Victoria Fox's Blog, page 241
April 12, 2023
Scientists challenge US wildlife director’s credentials
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) — Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups are pushing for the removal of the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying she lacks the training required to lead the agency despite the obtaining Senate confirmation last year.
Concerns over service director Martha Williams’ credentials were outlined in a letter from 100 scientists sent to President Joe Biden and US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Wednesday.
Williams is a philosophy attorney, and her critics say she lacks the scientific training required by federal law for the job. Government prosecutors dismissed claims that she is unaccredited, but they did not dispute her lack of a science degree.
There was no discussion of Williams’ credentials during his Senate confirmation hearing. She was confirmed in a voice vote in February 2022 with bipartisan support.
She worked as an attorney for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks for more than two decades, then headed the state agency for three years before being named Senior Deputy Director of US Fish and Wildlife. Service after Biden’s election. During the Obama administration, she served as an assistant attorney at the Department of the Interior for two years.
The call for his resignation or firing comes as Biden faces mounting pressure from some wildlife advocates who argue the administration hasn’t done enough to protect endangered plants and animals. of disappearance from extinction.
Many of the scientists named in the letter have also been involved in efforts to maintain federal protections for endangered grizzly bears in western states and gray wolves across much of the country.
Williams came to the Biden administration from Montana, where wolf hunting is legal. She told her confirmation hearing that the grizzly bear population around Yellowstone National Park has recovered, putting her at odds with wildlife advocates.
The story continues
The battle over her qualifications has simmered since she was announced as Biden’s choice at the end of 2021. The attorney and the Interior Department’s inspector general have dismissed complaints about it, but a lawsuit is still pending in federal court that focuses on educational requirements set by Congress when it overhauled the wildlife agency in 1974.
Federal law states that only a person with “scientific training and experience” can be appointed director of the service.
Williams has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Montana, according to Congressional and Interior Department records.
The Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to multiple emails regarding his qualifications. Interior spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz declined to comment on the letter, and the White House did not respond.
Lawyers for the Biden administration said in court papers that the law requires Williams’ education to be considered “cumulatively” with his experience.
“She clearly has the required background,” they wrote.
A spokesman for Montana Sen. Steve Daines said Wednesday the Republican lawmaker stood by his vote for Williams.
U.S. Senator from Montana Jon Tester, a Democrat, said that since his confirmation, Williams “has brought collaborative, science-based solutions to the difficult issues facing our wildlife and public lands.”
Other than resigning or being fired by the president, impeachment is the only mechanism to remove Senate-confirmed civilian officers such as Williams, according to Katherine Scott, an associate historian with the U.S. Senate Historical Office.
Scientists calling for his ouster say they fear the administration is setting a precedent by circumventing the science training requirement.
They claim that Williams is serving in contradiction to the administration’s own policies and ethics rules. They pointed to an assessment by Biden’s Scientific Integrity Task Force which suggests that executive branch positions should be filled by suitably qualified candidates and that violations of scientific integrity policies should be caught. as seriously as ethical violations.
Scientists include Dave Parsons, who led government efforts to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf to the Southwest; two board members and a scientist from Silver Spring, Maryland Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility; well-known biology professors Paul and Anne Ehrlich at Stanford University; and wolf experts William Ripple and Robert Beschta of Oregon State University.
With the exception of Williams, every director since the agency’s overhaul in the 1970s had a scientific background, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
“I see this appointment as a tipping point, where politics will forever trump statutory powers,” said Parsons, author of the letter.
In the lawsuit challenging her confirmation, Illinois attorney Robert Aland claimed that decisions made by Williams would be “contaminated” since she was illegally appointed. Wildlife “could suffer the most severe adverse consequences” as a result, he said.
A judge dismissed the case on jurisdictional issues and did not address the education dispute. Aland appealed.
Aland previously sued the agency over its attempts to lift protections for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Federal judges reinstated protections in both cases, but a new proposal to lift the protections is being considered by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency is planning a new rule that could lift protections for gray wolves in early 2024.
Some of the scientists in Wednesday’s letter said decisions about bears and wolves rest with Williams. They said his qualifications could be used as an argument in future litigation over the case.
