Encinitas salon damaged by fire

ENCINITAS -- Sheriff's bomb and arson detectives are investigating the cause of a blaze that damaged an Encinitas salon today, authorities said.

The fire was reported at 10:40 a.m. in the 400 block of North Coast Highway, a NorthComm fire dispatcher said.

No injuries were reported and no other businesses were damaged by the fire, authorities said.

No further information was immediately available.

-- Staff and Wire reports

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Mt. Carmel High student dies

RANCHO PENASQUITOS --- A student who had a history of heart troubles died after passing out at Mt Carmel High School Friday night, San Diego Fire Department said.

Fourteen-year-old Nyzell Derr was pronounced dead at 7:39 p.m. at Pomerado Hospital, the county Medical Examiner's Office reported. The cause of death was under investigation early Saturday, the office said.

Nyzell was attending at football game at his school when he passed out and firefighters were called, San Diego Fire said. Firefighters performed CPR at the football field, then Nyzell was transported to Pomerado Hospital.

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Fatal accident on Interstate 15

TEMECULA -- An alleged drunken driver plowed through a freeway accident closure area, killing a person who was being extracted from a vehicle and seriously injuring a firefighter early Saturday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.

The incident occurred about 2:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 at Winchester Road.

Two lanes of the roadway had been closed to deal with an earlier, two-vehicle accident where a person was trapped inside, the CHP said. Firefighters had just extracted the person from the vehicle when the alleged drunken driver drove into the road closure area, crashing into a firefighter and the extracted person who had been placed on a backboard, the CHP said.

The firefighter sustained serious injuries in the collision, officers said. The driver, a woman whose name and age was not available early Saturday, was taken into custody.

Information on the person who was killed was not available.

-- North County Times

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I-5 reopened, Oceanside man faces explosives charges

SAN DIEGO -- North- and south-bound traffic on Interstate 5 has been reopened after a closure Friday afternoon between State Route 52 and the merge with Interstate 805, said Brad Baehr, public information officer with California Highway Patrol in San Diego. The closures started at about 1:30 p.m. after Oceanside police got a tip from a suspect, Michael Buffalo, 46, of Oceanside, saying he left a backpack loaded with explosives on southbound I-5.

Officers with the San Diego Police Department's bomb squad found the bag along the dirt embankment on southbound I-5 near La Jolla Village Drive, Baehr said. In it were at least two pipe bombs attached to a cylinder believed to contain explosive chemicals, he said. Officers with the bomb squad detonated the bag at least three times, he said. Police reopened the freeway to traffic once given clearance by the bomb squad.

Buffalo, of the 3400 block of Dunes Place, is in custody with the Oceanside Police Department and faces various charges for possession and transportation of a destructive device, according to Oceanside police.

Oceanside police were notified Thursday of a threat to detonate an explosive device at the Vista Courthouse. Working with the San Diego Sheriff's Department, they identified Buffalo as the prime suspect and contacted him.

In an interview, Buffalo told them of the location of the backpack. He said he left it beside the freeway Tuesday after his vehicle became disabled.

Southbound traffic was diverted to I-805 and northbound traffic was diverted to SR 52 east, causing significant delays.

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ACLU reports human rights abuses during and after fires

Saying illegal immigrants and others faced discrimination after the recent fires, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of immigrant rights' advocates called on emergency officials Thursday to stop the practice of asking for identification at disaster shelters and help centers.

The ACLU released a report saying it and other groups have received "hundreds of reports of civil liberties, civil rights, and human rights abuses" during and after the firestorm that started last week. Those reports include allegations that people were denied shelter and other services when they couldn't provide identification. The report also says at least one person was arrested and deported after getting supplies from a shelter.

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Fallbrook Hospital reopens Wednesday

FALLBROOK -- Fallbrook Hospital reopened Wednesday morning after being closed for nine days due to the community-wide evacuation caused last week by the Rice Canyon fire.

The hospital was evacuated on Monday of last week, after authorities asked everyone to leave Fallbrook.

