The name Boomeria comes not from the dramatic churchy sounds that emanate from the pipe-organ, but from the man, Preston Boomer, who built not only the organ but the bizarro playland that surrounds it. It was the 90-year-old’s neighbor Alexis “Lexi” Seath who took it upon herself to save “the Chapel” she grew up next to.
Wildfires
Posted inLatest News
LA Times photographer captures the devastation of the Dixie fire
The second-largest California wildfire has burned more than 500,000 acres. See the remains through the smoke and ash.
Posted inEnvironment
Storms threaten to grow monstrous Dixie fire: ‘Everything is ready to burn’
Gusts of up to 40 mph could carry burning embers, while lightning strikes could further ignite parched wildlands, swelling the already massive Dixie fire. Firefighters could get a break overnight, forecasters said, but adverse weather conditions are likely to return Friday.
Posted inEnvironment
More than 550 homes destroyed by Dixie fire as it surges past half a million acres
More than half of the 1,000 structures destroyed by the massive Dixie fire were single-family homes, the latest incident report shows. Containment improved to 30%, but the fire still grew in several directions Wednesday.
Posted inEnvironment
Former Santa Clara University instructor arrested in connection with ‘arson-setting spree’ near Dixie fire
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47 and a former instructor at Santa Clara University and Sonoma State, has been charged with willfully starting the Ranch fire and has been linked to at least six other blazes.
Posted inLatest News
Unscheduled power outages leave Corralitos customers frustrated, concerned with PG&E
The second outage in nearly two weeks was particularly worrisome with fire season in full effect in Santa Cruz County. “If there had been a fire, none of us would have known until the smoke was on us,” one Eureka Canyon resident said.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
‘We can’t delay much longer’: Board of Supervisors call out flaws in rebuilding system for CZU fire victims
Among the core issues delaying the re-permitting process for Santa Cruz Mountain residents is the examination of geological issues that pre-existed last August’s fires. Says Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson: “If we apply the code to the pre-fire conditions, we run the risk of making it that much harder, if not impossible, for some folks to rebuild their homes.”
Posted inEnvironment
More extreme behavior: Dixie blaze generates fire whirl, pyrocumulonimbus cloud at 40,000 feet
A massive storm cloud formed Monday night above the Dixie fire, generating a spinning vortex of flames and ash that soared into the sky. Containment improved to 25% on Tuesday, but the unusual activity was a reminder that “this fire still has a lot of potential.”
Posted inEnvironment
Exploding California wildfires rekindle debate: Snuff out blazes in wilderness areas or let them burn?
A U.S. Forest Service directive to put out fires in remote, roadless California forests has angered foresters and firefighters, who say doing so will put lives at risk and fuel worse fires in the future.
Posted inEnvironment
As Dixie fire nears half a million acres, containment is still weeks away
More than 16,000 structures are still threatened by the fire, which authorities don’t expect to have under control until the end of August. The Dixie fire is one of 11 major fires burning across the state, according to Cal Fire.