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ClimateQuiet 11d · day 11

LA Times article on California fires contains major county name errors

A Los Angeles Times story about wildfires near Big Sur invents a nonexistent county and misidentifies the location of two of three fires.

newest coverage 10d agosummary written 10d ago5 pieces105 likes & upvotes19 comments NewswiresMastodon

What to know

  • Three wildfires in Mendocino County have burned nearly 60,000 acres combined as of Saturday, with the Plaskett fire largest at 29,942 acres (83% contained) and the Lucas fire most recent at 3,846 acres (15% contained).
  • The LA Times article's headline and opening paragraphs erroneously reference a nonexistent "Montecito County" and misidentify the locations of the fires, though the article body correctly names Mendocino County.
  • Social media critics flagged the geographical errors and questioned editorial oversight at the publication over the factual inconsistencies.
most voices

Editorial failure demonstrates lack of fact-checking and raises concerns about publication standards.

  • “Fielding questions re: this article w/bizarre factual errors. First, there's no "Montecito County" in CA.”

    weatherwest@mastodon.social · Mastodon ↗

Jack Flemming LA Times reporterLos Angeles Times News outletweatherwest@mastodon.social Meteorologist / social media user

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in 3h at Sep 12, 7 PM; 5 pieces over 11 days (3 articles · 2 posts) Sep 12, 7 PM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Sep 12, 10 PM — quietSep 13, 1 AM — quietSep 13, 4 AM — quietSep 13, 7 AM — quietSep 13, 10 AM — quietSep 13, 1 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 13, 4 PM — quietSep 13, 7 PM — quietSep 13, 10 PM — quietSep 14, 1 AM — quietSep 14, 4 AM — quietSep 14, 7 AM — quietSep 14, 10 AM — quietSep 14, 1 PM — quietSep 14, 4 PM — quietSep 14, 7 PM — quietSep 14, 10 PM — quietSep 15, 1 AM — quietSep 15, 4 AM — quietSep 15, 7 AM — quietSep 15, 10 AM — quietSep 15, 1 PM — quietSep 15, 4 PM — quietSep 15, 7 PM — quietSep 15, 10 PM — quietSep 16, 1 AM — quietSep 16, 4 AM — quietSep 16, 7 AM — quietSep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 1 PM — quietSep 16, 4 PM — quietSep 16, 7 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 1 AM — quietSep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 7 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 1 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 7 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 7 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 7 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quiet 1–2
Sep 13Sep 14Sep 15Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22now · 4:44 AM ET
  1. 2

    Social media users question editorial oversight

    Another Mastodon user criticized the LA Times for inventing a county and using two wrong county names in the same article, questioning editorial practices and raising doubts about the reporter's identity.

    “THERE ARE NO EDITORS. LA Times inventing new counties. And uses TWO( 2) WRONG COUNTY NAMES in the same article.”
    — ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
    • ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org

      THERE ARE NO EDITORS. LA Times inventing new counties. And uses TWO( 2) WRONG COUNTY NAMES in the same article. (One is an invented county). And, I wonder if "Jack Flemming" exists. 🤔 Is "Jack" an AI?!?!? https://www. latimes.com/california/story/2 026-09-12/three-montecito-county-fires-burn-60-000-acres

      ai6yr@m.ai6yr.orgMastodon10d ago34▲view on Mastodon ↗
  2. 1

    Weather researcher flags factual errors on social media

    A meteorologist on Mastodon publicly called out the article's errors, noting that there is no "Montecito County" in California, that two of the fires are actually in Monterey County (not Mendocino), and that the acreage figures do not match either location.

    “Fielding questions re: this article w/bizarre factual errors. First, there's no "Montecito County" in CA. Second, 2 fires are actually in *Monterey,* & 3rd in *Mendocino*.”
    — weatherwest@mastodon.social
    • weatherwest@mastodon.social

      Fielding questions re: this article w/bizarre factual errors. First, there's no "Montecito County" in CA. Second, 2 fires are actually in *Monterey,* & 3rd in *Mendocino*. Third, 60k ac have *not* burned in either fictional Montecito nor real Mendocino.🤨 https://www. latimes.com/california/story/2…

      weatherwest@mastodon.socialMastodon10d ago25▲view on Mastodon ↗
  3. background

    LA Times publishes article with county name errors — The Los Angeles Times published an article stating that three fires near Big Sur burned nearly 60,000 acres in "Montecito County," a county that does not exist in California. The article's headline and opening paragraphs contain this error, though the body text correctly references Mendocino County.

  4. background

    Getty fire burns 25 acres in Brentwood — A smaller fire burned 25 acres in Brentwood on Wednesday, leading to evacuations and closure of the Getty Center; the museum reopened Friday and the fire was 90% contained by Saturday.

  5. background

    Lucas fire starts — The Lucas fire began Thursday morning near Bachelor Valley on the border of Lake and Mendocino counties, reaching 3,846 acres by noon Saturday with 15% containment.

  6. background

    Plaskett fire ignites — The Plaskett fire started in Mendocino County and became the largest of the three, burning 29,942 acres by Saturday with 83% containment despite difficult terrain, and closing sections of Highway 1.

  7. background

    Timber fire starts near Big Sur — The Timber fire began burning in Mendocino County, eventually growing to 25,426 acres by Saturday with 27% containment and causing closures of state parks and local businesses including Nepenthe restaurant.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 3 outlets Three Montecito County fires near Big Sur have burned nearly 60,000 acres

    first by Mastodon, 11d ago · also LA Times, LA Times California

What people are saying 0 voices from 0 sites · best of 2 · verbatim