| Above, the first Smokey Bear poster. |
According to RV Travel:
On this day in history: 1944 – The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
| Above, the famous Moonshadows restaurant before and after the fire. |
It looks like those behind the FireAid benefit concert that raised over $100 million, purportedly to help those who were affected by the wildfires in January in Los Angles County, has hired a law firm to review the disbursements made. Many noted that organizations having nothing to do with the fires are getting the funds.
They have taken much criticism over the past few weeks by victims of the fires. They are also angry at the foot-dragging by Los Angeles and California officials over rebuilding permits. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom had promised expedited permitting, but have failed to do so.
Variety posted an article on FireAid and it begins with:
FireAid has hired a law firm, Latham & Watkins, to review the dispersal of roughly $100 million in funds that were raised in conjunction with a massive benefit concert earlier this year, the charitable organization announced Monday. FireAid released a letter it sent to Rep. Kevin Kiley of California about the internal review, shortly after the congressman posted it on his X account.
Some congresspeople and journalists have hit the organization with questions in recent weeks about how the money was given out, with stories picking up particular traction among conservative-leaning news outlets. FireAid has every reason to take the skepticism seriously, as Kiley and others have brought their issues or questions to the attention of President Trump, who on Friday posted a message that began, “‘FireAid’ is a total disaster. Looks like another Democrat inspired scam.”
To read more, go here.
From Fox 11 News:
A fire broke out yesterday near McGaffey.
It is situated south of Fort Wingate and Jamestown. We're keeping an eye on this.
Strong work today by McKinley County Fire Rescue. We had 4 confirmed Wildland Fires today. Also had two more called in that were found to be the forest fire in McGaffey. Thank you also for assistance by Gallup Fire Department and the US Forest Service. Three are out but the Forest Service is still on scene of the Merrill Fire in McGaffey. Additional resources will be arriving in the morning. Our units were released this evening. Good job everyone.
From the McKinley County Office of Emergency Management:
Updated 5.23.25 at 2259
Fire crews have made good progress on the Merrill fire with the help of two air tanker retardant drops. USFS resources will remain on scene overnight to continue building and reinforcing containment lines.
| Above, the meetings were held in the fire station conference room. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
On the fire portion of the meeting, we had speakers from the U.S. Forest Service, McKinley County Fire Department and on insurance. The meeting covered fire prevention measures such as brush clearance and then on evacuation. planning.
I managed to get a few Smokey Bear items:
Afterwards, Larry Lucier, Victor Gomez and I headed to Denny's for lunch/early dinner.
The Republican Party of New Mexico Albuquerque headquarters was firebombed yesterday morning.
Deemed a hate crime, the incident is under investigation.
| Above, the Olive Oatman Restaurant & Saloon was reportedly one of the buildings involved in the fire. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Two buildings caught fire last night in historic Oatman, Arizona.
The Mojave Valley Daily News reported:
OATMAN — A fire broke out in Oatman late Thursday night according to initial scanner traffic and on-scene personnel. As of 8:15 a.m. Friday morning, firefighting units were still on scene to handle flare-ups.
The fire was initially reported at 9:52 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, at the historic Oatman Hotel, but later reports indicated the fire is actually located at the Olive Oatman Restaurant & Saloon. Another building is also reportedly involved, but it was unclear which building as of 11:30 p.m. on Thursday night.
According to Mohave Valley Fire Department Chief Ted Martin, the fire was through the roof of one of the buildings as of 11:36 p.m., and crews are trying to contain it to that building.
As of 12:53 a.m. personnel on scene reported via the scanner that they believed the fire was under control and contained to the building of origin, but the fire was still considered to be active, with all crews remaining on scene.
To read more, go here.
UPDATE:
The Oatman General Store was reported as the second building involved in the fire.
Since it has been a dry winter, the Gallup/Jamestown, New Mexico can face wildfires like California.
The Gallup Fire Department posted the following on Facebook (thanks to Victor Gomez for passing it on):
With the wildfires happening in California, your Gallup Fire Department has been getting phone calls on what citizens can do to protect their home in the event of a fire like that here. We wanted to share some tips with you that you can use at your home. If you have more questions please do not hesitate to contact us at 505-722-4195.
According to Western Journal:
Among President Donald Trump’s first executive orders issued on Monday was one directing that a plan be implemented to deliver more water from northern California to the central and southern parts of the state.
He argued lack of water was a reason the California wildfires did such damage.
Trump recounted in his Jan. 20 order — titled “Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California” and directed to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior Departments — “During my first term, the State of California, at the direction of its Governor [Gavin Newsom], filed a lawsuit to stop my Administration from implementing improvements to California’s water infrastructure. My Administration’s plan would have allowed enormous amounts of water to flow from the snow melt and rainwater in rivers in Northern California to beneficial use in the Central Valley and Southern California.”
It has been reported that Trump will pay a visit to the fire stricken areas on Friday.