Williams is not the first to have her qualifications questioned. Under former President Donald Trump, political appointee Greg Sheehan oversaw Fish and Wildlife for more than a year as the agency’s deputy director at a time when no director was in place.
Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke unsuccessfully sought to appoint Sheehan as acting director, but government officials said he did not have the science degree required for the job under federal law. Sheehan resigned in 2018 and was never officially appointed.
Before Trump’s nominee Aurelia Skipwith was confirmed for the job in 2019, environmental groups objected in part because she had studied molecular biology and not wildlife specifically. The Center for Biological Diversity has called her an “industry companion” because of Skipwith’s past work with chemical company Monsanto.
Center for Biological Diversity director of government affairs Brett Hartl said the group was aware of Williams’ lack of a degree, but decided to support her nonetheless.
He said his group believes having “an outside person” as director would provide a better opportunity to address the deep-seated cultural issues that have plagued the agency over the years. Hartl agreed that the law requires a science degree, but said the Senate has the ultimate power to decide who is qualified.
Despite Williams’ early support, Hartl said his group was disappointed with the Biden administration’s failure to replace a Trump-era rule that weakened protections for many species.
“To me, that’s what she should be rated on,” he said. “We’ve been quite disappointed with his tenure so far.”
___
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
ChatGPT could return to Italy if OpenAI follows the rules
ROME — ChatGPT could soon return to Italy if its maker, OpenAI, complies with measures to satisfy regulators who have imposed a temporary ban on the artificial intelligence software for privacy reasons.
Italy’s data protection authority set out a series of requirements on Wednesday that OpenAI will have to meet by April 30 for the ban on the AI chatbot to be lifted.
Last month, the watchdog known as Garante ordered the company to temporarily stop processing Italian users’ personal information while it investigates a possible data breach. The authority said it did not want to hinder the development of AI, but stressed the importance of following the European Union’s strict data privacy rules.
OpenAI, which had responded by offering remedies to allay concerns, on Wednesday welcomed the decision by Italian regulators.
“We are pleased that Italy’s Garante is reconsidering their decision and look forward to working with them to make ChatGPT available to our customers in Italy soon,” OpenAI said.
Concerns are growing over the AI boom, with other countries from France to Canada investigating or taking a closer look at so-called generative AI technology like ChatGPT. The chatbot is “trained” on huge pools of data, including e-books and online writings, and able to generate text that mimics human writing styles.
Under the Italian measures, OpenAI must publish information on its website about how and why it processes the personal information of users and non-users, as well as providing the possibility of correcting or deleting this data.
The company will need to rely on consent or “legitimate interest” to use personal data to train ChatGPT’s algorithms, the watchdog said.
Italian regulators had questioned whether there was a legal basis for OpenAI to collect massive amounts of data used to teach ChatGPT’s algorithms and worried that the system could sometimes generate false information about individuals.
San Francisco-based OpenAI will also have to run an advertising campaign by May 15 on radio and television, in newspapers and on the internet to inform people about how it uses their personal data to train algorithms. , said the Italian watchdog.
It is also necessary to verify the age of users and put in place a system to filter those who are under 13 and adolescents between 13 and 18 who do not have parental consent.
“Only in this case will the Italian SA (supervisory authority) lift its order which imposed a temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users’ data… so that ChatGPT is again available from Italy”, the watchdog said on its website.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
The Arizona House expels a Republican lawmaker for her role in baseless testimony
Enlarge this image The desk used by Arizona Republican Rep. Liz Harris at the state Capitol in Phoenix stands empty moments after she was expelled from the Legislature on Wednesday. Jonathan J. Cooper/AP
Jonathan J. Cooper/AP
PHOENIX — An Arizona Republican legislator has been expelled from the state House of Representatives for inviting a witness to present false charges about lawmakers and other state officials — and then, according to an ethics committee report, lying about her involvement in the outrageous testimony.
A bipartisan, two-thirds majority of the GOP-led House voted Wednesday to kick out Liz Harris, a freshman lawmaker from Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix.
