Solano moves forward with Phase 2 of fire cleanup A3
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Pande(mic)monium breaks out Residents tell Solano supervisors to fight against ‘evil’ governor
Todd R. Hansen
covid-19
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
FAIRFIELD — The Solano County supervisors on Tuesday were told – loudly – to fight back against Gov. Gavin Newson’s Covid-19 policies, a system that by next Tuesday could mean some businesses will have to close again. And while Supervisor Jim Spering said he would never tell a business owner who has a state-issued license to ignore a state order to close, he also said some businesses may not have any choice. “I would tell businesses that if the state orders you to shut down again, and you
will go out of business (if you do), stay open and force the state to close you,” Spering said to a roar of support. If local businesses are ordered to close, or to reduce their customer capacities, it will be because the state determined Solano County’s Covid-19 case rate has regressed back into the purple tier – a near certainty after 61 new cases were reported Tuesday. That is about twice as high as the average daily threshold – 30.7 – needed to remain in the less-restrictive red tier.
The total number of cases in the county now rests at 7,445, the county reported. It also will mean the state was not persuaded by the county’s efforts to show that the recent surge was a temporary glitch due to a handful of specific events, such as a funeral that attracted 300 people and a wedding that had nearly three dozen guests. Moreover, Dr. Bela Matyas, the public health officer, said those individuals who went to those events did not wear face coverings, nor made any effort to distance themselves from others. Matyas said those events alone could result in case numbers that skew the
county’s rate, which has been firmly in the red tier just three weeks ago. He repeated that businesses are not causing the number surge, and said the blame is solely the responsibility of residents’ behavior. The final order, he said, comes from the state and not the county. But a number of area residents once again expressed their displeasure with the supervisors’ unwillingness to stand up to the governor, who was called a dictator, a tyrant and evil. Supervisor Monica Brown was referred See Residents, Page A8
Orange Co. fires burn more than 27,000 acres
Preparing for Nov. 3
Some evacuation orders lifted Tribune Content Agency
Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic
Steve Leutholtz, of Bird’s Landing, submits his ballot at the Solano County Government Center polling place, Monday.
Elections office fields surge of pre-Election Day ballots Todd R. Hansen
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
FAIRFIELD — Solano County had received more than 83,000 mail-in ballots and nearly 900 early in-person voters had cast their election choices as of the end of Friday. The total of early ballots grew Monday. John Gardner, the assistant registrar of voters, said the 83,109 mail-in ballots as of Friday were about 2.5 times more than were received at the same time in 2016. “So in 2016, at this time, we had 30,000,” Gardner said.
The number of mail-in ballots received after the close of business Monday was 89,079. In-person voting numbers were not available. Those individuals also are using drop-off sites more than in the past. Gardner said of the total received, about 25,000 came through the drop-off sites. “In a normal election, we might get 5,000,” Gardner said. The 889 early in-person voters as of Friday are tracking similarly to four years ago when there were about 1,600 early voters altogether. See Ballots, Page A8
INSIDE Vacaville residents in new District 2 area call for one of their own to be appointed. Page A10.
SANTA ANA — Ash swirled, and the stench of smoke hung in the air Tuesday as a light haze settled over southern Orange County. Cars lined Glenn Ranch Road as motorists paused to watch smoke billowing from a cluster of hills in the direction of Silverado Canyon Road. At least two firefighting planes circled the area. A firetruck blared its siren down the hill. It had been barely 24 hours since a pair of wind-driven wildfires ignited and encroaching flames forced 100,000 residents to flee their homes. The first, the Silverado fire, broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. PDT Monday in the brush country around Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads. By 2 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters had achieved 5% containment on the blaze, which had burned through more than 12,000 acres – sparing structures but injuring five firefighters, including two who were critically burned. The firefighters, ages 26 and 31, were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies. They “remain in critical condition, fighting for their lives, with their families by their sides,” Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said Tuesday. Fennessy said the firefighters’ families had received an outpouring of support, including notes, emails and texts from all over the country, but it was “tough for any firefighter – See Fires, Page A8
Election has many Americans feeling high anxiety Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — Four months ago, as protesters marched through the city demanding justice for George Floyd, Vena Petty was standing at a market in Burbank when she spotted an older white man glaring at her. “It’s all your fault!” he hissed, adding an expletive. Petty – who is Hawaiian, Black and Chinese – was
standing quietly by herself at the time, so she’s confident he targeted her as a woman of color. She tucked the memory away, but it resurfaced after President Donald Trump during a debate told the Proud Boys, a farright hate group, to “stand back, and stand by,” and again two weeks later, when Sen. Lindsey Graham made a comment, which he later
said was sarcastic, about “the good old days of segregation.” By then, Petty was convinced. That afternoon, the 56-year-old, who was laid off from her temporary job at a film studio in March, visited Redstone Firearms in Burbank, determined to start the process of buying her first gun – something small, she said, to keep in her home. She hoped she would
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never need to use it, but believed that having a gun might give her some comfort in a world that felt increasingly out of control. knows what “Who will happen?” While the days leading up to most presidential elections carry a certain frenzied, exhausted energy fueled by attack ads and nonstop robocalls, this election See Anxiety, Page A9
weather
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Plenty of sunshine. Complete five-day forecast on B10.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez braves tall flames as he fights the advancing Silverado Fire in Irvine, Monday.
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