Showing posts with label Fireworks: 2007 fires and related damage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fireworks: 2007 fires and related damage. Show all posts

January 2, 2008

No Intelligent Design here...

LAAG loves Darwin and his pesky "theory" of evolution. Well the good folks over at the DarwinAwards.com provided us with this gem that we want to make sure all the gene pool contributors in Lakewood take a good look at (even you pyros over at pyro universe) as this could have been you. But there is always July 2008! We wish Evolution worked faster. Of course the reason fireworks users don't fear the Darwin Awards (or doing stupid stuff) is they don't believe in evolution! They know they were "intelligently designed". Fireworks really do help promote evolution when you think about it.

The Darwin Awards was named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, and commemorates those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

Electronic Fireworks
http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2007-04.html
2007 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin
(1 January 2007, Netherlands) The first Darwin Award of 2007 goes to Serge Sluijters, 36, who thought it reasonable to hover over an illegal professional firework and light the electronic ignition with an open flame. But this was not a traditional wick; it was a device designed for precision timing. The flame triggered an immediate launch, and the fireworks catapulted upwards, killing our amateur pyrotechnician enroute to a spectacular burst across the night sky.

Serge had purchased the firework legally in Belgium, but then transported it illegally into the Netherlands. His father disputed the notion that Serge was careless, characterizing his son as a man who gave due consideration to his acts. A witness told reporters, "His face disappeared. If someone has no face left, you know it's serious."

Every year, another idiot gets nominated for a Darwin Award for this same reason. Please, readers, keep your itchy fingers off the triggers of these dangerous fireworks!

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

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December 30, 2007

A little bit of Iraq right here in the USA

Nice. Gas masks so other can shoot off fireworks. And people complain about smoking? Do they have masks and ear plugs for the pets? Fireworks are no legal in any form here in Lakewood but hey that does not stop people. We should shoot off fireworks monthly! Yeah. That will help solve global warming!

Straub Gives Out Free Masks for New Years
Written by Lisa Kubota - lkubota@kgmb9.com
Saturday, December 29, 2007 05:27 PM
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/2949/40/
KGMB9 - Honolulu, HI, USA

Hawaii health experts said there's always a rise in emergency room visits on New Year's Eve and the following day. But for those affected by all the smoke, some simple steps can help you enjoy the celebration.

With New Year's Eve just around the corner, businesses is brisk at this fireworks shop.

"The fireworks business typically starts out kind of slow and steady and we're just starting to get busy now. It's starting to pick up," said Kyle Pare, TNT Fireworks.

At TNT fireworks on Beretania Street, the tables are piled high. Customers can choose from all kinds of products.

"When you toss em on the ground, they spin and they pop," said Jarryd Magbee, Kailua resident.

"We have a variety of things that require permits and then for people that don't want to get the permits, we have some comparable - not as quite a big a bang - but over here to the right," Pare said.

But not everyone is a fan of all the festivities. For those with respiratory conditions like asthma or emphysema -- all the smoke can be downright dangerous.

"People that have these underlying conditions can actually a suffer a severe breathing attack and end up in a emergency room or even hospitalization because of fireworks smoke exposure," said Dr. Jeffrey Kam, Straub Clinic & Hospital.

Straub Clinic is helping residents breathe with ease into the New Years.

On Saturday, people picked up free masks at Ala Moana.

Health experts were also on hand to answer questions and offer advice.

"You want to try avoid exposure to fireworks smoke. If that's not possible, like staying in doors, to find an air conditioned environment to hang out, then they can put a filter mask on so they can venture outside and not inhale the smoke," Kam said.

But for others, the holiday wouldn't be the same without a colorful and noisy start to the new year.

"I actually wanted to find out exactly what to get for the kids. If it was up to me, I'd buy pretty much everything," said customer Vance Inouye.

Other tips include, making sure your medication is up to date and easily accessible. Also, drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™




December 29, 2007

So whats wrong with lasers?

IN THE NEWS: THE TOP 10 STORIES OF THE YEAR
http://www.burbankleader.com/articles/2007/12/29/news/blr-top1029.txt
Fireworks canceled, but lasers are in

7 Fire safety concerns sparked the cancellation this year of the city’s traditional Fourth of July fireworks display at the Starlight Bowl.

