Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Fires still choking southern California

CNN:

Although cooler temperatures and calming winds on Friday are expected to help fight the wildfire raging in Southern California, more than 2,100 residential and commercial buildings are still in danger.

Fueled by dry conditions, the blaze has scorched 20,655 acres northwest of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.

Firefighters, who have contained about 20 percent of the fire, may get a break Friday. Temperatures dropped overnight and the wind that whipped the flames Thursday was forecast to calm.

Mandatory evacuations remain in effect. About 1,500 people have been evacuated from the path of the Chatsworth/Topanga fire, according to a statement posted on Ventura County's Web site. Several shelters have been opened, and at least one district closed its schools Friday.

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My daughter in LA reports the smoke is making things uncomfortable. She and her husband and pets retreated to their bedroom running two air filters to deal with the thick smoke in the air.

Update: This LA Times report says there is reason for hope in stopping the fires.

Nearly 3,000 firefighters, aided by still winds and humid air, battled the Topanga fire this morning — a line of flames 10 miles long that has burned 20,000 acres and continues to threaten homes in a dozen communities in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Fueled only by brush and grass, the fire has begun to die out near Calabasas and on the hills overlooking the west San Fernando Valley communities of Bell Canyon, Hidden Hills, West Hills and Chatsworth, where about 800 people have been evacuated. Thursday night, it was halted just north of the 101 Freeway before it could spread toward Malibu and the Pacific Ocean.

Firefighters this morning said the blaze was 20% contained.

"The winds have died down substantially, and that's going to be a big help," said Kurt Schaeffer, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The blaze left large swaths of Ventura County and the Los Angeles Basin veiled in smoke and ash this morning, prompting the South Coast Air Quality Management District to issue a smoke advisory.

Do you really need a smoke advisory when it is that thick, I would think most people would notice. The Times article also has links to some video and "hot" photos.