Los Angeles Times - 31.10.2019

CALIFORNIA

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA

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At the top of the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Library in Simi Valley,
the winds were so powerful that
people couldn’t stand up straight.
In Fontana, gusts blew over big-
rig trucks on the freeway.
And across Southern California,
the Santa Ana winds sprayed em-
bers far and wide, sparking more
than a dozen fires from Calabasas
to rural Riverside County.
But all the unusual warnings
about the strong winds — which
prompted an “extreme” fire
weather warning that local Na-
tional Weather Service meteorolo-
gists can’t remember making be-
fore — gave the region time to pre-
pare.
This time, firefighters credited
an intense surge in pre-deployed
firefighting resources.
The fight is far from over; the ex-
treme red-flag warning remains in
effect through Thursday night, and
the Easy fire threatening Ventura
County remains out of control. But
officials say the preparations for the
winds this time have given them a
fighting chance that they didn’t
have last year, when the Woolsey fire
— one of California’s most destruc-
tive on record — burned more than
1,000 homes and resulted in three
deaths. Officials have said the bat-
tle against that fire was hampered
by a lack of resources.
Legislation passed in Sacra-
mento, first signed by Gov. Jerry

HEALTHCARE WORKERSevacuate residents from the Riverside Heights Healthcare Center in Jurupa Valley amid smoke from the
Hill fire. The blaze was one of more than a dozen to break out in Southern California, but firefighters were well prepared, officials say.

Gina FerazziLos Angeles Times

Fire crews ready for winds

Facing forecast of ‘extreme’

danger, officials deployed

a surge in firefighting

resources to avert disaster.

By Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Richard Winton
and Rong-Gong Lin II

[SeeFirefighters,B4]

Los Angeles could loosen

one of the key restrictions in

its new rules clamping down

on Airbnb-type rentals, al-

lowing people to host trav-

elers in some units covered

by the Rent Stabilization

Ordinance.

The Rent Stabilization

Ordinance, which applies

chiefly to older apartments

in L.A., limits rent hikes an-

nually for tenants. The City

Council voted last year to

ban such units from being of-

fered up for short stays, part

of a broader set of restric-

tions on short-term rentals.

The rules formally went into

effect in July, but the city

said it would hold off on en-

forcing them until Novem-

ber.

Now L.A. leaders could

ease some of those restric-

tions — an idea that has

heartened some hosts but

alarmed tenant advocates

who fear it could create a

loophole for landlords to ex-

ploit.

Under a proposal that

received tentative approval

Wednesday, Angelenos

would be able to rent out a

home for short stays, even if

it is rent stabilized, as long

as it is a unit that they own

and occupy.

The City Council voted

14-0 Wednesday after a short

discussion to back the rec-

ommended changes and ask

L.A.

softens

stand on

Airbnb

rentals

Under a proposal

tentatively approved,

more Angelenos

would be able to offer

a unit for short stays.

By Emily Alpert Reyes

[SeeRentals,B6]

Three people were killed

and nine others were injured

Tuesday night when gunfire

erupted at a party at a home

in Long Beach.

Police and fire officials

were called to a duplex be-

hind a nail salon on 7th

Street near Temple Avenue

around 10:44 p.m. and came

across what authorities de-

scribed as a mass casualty

incident. Long Beach Fire

Department spokesman

Jake Heflin said firefighters

arrived at “a scene obviously

filled with chaos.”

At a news conference

Wednesday morning, au-

thorities said that they were

still searching for at least

one male suspect who fled

from the scene after the

shooting and that they did

not have evidence that

3 killed

in Long

Beach

shooting

Gunfire at a house

party leaves 9 others

injured. At least 1 male

suspect is at large.

By Ruben Vives

and Hannah Fry

[SeeShooting,B2]

Bumpy start for

LAX pickup lot

Airport officials have

apologized for delays

and gridlock. B

Lottery......................B

CALISTOGA, Calif. — Following

three major bouts of winds that hin-

dered firefighters’ efforts battling

the massive Kincade fire and

prompted “public safety power

shut-offs” to millions, Pacific Gas &

Electric Co. started restoring power

to most areas and officials began al-

lowing nearly all of the 190,000 evac-

uated residents to return home.

Crews on Wednesday began to

inspect utility lines, repair damage

and restore power to about 365,

customers in its service area, except

for Kern County, which was still ex-

periencing strong winds, according

to PG&E. Inspections were ex-

pected to begin Thursday morning

in Kern County, the utility said.

The mandatory evacuation

zones that encompassed the towns

of Windsor and Healdsburg were

downgraded to an evacuation

warning, meaning that although

the area was still at risk, residents

THE GROUNDsmolders under a swing set in the Kincade fire’s wake near Geyserville, Calif., last

week. Officials began to allow nearly all of the 190,000 evacuees to return as containment rose to 30%.

Justin SullivanGetty Images

A break in Kincade blaze

Evacuees return, PG&E restores power as containment doubles

By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

and Julia Wick

[SeeKincade,B5]

It’s unlikely any previ-
ous California gover-
nor has faced such a
cannonade of calami-
ties — a grand slam of
disasters.
All at the same
time: power blackouts
in both Southern and
Northern California, and devas-
tating wildfires at both ends of the
state.
It was bad enough with the old
normal. For example: Northern
California’s devastating wine coun-
try fires in October 2017, followed
that December by Southern Cali-
fornia’s massive Thomas fire in
Ventura and Santa Barbara coun-
ties.
But four disasters at once?
That’s a governor’s nightmare.
A few slip-ups and he might be

yanked from office. Google Gray

Davis.

So how is rookie Gov. Gavin

Newsom doing? How is he perform-

ing as he hops around the state

meeting with local officials, eye-

balling charred ruins, standing

before cameras in his official disas-

ter uniform — windbreaker and

jeans — and railing against Pacific

Gas & Electric Co.?

He’s doing pretty well. He hasn’t

come across as a grandstander.

The uniform fits. He doesn’t seem

to be interfering with the real work

of firefighting and helping victims.

Newsom keeps pointing the

finger at PG&E, where it belongs.

The nation’s largest private utility

is the main culprit because, as the

governor keeps repeating, “for

decades, they have placed greed

before public safety” by not updat-

ing equipment and by allowing

flammable vegetation to grow

Newsom faces double blow of disasters

THE GOVERNOR, seen Friday in Healdsburg, is handling his job

pretty well in the midst of blazes and blackouts, observers say.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

GEORGE SKELTON
in sacramento

CAPITOL JOURNAL

[SeeSkelton,B4]