firefighters

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Lab Tests Substance in LA Wildfire Probe

Station fire, 42% contained, chars 148K acres

(Newser) - Investigators of a deadly Los Angeles wildfire are having a substance from the scene tested to confirm whether the blaze was man-made. “There was material that didn't belong there," a source tells the Los Angeles Times. "It was clear evidence that the fire was intentionally set....

Firefighters Play ER Docs to Uninsured

Medical calls have more than doubled since 1980

(Newser) - Operating in a poor area where many lack health insurance, a DC firehouse battles far more than just flames: Some 80% of its calls are for medical emergencies. Because it is believed to respond fastest, Washington’s fire department zooms to almost all the city’s emergency calls alongside EMS,...

LA Fire Began as Arson: Feds

With blaze having killed 2 firefighters, sheriff begins homicide investigation

(Newser) - The wildfire that has burned 144,000 acres north of Los Angeles was set by arsonists, the US Forest Service said this afternoon. With the blaze having killed two firefighters, authorities are now treating the matter as homicide, KTLA-TV reports, and the LA County Sheriff’s Department has begun an...

LA Fire Now 22% Contained
 LA Fire Now 22% Contained 
Sep 1, 2009 10:22 PM CDT

LA Fire Now 22% Contained

(Newser) - The Station fire raging near Los Angeles is 22% contained tonight, authorities tell the Times—though they caution that if the weather turns uncooperative again the blaze could worsen. Some evacuation orders were lifted. The Mount Wilson observatory and a nest of communication towers nearby were still threatened, however, and...

Calif. Firefighters See First Sign of Progress

Humidity, cooling temperatures aid struggle against Station fire

(Newser) - Finally, some good news on the massive California wildfire: A break in the weather is helping considerably, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officially, the blaze is still only 5% contained, but that number is expected to rise substantially when re-evaluated later today. "We made progress last night, not just...

2 Firefighters Killed in Calif. Blaze

Pair drives off road as flames consume national forest

(Newser) - Two California firefighters drove off a treacherous road to their death as they helped battle a 43,000-acre inferno in the Angeles National Forest, reports the Los Angeles Times. More than 2,800 firefighters, 12 helicopters and eight air tankers have converged on the area where the blaze now threatens...

'Treacherous' Calif. Blaze Threatens Town

Official cites 'perfect storm of fuels, weather, and topography'

(Newser) - A growing California wildfire that has already scorched 35,000 acres and burned three people is bearing down on a small mountain community, the Los Angeles Times reports. Driven toward Acton, Calif., by wind and triple-digit heat, the blaze is "treacherous," said one fire chief. Firefighters plan “...

Firefighters Battle Blazes Near Athens

(Newser) - Fire crews outside Athens are scrambling to exploit a lull in high winds as they fight massive wildfires that broke out Friday and have razed about 58 square miles north of the Greek capital. The flames are still spreading, and a dozen nuns had to be rescued from a convent...

Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz
 Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz 
Aug 15, 2009 6:16 AM CDT

Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz

(Newser) - The first major California wildfire of the season has consumed over 5,000 acres in Santa Cruz County and won't be fully contained for a week, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Over a thousand firefighters are battling the blaze in rugged terrain that hadn't had a major fire in...

Sotomayor's Rope-A-Dope Strategy Looks Familiar
Sotomayor's Rope-A-Dope Strategy Looks Familiar
ANALYSIS
Jul 14, 2009 3:00 PM CDT

Sotomayor's Rope-A-Dope Strategy Looks Familiar

Nominee gives little insight into her true feelings on controversial issues

(Newser) - As Sonia Sotomayor’s question-and-answer session with the Senate Judiciary Committee continues today, the Supreme Court nominee is deploying a familiar strategy, Andrew Cohen writes for CBS News. It's the Rope-a-Dope, much like the one used by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito in their confirmation hearings. Simply...

Tossed Ruling No Rebuke to Sotomayor: Dems

Firefighter decision shows judicial 'modesty'

(Newser) - Democrats are struggling to paint the Supreme Court’s rejection today of an opinion by nominee Sonia Sotomayor as proof that she is, in fact, not an “activist judge,” Roll Call reports. The high court decided to reverse Sotomayor’s 2nd Circuit ruling against white New Haven firefighters...

High Court Rules for White Firefighters

5-4 decision reverses appeals panel that included Sotomayor

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge. In a 5-4 ruling along ideological lines, the court said that New Haven was wrong...

Thousands of Calif. Fire Evacuees to Head Home

(Newser) - Thanks to cooler, more humid weather and a drop-off in damaging winds, thousands of Santa Barbara wildfire evacuees are being allowed back home, the Los Angeles Times reports. Firefighters fought back the fire significantly last night, containing the 8,700-acre Jesusita blaze in Santa Barbara by 30%. Most of the...

Outlook Grim for Calif. Fire as Winds Continue

(Newser) - Poor firefighting conditions today—following a windy night—have allowed the Santa Barbara, Calif., wildfire to grow, and it has now consumed 3,500 acres and 75 homes, KNBC-TV reports. The fire, which has forced 30,000 people to flee their homes, is just 10% contained. Winds today are expected...

Morning Winds Stoke Raging Calif. Wildfires

Firefighters unable to get blaze under control as 30,000 evacuate

(Newser) - Early-morning winds kicked up the uncontrolled Jesusita fire in the hills of Santa Barbara, causing the evacuation of thousands more residents, reports the Los Angeles Times. The fire has now burned more than 2,800 acres, destroyed dozens of homes, and forced 30,000 people to evacuate. Gov. Schwarzenegger has...

13K Flee as Calif. Fire Rages
 13K Flee as Calif. Fire Rages 
May 7, 2009 3:05 PM CDT

13K Flee as Calif. Fire Rages

(Newser) - 13,575 people have fled their homes as a wildfire that has consumed 1,300 acres rages in Santa Barbara, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. Another 13,000 are on alert, Bloomberg adds. Officials are unsure how many homes have been destroyed, but it’s in the “dozens....

Calif. Fires Destroy Dozens of Homes

Santa Barbara under state of emergency as wildfires scorch hillsides

(Newser) - Raging wildfires in the hills above Santa Barbara have destroyed at least 20 homes and are threatening many more, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some 900 firefighters are battling the wind-driven fires, but are hampered by poor access to the area. Three were hospitalized with burns after flames engulfed their...

1,200 Homes Evacuated as Calif. Wildfire Slows

Wind could pick up later today

(Newser) - Helicopters dropping water during the night and calmer wind this morning are helping crews hold back a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of 1,200 California homes. An early start to the state's annual wildfire siege, the fire has burned 196 acres of brush and threatened some 2,000...

2 Dead in Texas Wildfires; Flames Recede

But blazes seem to be dying down: firefighters

(Newser) - Two people have died after wildfires in Texas engulfed their property, CNN reports. Matt and Cathy Quinn are so far the only fatalities reported from fires that burned parts of Texas and Oklahoma yesterday. Matt Quinn was a former reporter for WFAA-TV, a local news station. The wildfires are petering...

White Firefighters' Bias Claims Head to High Court

Conn. team complained after promotion test dumped

(Newser) - Hoping to become lieutenants, 77 New Haven firefighters took a promotion test—but when none of the 19 black firefighters qualified, the city jettisoned the results. Their hopes dashed, 17 white firefighters sued the city for racial discrimination, and the case is now set for the Supreme Court. It marks...

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