A house in Orange County caught fire on Friday. Investigators say it started in the bedroom.Orange County Fire Rescue arrived at 7607 Treasure Island Court and quickly contained the active blaze.An OCFR spokesperson confirmed that crews were able to isolate the fire to the room of origin.All occupants were safely evacuated before crews arrived.OCFR investigators are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is also on the scene. >> This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A house in Orange County caught fire on Friday. Investigators say it started in the bedroom.
Orange County Fire Rescue arrived at 7607 Treasure Island Court and quickly contained the active blaze.
An OCFR spokesperson confirmed that crews were able to isolate the fire to the room of origin.
From WESH
House fire in Orange County
All occupants were safely evacuated before crews arrived.
OCFR investigators are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is also on the scene.
>> This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.
A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said.Firefighters responded shortly before 12:30 a.m. to the 17-story building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said.Chief John Esposito said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors.Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died. Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said.Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations, and work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected. The cause of the explosion was under investigation. The building was formerly run by the New York City Housing Authority, but it has been under private management since 2024, city officials said.”It’s an incredible tragedy. We’re sending all our thoughts to the families involved,” Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for housing and planning, said at a morning news conference.Mayor Zohran Mamdani said all utilities in the building were shut down, and all 148 apartments vacated. Officials set up a reception center for the displaced residents at a nearby school, and the American Red Cross was there to help provide housing and other needs.”As you can imagine, this has been a deeply frightening and devastating morning for them,” Mamdani said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. “They are not alone. Our city will stand by them and do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet.”The Red Cross said it had registered more than 100 households and 305 people, including 89 children, for emergency aid by early Saturday afternoon.More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department. When the explosion occurred, some firefighters were trapped briefly in an elevator, officials said.”There were injuries. It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the city’s housing authority, known as NYCHA, which is the largest in the nation.Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”In October, a massive brick chimney running 20 stories up the side of a housing authority apartment building in the Bronx collapsed after an explosion, sending tons of debris plummeting to the ground but amazingly not injuring anyone. Officials linked it to a natural gas boiler.
A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said.
Firefighters responded shortly before 12:30 a.m. to the 17-story building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said.
Chief John Esposito said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors.
Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died. Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said.
Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations, and work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected. The cause of the explosion was under investigation. The building was formerly run by the New York City Housing Authority, but it has been under private management since 2024, city officials said.
FDNY via AP
This image provided by FDNY shows FDNY members operating at a fire on the top two floors of a high-rise apartment in the Bronx, New York City, early Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.
“It’s an incredible tragedy. We’re sending all our thoughts to the families involved,” Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for housing and planning, said at a morning news conference.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said all utilities in the building were shut down, and all 148 apartments vacated. Officials set up a reception center for the displaced residents at a nearby school, and the American Red Cross was there to help provide housing and other needs.
“As you can imagine, this has been a deeply frightening and devastating morning for them,” Mamdani said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. “They are not alone. Our city will stand by them and do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet.”
The Red Cross said it had registered more than 100 households and 305 people, including 89 children, for emergency aid by early Saturday afternoon.
More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department. When the explosion occurred, some firefighters were trapped briefly in an elevator, officials said.
“There were injuries. It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.
Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the city’s housing authority, known as NYCHA, which is the largest in the nation.
Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”
In October, a massive brick chimney running 20 stories up the side of a housing authority apartment building in the Bronx collapsed after an explosion, sending tons of debris plummeting to the ground but amazingly not injuring anyone. Officials linked it to a natural gas boiler.
A Great Pyrenees dubbed “Banks” was rescued Wednesday after getting stuck in mud along a river in Iowa, prompting a boat response from the Marshalltown Fire Department because the heavily wooded area prevented police from reaching the dog on foot.”They tried to reach him by foot, and they couldn’t, so they asked us to take our boat out,” said Deputy Fire Chief Curt Raue.Firefighters freed the dog quickly. “This one was as textbook as it could be,” said Raue.Banks was turned over to the Marshalltown Animal Rescue League, where veterinarians cleared him. “Vets gave us a clear bill of health,” said Austin Gillis, the executive director of the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown.Gillis says the positive outcome was helped by the dog’s thick coat and the fact that he was in mud, not water. “If the animal is dry, we’ve got time to make this as safe as possible,” Gillis said.Less than a day after his rescue, Banks was energetic, though still caked with mud, and expected to be cleaned up after grooming. No information has been released about possible owners or how he ended up there. For the time being, “Banks” will be cared for by the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown.It is likely he will not be there very long.Deputy Chief Raue says a firefighter who played a role in the rescue has filed paperwork to adopt him, saying Banks “made an impression on a lot of the people who rescued him.”
A Great Pyrenees dubbed “Banks” was rescued Wednesday after getting stuck in mud along a river in Iowa, prompting a boat response from the Marshalltown Fire Department because the heavily wooded area prevented police from reaching the dog on foot.
“They tried to reach him by foot, and they couldn’t, so they asked us to take our boat out,” said Deputy Fire Chief Curt Raue.
Firefighters freed the dog quickly.
“This one was as textbook as it could be,” said Raue.
Banks was turned over to the Marshalltown Animal Rescue League, where veterinarians cleared him.
“Vets gave us a clear bill of health,” said Austin Gillis, the executive director of the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown.
Gillis says the positive outcome was helped by the dog’s thick coat and the fact that he was in mud, not water.
“If the animal is dry, we’ve got time to make this as safe as possible,” Gillis said.
Less than a day after his rescue, Banks was energetic, though still caked with mud, and expected to be cleaned up after grooming.
No information has been released about possible owners or how he ended up there.
For the time being, “Banks” will be cared for by the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown.
It is likely he will not be there very long.
Deputy Chief Raue says a firefighter who played a role in the rescue has filed paperwork to adopt him, saying Banks “made an impression on a lot of the people who rescued him.”
Firefighter plans to sue Marion County over reported hazing incident
PEACEFULLY. BACK TO YOU, JESSE. ALL RIGHT, TOM, THANK YOU. NEW TONIGHT. WE’RE LEARNING. THE FIREFIGHTER DETECTIVES SAY WAS THE TARGET OF HAZING IN MARION COUNTY. PLANS TO SUE THE COUNTY. CELL PHONE VIDEO SHOWS THE MOMENT IN QUESTION. INVESTIGATORS SAY FOUR OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS ENGAGED IN HAZING ACTS AGAINST KALYN STEWART THAT INCLUDED WATERBOARDING AND HITTING HIM WITH HIS OWN BELT. THOSE FOUR FIRST RESPONDERS WERE CRIMINALLY CHARGED. ANOTHER SIX EMPLOYEES WERE FIRED FROM THE FORCE. WE SPOKE TO STEWART’S ATTORNEY ABOUT THE LEGAL ACTION THEY PLAN TO TAKE. WE HAVE GONE AHEAD AND PLACED THEM ON NOTICE THAT WE INTEND TO SUE THEM UNDER THE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY PROVISIONS IN FLORIDA LAW. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT’S A SIX MONTH WAITING PERIOD. AND DURING THAT, THAT’S BEFORE WE CAN ACTUALLY FILE SUIT. WE’VE GOT TO GIVE THEM SIX MONTHS, YOU KNOW, TO COMPLETE THEIR INVESTIGATION AND RESPOND TO THE ALLEGATIONS. AND IF WE CAN’T RESOLVE IT IN THAT WINDOW, THEN WE CAN PROCEED WITH A CIVIL ACTION. IN THE ATTORNEY’S LETTER OF INTENT, HE SAYS, QUOTE, MARION COUNTY WAS NEGLIGENT IN FAILING TO PROVIDE A HEALTHY, SAFE AND OR NON-DANGEROUS WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR KANE STEWART AT MARION COUNTY FIRE RESCUE AND SUCH NEGLIGENCE IS THE SOLE AND LEGAL CAUSE OF HIS INJURIES. TO TREAT A YOUNG MAN WHO HAD ALL GOOD INTENTIONS TO TRY TO COME IN AND SERVE HIS COMMUNITY IN THIS FASHION IS, YOU KNOW, JUST BEYOND THE PALE. AND PEOPLE NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. WESH TWO REACHED OUT TO THE COUNTY FOR COMMENT, AND THEY TOLD US THEY DO NOT DISCUSS
Firefighter plans to sue Marion County over reported hazing incident
Under a blazing bright November sun, Officer Andrew Tara re-arranged the gear for his patrol car on the asphalt outside of the department headquarters in Sunnyvale. Inside the car, evidence bags and a riot helmet is familiar to most police officers — not so much the other items he carries: a defibrillator and a full firefighting uniform with a respirator.
The gamut of equipment might seem unusual for a police officer, but Tara isn’t just a police officer, he’s also a firefighter and an EMT – and so is every other officer in Sunnyvale’s Public Safety Department.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Officer Andrew Tara’s equipment includes gear for police, firefighting and emergency medical work. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Sunnyvale is one of the only departments in the country that fully cross-trains police officers as firefighters and EMTs. With the department celebrating its 75th anniversary last year, many city leaders tout the success of the model as part of the reason Sunnyvale ranks among the safest cities in the Bay Area and beyond. And while the data is unclear on whether the combined department should take the credit for that success, the model has offered unique advantages that city leaders say could serve the city for years to come.
“We do three jobs all in one. You could be in a police uniform this year, and next year, you could be driving a fire engine,” said Sunnyvale Public Safety Department Chief Dan Pistor. “That’s what really makes us different.”
When the department was founded in 1950, Sunnyvale had fewer than ten thousand residents and Santa Clara Valley was just beginning its transition from agricultural destination to the beating heart of technological innovation.
