September 2, 2013 (La Posta) - A 20-acre brush fire is burning in the La Posta area that started off I-8 at the Kitchen Creek offramp. The fire is believed to be caused by lightning; multiple lightning strikes have occurred in the area.

Air attack and choppers 10 and 12 are on scene and rain is falling, according to posts on the Brush Fire Partyline.  Firefighting units are staging at Boulder Oaks Campground.

In addition, a power outage has occurred that is impacting portions of Dulzura, Potrero, Campo, Japatul Valley, Buckman Springs, Morena Village,, Live Oak Springs, Boulevard, Jacumba.  SDG&E is working to determine the cause. 

September 3, 2013 (Borrego) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning in effect through 5:30 p.m. for central San Diego County.  At 3:54 p.m., Doppler radar estimated that heavy rainfall of up to two and a half inches had fallen northwest of Hot Springs Mountain in Cleveland National Forest. This area is drained by Coyote Creek, which empties just north of Borrego Springs.

Rapid rises in the creek are possible. In addition residents in and below recently burned areas and those living along streams and creeks should move to high ground. Do not attempt to cross swiftly flowing waters by foot or in your vehicle.

Customers encouraged to save energy to earn credit on bills                                                            

August 30, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has called a ‘Reduce Your Use’ event day tomorrow (Aug. 31) due to hotter-than-average temperatures.

While SDG&E has adequate electricity resources to meet the demand, residential customers can help reduce strain on the electric grid by reducing their electricity use tomorrow between 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.  By doing so, they will be eligible to earn a bill credit of $0.75 per kilowatt hour saved.

Here are some quick tips to help  save energy at home:

September 1, 2013 (Spring Valley) --  La Mesa Police have located Ramon Leggs, 76, who was an at risk missing person. Below is the original missing person report.

Mr. Leggs suffers from hypertension, diabetes, dementia and he has difficulty walking. He is a resident at New Brighton Place, which is located at 9009 Campo Road in Spring Valley. He was last seen on 08/31/2013 at approximately 5:30 PM in the area of Bancroft Drive and State Route 94. Mr. Leggs left on foot. He has no money or cell phone.

Mr. Leggs is described as a Hispanic male adult, 5' 7" tall, 170 pounds, gray hair with a beard and mustache. He was last seen wearing a dark green t-shirt, blue shorts, long white socks and black shoes.

An ECM special investigation continues, finding links between rise in dust storms across outhwest, Valley Fever epidemic, and installation of large-scale desert solar and wind projects

By Miriam Raftery

August 26, 2013 (Ocotillo)--A second dust storm has struck Ocotillo on Auugust 25, just two days after an earlier dust storm swept through the desert community.  Dust billowed thousands of feet into the air, dwarfing  a 500 foot tall wind turbines scarcely visible in the above photo.  East County Magazine photographer Jim Pelley was in the midst of the storm and shot videos: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Jz2KQmVZs&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ViBPc25iIE&feature=youtu.be

August 29, 2013 (San Diego) – An unprecedented reduction in reservoir releases on the Colorado River announced on Friday, August 16 by the Bureau of Reclamation won’t cut water supplies to agencies in San Diego County or the rest of the Southwest during the 2014 “water year,” but the move does underscore the importance of continued conservation and water-supply diversification across the region.

August 29, 2013 (San Diego) – Waste Management of San Diego’s curbside residential and commercial trash and recycling pick-up schedule will be delayed by one day throughout the week of September 2, in observance of Labor Day. In addition, all Waste Management operations will be closed on Monday, September 2, with normal operations resuming the next day

By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2013 (San Diego’s East County ) – California Highway Patrol Sergeant Dave Dreher has responded to East County Magazine’s inquiry regarding a truck with over-sized load that broke down, sitting for two weeks on State Route 94 in Dulzura before it was finally removed last week. Residents had complained of long delays and inadequate notification.

