WATERTOWN – Ahead of the forecasted scorcher of a weekend, HVAC companies throughout our area report being overwhelmed with calls.

“Everyone is inundated with phone calls right now. We are doing our best to keep up,” said Steven Akian owner of Akian Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning. The company is in its fifth year but Akian himself has nearly 15 years of experience in the HVAC business.

“They can’t find people to service their equipment,” Akian said of customers calling in. “Customers are turning on their ACs and they are either not turning on or not blowing out cold air. That’s a problem.”

Akian said this time of year, they usually see roughly 60 calls a day for service, but that number has jumped drastically this week. The company received 297 phone calls on Monday alone.

Most of those callers have had to be turned away.

If you’re turning your AC on for the first time this season, Akian recommended having your cooling systems refrigerant levels checked, along with the accuracy of your thermostat.

Akian does not recommend people waiting as long as possible to turn on their air conditioner. He said it often results in people discovering issues when it’s too late.

Brandon Truitt

Brandon Truitt joined WBZ-TV in January 2022 after working as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WPRI in Providence, Rhode Island. Before WPRI, Truitt worked at WNCT in Greenville, North Carolina, where he began his career in broadcast journalism.

The post HVAC firms overwhelmed with calls forward of sizzling weekend appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A candidate running in November’s election for the board governing City College of San Francisco posted controversial views condemning critical race theory, often referred to as CRT, in a since-deleted tweet.

The revelation on Twitter of a prior comment by board trustee candidate Marie Hurabiell is now prompting a Democratic club in the city to reopen discussions on their endorsement for her, the club’s president told KQED.

In the tweet, which was published in May 2021, Hurabiell wrote, “CRT was a tactic used by Hitler and the KKK.” These were not her words; Rather, Hurabiell was amplifying the words of a speaker at a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Va.

A screenshot of a now-deleted tweet from board trustee candidate Marie Hurabiell published in May 2021. (Twitter)

Then, Hurabiell added, in her own words, “Gratitude to this strong and passionate parent for fighting this dangerous nonsense.”

Critical race theory is at an academic school of thought teaching how racism is baked into the systems and policies of the United States. It entered the national spotlight last year as a bogeyman of conservatives looking to lambaste local school boards. Striking critical race theory from school campuses is among a number of efforts by conservatives to reform school boards across the country over the past year, including banning books promoting racial equity and LGBTQ+ themes.

Outrage against CRT is usually reserved for screeds on ultraconservative websites like Breitbart, or on President Donald Trump’s social network, Truth Social. It’s certainly not an everyday talking point in liberal San Francisco.

The Virginia school board meeting took place amid heated rhetoric against critical race theory from then-gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin. After he won the race, Youngkin issued an executive order to end “inherently divisive concepts,” which he billed as a way to end critical race theory from being taught in K-12 schools.

Fanning flames against critical race theory was central to Republicans in his race, but in Democratic San Francisco, Hurabiell may have found a sympathetic ear for those views from people wishing to recall several local school board members.

In the deleted tweet, Hurabiell tagged numerous accounts, including an account of the San Francisco Board of Education recall called @recallsfboe that belongs to a group now called the SF Guardians. That group worked to successfully recall school board commissioners Gabriela López, Alison Collins and Faauuga Moliga.

“I think it was a really stupid thing that I said,” Hurabiell told KQED. “I think it was really stupid that I retweeted it and I’m extremely apologetic for that.”

Hurabiell said she believes systemic racism is a “real problem” in the country.

“In my life I have not spent a lot of time digging into CRT, but I’m trying to understand it better now,” she said. “I’m always open to being wrong.”

When asked if she usually calls things she doesn’t know about “dangerous nonsense,” she responded, “I don’t routinely talk about things that I’m not terribly familiar with.”

Hurabiell is an eighth-generation San Franciscan and has been an attorney since the 1990s. She also serves on the Georgetown University Board of Regents. An ardent supporter of the recall campaigns of the three San Francisco Board of Education members and District Attorney Chesa Boudin, she also is a member of the nonprofit Stop Crime SF, which was started by Board of Supervisors candidate Joel Engardio.

Adele Failes-Carpenter, political director for the City College of San Francisco faculty union, AFT Local 2121, said Hurabiell’s views are out of step with the college’s mission.

