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U.S. NEWS Saturday 26 September 2020
Largest California wildfire threatens marijuana-growing area

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) pattern will reverse during
— California's largest wild- the weekend as a ridge of
fire is threatening a mar- high pressure boosts tem-
ijuana-growing enclave, peratures and generates
and authorities said many gusty winds flowing from
of the locals have refused the interior to the coast.
to evacuate and aban- In northern and central ar-
don their maturing crops eas of the state the stron-
even as weather forecast- gest winds were forecast
ers predict more hot, dry to occur from Saturday
and windy conditions that night into Sunday morning,
could fan flames. followed by another burst
The wildfire called the Au- Sunday night into Monday.
gust Complex is nearing The Pacific Gas & Elec-
the small communities of tric utility was tracking the
Post Mountain and Trinity forecasts to determine if it
Pines, about 200 miles (322 would be necessary to shut
kilometers) northwest of off power to areas where
Sacramento, the Los Ange- gusts could damage the
les Times reported. company's equipment or
Law enforcement officers hurl debris into lines that
went door to door warn- can ignite flammable veg-
ing of the encroaching fire etation.
danger but could not force In this Sept. 11, 2020, file photo, firefighters light a controlled burn along Nacimiento-Fergusson The utility posted a power
residents to evacuate, Trin- Road to help contain the Dolan Fire near Big Sur, Calif. cut "watch alert" for Satur-
ity County Sheriff's Depart- Associated Press day evening through Mon-
ment Deputy Nate Trujillo day morning. If the shutoff
said. ald Triangle, a three-county lars, millions and millions of the August Complex, said happens, about 21,000
"It's mainly growers," Trujillo corner of Northern Califor- dollars of marijuana out fire officials plan to deliver customers in portions of
said. "And a lot of them, nia that by some estimates there," Trujillo said. "Some of a clear message that "we northern Butte, Plumas and
they don't want to leave is the nation's largest can- those plants are 16 feet (5 are not going to die to save Yuba counties would lose
because that is their liveli- nabis-producing region. meters) tall, and they are people. That is not our job." power, PG&E said.
hood." People familiar with Trinity all in the budding stages of "We are going to knock When heavy winds were
As many as 1,000 people Pines said the community growth right now." door to door and tell them predicted earlier this
remained in Post Mountain has up to 40 legal farms, Gunfire in the region is once again," McMillan said. month, PG&E cut power
and Trinity Pines, authorities with more than 10 times common. A recent night "However, if they choose to to about 167,000 homes
and local residents estimat- that number in hidden, ille- brought what locals stay and if the fire situation and businesses in central
ed Thursday. gal growing areas. dubbed the "roll call" of becomes, as we say, very and northern California in
Numerous studies in re- Growers are wary of leav- cannabis cultivators shoot- dynamic and very danger- a more targeted approach
cent years have linked big- ing the plants vulnerable ing rounds from pistols and ous … we are not going to after being criticized last
ger U.S. wildfires to global to flames or thieves. Each automatic weapons as risk our lives." year for acting too broadly
warming from the burning farm has crops worth half a warnings to outsiders, said Efforts to extinguish more when it blacked out 2 mil-
of coal, oil and gas, es- million dollars or more and Post Mountain volunteer than two dozen major wild- lion customers to prevent
pecially because climate many are within days or Fire Chief Astrid Dobo, who fires across California have fires.
change has made Cali- weeks of harvest. also manages legal canna- benefitted recently from PG&E equipment has
fornia much drier. A drier One estimate put the value bis farms. low winds and normal tem- sparked past large wildfires,
California means plants are of the area's legal marijua- Mike McMillan, spokesman peratures along with and including the 2018 fire that
more flammable. na crop at about $20 mil- for the federal incident moist air flowing inland destroyed much of the Sier-
The threatened marijuana lion. command team manag- from the Pacific. But fore- ra foothills town of Paradise
growing area is in the Emer- "There (are) millions of dol- ing the northern section of casters said that weather and killed 85 people. q

Brown women's sports settlement gets preliminary approval

By MARK PRATT sports at Brown on Aug. 31, tice and two private law spokesperson Friday said lenge to Brown's decision
A federal judge on Friday 2024. firms, alleged that the cuts she is pleased with the set- to cut women's gymnastics
gave preliminary approval The settlement stemmed violated the 1998 agree- tlement. and volleyball in the early
to a settlement between from a legal challenge in ment, known as the Cohen "The Cohen agreement 1990s. Five former Brown
Brown University and stu- June to the Providence, agreement after the lead served an important pur- student-athletes who were
dent-athletes who had Rhode Island school's de- plaintiff. pose when it was signed plaintiffs in the 1990s case
challenged the Ivy League cision to reduce several Under an order entered Fri- 22 years ago, but Brown's blasted their alma mater in
school's decision to drop women's varsity sports day by U.S. District Judge commitment to women an open letter published in
several women's varsity teams to club status. Sev- John McConnell, Jr., the athletes transcends the The Providence Journal on
sports. eral men's sports were also plaintiffs will have until Nov. agreement," the statement Friday. "With a new settle-
The settlement announced reduced to club status, al- 24 to raise objections to said. "We can provide ex- ment now proposed, we
earlier this month restores though some were later re- the settlement. A hearing cellent athletics opportuni- write to express our deep
the women's equestrian stored. on whether to approve it is ties for women and men, disappointment in what we
and women's fencing The June motion by stu- scheduled for Dec. 15, the be a leader in upholding Ti- have discovered: that your
teams to varsity status, and dent-athletes represented ACLU said in a statement. tle IX and have a competi- commitment to gender eq-
calls for an end to a 1998 by attorneys with the Amer- Brown President Christina tive varsity program." uity only goes as far as the
legal agreement ensuring cian Civil Liberties Union of Paxson in a statement The 1998 agreement had letter of the lawsuit," they
gender equity in varsity Rhode Island, Public Jus- emailed by a university stemmed from a legal chal- wrote.q