“I opened the front door and the whole mountain was on fire.” —a Ventura County resident
Thousands of people including residents in several Ventura County communities and students at Cal State Uni Channel Islands were forced to evacuate after several wildfires consumed more than 10,000 acres.
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California wildfire expected to gain strength as wind, heat ramp up [UPDATED May 3, 20137:27 a.m. PDT]
- Fast moving Springs fire forced authorities to evacuate students from Cal State Uni Channel Islands in Camarillo and resident of several neighborhoods in Ventura County.
- More than 2,000 homes were threatened by the blaze, which had damaged about two dozen homes, as of posting.
- Springs fire, powered by Santa Ana winds, extremely low humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s, had consumed at least 8,000 acres and was only 10% contained, as of posting.
- Banning Fire in Riverside County, which has consumed at least 3,000 acres since Wednesday, was 40% contained by Thursday, said Cal Fire.
- Another brush fire in Tehama County, north of the town of Butte Meadows, had consumed more than 2,000 acres and was only 10% contained.
- Several other fires were burning in northern Calif., as of posting.
- Officials closed a 10-mile section of Pacific Coast Highway between Las Posas Road in Ventura County and the Los Angeles County due to extreme fire hazard.
- “This is the problem we have: high winds, high temperatures, low humidities, plus the (vegetation) fuels that have been suffering from the drought we’ve had this winter. This all adds up to a perfect storm for wildfire.”
- Some 945 fire personnel are tackling the blaze from fire departments throughout the Southland.
Calif. Max Temps Forecast. See inset for forecast time and period.
Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events
US military cargo plane crashes in Kyrgyzstan
A US tanker aircraft used for midair refueling over Afghanistan has crashed after taking off from US Manas airbase near Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, according to reports.
- The US military uses the Manas airbase for its operations in Afghanistan since 2001.
- A crew of five people were flying the KC-135 Stratotanker, according to AKI Press, a Kyrgyz news agency.
Second Crash in 4 Days
- At least 7 crew members of a 747-400 US cargo plane were killed when the aircraft crashed at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan on Monday.
The Dubai-bound Boeing 747-400—operated by Florida-based National Air Cargo—crashed just after takeoff from Bagram Air Base around 11:20 a.m. local time, Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
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Death Toll in Bangladesh Building Collapse Climbs to 507
The death toll from the collapse of an eight-story factory building near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has climbed to 507, officials have said.
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Outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in NW China, SW China, Tibet and Xinjiang
China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has confirmed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in southwest China, and Tibet Autonomous Region, said a report.
A village in Dagze County in Lhasa City reported on April 25 that 145 heads of cattle were showing suspected signs of the disease, according to the MOA.
“Local authorities sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where 527 heads of cattle have been culled and safely disposed of, so as to prevent spreading the disease,” the ministry was reported as saying.
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Death Toll in Gold Mine Collapse Climbs to 100
About 100 miners have reportedly been killed after an “unlicensed” gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s Darfur region. The gold mine, some 200 km NW of the North Darfur state capital El Fasher, began to collapse on Monday, trapping nine of the rescue team on Thursday.
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Chinese ring sold rodent meat as beef and mutton
Some 904 people have been arrested in China during a three-month surveillance campaign involving food-related crimes. The ring sold rodent meat, rat and fox, as beef and mutton, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has revealed.
- Police have uncovered 382 cases involving fake meat, and seized more than 20,000 tons of illegal products since January 25, the ministry said.
- “In Wuxi, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, suspects made fake mutton from fox, mink and rat by adding chemicals. The products were sold to markets and the suspects made more than 10 million yuan (1.62 million U.S. dollars) from the illegal activities,” the report said.
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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 3, 2013 —
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,044 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
- SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,044 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
- The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …
GLOBAL WARNINGS
- WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
- WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
- Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started
- United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun
Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background
Fire Earth 