“We need public education to keep our commitment to ending racism at the center of our work,” she said. “Anyone who is participating in open, reactionary attacks on critical examinations of the history of race and racism in this country is not in a position to help us do that work.”

Hurabiell has been endorsed by at least two local Democratic clubs in their race so far this year: the Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club and the United Democratic Club. These endorsements can be especially key in political races that don’t have as much funding, like down-ballot college board races.

When reached by text, Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club President Bruce Agid said he was not aware of Hurabiell’s tweet about critical race theory, and that he would discuss her views with his club’s board. Bobak Esfandiari, president of the United Democratic Club, did not answer texts inquiring about the club’s endorsement of Hurabiell.

Failes-Carpenter said the clubs should reconsider their endorsements.

“I would ask them to stand by students and by public educators that have committed to fighting racism within our public institutions and within our educational institutions, by not endorsing and supporting candidates who are openly hostile to anti-racist analyzes and anti-racist teaching, ” she said.

The endorsement of Hurabiell by two Democratic clubs may be an odd choice for another reason: For two decades Hurabiell was a Republican. She was appointed to the Presidio Trust Board of Directors, where she served for three years, by former President Donald Trump in 2018.

Records from the San Francisco Department of Elections show she was a registered Republican in San Francisco from at least 2000, which is as far back as more easily accessible records could reveal. She changed her party preference to Democrat on Aug. 18, 2022 — six days after she filed paperwork to run for the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees.

San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Honey Mahogany said the organization’s bylaws do not specify how long someone needs to be registered as a Democrat before a Democratic club can endorse them. Furthermore, Democratic clubs are allowed to endorse someone of any party in nonpartisan races, like for City College’s Board of Trustees.

Hurabiell would have had an uphill battle running for office advertising herself as a Republican in San Francisco, where the party is widely disfavored in local elections.

San Francisco has no elected Republicans in office. The last Republican elected in San Francisco was the late James Fang, who formerly sat on the BART Board of Directors. He was first elected in 1990 and served until his defeat in 2014.

Hurabiell said she changed her party registration after joining a group called “No Labels,” and finding moderate Democrats who agreed with her on issues, but disliked her being known as a Republican Party member.

“We just wanted to solve problems. We just wanted to work together and effect positive change in our community,” she said.

The San Francisco Chronicle praised Hurabiell during her 2020 run for the college board — which she lost — endorsing her for “fiscal savvy.” Indeed, in her interview with KQED, she professed a desire to set City College on a fiscally solvent path, and expressed concern that too many classes that are still being offered are under-enrolled.

When Hurabiell said she didn’t know much about CRT, we asked whether she believed in other progressive causes that may be valued at City College, like the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I’m not sure I fully understand that movement,” she said, repeating her same explanation for having no stance on CRT. While the death of George Floyd left her “disgusted and devastated,” she said, “I want to say yes to that, but again I’m not sure I understand enough about it.”

Responding to Hurabiell’s repeated claims of not understanding both CRT and the Black Lives Matter movement, Jane Kim, state director of the California Working Families Party — who championed and won free City College tuition during her time on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — bristled.

“Listen, it is one thing for an individual in our society or to say that they don’t know a lot about critical race theory or Black Lives Matter, but if you are a candidate that is running to represent over 800,000 residents of San Francisco , many of whom are people of color, then I think that it is your job to understand those things,” Kim said. “If you don’t understand the Black community, the Latino community, API community, then you shouldn’t be running for office.”

The post Former Lengthy-Time Republican, Now Democrat and Candidate for San Francisco Metropolis School Board, in Sizzling Water Over Tweet Opposing Important Race Principle appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

WATERTOWN – Ahead of the forecasted scorcher of a weekend, HVAC companies throughout our area report being overwhelmed with calls.

“Everyone is inundated with phone calls right now. We are doing our best to keep up,” said Steven Akian owner of Akian Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning. The company is in its fifth year but Akian himself has nearly 15 years of experience in the HVAC business.

“They can’t find people to service their equipment,” Akian said of customers calling in. “Customers are turning on their ACs and they are either not turning on or not blowing out cold air. That’s a problem.”

Akian said this time of year, they usually see roughly 60 calls a day for service, but that number has jumped drastically this week. The company received 297 phone calls on Monday alone.

Most of those callers have had to be turned away.

