Homes, college evacuated as wildfire erupts in Northern California

A fast-moving wildfire that broke out on Thursday on the outskirts of a National Forest in Northern California has prompted the evacuation of a community college, a major highway and some residents, officials said.

The Mountain Fire, which erupted about noon PDT just north of the town of Bella Vista in Shasta County, had raced across some 600 acres (240 hectares) within a few hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said on its incident website.

Photos of the blaze posted on Twitter by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office showed thick black and gray smoke billowing into the area over a highway near the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. There was no containment of the flames.

"Jones Valley and Bella Vista area residents! This situation is very fluid and rapidly changing, if you do not see your road listed but feel you are in danger YOU MAY EVACUATE to Shasta College Gymnasium," the sheriff's department said in a separate tweet.

The Shasta College campus was closed along with Highway 299 and about a dozen smaller roads. Residents of small communities in the path of the flames were told to evacuate or be prepared to flee on short notice.

California was hit by some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in a century last year and state officials have warned this year's fire season could be similarly intense.

The Camp Fire, which broke out in Butte County in November and overran the town of Paradise, killed 89 people and left thousands of others homeless. State fire investigators determined that the Camp Fire was sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric Co transmission lines.

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California 'fire tornado' forced residents to flee in chaos

REDDING, California - The "fire tornado" that ripped through Northern California last week forced residents to flee their homes chaotically, many with their pets and little else, people sheltering in Red Cross evacuation centers said.

The blaze, the seventh most destructive in California history, roared suddenly into Redding and adjacent communities after being whipped by gale-force winds into a fire storm that jumped the Sacramento River.

The erratic blaze forced 38,000 people from their homes. Most of them are staying at hotels or with friends and relatives. But nearly 300 are at Red Cross shelters in the Redding area, including retired firefighter Steven Bailey.

Bailey and others at the shelter said the fire's towering inferno bewildered them.

"It's tough being on the other side. Being on the engine and going in, that was tough but it was a different type of tough when you get told to leave and you don't know anything, yeah, so it's different. I don't wish anyone to have to experience (it)."

Rob McDonald said he left his home in Shasta County hoping the fire would not make it up the hill where he lives, taking only a few personal items with him.

"Wish I would have grabbed a few other things. I was thinking it wasn't going to get up there, it was a just 'in-case' thing. And it did. And so I'm in limbo, total limbo as to what's going on up there," McDonald said.

As the fire approached, people grabbed what they could. For many, that included their furry friends.

Volunteers set up a special hall at the Shasta College evacuation center to cater for people with pets, not only dogs and cats but also rats, pot-bellied pigs and a giant tortoise.

Frank Williams, who managed to bring his dogs but had to leave his pet birds behind, was emotional when recalling how noisy the animals were when they arrived last Friday.

"I can tell you about how quiet it was last night, after the animals being stressed from when we got in here on Friday. You could have heard a pin drop, finally, last night because all the animals were dead tired from barking," Williams said.

Wildfire evacuations have become a fact of life in California, which is bearing the brunt of an extreme run of wildfires across the U.S. West.

At least 10,000 people have been dislodged in Mendocino County in California's wine country from two wildfires. Hundreds were evacuated from the Cranston Fire in Riverside County east of Los Angeles last week.

Erratic winds and record high temperatures have fueled blazes that blackened nearly 410,000 acres in California, the state's highest year-to-date level in a decade.

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Some Fil-Ams heed mandatory evacuations as dam threatens flooding

YUBA CITY, California - Filipino-American Plen Brion received a mandatory emergency evacuation order at his Pluma Lake home on Sunday afternoon, after the emergency spillway at the Oroville Dam began to erode, threatening to flood communities.

The spillway guards against the dam’s overflow when water levels are high.

Complying with the message, Brion was among some 188,000 people who evacuated from several Northern California counties.

On Monday, Brion briefly returned to his home to pick up his medication.

