Fighting Fire with Fire
Gap Fire 50 percent contained; smallest increase in acreage reported on Monday night.
Author: Nick Welsh
Focus on Sealing the Eastern Front
Diminishing sundowner winds allowed the gathering army of firefighters combating the Gap Fire to make major progress overnight along the southeastern edge of the inferno. More of the Camino Cielo ridgeline is vulnerable to the west, though.
Fire Chief Thought 100 Homes Would Burn Friday Night
Governor Schwarzenegger, on scene, pledges more resources to fight Gap Fire as other California fires increasingly contained.
Update From Friday Afternoon Gap Fire Press Conference
Gap Fire burns close to 6,000 acres; no estimate for containment.
Nearly 5,000 Evacuated
Fire spreads from Ellwood to Old San Marcos.
More Blackouts Likely
Chief Franklin warns the supervisors that more blackouts should be considered extremely likely, as a portion of the fire is blazing under Southern California Edison’s lines near Glen Annie.
High Turnover and Fragmented Focus Plague Foster Care
Of the 38 children emancipated from foster care last year throughout Santa Barbara County, 12 wound up homeless within six months.
McKinley Retires from DA’s Office
For years, Patrick McKinley liked to describe himself as “arguably the best assistant district attorney along the Pacific Rim.”
Construction Fits and Starts
Santa Barbara Planning Chief Paul Casey said he’s not troubled that construction has abated at the site of Fess Parker’s proposed new waterfront hotel on Cabrillo Boulevard for the past six weeks.
The Cost of Death Penalty
The State of California could save $100 million a year if the death penalty were abolished and those currently on death row were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, according to the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice.