At the time, Sunnyvale had a police department of only 16 people, a volunteer fire department and no EMT department. But in 1950 Sunnyvale was looking to begin a professional fire department, and then City Manager Kenneth Hunter thought that blending the police and fire department would be the best use of the city’s money and result in a safer community. So with two patrol cars, three fire trucks and 23 officers, the city moved forward with its new model.
Now, 75 years later, the department’s unique approach remains even if it has grown more than tenfold with the city better known as a hub for tech giants like Google and Apple then the small town that dried and canned fruit.
Its longevity makes Sunnyvale’s Public Safety Department one of the oldest in the country.
Of the over 18,000 departments dedicated to police work in the US, only about 130 put police and fire under a single system, according to counts from 2016, and departments like Sunnyvale, where officers are fully cross-trained, are rarer still.
The model requires extensive instruction for every officer, with nearly two years of training during which recruits become certified as EMTs, firefighters and police officers.
Officers rotate between fire and police duties every year, though those who specialize further, such as with crime scene investigations, can stay in their roles longer.
“The appeal of being able to do both is huge, and then being able to advance in the two different fields, there’s always that chance to get better,” said Matt Dupuis, who has served as an officer with the department for 11 years.
Several officers interviewed by The Mercury News echoed the appeal of the variety of the job, and the department claims a 90 percent retention rate after training is completed.
It’s a statistic likely aided by another unique aspect of the department: Sunnyvale’s public safety officers are among the highest-paid of any public safety employees in the county, with their recruitment website boasting salaries of up to $247,069. Even so, a Mercury News analysis of city budgets showed that the department actually spent less per capita on public safety and similar amounts per total employees compared to similar cities across the Bay Area.
“We are three departments in one,” said Pistor. “It saves the city from having a separate fire budget, separate police budget, separate EMS budget, along with separate administration, separate buildings and all of that. So in the long run, this model does save money for the city.”
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Chief Dan Pistor talks about his integrated police and fire departments during an interview Nov. 17, 2025, at the department’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
For years, the city has graced roundups of the safest large cities in the country, at times topping nationwide lists, and public safety officials tout their blended department as a key part of that.
While Sunnyvale has lower rates of violent crime than similarly-sized cities across the Bay Area, when compared to other cities with the same median household income throughout the Bay, Sunnyvale sees similar crime rates.
The same is true for instances of police violence, according to a Mercury News analysis of state data on incidents where police killed or seriously injured someone. Sunnyvale saw lower rates of police violence compared to similarly sized cities, but it ranked close to those with similar median income.
Still, Sunnyvale has some of the lowest rates of violent crime in the Bay Area, and city leaders say the model has played a key role.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Officer Kalahikiola De Dely parks a fire engine as he returns from firefighting training Nov. 17, 2025, in Sunnyvale, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein admits that many things could factor into public safety, from the socioeconomic status of the city to the “small town,” “welcoming feel.”
“I know that the model itself isn’t a fix, but I think it helps break down barriers in our community,” said Klein. “There’s a lot that makes Sunnyvale unique … our merged model is part of the magic sauce that makes our city so great.”
Beyond simple metrics of public safety, the model offers a degree of flexibility that has allowed the department to respond rapidly to emergencies across Sunnyvale.
Officers interviewed by this news organization cited as an example when police vehicles are the first on the scene to medical emergencies, the officer can start providing medical attention until fire fighters or an ambulance arrive — and even help provide assistance after.
If the site of a medical emergency or fire is also a crime scene, then the firefighters who respond to an emergency are trained on how to preserve the evidence so that those who investigate later have what they need to solve a crime.
Public Safety Officer Matthew Son, center, shows fellow officer Chris Evangelista how to enter evidence into the system at the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Officer Andrew Tara collects evidence during a criminal investigation Nov. 17, 2025, in Sunnyvale, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety’s fire engine and Mobile Emergency Operations Center vehicle are parked inside a fire station in Sunnyvale, Calif., Nov. 17, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Officer Kalahikiola De Dely returns from firefighting training Nov. 17, 2025, in Sunnyvale, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
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Public Safety Officer Matthew Son, center, shows fellow officer Chris Evangelista how to enter evidence into the system at the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
The model also can ease coordination between those assigned as fire and police. The department shares a single radio system and dispatch system.
This level of integration could be a significant boon to the department, said Brian Higgins, a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who consults with public safety departments across the nation. Higgins previously oversaw fire, police and emergency management departments in Bergen County, New Jersey.
“Communications are always issues when it comes to police and fire,” said Higgins, who maintained that for coordinating across departments “there’s a real advantage to having this mixed model.”
Even so, Higgins, city officials and some in the department note that transitioning to the model would be difficult. And while Higgins doesn’t recommend the model for every department, he has a simple message regarding its success: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
The Police Records Access Project contributed policing data and data analysis to this report.
Firefighters in Orange County are investigating the cause of a house fire that forced a couple and another adult to evacuate their home early Tuesday morning.A neighbor captured video of the intense flames and alarms blaring through the neighborhood. “I was asleep, and then my wife came running in, says, told me to get up,” said Ricky Shrock, one of the homeowners.Another neighbor, Brian Arrington, described the scene, saying, “We saw flames probably 15 to 20 feet in the air. We were worried about maybe embers flying over and hitting our roof.”Inside the burning home on Corbett Road were three adults. “When I opened the door, was nothing but smoke. We had to get out of the house,” Shrock said.Even after firefighters arrived, flames continued to shoot through one part of the roof. The homeowners, Ricky and Pepper Shrock, suspect the fire started in the garage but are unsure of the exact cause. “I could smell something. And I thought it was the heater at first, and then I looked around the room and it was a little foggy,” Pepper Shrock said.In the daylight, the damage was evident, with a boat outside the garage and the family’s Christmas canes still lining the driveway. The side of the home showed a stark contrast where black charred marks met the wall’s white paint.”Thirty years in this neighborhood. Thank God we had some good neighbors that brought us jackets and robes because we didn’t have anything,” Pepper Shrock said. Neighbors surrounded the couple, offering blankets in the cold as they watched firefighters work through their home and belongings.As she tried to process the events, Pepper, a fourth-grade teacher, expressed her concern, saying, “My only concern is I don’t want to freak out my students.”Now, just before school resumes, the family is left to pick up the pieces of their longtime home.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
Firefighters in Orange County are investigating the cause of a house fire that forced a couple and another adult to evacuate their home early Tuesday morning.
A neighbor captured video of the intense flames and alarms blaring through the neighborhood.
“I was asleep, and then my wife came running in, says, told me to get up,” said Ricky Shrock, one of the homeowners.
Another neighbor, Brian Arrington, described the scene, saying, “We saw flames probably 15 to 20 feet in the air. We were worried about maybe embers flying over and hitting our roof.”
Inside the burning home on Corbett Road were three adults.
“When I opened the door, was nothing but smoke. We had to get out of the house,” Shrock said.
Even after firefighters arrived, flames continued to shoot through one part of the roof. The homeowners, Ricky and Pepper Shrock, suspect the fire started in the garage but are unsure of the exact cause.
“I could smell something. And I thought it was the heater at first, and then I looked around the room and it was a little foggy,” Pepper Shrock said.
In the daylight, the damage was evident, with a boat outside the garage and the family’s Christmas canes still lining the driveway. The side of the home showed a stark contrast where black charred marks met the wall’s white paint.
“Thirty years in this neighborhood. Thank God we had some good neighbors that brought us jackets and robes because we didn’t have anything,” Pepper Shrock said.
Neighbors surrounded the couple, offering blankets in the cold as they watched firefighters work through their home and belongings.
As she tried to process the events, Pepper, a fourth-grade teacher, expressed her concern, saying, “My only concern is I don’t want to freak out my students.”
Now, just before school resumes, the family is left to pick up the pieces of their longtime home.
Atop the aerial ladder of a bright red fire engine, a firefighter wrangles a hose. From the spout pours not water but syrup, pumped from an enormous bottle. The stream of viscous liquid is aimed at a giant stack of pancakes 9 feet high.
“Pancake Breakfast” is one of the dozens of floats expected to roll through Pasadena on New Year’s Day in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. It was built by volunteers from Sierra Madre, a small foothill town that narrowly escaped the worst of the Eaton fire, which destroyed swaths of Altadena in January.
The design is meant to honor first responders and their role in protecting the town, referencing the community pancake breakfasts that for decades have been a common practice in many towns and cities to raise funds for equipment, training, and fire safety programs while also helping to build ties between residents and firefighters.
But some residents in Altadena have said the design — and particularly the audio feature, in which a firefighter asks for more syrup — is upsetting, because during the destructive fires many hydrants in their neighborhood ran dry.
“To depict anything where we are running out of liquid is maybe a little tone-deaf this year,” Shawna Dawson Beer, the author of a community blog about Altadena, told Fox 11.
“I think unfortunately this speaks to something that we fire survivors have experienced all year and that is a lot of action being taken on our behalf,” Beer said. “Ultimately, all of these folks with the best intentions and biggest hearts just need to actually talk to the survivors.”
Evelyn Shaffer, treasurer at the Sierra Madre Float Assn., which holds a contest each year to select the design of a float to be featured in the Tournament of Roses, found the float quaint and the Dalmatian standing watch by the red engine “just adorable.”
Three active-duty firefighters from Sierra Madre will be standing atop the float on the day of the parade, she said.
“I really regret that anyone had any distress over the float,” Shaffer said, adding that she felt that not all the information shared on social media was “fully accurate” and that descriptions of the float’s audio did not capture the whimsical tone.
She said that, in response to criticism in recent days, the audio dialogue had been removed.
“We don’t want anyone upset. This was not our intent. We took all the dialogue off,” Shaffer said. “So now you have the lovely glugging of the syrup on the soundtrack. That’s it.”
