Nebraska woman Sydney Loofe, 24, raised her family's concerns about
her welfare when she failed to turn up for work on Thursday, November
16, and failed to let them know she wasn't coming in.
Lincoln
Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said on Tuesday that "analysis of digital
evidence" led authorities to a body in rural Clay County they believe is
that of Ms Loofe, 24, US broadcaster WFAA reports.
"We do believe that there is evidence of foul play," Bliemeister said.
The body of Sydney Loofe is believed to have been found by police. Source: Supplied
Chief Bliemeister didn't provide any other details on the cause of death or circumstances surrounding the discovery.
Investigators had been using Ms Loofe's mobile phone signal to retrace her movements in the hours before she disappeared.
Her
car was found in the driveway of her home in the US state of Nebraska,
but she was nowhere to be seen, sparking fears she may have been
abducted.
Her friend Terra Gehrig said she received a text message from Ms Loofe early the day before she disappeared.
Bailey Boswell is believed to have been Ms Loofe's date. Source: Taney County Sheriff's Office
The 24-year-old told Ms Gehrig her Tinder date went well and she was planning to meet the woman again that night.
Ms
Loofe failed to show up for her shift the following day at her
department store job, or call her manager to let them know she wasn’t
coming in.
The
night before she went missing, Ms Loofe shared a picture on social
media with the caption: “Ready for my date” with a smiley face emoticon
with heart-shaped eyes.
Friends told US broadcaster KETV they went
to check on the young woman at her home on Thursday after she didn’t
turn up for work, but nobody was home despite her car being parked
there.
Aubrey Trail is considered a person of interest in the case. Source: Taney County Sheriff's Office
Bliemeister
said the persons of interest, Aubrey Trail, 51, and Bailey Boswell, 23,
remained in custody but had not been charged in the case.
Both allegedly left the state in the days after Ms Loofe disappeared and were arrested this week on unrelated charges.
A missing poster shared online shows Ms Loofe's tattoos and her final Snapchat. Source: Supplied
Boswell
and roommate, Aubrey Trail, 51, live in the eastern Nebraska town of
Wilber, about 64 kilometres south of Lincoln and the last place Ms Loofe
was seen alive.
Ms Boswell told police she dropped Ms Loofe off at a friend’s house after their date and never heard from her again.
Bliemeister said authorities have not yet been able to confirm her timeline.
"By
their own statements on social media, we believe that Aubrey Trail and
Bailey Boswell were two of the last people to see her before her
disappearance," Bliemeister said.
"Thus they remain persons of interest."
Russia has been banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
It followed the release of a report which the International Olympic Committee said found evidence of "unprecedented systematic manipulation" of the anti-doping system.
Here's how Russia got into this position and what happens next.
Why has Russia been banned?
The Schmid Commission, led by former Swiss president Samuel Schmid,
was given the job of looking into alleged Russian doping, particularly
at the 2014 Sochi Olympics where the country topped the medal table with
13 gold medals out of 33 overall.
Its conclusion was partly based on the testimony of Grigory Rodchenkov, who was the director of Moscow's Anti-Doping Centre when the Sochi Olympics were held.
Mr Rodchenkov fled the country in 2015 and became a whistleblower, explaining in May 2016 to the New York Times how urine samples from Russian athletes were swapped out so that drug use would be undetected.
He
said that the conspiracy involved passing urine samples through a hole
in a wall and adding table salt to swapped samples to mask the
deception.
Mr Schmid said there was also further scientific
evidence, witness statements, documents and correspondence which
demonstrated that Russia's anti-doping system had been manipulated.
Why was Russia allowed to compete in Rio if this was already known?
IOC President Thomas Bach said the situation had changed.
"[Ahead
of Rio] there was no opportunity to hear the Russian side and at the
time of Rio it was mainly about the failure in the Moscow lab," he said.
"Now it's about the manipulation of an Olympic lab. The conditions then and now are totally different."
However, back in 2015 — a year before the Rio Olympics — the World Anti-Doping Agency issued its own damning report on the scandal.
Its
findings went further than the IOC's, saying the conspiracy had been
state-sponsored and involved Russian secret service agents.
Russia's
inclusion in the 2016 Rio Olympics wasn't unrestricted, however, with
bans for the entire weightlifting team and all track and field athletes
but one.
