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Yosemite wildfire threatens grove of iconic sequoia trees

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Yosemite wildfire threatens grove of iconic sequoia trees


YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — The most important grove of large sequoias in Yosemite Nationwide Park remained closed Saturday as firefighters battled a blaze that threatened the gathering of the enduring timber and compelled a whole bunch of campers to evacuate.

The remainder of the park in California remained open, although smoke that hung within the air obscured a number of the most scenic vistas and views.

Greater than 500 mature sequoias had been threatened within the Mariposa Grove however as of Saturday afternoon there have been no reviews of extreme harm to any named timber, together with the three,000-year-old Grizzly Big. A few of the large trunks had been wrapped in fire-resistant foil for cover because the blaze burned uncontrolled.

The reason for the fireplace was underneath investigation.

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Past the timber, the small group of Wawona, which is surrounded by park and a campground, was underneath menace, with individuals ordered to go away their properties and campsites on Friday evening.

The hearth was proving troublesome to include, with firefighters throwing “each tactic conceivable” at it, mentioned Nancy Phillipe, a Yosemite hearth info spokesperson. That included air drops of fireplace retardant in addition to the deliberate use of bulldozers to create hearth traces, a tactic that is not often utilized in a wilderness setting like Yosemite, Phillipe mentioned.

The bulldozers would primarily be used to place in hearth traces to guard Wawona, she mentioned. About 600 to 700 individuals who had been staying on the Wawona campground in tents, cabins and an historic lodge had been ordered to go away.

Although firefighters had been dealing with scorching and dry circumstances, they did not should cope with intense winds on Saturday, mentioned Jeffrey Barlow, senior meteorologist with the Nationwide Climate Service in Hanford. Given the comparatively small measurement of the fireplace and minimal winds, smoke impacts weren’t anticipated to stretch far past the park, he mentioned.

The large sequoias, native in solely about 70 groves unfold alongside the western slope of California’s Sierra Nevada vary, had been as soon as thought of impervious to flames however have turn into more and more weak as wildfires fueled by a buildup of undergrowth from a century of fireplace suppression and drought exacerbated by local weather change have turn into extra intense and damaging.

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Lightning-sparked wildfires over the previous two years have killed as much as a fifth of the estimated 75,000 giant sequoias, that are the largest timber by quantity.

There was no apparent pure spark for the fireplace that broke out Thursday subsequent to the park’s Washburn Path, Phillipe mentioned. Smoke was reported by guests strolling within the grove that reopened in 2018 after a $40 million renovation that took three years.

The hearth had grown to about 1.1 sq. miles (2.8 sq. kilometers) by Saturday morning.

A fierce windstorm ripped via the grove a year-and-a-half in the past and toppled 15 large sequoias, together with numerous different timber.

The downed timber, together with large numbers of pines killed by bark beetles, offered ample gas for the flames.

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The park has used prescribed burns to clear brush across the sequoias, which helps defend them if flames unfold farther into the grove.

In the meantime, most evacuation orders had been lifted Saturday within the Sierra foothills about 80 miles (128 kilometers) to the northwest of the Yosemite hearth, the place a fireplace broke out on July 4. The Electra Hearth that started close to Jackson was largely contained, and solely areas instantly inside the hearth’s perimeter remained underneath evacuation orders, in accordance with the California Division of Forestry and Hearth Safety.



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California

Artful rebellion: California man thwarts city officials with boat mural

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Artful rebellion: California man thwarts city officials with boat mural


Sunday, May 12, 2024 2:03AM

Artful rebellion: CA man thwarts city officials with boat mural

A California man was told by city officials he needed to up a fence to hide his boat from public view. The man did just that, but with a twist.

SEASIDE, Calif. — A California man was told by the city of Seaside he needed to put up a fence to hide his boat from public view. That’s exactly what he did, but with a twist.

The man had a friend, who is an artist, paint a realistic picture of his boat on the six-foot-tall fence.

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Instead of seeing a boat in the man’s yard, you now see a large mural of the boat on the fence.