August 26, 2013 (San Diego) – The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday said the agency is advancing plans that align with recommendations issued by the San Diego County Grand Jury in its May report, “Reduce Dependence on Imported Water.”

By Miriam Raftery

August 25, 2013 (Borrego) --A flash flood watch has been elevated to a flash flood warning today for north and central areas of East County, where heavy rain and flash flooding is occurring.  Heaviest rains are from Shelter Valley north to Borrego Springs, including areas burned by the Vallecito Fire and Banner fire.

Debris flows and flooding are occurring in these areas.  A SIG ALERT has been issued for Highway 78, which has been shut down in the San Felipe/Monument Valley area, where boulders have washed into the roadway.  At Tarantula Wash, one-way traffic controls will remain in effect for several days until roadway repairs can be done, according to the CHP website.

  Campgrounds may be impacted by flash floods and debris flows. Excessive runoff will also cause flooding of small creeks, streams, country roads and farmlands nearby.

A flash flood warning remains in effect for a broader area in our local mountains and deserts.  Monitor the news to learn if this becomes elevated to a flash flood warning, which means flooding is eminent or occurring.

“Today we had the worst flash flooding we have seen in years,” Bob Kutscher, a resident of Borrego Springs on Velite Drive, a main floodway for the Hellhole Canyon watershed wrote in an e-mail to ECM.  Here is a video that he shot of the flash flood on his roadway this afternoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky2fhdoiHpA.  

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Jim Pelley

August 23, 2013 (Ocotillo ) – It looked like a scene out of the 1930s, when factory-scale farms removed topsoil in the Midwest, creating dust storms that swept across the western states, reducing vast areas to a Dust Bowl.   Is history repeating itself?

Residents of Ocotillo and other desert communities across the Southwest have recently voiced worries that industrial-scale wind and solar projects that stripped bare the earth would cause dust storms.  Yesterday, a monster-scale dust  cloud rolled across Ocotillo, blackening the sky and obscuring even the wind turbines that tower 500 feet above the town.

By Miriam Raftery; photo by Donnie Durfee

Rural residents are demanding answers and improved communications after a truck with an oversized load  broke down and blocked traffic on State Route 94 for over 50 hours.  Even after the road was cleared, the big rig remained on the shoulder at Marron Valley Road in Dulzura for two weeks before it was finally removed. 

Media was not warned and no Sig Alert was issued to alert residents prior to the oversized load taking to the highway, even though the slow-moving, extra-wide load obstructed traffic in both directions along the main evacuation route for residents in areas including Jamul, Deerhorn Valley, Potrero,  Barrett Junction and Tecate.

During the blockage, residents were forced to detour up to 90 miles, causing delays of many hours.  Yet a SigAlert was not issued until seven hours after the road was completely blocked by the mechanical breakdown.  Even before the breakdown, the oversized, slow-moving load obstructed traffic in both directions.  The load was about 231 feet long – yet posted signs indicate the maximum truck length allowed is 75 feet.  So why was this rig allowed to take this narrow route with many hairpin curves when straighter, wider routes to its destination were available?

August 18, 2013 (El Cajon) – At 11:51 p.m. Saturday night, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews in El Cajon, with assistance from Cal Fire, responded to reports of a fire in the 3-hundred block of Wisconsin Avenue. As fire crews arrived on scene, smoke was seen coming from apartment #3, at 314 Wisconsin Avenue. 

By Miriam Raftery

August 17, 2013 (Santee) – An environmental group has lodged a formal complaint over a proposed electronic billboard in Santee, contending that the sign violates city laws and further, should require an environmental review.

The LEC-powered video billboard proposed by a Toyota dealership would stand 70 feet tall and be 321 square feet in size.  It would tower above the junction of highways 125 and 52.

August 15, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Husqvarna this week announced a recall of its closed-course/competition off-road motorcycles due to crash hazard. The motorcycle's throttle cable can malfunction so the rider loses speed control, posing a crash hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.