International sports federations had been told to decide individually on Russia's participation.
So does the IOC think the Russian Government was involved in the conspiracy?
The
Schmid Commission said it had not found "documented, independent and
impartial evidence" that the Kremlin had knowledge or involvement in the
anti-doping manipulation.
However, current Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko has had a lifetime Olympic ban placed on him.
He
who was the sports minister when the manipulation took place. He's also
the man responsible for running next year's FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Will any Russian athletes be allowed to compete?
Yes, that's the plan.
The IOC said some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under the tag of "Olympic Athlete of Russia", if they satisfy strict conditions that show they have a doping-free background.
That
means if a Russian athlete were to win a gold medal, it would be the
Olympic anthem, and not the Russian, that would get played.
Previously, suspended countries have used terms such as "Independent Olympic Athlete".
That's unclear. Russia could refuse the offer and boycott the Games.
The
head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, said Russian
athletes would appeal against the ban. But he also had positive things
to say.
"Speaking about the positive sides, the International
Olympic Committee allowed all clean Russian athletes both in individual
and team sports to compete in the Olympics. This is first. Secondly,
this team will be called a team of Russian athletes," he said.
"If
the Olympics go normally and there are no violations, the temporarily
suspended Russian Olympic Committee will be reinstated.
"And one
of the positive decisions is that all doping-related sanctions and
investigations against Russian athletes will be stopped from this
moment."
He said a "final decision" about the conditions of
Russia's participation in the Olympics will be made at the Olympic
Council on December 12.
We also haven't heard yet from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has previously said it would be humiliating for his country to compete without national symbols. ABC/wires
John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who is battling sexual harassment
allegations from former female staffers, resigned from Congress on
Tuesday, after telling a Detroit radio host: “I am retiring today.”
Conyers spoke in a rambling interview with WJBK host Mildred Gaddis,
via telephone from an undisclosed hospital. Shortly afterwards his
resignation letter was read on the floor of Congress.
Speaking to Gaddis, the 88-year-old insisted that the allegations
against him did not diminish his half-century of service in Congress.
“My legacy can’t be compromised or diminished in any way by what we are going through now,” he said. “This too shall pass.”
Conyers went on to say of the allegations: “Whatever they are they
are not accurate, they are not true and I think they are something that I
can’t explain where they came from.”
He initially only spoke broadly about his political future, saying:
“I am in the process of putting my retirement plans together will have
more on that very soon.”
After prodding from Gaddis and a brief period of quiet, Conyers said:
“Thank you for helping me get this into focus. I am retiring today and I
want everyone to know how much I appreciate the support.”
Jerry Nadler of New York, the Democrat who recently replaced Conyers as the ranking member of the House judiciary committee,
released a statement in which he said Conyers had been “a friend and
mentor to me for over 25 years, and I am saddened that his service to
our nation has had to end under these circumstances”.
The announcement came hours after Michigan state senator Ian Conyers, a grandson of John Conyers’ brother, told the New York Times
the 88-year-old’s doctor “advised him that the rigor of another
campaign would be too much for him, just in terms of his health”.
Conyers told the newspaper his great-uncle – the longest-serving
current member of the House – was “not resigning”, adding: “He is going
to retire.” The report did not specify how Ian Conyers knew of the
congressman’s plans. He said he planned to run for John Conyers’ seat in
Washington.
In the radio interview, Conyers endorsed his son John Conyers III to succeed him, not his great-nephew.
Conyers was first elected in 1964 and easily won re-election last
year in the heavily Democratic 13th district. But following mounting
allegations of sexual harassment, he has faced growing calls to resign
from colleagues including the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi.
He returned to Detroit from Washington last week and was hospitalized
after complaining of feeling light-headed. His attorney, Arnold Reed,
said Conyers’ health would be the paramount consideration in whether he
decided to step down.
In his statement, Nadler said “there is no doubt that these
allegations have taken a tremendous toll on [Conyers] personally, as
well as on his family and on everyone that knows him.”
“With that said, there can be no tolerance for behavior that subjects women to the kind of conduct that has been alleged.”
