By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

December 7, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - Get an extra pet sweater or coat, or donate an old one to County Animal Services’ “Paw It Forward” campaign. These “creature comforts” will go to pets of people experiencing homelessness.

By Valerie Watts

December 7, 2017 (San Diego) -- County Recorder’s Office personnel are bracing themselves for effects of a new fee imposed by the State of California.  Beginning January 1, 2018, certain recordable documents will be charged a fee in addition to the usual recording fees to support the Building Homes and Jobs Act, SB 2 - Atkins.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

Update December 8, 2017 8:45 a.m.:  Cal Fire reports the fire has burned 65 structures but remains at 4,100 acres. Evacuation orders now extend west to Camp Pendleton.  Four civilian injuries and two firefighter injuries have occurred. 

December 7, 2017 (San Diego) – Governor Jerry Brown has issued an emergency declaration over the Lilac Hills Fire, which has scorched over 4,100 acres in the Fallbrook-Bonsall area. The County has also declared an emergency.

The devastating blaze is burning southwest and is still zero percent contained.  It started at 11:15 a.m. west of I-15 and north of Lilac Road on the Pala Mesa.

By this evening, at least 20 homes have burned, County Emergency Services reports. That includes numerous residences in the Rancho Manserate Country Club community.  An estimated 5,000 more residences are threatened.  Two people suffered burns and have been taken to a hospital.

Dozens of horses have died including many at the San Luis Rey training center, Times of San Diego reports. In Bonsall, numerous horses were let loose, running wildly through billowing smoke, a photo posted by Horses so Fine on Instagram states, adding, “Pray for them.”  Community volunteers have come forward to help save many horses and the Del Mar Fairgrounds has opened facilities for livestock including horses.

Update 4 p.m.  The fire is now 2,000 acres and still 0 percent contained, per Cal Fire. New evacuation orders: South of Hwy 76 West of I-15 Freeway North of Gopher Canyon Rd, East of East Village Way & Mission Rd.

Update 3 p.m.:  Lilac Fire is now 500 acres and 0 percent contained. County Emergency Services warns of "dangerous fires" in North County. EW evacuation warnings are in effect: North of Pala Rd., South of Reche  Rd., West of I-15 Freeway, East of Green Canyon Rd. & W. Mission Rd.  Cal Fire is excercising its option to get military helicopters as well as San Diego Fire & Rescue night-flying helicopters.

For highway closure info check here:  https://www.sigalert.com/map.asp?lat=33.31155&lon=-117.34502&z=1

Three temporary evacaution shelters have been set up at Fallbrook High School, Pechanga Casino and Pala Casino. The Del Mar Fairgrounds is accepting large animals.

Update 1:30 p.m.  The Lilac Fire is now 175 acres, Cal Fire reports.  Two structures have been burned.

December 7, 2017 (Fallbrook) -- The Lilac Fire is burning in North County near the Interstate 15 and State Route 76 junction in the Fallbrook-Bonsall area.  Several southbound lanes on I-15 are shut down due to the fast-moving blaze fueled by 30-40 mph winds.

By Miriam Raftery

December 6, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Tonight SDG&E has shut off power due many areas across East County and North County due to “an extreme weather event with high winds and dry conditions,” according to SDG&E’s website, which warns, “Current conditions indicate that power may remain out for several days before it can be safely restored. If your power is out, please be sure you have adequate emergency supplies on hand for an extended period of time and check here for the most current information on expected restoration times.”

The action comes just days after the California Public Utilities Commission ruled that SDG&E cannot bill ratepayers for its uninsured losses from the 2007 firestorms, when state regulators found its power lines responsible for three major fires.

December 6, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views.  Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Religious liberty or right to discriminate? High court to hear arguments in wedding cake case (Christian Science Monitor)
• Patagonia sues Trump for shrinking national monuments (The Hill)
• Supreme Court allows full enforcement of Trump travel ban while challenges continue Washington Post)
• How an unequal tax cut grew more unequal (Washington Post)
• Republican tax bill could hurt U.S. military, according to some top generals (Newsweek)
• How Donald Trump shot down Obamacare with the Senate tax reform bill (Newsweek)
• American Airlines, pilots’ union reach agreement (10 News)
• Did Trump’s tweet about Michael Flynn’s guilty plea just admit something it shouldn’t have? (Washington Post)
• Emails dispute White House claim that Flynn acted independently on Russia (New York Times)
• Number of American Children in Foster Care Increases for 4th Consecutive Year (NPR)

