A vast and voracious wildfire that has burned at least 80 homes in central California killed an elderly couple as they tried to flee, authorities said.
At least 80 houses were destroyed as the fire leveled neighborhoods and forced thousands to flee.
David Klippel, 78, a retired police officer, said he didn’t see much of a threat after receiving an automated call advising him to leave. That changed dramatically within an hour Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve never been so close to a fast-moving, ferocious fire. It was unbelievable,” said Klippel, who later learned his house had caught fire. “I almost didn’t have time to get out.”
Neighborhoods of mobile homes were charred to their foundations. Gusty winds pushed the flames and smoke farther into drought-starved terrain. The fire is 5 percent contained.
“The forces of nature collided with a spark,” Kern County Fire Chief Brian Marshall said. “The mountainous terrain, five years of drought and wind gusts of over 20 mph all drove a fire over 11 miles in 13 hours.”
Scorching heat and tinder-dry conditions across the West have contributed to massive wildfires in the past week that have destroyed properties and sent residents to seek shelter and hope for the best.
The California blaze erupted quickly, putting some 1,500 homes in jeopardy. Officials said they expect to find many more homes destroyed as the smoke clears and they do a more thorough check of smoldering neighborhoods.
Authorities may have found human remains within a central California wildfire that has claimed two lives and destroyed 150 homes.
Kern County Sherriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt says officials found what appears to be a set of human remains Saturday afternoon. He said because the remains were badly burned, a forensic investigation will determine whether they belonged to a person or animal.
The remains were found in a mobile home that was burned quickly when the fire tore through the South Lake community in the southern Sierra Nevada on Thursday night.
An elderly couple apparently was overcome by smoke as they tried to flee the fire.
The fire has burned nearly 56 square miles of parched brush and timber.
Firefighters now say a California wildfire has burned 150 homes and the toll may rise.
Crews are busy Saturday counting the houses and mobile homes incinerated by a fire raging through rural communities around Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra Nevada.
Whole blocks have burned to the ground as winds drive the flames through small foothill communities. The fire, which began Thursday, has burned some 56 square miles of tinder-dry brush and trees.
More than 1,100 firefighters are on the line.
Evacuees who have spent days at a shelter were warned Saturday that it's unclear when they can return.
Some say they've learned from friends that their homes are gone.
At least 24 people have died and a federal disaster has been declared in West Virginia after heavy rains flooded several towns, prompting search and rescue operations. Both Virginia and West Virginia have declared states of emergency due to the devastating event that has been described as "complete chaos."
"Roads destroyed, bridges out, homes burned down, washed off foundations," said Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill. "Multiple sections of highway just missing. Pavement just peeled off like a banana. I've never seen anything like that."
The news came one day after at least 12 confirmed tornadoes touched down in northern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said. Tens of thousands were left without power across the Midwest as a derecho swept through the region, leaving a trail of damage from Illinois all the way to Virginia.
Here are the latest impacts from these storms:
An unknown number of people remain unaccounted for in Greenbrier County and about 32,000 remained without power throughout West Virginia Saturday.
Saturday a news release from Tomblin's office announced that a federal disaster declaration was approved for assistance in Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties. The declaration provides people in those counties with individual assistance for emergency medical support, housing and a number of other immediate needs.
FEMA has already started assessing damage, according to the Associated Press. The state may still submit additional aid applications to the agency.
With the help of 200 National Guardsmen, local crews in eight counties continue to perform swift water rescues, search and rescue efforts and health and welfare checks, AP also reports.
The governor said he planned to fly around the hardest-hit areas, but was unable to because all the state aircraft are being used for rescues.
Virginia
Officials say three emergency workers were injured during a water rescue in Alleghany County.
Botetourt County Battalion Chief Andrew Moore said by telephone Friday that one worker fell in the water during a rescue in Alleghany County on Thursday night. He says the worker is in critical but stable condition. He says two other workers hurt while rescuing their colleague received minor injuries and were released from a hospital.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe tweeted Thursday night that a state of emergency has been declared, allowing state agencies to bypass some time-consuming procedures to quickly help local governments.
