Monterey County Public Safety Digest

Montery County is prohibiting parking at Bixby Bridge in Big Sur until further notice.

H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.

Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.

CalFire received the first of five planes promised by the federal government, a former Coast Guard C-130 Hercules air tanker.

Early warning systems save lives during disasters, but a recent FEMA survey found that only a third of people are signed up. Use this resource to find your county’s emergency alert sign-up page.

The chemical, used for decades, can harm babies’ developing brains. Farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk. The EPA issued a rare emergency order.

So many intense wildfires all at once require an intricate chess game for maneuvering firefighters and equipment around the U.S.

About 80 Californians die every year after contracting Valley fever, a fungal disease that typically affects the lungs. A recent outbreak was traced to a music festival in Kern County.

Whether they mean to or not, people are responsible for about 95% of the state’s wildfires. While arson accounts for about 10% of the fires, others can start in a myriad of ways.

The Monterey Fire Department received a $100,000 grant from Montage Health for new heart monitors and CPR devices.

In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships. Many of them are firefighters.

After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

The first two human cases of West Nile virus this season were reported in Yuba and Stanislaus Counties.

Residents of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties are warned against local recreational shellfish harvesting due to toxic local algae blooms and red tides.

The Monterey County Office of Education has responded to the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury report, titled “Fentanyl: Our Youth in Crisis.”

Assemblymember James Gallagher speaks during the floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 13, 2024. Photo by Cristian Gonzalez for CalMatters

The response to the Monterey County Grand Jury findings and recommendations about the Monterey County Health Department has been released.

The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership announced $45 million in California Public Utilities Commission grants to three local Internet Service Providers to expand broadband to unserved areas.

Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet safety and reliability standards. Fixing them would cost billions.

Before the first official day of summer, almost 90,000 acres have been burned in California wildfires.

With multiple fires already burning in the state, forecasters predict the coming fire season will be "very active."

Young Great White sharks are convening in the warm waters of Soquel Cove off Seacliff State Beach between Capitola and Rio Del Mar.

CalTrans announced convoys through the Rocky Creek slip-out on Highway 1 are open to the general public twice daily at 7-8AM and 5-6PM.

CalTrans continues to work toward a May 27 reopening of Highway 1 at the Rocky Creek slip-out.

In its April 18 meeting, the Seaside City Council voted to put a measure to ban fireworks on the November ballot.

CalTrans is concentrating work on stabilizing the edge of the lane at the location of the slip-out with a goal of installing a temporary stoplight so one-way traffic can resume.

A tornado stuck Kings county briefly, and another touched down in Madera county, as favorable conditions came together during a powerful winter storm which swept the region.

A report of a 12 month study which ended in February indicates almost half of those cited for drug usage were not residents of the city, leading to questions about city approaches to drug addiction.

Those signed up for alerts with the current system will be transitioned to the new system as part of the process. Officials note integration with County GIS map platform as key benefit of new system.

California’s law that requires background checks when purchasing ammunition is back in place.

A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6.

Los Angeles County flood control network withstands punishing rains—for now.