***From Chico Enterprise Record/Cal Fire***

[12am 7/11]

***HOW YOU CAN HELP***

Ways to donate: Do it directly

The best way that donors can contribute to relief organizations is to do it directly with cash.

American Red Cross: checks can be sent to American Red Cross, 1398 Ridgewood Dr., Chico, CA, 95973, 891-0885.

North Valley Animal Disaster Group, P.O. Box 441, Chico, CA, 95927, 895-0000.

Salvation Army (Paradise), P.O. Box 663 Paradise, CA, 95967 or 872-1534, or the national organization at www.tsatoday.org or by calling 1-800-725-2769.

Airline flights fine

At least one daily event isn’t being affected by the smoke and that’s SkyWest Airlines’ commercial passenger service to Chico Municipal Airport.

A spokesman for SkyWest said the four daily incoming flights and four daily outgoing flights are leaving pretty much on schedule.

Stating the obvious

Air quality in the area is once again lousy.

The air quality index for Paradise today is 375, which is considered very unhealthy. Actually the top of the scale for unhealthy is 300, and the air is worse than that.

In Chico, the AQI is 155, which is in the unhealthy range.

The same numbers are forecast for tomorrow in each location.

Canceled events

Smoky air and the threat of fire have canceled several events.

Tonight’s Thursday Night Market and Friday’s City Plaza concert in downtown Chico have been canceled.

Slice of Chico, planned for Saturday, is still on, but may be canceled if poor air quality continues.

To check for updates: www.downtownchico.com

The Paradise Thursday Night Farmers’ Market has also been canceled, but is scheduled to return next week if the air is clear.

Paradise Unified School District has canceled summer school, and the Paradise Recreation and Parks District has canceled youth summer camp.

Oroville High School summer school is canceled today and Friday due to current air quality conditions. Parents of summer school students will be notified by phone Sunday evening if school will continue next week.

The Fire on the Ridge fire safety seminar which was going to be Friday night in Paradise has been canceled.

No longer planned are the Paradise Pow Wow and the Speaking of the Past programs this weekend in Paradise.

A fundraiser by the Butte Meadows-Jonesville Association Saturday has also been canceled.

At 2:15 p.m., Paradise says no change

An update issued today at 2:15 p.m. by Paradise Town Manager Chuck Rough, who also doubles as the town’s director of emergency services, says the immediate threat evacuation is still in effect for all residents on both sides of the Pentz Road corridor from Skyway and Pentz south to the town limits at Malibu Drive.

It also remains in effect for residents located on the west side of Pentz south of Wagstaff to the southern town limits between Sawmill and Pentz Road.

A precautionary — be prepared to leave — evacuation is still in place for all residents north of Wagstaff between Pentz and Clark roads, and south of Bille Road, between Clark and Sawmill roads. It’s also in effect for all residents south of Pearson Road between Clark and Sawmill roads.

Precautionary evacuations also cover the Upper Ridge area east of Skyway from lower Coutolenc to DeSabla Reservoir and all side streets running east of Skyway. Also Coutolenc Road from the Skyway to Lucretia Road, and Old Magalia, including Bader Mine Road and El Dorado Mobile Home Park are under the same advisory.

A precautionary evacuation also covers the Skyway between Pentz and Coutolenc, and the east side of Pentz Road south of Paradise town limits from Malibu to Durham-Pentz Road.

Maps indicating the immediate and precautionary evacuation areas are available on the town’s Web site www.townofparadise.com

Information is also available by calling the town’s call center, 872-5951 or from Cal Fire 538-7826.

Feather River Hospital is still closed.

Concow, Yankee Hill still under advisories

As of 8 a.m. today, immediate threat evacuation advisories are still lin place for Jarbo Gap, Yankee Hill and Big Bend, under the continuing threat of the Camp Fire, according to Butte County.

An immediate threat evacuation is still under effect for residents west of Highway 70, from Jordan Hill Road south to the West Branch of the Feather River.

All parts of Concow are still under immediate threat advisory, as are areas north and south of Bald Rock Rock, and Berry Creek.

The immediate threat means fire is threatening the areas. Roads in an area under immediate threat are closed to incoming traffic.

For further updates, call the county emergency center 538-7826.