Shaffer said members of the association vote each year on some 40 float design submissions that are in line with a theme put forth by Tournament of Roses officials. The theme of the 137th Rose Parade is “The Magic in Teamwork.”
It’s one of only five floats in the upcoming Rose Parade that are built by volunteers from the communities sponsoring them.
“We are very proud of the design because it’s an homage to our first responders,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer said she hoped the changes made would allow people to enjoy the float.
Lead builder of the float, Kurt Kulhavy, told KCRW last week that the aim of the design was to honor firefighters without re-traumatizing those who lost homes and loved ones. They opted for a lighthearted approach.
News of the controversy online spurred some to speak up in favor of the design.
“I was [a]ffected by the fires. Im not offended. There are much bigger issues in the world. I think the float is cute. Geez,” one Instagram user commented.
But a member of the Sierra Madre float association, Dave Andrews, said in a post on Facebook last week that he was not a fan of the design and did not vote for it because it “seemed inappropriate.”
He said he had been dismayed when he later heard the soundtrack of what he described as a “fake fire call” in which a fire engine is being dispatched to a pancake breakfast because they are running out of syrup, and that he and others had raised concerns to the board.
In a post on Sunday, he applauded the float association for removing the dialogue.
“Even though some people perceive [me] as the bad guy for speaking my mind, I respect them for making a compassionate choice,” Andrews said. “Bravo to Sierra Madre for listening.”
A natural gas line leak triggered a dramatic explosion that destroyed a Bay Area home on Thursday, injuring six people and damaging several other properties.
At least one person was inside the home before it was leveled in the blast. The individual managed to escape without injury, but six others were hurt, including three who suffered serious injuries, Alameda County Fire Department spokesperson Cheryl Hurd said.
“It was a chaotic scene,” Hurd said. “There was fire and debris and smoke everywhere, power lines down, people self-evacuated from the home. … Someone was on the sidewalk with severe burns.”
The leak started after a third-party construction crew working Thursday morning in the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard in Hayward struck a Pacific Gas and Electric underground natural gas line, according to a statement from the utility.
Fire crews were first dispatched to the scene at 7:46 a.m. after PG&E reported a suspected natural gas leak, Hurd said. PG&E officials were already on scene when fire engines arrived, and reportedly told firefighters their assistance was not needed, Hurd said.
Utility workers attempted to isolate the damaged line, but gas was leaking from multiple locations. Workers shut off the flow of gas at about 9:25 a.m., PG&E said in a statement.
Fire crews were called back to the same address less than two hours later, where at least 75 firefighters encountered heavy flames and a thick column of smoke. Surrounding homes sustained damage from the blast and falling debris. Three buildings were damaged on two separate properties, according to fire officials.
Six people were taken to Eden Medical Center, including three with severe injuries requiring immediate transport. Officials declined to comment on the nature of their injuries.
Video captured from a Ring doorbell affixed to a neighboring house showed an excavator digging near the home moments before the explosion. The blast rattled nearby homes, shattered windows and sent construction crews running.
Initially, authorities suspected that two people were missing after the blast. That was determined not to be the case, Hurd said.
“They brought in two cadaver dogs looking to see if anyone was still trapped under the rubble, and the dogs cleared everything,” Hurd said.
Officials with the Sheriff’s Office, PG&E and the National Transportation Safety Board are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the explosion.
Marion County Fire Rescue said there were no injuries after a large mobile home fire in Ocklawaha on Friday.According to MCFR, firefighters were called out to the 18000 block of SE 105th Lane, Ocklawaha, for a residential structure fire around 7:20 p.m. Friday. Multiple 911 callers said a house and a shed had caught fire. Firefighters got to the scene about 10 minutes later to find heavy fire in both structures.Additional firefighters were called out to the scene as crews worked to deploy hose lines and extinguish the fire.MCFR said the fire was under control by 8:31 p.m. and that no injuries were reported. The family who lived in the mobile home is being assisted by the American Red Cross.
OCKLAWAHA, Fla. —
Marion County Fire Rescue said there were no injuries after a large mobile home fire in Ocklawaha on Friday.
According to MCFR, firefighters were called out to the 18000 block of SE 105th Lane, Ocklawaha, for a residential structure fire around 7:20 p.m. Friday. Multiple 911 callers said a house and a shed had caught fire. Firefighters got to the scene about 10 minutes later to find heavy fire in both structures.
Additional firefighters were called out to the scene as crews worked to deploy hose lines and extinguish the fire.
MCFR said the fire was under control by 8:31 p.m. and that no injuries were reported. The family who lived in the mobile home is being assisted by the American Red Cross.
WATCH: Fire department demonstrates dangers of frying turkey this Thanksgiving
My name is William Farhead. I’m the acting division chief of Orange County Fire Rescue. My last name is spelled F *** R H *** T. So we’re here today to talk about safe cooking with turkey fryers. It’s *** common thing there community that people fry their turkeys, but there are *** lot of hazards with it. There’s *** lot of threats with it. So we want to talk about the day and how we can prepare properly that way we can have *** great turkey at the end of the day. So an issue that we see is that people are buying turkeys that are too large for their pots. So the first thing you need to do is make sure you’re buying *** turkey that actually fits the pot you’re going to be frying it in after that. You want to make sure that you are prepared to have the right amount of oil inside of your pot. *** common problem that causes serious fires are people are overfilling their pots, putting *** turkey in, and then the oil runs over. So ahead of time, take your turkey, put it in the pot, and fill it with water and see what water level is to make sure it doesn’t overflow and at least 2 inches below the top of the pot, and then that way you know how much oil you need to put in. You can know the like amount to put. Once you’ve done that, of course, dry off your turkey, dry off your pot because water inside that pot would be devastating when the oil heats up later. When you are ready to cook your turkey, make sure you’re cooking *** thawed turkey. Cooking *** frozen turkey is *** disastrous situation. You’re going to cause *** fire with that. So thaw your turkey ahead of time. If you’re going to be doing it in *** refrigerator, that takes days. It’s roughly 2 days per pound, so make sure you’re prepared in advance. If you’re using soaking in warmer water or using *** microwave, you can do it closer to it, but obviously it changes the way you’re going to cook it. Once you’ve thawed your turkey and it’s ready to go and you’re going to put it in your oil, make sure your oil temperature is 350 degrees. Higher than that is going to cause again another problem where the oil is going to overflow and cause *** fire. So 350 degrees, not too much oil, making sure that your pot is anywhere near the home right there, that is *** bad example. We’re not showing you how to do it properly. We’re showing you what the threat is. By having it close to *** home, if there’s *** fire to occur, your house will catch fire. You need to make sure that your pot is on level ground. Having it on level ground could cause it to sip over once you place the turkey inside. Another issue would be what type of surface are you putting it on. That today is *** wooden surface. We wouldn’t want you to do that if you had it on wood again. If the fire comes over, you’re going to catch the wood on fire. You prefer to have it on level dirt or level concrete at least 10 ft away from your home, and that includes any overhang. You don’t want *** fire to catch an overhang on fire, so make sure that you’re away from any overhangs and away from your structure. So once you have the proper location, the proper preparation of your turkey, including the level of your oil, you’re able to start and when you are. You should, I should add, you should also have *** means of extinguishing *** fire should won’t occur. We have *** fire extinguisher there. You should always have *** fire extinguisher nearby in case you do have *** fire. So now you’re prepared to start. You set your turkey in carefully. You monitor and bring it out. You should be OK. You should not have any issues. Today our demonstration is going to show you how to do it wrong. We’re not going to show you any of the right ways to do it. We’re going to show you the opposite because that is our common problem. This turkey is going to overflow. The pot, the oil is going to run over the sides of the pot. You’re going to see exponential growth of fire because typically people are doing it with *** frozen turkey or *** turkey they haven’t dried off the surface area to, and you’re going to see that water being introduced to the oil which causes an explosive fire. You’ll probably see damage to the siding, which is very common because that heat will melt siding and could catch it on fire. So again, what we are showing today is the improper way. So hopefully people will use that example to take their it’s *** pretty dynamic example to take it away from the building. That’s *** great question. *** garden hose would not be the way to put out *** fire like this. You’re adding water to oil. Water and oil fires do not mix. It is not the correct way to put out *** fire. You should use an ABC fire extinguisher if you can. That’s the dry chemical fire extinguishers. Most homes have those and do it from *** distance if you feel safe. Using *** fire extinguisher is *** band-aid, if you will, to put on fire. If you’re able to and you feel safe and you have *** means of escape, please use your fire extinguisher and try to put the fire out. But I would immediately call 911 because if your extinguisher doesn’t work, you’re delaying the assistance of resources. One of the things I know that we use *** lot of different types of oil that be taken into consideration with our fire prevention. Well, I think everyone should be careful with oil they use. I know there are many different types of oil that are used by people. I do not have *** preference for you, just that the temperature stays 350 degrees and not beyond that. It’s the best recommendation. I didn’t want to have any other questions. I’m glad you. All right, I utility, yup. Just before we light up the turkey, we also have *** representative from Orange County Utilities, Milton Rodriguez, who’s going to speak about how to properly dispose of your oils, fats and greases after you safely fry your turkey. Thank you and good morning. My name is Milton Rodriguez. I’m the environmental supervisor for Orange County Water Reclamation Division. OK. And as we approach this holiday season for Thanksgiving, *** time for family, friends, and celebration, I’d like to remind you about something we often don’t think about. Which is fog. Which stands for fats, oils, and grease. Every year when you safely fry your turkeys, your casseroles, and those rich dishes. People tend to flush all of their leftover grease down their kitchen sinks. And over time This, it might not seem like *** big deal, but this grease cools and after it cools, it hardens inside of your plumbing pipes. And over time sticks to the walls of your sewage pipe and and attract food particles, food waste, and create serious clogs. In fact, The worst time for sewage blockups. Is the day after Thanksgiving. which has been deemed by social media. As #brownFriday. The results can be slow drains. Unpleasant odors and sewage backups. And no one wants to deal with this during the holiday season. So this is some things that you could do to help. Can it, cool it, and trash it. Pour used oil and grease into cans and disposable containers. Let it cool and dispose of it in your garbage cans. Wipe before you wash. Take paper towels, wipe excess grease off your pots and pans before rinsing. If we keep fats, oils in Greece out of our drains. We protect our home Our environment And our community So this Thanksgiving, remember. Don’t pour leftovers down the drain. Save them for the trash. Not your pipes. I’d like to thank you. Have *** blessed holiday. I thought OK, we’re gonna transition to the demonstration now, so I guess we can move these out of the way. Yeah. Take the phone to the side. Thank you, Jerry. I appreciate the uh same. OK, hold on, hold on. Yeah. You ready? Not yet, not yet. OK. We’re good. We’re good. OK. OK, one more time. Yeah Success, yes.