The decision came after Burbank Fire Department officials assessed moisture levels in the hillside near the bowl, concluding the terrain was far too brittle to conduct a show safely.

The year was plagued by wildfires across Southern California, locally with an outbreak above Barham Boulevard in March, and the Griffith Park fire, which scorched more than 800 acres over a two-day period in May.

According to fire officials, the cancellation was a last resort, and preventative measures, like trimming back brush in the hills or pre-treating the area with fire retardant would not have remedied the situation.

Community response was mixed, with residents both bemoaning the loss of a perennial holiday staple while agreeing that safety was a priority.

Park, Recreation and Community Services officials replaced the fireworks with a patriotic laser light show, which brought out about 2,000 attendees, a significant decline over figures closer to 4,000 in 2006.

In regards to Fourth of July fireworks displays in the future, fire safety officials said that cancellations may become more of the norm than the exception.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™




December 13, 2007

Inviting the fox into the hen house

click here to read rest of article

Oh man...we saw this coming. This is really simple for the fireworks peddlers. Just make sure you pack the "citizen task force" with people biased (secretly or not) in your favor. Fortunately here they dont have a majority but that is only members who have announced their biases (and were put forward by the Fireworks industry) This is a loose loose situation. Fireworks companies preach education just like the cigarette companies. LAAG has seen from Fire Department studies that eliminating all fireworks (legal and illegal) has the effect of making enforcement easier and actually decreases the use of illegal fireworks. Anytime the fireworks industry is suggesting that people put their faith in some recently passed legislation (such as senate bill 839) you can be sure that that industry had a lot to do with its crafting via lobbyists and other "persuasive individuals" and methods. Senate bill 839 is worthless and is just another unproven unfunded mandate used as window dressing by the fireworks industry in an attempt to put further pressure on out of state sellers already stealing CA peddlers "safe and sane" business.

New citizen task force focuses on fireworks
By Elaine Larsen EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Article Launched: 12/12/2007 01:13:07 PM PST

Fireworks and Pacifica. Legal and illegal. Just what should the relationship between pyrotechnics and the community be?

That's going to be the fiery question for a newly formed citizen task force recently established by the Pacifica City Council.

Task Force members appointed are Deborah Joves, Dr. Kimberly Conner, Julie Hartsell (who is a PB&R commissioner), Bernie Sifry, Bill Gray (TN football coach), Jeanne Matysiak, Allen Hale and Lionel Emde.

The mission of the task force is to research options for dealing with the ongoing problem of illegal fireworks that violators manage to set off each July 4 holiday under cover of darkness and obscured by the smoke and hubbub of safe and sane or legal fireworks.

It's an explosive problem to be sure -- how to put a cap on illegal bottle rockets and M-80s that cause mayhem in neighborhoods, yet not penalize those who enjoy safe and sane fireworks that are an old-fashioned tradition in Pacifica and fund sports and other programs for thousands of kids.

Police Chief Jim Saunders said he hand-picked a task force that hopefully reflects a full spectrum of interests. "Their purpose is to provide options for council," he said when the matter came before council late last month.

"The
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Task Force's direction is that there is no direction. They need to research and provide options," he said.

The only citizens who spoke were concerned about a brief reference to banning all fireworks in Saunders' staff report. As sports group boosters, they were concerned that would be the ultimate outcome of any task force recommendation.

One speaker said she was concerned the task force was a "back door" way of starting a ban on all fireworks.

TNT Fireworks spokesman Dennis Revell
also voiced a similar concern. He said the city should be focusing on a senate bill, 839, recently signed by the governor, which will throw more manpower and resources toward stopping the suppliers of illegal fireworks from bringing them over the border into California or selling them on the Internet in the first place. He also suggested the public education was another key to helping solve the problem.

Saunders said the council and community should not be fixated on the word "ban" in his staff report, noting that he was simply trying to open the door for full discussion of all options.

"At least three members of the task force were proposed by the fireworks company. We tried to make it a mixed group. Frankly, I'm open to anything. I wanted to leave it as open as possible, not leaning one way or another," Saunders said.

The chief's report also mentioned other options such as limiting the times that fireworks may be ignited or possibly limiting the locations that fireworks can be used in the city.