To read more, go here.
| Above, during the time I lived in my RV while waiting for the movers. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
When I moved to New Mexico seven years ago, I lived in my motorhome on the property for about 12 days while I waited for the movers to deliver my belongings.
Although this wasn't disaster-related, I can sort of relate living in an RV for a bit with the following.
Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles approved 3-year RV stays for victims of the fires. Finally, she's done something right!
RV Travel reported:
Los Angeles residents affected by the horrific wildfires haven’t caught too many breaks. But the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, has issued one that may help many with recovery efforts. Considered by some as a 180-turn in direction, call them LA fire RVs, the mayor says those whose homes have been wiped out by the fires will be able to live in RVs on their properties during the recovery process.
To read more, go here.
BREAKING: Gavin Newsome pleads with Biden to prioritize dispelling wildfire misinformation rather than actually, yknow, fighting the fire.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 10, 2025
Gavin Newsom needs to RESIGN. pic.twitter.com/6ojFfpC585
'FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP': @RealDeanCain excoriates California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the state's response to deadly infernos. The actor, who moved out of California 7 years ago, believes the wildfires could start a rightward political shift in the liberal stronghold. pic.twitter.com/vvjKvtfjnd
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 13, 2025
Attention has been given to the Delta Smelt fish that the Democrats have given preference over the needs of the state's citizens.
There's just one problem: the fish hasn't been seen in over a decade.
From the Gateway Pundit:
The tiny Delta Smelt fish have not been seen in the wild in California in over a decade.
And yet, California Democrats flushed annual water flow into the ocean to save this little fish that they can’t even find in its natural habitat.
Now several cities are burnt to the ground.
They sacrificed entire communities for a fish that doesn’t exist.
To read more, go here.
| Above, Sarah Michelle Gellar at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 promoting Ringer. Photo by Rach. |
AOL posted (sourced from the U.K. Independent):
Sarah Michelle Gellar has expressed frustration with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over the city’s response to this week’s devastating wildfires.
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, 47, tagged the official social media accounts of Bass and the City of Los Angeles as she complained in a post on her Instagram Stories: “City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping.”
Gellar is just one of many celebrities to have been forced to evacuate by a wave of catastrophic fires sweeping across southern California.
Several have blamed local government for a lack of preparedness. Salvador actor James Woods, who lost his home in the Palisades, wrote on X that the devastation caused by the fire wasn’t due to “climate change” but because of “liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass.”
“One doesn’t understand the first thing about fire management and the other can’t fill the water reservoirs,” wrote Woods.
To read more, go here.
| Above, Boy Scouts at Camp Josepho circa 1941. Camp Josepho Facebook photo. |
It has been reported that the Palisades Fire destroyed Camp Josepho.
According to Camp Josepho's website:
LOS ANGELES – The Western Los Angeles County Council, Scouting America announced today that 84-year-old Camp Josepho, its Scouting Camp nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains, was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades Fire. Council leadership plans to assess the extent of the damage once the fires have been contained and decide on next steps then.
However, right now, they are dedicated to supporting families who have lost homes and livelihoods due to the wildfires that are still ravaging Los Angeles.
“The loss of Camp Josepho is sad, but the loss of life and homes throughout Los Angeles is devastating,” said Lee Harrison, Scout Executive & CEO of the Council. “Scouting families are among the thousands who have lost everything due to the fires, and our top focus is assisting them – in addition to other members of the community who have been affected.”
To read more, go here. Please consider making a donation. I just sent mine in.
Democrats fundraising via ActBlue in the guise of relief for catastrophes made exponentially worse by Democrat leadership. Classy. https://t.co/gnD9q1E6fa
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) January 11, 2025
The Los Angeles County Fire Department sent out a county-wide emergency alert telling people to evacuate, even in areas not affected by any fires.
According to the Daily News:
The Los Angeles County Fire Department mistakenly sent out an evacuation warning to all of Los Angeles County Thursday afternoon, Jan. 9.
Just before 4 p.m., people across the county received cell phone alerts ordering them to evacuate, even in areas unaffected by the ongoing fires.
“It was an error,” LACFD spokesperson Kaitlyn Aldana said.
The alert caused many residents, already tense from the ongoing fires raging across the county, to fear their homes were now in danger, too.
They sent out another alert rescinding the error alert.
To read more, go here.
| Above, Gladstone's 4 Fish at PCH near Sunset Blvd. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It appears that Gladstone's 4 Fish in Pacific Palisades survived the Palisades Fire.
Eater L.A. posted this update yesterday:
Update: January 9, 2025: Gladstones is temporarily closed due to road closures and air quality. An outside storage area sustained slight damages from the fire, but the restaurant remains unharmed.
This is especially good news to me as I frequented Gladstone's when I lived in Los Angeles. I would like to go there if I should ever go back to Los Angeles for a visit.
For more on the restaurant casualties, go here.