WATCH: Fire department demonstrates dangers of frying turkey this Thanksgiving
Cooking fires are the primary cause of home fires and associated injuries nationwide, according to the Orange County Fire Rescue Department.On Friday, firefighters conducted a live demonstration showing what happens when a frozen turkey is dropped into overheated or overfilled oil. The oil quickly boiled over and ignited, sending a large fireball into the air.As Thanksgiving approaches, the OCFRD is highlighting the dangers of frying turkeys. Firefighters say they see the same dangerous mistakes every year.“It’s a common thing that people do in the community to fry their turkeys, but there are a lot of hazards and threats,” Acting Division Chief William Farhat said.When a frozen turkey is dropped into an overloaded hot oil fryer, it can cause oil to spill and create a fire risk.This can result in severe burns, property destruction and even explosions if flammable materials are involved, according to the OCFRD.Officials recommend frying a turkey at 350 degrees, ensuring the bird is fully thawed and dried, and never pouring leftover oil down the sink. Improper preparation, especially using a partially frozen turkey, can create an explosive fire reaction.“Typically people are doing it with a frozen turkey or a turkey they haven’t dried out, which causes that explosive fire effect,” Farhat said. This can prevent clogged household pipes and damage to the sewer system.Orange County Utilities officials also attended the event to share guidance on safe disposal of fats, oils and grease to prevent clogged pipes and sewer damage during the holiday season.The demonstration was held at the Orange County Fire Rescue Training Facility.As families prepare for Thanksgiving, OCFRD hopes the dramatic visual serves as a reminder to stay safe and out of the emergency room.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
Cooking fires are the primary cause of home fires and associated injuries nationwide, according to the Orange County Fire Rescue Department.
On Friday, firefighters conducted a live demonstration showing what happens when a frozen turkey is dropped into overheated or overfilled oil. The oil quickly boiled over and ignited, sending a large fireball into the air.
As Thanksgiving approaches, the OCFRD is highlighting the dangers of frying turkeys.
Firefighters say they see the same dangerous mistakes every year.
“It’s a common thing that people do in the community to fry their turkeys, but there are a lot of hazards and threats,” Acting Division Chief William Farhat said.
When a frozen turkey is dropped into an overloaded hot oil fryer, it can cause oil to spill and create a fire risk.
This can result in severe burns, property destruction and even explosions if flammable materials are involved, according to the OCFRD.
Officials recommend frying a turkey at 350 degrees, ensuring the bird is fully thawed and dried, and never pouring leftover oil down the sink. Improper preparation, especially using a partially frozen turkey, can create an explosive fire reaction.
“Typically people are doing it with a frozen turkey or a turkey they haven’t dried out, which causes that explosive fire effect,” Farhat said.
This can prevent clogged household pipes and damage to the sewer system.
Orange County Utilities officials also attended the event to share guidance on safe disposal of fats, oils and grease to prevent clogged pipes and sewer damage during the holiday season.
The demonstration was held at the Orange County Fire Rescue Training Facility.
As families prepare for Thanksgiving, OCFRD hopes the dramatic visual serves as a reminder to stay safe and out of the emergency room.
A hiker clambers across a scorched landscape of ash, his footsteps crunching on charred earth as he peers over a ridge at a burn scar pocked with blackened stumps. Below are thickets of green chaparral and densely packed homes.
Suddenly, he stops. He zooms the camera in to wisps of white smoke rising from the dirt.
“It’s still smoldering,” he whispers — apparently to himself. No firefighters or state park rangers are visible.
The video of smoke on a hillside above Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades was shot by a local resident above Skull Rock Trailhead at 11:30 a.m on Jan. 2 — nearly 36 hours after the Lachman fire ignited and long after the Los Angeles Fire Department deemed the fire “fully contained.”
The footage is one piece of a puzzle that has been the subject of so much anger, attention and investigation since the January firestorms: What happened between the time L.A. firefighters declared the Lachman fire out and when it rekindled into a catastrophic firestorm that burned huge swaths of Pacific Palisades?
The video could also be key evidence for attorneys working on behalf of thousands who lost their homes against a player that has so far not received much attention.
Ever since federal officials arrested Jonathan Rinderknecht Oct. 8 on suspicion of igniting the Lachman fire — and revealed that embers from that blaze rekindled into the Jan. 7 Palisades fire — LAFD has faced the brunt of criticism for failing to fully extinguish the New Year’s Day fire.
But lawyers representing thousands of Palisades fire victims are also focusing on another target.
They argue the state, which owns Topanga State Park, where the Palisades fire began, did not do enough to monitor the small Jan 1. Lachman brush fire and stop it reigniting six days later into the devastating Palisades fire that killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures. Plaintiff attorneys are not alleging the state should have suppressed the fire; instead, they say it failed to make sure the area was secure.
The video, plaintiff attorneys say, corroborates the case they make in a master complaint filed earlier this month: that the state allowed a “dangerous fire condition” to exist on the Lachman burn scar. They allege the state allowed “embers from the Lachman Fire to smolder, rekindle and then re-ignite in dry brush” as the National Weather Service warned of dangerous Santa Ana winds.
California State Parks did not respond to questions on what actions it took to monitor the Lachman burn scar on Topanga State Park in the run-up to the dangerous wind event, or what role it typically plays in monitoring land after fires. It also did not respond to any of the allegations in legal filings or the hiker’s video showing smoke rising.
“California State Parks does not comment on pending litigation,” said a spokesperson for the agency.
Andrew Grinsfelder, 18, waters down the roof of his mother’s home, hoping to prevent the Palisades fire from destroying their house, on Jan. 8.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Government officials typically have limited liability in fires. The legal doctrine of qualified immunity shields public servants from civil litigation, unless their actions violate “clearly established” law, so they can make judgments without constant legal threats and public funds are protected.
California government code specifically prevents public entities and employees from being held “liable for any injury resulting from the failure to provide or maintain sufficient personnel, equipment or other fire protection facilities.”
However, David Levine, a professor of law at UC San Francisco, said allowing a “dangerous condition” on your property offers lawyers a possible path around immunity.
“It’s going to depend on the facts,” Levine said.
It is unclear whether the smoldering depicted in the hiker’s video was on state land. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the Lachman fire ignited on a 160-acre sliver of land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority before spreading to Topanga State Park. The video appears to have been shot near the border of the two properties.
Whether or not the smoke in the video was on the state portion of the burn scar, the plaintiff attorneys claim it was clear the Lachman fire was not fully extinguished.
“The rekindle happened on the State Park land and that’s what matters to our case,” said Alexander “Trey” Robertson, an attorney who represents 3,300 Palisades residents and is co-leading litigation on behalf of all victims in the Palisades fire.
Plaintiff attorneys claim California State Parks did not sufficiently monitor the smoldering earth — even as NWS warned repeatedly in the days before Jan. 7 of “critical fire conditions” and a “life-threatening, dangerous” windstorm across parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Protocol outlined in the state’s Department of Parks and Recreation Operations Manual indicates that staff should monitor burn scars: “Areas of a park unit which have burned will remain closed,” it states, “until appropriate Department staff have inspected the area and rectified any public safety, property or resource protection issues.”
Plaintiff attorneys argue that didn’t happen.
“The State failed to inspect and maintain its property and failed to provide proper fire protection on its property to allow embers from the Lachman Fire on its property,” the complaint states, “particularly in the presence of overgrown and poorly maintained dry chaparral, as well as knowledge of extreme fire weather conditions and predicted Red Flag Warning wind events.”
If a park ranger had inspected the Lachman burn scar and seen the smoke coming out of the ground, Robertson said, they could have urged LAFD to come back out and properly extinguish that fire.
It’s important to note the state has released few details about park rangers’ actions between the Lachman fire and the Palisades fire. It is possible state employees did monitor the burn scar and did not see smoke. California State Parks declined to provide details about ranger movements in the critical days between the two fires.
The area where the Lachman fire burned was not in a remote area, Robertson noted. It is just a couple minutes from a trailhead parking lot in an area popular with hikers.
“A park ranger could have very easily parked his or her truck, and walked a few-minute hike to top of the trail and just done a visual inspection,” Robertson said.
Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star who lost his home in the Palisades fire and has since become an advocate for accountability, said park managers have a duty to keep the public safe.
“It’s so obvious that they left it all smoldering — to the point where multiple hikers have videos of it still smoldering,” Pratt said. “We pay our taxes for it to be maintained. It’s in their policy manuals. It’s the law; it’s their government code: that it can’t create a danger to our town, our houses.”
What happened after the Lachman fire?
When flames lit up the hillside near Skull Rock on the Temescal Ridge Trail shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, firefighters moved quickly to suppress the blaze.
