Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/696189
SACRAMENTO Aswildfires burn across California, new estimates on the number of dead trees in California were announced, prompt- ing continued concern for California's forest health and wildfire danger. The US Forest Service Wednesday released the outcome of its latest aerial surveys over California for- estland, finding that over 66 million trees have now died due to drought and bark beetles since 2010. That number is up from 29 mil- lion dead trees in 2015 and 3.3 million in 2014. "The sheer number of dead trees is hard to imagine, but it's real and what we have been an- ticipating for some time now," said Chief Ken Pim- lott, Cal Fire director and state forester. "We must continue our work to remove dead trees around roadways and critical infrastruc- ture, while homeowners remove dead trees around their homes." In October 2015 Gover- nor Brown signed an exec- utive order due to the tree mortality, which created the state's Tree Mortality Task Force. More than 80 local, state and federal agencies, as well as utilities and vari- ous stakeholders make up the task force, whose efforts have continued to focus on the coordinated response. The task force has been working to provide for pub- lic health and safety, as the dead trees pose a serious public safety and wildfire threat. A coordinated effort has been underway to remove dead trees in the 10 coun- ties identified to have the highest hazard. The 10 counties span from Placer County down through the Central Si- erra to Kern County. While county public works crews have been removing trees along county roads, Cal- trans has been hard at work focusing on state highways. PG&E, Southern Califor- nia Edison and other util- ity companies have been removing hazardous trees around their powerlines. All while CAL FIRE and US Forest Service crews con- tinue building fuel breaks and assisting the counties in their efforts. "The recently released estimates show the vora- ciousness with which the tree mortality epidemic is gripping California," said Kevin Cann, Rural County Representatives of Califor- nia (RCRC) Board Member, Mariposa County Supervi- sor, and Member of the Gov- ernor's Task Force on Tree Mortality. "The situation is dire, not just to those living in rural communities directly dealing with the effects, but to all Californians im- pacted by the threat wild- fires pose to the State's re- sources. The partnerships which have evolved be- tween the impacted coun- ties, CAL FIRE, Caltrans, PG&E, and many others while dealing with this emergency to quickly re- move dead trees efficiently have been vital to the suc- cess of this response." Officials are urging the public to do their part as well as remove the dead trees around their homes in order to reduce their wild- fire threat. "It's critical now that we are in fire season that ev- eryone living in these high risk areas be prepared to evacuate before a wildfire breaks out," Chief Pimlott added. "If a wildfire burns in an area with high tree mortality we know that it will burn faster than many residents may be ready for." In February 2016, Cal Fire awarded nearly $2 million in local fire pre- vention grants for local projects focused on the re- moval of dead and dying trees in order to reduce the wildfire threat around homes. Cal Fire, the Office of Emergency Services, along with the Tree Mortality Task Force members, con- tinue to coordinate addi- tional assistance to help the public remove trees on their property. For more information on how to be ready for wild- fire and to learn how to make your trees healthy and prepared for bark bee- tles, visit www.ReadyFor- Wildfire.org. Officials:Over 66 million trees dead in state CAL FIRE APPHOTO/RINGOH.W.CHIU Members of a hand crew cut down trees as a firefighting helicopter makes a water drop on a wildfire in Duarte on Tuesday. "I t' s c ri ti ca l now t ha t w e a re in f ir e s ea so n th at e ver yo ne li vin g i n t hes e hi gh r is k a r ea s be p re pa re d t o ev ac ua te b ef or e a w il df ir e b re ak s ou t. I f a w il df ir e bu rn s i n a n a r ea wi th h ig h t ree mo rt al it y w e kn ow t ha t i t w ill bu rn f as te r t han ma ny re si de nt s ma y b e re ad y fo r. " —C hi ef K en P im lo tt , C al F ir e di re cto r a nd s ta te f or es ter Pop quiz: You take a chicken out of the fridge to fix for dinner and no- tice that yesterday was the "Sell By" date. What should you do? A. Throw it away be- cause not many emergency rooms offer a stomach-pumping family plan. B. Cook it to an inter- nal temperature of 195 F minimum to kill any possible salmonella, and serve it with a pungent sauce to mask any resid- ual fowl odor. C. Relax, because the supermarket complied with Food and Drug Ad- ministration regula- tions requiring that this chicken be sold before the date on the label. D. Refuse to answer on the grounds that this is obviously a trick question. If you selected "D" you are right: This is a trick question. What better way to introduce a col- umn about confusing dates than with a confus- ing pop quiz? The truth is, "C" would be correct if not for the word "regulations." Ex- cept for baby formula and some baby foods, food product dating is not re- quired under federal reg- ulations. It is a conve- nience offered to store owners by food manufac- turers. Although dating some products is required in 20 states, it is voluntary on the part of manufac- turers and processors. To further shake your confi- dence, stores are not le- gally required to remove outdated products from the shelves. So, it's up to you to make sure you are choosing the fresh- est products. That means scrutinizing package la- bels to find the pack- age with the most recent date. WHAT IS PRODUCT DATING? The use of a calendar date, or "open date," on food packaging (as op- posed to a code) is a date stamped onto a package to help the store determine how long to display that item for sale. It also helps the customer know how long an item is good for purchase, and how long it will be at its best quality. An open date is not a safety date. These dates help stores move older merchandise and protect manufacturers from po- tential liability claims. Al- though most markets are vigilant about rotating stock, some are not. "BEST BEFORE," "BET- TER IF USED BEFORE" OR "BEST IF USED BY" These labels indicate how long a product will retain