Latest news with #Nixle
Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
Homeowners in Laguna Beach urged to do their part to stave off wildfire disaster
Laguna Beach has rolled out a robust list of recommendations for its continued efforts in shoring up the community against the threat of wildfires and one key component is property owner participation. The city introduced a wildfire mitigation and fire safety report in 2019. Two dozen items have been completed stemming from the initial report, city officials said, while another 67 recommendations were submitted in the update. In the wake of the wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area in January, Laguna Beach revived its wildfire mitigation and fire safety ad hoc committee. The City Council appointed council members Sue Kempf and Bob Whalen as its representatives. During the May 6 meeting of the City Council, city officials and community members called on residents to do their part to mitigate fire risk at home and to be prepared in the event that disaster strikes. Sarah Limones, the city's new emergency operations coordinator, said the action items included in the update were broken up into several categories. The focal points for improvements include alert and warning capabilities, community preparedness, evacuation planning, fuel modification, infrastructure and public safety technology. 'I think there's really several components to it,' Whalen said of wildfire preparations. 'The first is … continued public agency effort … on the part of the city, on the part of the water districts, on the part of our surrounding agencies that have been assisting us. …I think the one we really have to stress, and it was not really that prevalent in the 2019 report, is private homeowner effort. … It really comes down to home hardening and vegetation management on our private property, and it's a big undertaking. It's a big effort. It's not going to be fun, in a lot of cases.' City officials want to create a list of residents with mobility challenges that may need additional assistance on red flag days or in the event of an evacuation. Kempf said there will be a door-to-door campaign to get people signed up for the Nixle alert system, and she stressed the importance of taking heed to evacuation warnings. Limones said the city would like to continue community engagement through town hall meetings. She suggested an annual meeting on the topic of insurance. Residents were also urged to have emergency kits ready and to practice leaving their neighborhoods via at least two separate routes. There was also discussion about staging heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, on red flag days in areas with tough ingress and egress, in case abandoned cars need to be moved along evacuation routes and for public safety personnel. A video was shown during the meeting to demonstrate what it is like to maneuver a fire apparatus on the narrow streets of some neighborhoods in town. From a technology standpoint, the city has begun implementing artificial intelligence fire detection cameras. Fire Chief Niko King said there are a couple cameras already installed at Top of the World and along Laguna Canyon Road, and there are plans to identify more locations. The city is exploring ways to control traffic without tying up public safety personnel, too. The cameras operate 24/27 and detect any ignitions, King said. They can automatically report them to the nearest dispatch center to get early-notification resources started. 'We're looking at traffic systems and installing some of the priority signals,' he added. 'In the event of an evacuation, these signals … stay green and they allow traffic to continue its flow in a specific direction.' Other preventive measures include consideration of the expansion of some fuel modification zones. 'Probably within the last six or seven years, we're starting to see some of the technology applied after fires occur,' King said. 'With the AI, they're able to model these fires and look where the … energy was the strongest.' The fire chief said that where there's continuous fuel, such as dry brush on a steep slope near a populated area that's subject to high winds, some of the energy can be taken out of a blaze and the amount of flying ember showers will be decreased if the fuel modification zone is expanded to 300 feet from a property. The local water districts also want to be resilient against seismic events and wildfire, both from the perspective of infrastructure and water supply. Keith Van Der Maaten, general manager of Laguna Beach County Water District, said his team is working with Newport Beach and Fountain Valley to get a new well and working with South Coast Water District on the Doheny desalination project. 'Those those two projects alone will allow us to be 100% local supply,' he said. 'Helo-hydrant is another infrastructure,' he continued. 'There's two of them now — one that the city funded, one that the district funded, and we are going to be looking at next year … a study to see if we can identify a third site.' Undergrounding utility lines remains a major focus in the community's fire mitigation efforts. City Manager Dave Kiff said the bottom line on the action items outlined in the plan will amount to 'tens of millions of dollars.' Mayor Alex Rounaghi said the city has to be 'all-in on fire safety,' and inquired about the possibility of putting 10% of the city's general fund budget, which this year is $94.6 million, toward such measures. 'I think we should be putting the next 10 years 10% of our general fund into wildfire prevention,' Rounaghi said. 'I think when you look at the public safety needs that we have in this community, we have to take this seriously. That's where I'm at. I think we need to really do more than $4 million this next budget. I think we need to be closer to 10% of our budget and also be looking at revenue enhancements.'