Within minutes of getting the first 911 call, fire engines rushed to the nearest trailhead and LAFD firefighters hiked to Skull Rock on foot. County firefighters dug a handline to block the spread of the fire with the assistance of LAFD hose lines.
By 4:46 a.m., LAFD announced that firefighters had “completed the hose line around the perimeter of the fire” and it was “fully contained.” “Some resources will be released as the mop up operation continues,” it added, “to ensure no flare ups.”
The next day, when firefighters returned to collect fire hoses, “it appeared to them that the fire was fully extinguished,” according to an affidavit by a special agent with the ATF.
According to the ATF special agent, a firebrand became lodged within dense chaparral and then smoldered and burned within the roots of the vegetation. The underground burning, he stated, was not visible to firefighters or members of the public who visited the burn scar after the Lachman fire.
But that appears to be contradicted by the video taken Jan 2. A local resident shot footage showing smoke and no firefighters on site.
Five days later, the Palisades fire ignited in Topanga State Park about 20 feet south of the perimeter of the Lachman fire.
The legal case
Los Angeles firefighters have been widely criticized for their lack of preparation before the Palisades fire.
After the ATF announced this month that the Palisades fire was a holdover fire ignited by embers of the Lachman fire, Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told The Times that LAFD did not use thermal imaging technology to confirm the Lachman fire was out.
But attorneys face steep odds bringing legal claims against LAFD because California governmentcode gives public officials broad immunity against claims of negligent firefighting.
The case against the state, however, is different. Attorneys representing fire victims argue government immunity does not apply to the state’s failure to inspect its land in the days between the Lachman and Palisades fires to ensure that no smoldering embers remained that could reignite as meteorologists warned of dangerous Santa Ana winds.
The complaint cites a 1974 legal decision involving a fire at an airport owned and operated by the city and county of Imperial. The court found governmental immunity should not be used “to allow a public entity to escape responsibility from its failure to provide fire protection on property which it owns and manages itself, particularly where it has permitted a dangerous fire condition to exist on that property.”
After LAFD announced it had extinguished the Lachman fire, the complaint alleges, the state had a “non-delegable duty to inspect its property for dangerous condition given that embers in the root structure are a well-known phenomenon after such a fire, that there was heavy fuel in the form of dry overgrown, chaparral, and a serious known coming wind condition.”
It will be up to courts to determine whether state officials were actually neglectful.
Levine, the law professor not affiliated with the case, said the lawyers who filed the master complaint— a 198-page document that also targets L.A. Department of Water and Power and dozens of public and private entities — had put together an impressively detailed case. But the state could also offer counter evidence and experts might offer different opinions about how often the state would be expected to check the burn scar.
“I think what the plaintiffs are doing is saying, ‘We have a lot of ammunition here,’ and it’s kind of an invitation to consider settling,” Levine said. “It’s a high hurdle, but not an impossible hurdle, and they may have enough evidence to get over that hurdle.”
Even if they prevail, property owners might not actually get that much of a payout, Levine said, because so many of the homes that burned were insured.
“If a fire policy paid out a million dollars, say, on a house up there in Palisades, the insurance company is going to say, ‘We get our money back,’” Levine said. “So how much money would actually end up in the hands of fire victims, I think, would be somewhat open to question.”
The master complaint does not hold the MRCA liable for allowing a dangerous condition on the Lachman burn scar. But even if MRCA isn’t legally liable because the Palisades fire origin point was not on its land, the public agency dedicated to acquiring and preserving open space and parkland also faces questions about its protocol for monitoring burn scars.
The agency has its own fire crew, with 30 full-time, on-call and volunteer wildland firefighters. Its website says it deploys its fire crew on red flag days to prevent and assist in suppressing any fires and coordinates with local fire departments, which are better equipped for larger fire responses.
In a statement to The Times, MRCA said its fire crew “did not play a suppression or monitoring role in the Lachman Fire” and that LAFD “was the lead responding agency and managing authority for the Lachman Fire, working in coordination with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.”
Fighting wildfires is a massive logistical challenge—a high-stakes puzzle where every move counts. At their core, wildfires are optimization problems: How do you allocate limited resources like water, personnel, and aircraft to have the greatest impact? Which areas must be protected first, and how do you predict and stay ahead of a fire’s unpredictable behavior? Add in dynamic factors like shifting weather patterns and road traffic, and the complexity becomes even more staggering.
Following the tragic Los Angeles fires of 2025, many of us find ourselves asking, “How can we prevent this from happening in the future?”
The answer, perhaps, lies in quantum logic: this is exactly the kind of problem that quantum logic was built to solve.
Classical computers can crunch numbers, but they’re limited—they analyze a subset of possibilities and find a “good enough” solution. Quantum computers, however, can evaluate all possibilities simultaneously, calculating optimal strategies in fractions of a second.
An Inc.com Featured Presentation
What Could Quantum Do for Firefighting?
Who would you rather have allocating resources during the most critical times, an overtaxed fire chief on the ground, or one that is assisted by an all-seeing quantum computer factoring in every variable, including burning ember trajectory and water resource allocation?
Quantum computing thrives in scenarios with complex, dynamic variables. For wildfire management, its potential is game-changing:
• Fire Spread Prediction: Simulate fire behavior in real time, using live data like wind changes, humidity, and terrain.
• Resource Allocation: Optimize the placement of water, crews, and aircraft/drone for maximum impact.
• Critical Prioritization: Identify choke points or high-risk zones where intervention is most needed.
• Scenario Testing: Instantly model “what-if” scenarios to evaluate the outcomes of different strategies.
This precision could save lives, homes, and communities.
But Are Quantum Computers Ready?
There has been a lot of talk about the potential of quantum computers, and when they will actually be ready. While the computers themselves could still be a decade or more away, the good news is that solving large-scale optimization problems is possible today.
What makes this exciting is that quantum algorithms don’t require fully developed quantum computers—they can run on today’s most sophisticated classical systems, delivering quantum-inspired solutions now. Players in the space such as D-Wave, Microsoft Azure, and Entanglement (full disclosure: I’m an investor in Entanglement) have already made major headway in this field, each bringing their own approaches to tackle optimization challenges.
Their tools, like QUBOs (quadratic unconstrained binary optimization) and other combinatorial optimization solvers can analyze massive data sets and evaluate all possibilities simultaneously, finding the best answer in real time.
Fighting Fire (and insurance companies) with Quantum Logic
Insurance companies are already using math to predict the odds of losing homes, often leaving homeowners and governments scrambling to react.
What if we could flip the script? Leveraging quantum math to improve the odds for homeowners? We can make higher-risk areas safer and re-insurable, helping to rebuild communities and ensure their sustainability for their long-term.
Early progress has been made in the field of fire prevention. The U.S. Army, according to a report in May, used quantum computing to plan fuel breaks—a brush management technique that stops wildfires from spreading.
Wildfires are devastating, but with the right focus and tools, we can fight back—with precision, strategy, and quantum math on our side.
More than 100 firefighters and a hazardous materials team were working Wednesday night to combat a fire involving lithium ion batteries and prototype cars at General Motors’ design studio in Pasadena, authorities said.
At one point, a firefighter was trapped in the structure amid the ferocious blaze and sent out a mayday call.
The Pasadena Fire Department responded to the fire in the 600 block of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 5:50 p.m., according to department spokesperson Lisa Derderian. The incident was declared a four-alarm fire — signifying a catastrophic blaze that requires the mobilization of significant fire department resources — due to the scale of the structure and the hazardous materials involved.
A firefighter is among dozens battling a fire Wednesday at the General Motors design studio in Pasadena.
(Hon Wing Chiu / For The Times)
“This is one of the largest structure fires we’ve had in Pasadena in many, many years,” Derderian said.
Preliminary reports indicated that lithium ion batteries and concept cars burned inside the building; however, the incident remained active Wednesday evening, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, she said. Some of the burned cars appeared to be gasoline-powered vehicles.
It took firefighters more than an hour to track down the source of the blaze as thick smoke engulfed the 149,000-square-foot campus. General Motors invested more than $71 million in 2021 to build the three-building facility as a new base for its Advanced Design Center.
The blaze is challenging to combat as crews cannot use water to extinguish lithium ion battery fires. Doing so can cause a destabilizing chemical reaction, leading more batteries to catch fire or explode.
“Firefighters on scene have trained in scenarios like this, but it does put a different twist on extinguishing fires,” Derderian said.
Large lithium ion battery fires can take several hours or even days to render safe.
The fire burned lithium ion batteries and concept cars at the General Motors facility, officials said.
(Hon Wing Chiu / For The Times)
When one battery cell overheats, it can trigger a chain reaction where nearby cells also overheat. This reaction releases heat and toxic gases and can continue deep inside the battery pack long after visible flames are put out.
There was a mayday call when a firefighter became trapped inside the fire-engulfed building Wednesday evening. But fire crews were able to locate him and pull him out of the structure without injuries.
“He did not wish to be transported [to a hospital], but it was a very scary few minutes there until they determined that he was OK,” Derderian said.
Fire crews are searching the entire campus to ensure there is no one else trapped inside, she said. Crews will remain on scene overnight as they continue to deal with the hazardous materials involved in the blaze.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a sea otter stole a surfboard in the waters off Santa Cruz. It happened on Wednesday, when calls for a water rescue came in for the area of 550 West Cliff Drive.Santa Cruz firefighters told KCRA 3’s partners at KSBW 8 that a sea otter took a woman’s surfboard around 5:07 p.m. and may have nipped at her, but did not break the skin. Firefighters pulled her to shore.They said she was uninjured, and they later recovered her board from the otter. She did not have to be transported to the hospital.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be notified.This comes two years after Otter 841 captured national attention for stealing surfboards, inspiring merchandise—and even an ice cream flavor—named after her.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a sea otter stole a surfboard in the waters off Santa Cruz.
