2-to-1 voter registration edge over the GOP, but Golden State voters say there is a fog of confusion around the race due to the party’s failure to coalesce around a frontrunner. Olivya Reyes, a graduate student who lives in Oxnard, California, told USA TODAY the party still feels like it is trying to “find its footing” between a more moderate or progressive candidate.
“I feel like as a Democratic voter, what I would want to see from my party is clarity on who we’re supporting and getting behind,” she said.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is prevented from running due to term limits, has one eye on the presidency and hasn’t endorsed a successor or publicly nudged lower-performing candidates out of the race.
That neutrality could come at a cost, some experts say, should the two GOP aspirants prevail.
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Reyes, 29, a lifelong Democrat, said typically by the end of March she would have a strong idea of which candidate she planned to support. She was planning to back former Vice President Kamala Harris or Sen. Alex Padilla, but both bypassed running, leaving her clueless about who was running or who to support.
She has only learned about Steyer, who has poured millions into the contest, and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“I’m going to be honest in saying that I have been getting a lot of conflicting messaging, even from my own party, about who I should put my vote behind,” Reyes said. “Right now, it seems that the party is very much trying to find its footing on whether or not we’re going for a progressive candidate or for a more moderate Democrat.”
Experts say voter apathy typically occurs in California because it’s a heavily Democratic-leaning state, and that a majority of voters don’t pay attention until after the usually low-turnout primary.
The Berkeley survey underscored how much inattention is responsible for Democrats’ lack of enthusiasm for a specific candidate. It noted that voters “remain largely disengaged and unenthusiastic,” and about 16% of Californians are undecided.
The poll found that even among the candidates who are generally better known, “significant proportions of likely voters have no opinion” of them.
That might come as a surprise, given that the top three Democrats all ran for major office before. Porter made an unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2024 while Steyer and Swalwell launched uneventful presidential campaigns in 2020.
There are other notable contenders on the Democratic side: Becerra, the former health secretary in the Biden administration who had just 5% in the Berkley poll; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan who raked in 4%; Tony Thurmond, state Superintendent of Public Instruction and Betty Yee, a former state controller who both shared 1%.
“No one in particular has caught fire with the average Democratic voter,” said Brian Sobel, a veteran political analyst based in San Francisco. “Nobody has leapt out.”
Democrat Rick De Alba, a workers’ compensation rights attorney from Pacifica, California, said he prefers Beccera, but noted he consistently sits in the basement of the race. He doesn’t want his vote going to someone who doesn’t have a shot at winning, and wishes underdog contenders would heed state party leaders’ advice and bow out gracefully.
“I think realistically you need about $30 million to put on an effective campaign in California, and if you can’t raise that, you should step aside,” De Alba said. “California always votes Democrat, no matter what. We just need to know who the candidate is.”
Reyes, the graduate student, said she had hoped to learn more about the other Democrats running through a debate hosted by the University of Southern California, which was originally scheduled to air on March 24. But the university canceled the event at the last minute after an accusation that it purposefully left out candidates of color, casting a shadow over the event for days.
Swalwell, Porter, and Steyer are White, whereas the lower-polling candidates are mostly people of color. Becerra and Villaraigosa are Hispanic; Mahan is White; Thurmond is Black; and Yee is Asian American.
“As a person of color, it did make me take a pause, and it didn’t look good,” Reyes said. “But I feel like this was a chance for all of these Democratic candidates to kind of put their faces in front of California voters.”
GOP shutting out Democrats ‘theoretically possible’ expert says
Conservative-leaning California voters such as Bud Thompson, a 61-year-old state government employee, said they are enjoying the spectacle of the usually dominant California Democrats in disarray. He was surprised to learn that the two leading candidates in this year’s races were the two GOP candidates.
“I think that you can look at California and see what a mess it is. Look at who’s been running it for the last few years,” the Sacramento, California, native said in an interview. “I am going to start seriously looking at the two Republicans. It would be a nice change of pace.”
California, under Newsom, has been one of the larger state governments that have opposed much of the Trump administration’s agenda, so having either Hilton or Bianco, who are both decidedly behind the president, would be a drastic shift.
Bianco made headlines this month when he followed the administration’s lead by seizing roughly 650,000 ballots in Riverside County, based on a tip from a citizen-led group that has been criticized for delving into conspiracy theories by local officials and other voting rights experts. He’s also made support for the president’s controversial SAVE Act voting bill one of the central themes in his campaign.
“Investigations into irregularities must happen so that the public can have full confidence,” Bianco said in a March 22 post on X.
