Welcome to 5 Things to Know – a daily rundown of things you might want to be aware of if you live in, visit, or just like being aware about what’s going on in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. As always, thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.
1) The Snow Fire
The fire near Palm Springs that broke out yesterday has now scorched over 3,5000 acres. As of 3 pm, the fire was only 5% contained.
#SnowFIRE UPDATE 09/18/3920 3:00 P.M. – The Fire has grown to 3,500 acres and is now 5% contained. All evacuation WARNINGS and ORDERS remain in place until further notice. Ground/air resources remain committed as the work to fully contain the fire. pic.twitter.com/lYe7OEf85C
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) September 18, 2020
Here are some images of the fire:
Evacuation orders remained in effect on Friday for the Snow Creek area, north of Cottonwood Road, southeast of Snowcreek Road and west of Falls Creek.
2) The Other Fires
Dozens of fires continue to burn in California, Oregon, and Washington. Currently, 18,500 men and woman are taking on 27 major wildfires in the state of California that have burned over 2.9 million acres:
Today 18,500 firefighters are battling 27 major wildfires statewide. The latest numbers on all active wildland fires at: https://t.co/6s2QmGvwFi pic.twitter.com/j70RKQ9iWh
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) September 18, 2020
Some important links:
- The LA Times is tracking each of the major fires on this online map.
- The El Dorado Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains has now scorched over 21,600 acres and was 66% contained as of Wednesday morning.
- Officials with the Forest Service confirmed that a firefighter died while fighting the El Dorado Fire on Thursday:
USDA Forest Service officials on the San Bernardino National Forest have confirmed the death of a firefighter on the #ElDoradoFire. The incident took place on Thursday, September 17, 2020. The name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. pic.twitter.com/61XX1SBpmH
— San Bernardino National Forest (@SanBernardinoNF) September 18, 2020
The body of the firefighter who was killed battling the #ElDoradoFire is now being transported to the coroners office. His good friend tells me “He was a really solid firefighter, great husband and a great family man.” #NBCLA pic.twitter.com/RMKViDKaxK
— AlexVnews (@alexvnews) September 18, 2020
3) The Coronavirus
Riverside County announced 307 new coronavirus cases and 10 more people dead of coronavirus in the last 24 hours. Here’s the latest in the Coachella Valley:
September 18 — #COVID19 in the #CoachellaValley (+ from day before):
14,194 confirmed cases (+55)
+259 last 7 days333 deaths (+1)
13,365 recoveries (+112)Good news: more new tests are being reported.
Bad news: more new cases are being reported.More in thread below. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/NSo5IwUvA4
— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) September 18, 2020
That said, the state’s calculations may differ from mine. They have access to more detailed info about when each patient first had symptoms, for example. So we shall see.
Meanwhile, the death toll this week was close to last week’s. (3/3) pic.twitter.com/uK5FQWxBGV
— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) September 18, 2020
More:
- The CDC is now advising those who think they have been been exposed to coronavirus to get tested. That’s the policy that had been in place until a few weeks ago, when it suddenly changed for reasons that aren’t exactly clear.
- President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States will have 100 million doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine manufactured by the end of 2020. He didn’t provide any proof as to how that many doses of a vaccine that has not yet even been approved would be able in that quick amount of time.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws this week related to the coronavirus. One of them makes people who have COVID-19 eligible for workers compensation benefits. The other law requires companies to warn their employees if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.
4) One Arrested for Stealing a SunLine bus
After a bus driver stopped the vehicle for a scheduled break in Desert Hot Springs on Friday afternoon, the only other person in the bus drove away, according to the Desert Sun. They were tracked down and arrested 15 miles away in Thousand Palms.
No other details were provided and no injuries were reported.
5) RIP
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, who in her ninth decade became a much younger generation’s unlikely cultural icon, died on Friday. She was 87. https://t.co/AnuKivPxRE pic.twitter.com/IE9PxsIy4k
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 19, 2020
Stay safe. Stay Smart. Wear a mask. ??