If you’re turning your AC on for the first time this season, Akian recommended having your cooling systems refrigerant levels checked, along with the accuracy of your thermostat.

Akian does not recommend people waiting as long as possible to turn on their air conditioner. He said it often results in people discovering issues when it’s too late.

Brandon Truitt

Brandon Truitt joined WBZ-TV in January 2022 after working as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WPRI in Providence, Rhode Island. Before WPRI, Truitt worked at WNCT in Greenville, North Carolina, where he began his career in broadcast journalism.

The post HVAC corporations overwhelmed with calls forward of sizzling weekend appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Belvedere Island, Marin County, $60mn

Where On the southern tip of Belvedere Island in the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco airport is a 45-minute drive via the Golden Gate Bridge, in clear traffic.

What A dramatically positioned three-bedroom home spread across four floors with a detached one-bedroom guest house. The building follows the contours of the site, with a large deck looking over the bay. There is a two-storey entertainment room, a wet bar and an outdoor pool.

why Uninterrupted views of Sausalito, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco’s skyline.

Who Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty

Woodside, San Mateo County, $84mn

Where In the small town of Woodside. Central San Francisco and the city’s international airport are a half-hour drive away.

What A recently completed compound consisting of a villa-style main house, an office building, a guest house and a spa. Further amenities include a separate catering kitchen, 6,000-bottle wine room, golf-simulator lounge, 65ft pool and a 14.4 Atmos Dolby screening lounge.

why The property is within a 15-minute drive of the tech hubs Palo Alto and Menlo Park while also having easy access to nature. Plenty of hiking, mountain biking and horseriding trails are nearby, with the redwood trees and open meadows of Wunderlich County Park a five-minute drive away.

Who compass

Rincon Hill, San Francisco, $15mn

Where In north-eastern San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood, which lies on one of the city’s “seven hills”. The airport is 20 minutes away by car.

What An eight-bedroom house built in 2020, split into a main and guest residence. The property has marble kitchens and bathrooms, a temperature-controlled wine room, a media/fitness studio and a lift.

why A roof terrace offers views of the city skyline and has a built-in gas firepit.

Who Vanguard Properties

Mission Dolores, San Francisco, $5,995m

Where In the Mission Dolores district of central San Francisco, a 20-minute drive north of the city’s airport.

What A four-bedroom condominium on three floors, in a building that has been converted into a loft style with exposed brick walls, polished concrete and hardwood floors, and ceilings of up to 30ft. There is a shared garden.

why The property is in a domed church originally built in 1915, and across the street from the green space of Mission Dolores Park.

Who compass

Mill Valley, Marin County, $3,495mn

Where About 15 miles north of San Francisco — a 35-minute drive via the Golden Gate Bridge. Berkeley and its university are about 40 minutes’ drive via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

What A three-bedroom main house and one-bedroom cottage on 3 acres. Both buildings have decks looking on to surrounding forests.

why The secluded property lies just east of Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Muir Woods National Monument, and is surrounded by hiking trails.

Who Sotheby’s International Realty

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The post Sizzling property: 5 houses on the market within the San Francisco Bay Space appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

DUBLIN (KPIX 5) – As interest rates creep up, many thought it would mean some potential home buyers would back off. So far, that doesn’t seem to be the case in the Bay Area’s red-hot market.

March was another record month for California and Bay Area real estate. The median single-family home price in California, in March, was $849,080, according to the California Association of Realtors.

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Here were the median sale prices for single-family homes in the nine Bay Area counties:
• Alameda: $1,430,000
• Con Costa: $965,900
• Marine: $1,737,500
• Napa: $998,000
• San Francisco: $2,060,000
• San Mateo: $2,280,000
• Santa Clara: $1,950,000
• Sonoma: $833,750
• Solano: $604,000

“The headlines are screaming historically high sales prices. The finer print is, people still want to buy homes,” said David Stark, with the Bay East Association of Realtors. “If you look at how long a home was on the market, it’s at historically low levels, which tells us that buyers are not only willing to pay those prices, but they’re willing to pay those prices quickly.”

Mortgage interest rates are rising. However, that phenomenon doesn’t seem to have had an effect on the market yet, according to John Levine, the VP & Chief Economist of the California Association of Realtors.

“Even as rates have really, surged over the course of the last eight weeks or so, we haven’t seen that affect buyer demand for several reasons,” Levine told KPIX 5. “But the bottom line is, we still have ultimately too many buyers and not enough homes to put them in, that’s keeping the market relatively strong.”