The notable move to expel Harris, who’s pushed baseless claims about the 2020 and 2022 elections, comes as members of the state’s Republican Party have in recent years led Arizona to become a hive of election denialism.
The vote came a day after the release of a House Ethics Committee report, which concluded that Harris knew, or was at least aware, that a woman she arranged to testify at the Capitol would claim, without evidence, that a host of elected officials and judges, including Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, took bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel and committed other crimes, such as money laundering.
The woman, Gilbert, Ariz., insurance agent Jacqueline Breger, also claimed during the February hearing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “controls” the government and played a key role in money laundering schemes.
Breger provided no evidence to support the outlandish claims. But a video of her testimony in front of election committees exploded on the internet in the days following the hearing. At one point, #CartelKatie was trending on Twitter.
It didn’t matter that there was no substance to the claims. The fact that they were presented before Republican lawmakers in their official capacity at the state Capitol — Democrats on the committees boycotted the hearing — gave the accusations enough credibility to spread.
That was problematic enough to merit the ethics investigation and expulsion, according to House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican and one of the lawmakers falsely accused of criminal activity.
“Each member could make up their own mind on whether or not Rep. Harris did, in fact, not only perpetrate this to begin with, but then contradict herself numerous times during the ethics hearing process,” said Toma, one of the 46 lawmakers who voted to expel Harris.
In full, the ethics panel concluded Harris’ actions violated House rules and damaged the body’s institutional integrity.
“Harris engaged in disorderly behavior in violation of House Rule 1, thereby eroding the public trust in the legislative process,” the resolution calling for her expulsion read.
The ethics report also found that Harris lied to the panel when she claimed she had no idea Breger would make such wild accusations.
“The only thing that we have down here is our word and our integrity,” Toma said. “And when that is clearly crossed, when you can no longer count on someone’s word or integrity, they can no longer be an effective legislator.”
Harris told The Washington Post ahead of the vote, “I didn’t lie and God knows the truth. The truth will come out.” Harris did not speak on her own behalf as the House voted to expel her. She quietly left the House floor after the roll call vote. Only after the House adjourned did a handful of her supporters in the gallery speak out, shouting “shame on you, shame, shame, shame.”
It’s the second time in six years the House has voted to kick out one of its own. In 2018, the chamber voted to expel then-Rep. Don Shooter, who was found to have serially sexually harassed his colleagues and lobbyists at the state Capitol.
The expulsion in Arizona follows the expulsions — for different reasons — of two Black lawmakers in Tennessee. Democrats Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones were kicked out by a Republican supermajority after the pair — alongside Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white — led a protest from the House floor calling for reforms to gun laws.
Pearson and Jones have now been reappointed to their seats by local officials.
Swimming pools and lavish gardens of the rich are driving water shortages, study says
Enlarge this image A new research study says that maintaining backyard pools, like this one pictured in Los Angeles in August, 2005, are one way that rich city dwellers are over-consuming water. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Swimming pools, flower gardens, indoor fountains — and the urbanites who can afford them — are big factors behind the increasingly dire water crises plaguing cities, an international research team says.
Published in the journal Nature Sustainability, a new study found socioeconomic disparity to be just as influential as climate change and population growth when it comes to explaining why the water supply in so many cities is shrinking.
“There are certain individuals with the power to decide how to manage water who also use more water,” said lead researcher Elisa Savelli of Uppsala University in Sweden. “Even with something as simple as water, it’s unjust. Some social groups have access to too much, and some social groups have too little.”
Wealthy residents use 12 times more water then those with lower incomes, study found
More than 80 metropolitan areas around the world have faced severe shortages in the last two decades, a figure that’s only projected to rise, impacting more than one billion people in the next few decades.
And the threat doesn’t discriminate between hemispheres or climates. Moscow, Miami and Melbourne, Australia, were among the most impacted in the last decade.
For the purposes of the study, researchers zeroed in on just one location, Cape Town, South Africa.
Even 25 years after South Africa’s apartheid ended, Cape Town is still segregated in distinct geographic lines, making it easier to track water usage among income groups, Savelli said. The city also experienced a major drought from 2015 to 2017, a crisis so severe that the city narrowly averted “Day Zero,” when it believed water sources would dry up entirely.
