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Special FBI teams gathered evidence Wednesday as part of a possible arson investigation into the wildfires devastating Southern California.

FBI evidence response teams recovered materials they hoped would identify the source of the fires that have burned for four days. The FBI said a house was not searched, correcting earlier reports from a law enforcement official.

Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington, said the evidence response teams “have been working with other federal, state and local authorities” to identify the source of the fires.

The fires have destroyed 1,500 homes and caused at least a half-million people to flee, in what has become the largest evacuation in state history. San Diego County accounted for at least 1,200 damaged homes, and officials believe that number will rise.

Twenty-one firefighters and at least 24 other people have been injured. One person was killed by the flames, and the San Diego medical examiner’s officer listed five other deaths as connected to the blazes.

Thousands of people remained in emergency shelters, where many had an agonizing wait to find out whether their homes had survived.

President Bush signed a major disaster declaration for California in the wake of the wildfires that have charred about 426,000 acres, or about 665 square miles.

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Astragalus is also known as milk vetch root (referring to astragalus species that grow in the United States) and huang-qi. It is an adaptogen, that is, it has a balancing effect on bodily functions. Astragalus is used by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine to strengthen or tone the body’s overall vitality, improve digestion, and support the spleen.

Studies confirm it contains medicinally active compounds, including a polysaccharide that stimulates the immune system and to increase the body’s resistance to common viruses.

Estee Lauder Cosmetic Co., of New York, opened its own research center in Shanghai in late 2005, and offers such products as Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Face Serum, with reishi mushroom, and Re-nutriv Ultimate Lifting Serum, with Astragalus root to fight wrinkles.

Coca-Cola Co. has announced the opening of a research center for health-and-wellness drinks at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, in Beijing. The launch makes Coke the first international company to start a research facility at the institution, the Atlanta company said. The drinks will be made from traditional Chinese herbs and flowers such as chrysanthemum and myrobalan, a prune-like fruit rich in antioxidants.

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City councilman, Brian Maienschein and seven staff members walked the community to produce a list of homes destroyed by the Witch Creek fire. Maienschein estimated there were roughly 350 residences lost and planned to post the addresses on the city’s Web site by Tuesday afternoon.

Most of the devastation is concentrated east of Interstate 15 near the West Bernardo Road exit in the subdivisions of Westwood, Montelena, The Trails and Greens East.

Scripps Ranch, which Maienschein also represents, was hit hard by the Cedar fire. The councilman remembered the frustration felt by homeowners who didn’t know whether to remain hopeful their homes survived or to mentally prepare for the rebuilding process.

The group walked the community block-by-block and wrote down the addresses of the homes that were destroyed. Compared to Scripps Ranch, more homes were damaged over a larger area, while the Cedar fire leveled whole blocks in Scripps Ranch.

Maienschein was astonished by the randomness: on one block there were five homes destroyed, while one stood untouched. Many are burned to the ground, along with all of the contents.

Four major fires ripping across San Diego County have burned at least 263,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 1,750 homes and 100 businesses. More than 500,000 people have been told to evacuate.

The monster Witch Creek fire is expected to join with the Poomacha fire, which started overnight on the La Jolla Indian Reservation, by the end of the day.

New evacuation orders were issued outside Julian and on Palomar Mountain.

In South County, the Harris Fire has shifted direction and is headed toward Rancho San Diego and Jamul, leaving Bonita and Sunnyside basically unscathed, and officials may let those people return this afternoon. The two-day-old blaze has blackened more than 70,000 acres.

Official website of Brian Maienschein

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San Diego County School Closures Updates for Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Public Schools

All San Diego County public schools will be closed through the weekend, including all sports events and practices.

Private Schools

All Catholic schools run by the San Diego Diocese

Barona Indian Charter School

Calvary Christian Academy in Chula Vista

Chabad Hebrew Academy

Francis Parker School

Horizon Christian Schools

La Jolla Country Day School

Tri-City Christian School in Vista

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School

Santa Fe Christian Schools

Colleges In San Diego Area

The following schools have announced they have canceled classes Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007:

California Western School of Law
Palomar College
Point Loma Nazarene University (closed through Friday)
University of California San Diego, including all four UCSD extension locations All UCSD health care clinics and hospitals are open. (Classes will resume Monday)
San Diego Community College District, which includes Mesa, Miramar and City colleges and six adult education centers.
San Diego State University (Classes canceled through Saturday)
Southwestern College (closed through Friday)

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Interactive Map of San Diego County Fires Map, Updated October 23, 2007

Map of California Fires including North and South San Diego County.

The KPBS.org put together a excellent map of the San Diego Conty Fires. Built on Google Maps. Fires show fire icons of major fire, and you can click on the other icons for more information about the incident.

Updated 11:00 AM October 23, 2007

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Map of California Fires including LA County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County.

