![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Fire season in full force as Sonoma fire rages on, wind event pushes smoke into Bay Area and worsens air quality
This is a developing story. Check Harker Aquila for additional coverage on wildfires and outages.
As the Kincade fire in Sonoma County rages on, dry, gusty winds continue to push smoke from the wildfires southward, prompting Spare the Air to issue an alert warning for tomorrow in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The south bay region forecasted to have an air quality index (AQI) ranging from 76 to 107. AQI numbers above 100 are deemed to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” and Spare the Air advises those with respiratory difficulties such as asthma to limit outdoor exertion.
Spare the Air forecast for tomorrow’s air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area
The rapid growth of the Kincade fire has also led Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to enact a third round of public safety power shutoffs across California as the dry winds could potentially start additional fires if sparks spread from exposed power lines. Winds in the Sonoma County region may continue to blow at 40 to 50 mph, according to tonight’s Cal Fire report.
An alert on Spare the Air’s website.
Due to the high risk of fire in over half of PG&E’s service area in Northern California, customers in 32 counties, including Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Cruz could be affected by the outage.
This is the third consecutive public safety power shutoff (PSPS) this week, following yesterday’s shutoff, which affected approximately 940,000 customers in 38 counties, according to estimates provided by the utility.
The second round of power shutoffs began at 5:45 p.m. yesterday evening, starting in Marin County and continuing on to San Mateo, South San Francisco and Vallejo. By 6 p.m. today, over 1 million customers had lost power. Restoration efforts have not yet begun.
Location of the Kincade fire in Sonoma County.
The Kincade fire, located north of Geyserville in Sonoma County, is now 5% contained, after burning 54,298 acres, damaging 17 structures and destroying 94 structures over the course of four days. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency on Oct. 25 in Sonoma County, and Cal Fire has issued a red flag warning in the region continuing through tomorrow morning.
Around 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area. Evacuees are welcome to stay in a shelter at San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral.
This morning two fires broke out north of San Francisco in Glen Cove and South Vallejo, burning across 200 acres, resulting in the evacuation of residents in Crockett and damage to a storage unit on campus at the California State University Maritime Academy. The vegetation fire is 85% contained, and I-280 is now reopened at the Carquinez Bridge. Two firefighters were injured in the process with one hospitalized and subsequently released.
Kathy Fang (12) is the editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila. This is her fourth year on staff. From covering local marches and protests to initiating Harker...
Nicole Tian (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila. This is her fourth year on staff, and she previously served as the opinion editor, co-lifestyle...