It happened on Wednesday, when calls for a water rescue came in for the area of 550 West Cliff Drive.
Mark Woodward / @Native Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz firefighters told KCRA 3’s partners at KSBW 8 that a sea otter took a woman’s surfboard around 5:07 p.m. and may have nipped at her, but did not break the skin. Firefighters pulled her to shore.
They said she was uninjured, and they later recovered her board from the otter. She did not have to be transported to the hospital.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be notified.
This comes two years after Otter 841 captured national attention for stealing surfboards, inspiring merchandise—and even an ice cream flavor—named after her.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors offered a detailed timeline about what they allege caused the fire, which charred 23,400 acres and leveled more than 6,800 structures, including many homes in Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 people.
They alleged the seeds of destruction began not on Jan. 7 when the flames entered Pacific Palisades but on Jan. 1. They claim an Uber driver intentionally set the fire on a popular hiking trail in what they claim was a bizarre series of events that included listening to a French rap song. Firefighters responded and believed they had snuffed it out. But intense winds on on Jan. 7 reignited it.
The suspect, Jonathan Rinderknecht, could not be reached for comment and is in custody in Florida. This is a timeline of those fateful two hours over New Year’s Eve as laid out in court records. Some of the precise times are estimates. Authorities allege this led to the destruction of so much of Pacific Palisades:
LAPD officers keep the public and media out of the Skull Rock Trailhead as they investigate the fire on Jan. 13.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
11:15 p.m.: Rinderknecht drops off passengers in his Uber. They later told authorities he seemed agitated.
11:28 p.m. Suspect listens to the song “Un Zder, Un The,” by the French artist Josman, on his iPhone. Investigators allege the song included themes of “despair and bitterness… Google records indicate that he had listened to the same song nine times in the previous four days.”
11:34 p.m.: He drops off a passenger on Palisades Drive and drives toward Skull Rock Trailhead.
11:38 p.m. He parks at Skull Rock Trailhead and tries unsuccessfully to reach a friend living nearby. He walks up the trail to a small clearing, passing a sign saying “No Fires/Smoking.”
11:47 a.m.: He takes photos and a video of the area.
11:54 p.m. He listens to “Un Zder, Un The” again.
Las Lomas Place homes were destroyed near from Skull Rock.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
12:12 a.m. A camera shows the first indication of a fire in the area. He calls 911 but it “did not go through, most likely because he was out of cellphone range.” He tries again, unsuccessfully. Over the next few minutes he tries to reach 911 several times. Authorities allege he waited at least a minute before his first 911 call. He also allegedly recorded himself trying to reach 911. “This indicates that [he] wanted to preserve evidence of himself trying to assist in the suppression of the fire and he wanted to create evidence regarding a more innocent explanation for the cause of the fire,” prosecutors wrote.
12:17 a.m. He finally gets through to 911. According to the complaint, “he reported the fire (by that point a local resident already had reported the fire to 911). During the call, [he] typed a question into the ChatGPT app on his iPhone, asking, ‘Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes.’ (ChatGPT’s response was ‘Yes,’ followed by an explanation.)”
12:20 a.m. He drives around the area, sees fire trucks headed to the fire and follows the trucks. He gets to the trail area where firefighters were now battling the blaze. He “later told investigators that he offered to help the firefighters fight the fire,” the complaint said.
1 a.m.: Investigators said a witness later told them they encountered the suspect at this time. He allegedly told the witness he had “been down the hill at a house party” when he noticed the flames.
1:02 a.m. He takes several photos capturing firefighters battling the flames.
1:44 a.m. Authorities say his own video shows the glove box of his car opened. Authorities said when they later searched the car, they found a barbecue lighter inside the glove box. The suspect later told investigators he admitted bringing a lighter to the trail that night but could not remember what time, the court filing says.
Rest of Jan. 1: Firefighters used water dropping aircraft and hand crews. “Suppression efforts continued during the day of January 1, 2025, as firefighters continued to wet down areas within the fire perimeter. When the suppression efforts were over, the fire crews intentionally left fire hoses on site, in case they needed to be redeployed.”
Jan. 2: “LAFD personnel returned to the scene to collect the fire hoses. It appeared to them that the fire was fully extinguished.”
WEST NEWBURY — Looking to make sure they are as prepared as possible during a hostile shooter situation, first responders from nearly a dozen communities spent the weekend training with Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) instructors at Pentucket Regional/Middle High School.
“I think it’s extremely important. You never know when something like this is going to happen, or where, or how, but as first responders, we can control how we prepare and train our people to respond to these types of events,” Merrimac Police Chief Eric Shears said.
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PORTLAND, Ore. — A wildland firefighter arrested by immigration agents while battling the Bear Gulch fire in Washington state has been released after nearly four weeks in detention.
Attorneys for Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez said Wednesday, September 24, 2025, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement freed him on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. Hernandez has since returned to his home in Oregon.
Advocacy groups say the arrest violated due process and broke with long-standing practice that federal agents do not disrupt emergency responders. ICE confirmed Hernandez’s release but did not explain its decision.
Hernandez has lived on the West Coast since he was 4 years old and has worked as a firefighter for three years. His application for a U-visa, filed in 2018, is still pending. He thanked supporters and said he now hopes to help others as they helped him.
August Wildfire Ready special: Evacuation tips, fire simulation programs and detecting lightning
New fires starting every day. These winds are flowing out of the west. They’re pushing the flames away from the fire as lightning strikes in the foothills are sparking more fire concerns, and your family needs to be ready. There’s some nerves about evacuation response in the Tahoe Basin. KCRA 3 meteorologists are. Conditions outside fire behavior. If this fire is hot enough, it can push that cloud even higher. How to protect your property? But you just want to braided it so that it’s attached to their hair. Take time now to think about what’s most important to you that you want to take with you in an instant, and brand new tools that could save lives. We will implement that seek and destroy mission in *** KCRA 3 wildfire ready special. Welcome and thank you for joining us for our KR 3 wildfire ready special. We’re in the heart of wildfire season in Northern California, and so far it’s been *** quiet year, but we all know that the next big fire could ignite any day. The entire KCRA 3 weather team is here with the information you and your loved ones need to know, and we know, Heather, fires can start anytime, anywhere. Do you know how to get alerts for evacuations? Well, here’s some important tips. Each county in California has an alert program. You can sign up for if you work in one county but live in another, you should sign up for both. Scan the QR code for the list of alert programs. Another good thing to do is during *** fire, check your county sheriff and Office of Emergency Management social media pages. How about in the middle of the night? And what if your power goes out? Coming up later, I’ll show you *** tool that could provide *** life saving alert. Right now, fuels in the foothills in the Sierra are as dry as they can be. And when monsoon moisture comes up from the south, we get the risk for lightning fires. Lightning is the only natural cause of wildfire in California, but it can also cause the fires that are the hardest to put out. According to the National Science Foundation, 70% of all the acreage burned in the West is because of *** lightning fire. Coming up in *** few minutes, I’m going to show you the brand new sensors that were just installed in the Tahoe area that can help fire agencies detect *** lightning fire in seconds. Even without lightning, weather has *** big influence on our fire risk. Every day our team looks at wind, humidity, and fuel moisture to help you prepare for that risk with our fire threat index. The QR code on your screen will take you to that index at KCRA.com. One thing you can do right now is plan your evacuation route, and if you have young drivers at home, make sure they know the turns without using navigation and make sure that your go bag is ready with everything you and your animals need. Some of the things included in that list. Make sure you have *** 3 day supply of food and water. Make sure that you have *** first aid kit and make sure you have all of your prescriptions and medications. If you want to see the full list, we’ve got that online on our wildfire ready guide, and you can use our app to learn about fires burning near you. So far this year, more than 354,000 acres have burned on state and federally managed land. That is higher than the. 5 year average for this same time period and this year started off with two of the three most destructive fires in state history, showing just how severe that ongoing threat can be. Coming up, I’ll show you how wildfire simulations are helping Cal Fire learn about past fires, battle current ones, and prevent future blazes. Now to the Tahoe area where experts are using *** new network of lightning sensors to help prevent destructive fires. Lightning fires start in some of the most remote spots in California, so it can take days to see smoke. By then, *** fire could be out of control. Now the Tahoe Basin is home to *** network of sensors that can detect *** lightning strike within 100 ft and then alert firefighters in less than *** minute. This is one of those sensors positioned at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. There are 2 metal plates. It’s one of 9 keeping watch for high risk lightning in the Tahoe Basin. Basically, lightning will disturb this electromagnetic field, and it’ll be able to pinpoint where it was based off of that. It was developed by the Fire Neural Network team. The group got its start in Florida, the lightning capital of the United States. Its purpose is based on one big idea. Not all lightning is created. FNN’s Caroline Cummo says that *** strike lasting just 0.2 million. lids, the blink of an eye is enough to ignite *** wildfire. The strike is touching the ground 1000 times longer than normal strikes. FNN sensors single out those lightning strikes, then use data on fuel type in recent weather to predict the potential for an ignition. The data end up here in *** color coded dashboard. These big red dots are considered the high risk strikes. Cal Fire will get alerts and coordinates to within 100 ft for any high risk strikes. That’s going to be substantial on us, not only fire suppression efforts, but stocking that response up appropriately. Battalion Chief Nathan Ment says it’s the randomness of lightning that creates the biggest challenges. Lightning doesn’t. To land next to *** road necessarily right it’s that access. FNN sensors can alert them of *** threat in just 40 seconds. That alert process happens and then the human element can come in at that point, validate, verify, send resources if need be, instead of waiting for smoke, which could take days. Snow Lab lead scientist Dr. Andrew Schwartz says that’s exactly why he wanted to help bring the. And sensors to the region. Hopefully the sensor network gets away from that waiting game and becomes we can become *** little bit more proactive. Cal Fire says it uses every tool at its disposal to fight these remote lightning fires, but it’s always on the public to be aware of the risk and to be ready