The boat owner said he is happy with how the mural turned out, and perhaps he got the last laugh.

The internet appears to love his stoke of genius, too, since the mural has gone viral.

Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



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Lakers News: Schedule, Location Determined for LA in California Classic

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Lakers News: Schedule, Location Determined for LA in California Classic


The timing and locale for the Los Angeles Lakers’ participation in this year’s impending California Classic Summer League have been revealed.

Per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are set to co-host the event this year. The California Classic happens ahead of the bigger Las Vegas Summer League.

12 total contests will be played between July 6-10, all told. Three of the four California teams will attend (the L.A. Clippers will sit out). The Lakers, Warriors and Kings will be joined by the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, and Miami Heat. The Warriors, Lakers and Heat are all scheduled to suit up in San Francisco, while the other clubs will play in Sacramento, before a Warriors-Kings game in San Francisco concludes the festivities.

Last year, Los Angeles selected former Indiana Hoosiers point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino with the No. 17 pick in the draft, plus ex-Pepperdine forward Maxwell Lewis with the No. 40 pick. Neither contributed meaningfully to the club’s win-now roster. This season, L.A. possesses the No. 17 selection once again, plus the No. 55 pick in the second round.

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More Lakers: LA Reportedly To Interview Coach Still in Postseason For HC Gig



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Newsom’s latest insurance move could help Californians avoid cancelled policies — but they’ll have to pay

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Newsom’s latest insurance move could help Californians avoid cancelled policies — but they’ll have to pay


As some Californians continue scrambling for ways to affordably insure their homes, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a push to expedite how quickly insurance companies can increase rates.

Speedier approvals for rate hikes is one of the key reforms insurers say is necessary for them to stay afloat amid a growing number of costly claims in the Golden State, especially tied to recent wildfires and other mounting costs of climate change.

Newsom said he is drafting a “trailer bill” that could cut the current approval process down to 60 days — legislation he hopes will quell an exodus of insurers bailing their business out of California and soothe residents’ financial anxieties around canceled policies.

The current process allows the Department of Insurance up to 84 days to approve filings for insurance rate increases, but that timeline can take substantially longer if a public hearing is requested by consumer advocates or other groups.

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“We need to stabilize this market,” Newsom said during a Friday press conference about his revised budget proposal. “We need to send the right signals, we need to move.”

While this change may temporarily usher in more expensive bills for consumers, proponents argue the changes will make home insurance more available. In turn, more options may also allow residents to avoid taking their chances with California’s “FAIR Plan,” the state’s “insurer of last resort,” which offers exorbitant premiums compared to regular insurance, and is also inching towards insolvency.

Denni Ritter, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association’s department vice president for state government relations, praised the news about expedited approvals Friday afternoon.

“Expediting the rate review process is a vital component to addressing California’s insurance crisis,” Ritter said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Administration, Legislature and Department of Insurance on this crucial reform and other reforms necessary to fix our broken regulatory system and increase the availability of insurance for California homeowners, drivers, and businesses.”

The governor said he opted to work with state lawmakers on this “trailer bill,” rather than pursue an executive order to move the process along.

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California’s Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, started working with Newsom last fall to modernize and overhaul three decades of state’s regulations, including efforts to allow insurance companies to use catastrophe models to set rates, as well as bill consumers for the costs of reinsurance, which is insurance for insurers.

Lara said that ongoing work, however, isn’t expected to materialize until December.

That timeline isn’t fast enough in the governor’s eyes. If Newsom’s bill is passed within the state’s budget for 2024-25, it may take effect as early as July 1.

“(Lara’s) team is working their tails off, I know how concerned the legislature is on this,” Newsom said. “But December? I don’t think we have that much time.”

Rather than push back on Newsom’s announcement of his new bill, Lara thanked the governor’s support of his own effort, which has been dubbed the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.

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“Newsom is right: time is of the essence,” Lara posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “Our partnership with the Governor and Legislature are essential to stabilizing our market. We’ve taken significant steps forward, but there is more to do.”



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