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Cal Fire Incident Page
Chico Enterprise Record
Town Of Paradise

AHHHH yes. High School.
Through the magic of Myspace,
I was sent a picture of that special time in a young mans life, prom.
Thanks to high school girlfriend Stephanie for diggin this up for all the world to enjoy.
Begin the onslaught of snarky comments, now:

Yesterday, the band was forced to issue a categorical denial of allegations that they copied the title track to their new record, Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends from a little-known US group, Creaky Boards.

Here’s a video from good ol’ YouTube that pairs the two songs for your inspection.

My opinion? Well, as a musician I think that everything has been done. It’s all been done, and there’s only so many arrangements for “Western Pop Music”. You’re going to have coincidences and similarities from time to time. I have also had the experience of writing what I thought was a badass melody, only to find out that its the same as some tune I heard the day before - things drift into the ears and hang out. I don’t think Chris Martin & Co. purposefully ripped off Creaky Boards. From a marketing standpoint though - Creaky Boards is riding this thing as they should be. It would be great if Apple found the humor in this and used them for an updated ad campaign.

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SOURCE - The Independent.
The song they didn’t write? Coldplay are accused of plagiarism by American band.

**EDITED TO ADD**–Article from the Chico Enterprise Record (6/19)

I spoke about this on the air today as the whole thing has irked me since this smear went viral a couple days ago. I first noticed it as a MySpace bulletin and then started to get it in my email as the poison pen letter spread much like the Humboldt Fire. Ill post both the original email and the response.

Soon after, a reply was posted on various message boards to try and clear the confusion:

This is an open letter to all who have seen an email of lies and slanderous information.
1. I was never contacted by anyone from Paradise to provide any food to fire fighters. I found out yesterday 6/16/08, from one of the restaurant managers, that someone came into the restaurant claiming to be collecting food for fire fighters. This person was not dressed as a fire fighter and the restaurant manager made the decision not to give free food away without some sort of authorization.
2. On Friday 6/13 my supervisor spent several hours on the back dirt roads to get into Paradise. He was there to help the assistant manager and the couple of employees to serve food to people. Only the drive through was open because of the low staffing. When fire fighters came to eat the manager opened the lobby to them so that they would have a cool place to sit, relax and eat.
3. Our primary concern during this time was our employees. Many did not come to work because of the fire. Several who needed to go because of evacuation or the need to check on their property or families were told to go home and take care of their situations. Never were any employees told that they had to stay. That would be ridiculous. Can anyone really imagine us trying to take that position with the people that work so hard everyday at the restaurant? Never happened and would never happen.
4. We arranged for our supplier to help get cases of bottled water for the fire fighters and the relief centers. We have donated over 750 bottles of water to the Salvation Army with the promise of more if they need it.
McDonald’s has been and will continue to donate back to our communities. Those of you who know me and my family know many of the things that we do. For those of you who do not know these are just a few of the things we do.
A. We support the Special Olympics at Chico State every year. We feed over 400 contestants, parents and coaches.
B. We donate thousands of dollars every year to the Ronald McDonald children’s charities.
C. We donate money and support every year to Camp Ronald McDonald at the lake near Susanville…a place for sick or injured children to enjoy the outdoors and a camp environment.
D. We provide support to the local little leagues, soccer teams, school teams, sober graduation parties, reading programs, end of the year parties, church events and many more organizations through out the year that seek help and donations.
I know that a lot of people do not know that we do these things, and that’s alright. We do them not for the publicity but for our community, neighbors and friends. It is so easy in this age of email to pass around something that is untrue, hurtful and damaging. It is so easy for some people to want to believe the worst about someone and the business they and their loyal employees work so hard to make the best they can. I can only tell you that the lies that have been spread have only made me, my family and my staff more determined than ever to continue the good things we do every day, every week and every year.
Thank you and I hope you will have the courage to pass this along to your contacts just as you have done with the other email.
Sincerely;
Mark Burington
Owner / Operator
McDonald’s

Source

A giant thank you to all participating personnel and agencies for getting the job done so well.

Pictures in Butte Creek Canyon - Click Here

From Chico E-R, Paradise Post, and CalFire

Help available for Humboldt, Ophir fire victims

Here are some services available to those who were victims of the Ophir or Humboldt fires:

Victims’ services and referrals

These resources can inform victims of services and assistance available to them:

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The American Red Cross will continue its service center at the Paradise Alliance Church, 6491 Clark Road, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. If the center is closed, call the Chico office, 891-0885. Fire victims who cannot get to the center can call the Chico number and the Red Cross will connect with them.

