More than 2,000 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 90 miles south of San Francisco, have gone up in flames since 6:00 a.m. this morning. Officials don’t know what caused the fire, by dry, fast (up to 40 mph) winds are making the situation very difficult.

The two most important things to be aware of to stay safe as an older adult, according the Consumer Product Safety Commission, are falls and fires, which are the leading causes of injury and death among people 65 years of age and older.

Celebrities live pretty extraordinary lives, and many of them also experience some pretty extraordinary deaths.

Almost 200 people have been evacuated from homes and businesses within a half-mile radius of the meat plant that caught fire on Easter day. Most were still forced to stay away after concerns that the fire and heat might cause an anhydrous ammonia tank to catch fire as well.

Thirty thousand toy helicopters, called Fun2Fly Microcopters, were voluntarily recalled February 12 because of a fire hazard. The battery charger can overheat and cause the toy to burst into flames. Several incidents and one injury have been reported.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission linked air compressors manufactured by Campbell Hausfeld to fires, and therefore the compressors have been recalled. If you own an air compressor made by Campbell Hausfeld or Husky, you should stop using it immediately and contact the manufacturer at (800) 241-0448 for more information. You can also visit the Web site at chpower.com.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than 1 million portable electric heaters from Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., a now defunct Kansas company, in August 2004. Vornado now has to pay $500,000 in civil penalties because it didn’t report problems with the heaters in a timely manner.