In the same time period, Cape Town’s elite households consumed roughly 571 gallons of water daily, compared with 47 gallons for households in lower income brackets, the researchers found.
Despite only representing about 14% of the population, the wealthiest residents used more than half of the water (51%) consumed by the entire city.
And most of the water used by those privileged social groups went for nonessential needs, such as irrigation, swimming pools and water fixtures. Other social groups used the most water for basic functions like drinking or bathing.
“Even though we used Cape Town as a case study, the analysis can be applied to every other city in the world that’s facing water shortages, or that might face them in the future,” Savelli told NPR.
“I won’t say that the results will be exactly the same, but I believe that any city — in the U.S., Canada, or Australia — would have inequality. It might manifest in different ways, but it’s still there and it’s just as critical as population growth or climate change,” she said.
Another notable limitation of the study is its scope: Domestic water consumption accounts for just a fraction of overall public water use.
In the U.S., two major industries — thermoelectric power production and manufacturing — account for two-thirds of public water supply usage. Agriculture accounts for roughly 40% of America’s total freshwater withdrawals.
But Savelli hopes that the study will spark a much-needed change in the way policymakers rethink urban policy.
Effective policy might involve trade-offs and targeted measuresIn the face of drought, cities often seek to implement progressive pricing models or infrastructure updates, bureaucratic measures that often just perpetuate the same “uneven and unsustainable water patterns” that led to the crisis in the first place, the study says.
During Cape Town’s severe drought, wealthy residents turned to private water sources like boreholes and rainwater harvesting systems, the study says. Low-income residents, facing higher water costs, sometimes went without enough water to meet basic demands for activities like cooking and laundry.
In other words, the drought made the wealthy more water secure and better equipped to face future droughts, even though they were consuming unsustainable amounts of water in the first place.
Savelli says policymakers should think in terms of targeted solutions and trade-offs.
“Before building an additional dam, cities should look at individual consumption first, not just the [citywide] average,” she said. “Maybe you have a swimming pool, but you don’t keep the water in all the time or the government could tax you for water usage that it deems excessive.”
It’s hard to imagine solutions like fines and restrictions being immediately effective in places like the U.S.
Take for example Los Angeles, a city with an infamous lack of groundwater sources. In 2022, celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Kevin Hart and Sylvester Stallone were called out for blatantly flouting fines and “notices of exceedance” for their drought-era water usage.
“For the celebrities or musicians or athletes who all live in the area, monetary penalties are going to be meaningless to them because it doesn’t matter. They have plenty of money and if they want to, they could spend $5,000 a month on a water bill,” said Mike McNutt, a spokesman for the local water district.
After increasing frustration, the district took the infrastructure route after all, installing automatic flow restriction devices capable of turning lawns brown and reducing even Kardashian’s Instagram-famous sink faucet to a mere trickle.
April 11, 2023
Tim Scott to unveil 2024 White House Exploratory Committee
COLUMBIA, SC — Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is taking the next official step toward running for president in 2024.
Scott is set to announce the formation of an exploratory committee, according to a person familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday evening before the official announcement.
In an email to supporters, Scott teased he would be making a “major announcement” during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday morning.
“I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few months,” Scott wrote. “I reflected on my faith. I thought about the future of our country. And I thought about the left’s plan to ruin America.
Stay in the conversation about politics: Subscribe to the OnPolitics newsletter
For months, Scott developed the infrastructure to support a White House bid, built his political action committee, and visited early voting states. This week, Scott is returning to New Hampshire and Iowa for roundtables and meetings with voters, before returning to South Carolina for “breakfast, political talks and a political update” with the donors.
If he enters the field, Scott will join fellow South Carolinian, former Governor Nikki Haley, as well as former President Donald Trump, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur “anti -awakening” Vivek Ramaswamy.
If elected, Scott, the only black Republican senator, would be the nation’s first black Republican president.
Will he or won’t he? :Republican Senator Tim Scott assesses historic White House bid
Scott indicated how he could set himself apart from others in the race by leaning into a more optimistic message than the grievance-based politics advocated by others.