In March, for the first time in about two years, the inventory of available homes did not shrink, according to the latest figures.

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“It is significant that we actually have more for the first time in a very long time. We still have a long way to go to get back toward something that looks normal,” Levine said. “But, I think for those buyers in particular who really do want to move forward with those transactions and get in while the gettin’ was good as it were with rates, that’s good news in the sense that they might have a few more options moving forward.”

Bay East President and Realtor Sheila Cunha tells KPIX 5 while the market is still “crazy,” it’s not quite as crazy as it was a few months ago.

“We’re not seeing quite as many offers right now as we did four or five months ago,” she said.

Cunha believes the rising interest rates will ultimately lead to some potential homebuyers backing off, but doesn’t think that’ll happen until the summertime.

“I think it’s coming. I think as the Fed continue to raise the interest rates you’ll see buyers not being able to afford what they once could,” she said.

As for the inventory, she thinks that will slowly start to increase as well.

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“Spring is usually our busiest season,” she said. “I think we’ll start seeing more homes coming on the market.”

The post Regardless of Rising Curiosity Charges, Bay Space’s Sizzling Housing Market But To Cool Off – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

The San Francisco Bay Area was sunny over the weekend, and the dry and unusually warm conditions are expected to last most of the work week, with afternoon temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal, the National Weather Service said.

The sunny weather is the result of a high pressure ridge stretching across California and the southwestern desert. The ridge prevents storms from entering California from the Pacific Ocean.

“It acts like a blocking mechanism and directs all of the moisture into the Pacific Northwest,” said Sarah McCorkle, a meteorologist with the Meteorological Service.

A temperature gauge at the Oakland Museum peaked at 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 70 degrees on the same day in 2002.

San Francisco International Airport recorded a high of 70 on Saturday, following the same daily record from 1995.

A new high temp record (73 degrees) was set in Downtown Oakland today and 2 records were set equal (SFO and Salinas Arpt). The above average temps will last all week. #Cawx pic.twitter.com/yzyuFuVItS

– NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) November 29, 2021

Afternoon temperatures are expected to stay above average through Thursday, with afternoon highs between the mid-60s and mid-70s. Wednesday is likely to be the hottest day of the week. San Francisco is projected to peak at 68, Oakland 69, San Jose 73, and Santa Rosa 74. In the south of the Bay Area, Monterey County could see 80s in the inland valleys.

While the weather is great if you want to dine and hike al fresco, it’s not what the region needs in a drought right now. The Bay Area got off to a wet start to the rainy season, with a moisture-rich atmospheric river that dropped record rainfall in October, but Matt Mehle, a forecaster for the weather service, told KCBS that the benefits will wear off quickly if the dry weather persists.

From Monday through December 6th or 7th there was no sign of rain and the likelihood of significant rainfall remained low.

The post Temperatures break file in San Francisco Bay Space. How scorching will it get this week? appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

As rental prices continue to rise, many tenants are looking for new cities to move to.

Remote working life, price volatility, and COVID-19 restrictions mean more renters pick up and leave when looking for more affordable accommodations, according to Apartment List’s quarterly data Tenant Migration Report. And some of the hottest tech cities like San Jose, CA, Raleigh, NC, and Austin, TX, in Silicon Valley, have some of the biggest sales as renters drive in and out of these areas.

Almost 40% of tenants who searched for apartments on the website searched in a different metropolitan area than their current location. And 26% looked in another state.

The report was based on rental inquiries on the apartment listing between July 1 and September 30. Subways include the capital and surrounding cities, suburbs, and smaller towns.

“We are definitely seeing the flexibilization effect of remote work,” says Rob Warnock, Senior Research Associate at Apartment List. “The pandemic has really shifted people’s priorities and what they want from their housing, and affordability has become a scarce commodity. People are rethinking where they want to be tenants, what suits their personal lifestyle and economic situation. “

In fact, urban rents rose dramatically across the country in 2021. At the national level, median rents have risen by more than 16% since January. In some hot cities, the increase was more than double.

‘Revolving Door’ Rental Markets

Some of the largest renters are moving in and out of technology hotspots where many residents can work remotely. Raleigh and San Jose in particular had the highest numbers (more than 50%) of renters moving to and from the cities. Austin also has a high turnover.