"This is not a complete list of options but only a few a council left up to the task force to research and provide direction to council," Saunders' staff report reads.

"The idea is not to limit the task force, but a ban is not the direction we're going," said Mayor Pete DeJarnatt.

There was some further discussion among council members about defining the task force's options, including an emphasis on enforcement, but the majority consensus ultimately was to leave all options open for research and discussion.

Chief Saunder said although the task force might well come up with an alternative funding source to replace the sale of safe and sane fireworks -- an "ah-ha" type solution," he also said he understands that a ban on fireworks is clearly not the direction the council is going.

"I'm anticipating there will be nine or ten options, but will make it clear that the council is not interested in a ban so that option better be at the bottom of the list," he said.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™




November 3, 2007

More bonds anyone?

Great Advice. Lets face it. No matter how many taxes we pay or bonds we taxpayers pay interest on (no bonds are not free) there will never be enough money for the voracious appetite of the "public safety" unions. Orange County passed some bond measures a few years ago just for firefighting readiness and the money was pissed away on foolish nonsense (in addition to out of control salaries and pensions). Pay more in taxes and it will get wasted. 90% that is true with so called "freebie" bonds advertised on the phony propositions. The reason is that the people we elect to guard the money are crooks and liars. The goal is to get govt. to use the money it already has more wisely before we turn into a socialist republic. Better yet just keep your fire and flood insurance up to date and quit pinning your hopes on the govermnet to help you out. Can't wait until the region is hit with a large earthquake. That will make Katrina look like like a holiday.

C A L I F O R N I A C O M M E N T A R Y
A weekly opinion column from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Don't Get Burned Twice
By Jon Coupal


Those who have suffered loss in the fires that have ravaged Southern
California could, along with other California citizens across the
state, get burned again.


There is no minimizing the extent of the calamity. During the worst
of the crisis, nearly one million people were compelled to evacuate
their homes. All those who were not in immediate danger had to do to
grasp the magnitude of the disaster was to watch the continuous
television coverage, or just look out their windows at the smoke on
the horizon.


While the vast majority of citizens feel genuine compassion for the
victims and admiration for the firefighters who have stood between
us and the inferno, there are those who have mixed feelings. These
folks may also feel for those who have lost their homes, and in some
cases their lives, but they also experience a quiet feeling of
elation. These are the members of the political class who see
opportunity in misfortune.


The debate has already begun as to what should and could have been
done to head off or minimize fire damage. Some have even gone so far
as to blame, without evidence, U.S. involvement in Iraq or global
warming. But back in the real world, a serious evaluation of our
fire suppression techniques and resources is justifiable. And it is
certainly appropriate that we look for lessons that will help us
reduce future risk.


Unfortunately, it is as certain as night follows day, that prior to
thoroughly evaluating any actual need, there will be politicians,
bureaucrats and leaders of public safety employee unions who will be
advocating new taxes "to keep us safe." Indeed, an opinion piece in
the San Diego newspaper has already blamed Proposition 13 -- "which
slashed property taxes" -- for the inability to organize a more
regionalized response to fire dangers. (Never mind that per capita
property tax collections in San Diego, even adjusting for inflation,
are far higher than they were just prior to Prop. 13).


The appropriate level of service and taxation is always a legitimate
subject for public debate. But before we let our emotional reaction
to the fires cloud our judgment, we should take a collective deep
breath.


Those who want more and higher taxes, which is most of the political
establishment, have no shame when it comes to playing on emotions to
get taxpayers to open their wallets. Their favorite tools to
manipulate votes are children, public safety and natural disasters
-- an extension of the public safety issue.


Almost everyone can remember being asked to approve a new tax
because "it's for the children." In recent years, Rob Reiner has
backed several tax increase initiatives, one that succeeded and one
that failed, that used children in this way.


For tax raisers, anything related to public safety is also
considered a good bet to squeeze more from taxpayers. Not long ago,
Los Angeles County voters were asked to consider a bump in the sales
tax for police. Backers of the higher tax ran a television ad
showing a woman and her daughter cowering in their home as someone
tried to break in. It was not hard to get the intended message that
you or your loved ones would become victims if the new tax did not
pass.


