Mary Assad and her family drove Assad’s elderly parents to the Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula on Aug. 31 before continuing on for a day trip to Julian in San Diego County. “We dropped them off at the valet and waved to them,” Assad said. “You would think it’s a safe place to take your…
A 52-year-old Tustin man pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for gunning down his estranged wife in Anaheim’s Peralta Canyon Park three years ago. Humberto Servin of Anaheim pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Servin fatally shot Claudia Espino Garcia of Tustin on May 12, 2016, in the…
So you’ve returned home after evacuating the Tenaja fire, and your house and your car are now pink. The fire retardant that was dropped from airplanes ahead of the flames is coating practically everything, and now it’s time to get rid of it. Cal Fire says the retardant — 88% water and 12% ammonium phosphate,…
Even as smoke from the Tenaja fire billowed in the distance, residents returned Friday, Sept. 6, to some of the hundreds of homes that had been evacuated over the past two days. Officials lifted all mandatory evacuation orders at 8 a.m. Friday, though they warned that residents could be ordered to leave again if the…
A burglary suspect armed with a hammer tried to break into a Santa Fe Springs apartment while children were inside Thursday, then fought with an officer, authorities said. Police used a Taser on the man. It wasn’t clear how many children were in the apartment at the time of the attempted break-in. A Whittier police…
Surviving crew members aboard the Conception tell what happened when fire broke out.
Jose Francisco Rael Jr.’s tow truck lumbered over to the side of the westbound 60 Freeway. It was rush hour, and a beat-up Chevrolet sedan was on the shoulder with a flat. Rael paused before opening his door, peeked over his shoulder to ensure no vehicles would sideswipe him and, once out on the asphalt,…
Q. On Aug. 16, I put in a Caltrans online Customer Service Request, pointing out that it is watering landscaping along the off-ramp from the northbound 5 Freeway to Bake Parkway when temperatures are high, and the wind blows most of the water onto the ramp. Four days later, I received an email from Caltrans…
Firefighters’ overnight efforts boost containment of Tenaja fire near Murrieta to 20%
Firefighters made progress on the Tenaja fire overnight, as containment on the Murrieta-area blaze doubled to 20% and all mandatory evacuations were lifted and became evacuation warnings. The fire did not grow overnight and remained at 2,000 acres Friday morning, Sept. 6. “We know people want to go home, and we’re more confident than we…
