Image by West Coast Milblogger
On this episode Biblical Firestorm, Russia on LA Fire, and Her Body was 126 Degrees.
Welcome to this week’s edition of West Coast Milblogger. I’m your host Cyrus Emerson. As a News Producer for a CBS affiliate, I covered the most devasting fire to ever hit our region destroying thousands of structures and killing multiple people. A couple of years later, my own house caught fire, leaving me homeless, without a job, and my car broke down.
On that note, West Coast Milblogger reports with empathy on the Los Angeles fires continuing to rage in Southern California. Now, let’s go to our AI Correspondent Elijah James for an update. Elija, can you hear me?
Reporter Elijah James
Los Angeles, California
Yes Cyrus, I can hear you. As you can see the situation on the ground remains active here while there’s a slight lull, waiting for winds to pick up later in the day. Here’s the nuts and bolts.
Palisades Fire is now almost 24-thousand acres with 11-percent containment according to CalFire. This fire is in Los Angeles County having already destroyed the city of Pacific Palisades while also wreaking havoc along the coastline in Malibu. Evacuation Orders remain in place as you can see on your screen. A Red Flag Warning remains in place through Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm.
Now to the Eaton Fire also burning in Los Angeles County. That fire has now grown to more than 14-thousand acres. Good news, as containment has increased to 27-percent. This is a deadly fire that continues to threaten nearly 40-thousand homes and businesses. An evacuation shelter has been setup at the Pasadena Civic Center.
Before I send it back to you Cyrus, I want to give a fast note on three other fires, the Sunset Fire in the heart of Hollywood has been contained. Hurst fire burning 771 acres now 89-percent contained. And finally, Lidia Fire is now fully contained.
As you know, containment doesn’t mean extinguished as the winds are forecasted to increase throughout the day. Meaning, there’s a chance these fires could explode again. Back to you Cyrus.
Thanks for the updates, Elijah.
Two things about the LA Fire. One, officials knew a fire of this magnitude could breakout because of wind forecasts. Two, officials didn’t check water readiness knowing Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty.
This has actors like Mel Gibson sounding off on conspiracy theories about the cause and reason for this natural disaster. From A to Z’s editorial standpoint sees the bastion of liberalism being hit as a new conservative movement takes power in Washington DC.
At stake, priceless real estate along the Pacific coast much like the Gaza Strip. Does Hollywood elite crumble under the weight of building restrictions? We know they won’t use Hemp for forest products, so even if they keep their property during the years of reconstruction in the area they’re going to contribute to climate change. On the other hand, they could sell their souls and stakes in the area to massive real estate developers connected to incoming President Trump to turn Malibu into a chain of expensive hotels, bars, and restaurants with no shame in using unsustainable building materials. What would the late President Carter think?
Now to the latest Russian comments on the fire in LA were joined by AI Correspondent Noah Waters in Hawaii, another victim of this sort of devastation. Hi Noah, how’s it going?
Reporter Noah Waters
Honolulu, Hawaii
Good Cyrus. Right now, it’s 77-degrees and partly sunny in Honolulu. Yes, as you remembered, in August of 2023 wildfires tore through the island of Malibu killing more than 100 people.
Now, Russia Notes US Hypocrisy in California Fire Case.
This story by Tasnim News Agency originally appeared on their website January 12, 2025, with added West Coast Milblogger information while also being truncated:
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2025/01/12/3236714/russia-notes-us-hypocrisy-in-california-fire-case
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on reports that hundreds of prisoners have been mobilized willingly to extinguish fires in the US state of California, pointing to the hypocrisy of the US.
Earlier, The Washington Post, citing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reported that the state authorities had sent 395-prisoners to fight forest fires who volunteered. The newspaper noted that most of them were persons who had committed minor crimes, TASS reported.
On her Telegram channel, Zakharova pointed out that in recent years, US officials have repeatedly criticized China for allegedly using forced labor, particularly in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The diplomat noted that in 2023, Washington restricted imports of products from several Chinese companies in an attempt to exclude goods allegedly produced with the help of Uygur forced labor from the US supply chain. Some of these prisoners are being held for political reasons only.
"This raises a logical question: will Congress draft a bill imposing sanctions on California authorities, private companies, and ordinary Americans for using prison labor to put out fires?" she wondered. "We are so sick of this hypocrisy!" Zakharova added. FOX News has also stated, the incoming Trump Administration should usurp state officials in the rebuilding effort.
Creative Common License 4.0.
Back to you Cyrus.