Emergency crews worked throughout that day to relocate bed-ridden patients to Tri-City Medical Center, and Fallbrook Hospital remained closed until 7 a.m. Wednesday.

It took several days after the evacuation order was lifted to open the facility because it had to pass inspections by two state health agencies, the Department of Health Services and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, officials said.

The Fallbrook Skilled Nursing Facility off Potter Street is expected to reopen within the next few days after it has undergone the same inspections.

For more information and updates concerning the hospital and the skilled nursing facility, visit www.fallbrookhospital.com. - Tom Pfingsten, 12:01 p.m.

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All evacuation orders lifted; national forest remains closed

Residents and business owners in all previously evacuated areas, including Palomar Mountain and the La Jolla Indian Reservation, may return home, the county announced this morning. All roads and highways leading into the Palomar Mountain and Lake Henshaw areas are open. Only residents and business owners will be allowed back in that area for now, officials said.

The Cleveland National Forest remains closed.

-- North County Times, 9:20 a.m.

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26,000 sign up for disaster alerts

SAN DIEGO -- More than 26,000 people signed up over two days to have future disaster alerts sent to them not just on their "land line" home telephones, but on their cell phones and e-mail addresses, county officials said Tuesday.

Hoping to improve the high-speed telephone alert system that helped evacuate an estimated 513,000 people last week, county officials created an Internet site -- www.alertsandiego.org -- to let people register their cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses Sunday evening.

County officials said their high-speed alert system sent out more than 387,000 prerecorded evacuation messages to people's home telephones during the still-burning wildfires. However, all of those calls were placed to "land line" telephones. The county implented a new, complementary system recently that can not only send messages to land lines, but to cell phones, e-mail addresses, fax machines and personal digital assistants.

County officials said that currently, the only way for people to register is by visiting the Internet web site. People who do not have access to a computer, officials said, can either get a relative to sign up for them, or can use computers provided by county libraries.

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Man charged with impersonating a firefighter

VISTA -- The district attorney's office has filed one felony and four misdemeanor charges against a 44-year-old man arrested Wednesday as he drove in an old pickup truck loaded with firefighter equipment in the area where the Rice fire was burning near Fallbrook, a prosecutor said.

William Reed Brock is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in the Superior Court in Vista on one felony charge of possessing a billy club and one misdemeanor charge each of impersonating a firefighter, interfering with firefighters, falsely identifying himself to a police officer, and being in an area that has been closed because of a calamity such as a fire, said Deputy District Attorney David Greenberg, who supervises the district attorney's Vista office.

Brock has been jailed with bail set at $250,000 since his arrest.

Authorities have said the pickup truck Brock was driving had personalized firefighter license plates and carried a large coil of fire hoses, various fire agency clothing and assorted fire equipment.

Authorities have asked anyone who may have seen Brock at wildfires, fire camps or fire stations or who may have other information about him to call Sheriff's Detective Clayton Lisk at 760-451-3110 or Cal Fire Investigator Gary Eidsmoe at 800-468-4408.

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First county permit issued

SAN DIEGO -- County officials said Tuesday that they had issued the first building permit to rebuild a home destroyed by the still-burning wildfires.

City of San Diego officials announced last week that they had issued their first rebuild permit after opening a Local Assistance Center in Rancho Bernardo. County officials said Tuesday that their planning and land use had issued a permit to rebuild a 3,004 square-foot home and 1,038 square-foot garage on Starlight Mountain Road in Ramona.

County officials said the permit was "fast-tracked" and processed free for the fire victims.

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Ramona water OK to drink, residents should flush taps

RAMONA -- Water officials in Ramona said early Tuesday morning that the water in the rural community is once again considered safe to drink.

However, Ramona Municipal Water District officials said residents should turn on their water faucets -- hot and cold -- for several minutes to flush indoor plumbing of any potentially contaminated water. They also said people should drain and flush their hot water heaters to remove sediment or contaminated water. Officials said residents should turn off the electrical power or gas to water heaters before draining them.