Natural disasters have played a major role in the high level of
sales taxes all Californians pay today. During the special election
of 1993, the Legislature placed on the ballot Proposition 172, a
permanent half-cent sales tax increase that would go to local
government for public safety, including fire suppression. Ten days
before election day, tracking polls showed the measure lagging. Then
several major wildfires broke out and made fighting fires a topical
issue. The tax promoters seized the opportunity and ran a
last-minute television blitz featuring soaring flames and sweating
firefighters. The dramatic ad turned the political dynamic on its
head and the tax for public safety was approved with 58 percent of
the vote.


Ironically, we are all paying more and we still have fires.
Politicians who will propose new taxes in the aftermath of the
recent disaster are hoping voters will have forgotten that we are
already paying higher taxes for fire protection. Let's be careful
not to get burned again.

Jon Coupal is President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
-- California's largest taxpayer organization -- which is dedicated
to the protection of Proposition 13 and promoting taxpayers' rights.

This column can be found on the HJTA website at:
http://www.HJTA.org/commentaryV5-44


Friday, October 26, 2007
Pols, voters said no to fire funds
Firefighters' 2005 effort to fund new equipment was defeated 3-1

By NORBERTO SANTANA Jr. and TONY SAAVEDRA
The Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/news/county-fire-orange-1911091-firefighters-resources#

Two of the Orange County politicians now complaining about the lack of air support for the Santiago Fire opposed firefighters' effort to purchase new helicopters and trucks two years ago.

In fact, county officials today are sitting on more than $80 million in excess revenue from a statewide public safety sales tax adopted 13 years ago.

That surplus has been a longstanding sore spot for OC firefighters, who at times this week were so overwhelmed they had to seek refuge inside fire retardant tents.

The firefighter's 2005 ballot initiative would have redirected a small portion of the ½ cent sales tax, providing $8 million for new helicopters and $33 million for new fire trucks.

But the entire Board of Supervisors, the sheriff and district attorney opposed the measure, saying it was an attempt to pick the pocket of county law enforcement. County voters rejected the initiative, with 73 percent voting no.

This week, State Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange and Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell joined Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather in blaming state fire officials for not sending enough air support during the early hours of the fire.

Spitzer called the lack of resources being delivered by the state "unconscionable."

That rankled firefighters, who remember that both Campbell and Spitzer campaigned against their funding measure and signed the ballot arguments against it.

"Many of those who are now complaining about inadequate resources are the very people who opposed firefighters' efforts to secure those resources," said Dan Young, who represents the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association.

Orange County firefighters have argued with the supervisors for years about the proceeds of the public safety tax. Firefighters say politicians used the devastating 1993 Laguna fire to sell the tax to the public. Orange County has collected more than $2 billion since the tax went into effect in January of 1994.

County officials maintain that the tax proceeds belong to the sheriff and the district attorney. They say the Fire Authority only serves 43 percent of the county and has its own property tax funding base.

The same argument has raged up and down the state, pitting firefighters against numerous county boards. In some counties, supervisors have shared the proceeds of the tax with fire departments.

In 2005, Orange County firefighters gave up on the lobbying and spent more than $600,000 to put a special ballot initiative together that would have diverted up to 10 percent of the county's share of the public safety tax to the Orange County Fire Authority. That would have been about $20 million a year.

In a February 2004 resolution adopted by the Orange County Fire Authority, the board of directors noted that "due to lack of sufficient funding, the authority has been forced to keep equipment in use that should have been replaced long ago, including Vietnam-era helicopters and aging wildfire fighting trucks."

A document presented to supervisors in 2004 noted that the consequences of continued funding shortfalls at the fire authority would mean a "greater likelihood that initial resources will be unable to control fires in their early stages so as to prevent additional losses."

The county supervisors, Sheriff Mike Carona, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs and the Orange County Employees Association all fought a bitter campaign against the ballot measure, titled Measure D.

Supervisors Campbell, Spitzer and Chris Norby argued that the union-sponsored initiative sought to cover bad spending practices by the fire authority and dip into critical law enforcement resources.

"They weren't asking the voters to raise revenue. They just wanted to stick their fingers in the sheriff's and DA's pie. I didn't feel fire should be competing with law enforcement," Spitzer said.

