Month: January 2019

California wildland managers said Tuesday that they want to speed up logging and prescribed burns designed to slow wildfires that have devastated communities in recent years. After the deadliest and most destructive blazes in state history, officials are scrapping 12 years of efforts and starting anew on creating a single environmental review process to cover projects on private land, such as cutting back dense stands of trees and setting controlled fires to burn out thick…

The Latest on the bankruptcy filing by Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. (all times local): 4:15 p.m. Jeffrey Hammond’s family home in Northern California was destroyed in an Oct. 8, 2017, blaze that state fire investigators say started when an oak tree fell onto a Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. power line. Hammond believed the Napa County house could have been sold for $500,000, but his insurance company paid only $100,000 — the most recent…

Faced with potentially ruinous lawsuits over California’s recent wildfires, Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday in a move that could lead to higher bills for customers of the nation’s biggest utility and reduce the size of any payouts to fire victims. The Chapter 11 filing allows PG&E to continue operating while it puts its books in order. But it was seen as a glimpse of the financial toll that could lie…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Among the boys practicing at the Raleigh IcePlex last Friday was goalie “Boom” Williams. Here’s the thing — Boom isn’t a boy. “My cousin was a beer league goalie, so he inspired me to be a goalie” Boom explained. Boom is actually Mikayla Williams. The nickname is from another sport. “I got the nickname from softball because I would always get the home run hits for the team,” Mikayla said. Raised…

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN and ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press HAVANA — Neighborhood brigades and teams of government workers hacked at fallen trees and hauled chunks of concrete out of collapsed homes Monday as the Cuban capital attempted to recover from what officials called the strongest tornado to hit Cuba in nearly 80 years. Three people were dead and hundreds injured, at least 12 in critical condition, after the tornado touched down with estimated winds of 200…

Insurance claims from California’s deadly November 2018 wildfires have topped $11.4 billion. State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said Monday that more than $8 billion worth of damage comes from the fire that leveled the town of Paradise and killed 86 people. About $3 billion more is from two Southern California wildfires that ignited the same week. The $11.4 billion is just shy of the claims filed in a series of 2017 wildfires, including deadly blazes…

A Florida company accused of charging more than $37,000 to clear three trees after Hurricane Michael got shut down in North Carolina on Monday, part of an ongoing campaign against price gouging during emergencies. N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein’s office has now brought six complaints against tree-removal companies doing work since Hurricane Florence struck in September, forcing them to stop work. The latest case, against National Emergency Restoration Services, won a preliminary injunction from Wake…

The official death toll from Hurricane Florence in North Carolina rose to 43 last week, with the addition of a 55-year-old man from Carteret County who died of a heart attack in September while cleaning up after the storm. The number of storm-related deaths stood at 41 at the beginning of November. It was increased to 42 later that month when authorities realized that a 76-year-old man who died when he lost control of his…

A Florida Panhandle school district hit hard by Hurricane Michael stands to lose up to $51 million because so many students were displaced by the storm. The News Herald reports that Bay County school district officials said at a workshop last week that operational losses up to $17 million were expected for the current fiscal year, and operational losses up to $34 million were expected for the next fiscal year. Officials blamed the anticipated drop…

The Latest on Cuba’s deadly weather (all times local): 8 a.m. Leanys Calvo, a restaurant cook in Havana’s 10th of October borough, says she was working Sunday night despite heavy rain and wind when she heard a rumbling noise outside and looked out to see what appeared to be a tornado touching down. The 38-year-old says early Monday that “it was something that touched down, and then took off again. It was like a tower.”…