A statement from Pelosi said: “Congressman Conyers … shaped some of
the most consequential legislation of the last half-century. But no
matter how great the legacy, it is no license to harass or
discriminate.”
She added: “The brave women who came forward with were owed the
justice of this announcement. Now, we must pass the ME TOO Congress Act
to create greater transparency and accountability in the broken
reporting and settlements system. We must lead the fight against sexual
harassment and abuse, not only in Congress but in every workplace,
everywhere in our country.”
The House ethics committee is reviewing allegations of harassment. On
Monday, a woman who said she worked for Conyers for more than a decade
said he slid his hand up her skirt and rubbed her thighs while she was
sitting next to him in the front row of a church.
Elisa Grubbs made the allegation in an affidavit released by her
attorney, Lisa Bloom. Grubbs is the cousin of another accuser, Marion
Brown, who reached a confidential settlement with Conyers which she
broke to speak publicly last week.
Bloom posted Grubbs’ affidavit on Twitter and confirmed it was
genuine. It says she worked for Conyers from approximately 2001 to about
2013.
She also said she saw Conyers touching and stroking the legs and
buttocks of Brown and other female staffers on “multiple occasions”.
Grubbs said witnessing such harassment “was a regular part of life while
working in the office of Rep Conyers”.
Once when Grubbs was at Conyers’ home, she said, he came out of the bathroom naked when he knew she was in the room.
Reed told the Detroit Free Press the allegations by Grubbs were
“another instance of tomfoolery from the mouth of Harvey Weinstein’s
attorney”.
Bloom previously represented Hollywood executive Weinstein, who is
accused of sexual misconduct and assault by a number of women. She quit
Weinstein’s team after the allegations became public and now represents
sexual harassment victims.
Spotify has launched their annual end-of-year ‘Wrapped’ feature, allowing subscribers to see the stats behind their listening habits.
Once again, members of The Independent have discovered their personal most-listened-to tracks of the year, the results ranging from Run the Jewels to Ed Sheeran.
Below, our (partly embarrassed) staff offer some reasoning as to why
they blasted the same song over and over again. (You can find out yours
through this link and see our results from last year.) Arcade Fire, ‘Creature Comfort’ ‘Creature
Comfort’ — the love child of ‘Reflektor and ‘Month of May’ — is an
unapologetic thrill ride comprised of humming synths and stomping bass
delivered in Talking Heads-style drawl by Win Butler. Arcade Fire’s
intimate show at London’s York Hall is to thank for this track’s
victory, amassing at least five listens a day ever since in the
hope transporting myself back to that show. — Jacob Stolworthy Run the Jewels, ‘Legend Has It’ Proof
that I am incredibly susceptible to earworms. If you’re wondering why a
track for a 2016 album is being featured here, it’s for the simple and
straightforward reason that, as a movie fan, I naturally watched the Black Panther trailer about 20 times then got the track stuck in my head for about three months. It’s a killer, though. — Clarisse Loughrey Tom Petty, ‘Wildflowers’ I
started playing this track pretty much on loop after watching Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers at their Hyde Park gig in July. I hadn’t paid the
Wildflowers album much attention before the gig, leaning more
towards the Heartbreakers’ traditional American rock sound, over the
gentle folk of Petty’s solo work on Wildflowers. But Petty played
several tracks off of this album at the gig and I fell in love with
them. The chorus speaks to me as a frustrated country girl who still
finds it strange to be among the concrete: “You belong among the
wildflowers, you belong in a boat out at sea. Sail away, kill off the
hours, you belong somewhere you feel free.” — Chloe Hubbard Virginia to Vegas, ‘Selfish’ I
was surprised by this one as it’s been months since I last listened to
it, but going back to it I get why I had it on repeat so much in 2017.