Campbell saw Measure D as a move by the firefighters' union to "add new union members."

He came up with a novel idea for thwarting the ballot initiative: The supervisors placed three other initiatives tinkering with proceeds of the public safety tax on the ballot. .

All four were defeated by a three-to-one margin in November of 2005.

Young and the firefighters now say the funds from that ballot vote would have made a big difference during this week's fires.

Fire officials and experts from outside the county agree.

John "J.P." Harris, a retired 38-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said Orange County has only itself to blame for the lack of air resources this week.

"If Orange County wants to have adequate air resources for an initial attack on a wildland fire, the only way they can guarantee that is to own it," Harris said. "I feel (Fire Chief Chip Prather's) frustration. I just think citizens of Orange County, if they want to have air resources, they need to pay for it themselves and not depend on the state."

The Los Angeles City Fire Department has four helicopters -- double that of Orange County. The Los Angeles County Fire Department, the biggest on the West Coast, has 10 aircraft, including three large Sikorsky Firehawks. The city also rents two "Super Scooper" planes from September through January.

"Why do we have a fleet and others don't? Because the taxpayers of Los Angeles County pay for it," said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Sam Padilla. "Where do you spend your budget?"

Orange County's Campbell said Friday that the fire authority does need to look at its resources. Perhaps, he said, the county should keep the two old helicopters and add two more.

"The fact we weren't able to get the resources we always assumed would be available, says we've got to relook at the assumption," he said.

Contact the writer: Contact the writer at nsantana@ocregister.com

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™




October 29, 2007

No one wants to take their medicine

Well we knew it was coming. Just like it does every year. TV reporter bonanza week. Fire Season which now stretches into longer and longer seasons each year, as do the number of santa ana's or "offshore wind events" (as they are now in this age over "techno-describing" everything). So now the blame game begins. Who can we blame? The feds, FEMA, the state, the county, the city, developers, insurers, real estate industry, Al Queda, Global Warming, Al Gore...? The LA Times article below only covers some of it issues. It takes aim at the developers and the home buyers who buy into this mess we have in the housing market we have today. Here are some other causes:

1. Lack of proper brush clearing. Clearing should be a quarter mile from homes. Will that get done? No as its too costly and most of the brush to be cleared lies on govt. owned land and we all know they wont clear their own land while at the same time telling private homeowners to do it.

2. Allowing politicians to squander money away in ballot propositions aimed at fixing a specific problem and diverting it toward some other pet project or "political fire" of the moment.

3. Lack of cost effectiveness in fire protection. Like building a 50 million dollar training center in Orange County (aka "Taj Mahal") which really could have been spent on more part time crews to fight fires or leasing better air or ground equipment to use on a temporary basis in the fire season.

4. Not effectively using prisoners or volunteers to help with structure protection

5. Poor overall coordination of firefighting resources throughout the state

6. Homeowners or HOA's not insuring property for current rebuilding costs.Some have estimated that in the most recent fire 60% of the homeowners will be under insured.

7. Failure of the federal government to implement a federally mandated "all risk" homeowners policy that covers all risks regardless of what area of the country you live in.

8. Failure of homeowners, builders, government and insurers, to accept the risk of living in fire prone areas and doing what it takes to live there (getting adequate insurance, clearing brush, ensuring proper construction with fire resistant materials, fire spotting volunteers in high risk areas and periods etc., proper zoning and locations)

9. Failure of the government at all levels to insure that brush and trees do not get too thick in non cleared areas. This means the environmentalist will need to back off if they are going to allow development in these areas. I wonder how many "tree huggers" lost their homes?

10. Not undertaking an analysis as to what the origin of most of these fires are and taking steps to reduce the likelihood of those causes. Arson is obviously a big issue and very difficult to stop. Powerline issues are simply the result of negligence.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-notebook30oct30,0,5869832.story?coll=la-home-center
From the Los Angeles Times
CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK
It's time to recognize, not defy, wildfire risks
To break the cycle of build and burn, those who create and approve subdivisions in Southern California must take site and climate into consideration.
By Christopher Hawthorne
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

7:25 PM PDT, October 29, 2007

The enduring image of the Southern California hillside resident -- the one who braces for disaster every fall, just as the Santa Anas begin to blow -- is that of a self-reliant, latter-day homesteader who settled up among the trees because he finds solitude and freedom there. And maybe because he remains a bit suspicious of life in the city.

