Firefighters were working to extinguish a small Mecca vegetation fire Monday morning that was sending smoke into the eastern Coachella Valley sky. The 1.3-acre fire was first reported at 3:21 a.m. in the area of State Highway 86 and Avenue 66. There was no immediate word on the cause or reports of any injuries. Firefighters
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge ruled Friday that the U.S. government can keep using chemical retardant to fight wildfires, despite finding that the practice pollutes streams in western states in violation of federal law. Halting the use of the red slurry material could have resulted in greater environmental damage from wildfires, said U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in
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The Board of Supervisors today authorized Riverside County Fire Department Chief Bill Weiser to close access to multiple outdoor recreational locations for the duration of wildfire season to minimize public safety risks. Since 2007, the department has sought and received authorization to close designated grounds — located mainly in the central and southwest portions
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Firefighters battling the Fairview fire had to pause operations overnight in order to rescue people from inside the evacuation order zone, News Channel 3 has learned. Some residents decided to stay inside their homes even into the third day of evacuation orders, reported Justin McGough, Day Operations Branch Chief on the Fairview Incident. The residents
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Evacuation warning and orders have spread rapidly, even reaching parts of Temecula and Anza. Many Anza residents weren’t expecting it come their way. Emotions were running high, as the flames bring them memories of the Cranston fire that came close a few years back. “It’s just awful, I just hope we don’t have to go
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A brush fire that sparked up two acres just before 10:00 Tuesday morning grew to 50 acres by 1:30 p.m. By the evening hours, the fire burned 60 acres with 20% containment. CAL FIRE has crews on the scene near Highway 111 and Grant Street near Mecca. There are no evacuations or injuries reported, officials
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Update 5:30 p.m. Evacuation orders have been lifted, CAL FIRE confirmed Tuesday evening. All roadways are opened. The fire remains at 20 acres with 60 percent containment. Crews will remain in the area working on fire suppression Original Article 10:30 a.m. More than twelve hours after a fire sparked near a Thousand Palms neighborhood, evacuation
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One valley school district is working toward cleaner air in the classroom, deploying new technology – and spending millions of dollars on it. Thousands of portable, commercial grade air filters have been installed in every Palm Springs Unified School District classroom plus some work spaces, purifying all of the oxygen in a 1,300 sq. ft.
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All thunderstorms have moved west of the Coachella Valley but not before leaving some flooding issues in parts of the desert. Desert Hot Springs recorded just under a half-inch of rain. This combined with runoff led to the closure of Dillon Road, but the roadway is now back open. Notice the difference in recorded rainfall
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Fire crews are continuing containment and mop up efforts on the Rock Fire in Anza. Shaken families returned to their homes after evacuation orders were lifted Wednesday morning. Lacey Evans, Peter Hernandez and their two children spoke with News Channel 3’s Madison Weil just after they pulled into their driveway, relieved to see their Anza
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The wildfire in Anza has burned 95 acres and is 90% contained. According to the Riverside County Fire Department, crews are still on the scene working to contain it fully. The fire department said the flames were first reported around 1:35 p.m. on Saturday near state Route 371 and Bautista Road. Fire officials initially said
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PINYON CREST, Calif. 06/15/21 9:00 p.m. The fire acreage has been downgraded to 341 acres due to more accurate mapping, the San Bernardino County National Forest reported. Containment has reached 80%. Crews continue to remain on scene, mopping up. Highway 74 has been fully reopened and all evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted. 06/14/21
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BUTTE COUNTY – Governor Newsom announced $536 million in funding for fire prevention programs. Newsom signed the the legislative package Tuesday morning during a news conference in Butte County, the site of one of the deadliest wildfires in state history. The State budget for 2021 – 2022 has $1 billion set aside for forest health and
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Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection to the 2019 Sandalwood fire in Calimesa, to the west of the Coachella Valley and Beaumont. Antonio Ornelas-Velazquez, 38 In a CalFire statement, investigators said they arrested Antonio Ornelas-Velazquez, 38, Saturday on Santa Rosa Road in Desert Hot Springs. Firefighters said Ornelas-Velazquez was driving a trash truck that
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People living living in and around burn scar areas in San Bernardino County are being told to evacuate ahead of the next winter storm. With rain in the forecast, authorities say the areas where the Apple and El Dorado fires burned are now at high risk for mudslides and flooding. The evacuation warning was issued
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A cut-off low pressure system lingers over SoCal bringing cloud cover and holding temps to the lower seventies today and into tomorrow Partly cloudy skies will stick around until the low finally drifts farther South. Despite that, a Red Flag Warning has reappeared, with strong off-shore winds developing that will push dew points lower, and
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Governor Gavin Newsom is providing a live update at noon Monday on the state of California’s response to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the devastating wildfires. You can watch it live on News Channel 3 and in the player below: Coronavirus in Coachella Valley Many people in Riverside County are awaiting an announcement Tuesday
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WATCH: A memorial service being held for Charles Morton, 39, a Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Squad Boss, who died while engaged in fire suppression operations during the El Dorado Fire burning west of Palm Springs. Charles Morton (Courtesy of San Bernardino National Forest) Sharing our deepest sympathies from Chief Vicki Christiansen: “Thursday evening we lost
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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a big change to transportation in the state. In a video news conference Wednesday, saying the state will be “phasing out the internal combustion engine. By 2035 every new car sold in CA will be an emission-free vehicle.” You can watch the announcement in the player below: Earlier Wednesday, Governor
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Firefighters continue to battle the flames Friday in the Snow Fire. It’s been burning at high elevations. As of noon on Friday, it had reached 2,500 acres with 0% containment. The challenges of the Snow Fire CalFire officials say their main challenges fighting the flames on Friday are the triple digit temperatures, low humidity, and
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