Evacuated Ramona residents were allowed to return to their homes Thursday evening -- but only with the promise they would not use any water. The community's water system was completely drained during the wildfires, and water officials had to recharge the system by first manually shutting off all 10,000 water meters in the area.

For the last two days, residents have been allowed to bathe and wash their hands with tap water, but were warned not to drink it because bacterial testing had not been completed. Officials said Tuesday those tests had been done and approved by the state's health department.

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Residents inundate FEMA with applications

County residents have filed 5,682 applications for federal assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as of 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28.

Of those applicants, 662 have had FEMA property inspections. The turnaround time for applicants from the time they register to the time of inspection is approximately two days.

Thus far, FEMA has approved 204 applications, authorizing $981,954 in payments to victims of the 2007 San Diego wildfires. - 4:24 p.m.

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Ramona, Julian trash services resume

RAMONA -- Ramona Disposal Service officials said Monday that they were restarting regular trash pick ups in the community.

Officials also said that regular trash services were resuming in Julian, except for in areas where streets might still be closed because of the fires.

Spokeswoman Yvette Snyder said that all commercial and residential trash services were being restored in Ramona, and the normal pick up schedule would be used. In addition, the Ramona transfer station was also open to accept self-hauled trash, and would resume it's normal hours, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. - Gig Conaughton, 1:00 p.m.

Arraignment set for man allegedly impersonating a firefighter during Rice Canyon Fire

VISTA -- A 44-year-old man arrested last week for allegedly impersonating a firefighter during the height of Fallbrook's Rice Canyon fire is scheduled for arraignment in Vista Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.

William Reed Brock was arrested Wednesday by sheriff's deputies.

He was driving an older, blue Ford pickup with personalized firefighter license plates and carried a large coil of fire hoses, various fire agency clothing and assorted fire equipment in the bed of his truck.

Brock has been in custody since his arrest and is slated to make a court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Authorities are asking anyone who might have information about Brock's activities last week to call Detective Clayton Lisk at (760) 451-3110. - Mark Walker, 11:51 a.m.

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Backfires being set at northeast corner of Poomacha Fire

Residents are advised that firefighters are planning to conduct a firing operation on the northeast corner of the Poomacha Fire today near Cutca Valley.

A back fire is a fire set along the inner edge of a fire perimeter to consume the fuel in the path of a wildfire. Today's controlled burn will cover about 3,500 acres.

Residents may see smoke in the area. - 12:01 p.m.

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MiraCosta College and UCSD classes resume

MiraCosta College and the University of California San Diego have restarted classes on their main campuses as well as off campus sites, according to press releases sent by both institutions.

UCSD Extension does not plan to reschedule sessions missed between Oct. 22 and 28. Details on assignments and make-up classes vary so students should check with instructors, the extension office and watch their emails. Students affected by fires who don't feel they can continue with a class may ask to be withdrawn without penalty or may re-enroll in a future course. the university announced.

Contact unex-reg@ucsd.edu or call (858) 534-3400 for information.

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Residents urged to register with Reverse 911 system

Residents are urged to register their cell and home phone numbers and e-mail addresses to receive emergency notifications from the county's Reverse 911 system.

San Diego County residents may register at www.alertsandiego.org, and are encouraged to do so before forecasted Santa Ana winds come through the region again next weekend.

Once e-mail addresses and phone numbers are registered, it can take 24 hours for the information to be updated to the system. Residents are urged to register multiple phone numbers and addresses, and those without computers may use those at county libraries, which are available free of charge.

If a resident of the city of San Diego registers a cell phone number with the city's Reverse 911 system, it is automatically shared with the county registry, however, e-mail addresses must be registered specifically with the county system.

- North County Times, 9:00 p.m.

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New shelter open in Ramona

Because of the large number of people who visited a fire assistance center in Ramona, the county has opened a new shelter at Olive Peirce Middle School Sunday night. The school is at 1521 Hanson Lanein Ramona. The school plans to re-open to students Tuesday, Oct. 30.

- North County Times, 8:30 p.m.