A family legacy that started with Jan’s Cakes in the 1960s got thrown into upheaval, first by COVID and then by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. The longtime homestead and center of business for the family that runs Buttercup Cakes and Farmhouse Frosting was destroyed; now the family is pondering what to do.
Wildfires
Posted inEnvironment
Lightning, fire, flash floods: California gripped by extreme weather
Severe lightning and thunderstorms spurred shelter-in-place warnings, rockfalls and mudslides, and the threat of new ignitions to already massive wildfires.
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Will CZU survivors get relief? Supervisors set to reevaluate geologic surveys for those trying to rebuild
Following the Aug. 10 board meeting, Supervisors Bruce McPherson and Ryan Coonerty directed the County Planning Department and the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience to provide some options at the Sept. 14 meeting, which would allow CZU fire survivors to rebuild without having to mitigate potential geologic hazards that existed on their property before the fire. What will happen on Tuesday?
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After a disastrous summer of fire, California braces for a potentially worse fall
“We’re right smack in the middle of wildfire peak season,” Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said. The outlook for the rest of the year includes more heat and dryness.
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California grid operator issues flex alert ahead of high heat expected Wednesday
Officials have issued a flex alert for California from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday citing high temperatures forecast for the Golden State and much of the West.
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Man on a mission: How Gordon Rudy helped his Boulder Creek neighborhood weather the CZU flames
From sneaking back to his Boulder Creek neighborhood and helping dig a fire line to racing through the woods on his dirt bike with a makeshift fire extinguisher to put out burning stumps, Gordon Rudy played a key role in saving his property and a number of others.
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‘Cautious optimism’ as crews turn a corner on Caldor fire
“We’ve got this thing kind of lassoed, and we just need to keep holding on to it with what we’ve got,” one official said. The fire burning near Lake Tahoe was 29% contained as of Friday morning.
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‘Unprecedented’ Caldor, Dixie fires are the first to burn from one side of the Sierra to the other
“Two times in our history and they’re both happening this month,” one fire official said. “So we need to be really cognizant that there is fire activity happening in California that we have never seen before.”
Posted inLatest News
Caldor fire rages toward Lake Tahoe: Next 48 hours will be crucial
The Caldor fire is closing in on the Lake Tahoe Basin and threatening the popular resort area. “No sign that it’s starting to slow down,” one Cal Fire official said.
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Training program seeks to shrink number of ‘spontaneous volunteers’ during wildfires, disasters
During wildfires and disasters, well-meaning but untrained “spontaneous volunteers” emerge to defend lives and property but the lack of training can sometimes mean they are putting themselves and others in danger. It’s a controversial issue but a nonprofit group has a middle-ground solution.