Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'It Was Pretty Much Chaos': California Wildfires Continue To Rage, Testing State's Emergency Preparedness
The New York Times: With California Ablaze, Firefighters Strain To Keep Up
At one smoldering end of California, Capt. Alex Arriola and hundreds of other firefighters charged up flaming hillsides in the middle of the night Monday to battle a brush fire that exploded on the tinder-dry edge of West Los Angeles. As helicopters doused the hills to protect the priceless artworks at the nearby Getty Center and homes went up in flames, the fire crews on the ground began attacking the blaze to keep it from leaping across the street and taking out other multimillion-dollar houses. (Arango, Fuller, Del Real, Healy, 10/28)
The Washington Post: California Wildfires Are Getting Worse, But People Are Taking Evacuations More Seriously
As fire blazed just eight miles away from Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, its chief executive Mike Purvis received a phone call from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. The hospital was officially being ordered to evacuate. Within minutes of the Saturday evening call, his staff was in motion. They went into an incident command center in an empty conference room and started calling other hospitals to find a place for each patient. (Kelly, Wilson and Lanzendorfer, 10/28)
The New York Times: California Blackouts Hit Cellphone Service, Fraying A Lifeline
California’s recent power shut-offs, meant to reduce the risk of potentially catastrophic fires, have had an unwelcome side effect. The blackouts have also cut power to many cellphone towers, blocking the main communications source for many in harm’s way. “You don’t appreciate how essential cellphone service is until you lose it,” said Chris Ungson, deputy director for communications and water policy for the California Public Advocates Office, an independent agency within the state’s Public Utilities Commission. “It’s not just a matter of inconvenience; it’s a matter of public health and safety. It’s a lifeline to many, many people.” (Pogash and Chen, 10/28)
The Wall Street Journal: California Fires: Tens Of Thousands Flee Los Angeles Blaze
Collectively, the fires and blackouts contributed to a sense of a state under siege, with almost nowhere in California operating free from threat. The brush fire in Los Angeles began Monday before 2 a.m. and spread to 618 acres by noon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. More than 10,000 homes and businesses in West Los Angeles were under mandatory evacuation orders as more than 1,000 firefighters battled flames on the ground and in the air. (Lovett, Calfas and Carlton, 10/28)
Los Angeles Times: Getty And Kincade Fires Pollute Air From LA To Bay Area
Even for those miles away from the flames and power outages, smoke plumes from California’s wildfires are disrupting people’s lives, degrading air quality from the Bay Area to L.A.'s Westside and contributing to widespread school closures. More than 10,000 students across the Santa Monica and Malibu areas were forced to stay home Monday after being alerted about 6:30 a.m. that all schools in their district would be closed because of the Getty fire. (Barboza, 10/28)
The New York Times: Should You Wear A Face Mask For Wildfire Smoke?
With wildfires raging up and down the state of California on Monday, smoke filled the air in many places, ash fell from the sky, and residents were once again left to wonder whether the very air they were breathing was safe. The largest, the Kincade fire in Sonoma County north of San Francisco, nearly doubled in size in 24 hours and was just 5 percent contained on Monday, prompting volunteers downwind in the Bay Area to scramble to hand out masks and check on homeless residents. (Mervosh, 10/28)
KQED: How To Wear Your Protective Mask When The Air Is Bad
Online or in hardware stores, look for masks marked as either N95 or P100. The designation indicates that the respirator blocks at least 95-99% of particulate matter floating in the air. Those microscopic specks can cause respiratory issues and trigger heart attacks. Do not use dust or surgical masks; they're not up to the job. (McClurg, 10/28)
The New York Times: Maps: Kincade And Getty Fires, Evacuation Zones And Power Outages
Two major wildfires burned through hundreds of acres in Sonoma County and Los Angeles County on Monday, forcing evacuations and prolonging planned blackouts meant to deter future fires. (Bloch and Lai, 10/28)
Los Angeles Times: Getty Fire: L.A.'s Westside Residents Grab Their 'Apocalypse Bag' And Flee
Rhonda Taylor got back to her Palisades home around 1 a.m. Monday and was getting ready for bed when she saw images of a fire on the TV. Taylor assumed it was burning somewhere in the Valley, and even if it was closer, she reasoned, the blaze that broke out in the Palisades last week hadn’t prompted an evacuation of her neighborhood. She fell asleep. Taylor woke around 3 a.m. to her phone ringing and the smell of smoke. Her throat was parched and her head hurt. She answered to a Los Angeles County phone alert, telling her she needed to leave. (Ormseth and Sahagun, 10/28)
Marketplace: Who Pays For California's Wildfires?
Wildfire season across the entire western part of the country is becoming more intense and more expensive every year. The federal government spent more than $2.4 billion on fire suppression in 2017. That’s the most expensive year on record, and costs are expected to rise further as climate change contributes to more frequent and severe wildfires. (Adams, 10/28)