During a February visit to Iowa, home to the first GOP presidential caucuses, Scott spoke of a “new American sunrise” rooted in collaboration.
“I see a future where common sense has rebuilt common ground, where we have created true unity, not by compromising our conservatism, but by winning converts to our conservatism,” he said.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Fox lawyers in libel case reveal Rupert Murdoch’s dual role
Fox Corp. had claimed since Dominion filed its lawsuit in 2021 that Rupert Murdoch had no official role at Fox News. In his documents, he had listed Fox News officers as Suzanne Scott, Jay Wallace and Joe Dorrego.
But on Easter Sunday, Fox revealed to Dominion lawyers that Murdoch was also “executive chairman” of Fox News. The disclosure came after Superior Court Judge Eric Davis wondered aloud at a status conference last week who the Fox News officers were.
Davis was clearly troubled by the disclosure, on the eve of the trial.
“My problem is that I have been shown more than once that he is not an officer,” the judge said.
Davis suggested that if he had known about Murdoch’s dual role at Fox Corp. and Fox News, he could have reached different conclusions in a summary judgment decision he issued last month. In the ruling, the judge said it was undisputed that the statements broadcast by Fox were false, but that a jury should decide whether Fox News acted with actual malice and whether Fox Corp. had directly participated in the dissemination of the statements.
To Fox attorney Matthew Carter, Davis said, “You have a credibility problem.”
In response, Carter said he thought Murdoch’s title at Fox News was only “honorary.”
“I’m not mad at you,” the judge later told Carter. “I’m angry at the situation I find myself in.”
In a statement released after Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, Fox said, “Rupert Murdoch is listed as executive chairman of Fox News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his testimony.”
It is unclear whether the judge will take action in response to the late disclosure. But a Dominion attorney said he wants Fox to further explain Murdoch’s role in the network, indicating the issue may arise when the preliminary hearing continues on Wednesday.
POLITICO
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Francisco Alvarez can DH for the Mets, but will have to prove himself first
Francisco Alvarez could receive opportunities beyond his catching duties with the Mets, but he needs to prove his worth.
The 21-year-old rookie was behind the plate Tuesday in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse last week. Before the Mets lost 4-2 to the Padres at Citi Field, manager Buck Showalter was asked if Alvarez would be a consideration as a DH when he wasn’t catching.
“If he shows he’s an offensive force here,” Showalter said in response to the question.
Alvarez then went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the loss.
Included was a strikeout against Josh Hader for the game finale with runners on second and third base. Alvarez is 1 for 8 (.125) with an RBI since his promotion.
Likewise, Showalter said he would consider Alvarez pinch duty — even heading into the final innings — if he thought it was the right place.
With only two receivers on the roster, the risk would be to leave the team shorthanded if Tomas Nido were forced out of a game. If Alvarez was the DH and had to move behind the plate, the Mets would lose the DH.
Alvarez’s powerful right-handed bat helped establish him as the Mets’ No. 1 prospect, but he still hasn’t received many opportunities above the Double-A level.
Mets rookie receiver Francisco AlvarezBill Kostrun/New York Post
He struggled at home plate during spring training for the Mets this year and was opted for Syracuse before Omar Narvaez was placed on injured reserve on Friday with left calf strain that should keep him at bay. the gap until June.
Brett Baty hit his third homer of the season in a 3-on-5 performance for Syracuse. Baty boasts a 1.351 OPS in five games – he missed action last week with a sore right thumb that forced him out of a game early.
Baty’s hot start came as the Mets are still waiting for Eduardo Escobar to warm up.
Escobar bats just .111, and the club’s early offensive struggles only increase the pressure on Escobar, with Baty – who battled for the starting third baseman position in spring training – awaiting an opportunity with dishes.
Showalter said he doesn’t expect Justin Verlander to return from the injured list to pitch on the Mets’ 10-game trip to the West Coast, which begins Friday in Oakland.
Tylor Megill, who replaced Verlander in the rotation, is scheduled to kick off the series finale on Wednesday against the Padres and should start at least once on the road.
Verlander, who is recovering from a strained teres major near his right armpit, said last week he plans to launch sometime in April.