this time of year. If you are informed or if you gather intel or information that there is *** lightning fire. Uh, don’t wait for the evacuation warning or order to come. If *** fire starts nearby, you may need to leave at *** moment’s notice, but how can you make sure you get the warning, especially if it happens *** fire overnight. Take *** look at this important tool that could save lives. If *** fire starts in the middle of the night, do you know where to get your warning information? Sure, *** phone, that’s *** great tool, but what happens if your phone, it’s in silent mode, it’s turned off, or worse yet, Your power goes out. This NOAA weather radio is going to be one of your best tools to stay informed during *** wildfire. If there was an active alert, you would hear it out of the radio here. Right now, of course it’s just delivering *** forecast, but if there was an active alert, it would be followed with information from the National Weather Service for your region or your county on ***. Exactly what to do and where to go next. If you are deaf or hard of hearing or have *** low or reduced vision, there are two other great options to alert you, especially when you need information quickly. The strobe light, which attaches to the alerts issued from the NOAA weather radio, this would flash brightly to alert you to wake up and get out if you needed to. Then there’s also the pillow shaker, which is *** great option, which you can actually put under your pillow, and this would shake to let you know that an alert has been issued for your county. Getting access to vital information, this is going to be one of the best ways to do it through the NOAA weather radio. This is good to go to give you all of the access to updates and information, especially when *** wildfire is threatening. Earlier we mentioned those important things that you should pack in your go bag, but there may be other important heirlooms that you want to keep safe. Kelly Curran shows us how to make sure your family memories are preserved here at KCRA. We know *** thing or two about digitizing videos. We’re currently in the process of uploading our archives. It’s certainly time consuming, but there are services available to do it for you. I. It can be very costly and time consuming, so that’s why *** lot of people would just bring it here, let us take care of it for them, take away that that hassle and headache. Mike’s camera in Midtown Sacramento sees customers requesting to digitize every day, and it’s not just photos. We do digitize photographs like physical photos. We can digitize slides, negatives of all sizes, video tapes, VHS, reels, um, many DBs. You can organize your photos and negatives or just. Throw them all in *** box and deal with it later. We do offer *** service called *** Gather box for photographs, so that’s *** box that you buy from us. You fill it all up as much as possible, um. Sometimes you can fit up to like 1000 4x6s in there. Bring that back to us and we can have that done for you in about 3 to 4 days. Typically customers request flash drives. You can get more than one to share with family or friends for safekeeping or skip the hard copy entirely so you won’t waste time looking for it in an emergency. We can send things through email so you can save them into your cloud in case you can’t find the physical flash drives or CDs, Kelly Curran, KCR 3 News. Prices for digitizing photos in one of the gather boxes provided by Mike’s camera can range from $250 to $350 depending on the quality. When we come back, how agencies are using simulation programs to better prepare for fires, plus those huge clouds you see during fires, we’re going to explain what those are and how they form. Playing with fire, it’s *** new way to fight it. Fire management agencies are relying more on simulation programs to better understand fire behavior. Meteorologist Ophelia Young sits through *** simulation with fire officials in Tahoe. I’m in Golden Bear, South Lake Tahoe, *** subdivision of 150 to 200 homes. There’s one way in and one way out. What could happen if *** fire were to spark right there. You’re showing up. You got 8 acres. What are you thinking right now? Battalion Chief Brett Swingen is thinking one of three things that’s life, property, or environment. In this fire. There’s *** lot of homes, *** lot of people in that area, *** lot of life. So our number one priority is evacuations and getting people out, right? Life before property. Now where to evacuate this area down here is not really. Threatened. I’m not gonna maybe do evacuation orders down there more so up here and forecasting where this is gonna go. He plugs three main factors into this simulation program fuel, topography, and weather. The fuels are shrubs, grasses, needle cast. This is really receptive for embers and ember casts and things like that that can really impact control efforts in the fire. The topography kind of come in this uh to the north northeast already and then the wind pushing that that way as well. And speaking of those winds right now this has *** 60 mile an hour wind on it. Very bad day to have *** fire in that area. Assistant Chief Brian Newman says this simulation helps determine their next steps. Where are we going to be able to organize and direct resources? Trucks. Bulldozers And or aircraft. Is the amount of resources that we have arriving at scene and responding, is that enough? And where to position them? Who will position them? Just this fire alone you would have Lake Valley Fire District, the city, South Lake Ta Fire and Rescue. Uh, Tahoe Management unit or the US Forest Service and Cal Fire would all have *** piece on this fire. Now 7 hours, 700 acres still burning northeast. These streets all have multiple homes on them. But then this is heading towards heavenly, and now this fire is burning into the mountains. The strategy changes and. So does the conversation. Now *** new challenge. So there are no roads up here. It’s very steep terrain, heavy fuels, and as you get in this upper elevations, the wind starts to impact it more so the rates of spread increase the intensity of the fire. They may need *** new simulation. They’ve got one in seconds. multiple simulations over and over. Before these plug and play fire simulation programs, Chief Newman would use *** sandbox to physically model *** fire. It took *** lot of math and time they often didn’t have. Now Chief Newman and Sweringen produce simulations regularly for evacuations. Leadership and teamwork exercises to planning where to reduce fuels, whether *** fire sparks right there, right now or later. No fire is the same, no incidents the same, right? Evacuation orders are always going to be different, different areas, fire is gonna burn differently from South Lake Tahoe, Ophelia Young, KCRA 3 News. Fire chiefs look forward to the next step in wildfire simulation technology, which is integrating artificial intelligence and real-time satellite images that will happen in the next few years. Now we often talk about weather and how it can influence *** wildfire, but sometimes the most intense fires create weather of their own. Meteorologist Dirk Ver Dorn joins us now to explain pyrocumulonimbus clouds and the erratic conditions that come with them. The making of *** pyro cumulonimbus cloud. The source is going to be *** little different here of lift, and that’s where the pyro part comes in. You have the fire that’s associated with this cloud. cumulo means the heap, and then you have nimbus, which means the rain that’s associated with it. So we have our fire. That’s going to be the source of lift. You have the air that’s being pulled up. You have all these gasses and smoke that are rising up because they’re warmer than the surrounding air, so you get the column of smoke associated with this. Now if this fire is hot enough, it can push that cloud even higher and it develops into, well, you have the water vapor that’s in the surrounding air that starts to lock on to all those particulates, and there’s *** lot of particulates to lock onto when you have *** column of smoke, but still it cools, it condenses, and it can even get to the point. If the fire is strong enough where you, you can have some rain associated with this, and again, even the possibility of some lightning associated with this that can actually create thunderstorms. Now the good thing about this, and there’s been cases where this has happened where the rain has actually helped to put out the fire. The problem though is if you have lightning, that can actually be *** problem because it could cause more fires to start. Now here we have *** pyrocumulus cloud and you can see the column of smoke from the fire rising up to *** point where the air. starts to cool and the smoke starts to dissipate in different directions, but there’s *** hot spot that has created enough lift where we’re getting this cauliflower looking cloud on top. That’s the pyrocumulus cloud, the cloud that’s caused by fire. Now this is not *** pyro cumulonimbus cloud. There’s no rain associated with it. It’s just *** pyro cumulus cloud. I wanted to show you that. Also what I wanted to talk about was *** change that’s been made. Now in 2017, the World Meteorological Organization. In their international cloud atlas they chose the term cumulonimbus Flamagenitus cloud to describe flame created rain clouds. So let’s go ahead and take *** look at this Flama means fire. Genitis means created. So this is then *** heaped up rain fire created cloud. Well, that’s *** mouthful, but it is descriptive. Coming up, protecting large animals in case of *** fire, the best ways to make sure horses and other animals are safe in some of our rural areas. Evacuating ahead of *** wildfire, it’s stressful, but evacuating with large animals that can make it even more complicated. Certainly can. KCR meteorologist Kelly Kern visited all about equine Animal Rescue to learn some tips on how to get your horses out safely. We see the footage every fire season, horse owners fleeing with full trailers and even horses being set loose to run for their lives. Mary Beth Brown, *** horse owner and volunteer with All About Equi Animal Rescue, is no stranger to evacuating. Always evacuate early. So my recommendation is always, even if you’re in *** warning area. That’s the time to evacuate just like you would do with your family or smaller animals, you want to have *** go bag. If there’s any medications or grains or feed, you wanna make sure that those are packed and ready to go. So again, you know, you kind of just want to make sure that you are prepared. So if you have *** trailer, you can keep that packed, keep that stock and practice. You definitely want to practice at home because when it’s not an emergency, if you’re having problems, it’s guaranteed you will have problems when the emergency arises because you’re stressed, they’re stressed, they don’t know what’s going on. And know where you’re going before fire season line up, find *** friend, find *** boarding stable, find somewhere that you know if you have to pick up in the middle of the night. You can call on your way. Unfortunately, wildfires can move faster than you can evacuate. Time for Plan B. Set them loose. There’s many reasons that you may not. Be able to remove the animal from the situation. In that case, while you still have control of the animal, you, you want to put identifiers on him. So the best case scenario would be ahead of time get your horse microchipped just like you would *** cat or *** dog. You can also use *** Sharpie to write your phone number on their hoof or use livestock paint markers to identify your horse. You can any type of tag, so *** key ring. Um, cattle ear tags, which you can get at your local feed store, but you just want to braid it in so that it’s attached to their hair, and then you can use the rubber band, you can use athletic tape, whatever it is to, to tie it off. Freeze brands like these can be used to identify your. when it’s located after the fire. Brown says no matter what, the horse community in California has each other’s backs. The community is here for you, especially in times of need, because everybody knows it could be them at some point. Kelly Curran, KR 3 News. If you must set your horse loose, remove halters and tack that could snag on trees, as well as nylon halters and fly masks that could melt in the heat. Also have copies of ownership documents as well as photos of your horses to prove they’re yours. Thank you for joining us for our wildfire ready special. Remember we have important evacuation information plus *** list of what to bring in *** go bag on the KCRA 3 app. Have *** good night.
