State of Emergency

Ten-thousand people in the northwest San Fernando Valley have been evacuated.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking all Angelinos to help the effort by conserving water and electricity.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County.
The city is on tactical alert, and Mayor Villaraigosa had declared a city-wide state of emergency early this morning. The mayor urged residents under evacuation orders not to wait until they see flames to evacuate, but to get out as quickly as possible.

Sylmar -- Full electrical service was restored to the entire city of Los Angeles 25 minutes after rolling blackouts were implemented because of the brushfire in Newhall Pass, officials said today. The Mid City, Crenshaw, Harbor Gateway and Sherman Oaks areas were cut out of the Department of Water and Power's grid at 9:40 a.m., but service was restored there by 10:05. The Los Angeles fire department said it received numerous reports of people trapped in elevators in those sections of Los Angeles today, and traffic began backing up on at least one San Fernando Valley freeway. Traffic on the Ventura (101) Freeway backed up at the Van Nuys Boulevard interchange due to failed traffic signals on nearby surface streets. The Department of Water and Power said that it would institute rolling blackouts to reduce load on its system, as power lines in the Newhall Pass area were taken out of service as the fire burns through the area. Major transmission lines and switching stations were surrounded by flames in Newhall Pass for several hours.

The one time we move to Los Angeles, we get caught in the middle of wildfires. Not very healthy. We may have to evacuate...hope not. Makes one think of a planning a survival kit and a plan.