Canadian artist Virginia to Vegas pre-empted the “subdued banger” that
would go on to dominate the charts in the later part of this year. I
don’t even remember where I heard it first — I think it might have been a
viral track on Spotify, but it’s annoyingly addictive — the 8m streams
its racked up on Spotify definitely weren’t all by me. I’ve noticed a
lot of the tracks that popped up in my Spotify end-of-year list were
either old favourites or pop bangers that I’d play about a hundred times
in a week before moving on. — Roisin O’Connor Brockhampton, ‘Sweet’ Brockhampton
was the best artist I discovered in 2017. They're often favourably
compared to Odd Future, which I don't really see, but this song kind of
has an 'Oldie' vibe to it. Six members of the self-described 'boy band'
exchange verses but it's Joba who really shines with his strange,
mangled, addictive bars. "I am one with ebb and flow, that's all I
know"; I think it tops my list directly as a result of that bit alone. — Ibrahim Salha Maleek Berry, ‘Bend It’ This
track is entirely unexpectedly because I only started listening to it
about three weeks ago. Still, it’s perfect as winter approaches: so fun
and sunny that it can even divert the path of cold, British winds; the
sheer warmth of it stopping them ripping all the way through to your
bones. Those aren’t usually things I especially want from music but this
has been a really useful track for stopping me being quite such a
goth. — Andrew Griffin Ed Sheeran, ‘Nancy Mulligan’ I
was rather surprised that out of the staggering 19,474 minutes I spent
listening to Spotify this year most of them were spent internally jiving
along to this jolly Irish-jig number. As an avid subscriber to the “I’m
too cool to listen to chart music” narrative, I might like Ed Sheeran
more than I care to admit. Yes, he’s one of the best-selling artists in
the world and yes his music is overplayed absolutely everywhere, but
there’s just something about this particular tune, which tells the
charming story of how his grandparents met, that evidently kept me
coming back for more. — Olivia Petter The Rubberbandits, ‘Horse Outside’ My
most listened to tune comes from The Rubberbandits, ‘Horse Outside’
being the Limerick duo's tale of Magner's weddings, equine supremacy and
car-related one-upmanship. Hilarious, catchy and a great advertisement
for horses as a way of avoiding road tax, it livened up the morning
commute countless times, much to the bemusement of onlooking fellow
passengers as I stamped my hoof in time to the beat. Giddy up. — Ronan O'Shea (Sandy) Alex G, ‘Bobby’ Rocket,
the latest album from Frank Ocean's Blonde collaborator Alex G, was my
go-to this year for those
staring-out-of-a-bus-window-feeling-down-on-your-luck moments. In
particular, the track 'Bobby' set up shop in my heart, a burnt-out folk
rock song based around weary harmonies and lackadaisical violin and
banjo. As if pleading to his lover, the narrator reworks the wounding
chorus line to address his mistakes. "I'd leave him for you," he says of
his personified demons. "I'd clean it for you," he assures of the mess
he's made. But is he trying to change more than he should need to? Has
he been worn weak by the relationship? "I'd burn them for you" he later
says of the pictures of his heart turning dark he's been painting,
promising to mask his own valid sorrow just to keep her around. A
completely moreish track that's at once brutal and slender. — Christopher Hooton Frank Ocean, ‘Chanel’ One
of Frank Ocean’s many loosies, ‘Chanel’ marks one of the elusive
songwriter’s best tracks: a subdued, catchy, slow-burner with lyrics
that walk a careful tightrope between bravado and emotional. Before
seeing Ocean play Lovebox, the track — along with ‘Biking’ and ‘Nights’ —
was played on repeat. Unfortunately, the actual concert couldn’t match
my expectations, but the former Odd Future member remains one of my
favourite artists working today. — Jack Shepherd
CNN)Dustin
Hoffman and "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver got into a heated
discussion Monday night when Oliver brought up recent allegations of
sexual harassment against the actor.
The exchange, which was captured on video by Washington Post
reporter Steven Zeitchik, took place during a panel moderated by Oliver
for a 20th anniversary screening of "Wag the Dog," which starred
Hoffman. The poor quality video is edited, and only about six minutes of
the one-hour panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y in New York City was
posted online by the Post. Portions of the video are hard to understand
due to the poor audio quality.
The comedian host brought up the allegations in front of the panel's live audience.
The Post reports that about halfway through the movie discussion, Oliver began to broach the subject.
"This is something we're going to have to talk about because," Oliver said. "It's hanging in the air."
Oliver was referring to recent allegations made by Anna Graham Hunter in an essay, which was published on November 1 by The Hollywood Reporter.
In the column, she claims Hoffman, now 80, made multiple inappropriate
comments and unwanted sexual advances toward her when she was a
17-year-old production assistant on the set of "The Death of a Salesman"
in 1985.