its flavor, fresh- ness and quality, as deter- mined by the manufac- turer. Typically these la- bels appear on products like baked goods, cere- als, snack foods and some canned foods. The item is still safe to eat after this date, but it may have changed in taste or tex- ture. "EXPIRES," "USE BY" OR "USE BEFORE" These phrases appear on yogurt, eggs and other foods that require refrig- eration. Other dating terms are guidelines, but these mean what they say. If you haven't used or con- sumed the product by the date listed, toss it. "GUARANTEED FRESH" This label is often used for perishable baked goods. Beyond this date, freshness is no longer guaranteed, although the product may still be ed- ible. "SELL BY" This date is usually found on highly perish- able foods like meat, milk and bread. This date guides the rotation of shelf stock, and is de- termined in order to al- low time for the product to be stored and used at home. The product is still safe and wholesome past this date. For example, milk will usually be good for at least a week beyond its "Sell By" date (if prop- erly refrigerated). Meat is still fresh by its "Sell By" date, but it should be con- sumed or frozen within 48 hours. "PACK DATE" Some products bear a pack date indicating when the product was packaged. This date is of- ten encrypted so only manufacturers, whole- salers and retailers can read it. The pack date on some products, such as eggs, is shown by a Julian date (dates numbered 1 through 365), where Jan. 1 is number 1 and Dec. 31 is number 365. The bottom line is, the fresher your food, the better it is, and the lon- ger you have to consume it at home. Buyers: Be- ware of the dates, and al- ways read the label. And here's a tip: In a properly stocked store, the freshest items will be at the back of the shelf or underneath older items. Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE Confusedbyfoodproductdating? Mary Hunt Day camps are com- mon during the summer months. Many parents en- roll their children in a day camp or pay for day care so they can work or look for work. If this applies to you, your costs may qual- ify for a federal tax credit. Here are 10 things to know about the Child and De- pendent Care Credit: 1. Care for Qualifying Persons. Your expenses must be for the care of one or more qualifying per- sons. Your dependent child or children under age 13 generally qualify. 2. Work-related Ex- penses. Your expenses for care must be work-related. In other words, you must pay for the care so you can work or look for work. This rule also applies to your spouse if you file a joint return. Your spouse meets this rule during any month they are a full-time stu- dent. They also meet it if they are physically or men- tally incapable of self-care. 3. Earned Income Re- quired. You must have earned income. Earned in- come includes wages, sal- aries and tips. It also in- cludes net earnings from self-employment. Your spouse must also have earned income if you file jointly. Your spouse is treated as having earned income for any month that they are a full-time stu- dent or incapable of self- care. 4. Joint Return if Mar- ried. Generally, married couples must file a joint re- turn. You can still take the credit, however, if you are legally separated or living apart from your spouse. 5. Type of Care. You may qualify for the credit whether you pay for care at home, at a daycare facility or at a day camp. 6. Credit Amount. The credit is worth between 20 and 35 percent of your al- lowable expenses. The per- centage depends on your income. 7. Expense Limits. The total expense that you can use in a year is lim- ited. The limit is $3,000 for one qualifying person or $6,000 for two or more. 8. Certain Care Does Not Qualify. You may not include the cost of certain types of care for the tax credit, including: Overnight camps or summer school tutoring costs. Care provided by your spouse or your child who is under age 19 at the end of the year. Care given by a person you can claim as your de- pendent. 9. Keep Records and Receipts. Keep all your receipts and records for when you file taxes next year. You will need the name, address and tax- payer identification num- ber of the care provider. You must report this in- formation when you claim the credit on Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses. 10. Dependent Care Ben- efits. Special rules apply if you get dependent care benefits from your em- ployer. Keep in mind this credit is not just a summer tax benefit. You may be able to claim it at any time during the year for quali- fying care. IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, provides complete details on all the rules. Get it anytime on IRS.gov. TAX TIPS Keep in mind the Child and Dependent Care Credit this summer MINERAL Lassen Volca- nic National Park has in- troduced Lassen Audio Tours, audio podcasts of self-guided tours of the park. Each series offers a per- sonal guide with insights on one of the park's many highlights. Download all of the episodes in a series before beginning the tour, as cell service is limited in the park. The Then and Now Highway Audio Tour delves into Lassen Vol- canic's 100-year his- tory. Download the se- ries of MP3 files for use on any mobile device or media player then listen to the audio file that cor- responds to each of 16 markers along the park's 30-mile highway. This audio tour was produced with support from park staff, volun- teer and narrator Dave Schlom, and North State Public Radio. To download the files visit http://1.usa. gov/28MBjnJ, right-click on a file and select "Save link as..." Wi-Fi is avail- able only at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Cen- ter, but it's best to down- load before coming to the park. The Lassen Peak Au- dio Tour allows visitors to discover the human stories behind Lassen Volcanic National Park's namesake. LASSEN VOLCANIC National Park announces audio tours DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO Lassen Volcanic National Park. EVICTIONS Fast, Efficient & Affordable 530.527.2104 756 Rio St, Red Bluff www.atwellpropartners.com Patrick's Pumping SepticPumpingServices Red Bluff, CA Garet Patrick Owner/Operator 530-366-6899 4patricks@att.net Available 24/7 (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St. Red Bluff UnlimitedTanning $ 25 .00 only JUNE Tanning Special! 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