While the Summer is drawing to a close it’s still important to be aware of the dangers of wildfires in California. Some fire officials would argue wildfire season has become year-round for the state, making preparedness more urgent. KCRA 3’s team of meteorologists put together a guide with tips on how to be ready for fires before they happen. The team has also spoken to agencies about developments in technology meant to help with fire prevention and response efforts. Having a ‘Go Bag’ readyA big part of wildfire preparedness is knowing what to take with you if you’re in the area of a burn and having those things readily available. Kelly Curran talked to Cal Fire about what they recommend to have in your ‘Go Bag.’ Some things, such as a first aid kit and water, may seem self explanatory, but there are plenty of other things officials recommend you pack. When it comes to food, deciding what to include can be confusing. You want to look for items that are shelf stable, nutritious and require minimal preparation. Granola bars and canned goods are a great option, but don’t forget to include a can opener in your kit.You also want to have an evacuation route and a map. For more ‘Go Bag’ tips, click here. Tracking lightning capable of starting firesLightning fires are some of the hardest for firefighters to attack directly because they often start in remote areas. It may take days for these fires to be visible. By the time crews reach the head of a fire, it may be too large to quickly contain.Heather Waldman spoke with the Fire Neural Network, the team behind a new network of sensor technology in the Lake Tahoe area that detects lightning capable of starting wildfires. The technology can report the hazard to firefighters in less than a minute. Each of the nine sensors in the Tahoe and Donner summit area can pinpoint a lightning strike to within 100 feet. Once a strike is detected, a built-in computer analyzes its duration along with recent weather and fuel moisture information. AI uses the data collected to determine a level of fire risk, according to FNN. One of the sensors is stationed at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab.”I thought it would be an ideal place to put these lightning sensors in the hopes that we can address wildfires before they got too big in the Tahoe Basin,” said Dr. Andrew Schwartz, who helped lead the process of bringing the technology to the region.Read the full story here. Playing with fire to save lives A rapidly advancing technology is becoming an essential tool in understanding and forecasting fire behavior. Cal Fire Amador–El Dorado Unit Battalion Chief Bret Swearengin walked KCRA 3’s Ophelia Young through a wildfire simulation demonstration, explaining how these programs help firefighters quickly make life-saving decisions.The program took the variables and, through an algorithm, simulated a wildfire spreading toward the mountains. This output helps crews decide which neighborhoods to evacuate first and what tactical steps to take next.Read the full story here. Ensuring valuable memories aren’t lost in a fire Safety is always first, and during a wildfire evacuation, you may not have time to grab many family photos on your way out. Digitizing family photos and videos and uploading them to flash drives or into the cloud ahead of fire season can give you peace of mind during an evacuation.One place you can do that: Mike’s Camera in Midtown Sacramento. They can digitize photographs of all sizes, slides, negatives, video tapes and reels.”We do offer a service called a ‘gather box’ for photographs, so that’s a box that you buy from us, fill it all up as much as possible. Sometimes you can fit up to 1,000 4x6s in there. Bring that back to us and we can have that done for you in about three to four days,” Sarah Sheldon, store manager of Mike’s Camera, told Kelly Curran. Read the full story here. | MORE | A 2025 guide for how to prepare for wildfires in California | Northern California wildfire resources by county: Find evacuation info, sign up for alertsCal Fire wildfire incidents: Cal Fire tracks its wildfire incidents here. You can sign up to receive text messages for Cal Fire updates on wildfires happening near your ZIP code here.Wildfires on federal land: Federal wildfire incidents are tracked here.Preparing for power outages: Ready.gov explains how to prepare for a power outage and what to do when returning from one here. Here is how to track and report PG&E power outages.Keeping informed when you’ve lost power and cellphone service: How to find a National Weather Service radio station near you.Be prepared for road closures: Download Caltrans’ QuickMap app or check the latest QuickMap road conditions here.
While the Summer is drawing to a close it’s still important to be aware of the dangers of wildfires in California.
Some fire officials would argue wildfire season has become year-round for the state, making preparedness more urgent.
KCRA 3’s team of meteorologists put together a guide with tips on how to be ready for fires before they happen. The team has also spoken to agencies about developments in technology meant to help with fire prevention and response efforts.
Having a ‘Go Bag’ ready
A big part of wildfire preparedness is knowing what to take with you if you’re in the area of a burn and having those things readily available.
Kelly Curran talked to Cal Fire about what they recommend to have in your ‘Go Bag.’ Some things, such as a first aid kit and water, may seem self explanatory, but there are plenty of other things officials recommend you pack.
When it comes to food, deciding what to include can be confusing. You want to look for items that are shelf stable, nutritious and require minimal preparation. Granola bars and canned goods are a great option, but don’t forget to include a can opener in your kit.
You also want to have an evacuation route and a map.
Lightning fires are some of the hardest for firefighters to attack directly because they often start in remote areas. It may take days for these fires to be visible. By the time crews reach the head of a fire, it may be too large to quickly contain.
Heather Waldman spoke with the Fire Neural Network, the team behind a new network of sensor technology in the Lake Tahoe area that detects lightning capable of starting wildfires. The technology can report the hazard to firefighters in less than a minute.
Each of the nine sensors in the Tahoe and Donner summit area can pinpoint a lightning strike to within 100 feet. Once a strike is detected, a built-in computer analyzes its duration along with recent weather and fuel moisture information.
AI uses the data collected to determine a level of fire risk, according to FNN.
One of the sensors is stationed at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab.
“I thought it would be an ideal place to put these lightning sensors in the hopes that we can address wildfires before they got too big in the Tahoe Basin,” said Dr. Andrew Schwartz, who helped lead the process of bringing the technology to the region.
A rapidly advancing technology is becoming an essential tool in understanding and forecasting fire behavior.
Cal Fire Amador–El Dorado Unit Battalion Chief Bret Swearengin walked KCRA 3’s Ophelia Young through a wildfire simulation demonstration, explaining how these programs help firefighters quickly make life-saving decisions.
The program took the variables and, through an algorithm, simulated a wildfire spreading toward the mountains. This output helps crews decide which neighborhoods to evacuate first and what tactical steps to take next.
Safety is always first, and during a wildfire evacuation, you may not have time to grab many family photos on your way out.
Digitizing family photos and videos and uploading them to flash drives or into the cloud ahead of fire season can give you peace of mind during an evacuation.
One place you can do that: Mike’s Camera in Midtown Sacramento. They can digitize photographs of all sizes, slides, negatives, video tapes and reels.
“We do offer a service called a ‘gather box’ for photographs, so that’s a box that you buy from us, fill it all up as much as possible. Sometimes you can fit up to 1,000 4x6s in there. Bring that back to us and we can have that done for you in about three to four days,” Sarah Sheldon, store manager of Mike’s Camera, told Kelly Curran.
When flames were spotted within one of the world’s tallest trees, firefighters flooded the area.
Drones, aircraft and hand crews worked for days to tame the fire, successfully stopping it from spreading across the dense forest that surrounds the famous Doerner Fir tree in Oregon’s Coast Range mountains.
But the towering Coast Douglas-fir has remained stubbornly alight.
And firefighters — at least at the moment — seem stumped.
“There’s still this spot where water is just not quite reaching yet,” said Megan Harper, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon. “Partway down the tree there’s an area that’s burning a cavity into the side. … That is the area that is now still hot.”
Smoke rises from a burned segment of the Doerner Fir.
(Bureau of Land Management)
The bizarre single-tree fire has now become an almost weeklong firefight in Coos County, Ore., as the hot spot continues to burn approximately 280 feet up on the side of the arboreal giant.
“We have different conversations [going on] in the background with arborist experts, who may be able to help get the rest of the fire out,” Harper said. “How do you get water into a hot spot from the side?”
She said crews are stationed around the tree and will remain so until the fire is out. The fire initially broke out Saturday around 2 p.m.
“We’ve been able to use helicopters with buckets … that’s been very successful getting the top of the tree,” she said. The still-smoking side cavity has proven more difficult.
Harper said the blaze’s initial charge felled an estimated 50-foot chunk from the top of the tree, which consistently had ranked among the world’s tallest. Before the fire, it was often listed as the second-tallest tree in the U.S., trailing only Hyperion, a gargantuan 380-foot Coast redwood located in Redwood National and State Parks.
“Prefire [Doerner] was 325 feet tall and about 11.5 feet in diameter, so it’s a large, tall tree,” Harper said. “We’re not sure exactly how much height is lost.”
Depending what happens in the next few days, “more height could be lost,“ she said.
Harper said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Initially, officials thought lightning was a likely culprit, but weather data have ruled that out, Harper said.
“I think everyone would be super disheartened to learn that maybe it would be human-caused,” Harper said, confirming that there is a remote trail that provides hikers access to the tree. But she said their team is not making any assumptions while the investigation continues.
“Fire in the Oregon Coast Range is actually pretty rare … so the fact that it even happened and then it happened to be this tree — it was a very unique situation,” Harper said.
BLM land around the Doerner Fir fire in Coquille, Ore., remains closed while firefighting continues.
