California in the News & a Boulder Mountain Lion

California Chrome, the handsome chestnut colt with a white blaze and four white socks, is not the only item from, or in, California that is making news.  While Colorado had snow and rain over the past weekend (6.7 inches of snow here in Boulder), and is continuing having daily rain showers, California is having extremely high temperatures and gusty winds.  Today, the forecast for San Diego County, California, is calling for highs of 98 to 110 degrees, with very gusty high winds.  There are currently nine different wildfires burning in San Diego County - they have burned an estimated 9,100 acres.  Camp Pendleton, the largest US Marine base, is being threatened by one of the fires; university classes and even graduation ceremonies have been cancelled because of the flames.  The winds were calm last night, and the temperatures lowered, giving the firefighters a short time to relax and regroup.  Hopefully, the firefighters will have more success in stopping the fires today.
  Also in California, a crude oil pipeline burst in Los Angeles early this morning, spouting a fountain of crude 20-feet high that poured down onto a stripper's club.  The spill was originally estimated at 1 million gallons, but has been revised down to 50,000 gallons.  At the moment, it's confined to several streets, and, in some places, the crude is knee-deep on a tall man.  According to city plans, the pipeline that runs through that area belongs to Plains All American Pipeline, L. C.  That company has its headquarters in Houston, Texas; local news stations have been trying to contact the business office in Los Angeles, but have not been able to contact a spokesman for the company.
  I'm afraid that I snorted when I read a news release from the Denver CBS television station; a woman living on the outskirts of Boulder is upset because she heard odd noises in her back yard, and when she went to investigate, she saw a mountain lion eating from a mule deer carcass.  It was just getting dark, and she called 911 - Wildlife officers removed the deer, which, according to the officers, had been there for several days, and warned the woman that the lion would probably return in a few days to finish eating the deer.  The woman states that she will keep her children inside for the next week, to keep them safe.  What really tickled me was the quote from the woman, "... it was looking at me with two eyes..." - Does she think that a mountain lion has only one eye, or more than two?  What a silly thing to say!  (I know, I know... She was distraught, scared for herself and her kids, and should be given a break....  But, really!)