"It's hanging in the
air?" Hoffman said. "From a few things you've read you've made an
incredible assumption about me. You've made the case better than anyone
else can. I'm guilty," he told Oliver.
Weeks ago, Hoffman apologized for his alleged behavior and his statement was published in Hunter's essay.
"I
have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I
might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation,"
Hoffman said at the time. "I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I
am."
On Monday, Hoffman duked it
out with Oliver on the stage, where the actor was joined by his fellow
"Wag the Dog" co-star Robert De Niro, producer Jane Rosenthal and
director Barry Levinson.
According to the Post, Hoffman said during the panel discussion that he has "never met" Graham.
"I still don't know who this woman is," Hoffman said. "I never met her; if I met her it was in concert with other people."
In the video, Oliver called out Hoffman's apology, saying he was angered by the actor's word choice.
"'It's
'not reflective of who I am.' It's that kind of response to this stuff
that pisses me off," Oliver said. "It is reflective of who you were. If
it happened and you've given no evidence to show that it didn't [happen]
then there was a period of time for a while when you were a creeper
around women. So, it feels like a cop-out to say 'well this isn't me.'
Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?"
Hoffman replied, "It's difficult to answer that question. You weren't there..."
Hoffman also questioned whether Oliver believes everything printed about what his accuser says happened.
"Do you believe this stuff that you read?" Hoffman asked.
"I believe what she wrote, yes," Oliver replied.
"Why?" asked Hoffman.
"Because there's no point in her lying," said Oliver.
"Well, there's a point in her not bringing this up for 40 years," Hoffman said.
"Oh, Dustin," Oliver said, as he put his head in his hand.
Hoffman
went on to discuss behavior on movie sets, along with some of the more
colorful talk and banter that would often take place between movie crews
and actors.
Hoffman described how
his co-workers were "a family," who sometimes said stupid sexual things,
that were meant to be funny. He reminded Oliver and the audience that
this was 40 years ago.
Oliver said, "It doesn't feel self-reflective in the way that it seems the incident demands.
"I get no pleasure from having this conversation because you and I are not the victims here...."
CNN has reached out to Hoffman and Oliver's reps for comment.
Oliver's show airs on HBO, which, along with CNN, is owned by Time Warner.
The player took advantage of a loophole in the offside law to take the
lead at Old Trafford, although United came back to win Tuesday's clash
Juan
Mata has warned Manchester United to be wary of the specifics around
the offside rule following Alan Dzagoev's goal for CSKA Moscow on
Tuesday.
The Russian side took the lead in the Champions League clash at Old
Trafford when Dzagoev fortuitously deflected Vitinho's shot into the
net, with the goal allowed to stand despite United appealing for
offside.
Dzagoev was standing between the last United defender on the pitch
and goalkeeper Sergio Romero when he scored but, according to FIFA
rules, he had been played onside by Daley Blind, who had slid out of
play when trying to intercept a cross.
(CNN)Danny Masterson is out of the Netflix comedy "The Ranch" amid rape allegations made against him.
"As
a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written
Danny Masterson out of The Ranch," a Netflix spokesman said in a
statement to CNN Tuesday. "Yesterday was his last day on the show, and
production will resume in early 2018 without him."
Masterson
said in a statement to CNN that he is "obviously very disappointed in
Netflix's decision to write my character off of The Ranch."
"From
day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. Law
enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and
determined them to be without merit," Masterson continued in his
statement. "I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted
of one. In this country, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
However, in the current climate, it seems as if you are presumed
guilty the moment you are accused."
The
former "That '70s Show" actor added, "I understand and look forward to
clearing my name once and for all." Masterson went on to thank the cast
and crew he worked with on "The Ranch."
News of the allegations date back to March when journalist and former Village Voice editor Tony Ortega wrote on his site, "The Underground Bunker," that Masterson was being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
According
to Ortega, actress Leah Remini and her A&E show "Leah Remini:
Scientology and the Aftermath" helped bring the accusations to light
when one of the alleged victims shared her story with Remini.
A spokesperson for the LAPD told CNN on Tuesday that there was no update on the investigation.