Thanks again Noah for that report on this wildfire special edition of West Coast Milblogger. As we continue to monitor the situation in Southern California where fires started on January seventh. While it remains politically debatable if this disaster is the product of climate change, we have one more report from our AI Correspondent in America Samoa. Emele, can you share the horrors of heat on the homeless?
Reporter Emele Pereira
Pago Pago, America Samoa
Yes, Cyrus. Her Body Was 126-Degrees After She Died; Bexar County Medical Examiner Blames Drugs
Jessica Witzel’s autopsy report raises an important question: How many other heat-related deaths among the unhoused residents are being erased by the failure to collect and report accurate data on climate-related mortality?
This story by Marisol Cortez originally appeared on Deceleration’s website January 9, 2025, and has been truncated for time:
https://deceleration.news/jessica-witzel-extreme-heat-death-bexar-county-medical-examiner/
Last summer, Jessica Witzel collapsed, convulsed, and died in the unshaded driveway of a San Antonio gas station during one of the hottest days of 2024, itself the hottest year on record in San Antonio. Her death was reported by area media at the time, based on the accounts of first responders, as the likely consequence of the heat dome that blanketed much of the state under excessive heat warnings all that week. Shortly after her death on August 22, scene investigators recorded an ambient temperature of 106 Fahrenheit and 30 percent humidity—or a heat index of 114F—and logged her body temperature at an unimaginable 126 degrees, according to the autopsy report released to Deceleration by public records request.
The day before she died, San Antonio Police Department encountered Witzel, who had been living unhoused for 18 months at that point, after a homeowner called to report seeing her on their property “attempting to drink water from an outdoor water spigot.” She’d been sick, Witzel told officers, according to SAPD records included in the autopsy report; she’d “been dealing with a fever.”
For Dr. Christina VandePol, a former coroner who researches and writes about death investigation and climate-related mortality, it was as clear a case of heat-related death as they come. “I’ve never heard of a body temperature that high, including in a deceased person,” VandePol said after reviewing Witzel’s autopsy report.
Witzel’s family was therefore shocked when, three months later, they received the official cause and manner of death from the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office (MEO): methamphetamine toxicity. Witzel’s blood did contain low levels of methamphetamines, which VandePol described as “slightly above therapeutic but below toxic level,” according to a lab reference guide she shared. A syringe cartridge without needle or plunger was also later found in Witzel’s hoodie. But the autopsy report also noted that Witzel’s mental health history included ADHD, and one prescription ADHD medication (Desoxyn) shows up as methamphetamines on toxicology screens. Without more detailed knowledge of Witzel’s medical history, “there’s no way to differentiate prescribed vs illicit methamphetamines,” according to VandePol.
Deceleration allows free republishing under Creative Commons license with proper attribution.
Back to you Cyrus.
Thanks Emele. Heartbreaking story. Just think of the stereotype surrounding drug use in Los Angeles and the massive increase in homelessness because of the wildfires that continue in the area. It’s going to take years to rebuild. While many wealthy people have second homes, the majority of people effected by this fire are already feeling the pinch of living in a hotel.
I know. It happened to me. Three weeks in a hotel costing me thousands of dollars. I rented an apartment with my final pay stub and the deposit was doubled. That was just a house fire years after the Almeda Fire. Back then, I thought of the empathy I had for the thousands of people looking for a place to live all at once, competing for territory. Right now, in LA, there’s more than 100-thousand people fighting for a place to live.
We’ll continue fire coverage next week. Please donate if you can at the links below. Keep it safe out there. Next up, Rabbit Burrow Descent, Wednesday at noon right here on @WestCoastMilblogger.
Thank you,
Cyrus Emerson
Please consider a small donation for LA Fire Survivors through MusiCares a Grammy foundation:
https://musicares.org/get-help
Multiple life-threatening wildfires are still raging in Los Angeles County. The death toll is climbing, over 150,000 people are under evacuation orders and many have lost everything they own.
California National Guard members are actively responding to this crisis. With virtually no notice, they deployed to the front lines, risking their personal safety to assist firefighters and protect civilians.
Thanks to generous folks like you, the USO is actively supporting them. We have two Mobile USOs deployed in the region providing food, water and other critical support. Will you rush $29 or more to help us keep supporting our heroes in California and around the world?
https://secure.uso.org/2106_EVERGREEN/?amount=29&show_amount=true&utm_source=WSP24549307&utm_medium=email&sc=WSP24549307&code=WSP24549307&show_amount=true&ta=0&spMailingID=24549307&spUserID=ODk4MjM4MjMzODEzS0&spJobID=3000576319&spReportId=MzAwMDU3NjMxOQS2