It wasn't hard to find examples of the breed in news coverage of last week's devastating fires, guiding horses to safety or crustily refusing to evacuate. Yet the vast majority of the nearly 2,000 houses destroyed so far weren't outposts marking the last remaining frontiers of the American West. They were neatly lined up in subdivisions, on gently curving streets slotted into terraced hillsides. Many of the biggest fires grew by leaping from one cul-de-sac to the next, tearing through the territory that the writer Mike Davis once called "Sloping Suburbia."

Since the middle of the 20th century, this is how we have developed much of our new housing in the U.S., and particularly in Southern California: by pushing deep into canyons and deserts and onto flood plains. We build reassuringly familiar-looking subdivisions, decorated with vaguely Spanish or Mediterranean accents, in locations that by land-use standards -- and by common-sense standards -- are truly exotic. We build with the unstinting belief that growth is good and that progress in the form of various kinds of technology -- new building materials, military-style firefighting, a vast system of pumps and levees -- will continue to make it possible to construct new pockets of nostalgic architecture virtually anywhere.

But maybe our nostalgia should extend beyond red-tile roofs to include earlier lessons about how and where it is safe to build. This country's culture as a whole is in the midst of a profound shift from the unquestioning confidence that marked the so-called American Century to a new recognition of risk, conservation, even fragility. Green architecture, with its rather old-fashioned emphasis on paying attention to site and climate, is part of that shift. But those who build and approve new hillside development -- "the lords of subdivision," as the nature writer Richard Lillard called them, the "replanners of the Earth's surface" -- have barely acknowledged it.

One of the success stories of the last week has been Stevenson Ranch near Santa Clarita, which narrowly averted destruction in part because its houses were built with concrete roof tiles and heat-resistant windows. To celebrate this neighborhood as a model for escaping fire is itself a kind of escapism. But the question is never, Why am I building here on this hillside that predictably catches fire every few years in the fall (and maybe now in spring or summer too)? It is, instead, How can technology and new materials -- how can progress -- protect me from the dangers inherent in living where I have chosen to live?

The aesthetic basis of a typical subdivision is reassurance and stability. Builders enforce those qualities with massive earthmoving operations, to flatten the streets and blur the topographical differences between one hillside and the next, and with architecture, choosing from a well-worn catalog of residential styles.

The media pitch in too. Thursday night on CNN, Anderson Cooper and other anchors focused relentlessly on the news that an arsonist may have set the Santiago fire in eastern Orange County. The Santiago fire destroyed 14 houses -- a tiny fraction of the total this week. By contrast, the Witch fire that roared through suburban developments in northern San Diego County, consuming more than 1,000 houses, was caused by downed power lines. The emphasis on possible crime suggested that the disaster could be pinned on a few rogue evildoers. But the vast majority of destroyed houses burned as a direct result of choices made by home builders, homeowners, politicians and planners about where to put new development. The culprit is us.

The truth is that most Southern California residents who move into fire-threatened hillside neighborhoods are not adventurous souls hoping to thumb their noses at convention and urban mores and carve out a life surrounded by nature. While houses near Lake Arrowhead and in certain canyons that burned this year are marked by real isolation, most are merely looking for spacious single-family residences that feel attractively adjacent to, rather than in the heart of, the hills and mountain ranges that divide the region's coastline from its deserts.

Adjacency to nature rather than full immersion in it has always been at the heart of the suburbs' appeal. The developers who create our version of it, particularly in the fastest growing parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, have been highly successful at giving their projects the air of the familiar mixed with a touch of unspoiled landscape.

Disasters, though, have a way of stripping away those signs of comfort and rather starkly revealing land-use patterns as well as the philosophies that underpin growth. The flooding in New Orleans that followed Hurricane Katrina, for example, wiped out mostly suburban-style ranch houses that had been built slab-on-grade, without the raised foundations and other low-tech flood-protection mechanisms that once distinguished the city's houses.

