John Clifford over at the M-M-M-My Pomona blog has a nice post that pays tribute to the stellar work the Foothill Cities writers have done covering the Sierra Madre fire.
Clifford says:
It must be remembered that bloggers are not being paid to do this. However, the contributors of the FCB have done an very admirable job in giving the community (and the wider community as well) a very good picture of what's going on. This coverage is so much better than any of the local media has given because it is being reported by those who are directly affected.
I salute the contributors at the Foothill Cities Blog. They show that blogging is more than just a bunch of complainers venting at their local governments. They ARE concerned citizens, who like most concerned citizens, rally together in times of trouble.
News aggregators is what most local bloggers are, and the Foothill Cities folks have shown that having all those eyes and ears out there in the community can be valuable during crises.