Antelope Valley fire season included in “Worst Case Scenario” reading list

Anyone who has spent fire season in Los Angeles knows some of its special language—knows, for example, the difference between a fire that has been “controlled” and a fire that has so far been merely “contained” (a “contained” fire has been surrounded, usually by a trench half as wide as the brush is high, but is still burning out of control within this line and may well jump it), knows the difference between “full” and “partial” control (“partial” control means, if the wind changes, no control at all), knows about “backfiring” and about “making the stand” and about the difference between a Red Flag Alert (there will probably be a fire today) and a Red Flag Warning (there will probably be a Red Flag Alert within three days).

Still, “burn index” was new to me, and one of the headquarters foresters, Paul Rippens, tried that morning to explain it. … A week or so later, 3,700 acres burned in the hills west of the Antelope Valley. The flames reached 60 feet. The wind was gusting at 40 miles an hour. There were 250 firefighters on the ground, and they evacuated 1,500 residents, one of whom returned to find her house gone but managed to recover, according to The Los Angeles Times, “an undamaged American flag and a porcelain Nativity set handmade by her mother.” (via Atlantic Monthly)

Drug treatment counselors arrested for $46 million dollar Medi-Cal scheme

[Photo: Andrew F. Scott]

Atlantic Recovery Services, which also was named Atlantic Health Services, received state and federal funds through contracts with Los Angeles County, according to the indictment. ARS in turn offered drug treatment programs to students at public schools in Lakewood, the Antelope Valley, Bell Gardens and Montebello, as well as several charter schools operated by the nonprofit Soledad Enrichment Action.
Prosecutors say that drug treatment counselors developed sign-in sheets for group sessions that didn’t occur, and that the company submitted bills for two “crisis intervention sessions” each month for each student, regardless of whether a relapse was imminent, according to the indictment. The scheme ran until 2013, officials said.

(read full story via L.A. Now)

Wasteland Weekend Elite Guards

Here are some random photos of Wasteland Weekend Elite Guards and other characters that attended Wasteland Weekend 4-day post-apocalyptic party held each year in California City.

[Photos: Ross Way]

$25K reward approved to aid investigation of AV dogs burned with acid

The Board of Supervisors approved a $25,000 reward Tuesday for information leading to whoever has been burning dogs with caustic chemicals in the Antelope Valley.

Supervisor Michael Antonovich initially said he would ask his colleagues to approve a $10,000 reward. But he announced last week he was increasing the amount to $25,000, which includes contributions from private sources, the supervisor said.

“By increasing this reward, we hope to encourage the public to come forward with any information that will help us identify, apprehend and prosecute those responsible for these depraved acts of cruelty,” Antonovich said. (Read full article via MyNewsLA)

Rains May Unlock An Enduring Mojave Mystery

A Joshua tree flower cluster | Photo:

“It’s make or break time. If we don’t get any rain in the desert between now and March, it’s not gonna happen. But if enough precipitation leaks over the mountains to give the Mojave Desert a few good showers or a blanket of snow, then we might just see one of the desert’s least-understood phenomena take place, as Joshua trees work to create a new generation of themselves.

Don’t get me wrong: we understand the basics quite well. In years where the Joshua trees have gotten enough winter water and a good freeze, some of the leaf buds at the ends of those ungainly branches will turn into flower buds. Between late February and April, those flower buds will open into big, tight clusters of cream-colored flowers.
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