Remini and The Church of Scientology did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
Ortega's
original report referenced the accusers as victims A, B and C. In early
November, the Huffington Post reported that four women had alleged that
Masterson raped them in the early 2000s. CNN has not spoken to the
accusers.
In November, The Daily Beast
spoke with one of Masterson's accusers, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, who
said she decided to go public after the Huffington Post reported Netflix
would continue to work with Masterson pending the investigation.
"For
me, what Netflix has done, feels like a continuation of how the Church
of Scientology made me feel when I reported my rape to them, as well as
how Danny Masterson made me feel when I would beg him for an apology, an
explanation, anything," she said in a statement to the publication. "I
was made to feel unimportant."
In a
statement provided to The Daily Beast, the Church of Scientology said
they "adamantly" deny that Bixler made any criminal allegations against
Masterson when she told the Church about their relationship.
A spokesperson for the Church reiterated their point on Tuesday in a separate statement to CNN.
"The
Church adamantly denies the implication the Church would ignore the
criminal behavior of certain members, especially at the expense of
alleged victims," the statement said. "What is being stated is utterly
untrue. This has nothing to do with religion. This story is being
manipulated to push a bigoted agenda. The Church follows all laws and
cooperates with law enforcement. Any statement or implication to the
contrary is false."
CNN has reached out to Bixler for comment.
fast-moving,
wind-fueled wildfire swept into the city of Ventura early Tuesday,
burning 50,000 acres, destroying homes and forcing more than 27,000
people to evacuate.
About 3,000 homes were threatened by flames, a
firefighter was injured and Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of
emergency in Ventura County on Tuesday morning, as some 1,000 personnel
continued to battle the Thomas fire.
At least 150 structures — including at least one large apartment complex and the VistaDel Mar
Hospital, a psychiatric facility — were consumed by flames. But Cal
Fire suspects the true number is hundreds more; firefighters just
haven’t been able to get into areas to know for sure.
The fall
weather sequence helped spark the Thomas fire, which as of 5 p.m.
Tuesday was 0% contained and moving west, fire officials said. In the
last couple of years, the rains came before the Santa Ana winds. But
this year, with no rain in three months, the winds hit dry fuels.
“This fire is very dangerous and spreading rapidly, but we'll
continue to attack it with all we've got,” Brown said. “It's critical
residents stay ready and evacuate immediately if told to do so.”
The
state sent resources to help with firefighting efforts as authorities
expanded mandatory and voluntary evacuation areas, and opened new
shelters throughout the county. Ventura County officials have asked the
state for eight fixed-wing firefighting aircraft to help douse the
flames, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Donoghue.
The
blaze started about 6:25 p.m. Monday in the foothills near Thomas
Aquinas College in Santa Paula, a popular hiking destination. It grew
wildly to more than 15 square miles in the hours that followed —
consuming vegetation that hasn't burned in decades, Ventura County Fire
Sgt. Eric Buschow said.
“The burn area is pretty much all the mountains
between Ventura and Ojai and extending east to Santa Paula,” Donoghue
said. “It’s a challenge because of the enormity of it, and it’s a
challenge because it’s pretty rugged terrain.”Power outages also caused problems for firefighters
Monday night and rendered some pumping systems inoperable, said Ventura
County Fire Capt. Steve Kaufmann. Some hydrants couldn’t get water
pumped to them because there was no power, he said.
At one point
in Ojai, the entire water system went down, including hydrants and
drinking water, because a pumping system was damaged by the fire,
Kaufmann said.
On Tuesday morning the water district had sent
people to Ventura to repair the problems, but he did not know status of
the repair.
“It definitely presented a challenge to us,” he said.
By
12:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities had ordered a mandatory evacuation of
the entire community of Casitas Springs, northwest of Ventura. The
evacuation area spreads from the northern portion of Highway 33 into
Ojai, said Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Stan Ziegler. The county
also issued a voluntary evacuation order for all parts of Ojai Valley
not under mandatory evacuation.
In addition to the Ventura County
Fairgrounds in Ventura and Nordhoff High School in Ojai, evacuation
centers have been set up at the Oxnard College gymnasium and Santa Paula
Community Center.
The size of the fire will likely grow, Ziegler
said. Authorities are still seeing “erratic fire behavior and erratic
winds so it’s making the firefight very difficult," Ziegler said.