There is a reason that the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans virtually never flood. They were built on naturally high ground, produced over the centuries by deposits of Mississippi River silt. And there is a reason that wildfires in Southern California prey mostly on subdivisions built in the last 50 years or so, when suburban expansion and faith in American know-how were at their height.

We can draw a final connection here, even if it is only a metaphorical one. The way that American home builders keep pushing out into new territory, developing parcels of land once considered unsafe for residential construction, is an architectural version of the way that banks and lenders have acted over the last decade, practically tossing money at borrowers once dismissed as too much of a credit risk. The goal in both cases is to maintain a pace of growth and expansion that is ultimately unsustainable.

The crisis in the credit markets, by pulling down the broader economy, has shined some needed light on predatory lending and slowed its spread. Though history suggests that we probably shouldn't hold our breath, perhaps the fires, by the sheer scale of their destruction, will have a similar effect on the way we build.

christopher.hawthorne@latimes.com

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™r>



August 20, 2007

Fireworks and air pollution

Wildfires causing Valley air pollution
Regulators alert citizens with respiratory problems
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Article Last Updated: 08/16/2007 02:36:07 AM PDT
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_6637383

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has issued a cautionary warning for much of the San Joaquin Valley due to two fires in southern California.

The fires — the Zaca fire in Santa Barbara County and the Tar Canyon fire in Fresno County — have spiked particulate levels to 55 micrograms per cubic meter in Bakersfield, or 20 micrograms above the federally accepted level, said Brenda Turner, a spokeswoman with the air district.

Though those closer to the fires have more to be worried about, residents in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties with respiratory problems, such as lung disease or asthma, or heart disease may want to stay indoors if they smell smoke, Turner said.

The immediate threat is small, but heavy winds could send smoke farther north.

To put particulate levels in perspective, fires in a fireplace also elevate the air to about 55 micrograms per cubic meter, Turner said. Fireworks raise the air to extremely high particulate levels. Modesto's fireworks boosted levels to 302 micrograms per cubic meter in July 2006.

However, particulate readings are averaged over a 24-hour period, and levels hit the 55 mark only once Wednesday.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™




July 5, 2007

Woman Arrested In Fireworks Sale

The illegal fireworks here were not TNT's but this was one of their sellers. An interesting issue that has not been closely looked at in California I am sure. Legal fireworks sellers using booths to sell illegal fireworks. Perfect.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20070705/NEWS/707050460/1004

Published Thursday, July 5, 2007
Woman Arrested In Fireworks Sale
Officials say she was warned before worker sold illegal product to officer.

By Gabrielle Finley
The Ledger

LAKELAND - A 27-year-old Oregon woman was arrested Wednesday in Lakeland after a sheriff's deputy found illegal fireworks at a stand in North Lakeland, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Shauna Ranee Powell of Newberg, Ore., was given a warning Tuesday when sheriff's Detective Gordon Opitz spotted the illegal fireworks and told her to get rid of them, a sheriff's report said.

But, according to the report, she didn't heed his advice.

On Wednesday, a 17-year-old boy who was working for her sold the plainclothes officer illegal fireworks, the report said.

Powell was charged with two counts of selling illegal fireworks and one count each of conspiracy to sell illegal fireworks and solicitation to sell illegal fireworks, all misdemeanor charges, the report said.

She was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, also a misdemeanor, the report said.

Powell told the deputy she owns all six of the TNT Fireworks stands in Polk County, the report said.

At the stand in Lakeland, Opitz saw mortar shells that leave the ground and explode, the report said.

The 17-year-old worker told the deputy that Powell told him to only sell the illegal fireworks to "African Americans or Mexicans because white people could be cops," the report said.

The boy also told the deputy that on Wednesday, Powell told him to put the illegal fireworks under the table so they weren't visible to law enforcement officers, the report said.

Gabrielle Finley can be reached at 802-7590 or gabrielle.finley@theledger.com.




3 shot to death in dispute over fireworks, police say

another reason not to have fireworks [LAAG]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/05/fireworks.ap/index.html

# Story Highlights
# Firefighter arrested in connection with fatal shootings near his home in Cleveland
# Near Seattle, man shot to death during argument at fireworks event
# Near Detroit, two injured in explosion; police think they were making fireworks
# In Florida, man charged with arson in fireworks chain reaction; two injured

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- A neighbor apparently angry about noisy fireworks shot three people to death early Thursday and wounded two others, police said.

