Satellite Images of Western Wildfires (VIDEO)

The "Bootleg fire" in Oregon's at the video, but hundreds of fires are blazing across the American west. 

At the New York Times, "How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It’s Generating Its Own Weather":

A towering cloud of hot air, smoke and moisture that reached airliner heights and spawned lightning. Wind-driven fronts of flame that have stampeded across the landscape, often leapfrogging firebreaks. Even, possibly, a rare fire tornado.

The Bootleg Fire in Southern Oregon, spurred by months of drought and last month’s blistering heat wave, is the largest wildfire so far this year in the United States, having already burned more than 340,000 acres, or 530 square miles, of forest and grasslands.

And at a time when climate change is causing wildfires to be larger and more intense, it’s also one of the most extreme, so big and hot that it’s affecting winds and otherwise disrupting the atmosphere.

The Bootleg Fire has been burning for two weeks, and for most of that time it’s exhibited one or more forms of extreme fire behavior, leading to rapid changes in winds and other conditions that have caused flames to spread rapidly in the forest canopy, ignited whole stands of trees at once, and blown embers long distances, rapidly igniting spot fires elsewhere.

“It’s kind of an extreme, dangerous situation,” said Chuck Redman, a forecaster with the National Weather Service who has been at the fire command headquarters providing forecasts.

Fires so extreme that they generate their own weather confound firefighting efforts. The intensity and extreme heat can force wind to go around them, create clouds and sometimes even generate so-called fire tornadoes — swirling vortexes of heat, smoke and high wind.

The catastrophic Carr Fire near Redding, Calif., in July 2018 was one of those fires, burning through 230,000 acres, destroying more than 1,600 structures and leading to the deaths of at least eight people, some of which were attributed to a fire tornado with winds as high as 140 miles per hour that was captured on video...

Also, cool map here: "Tracking Western Wildfires."

Riots and Demonstrations from Portland to Jerusalem

From Caroline Glick:

Over the past several years, public discourse in the United States has seen a lot of new lows. It saw another one this month when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to federal officers in Portland, Oregon as “stormtroopers,” that is, Nazi Brownshirts.

In a tweet on July 18 and in subsequent remarks, Pelosi accused the federal forces deployed to Portland of “kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.”

Pelosi’s allegations would cause a political earthquake – if they were true. But they aren’t true. And the fact that she slandered federal officers as Nazis is a deeply disturbing testament to where the Democratic Party – of which she is the senior elected official – stands today and what its intentions are.

For the past two months, the progressive city of Portland in the progressive State of Oregon, has been the scene of chaos and rioting. The liberal media have misleadingly characterized the riots as “peaceful demonstrations.”

Night after night, hundreds of “peaceful demonstrators” have vandalized and destroyed stores and other businesses, transforming downtown Portland into a war zone. Over the past five weeks, the focal point of the violence has been the federal courthouse.

“Peaceful protesters” from Antifa and other radical groups have been attacking the federal courthouse in Portland with incendiary devices including pipe bombs and commercial grade fireworks. Federal officers charged with guarding the courthouse have been blinded with lasers and attacked with stones, metal balls shot from slingshots, bricks and two-by-fours, among other things.

The rioters are backed in their efforts by city and state officials as well as national Democrats who have castigated federal forces protecting the courthouse as “occupiers,” the “Gestapo” and of course “stormtroopers.”

As for the alleged “kidnapping” of peaceful protesters, local journalist Andy Ngo explained this week that Pelosi’s statement channeled Antifa propaganda.

Ngo told Fox News, “That’s an Antifa talking point that is being repeated by sympathetic media.”

He explained that federal officers charged with protecting federal property are using plainclothes agents in unmarked vehicles to peacefully apprehend leaders of the violence. This is a routine, entirely legal tactic which Ngo explained is only being castigated now is because “it is quite effective.”

On the face of it, as Democratic politicians, Pelosi and her colleagues in Congress and Oregon should support the federal forces trying to end the riots. After all, like New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles, Portland is a Democratic city. The businesses being destroyed are owned by their voters.

So why are Pelosi and her partisan colleagues and their media adjuncts instead depicting the rioters rendering downtown Portland a war zone as “peaceful protesters” and slandering the law enforcement officers defending federal property as Nazis?

The obvious answer is politics. The Democrats support the rioters because as they see things, the longer chaos reigns in the streets of America’s cities, the better their chances of defeating President Donald Trump in November.

