UPDATE 5:39 P.M.:  The Evacuation Warning for the Coches Fire has beeen lifted. The Temporary Evacuation Point at W.D. Hall Elementary School is being closed.

UPDATE 4:59 P.M.:  Fire remains at 30 acres, 5% contained.  No structures damaged or destroyed.

4:35 P.M.:  Fire is 30 acres spreading east along I-8 towards Los Coches Road.  Evacuation warnings:  anyone wishing to evacuate can go to WD Hall Elementary.  No evacuation orders at this time.

4:32 P.M.:  Fire is 25 acres spreading east along I-8 towards Los Coches Road.  Evacuation warning for WD Hall Elementary.  No evacuation orders at this time.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

May 12, 2021 (Lakeside) -- Cal Fire is at the scene with cooperators of a vegetation fire along I-8, west of Los Coches Road in the Lakeside area. Four acres, moderate rate of spread. The right lane is closed on eastbound I-8 east of Greenfield.

To receive free East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts via email, sign up at the top right side of our homepage.  You can also follow EastCountyAlert on Twitter for brief text messages on your mobile phone. We thank the Grossmont Healthcare District for their sponsorship of our alerts.

By Alexa Oslowski

May 11, 2021 (La Mesa) - The City of La Mesa announced in a news release on May 7 that it will be hosting a vaccine clinic on May 22 in partnership with the County of San Diego, Helix Charter High School, Champions for Health, and the Philippine Nurses Association of San Diego. This is one of the latest efforts by the city to improve vaccine equitability and access.

East County News Service

May 11, 2021 (Santa Ysabel) - Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures in Santa Ysabel, just outside of Julian, is open for educational and historical farm tours with lots of outdoor recreational activities. The nursery will also be open for shopping when you sign up for a farm tour package offered Saturday and Sunday afternoons. 

By Angela Kurysh

May 11, 2021 (La Mesa) – “You can never have too much pink,” said Nadia Zamora, who finally opens up her coffee shop, Pink Rose Cafe on La Mesa Boulevard this week.

After working on this project for over 14 months amid pandemic lockdowns and a riot, Zamora and her husband were ready to peacefully give up, but with the constant support of the community and the mission behind their business, Pink Rose Cafe will be launching its new spot with a ribbon cutting ceremony this Wednesday, May 12, at 10:30am; the official grand opening will be Saturday, May 15, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

Image, left: Dept. of Water Resources  map shows precipitation is far below average statewide

May 11, 2021 (Sacramento) – Following months of below normal rainfall in one of the driest years on record, Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday expanded his  April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include a total of 41 counties. San Diego is not included in the proclamation, which covers primarily Northern and Central California, areas representing about 30 percent of the state’s population. However all state residents are asked to help conserve water, a criitical resource.

Extraordinarily warm temperatures in April and early May separate this critically dry year from all others on California record. Climate change-induced early warm temperatures and extremely dry soils have further depleted runoff water from the Sierra-Cascade snowpack, resulting in historic and unanticipated reductions in water flowing to major reservoirs. The drastic reduction in water supplies means these reservoirs are extremely low for water users including farmers, also threatening fish and wildlife in the counties the drought proclamation covers.

Newsom announced $5.1 billion in funding for a menu of measures to address the drought and related water challenges. His proposal takes timely advantage of a massive $75.7 billion budget surplus, a surplus due largely to wealthy Californians who profited during the pandemic.

By Emily Miller, Alpine

Photo: cc via Bing

May 10, 2021 (Alpine) -- May is Mental Health Month. By urging my public officials to prioritize suicide prevention, mental health, and crisis care, I am hoping to influence collective change to support #MentalHealth4All.

Right now, individuals in crisis are able to call 1-800-273-8255 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress and those that care for them. Soon, it will be much easier to remember how to reach the Lifeline as the number will be changing to "988" nationwide by July 2022.

East County News Service

May 10, 2021 (Washington d.C.) -- Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents ages 12 through 15, Previously, the Pfizer vaccine was approved only for people age 16 and up.

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., says the action is “a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding, “Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.”

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

May 10, 2021 (San Diego) -- The past 13 months have been a rollercoaster of emotion, stress, and anxiety for many folks. As East County and the rest of the state finally move out of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, it’s important to remember that our mental and emotional health may need more time to adjust. The stay-at-home orders and pandemic lifestyle may have made some of us stronger and more resilient, but some may have become more vulnerable. These are important considerations, year-round and when we observe May is Mental Health Month.

By Briana Gomez

May 9, 2021 (El Cajon) - The East County People’s Forum launched by the East County Justice Coalition took place over Zoom on May 4, 2020. The Coalition launched a call for transparent & inclusive city planning in El Cajon.

New research shows that California’s climate policy created up to 39 million carbon credits that aren’t achieving real carbon savings. But companies can buy these forest offsets to justify polluting more anyway.

By Lisa Song, ProPublica, and James Temple, MIT Technology Review

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

Image via Pixabay

By Julie Cart, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  A view of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek on April 22, 2021. Most of the park burned in 2020's CZU Complex wildfire. Photo by Max Whittaker, courtesy of Save the Redwoods League

May 9, 2021 (Boulder Creek, Calif.) - In the annals of California history, no one has ever had to put a broken state park back together. There’s no guidebook, no rules. So now state officials and conservationists are attempting a complex and extraordinary Humpty Dumpty project: The reawakening of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

SDSU has six-game winning streak snapped in Fort Collins

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

May 8, 2021 (Fort Collins, Colo.) - The San Diego State softball team had its six-game winning streak snapped in a 2-0 loss at Colorado State Sunday afternoon at Ram Field. The Aztecs (27-14, 12-9 MW) have still won 13 of its last 16 games.