“These cities are in a technology-friendly part of the country where we know remote work is the most common. Some people will take advantage of it, while others say, ‘This is my chance to move to a city and do something that used to be unaffordable,’ ”says Warnock.

There are now fewer than half a dozen cities where rental prices are even lower than they were before the pandemic. Two of the most expensive places in the country, San Francisco and San Jose, are among the regions that technically still have a discount, according to Apartment List estimates.

But that doesn’t mean there are a lot of bargains out there. In San Francisco, the median rental price for a one-bedroom apartment was $ 3,300, while in San Jose it was $ 2,809, according to Apartment List.

Florida is still a hot spot for New Yorkers

New Yorkers are still hot for Florida, with its warm weather and no income tax. About 14% of New York renters were looking for apartments in the Sunshine State. And 10% hunted in cheaper Pennsylvania and another 10% searched other parts of New York state. About 7% looked at California real estate.

Miami is the # 1 city for New York renters, with 6.1% of searches leaving the Big Apple. The Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, Florida subways are other areas New Yorkers are looking for housing.

As New Yorkers continue to plant new roots in Florida, there is also an influx of new renters from California, says Rose Kemp, an Orlando-based real estate agent with Re / Max Town Center. She also noted that the “snowbird” trend of older renters leaving the northern states in winter for warm weather continues.

“We get people from all over the place, and even more so from new places like California. That has never happened before, ”she says. “We’re seeing more and more people from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania leaving cold-weather states. We cannot build homes fast enough. Our inventory is small and the rentals are hot and in demand. “

Emigrated from California

Most renters planning to move to another city are from California, according to the Apartment List report. Golden State renters have their sights set on Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. In Nevada in particular, more than half of all apartment searches came from people living in California because there is a cheaper alternative nearby.

More California renters appear increasingly affected by the state’s progressive policies and potentially its COVID-19 restrictions, the report suggests. California’s net population suffered a record slump in 2020 when it lost more than 182,000 residents in the wake of COVID-19, according to the Associated press.

High government taxes could also be a reason for emigration. The median sales price of a single family home in California rose 23.9% in March to $ 758,990, the company said AP.

“The way that state governments and local leaders run cities and states has a huge impact on whether they want to stay or not,” says Kemp.

The post Renters Are Shifting out and in of These Sizzling Cities the Most appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

BIG SUR, Monterey County (CBS SF / CNN) – When the willow fire broke out in the coastal wilderness near Big Sur, the Little Tujunga Hot Shots were among the crews who helped fight the fire.

By Monday morning, the fire had burned 2,877 acres and 56 percent contained, and there was little doubt how the Hot Shots’ expertise had helped in the difficult gun battle.

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Other Hot Shot crews battled the lava fire that raged in the woods of Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California on Monday morning.

But this vital resource is under threat as the forest fire season is just beginning. Veteran Hot Shot firefighters like Aaron Humphrey are leaving the service.

Humphrey was among the firefighters who responded to the deadly 2018 Carr Fire that ripped through Redding. He watched in horror as a fire tornado – Firenado – wiped out entire neighborhoods. It still haunts the former hotshot overseer.

“You are in a fog, expecting death or disaster around every corner … It has collectively killed my keen mind,” said Humphrey, 44, of the fire tornado.

“Hump,” as other firefighters and friends call him, oversaw US Forest Service hot-shot crews on bubble-generating hikes to dig fire lines, cut trees, and light fires to fight advancing flames. Hotshot crews of 20-22 lead fire attacks, and it’s not uncommon for them to hike 10 miles a day with packages of fire gear that can weigh up to 45 pounds.

Hump ​​rose from being a seasonal firefighter to the prestigious position of Supervisor at Eldorado Hotshots. He called it the “best job in the world”.

But he stopped a year ago.

After 25 years, Hump says he’s just the newest, mentally insane, underpaid hotshot veteran to leave, at a time when the California wildfires are worst.

Hotshots go for better pay

The pay gap between state hotshots, most of whom are employed by the US Forest Service, and firefighters for other jurisdictions is staggering.

Forest Service Union vice president David Alicea, California, says federal hotshots make $ 13.50 an hour for the first year.

