All is calm

In an Associated Press report, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Rudahat said, “All is calm in the city of Los Angeles.” Calm may be a dramatic overstatement at any time  in Los Angeles, but the point is well taken: The quake was a small one.

No injuries or damage

Shortly after the earthquake, there were reports of damage to a portion of southbound Interstate 5 south of Downey, although that stretch of road is subject to heavy big-rig traffic. Damage in the same area had been reported yesterday and is believed to be normal wear and tear.  With a little help from money lenders and a few instant cash loans, that stretch of road should be good as new.

Low magnitude jolt extending over a wide area

In the realm of Southern California earthquakes, today’s was a small one, but it stretched over a large swath of land. The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program reports a 10-mile radius, spreading from San Bernardino County to Santa Monica.  Reports of the quake came from as far away as Watts, Sun City, West L.A. and Riverside.

Whittier fault line believed to be at fault

Some sources state that it has not yet been determined which fault was responsible for the quake, although Nowpublic.com reports that the quake struck along the Whittier fault line and that Cal Tech seismologist Kate Hutton describes it as a thrust earthquake, in which only one side of the fault line moves.

In October 1987, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake along the Whittier fault line killed eight people and caused more than $350 million in damage. According to Hutton, today’s quake may be a precursor to a larger seismic event, but the likelihood of a recurrence lessens as time passes.

Don't let this happen to you on daylight saving time

Daylight saving time begins this weekend, so move your clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 14, 2010, at 2:00am. For practical purposes – and with time slipping away, who can bother with anything other than practicalities? — that’s all you really need to know about daylight saving time.

If you live in Arizona, Hawaii, or the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa, you don’t even need to know that much. You’re off the hook entirely.

The rest of you, however, have work to do on Sunday, and one fewer hour to do it in.  Of course, even with daylight saving time fast approaching, everyone still has time to apply for instant payday loans.

Daylight-saving-time traditions

For some reason that no one, apparently, has ever had time to figure out, the onset of daylight saving time is the traditional time to do all these things:

• Check emergency supplies
• Stock up on batteries, flashlights, and first-aid kits
• Check smoke alarms
• Change smoke-alarm batteries
• Update emergency phone numbers
• Review home evacuation plans

Extra work for Madison residents

If you live in Madison, the above checklist may not be all you have to do. In Madison, a city ordinance passed in 2009 requires all homeowners to install either hard-wired electric-powered alarms or alarms with 10-year batteries. August 15, 2010, is the compliance deadline, and according to The Cap Times, the onset of daylight saving time is the right time to get the work done.

For residents of Madison and everyone else in Wisconsin, Doug Higgins of Fox11online.com has an important reminder about daylight saving time at http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/good_day_wi/daylight-saving-time-reminder. With daylight saving time and all its attendant chores fast approaching, however, there’s no time to watch the videos — which may well contain an important reminder — but click on his name and you’ll be reminded that Doug Higgins is the meteorologist for Good Day Wisconsin and that he “enjoys golf, skiing, scary movies, and of course, the weather.”

Extra considerations for Los Angeles residents

This may or may not have special relevance to residents of Los Angeles, but the Los Angeles Times warns that the start of daylight saving time is a dangerous time for health and finances.

• The incidence of serious heart attacks increases by 6% to 10% during the first three workdays after the onset of daylight saving time;
• Suicides among men are more likely in the first few weeks of daylight saving time than at any other time of year;
• The number of traffic accidents spikes on the first Monday after daylight saving time beings;
• Traders tend to produce “large negative returns on financial-market indices” during the first week of daylight saving time.

Extra reasons to get cash now

Even if you don’t live in Los Angeles — but especially if you live in Madison — right now is the time to consider mortgage loan restructuring and to apply for quick personal loans. Unless you live in Arizona, Hawaii, or one of those other non-conforming places where the weather is already warm (or in the case of Guam and American Samoa, hot!), you need to buy things today so you can get your work done on Sunday.

Southern California’s hot, dry climate is a perfect support system for fires, so it is understandable that the state spares no expense when it comes to fighting them. Today when it was reported that several small brush fires were started along a highway in Diamond Bar, the Los Angeles County Fire Department sent out more than 250 firefighters, and dispatched trucks as well as aircraft to battle the blazes.

A member of the L.A. County Fire Department reports that there were eight brush fires, and about 50 acres were consumed. Firefighters worked swiftly and aggressively, as the fires threatened to spread to homes if they weren’t contained.

How the Diamond Bar fire started

The driver and passenger of a pickup truck might want to think of getting some quick loans so they can get a lawyer. Police are reporting that the fires were caused when a fire started in the bed of a pickup truck and the occupants didn’t realize it.

Reports say flames and sparks flew out of the pickup truck bed as the vehicle traveled on the freeway. The police have detained the driver and passenger from the vehicle, but no other information is available about the suspects right now.

More details on Diamond Bar fire

Not only did the fire department spend a lot of money putting out these fires, classes were evacuated at Diamond Ranch High School. The students stayed in the gym and waited for word on whether they had to evacuate the premises, but the flames never got close enough to the school to warrant concern.

Final word is that several small brush fires were put out using water drops from helicopters and the aid of 23 fire trucks. The people who were in the truck that is suspected of starting the fires are being questioned. So far, no property has been reported damaged besides government-owned land covered in brush.