Aircraft
are available for firefighting efforts, but will usually only drop
retardant when winds are below 30 mph, said California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott McLean.
About 7 a.m.,
the wind appeared to be pushing the fire east toward Camarillo and
north toward Ojai, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Tim
Lochman.
On Tuesday firefighters continued trying to save homes
in Ventura, where the fire was active. They faced a red-flag wind
advisory that notes ridgeline winds of 35 to 45 mph, with gusts up to 70
mph. Winds are expected to decrease somewhat in the afternoon, said
Chad Cook, Ventura County Fire Department division chief.
The fire hopscotched through hillside neighborhoods
Monday night, burning some homes and sparing others. Some residents
hoped the worst might be over in the early hours of the morning when the
wind died down. But it picked up with a fury around daybreak, causing
more destruction.Engulfed in flames, the Hawaiian Village Apartments above central Ventura collapsed about 4 a.m.
Water
gushed down North Laurel Street as firefighters worked to put out the
flaming complex and residents watched, holding cameras and cellphones.
The sound of bursting propane tanks filled the air.
Hundreds of
firefighters working through the night tried to prevent the blaze from
spreading, block by block, as they were confronted by wind gusts of up
to 50 mph.
One firefighter was hit by a car while he was
protecting homes. He was at a hospital, said Ventura County Fire Capt.
Scott Quirarte.
Fire officials said the intensity of the fire, coupled with the high winds, made it pretty much unstoppable.
Schools in the Oxnard, Ventura, Hueneme and Santa Paula school districts were closed Tuesday.
California
authorities have secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to assist in firefighting efforts, the Office of Emergency
Services announced Tuesday morning.
Fire officials expected flames would rip through at least 50,000 acres in the mountains between Santa Paula and Ventura.
The
destruction comes in what was already the worst year on record for
wildfires in California. Forty-four people were killed and more than
10,000 structures were lost when fires swept through Northern California’s wine country in October.
The
Thomas fire’s movement bears some similarity to Northern California’s
Tubbs fire, which ravaged the town of Santa Rosa and killed more than 20
people in October, McLean said.
The Thomas fire has moved almost
as quickly as the Tubbs did, with winds pushing flames that started
north of a community into a city, he said. Like the Tubbs, there are
access issues with the Thomas fire because of the topography, McLean
said.
What’s different, though, is that authorities began the
morning of the Tubbs firefighting more than a dozen blazes in the area,
whereas the Thomas fire is currently the greatest threat in Southern
California. The Creek fire, near Sylmar, was at 11,000 acres early
Tuesday afternoon and had destroyed at least 30 structures.
There were no confirmed fatalities in the Thomas fire as of 2 p.m., authorities said.
Southern California has been under red-flag weather conditions
since Monday, with “the strongest and longest duration Santa Ana wind
event we have seen so far this season” expected through at least
Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
The dry, gusty Santa Ana winds will continue for at least the next three days, the National Weather Service said.
“Generally,
it’s awful fire weather today, tomorrow and Thursday,” said forecaster
Ryan Kittell. “The winds we’re seeing right now are … plenty strong to
drive a fire.”
It doesn’t matter that the winds are relatively
cool compared to typical Santa Anas because wind gusts are so powerful
and dry, he said.
Ventura County fire officials reported Monday night that
one person was killed in a traffic accident on a road closed due to the
Thomas fire. But at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said no human
fatalities were confirmed — although they added that one dog had died.At least 1,000 homes in Ventura, Santa Paula and Ojai were evacuated.
More
than 260,000 customers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties lost power
as the fire raged. By noon Tuesday 15,000 homes in Ventura and Santa
Barbara counties were still without power, said Southern California
Edison spokesman Paul Netter.
More homes may lose power as the fires continue to spread, and some may be without power for days, Netter said.
“We’re
encouraging conservation because of the power fluctuations,” he said.
“Every little bit helps when it comes to maintaining power as we restore
it.”
Just north of Foothill Boulevard, along Hilltop Drive, Mark
Urban, 53, took a moment about 7 a.m. Tuesday to inspect the front of
his home, where at least two spot fires had broken out; one was put out
by firefighters and the other by himself, using a garden hose.
