Weather Northern California

Poor weather along California's northern coast has dampened the state's Dungeness crab fishing industry and helped drive up the price of fresh crab 40%. Stiff winds and pounding seas, along with small catches by those crabbers who dare to venture out, means a meager supply of crab meat for the first phase of California's commercial crab fishing season, which began Nov. 15 and runs through mid-July.

Poor weather along California's northern coast has dampened the state's Dungeness crab fishing industry and helped drive up the price of fresh crab 40%. Stiff winds and pounding seas, along with small catches by those crabbers who dare to venture out, means a meager supply of crab meat for the first phase of California's commercial crab fishing season, which began Nov. 15 and runs through mid-July.

After nearly a week of battling wildfires across several Northern California counties, firefighters finally began getting the upper hand Friday, aided by the absence of new lightning strikes that had ignited many of the blazes several days ago. "We've made progress," said Jolene DeGroot, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, noting that firefighters were close to containment on the 10 major blazes still burning in Northern California.

After nearly a week of battling wildfires across several Northern California counties, firefighters finally began getting the upper hand Friday, aided by the absence of new lightning strikes that had ignited many of the blazes several days ago. "We've made progress," said Jolene DeGroot, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, noting that firefighters were close to containment on the 10 major blazes still burning in Northern California.

Cold, mostly dry weather is allowing water officials to ease pressures on rivers still running high almost two weeks after a deluge of tropical downpours triggered massive flooding in Northern California. Releases from mountain dams have been reduced by small degrees but enough so that "waters are very slowly receding" and reducing the strain on weak levees, mostly on the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, a state official at flood control headquarters said Monday.

It felt like an early summer Monday as San Francisco basked in record-breaking heat for the second straight day. The high temperature in San Francisco was 90 degrees, breaking the record of 89 set on April 29, 1981, National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Benjamin said. No other records were broken in the Bay Area, although the temperature reached 91 degrees in San Jose, 89 in Fremont and Concord, 88 in Redwood City and 86 in Santa Rosa.

Huntway Partners, a Newhall-based oil refining company that produces liquid asphalt, has reported the worst quarterly results in its history, posting a $2.3-million loss in the second quarter ending June 30. The loss is more than twice the company's loss of $1.08 million during the same period a year earlier. Revenues in the latest quarter increased by 4% to $21 million from $20.2 million. For the six-month period, Huntway's losses more than doubled to $5.

It was sunny and 88 in Alaska, while Northern California's endless winter continued Saturday, kicking off yet another weekend of heavy rains, chilly temperatures and more snow in the Sierra. Much of the San Francisco Bay Area struggled to reach the low 60s under rainy skies Saturday, with showers falling from Stockton to Ukiah. Winds of up to 30 m.p.h. buffeted the coast, while snow fell at altitudes as low as 4,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada.

PSA Inc., the parent corporation of Pacific Southwest Airlines, expects to report a net loss for the first quarter ending March 31 that will be "substantially larger" than the $448,000 net loss recorded during the same quarter of 1985, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. A company spokesman on Wednesday declined to elaborate on how large the quarterly loss probably will be.

Sometimes a fashion item comes out of hibernation and you have to think, should I go for it, or is it just a passing fancy? The last time we wore ponchos, Kate Jackson was the Courteney Cox of the airwaves. Ponchos resurfaced in the fall 1999 collections of Ralph Lauren, Max Azria for BCBG and Anna Sui. Then we saw them on "Ally McBeal," being worn by Nelle Porter (Portia de Rossi), who may very well be the luckiest character on TV.

Cold, mostly dry weather is allowing water officials to ease pressures on rivers still running high almost two weeks after a deluge of tropical downpours triggered massive flooding in Northern California. Releases from mountain dams have been reduced by small degrees but enough so that "waters are very slowly receding" and reducing the strain on weak levees, mostly on the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, a state official at flood control headquarters said Monday.

It felt like an early summer Monday as San Francisco basked in record-breaking heat for the second straight day. The high temperature in San Francisco was 90 degrees, breaking the record of 89 set on April 29, 1981, National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Benjamin said. No other records were broken in the Bay Area, although the temperature reached 91 degrees in San Jose, 89 in Fremont and Concord, 88 in Redwood City and 86 in Santa Rosa.

It was only 10 inches, a mere dusting compared to some winters--there have been years when the drifts would dwarf a grown man. But the snow that blew into the highlands Monday on this week's storm was enough to liven things up substantially on Mt. Wilson's slopes. By midmorning, the sugar pines were drooping with fluffy dollops of white and the road to the Mt. Wilson Observatory needed to be cleared.

Tournament favorite Larry Nixon caught an 11.55-pound limit on the final day and defeated 99 other fishermen for the $50,000 first prize at the recent U.S. Bass $2-million Bass Tournament at Table Rock Lake, Mo. Nixon, from Hemphill, Tex., also won an $18,000 bass boat. Runner- up was Gary Klein of Oroville, Calif., who caught a 9.50-pound limit and won $39,000. Livestock fencing is going up on both sides of one of Northern California's premier wild trout streams, Fall River.