Page 2 - Aruba-today-15 Sept 2020

A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 15 sepTember 2020
Continued from Front of resources to see those
The virus and the steps plans through can lead to
meant to contain it have "a period of limbo.''
thrown millions of Ameri- "Urban areas like the sub-
cans out of work. urbs of Portland -- they'll
Fire wiped out much of probably recover pretty
the small community of quickly," Nielsen-Pincus said
Phoenix, in southern Ore- in an interview. "But these
gon, including downtown rural communities that are
businesses like La Tapa- impacted by nearby fires
tia, a Mexican restaurant -- this could be a drag on
opened in 1992. their economy that lasts
"Good places like our own months or years.''
La Tapatia, but so many He said poor rural commu-
other family run business- nities, like those in Oregon's
es, (were) destroyed by hard-hit Santiam Canyon
the massive fire," its own- east of Salem, will need
ers informed patrons in a federal and state aid.
Facebook post, adding The number of wildfires de-
there was "lots to do" but A view of downtown Portland from the East Bank Esplanade is seen on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. clared disasters by the Fed-
they hoped to some day Associated Press eral Emergency Manage-
reopen. Five hours away in ment Agency has grown
coastal Lincoln City, Ore- The Bakers were among restaurateur friends who fires actually generated in recent years. FEMA, for
gon, the Autobahn 101 sur- thousands of Oregonians managed to stay open are short-term economic gains instance, declared 43 Cali-
vived, but the couple who who evacuated; dozens now struggling with smoke in small communities as fornia wildfires disasters
own the German-style pub are missing and feared that makes outdoor seat- firefighters checked into lo- from 1980 to 1999 — but 300
lost their home, their chick- dead. In California, nearly ing impossible. "It's like ev- cal hotels and ate at local from 2000 to 2019. Oregon
ens and nearly all of their 17,000 firefighters are bat- ery day is something new,'' restaurants. Local laborers had no such wildfires from
personal belongings to fire. tling 29 major wildfires. she said. cleared roads and helped 1980 to 1999 but 63 over
They sleep in a back room Since mid-August the blaz- Wildfires once did little eco- rebuild. the past 20 years, accord-
of the roadside business. es have destroyed 4,100 nomic damage because But such economic bumps ing to FEMA data analyzed
The pub had already scaled buildings and killed 24 peo- they occurred in remote are usually short-lived. By by the insurance website
back hours because of the ple in the state. Fires have forests. But Americans in- spring, affected econo- QuoteWizard. Only a frac-
pandemic, but co-owner engulfed 3.3 million acres creasingly have moved mies typically lost momen- tion of wildfires are desig-
Roy Baker was optimistic of land in California this into what was once wilder- tum and fell into a period nated disasters by FEMA.
about its future and still has year -- desolation greater ness, leaving themselves, of slower growth that could All five of the costliest fires in
dreams of opening a small in size than Connecticut. and their homes and busi- last up to 18 months. Tour- U.S. history, measured by in-
brewery inside a shipping "This is like living through an nesses more vulnerable. ism could suffer because sured losses, have occurred
container out back. apocalypse," said Sarah In 2014, Max Nielsen-Pincus, "visitors may not want to in the last three years, all in
"We're getting back on Trubnick from San Francis- chair of the environmen- return fearing a blackened California, according to
our feet," said Baker, who co, where smoke from the tal science and manage- landscape,'' according to the Insurance Information
temporarily reopened Sun- fires has blotted out the sun. ment department at Port- the paper published in the Institute. That includes the
day after rewiring the pub's Trubnick had to temporar- land State University, and journal Forest Policy and November 2018 Camp Fire
electricity and discard- ily close her restaurant and researchers from the Uni- Economics. And econom- that destroyed Paradise,
ing food that spoiled after wine bar, the Barrel Room, versity of Oregon and the ic activity such as logging California, and left more
days without power. "Ev- in the city's financial district U.S. Forest Service studied can be wiped out. than 80 people dead and
erybody's coming together two weeks ago because the economic impact of Rebuilding can kick start a up to $10.7 billion in insured
and helping each other." of the pandemic. Even her wildfires. They found the local economy, but a lack losses.q

Judge chastises government for not producing census records

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Monday for failing to pro- Koh said she was "very dis- sued a temporary restrain- census, leading to an inac-
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A duce documents that appointed and surprised." ing order prohibiting the curate count.
federal judge chastised showed how the U.S. Cen- When Koh asked govern- Census Bureau from wind- During Monday's virtual
government attorneys sus Bureau made its deci- ment attorneys whether ing down 2020 census filed hearing, Koh also expressed
sion to cut short by a month they would ever be able operations until a hearing is concern for residents dis-
the head count of every to produce the documents held Thursday on a request placed by wildfires in the
U.S. resident. before the end of the head for a preliminary injunction. West and hurricanes along
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh count on Sept. 30, govern- The temporary restraining the Gulf Coast. She asked
in San Jose told govern- ment attorney Brad Rosen- order was requested by a the government attorneys
ment attorneys that they berg said, "We are not in a coalition of cities, counties to provide details on how
weren't complying with position to make that kind and civil rights groups that the Census Bureau plans to
her order to produce ad- of statement." had sued the Census Bu- continue counting house-
ministrative records during Government attorney Al- reau. They are demanding holds in disaster areas, not-
a hearing in a lawsuit over exander Sverdlov said the it restore its previous plan for ing she was in San Jose
whether the once-a-de- attorneys had been ham- finishing the census at the where there have been
cade census will finish at pered by trying to review end of October, instead health warnings against
the end of September — or more than 8,000 docu- of using a revised plan to going outside for almost a
the end of October. ments in a short amount of end operations at the end month because of wildfires.
The documents that gov- time. of September. The coali- "Are you saying, 'We are
ernment attorneys had pro- "We have been working tion had argued the earlier cutting our losses and we
duced so far were already around the clock on these deadline would cause the don't care?'" Koh said.
publicly available, for the issues," Sverdlov said. Census Bureau to overlook "What is the Census Bureau
most part, she said. Earlier this month, Koh is- minority communities in the planning to do?"q