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Butte County will operate major assistance centers this week in Oroville and then Paradise, bringing together a number of state and local agencies to address short-term and intermediate needs. The Oroville center is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. today at the Southside Community Center, 2959 Lower Wyandotte Road.

From Wednesday to Friday, the center will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Paradise Intermediate School gym, 5657 Recreation Drive. Agencies that will be available include Butte County Employment and Social Services, Public Health, Public Works, Planning Department, Cal Fire, Red Cross, Department of Motor Vehicles, PG&E and others.

Financial donations

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Checks can be made to American Red Cross, and mailed to 1398 Ridgewood Drive, Chico, CA, 95973. Credit card donations can also be made by calling the Chico office at 891-0885.

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Donations are being taken by the Salvation Army inside the Family Resource Center, 6449 Skyway, Paradise. The center is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through today, 872-1534. In Chico, the Salvation Army at 700 Broadway is a drop-off point for money and items, 342-2199.

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The nonprofit Paradise Disaster Relief Fund is accepting donations to support fire victims and disaster response organizations. Checks should be made out to Paradise Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, and can be mailed to P.O. Box 2095, Paradise, CA, 95967, or dropped off at the Paradise Community Foundation, 6249 Skyway from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 876-8033 or www.paradisecommunityfoundation.com.

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Checks can be mailed to the nonprofit North Valley Community Foundation in Chico. Donors can choose to contribute to Humboldt Fire Victims’ Fund for victims, Humboldt Fire Disaster Response Fund for nonprofits responding to fire; and the North Valley Animal Disaster Group Fund for that organization. Checks can be sent directly to NVCF, 3120 Cohasset Road Suite 8, Chico, CA, 95973, charged by credit card online at www.nvcf.org or call 891-1150.

Clothing, bedding pickup/donations

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Open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through July 3, Paradise Elementary School, 588 Pearson Road, is working with the Red Cross and has personal and immediate needs items, including sleeping bags, bedding, and adult, infant and children’s clothing. The center is also taking donations of those kinds of items and money.

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Furniture and household appliances are available through MacDonald Realty in Paradise. Call 877-0110 for pick-up or drop-off information. Available: tables, chairs, dressers, beds, kitchen items, toys, bikes, televisions and computers. The office also has a list of rental properties, contractors and handymen.

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The Salvation Army inside the Family Resource Center 6449 Skyway, Paradise, is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, 872-1534. In Chico, the Salvation Army, 700 Broadway, is a drop-off point for money and items, 342-2199. For furniture donations, contact the Salvation Army truck pickup line at 342-2087.

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A distribution center at Oroville RV/Boat & Self Storage, 2750 S. Fifth Ave., is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. Donations may be dropped off or picked up through the end of June. The business is also offering free storage space to Ophir Fire victims, 533-9900.

Business services

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Displaced customers should contact AT&T for information about services such as call forwarding, voice mail, message center, and the installation of a phone line free for 30 days. Information is available at 1-888-338-3291.

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Allstate Insurance Corp. customers can defer insurance payments for 30 days. Customers should call 1-800-255-7828 or visit www.allstate.com.

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Customers of Tri Counties Bank or Butte Community Bank should contact their banks about deferring loan payments and emergency loans. Tri Counties, 1-800-922-8742. Butte, 1-888-842-8883.

Youth programs

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Children from 5 to 12 years old from families affected by the Paradise and Oroville fires can attend the Oroville YMCA day camp. Contact Celeste Silva, 533-9622.

Fraud

The most common fraud that occurs in the aftermath of a disaster involved price gouging, offers of debris removal, and charitable solicitations.

Property owners are warned about unlicensed building contractors who may be approaching homeowners about repair and rebuilding work. If the job is over $500, the contractor must be licensed. The Butte County District Attorney’s office has a hotline number for reporting fraud: 1-866-323-7283 or on the Web site www.buttecounty.net/da.

In addition, the California State Contractors Licensing Board has a list of licensed contractors available at www.cslb.ca.gov or 1-800-321-2752. It is also taking complaints about possible fraud.

Also, the California Department of Insurance is taking complaints regarding insurance claims and fraud at 1-800-927-4357.

chicoer.com/
paradisepost.com/

Waiting.