So tragic to once again see the winds picking up in SoCal and an active wildfire outbreak to go with them. Two fires erupted overnight in Southern California. The Thomas fire in Ventura County started last night and has burned 45,000 acres and destroyed more than 150 structures. The Creek fire is burning near Sylmar and has prompted officials to evacuate more than 8,000 homes. [Read more…] about Interactive map of the Southern California Wildfires
California
Wondering, Why are California’s high tides higher this year?
If you’ve visited California this fall or perhaps you have friends that live on or near the coast, perhaps you’ve heard stories about the extremely high tides and epic wave action – enter some explanations from NOAA. Californians living on the coast may be used to seeing so-called “King Tides,” a regular phenomenon where high tides are higher than normal on certain days of the year. This winter, King Tides — known to scientists as perigean spring tides — are even higher due to El Niño, causing flooding in low-lying areas of California’s coast.
[Read more…] about Wondering, Why are California’s high tides higher this year?
Event tip – Nov 7th California Data Camp
Here’s a friendly heads-up about a cool event I heard about today – California Data Camp. The low-down…The one day gathering is open to developers, journalists, community organizers, policy wonks, students and others interested in working with government data that provides insights and information into California and its communities. A variety of issues will be tackled including computer-assisted reporting, data visualization, data access, data transparency, and data management. There will also be a day-long app-building contest on DataSF.org., the clearinghouse of data sets created by the city and county of San Francisco. The winning team will be awarded a prize. (Source) See http://datacamp.eventbrite.com/