By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of Cal Fire via Twitter

June 20, 2016 (Potrero) -- The Border Fire has charred 1,900 acres and is now 5% contained as of 9 a.m. according to Cal Fire.  The community of Potrero remains under evacuation order. Highway 94 remains closed through the area.

Scanner traffic indicates a second fire has been reported in Mexico close to the Border Fire; we are awaiting confirmation and details.

Mt. Empire School District has announced all schools districtwide will be closed today due to the fire. Three people have been injured including a firefighter. Several outbuildings have burned, per Cal Fire. Hundreds of firefighters from across Southern California are battling the blaze in steep, rugged terrain that has burned in many years and is dry from years of drought during triple-digit heat.

The emergency shelter for today is at Campo Elementary School, 1654 Buckman Springs Road.

East County News Service

June 19, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Across the region, record temperatures were reached during today’s scorching heat.  So how hot was it?

Update 10 p.m. The fire is 5% contained and a firefighter has been injured, CalFire reports. An emergency overnight shelter is open at Campo Elementary School, 1654 Buckman Springs Rd.in Campo.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: air tanker battles the Border Fire, by Leon Thompson

June 19, 2016 (Potrero) --As of 7:20 tonight, the fast-growing Border Fire has charred 1,500 acres and led to mandatory evacuation orders for the entire town of Potrero, per Cal Fire.  Structures are threatened. 

Residents fleeing the Border Fire can now go to these evacuation centers:  Campo Community Center ( Cool Zone )  at 300 Sheridan Rd, Campo Elementary School ( Red Cross Shelter ) at 1654 Buckman Springs Rd, or the Dulzura Community Center at 1136 Community Building Road off State Route 94 (note corrected address). This information has been verified through Red Cross and Campo Community Center employees.  The Sheriff reports a third evacuation center opened at Campo Elementary School, 1654 Buckman Springs Road, Campo.

If you need emergency assistance in evacuation, call 9-1-1. If you need additional information, check the San Diego County Emergency website at www.sdcountyemergency.com or call the San Diego Sheriff's Department non-emergency line at 858-565-5200.  For help with large animal evacuations due to , call the San Diego County Animal Services at (619) 236-2341.  Follow additoinal updates on Twitter at #BorderFire.

Road closures in effect on Highway 94 are changing rapidly as the fire moves.  Get the latest traffic and road closure information at https://cad.chp.ca.gov/Traffic.aspx.  Here are closures as of now:

East County News Service

June 19, 2016 (San Diego) – United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135 President Mickey Kasparian has announced that Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons grocery store workers will hold a strike vote on Monday on whether or not to strike. 

East County News Service

June 18, 2016 (El Cajon) -- During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis addressed the City Council to make them aware of the police department’s new partnership with other East County agencies for a homeless outreach program. The actions come after the County Grand Jury issued a report recommending East County cities take actions to improve help for the homeless, as ECM reported earlier this week.

By Miriam Raftery

June 17, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- A reader e-mailed us to point out that many of the Cool Zones listed on the County's map are not open Sundays. So we did some research to find a few more options on some cool places to go, such as shopping malls, bowling alleys, ice rinks, movie theatres, casinos, aquatic centers, libraries and more. 

We also have some tips on how to beat the heat at home and keep your cool. Plan ahead, since SDG&E says Flex Alerts (temporary power outages) are possible during the extreme heat starting Sunday. 

Check out our list below of cool places  that are open Sunday and beyond:

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

June 17, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - Maryann Jordan, author of 17 published books including Sacrifice Love, Gabe, and Love's Taming, is joining us today to talk about an important aspect of the pre-writing stage in a manuscript's development – namely should you already know the ending before you begin? Maryann Jordan is an Amazon and Barnes & Noble best-selling author. Her novel Emma's Home will be included in the upcoming 12-book bundle Finding Love in All the Right Places. The collection is near and dear to my heart as it also will feature one of my novels, Aching for You.

Should an author have the ending of the novel decided before they begin writing? - Travis Norwood, author of Sugar Scars

By Liz Alper

Photo: Rady Children’s auxiliary was recognized for their hard work before the game.  Courtesy @Padres on Twitter

June 16, 2016 (San Diego) - The Washington Nationals arrived in San Diego for the start of a four-game series tonight.  Tanner Roark got the start for Washington against Erik Johnson for San Diego.

By Liz Alper

Photo: Ashley Henderson courtesy goaztecs.com

June 16, 2016 (Colorado Springs, Co.) - San Diego State University sophomore Ashley Henderson has been named the Mountain West Conference's outdoor track & field Student Athlete of the Year.

By Chisato Iverson and Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2016 (La Mesa) –For Donna Neimeier at the La Mesa Historical Society, preparing an exhibit on Grossmont High School students forced into internment camps during World War II provided troubling memories from her own childhood.

“I was in first or second grade when all of this happened. I knew that my Japanese friends were gone…We didn’t know where they went,” she recalled.  After  her friends returned, she recalls, “They were very withdrawn and they never talked about it..”

Now she reflects, “Here I am, 75 years later, learning about this whole thing…I think with prejudice and the way we all feel about prejudice now, it’s something that is very upsetting to me personally, that it happened.”   The most important reason for the museum’s exhibit, she believes, is to teach people about the past, in hopes that it will never be repeated.

East County News Service

June 15, 2016 (San Diego's East County) – Local chamber of commerce groups in San Diego’s East County will jointly present “Politics in Paradise” from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, June 30, at the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College, 12122 Cuyamaca College Dr. West, El Cajon. Chambers supporting the event include the San Diego East County Chamber, Lakeside Chamber, Santee Chamber and Alpine Mountain Empire Chamber. Also supporting the event is the San Diego East County Economic Development Council (ECEDC).

June 15, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• After Orlando, do Americans support a ban on assault weapons? (CBS)
• Democratic senators stage filibuster to demand action on gun bills (USA Today)
• Why the foodstamp cuts in the farm bill affect a third of states (Washington Post)
• Shock poll: Gary Johnson leads Clinton among independents (Politics Breaking)
• Trump to meet NRA about banning gun sales to terror list suspects (The Hill)
• Hillary Clinton wins DC primary, as she meets with Sanders (ABC)
• Trump shuts out the Washington Post. How did we get here? (CS Monitor)

WORLD

• How Panama’s indigenous peoples are using drones to save the rainforest (CS Monitor)
• French police couple killed in attack claimed by Islamic State (Reuters)
• Is China trying to stockpile US jet engines? (CS Monitor)
• Archaeologists uncover hidden medieval cities in Cambodia (CS Monitor)
• China uses SWAT teams, prison terms to crack down on entrance exam cheats ( Japan Times)
• China's Other Cultural Revolution (Reason)
• 'We want food!' Looting and riots rock Venezuela daily  (Reuters)
• Bonds Pay Less Than Zero As Investors Flee To Safety (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

June 15, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• Broken from baseball: the rise in youth baseball injuries (10 News investigation)
• Ninth circuit approves Tule Wind farm approval (Courthouse News)
• Former desert rail line prez penalized (Reader)
• San Diego County deputy D.A. accused of texting naked selfies, sexting  on county time (10 News)
• Strike vote to be taken by supermarket workers in San Diego(Reporting San Diego)
• Chinese migrants flocking to San Diego, stats show (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Desalination test facility in the works (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Judge in Stanford rapist case must go, California lawmakers urge (SacBee)
• Man with weapons and explosives arrested, was going to L.A. gay pride parade, police say (L.A. Times)
• California water savings increased despite eased mandates (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California panels approve raft of gun control bills in wake of Orlando shootings (San Jose Mercury News)
• California Budget To Eliminate Contentious Welfare Policy  (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Chisato Iversen

June 15, 2016 (La Mesa)-- Grace Kaminaka Tsuida, a student at Grossmont High School’s class of 1944, is a survivor of a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.  As part of an AP class project at Grossmont High School , students documented the experiences of Grossmont students who were interned.  Their stories are documented in  Japanese American AP US American Reports  and can be seen in a special exhibit at the La Mesa Historical Society during June. 

Grace Kaminaka Tsuida  was born  Sept. 9,1926 in Lemon Grove. She made friends easily, like other children, until after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when the U.S. government sent her family and others to an internment camp.  After their release, they were given an apology from the government, though it failed to acknowledge the humiliation and confusion they experience.  Now, 67 years later, Grace’s niece, Judy Miyamoto, helped arrange for Grace to finally receive her Grossmont High School Diploma.

Now 90 years old, Grace granted an exclusive interview with East County Magazine.   Please read her compelling story.