Η πυρκαγιά Gifford κατέκαψε περισσότερα από 260 τετραγωνικά χιλιόμετρα στις παράκτιες κομητείες Santa Barbara και San Luis Obispo και εξακολουθεί να καίει εκτός ελέγχου, σύμφωνα με το Υπουργείο Δασοκομίας και Πυροπροστασίας της Καλιφόρνια, γνωστό ως Cal Fire.
Ένας οδηγός νοσηλεύτηκε με εγκαύματα αφού βγήκε από το όχημά του και τον κύκλωσαν οι φλόγες, δήλωσε ο Flemming Bertelson, εκπρόσωπος της Δασικής Υπηρεσίας των ΗΠΑ. Δύο συμβασιούχοι υπάλληλοι που βοηθούσαν τους πυροσβέστες τραυματίστηκαν επίσης όταν το όχημα παντός εδάφους τους ανατράπηκε.
Η φλόγα απείλησε περίπου 450 κατασκευές και ανάγκασε το κλείσιμο του αυτοκινητόδρομου και προς τις δύο κατευθύνσεις ανατολικά της Santa Maria, μιας πόλης περίπου 110.000 κατοίκων στην κομητεία Santa Barbara. Περίπου 105 χιλιόμετρα βορειοδυτικά της Santa Barbara και 240 χιλιόμετρα βορειοδυτικά του Λος Άντζελες, η λοφώδης γεωργική περιοχή είναι διάσπαρτη από εκτεταμένες βελανιδιές και πλατάνια της Καλιφόρνια και είναι γνωστή για τη βιομηχανία οίνου της.
Η πυρκαγιά προήλθε από τουλάχιστον τέσσερις μικρότερες πυρκαγιές που ξέσπασαν την Παρασκευή κατά μήκος της Κρατικής Οδού 166 μεταξύ Σάντα Μαρία και Μπέικερσφιλντ.
«Αυτό μας έδωσε πολλαπλά μέτωπα και οι φλόγες άρχισαν να εξαπλώνονται προς πολλές κατευθύνσεις», είπε ο Μπέρτελσον. «Η φωτιά καταβροχθίζει τα τσαπάρα και τις θάμνους και διασχίζει πολύ απότομες πλαγιές».
Οι κτηνοτρόφοι εκκένωσαν τα βοοειδή καθώς αεροσκάφη έκαναν ρίψεις νερού στις φλόγες που εισέβαλαν.
Περισσότεροι από 1.000 πυροσβέστες μάχονταν με τον ζεστό, ξηρό καιρό και τους ασταθείς ανέμους για να σημειώσουν πρόοδο κατά της πυρκαγιάς πριν οι άνεμοι προβλεφθούν να ενισχυθούν γύρω στο σούρουπο.
Τα αίτια των πυρκαγιών βρίσκονται υπό διερεύνηση.
SANTA MARIA, California: A massive wildfire on Monday was threatening hundreds of homes in central California after injuring at least three people as it tore through Los Padres National Forest.
The Gifford Fire scorched more than 260 square kilometers of coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and was still burning out of control, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
A motorist was hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames, said Flemming Bertelson, a spokesperson for the US Forest Service. Two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.
The blaze threatened about 450 structures and forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people in Santa Barbara County. About 105 kilometers northwest of Santa Barbara and 240 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles, the hilly agricultural region is dotted by sprawling California live oaks and Sycamore trees and is known for its wine industry.
The blaze grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166 between Santa Maria and Bakersfield.
“That gave us multiple fronts, and the flames started fanning out in many directions,” Bertelson said. “The fire is gobbling up chapparal and brushland and running up very steep slopes.”
Ranchers evacuated cattle as aircraft made water drops on the encroaching flames.
More than 1,000 firefighters were battling hot, dry weather and erratic winds to make progress against the blaze before winds were forecast to whip up around dusk.
The causes of the fires are under investigation.
- The Gifford Fire scorched more than 260 square kilometers of coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties
- The blaze threatened about 450 structures and forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria
SANTA MARIA, California: A massive wildfire on Monday was threatening hundreds of homes in central California after injuring at least three people as it tore through Los Padres National Forest.
The Gifford Fire scorched more than 260 square kilometers of coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and was still burning out of control, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
A motorist was hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames, said Flemming Bertelson, a spokesperson for the US Forest Service. Two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.
The blaze threatened about 450 structures and forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people in Santa Barbara County. About 105 kilometers northwest of Santa Barbara and 240 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles, the hilly agricultural region is dotted by sprawling California live oaks and Sycamore trees and is known for its wine industry.
