Use Caution When Playing with Smoke Bombs
Dear Editor,
I would like to tell teens and parents about a recent, small tragedy that occurred at my house in Jackson Oaks.
First off, I would like to thank the firefighters and policemen for arriving here so quickly to deal with a potential fire. Recently, my mother and I visited Chinatown in San Francisco and I purchased two packets of six smoke bombs each. At the time I intended to have a smoke bomb/airsoft gun fight with my friend, Dante, at my house. We started and saw no danger in the smoke bombs burning the plants since it is in the middle of the winter. While playing a smoke bomb was thrown into a patch of Juniper bushes. After a while of smoldering a fire emerged from the bushes creating a lot of smoke and some short flames. At the time we had a few men working on our pool who, once realizing there was a fire, jumped in and helped put it out with garden hoses.
Together, my dad, my friend, the pool people, and I had three garden hoses on the flames within the period of nearly 30 seconds. However none of the hoses were long enough to get directly over the flames so, my dad went and opened a new hose for my friend to cover the fire directly. Once this was in place, the fire was out within
5-10 seconds.
As I stated earlier, the fire department and the police together were here in seven minutes of the call and had cut away all remnants of the burned juniper. We later learned that the juniper bushes are very flammable because of the oils dropped even in the winter. I would like to caution anyone else who may ever wish to use smoke bombs, that they might not be as innocent as they appear, and express my fright about juniper bushes being so highly flammable at anytime of the year.
Daniel Enriquez, Morgan Hill
Trader Joe’s Picks Wrong City, Wrong Location and Now It’s Whining
Dear Editor,
About a year ago, Trader Joe’s had to make a decision on where they would build their new store in the South County, Gilroy or Morgan Hill. Well according to company officials, they did EXTENSIVE studies and research on locations in both cities.
They quickly chose the site where they are now in Morgan Hill. Now they are whining and crying for a freeway sign. Come on Trader Joe’s. After all your research, you should have known Morgan Hill’s specific requirements for freeway signage. Obviously not. You could have built your store 15,000 square feet to fill at least that one requirement. The other requirement is to have your store within 200 feet of freeway. Well you chose that location and I am sorry to say but you are 300 feet away.
The city might have worked with you here but you chose to totally ignore both basic requirements. Now you want the city of Morgan Hill to change its laws for you. If they do that, then every business within 300 feet should be allowed a sign. That means a sign for Walgreens, Starbucks, and Scramblz. These corporations chose their locations and are not whining to the city for a freeway sign.
Now Trader Joe’s live with your decision, by the way which I think was the wrong one, and hope and pray they find you.
Chris Walling, San Jose