Urban
said he and his wife began evacuating their Spanish-style home about 11
p.m. Monday and headed to the Ventura fairgrounds. About 1 a.m.,
though, he returned to grab more belongings and decided to stay to
defend their home with a hose, he said.
“I just kept hitting the hot spots,” Urban said.
A
crowd gathered Tuesday morning in the street at the top of a hilly
Santa Paula neighborhood, watching as black smoke and flames crept along
a tawny ridge near dozens of white, tan and pink houses.
Gusts ripped red flowers off a bougainvillea and sent flames billowing upward a few hundred feet from houses along Coronado Circle.
Doctors
and nurses in scrubs who had stepped out of nearby Santa Paula Hospital
put on face masks and pulled out cellphones to record the fire.
The
hospital was closed Tuesday to incoming patients and all surgeries were
canceled, according to a doctor and a technician who were not
authorized to talk to the media. About 16 patients remained in the
28-bed facility and could be quickly evacuated if fire officials gave
the word, they said.
Beverly Moore stood on 10th Street with a black hoodie drawn tightly over her head to block the strong winds, watching the fire.
Moore
moved to Coronado Circle about eight years ago, when the neighborhood
was new. She knew fire was a risk, because the street opens onto
hundreds of acres of open space that is covered in dry brush, she said.
Even so, she wasn’t prepared to watch the fire come so close to her
house.
In her rush to leave home, Moore said, she’d grabbed her violin, but forgot her jewelry and her daughter’s guitar.
Police
cars blocked the street, stopping residents from returning to their
homes. A Santa Paula police officer allowed Moore back in, telling her
to hurry.
She returned 15 minutes later, smiling, her jewelry in a
brown shopping bag, her father’s will in a manila envelope, and her
daughter’s guitar slung across her back.
“It’s all she wanted,” Moore said. “I’ve done what I could.”
By late Tuesday morning, evacuees were beginning to learn the fate of their homes.Darlene
Gonzalez and her husband scrambled to evacuate Monday by 6 p.m., just
after they got off work. They fled with clothes, passports and other
paperwork, but left her husband’s most cherished possessions in the
garage: A 1959 Chevrolet El Camino and a 1928 Ford (“a Bonnie and Clyde
car,” Gonzalez said).
“You work so hard all your life, and now this,” Gonzalez said. “But what can you do? Fire is fire.”
At least two buildings on the campus of Vista Del Mar Hospital burned down as the Thomas fire ravaged the canyons above Ventura.
The
hospital treats adolescents and adults with mental health issues, and
among its specialties is treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patients
were evacuated and by Tuesday morning, two buildings were completely
destroyed by flames, with the rubble of stucco walls and clay roofs
smoldering under the smoky sky.
“There’s a huge need for this
facility,” said Roger Case, 76, explaining that it welcomes patients
from Fresno to the San Fernando Valley. Case is an advisory board
member.
In addition to serving about 80 patients at a time, the facility also employs about 230 people.
Many have found their way to evacuation centers, waiting out the fire.
Inside
the shelter at the Ventura County fairgrounds Tuesday morning, some
volunteers handed out water and bananas to evacuees who spent the night.
Others grabbed the green cots that crowded the concrete floor and
walked them over to the larger livestock shelter where the evacuees were
being moved.
Rudy Avendano and his family voluntarily evacuated
their home on Richmond Road about 3 a.m. His daughter Felicia had woken
up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom when she saw flashing
lights on the street.
She stepped outside and asked the police if they were being evacuated.
“We strongly suggest it,” she remembered the officer saying.
She
quickly woke her parents and two sisters. They grabbed the items they’d
packed earlier in the day — clothes, blankets, documents, photo albums
and a mandolin — and jumped into their cars with their pit bull-Labrador
mix, Bear.
Avendano, 60, said he saw a continuous ribbon of orange flames licking the hills on the drive to the fairgrounds.
Throughout
the drive, he said, he thought of the extra food he should have thrown
in the car. A gallon of Sunny Delight and a box of crackers from Trader
Joe’s weren’t enough, he said with a laugh.
Parvini, Nelson, Vives and Hamilton reported from Ventura County, Kohli from Los Angeles. Times staff reporters Jaclyn Cosgrove, Alene Tchekmedyian and Joseph Serna, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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