Illinois
As many as 18 reports of tornadoes came in Wednesday night, and NWS survey crews conducted damage surveys along 3 separate supercell paths Thursday morning.
An EF2 tornado was spotted in Marseilles-Seneca Wednesday night, according to NWS. Two separate EF1 tornadoes were also reported that same night in West Brooklyn and Cissna Park.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m. CDT, a large tornado moved into the town of Pontiac, Illinois. The tornado, which the NWS has preliminarily rated an EF2, was left an 11-mile damage path.
Indiana
Severe storms rolled eastward through Indiana late Wednesday evening, damaging several buildings, a radio tower and downing numerous trees across the state.
A tornado spotted 5 miles south-southeast of Huntington was rated EF1 by NWS. It was quickly followed by another tornado, rated an EF2, which traveled in the same area just minutes later. The second tornado crossed the path of the first, according to the damage survey.
A large outbuilding on a farm near Brookston containing several tractors, a combine and other farm equipment had its roof completely ripped off, WTHR reports.
Ohio
The NWS has confirmed a pair of EF0 tornadoes hit the Buckeye State during the severe weather outbreak, with damage surveys ongoing. One tornado was confirmed in Fayette County, east of the Washington courthouse, while the other occurred in Clinton County, southwest of Wilmington.
No injuries have been reported, WLWT.com said, but photos and video from the area showed a variety of damage to trees, wires and some buildings between Waynesville and Wilmington. Trees were also reported down on houses in West College Corner, Madison Township and Hyde Park.
Around 34,000 Duke Energy customers were left without power at one point during the storm.
Does the vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union have prophetic implications for the "Revived Roman Empire" described in the Book of Daniel and Revelation?
This is the question that will be on the mind of Bible Prophecy students for months to come as we watch what happens next in both the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe as more nations now threaten to follow England's lead.
The terms: Swexit, Czexit and Frexit are already being used to describe other movements to pull out of the European Union. Front National leader Marine Le Pen has pledged to hold a French referendum if she emerges victorious in next year's presidential elections.
The Telegraph conducted a poll last month and found nearly half of voters in eight big EU nations want a vote on whether to remain. One third of the respondents said they would leave if they could.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is leading the charge to hold the EU together and asking nations to remain calm before making any rash decisions but even she admitted in a statement, "There is no point beating about the bush: today is a watershed for Europe, it is a watershed for the European unification process."
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has perhaps stated the ramifications for Europe best: "At stake is the breakup pure and simple of the union. Now is the time to invent another Europe."
Another Europe?
The potential for "another Europe" to emerge out of the current crisis has ramifications not only politically and economically but prophetically as well. Surprisingly, even The Economist magazine recognized that this was an important factor for some Protestants voting to leave the Union in their article: "Protestants, leaving Europe is a matter of eschatology".
Relative to most of these descriptions, in describing this final world empire is the number 10; 10 toes, 10 heads and 10 horns. Each give us different understanding but all point to an alliance of 10 nations/leaders that will one day be controlled by the "little horn", the Antichrist.
A Revived Roman Empire of 10?
One of the most significant political and economic developments in our modern era was the EEC Treaty, the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community. It was signed in 1957 in, of all places, Rome!
In fact, there were two treaties, called, amazingly, "Treaties of Rome." One treaty established the European Atomic Energy Community, and the other established the European Economic Community, which later became the European Union.
With the development of the Common Market many students of Bible Prophecy thought this was the start of the 10 nation alliance described in the Book of Revelation. However, most were surprised and confused when it continued to grow past 10, eventually reaching 28 nations.
To reconcile the idea of 10, some alternative ideas to solve this dilemma were put forward, including the potential role of the 10-nation military alliance within the EU, which appeared in Europe in 1995, called the Western European Union.
Another idea floated by some leaders within Europe was the idea of an executive council of 10 to handle the growing size of its nation membership, who would represent the EU populace to an EU President.
Both ideas have some merit but seem unlikely anytime soon. With the United Kingdom pulling out and others threatening to do the same, it gives rise to new speculations.