Terrance Hough Jr., a 35-year-old off-duty firefighter, was arrested in connection with the shootings near his home shortly after midnight, police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said. No charges had been filed Thursday morning.

The shooter was apparently upset about loud noise from fireworks at a house next door and opened fire, killing two men and a woman, all in their early- to mid-20s, Stacho said. He said another man was shot in the elbow and a woman was wounded in the hand.

The area of neat ranch homes overlooking the industrial Cuyahoga River valley is popular among firefighters and police officers who are required to live in the city.

Near Seattle, Washington, another man was shot during an argument at a fireworks celebration and died after aid workers trying to help him felt threatened by a hostile crowd, authorities said.

More than 100 people were present when the two men began arguing around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday in a parking lot in Skyway, an unincorporated area between Seattle and Renton, Washington. Paramedics called after the shooting found the crowd so threatening, they had to quickly take the wounded man out to continue CPR, said David Nelson, a spokesman for county Fire District 20.

Sheriff's Detective Bob L. Conner said it was unclear whether moving the man before continuing CPR was a factor in his death. King County sheriff's deputies were searching for the suspect.

In a Detroit suburb, an explosion that could be felt blocks away injured two brothers who authorities believe were trying to make fireworks in a maintenance building at an apartment complex.

The men, in their 30s, were in critical condition following the Fourth of July blast in Oakland County's Independence Township, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit, authorities said.

"Obviously something went wrong, we're not sure if it was static electricity or they did something else stupid," said Oakland County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin McCall.

Authorities believe the two men, whose identities were not released, were using explosive powder to build fireworks, but said the explosion was under investigation.

In Port Richey, Florida, a woman and her 5-year-old son suffered minor injuries when a man lit a firecracker in a fireworks stand, setting off a chain reaction of hundreds of fireworks. The woman sprained her ankle while trying to escape the burning roadside stand, and her son's hair and head were scorched.

Tony Glenn Rogers, 39, of Tampa was arrested on arson charges and was being held on $51,000 bond Thursday, Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said. Deputies were searching for another suspect. It was unclear from court and jail records Thursday if Rogers had a lawyer.

In St. Pete Beach, Florida, a mortar from a fireworks show triggered an explosion that shattered 22 windows at a motel. Four people at the motel were cut by flying glass and eight working on the fireworks show suffered minor injuries, said city spokeswoman Natalie Strong.




March 31, 2007

March 30, 2007 Hollywood fire started with Fireworks

Once again fireworks, Kids and a dry season all will add up to a fun summer. Just think how many baseball uniforms we could buy with all the money we spent to put this fire out.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-fire31mar31,1,4997143.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

Hillside fire threatens landmark, fouls the air
The blaze quickly burns 160 acres in the Hollywood Hills but stops short of signature sign. Two teens admit starting it, mayor says.


By Rong-Gong Lin II and Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writers
March 31, 2007



Photo from LA Times and User-submitted photo by: PhotoMatt

A fast-moving brush fire cut a path through bone-dry terrain in the Hollywood Hills on Friday, churning massive plumes of smoke across the region that slowed traffic, jangled nerves and for a time threatened the Hollywood sign.

The 160-acre blaze, the largest in the heavily populated Hollywood Hills in nearly two decades, consumed brushland above the Warner Bros. Studio and Forest Lawn cemetery.

The fire occurred in what is usually Southern California's rainy season and comes as the region is experiencing its driest year on record. Firefighters warned that they expect the fire danger to remain high through the spring.

Witnesses told authorities they saw two teenagers setting off fireworks about 1 p.m. near the Oakwood apartments, a temporary housing village near several major studios frequented by people in the entertainment business.

Three hours later, two teenagers from Illinois who were visiting the Oakwood turned themselves in to police and admitted starting the blaze, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. The boys, ages 16 and 17, were detained by LAPD officers on suspicion of reckless setting of a fire and then released to their parents' custody, pending possible prosecution.

"They were old enough to know what they were doing," said Villaraigosa, adding that the boys first told their parents about setting the fire before together calling police.