Hilton, a former Fox News host, has also spoken in favor of Trump’s election overhaul, arguing that “(u)niversal mail-in voting must end,” in a March 26 post on X. He has emphasized allegedly fraudulent government spending and slammed Bianco for calling to work with Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020.
Thomas Holyoke, a political science professor at California State University, Fresno, said it’s “theoretically possible” that the two could shut out the Democrats, assuming GOP voters back their own candidates and earn enough votes from some independent voters.
But he said in the next couple of months, there will be a lot more pressure from state Democrats and others to significantly drain the pool of candidates so that the remaining contenders can consolidate support.
“I just got to imagine that pressure is really going to mount and a lot of donors to Democratic candidates may also push heavily for some Democrats to drop out,” Holyoke said.
Asked about the prospect of Republicans keeping Democrats out of the top two spots, national campaign officials who spoke with USA TODAY exuded optimism and spotlighted the party’s history of success in the state.
“We are confident that will not happen, and we are having active conversations with our partners in California about ways that we can ensure that doesn’t happen,” Johanna Warsaw, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, told USA TODAY in an interview.
She noted the group was heavily engaged in other elections that turned out well for progressives, including the 2025 redistricting ballot initiative known as Proposition 50 and the failed 2021 recall battle against Newsom.
Democrats express confidence as Newsom’s absence scrutinized
As the California election comes into focus, Newsom’s role in picking a successor is also being heavily scrutinized, especially given that he’s a rumored 2028 presidential contender.
Newsom served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Jerry Brown, a longtime fixture in the state, before taking the reins in 2019. But Newsom’s second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, dropped out of the running last August.
“There isn’t a logical heir to the throne this time around,” said Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Newsom’s office did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment, but he addressed the lack of a focused message among the Democratic pool when speaking with Politico’s “On the Road” podcast. The governor noted that Harris and Padilla declining to run created “a lot of chill and a lot of delay” in this year’s campaign.
“You have this condensed period of time with a lot of candidates,” Newsom told host Jonathan Martin.
Sobel, the Bay Area political analyst, said Newsom has worked with many of the top candidates in various capacities previously and might want to avoid playing favorites. The 58-year-old governor will need their diverse and wide-ranging networks of support should he formally announce a White House bid.
“He’s going to need them again, sooner than later,” Sobel said.
Many of the low-polling candidates carry significant weight within the party at the local and state level, too, and some have been running for governor as far back as 2023. They are used to fighting ugly political battles, observers say, so they won’t go away easily.
The Yee campaign, for instance, points to the state party chair’s March 3 letter urging candidates to “honestly assess (their) viability” as an example of powerbrokers trying to clear the field for a select few.
“I’m not going to let that happen. Voters are still shopping,” Yee, a former state party vice chair, told USA TODAY in a statement. “Every poll shows the race remains wide open. Californians have a right to see and hear from a range of candidates, not just the billionaire-backed voices. Let the voters decide. Anything less is undemocratic and simply un-American.”
While the race might have some Democrats biting their nails, psychologist Steve Flannes, of Piedmont, California, said he’s pleased that so many people are running for governor. He said it’s a chore examining all the candidates, but he hopes it won’t be too cumbersome in the coming weeks.
“I’m trying to narrow down the options for myself,” Flannes, 75, said. “I’ve still got a couple of months to figure it all out, right?”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (FOX26) — One week after ongoing efforts to ensure housing compliance statewide, Governor Gavin Newsom, through the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), has issued final warnings to 15 cities and counties that have failed to meet state housing law requirements.
These jurisdictions are more than 60 days away from securing a certified housing element, a mandatory plan that outlines how communities will meet housing needs for residents of all income levels.
The cities and counties have 30 days to respond to the Notices of Violation.
If they fail to act, HCD could take further steps, including referral to the Attorney General.
“I’m disappointed on behalf of the state and the people of California that after years of effort, we still have communities that aren’t meeting the needs of their residents,” Gov. Newsom said. “There’s no carve-out here. No community gets a pass when it comes to addressing homelessness or creating more housing access. We’ll keep pushing forward by enforcing the law, fighting NIMBY actions, and holding local governments accountable, because every Californian deserves a place to call home.”
Under California law, every community must adopt a housing element demonstrating how it will meet regional housing needs for residents at all income levels, and submit that plan to HCD for review.
With guidance and technical assistance, 92 percent of California communities have already achieved compliance in the 6th cycle.
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The 15 jurisdictions receiving Notices of Violation are now part of a final push to bring all communities into compliance.
“These communities remain more than two years behind schedule and lack a clear path to compliance within 60 days,” HCD said. “If any jurisdictions on track fail to meet the requirements within that period, they will also face potential legal action.”