The Democrats have a number of resources that the Republicans lack and the riots bring them all to bear. They have fanatical progressive activists angry that Bernie Sanders isn’t the nominee but willing to burn America.

They have wall to wall support from the media from NBC to the New York Times to Facebook and Twitter.

The Democrats have limitless funds to maintain the violence and mayhem indefinitely. This week, Alexander Soros, George Soros’ son announced that the family foundation has earmarked another quarter billion dollars to Black Lives Matter. And the Soroses are not alone.

As the past four years of Trump-Russia mythology and legally baseless, politicized prosecutions and investigations have shown, the Democrats control much of the so-called Deep State which controls the levers of the permanent bureaucracy.

The Trump-Russia collusion narrative largely disintegrated under the weight of evidence and the absurd impeachment process over the past several months. And with its decline the Democrats began casting about for a new cause.

They found it with the coronavirus pandemic. In one fell swoop, the virus from China swept away Trump’s fast-growing economy with record low unemployment across all ethnic and racial groups.

With schools abruptly closed and jobs abruptly lost the optimistic America of 2019 became the destabilized, poor, frustrated and insecure America of 2020.

Yet, despite the best efforts of the commentators, support for Trump was not falling apart, at least not enough to ensure an electoral victory for Joe Biden. And Americans were beginning to figure out a way through, as the rising stock market indexes indicated.

But then came the riots. The proximate cause of the riots and protests was the police killing of George Floyd. But their context was the pandemic and the elections in November. The riots gave the Democrats a way to galvanize their radical progressive base (on the streets, in Congress and in the media) around their favorite issues – race and identity politics.

For the Democrats, the best part of the riots is that unlike the pandemic, for demonstrators and their media flacks, it is easy to make the case that Trump is to blame.

Trump’s in charge and America is burning. Trump’s to blame. Trump’s in charge and there is racism in America. Trump’s to blame.

If Trump quells the riots, he will be guilty of police brutality, (with stormtroopers) – thus proving the point. If he fails to quell the riots, he is an ineffective boob. And so, with a bottomless pit of money, the riots will continue, at least so long as the Democrats feel they benefit from them, and they haven’t figured out something else to do...

Still more.

The Montavilla Initiative

I'm a bleeding heart on homelessness, mostly because the leftist media gets the story all wrong, all the time. As noted previously, the bulk of O.C. homeless have been regular white working-class folks, busted down after the 2008 crash. It's not all Latinos and other minorities. Go to Anaheim and see for yourself.

In any case, at the Los Angeles Times, "Neighborhood advocates or vigilantes? A group in Portland makes life tougher for the homeless" (via Hot Air):

The Montavilla neighborhood is a place just about anybody might want to live in.

It has an “almost suburban” feel, a city website notes, but it’s near downtown Portland, with a population that’s more diverse than the city as a whole. Homes range from pricey modern to modest bungalow; businesses of every stripe do a bustling trade.

Last year Montavilla made Lonely Planet’s list of the 10 best U.S. neighborhoods.

It also broke apart over homelessness and rising crime.

Like many American cities, Portland struggles with homelessness. What’s the solution to getting people off the streets? What’s the right balance between compassion and safety? Why does the world’s richest country have so many people living in tents?

Last month, Portland-area voters funded $653 million for affordable housing, on top of $258 million in 2016. These are major investments for a city its size. But relief may be years away.

In Montavilla, the debate over homelessness has taken on an edge in the last two years as a neighborhood patrol has marched up to the line of vigilantism — and, some say, crossed it. Experts say similar groups have sprung up in other cities, including Long Beach and the west San Fernando Valley, as a conservative, tough-love response to the problem.

In June 2017, the Montavilla Neighborhood Assn. passed a resolution asking the city to “cease further sweeps of [homeless] camps,” which could be “unconstitutional and human rights violations.”

That fall, a new board of directors was voted in that included Micah Fletcher, a survivor of last year’s infamous stabbings by a white supremacist on a light rail train. Around the same time, however, a new conservative nonprofit, Montavilla Initiative, formed as an alternative. Battle lines hardened.

Montavilla Initiative began doing its own foot patrols; the city-partnered neighborhood association stopped doing them.

Interactions between citizen patrol groups led by Montavilla Initiative and the area’s homeless are now at the center of the neighborhood’s divide. On the one hand, local officials and homeless advocates accuse Montavilla Initiative of harassing vulnerable homeless people. On the other, leaders of the nonprofit say homeless encampments foster crime, and they’re just trying to make the neighborhood safer.

