California Wildfires Destroy Homes, Force Evacuations
Bill Nichols, 84, works to save his home as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through Vacaville, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Nichols has lived in the home for 77 years. AP Photo/Noah Berger
Connecting state and local government leaders
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | South Dakota governor rejects additional federal unemployment funding … Republican council members in Louisville push for no-confidence vote in mayor … Ohio high school sports resume.
Wildfires near the northern California town of Vacaville, outside of Sacramento, burned homes and other structures on Wednesday, forcing residents to evacuate from the area. “Man, the flames looked scary,” said one resident, Jimmy Santos, who fled with his family. “It was a big wall of flames coming down the mountain.” The the LNU Lightning Complex is a cluster of about 20 fires, ignited by lightening. It had destroyed about 50 structures so far. Meanwhile, fires spreading along the Pacific coast in and around the Santa Cruz Mountains, which lie west of San Jose, prompted about 22,000 people to flee from their homes. People described leaving remote areas where there were few authorities. “We evacuated ourselves. Nobody came,” resident Janice McCargo said on Wednesday morning. “There’s no men on the ground. We’ve had no water flyovers. They’ve done nothing.” Cal Fire officials said they were stretched thin battling fires around the state. “Firefighting resources are depleted as new fires continue to ignite,” said a spokesman for the firefighting agency. “The size and complexity at which these incidents are burning is challenging all aspects of emergency response.” Dry vegetation is helping to fuel the fires and some are burning in rugged terrain. In the Bay Area, air quality deteriorated badly due to the blazes. The state has been dealing with a heat wave, and rolling blackouts as the fires have burned. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency on Tuesday in response to the dozens of wildfires burning throughout the state. The fires have been “exacerbated by the effects of the historic West Coast heat wave and sustained high winds,” he said. [San Francisco Chronicle (Vacaville coverage, Santa Cruz Mountains coverage), The New York Times, CNN]
UNEMPLOYMENT | South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem this week became the first governor to decline additional federal funding for unemployment benefits, saying that the state is “in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it.” Noem, a close ally of President Trump, said that the state has already recovered close to 80% of the jobs lost during the coronavirus pandemic. “South Dakota is the only state in the nation that didn’t have extended benefits kick in because our insured unemployment rate has been the lowest in the nation. South Dakota is open for business — that applies to our business owners and their employees,” she said. South Dakota has the nation's ninth-lowest unemployment rate at 7.2%, but the number is still more than double where it stood last year. Noem’s decision drew criticism from some in the state legislature, including Democratic state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, an economics professor at Augustana University. “This isn't just about the people that are unemployed. By refusing to take this money, she is hurting South Dakota businesses and South Dakota landlords and South Dakota bankers,” Nesiba said. The additional federal funding for unemployment comes from President Trump’s executive order issued on Aug. 8. Five states have been approved for the funding. [New York Times; NPR; Yahoo!]
NO-CONFIDENCE MEASURE | Republican city council members in Louisville, Kentucky want to see a vote of no-confidence in Democratic Mayor Greg Fischer over his "actions and inactions" handling the police shootings of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee. The Republican officials have proposed a resolution that would seek the mayor's resignation. "Mayor Greg Fischer has opposed the release of information related to the death of Ms. Breonna Taylor and Mr. David McAtee until forced to release the information by actions of the Metro Council through resolutions and ordinances passed in bi-partisan efforts," the resolution states. Democrats hold a majority on the council, likely dooming the measure. "These are the kind of partisan and divisive political games that have paralyzed Washington, D.C., and it’s sad and shameful for Republican council members to bring them here to Louisville," Fischer tweeted this week. [NPR]
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS | Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will allow high school contact sports to proceed as scheduled without coronavirus testing. “One hope is that the desire to have a season will inspire our young people, our student athletes, twenty-four seven, to be as careful as they can,” said DeWine. [WKBN]
PEACE FORCE | The Denver City Council rejected a bid to replace the Denver Police Department with a “peace force.” Councilwoman Candi Cedebaca, who sponsored the measure, said that “if this doesn’t pass tonight it will be coming to the ballot sometime regardless,” where voters could decide on the plan. [CBS Denver]
Emma Coleman is the assistant editor for Route Fifty. Bill Lucia is a senior reporter for Route Fifty.
NEXT STORY: In One State, a Threat to Freeze Property Taxes in Cities That ‘Defund’ Police