“Yes, you can work overtime, but we’re grinding them through the meat grinder,” Alicea told CNN. “We abuse them because we are under staff shortage and they don’t get their rest periods. They are fired when the fire season is over and they choose not to return. “

These usually young, seasonal firefighters are some of the ones who leave. But all levels of firefighters go further, including the top managers who have the most experience.

“We have seen human resource challenges due to issues such as pay, remote and hard-to-fill positions, a competitive job market, and the physical and psychological stress on fire fighters year-round,” said Regina Corbin, a US forest service spokeswoman told CNN via E-mail.

Corbin said Region 5, which also includes California, is converting temporary seasonal jobs to permanent full-time positions to improve recruitment and retention.

She says the problems are not new and apply to other federal fire fighters.

Alicea agrees.

“We’re at the bottom of the engine crews,” he said. “I know three or four forests that are not occupied.”

He estimates they’ll be short of 35 key hotshots in California this summer.

Senator Dianne Feinstein urged the US Forest Service in a May hearing on how to prevent hotshots from being lost to other places with higher salaries.

“We have 19 million hectares” [of California forestland] under federal jurisdiction, “Feinstein said at the May 26 hearing on Capitol Hill. “The state salary is $ 70,000 that Cal Fire pays a state firefighter. The United States Forest Service pays $ 38,000. “

During the hearing, US Forest Service chief Vicki Christiansen confirmed that the average annual wage for a US Forest Service firefighter is $ 38,000.

“Government, local, and private entities can range from $ 70,000 to $ 88,000 a year, and their benefits are better,” she said.

On Wednesday, Senators Feinstein and Alex Padilla, Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona and Steve Daines from Montana wrote a letter proposing a plan to increase federal fire service wages. They are asking the Financial Services Subcommittee and the State to include this in the 2022 Financing Act, according to the letter.

Fires are getting worse and worse

Experts fear another terrible forest fire season – possibly worse than 2020, the most active fire season California has ever seen. The ongoing drought in the west is also fueling the fires, just one of the ways climate change is making the crisis worse.

The recent fires are part of a larger trend in California.

The seven largest forest fires in the state’s history occurred in the past four years, according to Cal Fire. The Carr Fire, which changed Hump’s perspective on his work, was ranked the twelfth largest fire in the state’s history.

The increase in forest fire intensity and acres burned in California can only be explained by considering climate change, according to a recent analysis of several peer-reviewed studies. Land management plays a role in this, experts say, but it alone cannot explain why the state fires have become so much more devastating.

In addition to more violent fires, a relentless drought, and another major fire season on the horizon, California is losing Hotshots, the rock star firefighters with a track record of successfully fighting these mega-fires.

“I had to be at home with my family,” Hump told CNN. “The stress I brought home (from massive fires) – I didn’t recognize myself anymore.”

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Hump, a married father with three children, ages 12, 10, and 8, now works for Pacific Gas and Electric as head of the utility’s security team.

Hump ​​says he paid at least $ 40,000 more annually than he previously made as a hot supervisor. The money is sure to come as he now attends all of his children’s events and even trains flag football.

Not enough firefighters to form hot-shot crews

There’s a shortage of hotshots across the country, but California hotshots are hit harder, according to Jonathan Miller, chairman of the National Forest Service Firefighters Union.

“We saw some wear and tear on federal crews and machinery, but nothing like the scarcity in California,” Miller said.

Alicea says 15 California Interagency Hotshot crews don’t have enough members to be activated as a full fire department unit. CNN has received a CIHC document confirming this figure.

When a hotshot crew isn’t big enough, fires are harder to fight, says Hump. Smaller crews cannot split up into small squads as effectively or help teams with special missions.

Members with special qualifications must be referred to as the hotshot crew, nicknamed for fighting the hottest fires. These crews are trained to manage “strategic and tactical forest fires,” according to the US Forest Service website.

Two crews, Modoc and Horseshoe Meadow, operate as even less staffed fire fighting modules.

The Eldorado Hotshots could soon lose another seasoned manager, Captain DJ McIlhargie.

“I have five irons in the fire right now,” McIlhargie told CNN. “I’m looking for something that will help my family more. And my wife knows that I’m tired of waiting for the forest service to pay me a reasonable salary that corresponds to the other departments. “

McIlhargie, father of two boys, 7 and 10, lives an hour outside of Sacramento. He described feeling “wiped out” and “frustrated” as he battled the most recent series of superfires.