Multnomah County official Kim Toevs said Montavilla Initiative members harassed people who use the county’s largest needle exchange site, part of a program that has operated for 22 years in the neighborhood. It offers addiction counseling, exchanges millions of syringes annually, and gives out naloxone, proven to save lives by halting overdoses.

The county had to hire extra security after seven visits by the group, officials said.

“What we see here, about [their] behavior, harassing our clients, and making them feel stalked and scared, is hateful action,” Toevs said.

Ibrahim Mubarak, executive director of a homeless advocacy group, Right 2 Survive, said Montavilla Initiative members are “running havoc on houseless people,” slashing their tents, throwing cold water on them, following them around. “They’re all about getting [homeless] people out of the neighborhood,” he said.

Mubarak later acknowledged, however, that he had not witnessed the incidents himself, and had no proof that they were committed by Montavilla Initiative. “This is happening in the neighborhood to those people, but we don’t know for sure that it’s Montavilla Initiative,” he said.

Of 15 homeless people interviewed for this article, many said they’re aware of what they call the “neighborhood watchers.” One voiced support, but most said they were afraid of them. They don’t seem to differentiate between the new, Montavilla Initiative patrols and the ones the neighborhood association used to do...

More.

Jeremy Joseph Christian, Portland Murder Suspect, Attended March for Free Speech Rally at Montavilla City Park in April (VIDEO)

Following-up, "Suspect on Portland MAX Train Was Screaming 'Muslims Should Die' (VIDEO)."

No doubt Rachel Maddow's going to have a field day (week) covering this guy.

At the Williamette Week, "The Man Accused of MAX Double Murder Is a Portland White Supremacist Who Delivered Nazi Salutes and Racial Slurs at a 'Free Speech' Rally Last Month."

Apparently, the dude was supporting "Sanders/Stein 2017" on Facebook, and called Donald Trump the "anti-Christ."

But Maddow and others will still smear conservatives over this attack. That's why I hate politics.

Suspect on Portland MAX Train Was Screaming 'Muslims Should Die' (VIDEO)

This story is now headlining at both Britain's Guardian and Telegraph (and I'm sure more), as obviously some kind of evidence of the "backlash" against Muslims. These attacks are always played to the hilt, while at the same time, the same leftists moan about how we'll never know what caused the Manchester bombing, and about how this one "deluded" individual isn't a true representation of Islam.

I denounce this suspect in Portland and I pray for those murdered.

I just cringe at the politics of it all.

At the Oregonian, "Man saw teenagers, one with hijab, and launched into racial tirade":

Two teenage girls boarded a MAX train in downtown heading to Northeast Portland early Friday evening when a man got on at a later stop and immediately launched into a racial tirade as soon as they caught his eye.

"He was saying that Muslims should die," said Dyjuana Hudson, a mother of one of the girls. "That they've been killing Christians for years."

Hudson recounted what her daughter, Destinee, told her hours after police tracked down the man as he ran from the rush-hour train into the Hollywood neighborhood. Other passengers chased him from a distance and called 911.

The suspect left a gruesome scene on the Green Line train. He lashed out at three men who had tried to calm him down, fatally stabbing two of them and sending the other to the hospital with stab wounds, police said. The third man is expected to survive.

The rampage at the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, brought an immediate outcry from religious and civic leaders in Portland and across the country.

Destinee Hudson, 16, is black, and her friend, 17, who was wearing a hijab, is Muslim, the mother said.

The girls distanced themselves from the man after he got on the train at Lloyd Center, Hudson said. But he pressed on, approaching them as he kept screaming, she said...

More.

Oregon Mill Town Hails Donald Trump as Savior

This is great.

We've already been hearing stories about Trump's deep support among America's economically disenfranchised, especially among working class whites. But so many stories remain to be told, and it's not just blue collar whites by any means.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Inside Trump Nation: In a down-on-its-luck Oregon mill town, the savior they're waiting for is Donald Trump":

In a down-on-its-luck Oregon mill town, the savior they're waiting for is Donald Trump https://t.co/rLaZkNKCmg pic.twitter.com/HPUt68vwII

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 2, 2016

With the unemployment rate now exceeding 7.2% in Josephine County, the biggest issue in this year's election here is who can put people back to work. Many are betting it's the businessman in the race, even if he's a brash real estate mogul from New York whose chief previous contact with lumber was the veneered reception desks in his swank hotels.

