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The Associated Press SAN DIEGO The Los An- geles Department of Water and Power is suing the Met- ropolitan Water District of Southern California to stop the information from be- ing released about the re- cipients of money under a turf-replacement program. The San Diego Union- Tribune reports that the city filed a lawsuit last week seeing to block the release of information to the newspaper. The news- paper is asking for the names and addresses of those who have received checks through a program designed to eliminate grass during the drought. The Metropolitan Water District has issued $340 million in cash rebates this year for people who agreed to tear out their lawns. According to the lawsuit, DWP says the water district never informed applicants to the program that their names and addresses were subject to disclosure. Water district officials say they believe in public information and hope to release the data. CASH REBATES LAsuestokeepturfgrant recipients' info private The Associated Press FRESNO The Veterans Af- fairshospitalinFresnoisin- creasing its medical staff as part of an effort to reduce wait times for treatment and increase access to care. The Fresno Bee reports that the hospital, which re- ceived more than $20 mil- lion in 2014, will add more than 130 staff members, in- cluding doctors, registered nurses and physicians as- sistants. The hospital has already hired two orthope- dic doctors and is recruit- ing a third surgeon. The new round of hiring comes after the Fresno hos- pital and other VA hospitals acrossthecountrycameun- der fire for long wait times and for veterans having to travel far to get care. The hospital's acting di- rector, Dr. Wessel Meyer, says the addition of spe- cialists has already cut wait times from 61 days to eight as of June. FRESNO VA h ir es d oc to rs , nu rs es to cut down on wait times The Associated Press HAYWARD The Hayward firechiefwassuspendedbut allowedtocontinuewithhis job after a number of be- havioral issues that include drinking while on call. The San Mateo County Times reports that a city investigation found that 41-year-old Chief Garrett Contreras also started a scuffle with a subordinate, drove city vehicles after drinking and did not an- swer calls to supervise fire- fighting efforts. He is a 20-year veteran of the department and oversees 118 firefighters and a $35 million budget. Public records show that Contreras was suspended for a month and had his salary reduced. But the city manager allowed him to keep his job it he agreed to certain conditions, in- cluding not drinking at city functions. Contreras told the San Mateo County Times re- cently that he's embar- rassed but admits to the mistakes. HAYWARD Fire chief suspended for drinking while on call By Janie Har and Kristin J. Bender The Associated Press MIDDLETOWN Apredictable but painful summertime rit- ual played out in half a dozen resortcommunitiesnearCal- ifornia's largest freshwater lakeonTuesdayasanerratic, week-old wildfire that has wiped out dozens of build- ings continued to threaten nearly 7,000 more. As firefighters and equip- ment from outside the state poured in to battle the blaze burning 10 miles from Clear Lake, more than 13,000 peo- ple were required or urged to leave their homes, vaca- tion cabins and campsites in the latest fire-prone region to find itself under siege. "This never gets eas- ier," said Gina Powers, who with her husband and cats on Sunday night fled the Spring Valley home she has evacuated before in the more than two decades she has lived there. "This time it was scarier." State and federal fire offi- cials said the stubborn fire had consumed more than 101 square miles by Tues- day morning after flames jumped a highway in sev- eral places. It remained 12 percent contained and was not expected to be corralled until at least Monday. The fire, by far the larg- est of 11 burning in North- ern California on Wednes- day, started on July 29 in drought-withered brush that has not burned in years in the Lower Lake area, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. A cause has not been determined. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, has the wildfire listed as the nation's highest priority for crews and equipment even as potentially destructive blazes burned in Oregon and Washington, spokes- man Mike Ferris said. Ferris called the fire "one big monster." "In Northern California alone, all their resources are committed, and they are having to go outside the geographic area to get re- sources, whether it's aircraft or firefighters," Ferris said. Withmorethan3,000fire- fighters battling the smoky blaze and evacuees seeking shelter, motels were booked up for days within miles. Margot Simpson, a man- ager at the Red Cross evac- uation center set up at Mid- dletown High School, said she hadn't had any luck finding a room for a per- son in a wheelchair after searching four of the big- ger nearby communities. "I started in the phone book at the top of the list, and I started going down and I got nothing," she said. Vicki Estrella, who has lived in the area for 22 years, stayed in the high school with her husband and their dog. "It's amazing the way that thing spread," Estrella said. "There was smoke 300 feet in the air." Many people not affected by the fires stepped up to help. Tabetha Atwood, the owner of Our Happy Tails Etc., a local doggy bak- ery, was helping to match frightened dogs with their owners at a command cen- ter at the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks that was serving as a community as- sistance center. Atwood also had dog treats on hand for people who came by with their pets while other volunteers gave out pillows, apples and piles of French toast to peo- ple displaced by the fire. "These are our friends, our family and our neigh- bors," she said. By Tuesday afternoon, with 15- to 20-mph winds coming from the northwest, the Moose Lodge itself was being threatened and the people there asked to leave. Layna Rivas of Clear- lake Oaks tried to remain calm after checking the lat- est map showing the wild- fire's overnight progress. It showed the artists' haven she has spent the last five years building directly in the flames' path. CLEAR LAKE We ek -o ld w il dfi re w re ak s havoc on vacation spot JEFFCHIU—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Fires approach a home near Lower Lake on Friday. A series of wildfires were intensified by dry vegetation, triple-digit temperatures and gusting winds. KENT PORTER — THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Long Beach firefighter Darren Ike keeps watch on an unburned hillside near a fire in Lake County. Sendyour"HiddenGem"entryviaemailtoeditor@redbluffdailynews.comorbymail c/o Hidden Gems, P.O Box 220, Red Bluff CA 96080 Your recommended must-see or must-do does not have to be in Tehama County, just within a 2- hour drive of Downtown Red Bluff. Remember, Tehama the Magazine's mission is to develop "pride in place" on the part of local residents, as well as good reading for Tehama County visitors -- and potential visitors. It's the only regional magazine with guaranteed home delivery to 6,000 local homes as a supplement to The Daily News,plus3000copiesforlocaldistributionthroughMayof2016inrestaurants, Chambers of Commerce, hotels and visitor information centers, and publication as a special digital edition on www.redbluffdailynews for a full year, Tehama County's most visited local website with over 70,000 unique visitors monthly! Roger Brooks, from the Branding Project, recommended the marketing of Red Bluff as an ideal visitors' Base Camp. You can be a part of this project. What's your favorite "hidden gem" that a visitor might not see driving on Main Street, I-5, Hwy 36 or 99E? • Museum? • Winery? • Fishing hole? • Park? • Mountain trail less traveled? October's Tehama the Magazine will be an AdventureGuide for local residents and visitors like none before it. We'll highlight places to visit, things to do and see allwithinabout2hoursofRedBluff. We'll award $50 Visa Gift Cards to the TEN best "hidden gem" recommendations from the public, written in 50 words or fewer, and received by AUG. 31, 2015. What's your favorite "hidden gem" in the great North State? | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015 8 A