5 Things to Know: Friday, September 18

Welcome to 5 Things to Know – a daily rundown of things you might want to be aware of if you live in, visit, or just like being aware about what’s going on in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. As always, thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

1) The Snow Fire

The fire near Palm Springs that broke out yesterday has now scorched over 3,5000 acres.  As of 3 pm, the fire was only 5% contained.

Here are some images of the fire:

Evacuation orders remained in effect on Friday for the Snow Creek area, north of Cottonwood Road, southeast of Snowcreek Road and west of Falls Creek.

2) The Other Fires

Dozens of fires continue to burn in California, Oregon, and Washington.   Currently, 18,500 men and woman are taking on 27 major wildfires in the state of California that have burned over 2.9 million acres:

Some important links:

  • The LA Times is tracking each of the major fires on this online map.
  • The El Dorado Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains has now scorched over 21,600 acres and was 66% contained as of Wednesday morning.
  • Officials with the Forest Service confirmed that a firefighter died while fighting the El Dorado Fire on Thursday:

3) The Coronavirus

Riverside County announced 307 new coronavirus cases and 10 more people dead of coronavirus in the last 24 hours.  Here’s the latest in the Coachella Valley:

More:

  • The CDC is now advising those who think they have been been exposed to coronavirus to get tested.  That’s the policy that had been in place until a few weeks ago, when it suddenly changed for reasons that aren’t exactly clear.
  • President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States will have 100 million doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine manufactured by the end of 2020. He didn’t provide any proof as to how that many doses of a vaccine that has not yet even been approved would be able in that quick amount of time.
  • Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws this week related to the coronavirus. One of them makes people who have COVID-19 eligible for workers compensation benefits. The other law requires companies to warn their employees if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.

4) One Arrested for Stealing a SunLine bus

After a bus driver stopped the vehicle for a scheduled break in Desert Hot Springs on Friday afternoon, the only other person in the bus drove away, according to the Desert Sun.  They were tracked down and arrested 15 miles away in Thousand Palms.

No other details were provided and no injuries were reported.

5) RIP

 

Stay safe.  Stay Smart.  Wear a mask. ??