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STAR W E E K L Y
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID Desert Hot Springs, CA
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PERMIT NO 00005
August 5, 2015 Vol. 8 No. 61
California Wildfire
A Cal Fire firefighter races to move a truck before it’s overrun at the Rocky Fire in Lake County, California July 30, 2015. © Max Whittaker / Reuters
More than twenty California wildfires torch 134,000 acres and counting... By Desert Star Staff Thousands have been evacuated as a wildfire in northern California grew to engulf 60,000 acres. As firefighters struggle to contain the flames, state officials say the dried-out vegetation and swirling winds helped the blaze spread in all directions. The worst wildfire currently affecting California, the “Rocky fire,” has engulfed 60,000 acres
(94 square miles). As of late Sunday, the fire has consumed 24 homes and 26 outbuildings. With the flames threatening over 6,000 homes, authorities have ordered 12,000 local residents to evacuate. The fire began last Wednesday near Clear Lake, north of Santa Rosa. It has tripled in size over the weekend, however, as clouds of black
smoke created their own local weather system. California fire officials are calling the wildfire’s behavior “unprecedented.” “It is jaw-dropping to see some of the things it is doing,” Jason Shanley, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the Sacramento Bee. “With our history of drought and some really old foliage and brush that is
By KMIR News Staff The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is now in default for the first time in history after it only paid $628,000 of a $58 million debt payment it owed over the weekend. According to the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico (GDB), the commonwealth simply did not have the cash to make the bond payment owed to the Public Finance Corporation (PFC). Puerto Rico is currently some $72 billion in debt. “Due to the lack of appropriated funds for this fiscal year the entirety of the PFC payment was not made today
(the first business day after the Saturday deadline),” GDB President Melba Acosta-Febo said in a statement. “This was a decision that reflects the serious concerns about the Commonwealth’s liquidity in combination with the balance of obligations to our creditors and the equally important obligations to the people of Puerto Rico to ensure the essential services they deserve are maintained.” As a result of the tiny payment, the credit rating agency Moody’s said that Puerto Rico has defaulted on its debts. “Moody’s views this event
as a default,” Emily Raimes, vice president at Moody’s Investors Service, said in a statement to CNBC. “Debt service on these bonds is subject to appropriation, and the lack of appropriation means there is not a legal requirement to pay the debt, nor any legal recourse for bondholders.” Raimes added that it does not believe the island has enough cash to make all the payments it needs do, and that similar news is on the way. “This event is consistent with our belief that Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico defaults
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very sensitive and really dry, that is a recipe for disaster.” On Saturday, the fire was ravaging some 20,000 acres, spreading to 54,000 by Sunday, affecting the counties of Lake, Yolo and Colusa. Monday morning estimates put it at 60,000 acres and 12 percent contained, with lower temperatures and higher humidity reportedly helping slow the
spread of the firestorm. Nearly 3,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, with 254 water engines, 59 crews, 38 water tenders, 19 helicopters and 58 bulldozers, according to Cal Fire reports. The California and Colorado Air National Guards have sent four C-130 air tankers to assist operations. Firefighters say Continues on Page 11