The blaze grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166 between Santa Maria and Bakersfield.
“That gave us multiple fronts, and the flames started fanning out in many directions,” Bertelson said. “The fire is gobbling up chapparal and brushland and running up very steep slopes.”
Ranchers evacuated cattle as aircraft made water drops on the encroaching flames.
More than 1,000 firefighters were battling hot, dry weather and erratic winds to make progress against the blaze before winds were forecast to whip up around dusk.
The causes of the fires are under investigation.
- Exodus of more than 50 Democrats from the Texas legislature staging a kind of temporary political exile in Democratic-led states
- Action intended to deny Republicans in Austin the quorum necessary to vote on the redistricting plan, championed by President Donald Trump
The exodus of more than 50 Democrats from the Texas legislature staging a kind of temporary political exile in Democratic-led states was intended to deny Republicans in Austin the quorum necessary to vote on the redistricting plan, championed by President Donald Trump.
By redrawing district lines in hopes of flipping some seats in the US House of Representatives currently held by Democrats, the Republican Party aims to protect its narrow majority in next year’s congressional midterm elections.
Trump has told reporters he expects the effort to yield as many as five additional House Republicans.
During Monday’s statehouse session in Austin, the Republican speaker of the Texas House of Representatives issued civil warrants for the wayward Democrats – most of whom have gone to Illinois, New York or Massachusetts – to be brought back to Austin.
“To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.
But the warrants apply only within the state, and breaking quorum is not a crime that would allow Texas authorities to pursue extradition from other states.
On Sunday, Abbott cited an opinion by the state’s attorney general that Texas district courts may determine whether legislators have forfeited their offices “due to abandonment,” saying that would empower him to “swiftly fill vacancies.” But even if Abbott succeeded in ousting the absent Democrats, it would take time to hold new elections.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News on Monday that he expected the Texas Supreme Court to ultimately weigh in on any abandonment cases he files. “And they’re obviously a Republican court,” he added.
In another possible tactic, Abbott said any lawmaker who solicited funds to pay the $500-per-day fine that Texas House rules impose on absent legislators could violate bribery laws. He vowed to try extraditing any “potential out-of-state felons.”
‘Fighting fire with fire’
Adding to the dynamics of the standoff, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he and his state’s Democratic-led legislature were ready to “fight fire with fire” against Trump’s Texas redistricting maneuver.
He said California Democrats were preparing a rare mid-decade congressional redistricting plan of their own that he said could offset any gains Republicans might hope to achieve by redrawing Texas maps.
But Newsom said the California plan, assuming it musters the required support of two-thirds of the state legislature, would carry a “trigger” to place it on the November 2026 ballot for voter approval only if Texas moves forward with its plan.
Countering Abbott’s assertions that Texas Democrats were shirking their duties, Newsom accused Trump and the Republicans of gaming the political system.
“These folks don’t play by the rules. If they can’t win playing the game with the existing set of rules, they’ll change the rules. That’s what Donald Trump has done,” Newsom said.
Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the US House, with four vacancies. A stronger Republican majority in the US House would enable Trump to further advance his agenda.
The special session in Texas – also called to address flood prevention and relief – was due to reconvene on Tuesday afternoon. Democrats have threatened to stay out of state until the end of the 30-day special session, which began July 21.
‘Racial gerrymandering’
Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said the current congressional districts in Texas already dilute the voting power of racial minorities in the state, and the new redistricting plan represented “turbocharged racism.”
Abbott in a Monday morning appearance on Fox News, called Wu’s accusation “bogus,” saying redistricting would create more Hispanic-majority districts. He argued it also was necessary to give Trump voters in Democrat-majority districts the ability to elect Republicans.
A White House official told Reuters that Trump supports Abbott’s threat to remove absent Democratic lawmakers and wants “whatever is necessary” done to get the new map passed.
States are required to redistrict every 10 years based on the US Census, but the current Texas map was passed just four years ago by the Republican-led legislature. Mid-cycle redistricting is usually prompted by a change of party control.
Under Texas’ current lines, Republicans control 25 out of 38 congressional seats, nearly two-thirds of the districts in a state that went for Trump last year by a 56 percent to 42 percent margin.
Texas Democratic lawmakers have previously tried the strategy of leaving the state to block a redistricting plan. Some fled in 2021 in a bid to deny Abbott the quorum needed to pass a voting restriction measure. That bill passed after three lawmakers returned, saying they had achieved their goal of bringing national attention to the issue.
- The US attacks on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and three days later on Nagasaki killed more than 200,000 people by the end of that year
- Others survived but with radiation illness, about 100,000 survivors are still alive
HIROSHIMA, Japan: Eighty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of the remaining elderly Japanese survivors are increasingly frustrated by growing nuclear threats and the acceptance of nuclear weapons by global leaders.