WORLD

• Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (CNN)
• 151 UN states vote to disavow Israeli ties to Jerusalem (Jerusalem Post)
• Royal family welcomes a divorced, biracial American. That’s a huge change. (Washington Post)
• North Korea:  Trump is begging for nuclear war (CNN)
• U.A.E. denies rebels fired missile at Abu Dhabi nuclear plant (New York Times)
• Emperor Akihito sets date for his abdication of Japan's throne (CS Monitor)
• Plot to kill British premier May foiled (Reuters)
• Yemen's ex-president Saleh shot dead after switching sides in civil war  (Reuters)
•  'Ghost Ships' From North Korea Wash Ashore in Japan (NPR)
• Mogadishu Truck Bomb's Death Toll Now Tops 500, Probe Committee Says (NPR)

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

Public urged to use caution to avoid infernos like those scorching Los Angeles and Ventura

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Thirdiphoto: Skirball Fire created hellacious conditions that shut down the 405 freeway today near the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

December 6, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – High winds fueling devastating fires in Los Angeles are set to hit San Diego County tomorrow, with gusts of 70 mph or more in some areas. Currently no fires are burning in San Diego County, though smoke from a fire in Mexico is visible near the border.  But the situation could turn perilous quickly if new fires start.  National Weather Forecaster Alex Tardy says Santa Ana winds could blow a fire in the inland area all the way to the coast.

Source: California Insurance Commissioner

December 6, 2017 (Sacramento) -- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Insurance, Inc., have been served with an accusation by the California Department of Insurance seeking to suspend or revoke its licenses for alleged improper insurance sales practices related to the company's online insurance referral program, which resulted in insurance products being purchased and paid for by consumers without their knowledge.

By Miriam Raftery

East County Wildfire and Emergency Alerts

December 6, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – With wind gusts forecast up to 90 miles an hour in San Diego’s mountains and valleys, along with low humidity, the National Weather Service is warning of the potential for explosive wildfires.  A red flag warning has been extended to Saturday evening.

Adding to the danger, many firefighters statewide are deployed to fight major fires burning in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernadino Counties, so mutual aide resources could be stretched thin if major fires develop in San Diego County.

By Miriam Raftery

December 6, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E is warning East County residents of potential power outages this week due to high fire danger. On Tuesday, the utility did shut off power to the Descanso and Cuyamaca areas for several hours during gusty Santa winds, after initially warning that power could remain off until Friday to prevention ignition of power lines.

It’s important to be prepared for outages.  During wildfires in Northern California last month, several people died because they were unable to evacuate. After the power went out, some elderly residents could not disconnect automatic garage door openers or lift heavy garage doors, so they were unable to get their vehicles out.

By Miriam Raftery

December 5, 2017 (San Diego) -- If a smart bag is on your gift list this holiday season, you’d better check twice before you go shopping. 

Multiple major airlines including American, Delta, Alaska, United, Continental and Southwest have announced plans to ban many smart luggage pieces due to the risk of explosions caused by lithium ion batteries, 10 News reports.

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Story by Liz Alper

Videos courtesy goaztecs.com

For videos of the men's and women's basketball portions of the press conference, as well as Gonzales', Phillips' and Baldwin's portions, click "read more" and scroll down.

December 5, 2017 (San Diego) - Another fun-filled SDSU athlet press conference awaited the media and this week, football offensive coordinator Jeff Horton, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, sophomore running back Juwan Washington, senior defensive lineman Sergio Phillips and junior safety Parker Baldwin had a bowl game to talk about.  They appeared along with men's basketball head coach Brian Dutcher and women's basketball head coach Stacie Terry.

By Miriam Raftery

December 5, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes the North Pole Limited train rides in Campo, the Ramona Holiday Wine Trail, a Christmas Cabaret in La Mesa, reindeer at Grossmont Center, and a Toy Parade in El Cajon, a performance of Handel’s Messiah in the College area,

Plus, we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including La Mesa’s Holiday in the Village, Caroling in Borrego, Santa and Snow at Santee Lakes, a Christmas Carol in Julian, big band and jazz holiday concerts in El Cajon and Santee, Tony Orlando at Sycuan, fiddling and clogging with Celia Lawler at Parkway Plaza, Sinatra and friends at Borrego Performing Arts, and Carnaval Fantastique at Sycuan.

So scroll down tuned for all of these events and many more!

By Miriam Raftery

December 4, 2017 (San Diego) – If you lose your home or personal property in a natural disaster such as a wildfire or earthquake, or suffer theft, accident or vandalism, you won’t be able to deduct those property losses off your taxes after December. That’s because both the Senate and House versions of the Republicans’ tax bill eliminates these tax breaks.

East County News Service

December 4, 2017 (La Mesa) -- The Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, a consumer health library at 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa , is now presenting its Fall Art Exhibit showcasing 20 watercolor paintings by Ruth Benjamin, a San Carlos resident.