Pine Fire

Update (9/13 morning):

This morning we can see no smoke, either from our yard or from the cameras on Lyons Peak. Either the fire is greatly reduced, or it has burned much further away from us. The MODIS satellite this morning shows “hits” moving southeast from the eastern flank we saw last night, and no hits on the western flank (the only possible threat to us). This is all good news.

Not so comforting: the MODIS data shows a new fire this morning, just east of Tecate, right on the border with Mexico. I have no other news of this fire, and I cannot see any smoke from it on the Lyons Peak cameras, so my fond hope is that this fire has been put out since the satellite made its last pass…

Original Post (9/12 evening):

Today while I was at work, Debbie called with the kind of news we dread hearing: a wildfire, not very far from our home, sending up big plumes of smoke. Fortunately for my state of mind, I could see from the Lyons Peak cameras that the fire posed no immediate threat to our house.

It's been dubbed the “Pine Fire”, and it's already up on the CDF Incident page – 0% containment and 1,000 acres burned so far. On my way home from work this evening, they reported a single injury to a bulldozer operator, suffered when the winds shifted suddenly. When I got home, the fire's smoke plume loomed over the mountains surrounding Lawson Valley – but the wind was blowing northward, away from us.

The map at right shows a chunk of San Diego County that's roughly 22 miles (34 km) across. The four red hatch-marked areas are one-kilometer “hits” from the infrared-sensing MODIS satellite, which show approximately where the fire was burning when the satellite last passed over. The purple fuzzy spot is the town of Pine Valley, and the green fuzzy spot is where we live.

I also heard on the news that the suspected origin of the fire was an illegal alien's camp fire. Again. The Corte Madera area (south of Guatay and Pine Valley, and south of I-8) we know well – we used to drive and hike there in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before the coyotes and the illegals practically took it over. When we started hearing the Cleveland National Forest rangers advise people to travel in the area only in groups, we stopped going. Apparently so did most other legal tourists, because (according to the news) the illegals far outnumber the legals there now. Sigh.

But I saved the best news about this fire for the last: according to the reports I've heard so far, no homes have burned or are threatened. Let's hope it stays that way…

Listen...

I've mentioned Michael Yon many times in my posts. I consider him the single best independent source of information on military affairs in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a former Special Forces operative turned independent journalist, and he has the respect of, and access to, our military forces from the foot soldiers to the commanding generals. When Michael Yon speaks, I listen carefully – especially when he is giving his considered opinion.

This morning I received an email from Michael Yon (not because I'm special, but simply because I'm on his mailing list). I've received many such emails, usually simply telling me that he has posted a new dispatch. This one was different, and I reproduce it below in its entirety.

Greetings:

Successes are occurring, and accruing, in Iraq. Al Qaeda is still a powerful enemy, but they cannot be happy with their Iraqi franchise this summer.

Readers of my dispatches have gotten first hand reports of the kinds of positive indicators that General David Petraeus described in his progress report.

The atmosphere is changing in Iraq and I've been posting dispatches and videos that illustrate just how profound this change is in some cases.

I was the first to say Iraq was in civil war, and many readers were angry to hear me say it. Well, I'll be the first to say that I predict some sort of milestone for the war in Iraq will occur early in the next year. It's dangerous to predict like this, but something fundamental has changed in Iraq.

There is one important qualifier: this will only happen if General David Petraeus is supported by our elected officials to implement his proposed plan, without meddling from those same elected officials. Oversight and accountability are not the same thing as backseat driving after siphoning out half of the gas tank.

Please read: Hunting Al Qaeda

v/r
Michael

Michael has reported positively on General Petraeus, whom he has known personally for many years. He predicted, months before it began, that the tactic known as “the surge” would likely be successful, including a detailed prediction of the reaction of the Sunnis – all borne out by actual events. Read him yourself (his posts are all archived at his site), and please join me in urging your Senators and Representatives to allow General Petraeus to finish the job they sent him off to do…

AWNAA

Faithful masochist reader Simi L. sent me our morning political humor:

LAW PENDING IN CONGRESS: Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) WASHINGTON, DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation which provides new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislation by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition. "Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said Senator Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they do a better job, or have some idea of what they are doing."

The President pointed to the success of the US Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack job skills, making this agency the single largest US employer of Persons of Inability.

Private sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement "warehouse" stores (65%). The DMV also has a great record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%), and fast food restaurants (93%).

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance. Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given, to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations which maintain a significant level of Persons of Inability in middle positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires. Finally, the AWNA bill contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Nonabled, banning discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any goals for the future?" or "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?"

"As a Nonabled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, MI due to her lack of notable job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Ted Kennedy, "It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her ambition ability or adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation." The Senator's office at the same time issued this statement: "The Senator fully identifies with the people this legislation is designed to help."

At least, I think it's humor. On reflection, it doesn't actually seem all that unlikely…