The Los Angeles Times put together a excellent map of the Southern California Fires. Built on Google Maps. California fires show fire icons of major fire, and you can click on the flames for more information about the incident. Updated by LA Times.

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The raging wildfires that forced the evacuations of a quarter-million people in southern California are disrupting the production of several TV shows and prompting local TV stations to pre-empt network programming for continuous coverage of the disaster.

“24″ was scheduled to film scenes featuring star Kiefer Sutherland at the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine on Monday and Tuesday. Sutherland was on the set in one of the base’s hangars when filming was canceled at 7:30 a.m. Monday because of health reasons; the cast and crew had blurry eyes and difficulty breathing and were coughing from the smoke.

The show’s producers scrambled to get other actors not scheduled to work Monday to go to the show’s stages, where they were joined by Sutherland and the crew to shoot shorter scenes that don’t require extensive preparation.

“By 1 p.m. we’re back here and had shot two other scenes,” line producer Michael Klick said. “When the dust settles, we probably lost five hours worth of work, and we have to reschedule the two days we missed.”

It was not clear if the missed scenes would be filmed at the base or someplace else.

CBS’ “Cold Case” was among several other series that suffered minor fire-related production glitches. Its sets in Simi Valley were blown over by the strong winds Sunday, so the producers had to select another location.

ABC’s “Big Shots” scrapped a cycling sequence it was planning to shoot Tuesday in Malibu.

FX’s “The Riches” filmed in the Santa Clarita area Monday as scheduled. The production was to have used Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies for traffic control, but after they were pulled away to help fire crews get to blazing areas, the Santa Clarita Film Commission worked with the crew to rejigger the shoot so that deputies wouldn’t be needed.

Production on CBS’ “NCIS” — whose stages and locations are so close to the Stevenson Ranch fire that people on the show could see the smoke — was not affected, but producers had to sub for a number of crew members who stayed home to protect their houses from the blaze.

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Residents in Bella Lago, Chula Vista issued voluntary evacuations

Harris Fire Updates:

The city of Chula Vista is staging voluntary evacuations for eastern portions of the city as the deadly Harris fire continues. The Harris fire, which has burned more than 20,000 acres and is only 5 percent contained, has killed one person and injured 18 more, including four firefighters.

As the Harris Fire advances, teams of Chula Vista police officers are fanning out to alert residents in Bella Lago, the Woods at Eastlake, areas of San Miguel Ranch and areas of Rolling Hills Ranch.

Evacuation boundaries are east of Mt. Miguel Road, north of Proctor Valley Road, east of Hunte Parkway and north of Otay Lakes Road.

Firefighters became concerned about the path of the fire when it jumped Otay Lakes Road at Thousand Trails Park, according to a city news release issued at 5:00 p.m.

Once residents have been given notice to evacuate, they will not be allowed back in the area until further notice.

Evacuation Center:

Chula Vista High School
820 Fourth Ave.
Chula Vista, CA

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Steele Canyon High School
12440 Campo Rd,
Spring Valley, CA 91978

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Santana High School
9915 N. Magnolia Ave.
Santee, CA 92071
(619) 596-3657

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Road Closures Updates:

• State Route 94 is closed from Otay Lakes Road to Forest Gate Road. Honey Springs Road nearby is also closed.
• Eastbound Interstate 8 near Viejas casino closed to large trucks and other high-profile vehicles. The CHP is diverting all traffic off the East Willows Road exit.

Southwestern College will be closed for the next two days.

“We’re in a very defensive mode,” said Cal Fire spokeswoman Julie Hutchinson. “Because of the winds and the directions that they’re coming from, it’s difficult to contain in one area.”

More than 400 firefighters are on the scene, though battling the unpredictable fire is a challenge.

Arturo Aragon, an investigator with the Baja California Civil Protection Agency, said portions of the fire on the U.S. side crossed into Mexico on Sunday but local firefighters were able to control it. He said a change in the winds Monday turned that fire north.

A separate fire started in Mexico early Monday and destroyed several structures at the well-known Rancho La Puerta, a 3,000-acre luxury spa in the Tecate area, according to Mexican authorities.

Other Wildfires Updates:

The Descanso fire, which started about 3 a.m. at Boulder Creek and Eagle Peak and is also being called the McCoy fire, had burned 400 acres as of 10:30 a.m. Monday. The fire is 5 percent contained but is easier to control and should be out by Tuesday, officials said.

One house and one other structure have been destroyed, officials said. There are no reports of injuries. No mandatory evacuations have been ordered, but the communities of Descanso, Pine Hills, Sherilton, the Peutz Valley as well as the Viejas Indian Reservation are threatened.

The Descanso fire broke out in very steep terrain and and high winds are driving the blaze in different directions.

Five engine companies with 30 firefighters are battling the blaze and resources are an issues as the bulk of manpower is being channeled to the larger Witch and Harris fires.

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