Southwest Oregon is not a natural fit for a billionaire East Coaster, but neither are any of the other GOP candidates, particularly those running on a religious platform; Oregon is among the nation's least church-going states.

Trump's conviction that global trade deals are selling Americans short plays well with the independent streak that runs through Oregon Republican politics. Trump, many here believe, would never put up with letting the Western timber industry falter to protect endangered birds and owls.

“It's a part of the world that sees itself as having been abandoned,” said Jim Moore, a political scientist at Pacific University outside Portland. “These were not Mitt Romney people; they did not vote for George W. Bush. They've latched on to Trump as they have latched on to other outside candidates. The difference is, he's winning.”

RTWT.

Oregon State Police Get Death Threats in LaVoy Finicum Shooting (VIDEO)

Death threats have come in from around the country. Unambiguous death threats.

At KOIN 6 News Portland:

Michele Fiore Speaks to Crowd Outside Federal Courthouse in Portland on February 12, 2016 (VIDEO)

Following-up from the other day, "Michele Fiore, Unlikely Mediator in #Malheur Militia Standoff in Oregon."

Via the Portland Oregonian:



Also, "Michele Fiore takes questions after courthouse speech."

Still more, "'In my opinion Mr. Finicum was murdered,' says Nevada Assemblyman John Moore."

Last Four Holdouts Plead Not Guilty in Occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

Jennifer Dowling reports, for KOIN News 6 Portland, "Last 4 occupiers plead not guilty to federal felony."

Michele Fiore, Unlikely Mediator in #Malheur Militia Standoff in Oregon

She's a big, beautiful American babe.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Who is the gun-toting, brash-talking Nevada lawmaker who helped end the Oregon standoff?"

An Inside Look at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier, "Last Four Holdouts Surrender at #Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)."

At KOIN News 6 Portland:

Last Four Holdouts Surrender at #Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

I'm back to work for the spring semester, and I was in class yesterday during the final stand at the Malheur refuge. Honestly, from checking Twitter during my breaks, I thought David Fry was going to do something rash. At one point he was said to have put a gun to his head.

Fry says he is pointing a gun at his head. #Oregonstandoff

— Molly Young (@mollykyoung) February 11, 2016

"I told everybody that I will have a pistol and I will kill myself." #Oregonstandoff

Others are trying to talk him down.

— Molly Young (@mollykyoung) February 11, 2016

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff ends with a 'hallelujah'," and "Oregon standoff: Last four occupiers surrender at Malheur refuge."

And watch, at ABC News, "Dramatic End to Armed Standoff in Oregon."

Oregon Standoff: FBI Surrounds Occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff: FBI moves in on last refuge occupiers."

Plus, lots of activity on Twitter.

FBI Surrounds Occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: — Portland https://t.co/P7Q2LSeyca

— FBI Portland (@FBIPortland) February 11, 2016

Holdout occupiers at Ore. wildlife refuge argue with negotiator, yell at law enforcement: https://t.co/eqQpfDyWj4 pic.twitter.com/EacXDSxuQL

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 11, 2016

Sean Anderson said they will surrender in the morning when legislator, reverend are at checkpoint. Unclear if he is speaking for Fry, Banta.

— Les Zaitz (@LesZaitz) February 11, 2016

Expect updates...

LATEST: It's Day 40 of the Malheur Occupation

It goes on.

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff Day 40: What you need to know."

And watch, from Sunday, "Occupier takes joy ride in pickup truck with federal plates." It's the crazy loon David Fry.

Ammon Bundy Issues 'Call to Action' from Jail: 'Arm Yourself with Ideas...' (VIDEO)

Here's the latest, at the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff Day 38: What you need to know Monday."

And watch:


Expect updates...

Roadside Memorial to LaVoy Finicum Removed from U.S. 395; Patriots Restore (VIDEO)

Jeez, just let it stay up for a few days.

His funeral was only yesterday.

Following-up from yesterday, "About Two Dozen People Visited LaVoy Finicum Memorial on U.S. 395 Today."

At KOIN News 6 Portland:

More Than a Thousand People Flock to Kanab, Utah, for Funeral of Robert 'LaVoy' Finicum (VIDEO)

At USA Today, "Man killed in Ore. standoff remembered as father, patriot":

ST. GEORGE, Utah — An Arizona rancher who was shot to death in a showdown with law enforcement authorities in Oregon last week was remembered Friday as a man who loved his family, his God and his country during funeral services in Utah.

