ninme

What can I say, things are better here.

Times Online - 500,000 evacuated as winds whip California fires southward

Half a million people including Hollywood actors and film moguls have been moved from their homes in the biggest evacuation in California’s history. Firefighters conceded defeat in many areas against the wildfires that have destroyed more than 1,300 homes between north Los Angeles and the Mexican border.

Celebrities including Kelsey Grammer, the actor best known for playing the title role in the sitcom Frasier, have been obliged to grab what belongings they can carry and leave their houses in the hope that winds will not blow the flames their way.

Fire crews said they could do little more than prevent new spot fires until the Santa Ana winds subside. “These winds are so strong, we’re not trying to fight this fire, we’re just trying to save the buildings,” said one firefighter, Jim Gelrud.

The tentacles of the unpredictable, shifting flames have burnt across nearly 640 sq miles (1,660 sq km) – an area larger than Greater London – and left one person dead. …

The coastal town is also home to Mel Gibson, Cher, Tom Hanks, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Aniston, Mel Brooks and Ryan O’ Neal. David Geffen, the Hollywood producer who co-founded Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, opened his Malibu Beach Inn to firefighters and rescue workers to use for free, Variety magazine reported. …

The largest emergency centre in San Diego is the 60,000-seater Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers American football team, where accommodation has been set up for 10,000 fleeing residents.

Wealthy and impoverished citizens alike have made their way to the centre, where long-haired motorcyclists are mixing with retired couples from affluent areas, according to the Los Angeles Times. …

The emergency shelter has been generously funded by the San Diego authorities, according to Reuters, which reports that the stadium’s main concourse is lined with tables laden with cold cuts, breads, condiments, biscuits, fruit and coffee.

Jewish evacuees have been offered kosher cuisine and children have been entertained by clowns, a ventriloquist, face-painters and volunteers dressed as stormtroopers from the Star Wars films handing out sweets.

Adults have been offered yoga classes, acupuncture and meditation sessions. Linda Leonik, 22, who fled from the affluent suburb of Rancho Bernardo with her husband and six-month-old twins, told Reuters: “You hear all the horror stories from Hurricane Katrina, but it’s nothing like that here. We have all the resources we need. I’m so surprised how well people have pulled together for this.”

At lunch after the funeral yesterday, people were swapping stories (nearly everyone has a family member in SoCal or a kid attending college there) (in fact, one person’s kid is in the ROTC program at some college in the Santa Barbara area, maybe, and he got called up to go help), and one person’s son’s family was staying on cots in tents set up in a horse racetrack. How cool is that for the kids? (Maybe the jockeys will teach them how to swear.) Meanwhile, TMZ reported yesterday that “celebrity enclave” (that’s for sure) Nobu is serving frontline firefighters for free. TMZ recommends the Kobe Beef, the Toro Roso, Rock Shrimp Tempura and the Yellowtail Tartar with caviar. They’ve been closed since Sunday but they’ve still got power and the fridge works.

Update:

The Beeb:

But unlike the Superdome experience of Katrina’s victims, necessary food and aid arrived promptly with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).

Yeah, well, and also, Californians aren’t a bunch of idiot corrupt retards.

Update II:

Heh:

It’s a far cry from Hurricane Katrina, when it took days for FEMA and other authorities to get supplies to survivors huddled in the Superdome, the glittery site of Super Bowls past. Even today, much of New Orleans is nothing short of a wreck.

California, of course, is different. Malibu is home to movie stars. San Diego is one of the nation’s leading Navy towns. The Golden State carries serious national clout. And in Schwarzenegger, the state has a global icon as governor who can rustle up media attention by stepping outside his front door and clearing his throat. Only a crazy administration would ignore all that.

Well, that’s New Orlean’s problem.

Update III:

Times Online - Prisoners join firefighters in losing battle with wildfires

(This one’s by Chris Ayres, their LA correspondent and one of my favourites.)

The hurricane-like winds have made fighting the fire from the air virtually impossible, with crews on the ground having to deal with no water pressure and emergency runways that keep bursting into flames. Meanwhile, US fire fighters have been joined by fire crews from across the Mexican border, along with 2,300 local prison inmates, in what has so far been a losing battle with the blaze.

Here’s a comparison that hasn’t been made yet: In New Orleans, nonprisoners acted like criminals. In California, the criminals are helping.

So far, the fires have destroyed almost 1,500 homes; uprooted celebrities; shut down the major I-5 freeway; interrupted filming of the TV drama 24 and other productions; forced Sony to close its American headquarters and halt laptop production at a nearby factory; and threatened Camp Pendleton, where US Marines are trained before being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. he most valuable property to be lost so far is a $17 million ‘castle’ in Malibu. …

San Diego’s state-of-the-art Qualcomm Stadium has become a temporary home to some 12,000 displaced residents, who have already nicknamed it ‘The Ritz’.

Reporters said they found almost as many volunteers as evacuees, with lavish picnics, abundant toiletry supplies, and even musical entertainment, massages and acupuncture.

Hee.

Meanwhile, complaints from some fire fighters that lives had been threatened because of a lack of resources were dismissed angrily by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California governor, who has been relentlessly touring the disaster area.

“Anyone that is complaining about the planes just wants to complain,” he said. “The fact is that we could have all the planes in the world - we have 90 aircraft here and six that we got from the federal government - and they can’t fly because of the wind.”

I love that man. Err, that mahn.

Update IV:

The Times - Acupuncture and massage help the victims of a very Californian disaster

Massages, acupuncture and stress counselling are being offered to around 10,000 wildfire evacuees gathering at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego — along with Starbucks coffee, beef empanadas and fresh Caesar salads.

There are stacks of magazines, free telephone calls to anywhere in the United States, toys for the children and entertainment provided by a live blues band. A local pizza restaurant’s donation of food has been turned down because there is already too much to eat.

“The people are happy. They have everything here,” said the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, after touring the site. “Nobody does disasters better than California,” agreed David Paulison, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

That line “Nobody does disasters better than California” was one of the Mercury News’ front page headlines this morning. And it’s true. It’s dangerous living here. Floods, fires, mudslides, tsunamis (risk of), earthquakes… Peter I think sort of wonders why I’m so keen on the place, but it really is different.

Charmaine Marchand, the Louisiana state representative for the Lower Ninth ward in New Orleans — which was hit hardest by the hurricane — was amazed when told of the care available to displaced Californians yesterday.

“Some of my constituents could certainly have done with a massage a couple of years ago,” she said.

Well then maybe you should have set up a disaster plan for them, toots.