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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 4 december 2020

Wind fans wildfire in California canyons, residents flee

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER fly into the neighborhood,”
Associated Press Kayrell said. “If there are fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pow- trucks on our street, we’re
erful gusts pushed flames going.”
from a wildfire through The new blaze broke out as
Southern California can- Southern California utilities
yons on Thursday, one of cut the power to tens of
several blazes that burned thousands of customers to
near homes and forced avoid the threat of wildfires
residents to flee amid el- during the notorious Santa
evated fire risk for most of Anas.
the region that prompted Red flag warnings of ex-
utilities to cut off power to treme fire danger through
hundreds of thousands. Saturday were in place
The biggest blaze began because of low humidity,
late Wednesday as a house bone-dry brush and the
fire in Orange County’s Sil- winds, which sweep down
verado Canyon, where from the interior, the Na-
gusts topped 70 mph (113 tional Weather Service said.
kph). Utilities in the populous re-
“When crews arrived it was gion began cutting power
a fully engulfed house and Wednesday to customers
the winds were extremely as a precaution to prevent
strong and they pushed Bruce McDougal prepares to defend his home as the Bond Fire burns though the Silverado gusts from blowing tree
flames into the vegeta- community in Orange County, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. limbs into electrical equip-
tion,” said Colleen Wind- Associated Press ment or knocking down
sor, a spokeswoman for the est and residents of other have said climate change home in the community of power lines, which have
county’s Fire Authority. nearby areas were told to has made California much Foothill Ranch on Thursday sparked devastating wild-
The fire grew to more than be ready to get out. drier, meaning trees and morning even though it lies fires in recent years.
6 square miles (16 square ki- It was not immediately other plants are more flam- in a very smoky mandatory Southern California Edison
lometers) and blanketed a known how many people mable. evacuation zone. The fam- cut power to about 15,000
wide area with smoke and were affected. Some struc- The Bond Fire about 50 miles ily’s bags were packed as homes and businesses by
ash. tures were damaged, but it (80 kilometers) southeast of they waited to see which late Wednesday night and
Firefighters struggled in was not immediately clear Los Angeles is burning near way the flames move, was considering de-ener-
steep terrain amid unpre- how many, Windsor said. the same area of Octo- Kayrell said, gizing lines serving about
dictable Santa Ana winds There was no containment ber’s Silverado Fire, which “A lot of the hillside imme- 271,000 customers in seven
that sent flames racing of the fire. forced tens of thousands diately behind my house counties throughout the
across major roads. Numerous studies have of people to evacuate. is already burned, so windy period, which could
Evacuations were ordered linked bigger wildfires Ryan Kayrell fled the Oc- we’re hoping that’s a buf- last into Saturday.
for several canyon and in America to climate tober fire with his wife and fer. Which isn’t to say that It was one of the util-
foothill neighborhoods change from the burning of two young children. But there’s no danger. The con- ity’s largest precautionary
near the city of Lake For- coal, oil and gas. Scientists the family stayed at their cern is that embers could blackouts.

California monolith pops up after finds in Utah, Romania

It’s at the top of a hill in the visitors flattened plants reaction to the monolith
Atascadero, halfway be- with their cars and left be- against the backdrop of
tween San Francisco and hind human waste. the punishing pandemic,
Los Angeles, KEYT-TV report- A structure that appeared along with the quick disap-
ed Wednesday. The tall, sil- last week in Romania is also pearance of the piece, has
ver structure drew hikers to gone. The Utah creation become a part of its story,
the area after photos were evoked famous land-art she said. Police have said
posted on social media. pieces that dot the West. the dismantling may not
Another monolith spotted Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jet- be illegal since no one has
two weeks ago in Utah’s ty is an earthwork along the claimed the structure as
otherworldly red-rock Great Salt Lake and Nancy their property.
country became a bea- Holt’s Sun Tunnels are huge The still-anonymous creator
con of fascination around concrete pieces in the des- of the Utah monument did
the world as it evoked the ert. Like those pieces, the not follow steps taken by
movie “2001: A Space Od- monolith was fascinating land artists of the 1970s to
A monolith stands on a Stadium Park hillside in Atascadero, yssey” and drew hundreds in part because of its con- secure permission to make
Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2020. of people to the remote text in the landscape, said their works. Visitation to
Associated Press spot. Two extreme sports Whitney Tassie, a curator those remote sites is now
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Days California. athletes said they were part of modern and contem- managed and overseen
after the discovery and Its straight sides and height of a group that tore down porary art at the Utah Mu- to avoid too much stress
swift disappearance of two are similar to one discov- the hollow metal structure seum of Fine Art. on the environment. Fed-
shining metal monoliths half ered in the Utah desert and because they were wor- “That’s a big, big part of eral and state officials in
a world apart, another tow- another found in Romania. ried about the damage land art in general is this Utah had also expressed
ering structure has popped Like those structures, the or- the droves of visitors were idea of an experience, of a concern about the area
up, this time at the pin- igin of the California edifice causing to the relatively un- journey,” she said. around the monolith being
nacle of a trail in Southern is also mysterious. touched spot. Officials said The intense social media overrun.q