McIlhargie, 39, says there just aren’t enough firefighters to tackle massive fires like the one that devastated northern California last year.

He says the Eldorado Hotshots spent a month stopping the largest forest fire in California history, the August Complex fire that burned more than 1 million acres.

The years in the firefight wear down the hotshots from helmets to boots, says McIlhargie.

“My knees hurt every day,” he says. “My rotator cuffs are ratcheting and clicking from swinging tools and carrying canisters (used for explosives) and carrying saws and carrying your (rucksack) backpack.”

“Your freedom of movement in your hips is starting to decrease,” McIlhargie said.

More houses are on fire without enough hotshots
If vacant hotshot positions fail to be filled, firefighters interviewed by CNN said more houses will burn.

“It used to be hotshots for us to be in the mountains, in the hinterland to fight these fires,” said McIlhargie. “Now it seems that every single fire has an element of wild country fire and urban interface.”

Maeve Juarez spent a year as a Redding Hotshot in 2004.

The 41-year-old mother of two gave up her job with the US government as battalion chief in the Los Padres National Forest four years ago.

“I left because I took a better-paying job with the Montecito Fire Department that allowed me to spend more time with my children and be less stressed,” she said.

Juarez says the pay is significantly higher in her new role as Wildfire Specialist in Montecito.

Due to her experience, Juarez serves as the head of the fire department, a kind of general directorate of fire brigade troops of many authorities.

Juarez says the loss of hotshots, especially from supervisors, to other jobs is hampering California’s efforts to fight mega-fires.

“These superheroes know the terrain, what kind of scrub burns, and how an area burned in the past,” said Juarez. “They are a big part of our fire-fighting decision making, strategy and tactics.”

She added, “When a seasoned superintendent leaves, we lose that experience and they are our backbone.”

Hump ​​remembers his heated decades, visions of firefights, falling trees, severely burned crew members and dying hotshots. He helped set up a memorial service in Arizona for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed in a fire eight years ago.

“It’s that sense of doom that every fire makes you lose someone you care about,” said Hump. “It’s scary. It’s hard to communicate with your family because you don’t want to scare them. You just hug her and you never want to leave. “

After leaving the demise of that deadly fire tornado in 2018, Hump looks to this July 4th to do something he’s never done before.

“I plan to teach my children how to fish,” he said. “I never had the time.”

MORE NEWS: Rising gasoline prices, crowded highways predicted for the July 4th holidays

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The post Federal Sizzling Shot Hearth Crews Going through Labor Scarcity As Wildfire Season Begins In Earnest – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Here’s a sign of how overheated certain North Bay real estate markets can get: A 3,200-square-foot home in the hills east of Rohnert Park was on the market for just 21 days, received seven offers, and was for $ 1.615 million earlier this month sold sold, which was $ 315,000 above the offer price.

While that seller left North Bay for Hawaii in part from fatigue with forest fires and power cuts, Bay Area buyers are coming to replace them – if they can find a home to buy, according to Jeff Schween, a Compass agent who sold it At home.

“Markets are thickening, with more demand and less supply, so there’s a gap between the two,” he said.

And that gap is widening, according to Gerry Snedaker, agent for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wine Country Group. The inventory of homes for sale in Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties was 1,450 last month, according to the BAREIS multiple listing service figures he cited. That offer is 41% below a year a year ago when the lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic turned the market for new offers on its head and last month’s inventory was only 19 more than at the end of February.

Meanwhile, North Bay sales rose 34% last month (1,858) versus February (1,386) and were 72% above the March 2020 pandemic-trapped market (1,082).

Sonoma County had 0.9 months of listings of homes and condos for sale at the end of March, given 574 month-end listings and 667 sales this month, MLS data showed. The Napa County supply decreased from two months in February to 1.2 months in March. Marin County had a 0.7 month supply last month.

Snedaker likes to gauge where pricing is headed by following the proportions of homes selling below or above their asking prices. Nationally, about a third of MLS deals sell for less than asking price, but last month that percentage ranged from a low of 17.5% in Mendocino County to a high of 21% in the North Bay, like him based on the data. And last month’s sales-to-asking price ratio started at 37% of Mendocino County’s stores and rose to 54% of Sonoma County’s deals.