Will the EU reduce in size to 10 when all the new calls for referendums are completed? Will a new union of nations from within the EU evolve, to also include countries from the Mediterranean area such as Israel, which was also part of the Roman Empire? Will a new, powerful and charismatic leader emerge on the scene to lead what is left of the EU or perhaps create a new alliance of 10 nations that is not yet on the horizon?
We do not know how this will ultimately play out but we do know eventually this prophecy will come to pass. Recent events represent serious change for this region and the world. It is an area that the Bible has a lot to say about in the Last Days and we encourage you to become familiar with the different passages in Daniel and Revelation that reveal what the final world empire will look like.
The victory of Boris Johnson’s “leave” campaign – in the face of Obama’s personal championship of Prime Minister David Cameron’s bid to keep his country in, supported by the Democratic presumptive nominee Hilary Clinton - was a loud and clear signal for politicians running in future elections in the West, including the US presidential vote in November.
Republican candidate Donald Trump’s call to stop Muslim immigration into the US until proper screening measures are in place may sound like an unformed idea, but no other US politician has dared put it on the table, or directly challenge the hollow words and self-righteous hypocrisy of Obama and Clinton on the issues of terror, wars in the Middle East and mass immigration. This alone gives Trump a popular edge in widening circles in the USA over his rival.
Trump is not likely to lose votes either by his pledge to rebuild NATO for leading the West in the war against Islamic terror.
During the five months up until the US presidential election, the West can expect more large-scale ISIS terror coupled with dramatic events in the wars raging in at least seven countries – Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Afghanistan. Refugees in vast numbers will continue to batter down the doors of countries that are increasingly unable and unwilling to accept them.
Wars in general and religious wars in particular, have throughout history thrown up massive shifts of population displaced by violence, plague, falling regimes, famine and economic hardship.
The year 2016 will go down as the year in which Middle East crises spilled over into the west, bringing social change and far-reaching political turmoil in their wake.
And this is only the beginning.
General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russian General Staff, said that Russia’s patience is waning over the situation in Syria. According to him, Russia was in full compliance with its obligations to maintain cease-fire and ensure national reconciliation in Syria, while the US had problems with the «opposition under its control».
Earlier, US State Secretary John Kerry said that Syrian government troops were pushing ahead in an attempt to recapture Aleppo in defiance of the cease-fire agreement. In an unusually harsh statement, John Kerry warned Russia on June 15 that US patience on the Syrian conflict and the fate of its President Bashar Assad was running out.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded saying, Moscow suspects that the West would like to preserve the Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front) terrorist group in some form and use it for the overthrow of Syria’s incumbent government.
What exactly is taking place in Aleppo and does the cease-fire agreement have any prospects for future?
The gist of the problem is that the militant groups in Aleppo are grouped around Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch condemned by UN resolutions the US voted for, that was never part of the cessation of hostilities and kept attacking Syrian government forces, particularly in southern Aleppo.
The State Secretary first argued al-Nusra, which denounced the ceasefire regime, should likewise be exempt from Russian airstrikes.
It was finally agreed that it would be fought after other rebel groups were given enough time to disassociate themselves from it.
The US failed to comply with its obligation and make militants split off from al-Nusra. Extremist groups keep on breaching the ceasefire agreement in Syria.
That’s what made the Russian Aerospace Forces resume business as usual and pound al-Nusra and the groups holding positions in the same areas.
Going back to Mr Kerry’s statement, it should be noted that the US-led coalition does not have the authority to fight the Syrian regime. The US military mission only authorizes strikes that target Islamic State.
There is another aspect of the problem. Is the US sincere? I.H.S. Jane’s, a security research firm, reported that the US supplied the opposition with about 3,000 tons of weapons during the cease-fire.
The US is protecting Ahrar ash-Sham, the al-Nusra’s closest and most powerful ally in Syria.
Pat Lang, a former US defense intelligence officer, said, «The Russians evidently thought they could make an honest deal with US Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama. Well, they were wrong. The US supported jihadis associated with [Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda’s Syria wing] ... merely ‘pocketed’ the truce as an opportunity to re-fit, re-supply and re-position forces. The US must have been complicit in this ruse. Perhaps the Russians have learned from this experience».