“As you can see from this place the house is not clean the dishes are still in the sink… because we just left because it was an emergency!” Brion said.

Brion and his family have lived in their home for the past decade. He said he never expected something like this could happen.

“Flood insurance wasn’t mandatory anymore because they just upgraded the levees. But right now, the levees are kind of high with water,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Yuba City, Ed Hernandez and his family decided to stay than evacuate from their home Sunday night.

“As a Filipino, I’m used to a flood and I know that during a flood, we can still swim outside the house and I want to experience it in America,” Hernandez said in jest.

“We know that it takes time for the water to come down from the dam,” he said. “My kids would like to go right away, and my eldest son was at the Kings game last night…he was telling me that he would go to Stockton, but his mom told him to come home,” Hernandez added.

The Hernandez family spent the night together watching for updates about the dam.

“We kept seeing the numbers decline as the hours [went on]… so we ended up staying,” said Kenneth Hernandez. “But a lot of our friends, a lot of our neighbors, did go to other cities and evacuated.”

The Oroville Dam, America’s tallest dam, remains intact. Officials say water is no longer flowing over the emergency spillway, and lake levels are continuing to fall.

But evacuations continue, as officials try to make repairs before new storms hit later in the week.

Read more on Balitang America.

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Magnitude 6.5 earthquake reported off coast of northern California: USGS

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 was reported off the coast of Northern California on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of damage in the nearest town, officials said.

The quake was centered about 102 miles (165 kilometers) in the Pacific Ocean west of Ferndale, California, at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 km), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

There was no tsunami warning, advisory or threat in effect following the earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center of the National Weather Service said on its website.

In Ferndale, which has a population of about 1,300 people, Mayor Don Hindley said in a phone interview that he had not heard of any damage from the quake. He said he felt the temblor for about 15 seconds.

"It wasn’t that bad at all," Hindley said.

In the San Francisco Bay area, about 250 miles (402 km) south of Ferndale, the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency said on Twitter it was running its system with a 10-minute delay and with trains traveling at reduced speeds due to the quake. The move was a standard precaution by BART.

The quake was first reported with a 6.9 magnitude but downgraded to 6.5.

Some social media users said they felt the tremor in San Francisco, about 260 miles (418.43 km) south.

"That was a big one," wrote Twitter user Antonis Papatsaras from the Bay Area city.

"Felt 20 seconds of very light shaking," tweeted another San Francisco resident, Lila LaHodd.

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Strong magnitude 6 quake hits northern California - USGS

SAN FRANCISCO - A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted California early Sunday morning, the US Geological Survey said, though there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious damage.

The quake struck at 3:20 am (1020 GMT) northwest of American Canyon, California, USGS said, at a depth of just 6.7 miles (10.8) kilometers from the surface.

Residents of the cities of San Francisco, some 40 miles away, and Davis, just over 70 miles away, quickly took to Twitter reporting feeling the quake.

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Robin Williams a 'true Disney Legend,' CEO says

The chairman and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company joined celebrities and fans across the globe in expressing sadness over the untimely death of actor-comedian Robin Williams.

In a statement posted on Disney.com, Robert Iger referred to Williams as a “true Disney Legend,” noting his role as Genie in Disney’s hit animated film “Aladdin” and as an alien in “Mork & Mindy.”

The website also posted a photo of Genie and Aladdin hugging each other.

“We’re deeply saddened by the loss of Robin Williams, a wonderfully gifted man who touched our hearts and never failed to make us laugh. An incredible actor and a comedic genius, Robin will always be remembered for bringing some of the world’s favorite characters to life, from his zany alien on ABC’s Mork & Mindy to the irascible genie in Disney’s Aladdin.

“He was a true Disney Legend, a beloved member of our family, and he will be sorely missed,” Iger added. “We join Robin’s friends and fans everywhere in mourning, and offer our thoughts and condolences to his family during this difficult time.”

Williams was found dead on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) from an apparent suicide at his home in Northern California. He was 63.

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