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Teens crash stolen car during police chase in Simi Valley
The Brief Police identified a stolen vehicle driving without headlights and attempted a traffic stop, leading to a pursuit through the city. The pursuit ended when the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to roll off the roadway near First St. and Flower Glen St. Three young teens inside the vehicle suffered significant injuries. VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - Three teens are facing multiple charges after they allegedly stole a car and led officers on a police chase that ended in a crash in Simi Valley. What we know According to police, it was just before 2 a.m. Saturday when officers observed a vehicle driving without headlights on in the area of Erringer Road and Cochran Street. When they ran the license plate, officers discovered the vehicle was stolen. The driver failed to pull over when police initiated a traffic stop, leading to a pursuit through the city. SUGGESTED: High-speed pursuit suspect escapes from police in North Hollywood The pursuit ended when the driver lost control and the vehicle rolled off the roadway near First St. and Flower Glen St. Three female juveniles, aged 13 and 14, were found in the vehicle with significant injuries and were transported to a local trauma center for treatment. What's next The juveniles, residents of Simi Valley, have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, conspiracy, felony evading, and possession of burglary tools. SUGGESTED: LA woman taken into custody following pursuit, hours-long standoff on Coldwater Canyon They were released to hospital staff and their guardians following treatment. The Source Information for this story is from a Nixle alert by the Simi Valley Police Department on April 25, 2025.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- The Independent
A convicted killer who was mistakenly released from jail is caught 2 weeks later
The U.S. Marshals Service said Friday that a convicted killer who was mistakenly released from a Georgia jail has been caught two weeks later in Florida — ending days of anxiety for the victim's family outside Orlando who feared he might harm them over their role in the trial. Kathan Guzman, 22, was supposed to spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting he strangled his girlfriend, 19-year-old Delila Grayson, who was found dead in a bathtub in August 2022, Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen told WSB-TV. However, jail workers in the county south of Atlanta mistakenly released Guzman late last month because they didn't read paperwork carefully, failing to see that he'd been convicted of murder and assault by strangulation, the sheriff said. The sheriff's office has not said whether any jail employees are facing disciplinary actions over the release. Guzman told someone after being freed that 'God is good' and he believed his release was the result of a higher power, the sheriff told WSB. The victim's mother, Christina Grayson, wasn't told her daughter's murderer was on the loose until Tuesday, after the district attorney learned of it, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 'I feel like I'm a sitting duck,' Grayson told WFTV-TV in Orlando. Her family was sleeping in shifts so that someone was awake at all times, she told the broadcaster, and deputies in Osceola County patrolled her neighborhood as the search continued. Guzman was arrested 'without incident' Friday at a residence in Ocoee, near Orlando, the U.S. Marshals Service said. Booking records showed he was being held in the Orange County Jail. 'Today we tracked him down and got him in custody,' said Michael Sonethavilay, deputy commander of the agency's Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The agency's Southeast Regional Task Force, based in Atlanta, 'did some digging and found some information that he may be in Florida,' Sonethavilay said. They got in touch with the Florida task force, which worked with the Orange County Sheriff's Office and picked him up. On Tuesday, the Georgia Office of Victim Services had discovered it couldn't locate Guzman in the corrections system and notified the prosecutor's office, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley said in a statement. Mosley said her employees then checked the jail's computer system, which appeared to show Guzman had been let go, so they immediately notified the sheriff. 'All appropriate paperwork was sent to the appropriate people. I have no idea why they released this man,' Mosley told the Atlanta newspaper. 'We are just as disappointed and pissed off as everybody else.' As of Friday morning, the Clayton County sheriff's office had not issued any public notifications about the mistaken release or Guzman's possible whereabouts. A sheriff's spokesman told The Associated Press that the agency was preparing a statement that would be sent to residents through the 'Nixle' alert system, which would also include a photo of Guzman.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
TxDPS investigates nighttime overpass crash
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — The Texas Department of Public Safety has launched an investigation into a collision that occurred overnight after a semi-trailer truck crashed into an overpass in San Angelo. In a Nixle alert issued at approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 25, the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office advised motorists to avoid a section of United States Highway 87 and part of North Chadbourne Street that had been closed due to a traffic accident. In a subsequent alert published at about 5:30 a.m., the sheriff's office said that certain lanes of the highway had been reopened but that a highway ramp in the affected area was still closed. Concho Valley food trailer 'exploded' in storage A Concho Valley Homepage reporter at the scene observed that Texas Department of Transportation crews were working to clear the area of debris as of the time of publication and saw what appeared to be a semi-tractor trailer damaged as a result of the crash. The reporter did not observe any visible structural damage to the overpass and said that traffic was being permitted to cross over it. TxDPS Sgt. Justin Baker stated that Troopers were conducting an investigation into the collision and that more details may be provided as information becomes available. Baker confirmed with Concho Valley Homepage staff that the incident 'is not a fatality crash.' This is a developing story. Stick with for updates as more information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Armed man arrested near Sonora after chase, shots fired
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — The City of Sonora has announced that a man is now in custody after reporting that shots had been fired by law enforcement, a chase had occurred and the involved suspect was armed and at large. The City issued a Nixle alert at 3:36 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, stating that shots had been fired by Kimble County law enforcement and that officers had 'initiated a pursuit from Kimble County.' The chase was said to have ended 'at 412 exit on Interstate 10.' The suspect, which the City identified as 25-year-old Rashaud Breland Al Moncrief, was stated to be 'at large and armed.' The City asked residents to contact the Sutton County Sheriff's Office to report suspicious activity and to call 911 in case of an emergency. 4 juveniles apprehended after stolen vehicle almost rolls into river In an update released via another Nixle alert issued at 9:14 a.m., the City stated that Moncrief was apprehended by two Sutton County Sheriff's Office deputies 'without further incident' after 'a brief foot pursuit' that occurred 'near the 412 exit ramp on Interstate 10.' Moncrief was then turned over to the Kimble County Sheriff's Office. 'Chief Fernandez would like to give special recognition to the two deputies from the Sutton County Sheriff's Office who remained vigilant in their efforts to locate the suspect,' the City stated in the alert. 'Their persistence led to a brief foot pursuit, during which they successfully apprehended the individual. Their commitment to duty and teamwork were instrumental in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion.' The City said Sonora Police Department Chief Donald Fernandez also extends thanks to 'Sutton County Sheriff's Office, the Sonora Police Department, the Kimble County Sheriff's Office, the Junction Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety for their coordinated response and dedication during this high-profile incident.' 'This event serves as a strong reminder of the importance of collaboration and teamwork among law enforcement agencies,' the City said in the alert. 'Despite the potentially dangerous nature of the situation, the coordinated efforts of all involved ensured that no one was injured, and the suspect was taken into custody safely.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