Showalter said the plan was for Verlander to pitch in a minor league rehab game before making his first start for the Mets.
Seth Elledge, a right-handed pitcher, was taken off waivers for the Braves and opted for Syracuse.
Jose Quintana has been moved to the 60-day injured list to create space on the 40-man roster.
Elledge played in 23 games as a reliever in his major league career and threw a 4.63 ERA.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Tom Sandoval Says He Broke Up With Ariana Madix Before Cheating News
Tom Sandoval is SUR-ving up his side of the Scandoval.
A month after the Vanderpump Rules fandom was rocked by news that Tom had cheated on his longtime love Ariana Madix with their co-star Raquel Leviss, the 39-year-old broke down the timeline of the couple’s dramatic fallout. On the April 11 episode of the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, Tom claimed that he and Ariana, 37, were already broken up when his affair with Raquel, 28, made headlines in early March.
“I actually did break up with her on Valentine’s Day,” he told host Howie Mandel. “I had already broken up with her two weeks earlier.”
The TomTom co-owner went on to claim that Ariana—who he dated for nine years—was “very upset” in the days that followed, saying his ex was “completely in denial and not accepting it.”
“I sit down to talk to her and she’s like, ‘I’m not letting you leave me. You’re going to have to force me out of this relationship,'” he recalled of Ariana’s alleged response. “I was like, ‘Ariana, I don’t think I could be faithful in a relationship with you right now.'”
Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott Put on United Front in Family Photo
This family photo is 9021-oh-so-sweet.
Dean McDermott and Tori Spelling continue to put past split rumors to rest by sharing a new family photo with their children. The post, which Tori shared on Instagram April 9, shows her and Dean posing with their kids Liam, 16, Stella, 14, Hattie, 11, and Finn, 10, and Beau Dean, 6 at Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Palm Springs, Calif. (Dean is also dad to son Jack, 24, with ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace.)
The 90210 star captioned the family snapshot, “Happy Easter xo.”
Not only did Tori share this snap to her profile, but Dean also took this pic to the ‘gram as well.
“Another wonderful Easter under our belts,” the Chopped Canada host wrote. “The kids are getting so big and fashionable!!! I need to step up my game. Hope you all had a great Easter!!”
Dean and Tori’s Easter photo marks the latest look into their family life after being the subject of long-lasting breakup speculation. Back in 2021, Tori said on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live that “my kids and dogs sleep in my bed” after being asked if she and Dean were sleeping in the same space.
An industrial fire in Indiana sends massive clouds of black smoke into the sky
Enlarge this image Smoke rises from an industrial fire on Tuesday in Richmond, Ind. Zach Piatt/The Palladium-Item via AP
Zach Piatt/The Palladium-Item via AP
RICHMOND, Ind. — Authorities urged people to evacuate Tuesday near a large industrial fire in an Indiana city near the Ohio border that sent massive clouds of black smoke into the sky.
The fire occurred at a former factory site in Richmond, 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) east of Indianapolis, that lately had been used to store plastics and other materials for recycling or resale, Mayor Dave Snow said.
“They were under a city order to clean up and remediate that site,” Snow told The Associated Press. “We knew that was a fire hazard the way they were storing materials.”
Snow described it as a “serious, large-scale fire” that apparently started in a tractor-trailer parked onsite and spread quickly. He said the fire had been contained on three sides by early evening. The cause was not immediately known.
“This is an indoor and outdoor storage facility — very, very large,” the mayor said.
There were no reports of injuries. But hundreds of people living within a half-mile (0.80 kilometer) of the fire were told to leave. People outside that radius who live downwind of the fire were advised to keep windows closed and pets inside.
Wind from the west blew black smoke across the state border into Ohio.
Bethesda Worship Center in Richmond offered temporary shelter for people forced out of their homes, while other agencies were trying to arrange hotel rooms if necessary, Pastor Ken Harris said.
Snow said state and federal regulators were at the scene to assess air quality and other environmental impacts.
Richmond has a population of 35,000.
Victoria Fox's Blog
- Victoria Fox's profile
- 137 followers