The cease-fire has failed. The US has applied no real effort to separate the moderates from al- Nusra around Aleppo as affirmed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The cease-fire did not hasten any political solution. The opposition now has regrouped to start its activities with new vigor and new weapons supplied by Turkey.
Under the circumstance the ceasefire has lost its value for Russia as it lacks cooperation on the part of the US. «It cannot continue this way indefinitely», Gerasimov said in the above mentioned statement.
Addressing an economic forum in St. Petersburg, Sergey Lavrov argued that the reluctance of US-backed Syrian opposition groups to distance themselves from al-Nusra has been a major reason behind continuing fighting. He said the US could be «playing some kind of game here, and they may want to keep al-Nusra in some form and use it to topple the Syrian government».
It is clear that the US has failed to make militants and terrorists under its control in Syria comply with the ceasefire regime. The United States ally Turkey continues to support terrorist groups in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria. To a large extent, Washington is responsible for the consequences. With the peace process stalled and cease-fire breached by US-backed terrorist groups, Russia’s patience is clearly running out. There is still time to address the problem by diplomatic means. The ball is in the US court.
The latest version of the Democrats strategy of denying constitutional rights and due process in the race for a socialist utopia with them in control—is “No Buy, No Fly.” The contention is that anyone on the “No Fly” list should not be able to purchase a gun. No conviction, no due process, no appeal, no knowledge of why you are on the list, no way off the list, and it’s all shrouded in government secrecy, as is all future control of your life.
But consider this…
If someone is dangerous enough to be a danger merely as a passenger on an airplane, so that they can’t fly on an airplane, and that’s why they are on the “No Fly” list, aren’t they also just as much a danger as a passenger on a bus, or a boat, or a train? So shouldn’t they also be banned from all public transportation, Amtrak, and ferry boats? Should cab companies nationwide and Uber be notified not to pick this person up for a ride under any circumstances?
If they are too dangerous to ride as a passenger, then they are far too dangerous to operate a vehicle. Shouldn’t their cars and trucks be confiscated, just in case? If they can’t be trusted to drive, they certainly can’t be trusted to operate a boat, or an airplane.
How can the person on the “No Fly” list be trusted around chemicals like ammonium nitrate, which is used for bombs. So anyone on the “No Fly” list shouldn’t be allowed in fertilizer and farm stores.
Hardware stores should be off limits as well because of claw hammers, bolt cutters, box cutters, saws, wire cutters, knives, in fact an endless list of potential weapons.
Hardware stores should be off limits as well because of claw hammers, bolt cutters, box cutters, saws, wire cutters, knives, in fact an endless list of potential weapons.
Supermarkets have to be banned from access as well, because common household cleaners containing bleach and ammonia can be combined into a poison gas.
They need to be banned from sporting goods stores because of baseball bats and other weapon sources. That would also include pepper spray, tasers, and any self defense device that could be used offensively.
If someone is dangerous enough to be on the “No Fly” list, should they even be allowed to mix with the general public? Perhaps house arrest, or jail is the remedy? Can we trust that someone on the “No Fly” list can really be trusted with anything at all? Isn’t that why we have such a list?
Isn’t it the height of irresponsibility and criminal negligence for the Democrat Party to insist that anyone on the “No Fly” list be banned only from purchasing a gun, and completely absent on all these other potential life threatening and terrorist opportunities? What are they thinking? So unless the “No Fly” list also includes: no private airplanes, buses, trains, boats, ships, cabs, Uber, Lyft, driving, chemicals, cars, trucks, fertilizer, farm stores, hardware stores, supermarkets, sporting goods stores, the internet, computers, libraries, alcohol, bars, public places, marijuana, and includes preventive detention, then why even have a “No Fly” list?
Perhaps it is the “No Fly” list itself that we should be investigating? Both the NRA and the ACLU oppose the suppression of constitutional rights and due process inherent in such a list. Perhaps it is, as we all know, yet another backhanded way to take guns from civilian ownership, while the government stockpiles guns and ammunition, militarizes bureaucrats, and creates armed forces within agencies that have no business or reason to be armed. And history has taught us this trend is never a good thing.
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