Night of the Comet Thom Eberhardt. 1984

Sam’s house 19181 Dunure Pl, Northridge, CA 91326, USA See in map

Dec. 16, 2019

Never have Santa Ana winds been associated with cold weather. They have been associated with fires because they blow from the east, as if air blowing from the desert is so hot that it ignites foliage on fire.

Today the wind is blowing from the west and it is very cold in Southern California. Our indoor temperature in the house this morning in the mountains was in the 40s, and it was in the 20s outside. The wind has been strong lately, but it is not a Santa Ana wind. It is biting winter wind which brings with it abundant rain and snow. A white Christmas has already been forecast for the mountains north of LA.

Today’s satellite image from NOAA confirms that California is getting its wind from the west, and these conditions, in which the ground is still wet from the last rain, are in no way conducive to fire. This is all fear programming and more scarcity programming, as electric companies now shut off power to whole communities if a butterfly farts.

Every wind is now a “Santa Ana wind.” This term, once a part of autumn life in Southern California, is now being used to describe any wind, and is even reported on windless days if there is a fire agenda planned. This is all arson, by the way, and the web of lies surrounding it is stupidly transparent.

What we really have in SoCal is a cold, wet start to winter, and it’s still fall. There will be a few dry days coming up so enjoy them. We’ll be snowed in for Christmas for sure.

Socal friends who are facing fire evacuations: VCA Hospitals are activating free boarding for evacuated pets.

McClave, Westlake, and Adler are taking pets so far.

Please call before you go in case things have changed like they are full. Also call to check if more centers are taking pets.

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

For more than 100 days in 2015 and 2016, gas leaked out of the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility near Los Angeles — the largest known leak of methane in United States history. More than 8,300 households were evacuated, and people exposed to the gas reported nosebleeds, dizziness and respiratory problems.

This week, California regulators said they now knew why the environmental catastrophe happened.

In a 258-page report, investigators said that groundwater had corroded the metal lining of a more-than-50-year-old underground well, leading to its rupture at 892 feet below ground. The report also said that SoCalGas, the company that owns and operates the natural gas well, did not meaningfully investigate or analyze more than 60 previous leaks at the complex. The company did not properly monitor its wells at the site, the report said, adding that “the approach to well integrity at Aliso Canyon had been reactive rather than proactive.”

The Aliso Canyon rupture has led to state reforms dictating how natural gas wells are regulated statewide. State officials are currently conducting a separate investigation into SoCalGas’s compliance with regulations that could eventually lead to penalties for the company.

The natural gas storage field is more than 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The well that leaked was initially drilled in April 1954 as part of an oil field that had been depleted. Since 1973, the wells have been used to store natural gas.