More than a thousand mourners dressed in Sunday best, some in cowboy hats and boots, gathered at a Mormon church near the Kanab airport for services paying tribute to Robert "LaVoy" Finicum of Cane Beds, Ariz., who died Jan. 26 following the monthlong siege at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

“I know my dad’s working just as tirelessly on the other side to protect his family and our freedoms,” one daughter said. Finicum’s 11 children spoke in quick succession during the services.

“He often commented to me about all the good people who were coming to see him and how it encouraged him,” Finicum’s wife, Jeanette, said.

One of those people was Cedar City resident Beth Stephenson, who wrote a condolence card for Finicum’s family while waiting for the funeral to begin.

Stephenson said she introduced herself to Finicum during his brief stop in Cedar City last month for a radio talk show interview before returning to Oregon.

Stephenson, who was working next door to the radio station, said she was impressed with Finicum’s sincerity so she decided to go to the station during a break in the interview.

“I had a strong feeling that he was doing the right thing. ... It was a really strong impression that this was a really great man,” Stephenson said...

More.

PREVIOUSLY: "Supporters from Across the U.S. Gathered for LaVoy Finicum Funeral Services in Kanab, Utah (VIDEO)."

Supporters from Across the U.S. Gathered for LaVoy Finicum Funeral Services in Kanab, Utah (VIDEO)

There's video at the report.

Watch, at Fox News 13 Salt Lake City, "Supporters from across the country gather in Utah for funeral of LaVoy Finicum":

Hundreds of people gathering at Kanab church for the funeral of LaVoy Finicum. pic.twitter.com/MjY8U9fLU4

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Shawna Cox, one of the protesters who was with Finicum and arrested the day he died, just arrived at the funeral. pic.twitter.com/f6DuIIeMfb

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Supporters of LaVoy Finicum continue to arrive at a Kanab church, reaction at 4pm. pic.twitter.com/mq0jNX8pML

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Two of Finicum's 11 children speak. They say "the federal government broke the law not their father." pic.twitter.com/4MJrdZHXi6

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Finicum children are calling for a private investigation regarding their father's death. pic.twitter.com/mnwEYaEElI

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

KANAB, Utah -- More than a thousand people from across the country gathered in Kanab Friday for the funeral of Arizona rancher LaVoy Finicum, who was shot and killed by authorities in Oregon during the standoff and protest at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

LaVoy's two eldest daughters spoke at a press conference after the services, saying they believe their father didn't break the law, but the federal government did. The family is calling for a private, independent investigation into LaVoy's death.

LaVoy Finicum's family said a lot of people in the past week have only focused on the way he died, but they said it's more important to focus on the way he lived

Horses with empty saddles galloped past LaVoy Finicum's family and supporters, as they carried the casket to his final resting place. It was one last ride for the lifelong rancher.

"We've often said LaVoy was born a century too late, you know, so the honor of being led off in a wagon and escorted by horseback is an honor for any cowboy,” said David Cluff, one of Fincium’s cousins.

Many of the people attending the funeral said they never even met LaVoy, but they wanted to be here because they share the same values.

"This is a great American patriot,” said Loie Corson, who attended the services. “I didn't know him, and I might not have done it the way he did, but I really feel in my heart that he tried to do it through the system. He tried to take the legal channels, and when you go up against the system: it's tough.”

PREVIOUSLY: "About Two Dozen People Visited LaVoy Finicum Memorial on U.S. 395 Today."

About Two Dozen People Visited LaVoy Finicum Memorial on U.S. 395 Today

LaVoy's funeral was today in Kanab, Utah.

I'll have more on that.

Meanwhile, here's Cole Miller for KOIN News 6 Portland:

Roughly two dozen people showed up to Finicum's memorial along Highway 395 to say a few words #KOIN6News pic.twitter.com/2a632j8TLM

— Cole Miller (@ColeKOIN) February 5, 2016

And watch here, "Hundreds attend LaVoy Finicum viewing," and "Sympathizers pack Utah town for LaVoy Finicum."

LaVoy Finicum Speaks to the Press on 17th Day of Armed Standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier, "LaVoy Finicum's Death in Oregon Occupation Prompts Memorials Across the Country."

Here's a video flashback, via the Portland Oregonian: