By Miriam Raftery

Photos  by Deborah Horger, , Jeff Holz. Rebecca Jefferis Williamson and Imed Fehri and Alexis Parmnnoff

Update October 7, 2013 --SDG&E advises that the suspected cause of the outage is a faulted capacitor station.  All power was restored by 1:30 p.m.; the outage began at 10 a.m. affecting 4,501 customers.

October 6, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- An SDG&E sky crane loaded with 2,500 gallons of water helped firefighters halt a brush fire in Lakeside at 28 acres. No structures were lost; mop-up activiites will continue through the night.  The blaze began shortly after power went out to more than 4,500 customers for reasons that SDG&E's website indicated were unkown at the time of the outage; power has been fully restored. 

Below are our earlier updates on this fire, which began at Aquilla Drive in Lakeside and sent smoke billowing forth that was visible across much of East County as well as Poway and San Diego.

October 5, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Supervisor Jacob is looking for civic-minded District 2 residents to serve on a wide variety of citizen boards and advisory panels across East County. To apply and for additional information see the links at the bottom.

Update 9 p.m.  Sam DiGiovanna, our  "Chief's Corner" columnist, sent us this report and photo:  The fire has scorched 1,000 acres and is 15% contained.  Approximately 230 residents were forced to evacuate a housing unit near Lake O'Neil base, officials said. Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton was not threatened by the fire, but a power outage prompted officials to evacuate about 30 patients to other hospitals in the area and stop accepting new patients.

Update 4:20 p.m. - Winds have subsided and SDG&E has restored power to all but two customers in the Descanso/Green Valley area.

By Miriam Raftery

October 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has shut down power to 87 customers.  The company’s website states, “An outage has been initiated to protect public safety.”  A red flag alert and high wind warning are in effect.

"I remain extremely concerned that shutting off power jeopardizes the safety of communities and the availability of water for residents and firefighters. SDG&E has the statutory authority to cut off power only if there is an imminent threat to public safety," Supervisor Dianne Jacob posted on her Facebook page.

Supervisors to hear proposal Tuesday urging fast transfer of planes for firefighting from Department of Defense to U.S. Forest Service

By Miriam Raftery

October 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Shut-down of the federal government over the spending bill impasse has caused furlough of 2,000 California National Guard technicians who maintain helicopters and cargo planes that respond to major wildfires statewide. Major General David Baldwin has said that “lives are at stake” because of these “inane cuts and work stoppages,” the SF Gate reported. 

“The federal government needs to grow up, settle its budget mess and remember one of its primary obligations – public safety,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob  told East County Magazine.  “Any furloughs or other cutbacks that undermine aerial firefighting would be a major concern, especially as our region approaches the most dangerous stretch of the wildfire season.”

On Tuesday, Supervisors will hear a proposal by Supervisors Jacob and Greg Cox asking the U.S. Department of Defense to transfer seven surplus C-27 aircraft to the U.S. Forest Service to bolster firefighting resources in San Diego County and other areas.

October 4, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has notified East County Magazine’s Viejas Alerts that proactive power outages are possible due to high fire danger conditions.  A Red Flag Alert is in effect today through Sunday and a high wind watch has also been issued. 

Make sure you have flashlights and portable radio with batteries to stay informed during a power outage.  This is also a good time to sign up to follow ViejasAlerts at www.twitter.com so you can get text message alerts on your mobile phone.  If you have internet access you can also check our website for reports on fires at www.eastcountymagazine.org .

“We expect the highest winds between 4 a.m. and noon Saturday,” Stephanie Donovan, spokesperson for SDG&E, informed ECM.   Gusts of 50 to 70 miles an hour are expected in some places.

The utility has made outbound calls to 5600 customers warning of possible power shut-offs in the following areas:  Descanso, Mt Laguna, Viejas, Barrett Lake, East Jamul, Potrero, East Ramona, San Diego Country Estates, some portions of Santa Ysabel and North Wynola and Wynola, Japatul, Boulevard, Valley Center and Lake Wohlford. Click "read more" and scroll down for details.

By David Ross

A special joint investigation by East County Magazine and Valley Center Press into the county takeover of rural fire districts

PART II in a series

October 3, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Recently a volunteer fire chief in the Backcountry wrote this (pun intended) inflammatory conclusion about the level of preparedness at his rural department: “The _____ currently is at a dangerously low staffing level that is putting current firefighters, residents and visitors in danger.”

The name of the organization is left out (it is revealed later below), because it is a generic statement that might very easily apply to several communities in San Diego County’s rural unincorporated area.

October 3, 2013 (Alpine) – On Saturday, October 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, join Restoration Ecologist Scott McMillan of AECOM as the environmental consulting firm begins its initial effort to restore our very own populations of the rare and endangered San Diego Thornmint at Wright's Field in Alpine.  During this walk, he will introduce our group to this tiny member of the mint family, which is a federally listed endangered plant that only grows in San Diego County. 

For those interested in getting more involved, McMillan and BCLT will be recruiting volunteers for more hands-on restoration of the Thornmint populations over the next few years.  Learn more about the thornmint and how you can help out at this event.   Group parks and meets at Joan MacQueen Middle School - 2001 Tavern Rd, Alpine.  Sponsored by: Back Country Land Trust.  Full calendar of events for Fall 2013 is available at www.bclt.org.

October 3, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Homeowners in hillside communities, you can help your firefighters by creating defensible space around your home as we experience our first Santa Ana Wind event of the season. There are currently Red Flag Warnings in effect and more to come as we head into dry, warm and windy weather over the next few days.

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

October 3, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – For many businesses outside the retail sector, the fourth quarter is the slowest one of the year. Budgets have been spent, people are on vacation or in a holiday frame of mind, and new projects are being put off until after the first of the year. It can seem like a great time to just kick back a bit, or a time to worry about how to make ends meet until things pick back up.

Ideally, though, the fourth quarter should be the time when you evaluate the past year and plan out your business and marketing plans for the coming year. Even if the fourth quarter is a busy time for you, it's important to do this now so that you can get a jumpstart on the new year.

African beads auctioned, traditional dances showcased

By Janis Mork

October 3, 2013 (San Diego) - The Somali Bantu Association of America held a fundraiser for their youth group to receive new supplies and computer activities. Throughout the event in September, there was also a silent auction on African beads.

Isha Aweyso, a volunteer of the association, welcomed everyone. “We have things you can buy to help our community,” he said, noting that the event benefits students. “I’m really thankful to have this association community.”

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our radio interview with Sheriff Bill Gore on the impacts of this decision: http://k002.kiwi6.com/hotlink/xp8o8x2sl7/sheriff_gore-prisoners-final.mp3

October 1, 2013 (Sacramento) – A three-judge panel has denied Governor Jerry Brown’s request for a three-year postponement of a federal court order to release or transfer prisoners to ease overcrowding.  Instead, the judges gave the Governor a mere 30-day extension and further prohibited California from shipping prisoners to out-of-state private prisons, though transfers to local county jails with space will be allowed.

In an interview with East County Magazine’s radio show on Friday, Sheriff Bill Gore said California has among the highest recidivism rates in the nation at 72%.  The state is “just warehousing people” he said. Instead, he believes the state should have rehabilitation programs such as drug and alcohol rehab, literacy, anger management, education and job training to give prisoners a better “chance of succeeding when they get out” by getting employment and not committing new crimes.   Such programs have been rolled out locally.

By Paul Kruze

View videos of the forum:  http://youtu.be/OJtTm5CKagM; http://youtu.be/Un5b_TJUaYA;

http://youtu.be/ixahMxpdK6g

October 3, 2013 (San Diego)--In an attempt to make heads or tails out of the fallout from the resignation of former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, the Green Experts Academy held a forum entitled “San Diego Civic Crisis: Where Does The Green Sector Go From Here?” at the Cricket Communications headquarters in Kearney Mesa on September 26th.

September 28, 2013 (La Mesa) – La Mesa’s Oktoberfest October 4-6 will feature a variety of musical entertainment, from an authentic German band to classic rock and roll.  Scroll down for a schedule of events.  You can also view a video provided by the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce and Community Spectrum about the event at  http://bcove.me/gbaks5ge.

If you attend, be sure to stop by East County Magazine’s booth outside All Things Bright and British to say hello!

By Howard W Cook, Jacumba Hot Springs Sponsor Group Chair

September 30, 2013 (Jacumba) -- When the Jacumba Hot Springs Community showed up to attend The Real East County Fire Safe Council(Ken Daubach, President) tonight 09/30/2013 at the Jacumba Hot Springs Fire station, the station was completely dark. Shutdown as it has been frequently in the past month. Likewise, Boulevard Fire Station was also dark tonight as it has been for most of the past several months.

Yet, in the EIR's for all of the recent electrical projects, Eco at Jacumba and the Boulevard substation as well as the Tule wind farm project the Fire Dept. establishment promised 24/7 coverage.

East County doesn't know who in the Fire establishment they can trust.

We had an medical emergency today out at De Anza Resort(probably a fatality). Eventually the station at White Star responded after an hour.