The North Bay real estate market is a reflection of what is happening across the country. Although total sales declined for the second straight month in March, prices remained under upward pressure, according to the National Association of Realtors. All regions in the country saw double-digit price increases, bringing the nationwide median price for existing homes to a new record of $ 329,000, up 17.2% from a year earlier, and the median for single-family homes soaring 18.4% to $ 334,500, too Record.

Robert Eyler, a regional North Bay economist from Sonoma State University, told the Business Journal that at this point in time, strong average home price growth in 2020 is expected to continue into this year.

“Low interest rates and maintaining high-income jobs (are) in the process of fueling demand,” Eyler wrote in an email.

As of the end of March, the national housing stock rose slightly to 1.07 million units, but fell by 28.2% year-on-year, reported the real estate trading group. The market time fell to 18 days, also a record low.

Schween worries about the “buyer fatigue” among all the potential buyers whose bids do not win the house keys. In this and previous boom markets, he has seen some being pushed out of the market for a while because of the emotional strain of competing for a dream home.

“I’m sure we will see this in the market, but whether it will be this year or next will be a factor in the amount of people who appear in the market,” he said.

Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction, and real estate. Prior to the Business Journal, he wrote for the Bay City News Service in San Francisco. He graduated from Walla Walla University. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.

The post San Francisco North Bay housing market will get unseasonably sizzling in March appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Here’s a sign of how overheated certain North Bay real estate markets can get: A 3,200-square-foot home in the hills east of Rohnert Park was on the market for just 21 days, received seven offers, and was for $ 1.615 million earlier this month sold sold, which was $ 315,000 above the offer price.

While that seller left North Bay for Hawaii in part from fatigue with forest fires and power cuts, Bay Area buyers are coming to replace them – if they can find a home to buy, according to Jeff Schween, a Compass agent who sold it At home.

“Markets are thickening, with more demand and less supply, so there’s a gap between the two,” he said.

And that gap is widening, according to Gerry Snedaker, agent for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wine Country Group. The inventory of homes for sale in Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Napa, Mendocino, and Lake counties was 1,450 last month, according to the BAREIS Multiple Listing Service figures he cited. That offer is 41% below a year a year ago when the lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic turned the market for new offers on its head and last month’s inventory was only 19 more than at the end of February.

Meanwhile, North Bay sales rose 34% last month (1,858) versus February (1,386) and were 72% above the March 2020 pandemic-trapped market (1,082).

Sonoma County had 0.9 months of listings of homes and condos for sale at the end of March, given 574 month-end listings and 667 sales this month, MLS data showed. The Napa County supply decreased from two months in February to 1.2 months in March. Marin County had a 0.7 month supply last month.

Snedaker likes to gauge where pricing is headed by following the proportions of homes selling below or above their asking prices. Nationally, about a third of MLS deals sell for less than asking price, but last month that percentage ranged from a low of 17.5% in Mendocino County to a high of 21% in the North Bay, like him based on the data. And last month’s sales-to-asking ratio started at 37% of Mendocino County’s stores and rose to 54% of Sonoma County’s deals.

The North Bay real estate market is a reflection of what is happening across the country. Although total sales declined for the second straight month in March, prices remained under upward pressure, according to the National Association of Realtors. All regions in the country saw double-digit price increases, bringing the nationwide median price for existing homes to a new record of $ 329,000, up 17.2% from a year earlier, and the median for single-family homes soaring 18.4% to $ 334,500, too Record.

Robert Eyler, a regional North Bay economist from Sonoma State University, told the Business Journal that at this point in time, strong average home price growth in 2020 is expected to continue into this year.

“Low interest rates and maintaining high-income jobs (are) in the process of fueling demand,” Eyler wrote in an email.

As of the end of March, the national housing stock rose slightly to 1.07 million units, but fell by 28.2% year-on-year, reported the real estate trading group. The market time fell to 18 days, also a record low.

Schween worries about the “buyer fatigue” among all the potential buyers whose bids do not win the house keys. In this and previous boom markets, he has seen some being pushed out of the market for a while because of the emotional strain of competing for a dream home.

“I’m sure we will see this in the market, but whether it will be this year or next will be a factor in the amount of people who appear in the market,” he said.

Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction, and real estate. Prior to the Business Journal, he wrote for the Bay City News Service in San Francisco. He graduated from Walla Walla University. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.

The post San Francisco North Bay housing market will get unseasonably sizzling in March appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.