The 15 cities and counties receiving notices are: Atwater, Avenal, California City, Corcoran, Escalon, Half Moon Bay, Hanford, Kings County, Lemoore, Merced County, Montclair, Oakdale, Patterson, Ridgecrest and Turlock.
HCD has previously taken legal action or entered court-enforced agreements with other cities, including Anaheim, Elk Grove, La Canada Flintridge, Norwalk and Huntington Beach.
Since its creation in 2021, Gov. Newsom’s Housing Accountability Unit (HAU) has taken more than 1,200 enforcement actions, including securing 10 stipulated judgments and settlement agreements.
The unit has also “unlocked” 12,486 housing units, including more than 3,644 affordable units, that may have otherwise been stalled in local planning processes.
Governor Newsom has made addressing the housing and homelessness crises a statewide priority.
His efforts include:
- Streamlining housing construction through legal and regulatory reforms, including CEQA updates, to remove barriers to building new housing.
- Creating shelter and support programs for people living in encampments while holding local governments accountable for providing housing solutions.
- Expanding mental health care and supportive housing, including delivering more than 6,900 residential treatment beds and over 27,500 outpatient treatment slots following voter-approved Proposition 1 in 2024.
- Updating conservatorship laws to assist those unable to care for themselves due to severe mental illness or substance use disorders, creating the new CARE court system.
- Removing dangerous encampments on state and local property while connecting residents to shelter and services, with over 20,600 encampments cleared on state right-of-ways since 2021.
Californians can track how their communities are addressing housing, homelessness, and mental health through HCD’s accountability portal.
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California
U.S. Forest Service issues Southern California rattlesnake warning after two deadly bites
The U.S. Forest Service has issued a warning regarding an increase in rattlesnake sightings in Southern California, especially after two deadly bites were reported in the last few weeks.
In a social media post, the USFS San Bernardino National Forest rangers reminded hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to be wary while exploring nature due to the increased temperatures and arrival of spring weather.
“As temperatures rise, rattlesnakes become more active in the forest,” the USFS’s post said. ” Stay alert, watch where you step and keep pets close.”
Southern California encounters
Since the beginning of the year, hikers have already reported rattlesnake encounters near a Moreno Valley hiking trail in Riverside County, where someone was bitten and required hospitalization.
There have been deadly incidents reported in both Orange County, where a man was bitten while mountain biking in Irvine, and Ventura County, where a 46-year-old woman died from “rattlesnake venom toxicity in an accidental manner.”
“If you encounter a rattlesnake, give it plenty of space and calmly move away,” the social media post said. “Never attempt to touch or disturb wildlife.”
USFS officials credited the increase in encounters to elevated temperatures and abnormally sunny conditions as opposed to the typical winter weather that Southern California sees.
They said that snakes can use their full length to strike, sometimes equating to more than five feet.
Treating rattlesnake bites
Officials advised anyone bitten by a rattlesnake to:
- call 911 and seek immediate medical attention
- keep the bite victim still as movement allows venom to spread through the body more easily
- keep the injured body part motionless and lower than heart level
- keep the victim warm and at rest
- refraining from food and drink
- cover the bite with a clean, dry dressing
They also urged people to avoid using a tourniquet, slashing at the wound with a knife, sucking out the venom, using ice or immersing the wound in water, drinking alcohol as a painkiller or drinking caffeinated beverages.
Officials warned that people should not wait for symptoms of a bite to appear before seeking medical attention. However, they provided a list of different signs that someone may see if they are bitten by a rattler, including:
- puncture marks at the wound
- redness and swelling around the bite
- severe pain at the site of the bite
- nausea and vomiting
- labored breathing
- disturbed vision
- increased sweating and salivation
- numbness or tingling in the face and/or limbs
Spotting and avoiding rattlesnakes
While Southern California is home to several species of rattlesnake, the most common are typically the Western Diamondback and Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Aside from their infamous rattle, rattlesnakes can be identified by their broad and diamond-shaped head. They usually have spotched markings that appaer separated by lighter colored stripes that become smaller and narrower towards the tail, which is tipped with a paper-like noise-producing rattle, USFS officials said.
While they typically hide during the cold winter months, snakes venture out during warm weather. They usually hide in shady spots during the hottest parts of the day and begin hunting either in the early morning or evening. Officials advised that rattlesnakes can swim as well.
In order to avoid rattlesnakes, USFS rangers said that people should not tease or harass any wildlife, keep a distance of at least six feet if a rattler is spotted, stay on trails and watch where stepping or placing your hands when hiking or climbing over obstacles, avoid tall grass and piles of leaves and wear long pants and proper foot gear.
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