The US attacks on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and three days later on Nagasaki killed more than 200,000 people by the end of that year. Others survived but with radiation illness.
About 100,000 survivors are still alive. Many hid their experiences to protect themselves and their families from discrimination that still exists. Others couldn’t talk about what happened because of the trauma they suffered.
Some survivors have begun to speak out late in their lives, hoping to encourage others to push for the end of nuclear weapons.
An English-speaking guide at Hiroshima’s peace park
Despite numerous health issues, survivor Kunihiko Iida, 83, has devoted his retirement years to telling his story as a way to advocate for nuclear disarmament.
He volunteers as a guide at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park. He wants to raise awareness among foreigners because he feels their understanding of the bombings is lacking.
It took him 60 years to be able to talk about his ordeal in public.
When the US dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima, Iida was 900 meters (yards) away from the hypocenter, at a house where his mother grew up.
He was 3 years old. He remembers the intensity of the blast. It was as if he was thrown out of a building. He found himself alone underneath the debris, bleeding from shards of broken glass all over his body.
“Mommy, help!” he tried to scream, but his voice didn’t come out. Eventually he was rescued by his grandfather.
Within a month, his 25-year-old mother and 4-year-old sister died after developing nosebleeds, skin problems and fatigue. Iida had similar radiation effects through elementary school, though he gradually regained his health.
He was almost 60 when he finally visited the peace park at the hypocenter, the first time since the bombing, asked by his aging aunt to keep her company.
After he decided to start telling his story, it wasn’t easy. Overwhelmed by emotion, it took him a few years before he could speak in public.
In June, he met with students in Paris, London and Warsaw on a government-commissioned peace program. Despite his worries about how his calls for nuclear abolishment would be perceived in nuclear-armed states like Britain and France, he received applause and handshakes.
Iida says he tries to get students to imagine the aftermath of a nuclear attack, how it would destroy both sides and leave behind highly radioactive contamination.
“The only path to peace is nuclear weapons’ abolishment. There is no other way,” Iida said.
A regular at anti-war protests
Fumiko Doi, 86, would not have survived the atomic bombing on Nagasaki if a train she was on had been on time. The train was scheduled to arrive at Urakami station around 11 a.m., just when the bomb was dropped above a nearby cathedral.
With the delay, the train was 5 kilometers (3 miles) away. Through the windows, Doi, then 6, saw the flash. She covered her eyes and bent over as shards of broken windows rained down. Nearby passengers covered her for protection.
People on the street had their hair burnt. Their faces were charcoal black and their clothes were in pieces, she said.
Doi told her children of the experience in writing, but long hid her status as a survivor because of fear of discrimination.
Doi married another survivor. She worried their four children would suffer from radiation effects. Her mother and two of her three brothers died of cancer, and two sisters have struggled with their health.
Her father, a local official, was mobilized to collect bodies and soon developed radiation symptoms. He later became a teacher and described what he’d seen, his sorrow and pain in poetry, a teary Doi explained.
Doi began speaking out after seeing the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster following a strong earthquake and tsunami, which caused radioactive contamination.
She travels from her home in Fukuoka to join anti-war rallies, and speaks out against atomic weapons.
“Some people have forgotten about the atomic bombings ... That’s sad,” she said, noting that some countries still possess and develop nuclear weapons more powerful than those used 80 years ago.
“If one hits Japan, we will be destroyed. If more are used around the world, that’s the end of the Earth,” she said. “That’s why I grab every chance to speak out.”
At Hiroshima, learning from survivors
After the 2023 Hiroshima G7 meeting of global leaders and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the grassroots survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo last year, visitors to Hiroshima and Nagasaki peace museums have soared, with about one third of them coming from abroad.
On a recent day, most of the visitors at the Hiroshima peace park were non-Japanese. Samantha Anne, an American, said she wanted her children to understand the bombing.
“It’s a reminder of how much devastation one decision can make,” Anne said.
Katsumi Takahashi, a 74-year-old volunteer specializing in guided walks of the area, welcomes foreign visitors but worries about Japanese youth ignoring their own history.
On his way home, Iida, the survivor and guide, stopped by a monument dedicated to the children killed. Millions of colorful paper cranes, known as the symbol of peace, hung nearby, sent from around the world.
Even a brief encounter with a survivor made the tragedy more real, Melanie Gringoire, a French visitor, said after Iida’s visit. “It’s like sharing a little piece of history.”
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια :
Δημοσίευση σχολίου