Firefighters and air assistance respond to paraglider down in Santa Barbara County

VIDEO: Firefighters rescued a paraglider down on Gibraltar Rn Thursday afternoon, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesperson Scott Safechuck said the paraglider suffered traumatic injuries after landing down about 300 to 400 yards below the Gibraltar paraglider launch pad. A helicopter hoisted the paraglider from the site and transported him for medical assistance. Other first responders such as SB City Fire, AMR and Search and Rescue assisted on scene as well, according to Safechuck.
KEYT-TV CBS 12 Santa Barbara

10 Los Angeles students appear to OD on edible cannabis

Ten students were evaluated Thursday morning after a suspected cannabis overdose at a middle school in California’s San Fernando Valley. Around 11:20 a.m., Los Angeles firefighters responded to Van Nuys Middle School, officials said in an alert. The students, who are 12 to 15 years old, were found to be in “mild-to-moderate distress,” fire officials said in an updated alert. The students appeared lethargic and had a glazed-over look, authorities said. Seven were taken to local hospitals that specialize in pediatric medicine, while three were released at the scene. Christopher Angel, 12, told the Los Angeles Times that three people in his class were affected. “They were acting weird, tired, high,” he said.
KGET-TV NBC/CW+ 17 Bakersfield

VIDEO: Pursuit Ends in Chino Hills With Car on Fire, Two in Custody

A pursuit on two Southern California freeways ended Thursday night when the car caught fire in the Chino Hills area. Officers with the Pomona Police Department were in pursuit of a vehicle in the San Gabriel Valley Thursday night. The driver of a white sedan was seen on the northbound 71 freeway in the area of Pomona and Chino Hills. They were traveling at high speeds of over 100 mph. Sparks started to shoot out from under the car as the driver pulled over to the right. Two people exited the vehicle and began running along the side of the freeway, leaving the car with flames underneath it. Police units caught up to them and took them into custody as firefighters put out the flames on the vehicle. No further details were immediately available.
KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles

Big rig catches fire on Eastbound I-80 near Donner Lake Interchange

PHOTO: A big rig truck caught fire on I-80 eastbound at the Donner Lake Interchange Friday morning around 10:20 a.m., according to a tweet from Truckee CHP. Traffic in the area is temporarily being held due to fire, the tweet stated. “Good thing there was plenty of snow in the area,” the tweet read in part. No injuries were reported. The roadway will be cleared shortly stated CHP. Back-to-back winter storms brought about a foot of snow and an avalanche warning to the Sierras on Thursday, closing schools and intermittently shutting down traffic.
KRON-TV MyNetworkTV 4 San Francisco

Hayward BART station reopens following major medical emergency

BART's Hayward station has reopened after a man fell into the trackway as a train approached Friday morning, a spokesperson for the transit agency said. At about 9:15 a.m., the man suffered some sort of medical episode and fell onto the tracks as a train approached, BART spokesman Chris Filippi said. The station closed as emergency personnel responded, but authorities determined the train did not hit the man, who only suffered minor injuries from his fall onto the tracks, Filippi said. As of about 9:35 a.m., the man was taken from the tracks and the station had reopened, with train service recovering to normal though the area, he said.
KPIX-TV CBS 5 San Francisco

Indoor masking in Los Angeles could return as COVID cases spike, health officials say

Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer believes that if COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the county could move back into the high transmission level as soon as next week, which would mean the return of mandatory indoor masking in places like restaurants, bars and schools. “We would be back to saying our health care system is getting stressed out, we need to slow down transmission,” Ferrer said in a Thursday press conference. She also announced that the county was moving from low transmission levels to medium because cases and hospitalizations are rising. L.A. County has now reported more than 2,700 cases a day or 188 cases per 100,000 residents weekly. Health officials said the county will move into high transmission levels if reporting grows to 200 cases per 100,000 residents weekly.
KTLA-TV CW 5 Los Angeles

Report: 2 dead after small plane crash in Torrance

VIDEO: Two people died after they were on board a small plane that crashed at a Torrance airport Wednesday morning. Police and firefighters responded to the scene at Zamperini Field around 11 a.m., officials said. The pilot of a single-engine experimental Arion Lightning plane crashed while attempting to land, the Federal Aviation Administration said in an email to KTLA. Officials say the plane was seen going in circles before landing just short of the runway. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed that two people were killed in the crash. Their identities have not been released. Though no fire was reported, aerial video from Sky 5 showed the debris field and wreckage of the destroyed aircraft.
KTLA-TV CW 5 Los Angeles

Man in critical condition, dogs injured after Fullerton house fire

VIDEO: An elderly man is in critical condition after a fire broke out at a Fullerton home containing him, a woman and several dogs. The fire broke out at about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday night near Glenhaven and Highland avenues, and when firefighters arrived, they found flames coming from the attic and burning through the roof of the single-story home. While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, officials believe the blaze began in the garage, possibly as a result of pack-rat conditions. “We did have some challenging conditions inside the structure,” said Battalion Chief Jon Fugitt of the Fullerton Fire Department. “I like to remind people to make sure they keep their houses in nice, orderly fashion so we can complete our tasks.”
KTLA-TV CW 5 Los Angeles

Fire Destroys Vacant Historic Victorian Home in San Jose

VIDEO: San Jose firefighters Tuesday night contained a two-alarm blaze that destroyed a vacant historic Victorian home, according to the fire department. Firefighters responded at about 9:15 p.m. to reports of a fire that had engulfed the two-story house in the 1100 block of Ranchero Way in West San Jose, fire officials said. The home, built in 1868, was eligible for San Jose city landmark designation and for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources. Documents indicate the house was "associated with the early agricultural development of Santa Clara Valley from the Early American Period through World War II." There were no reports of any injuries, and the fire was contained to the one structure as of about 11:30 p.m., officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The property had been surrounded by a fence topped with razor wire.
KNTV NBC 11 San Jose

Fresno fire officials warn about the dangers of warming fires

VIDEO: As temperatures continue to drop overnight, Fresno fire officials warn about the dangers of “warming” fires as those in the unhoused community try to find shelter. Fire officials say you do not want to risk your life just to stay warm, if you need a place to stay head to your local shelter or warming center. “We’ve seen homeless encampment fires, vacant buildings go up in flames and we’ve seen people killed as a result,” said Jonathan Lopez with Fresno Fire. Lopez says they see more and more warming fires in the colder months of the year. “When you have folks who are trying to keep themselves warm in these cold temps in encampments, those fires can be knocked over, then careless people can drop things into the fire that causes the fire to spread,” he added. Lopez says not only is starting a fire dangerous for the person trying to stay warm but when firefighters respond, those resources are tied up from other areas in the city.
KGPE-TV CBS 47 Fresno

By the numbers: California’s mild 2022 wildfire season

As California emerges from its “peak” wildfire season, the state has managed to avoid its recent plague of catastrophic wildfires. So far in 2022, the fewest acres have burned since 2019. State Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said California had “a bit of luck” with weather this summer. Although enduring yet another drought year, much of the state was spared the worst of the heat and dryness that can spark fires. And in some instances, well-timed rain came to the rescue. Cal Fire officials also attribute some of the mild wildfire season to their emphasis on clearing away vegetation that fuels fires. Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said the $2.8 billion spent in the last two years on forest management made a difference, with the work “moderat(ing) fires approaching communities.” Mindful that wildfires can spark at any time in an environment driven by climate change, California officials have their fingers crossed after Gov. Gavin Newsom pronounced “the end of peak fire season” in mid-November.
Monterey County Herald