Placer County Local News: Public Safety


All Local Public Safety News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: A Pyrocumulus cloud generated by the Dixie Fire in July, 2021.
What is Fire 'Containment?' That and Other Terms, Explained

What does it mean when firefighters call a fire "contained?" Here's a brief guide to commonly used fire prevention terminology.

Image caption: Many of Robert Kerbeck’s neighbors in Malibu Park lost their homes in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which left behind lots where only chimneys still stood.
Give Your Home a Fighting Chance in a Wildfire

California wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent and more ferocious. ‘Malibu Burning’ author Robert Kerbeck shares simple steps you can take to protect your home.

Image caption: Placer Couty recently grappled with the Mosquito Fire, California’s largest wildfire in 2022.
Disaster Prep: Alerts, Maps and Apps

When disaster strikes, you’ll need to have these information resources available on your smartphone.

Image caption: With CERT training, volunteers can learn firefighting skills.
Emergency Teamwork

Fires, floods, earthquakes—California’s got it all. And CERT volunteers are ready to step in.

Image caption: Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners

As California insurance companies have revoked the fire policies of thousands of homeowners, the state has taken steps to get them covered again.

Image caption: Though it’s the most famous, the San Andreas Fault is just one of more than 500 active faults in California.
Battening Down for the Big One

Making it through the earthquake is the easy part. The hard part is surviving in the chaos that follows.

Image caption: Supercell storms are just one of many weather phenomena in the era of climate change.
The New Vocabulary of the Climate Change Era

The climate change era has created a whole new set of terms for a wide variety of storms and other weather phenomena. Here are some of the most important.

Image caption:
How Not to Feel the Burn

California residents can turn to these public and private entities to help prepare for wildfires and protect their property.

Image caption: There are more than 300 community service districts in California.
Community Services Districts, Explained

Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.

Image caption: Mosquitos kill about 725,000 people every year, worldwide.
Taking a Bite Out of the Mosquito Population

The pesky mosquito can be deadly as well as annoying. Here’s how local governments in California have been waging war on mosquitoes for more than a century.

Image caption: California will soon be getting a new hotline number as an alternative to 911 for mental health crises.
988, the New Mental Health Emergency Number, Explained

California will soon add a new emergency hotline service with the number 988. Here’s the story behind that new service, and the original 911 number.

Image caption: States have expansive powers to protect the health of the general public.
The State’s Broad Power to Protect Public Health, Explained

Since long before the COVID-19 pandemic, states have possessed broad authority to protect public health, even to suspend laws and commandeer private property. Here’s why, and how it works.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

02/06/2025
Bird flu was detected in a stray cat in San Mateo County. Read on for more information.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

02/06/2025
A local backyard poultry flock has been confirmed by San Mateo County health officials to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu. Read on for more information.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

02/05/2025
Good. Because it's flu season and cases are surging. Read on to learn more.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/04/2025
Roughly a month after deadly wildfires erupted in Los Angeles County, killing at least 29 people, lawmakers in the state Senate have introduced a proposal to bolster Cal Fire staffing, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is meeting with President Donald Trump over disaster aid.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/30/2025
Insurance companies have paid out $4.2 billion in claims so far to survivors of the Los Angeles County fires, the state Insurance Department said Thursday.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

01/29/2025
In the wake of the fire earlier this month at Vistra Corporation’s Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility, the California Public Utilities Commission has proposed new standards for battery energy storage facilities.

Placer Herald logo From Placer Herald...

01/28/2025
Image for display with article titled Guest Editorial: Home-Hardening Basics

There are two things we, as residents in high-fire areas, need to do to protect our homes from wildfire: Create defensible space, and harden our home. This article addresses home hardening.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

01/24/2025
Image for display with article titled Carnelian Woods Pile Burn Project Highlights Important Partnerships and Lessons

The forest skirting the Carnelian Woods Avenue neighborhood now stands much healthier than the forest that resided there before. A pile burning project there is nearing completion. It's the last leg of a larger fuels mitigation project that included forest thinning.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

01/24/2025
Damages in the ongoing Southern California wildfires are topping $250 billion, on track for the costliest disaster in US history. Read on to learn more.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/23/2025
With President Donald Trump bound for Los Angeles today and once again threatening to withhold wildfire aid to California unless the state abides by his water policies, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills Thursday to provide $2.5 billion in state funding for wildfire response and preparedness.

California Local Pin Marker From CapPublicRadio...

01/22/2025
A look at how the rebuilding effort is going in the California town of Paradise, wiped out in a 2018 fire, and how it offers insights for the tough road ahead for residents in neighborhoods destroyed in the fires of Southern California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/22/2025
At the Pasadena City College disaster resource center, the long, methodical work of putting lives back together is underway.

California Local Pin Marker From CapPublicRadio...

01/17/2025
As wildfires ravage southern California, state mandated defensible space requirements legislated in 2020 haven't been encoded into enforceable regulations. Read on to learn why.

The Roseville Press Tribune logo From The Roseville Press Tribune...

01/16/2025
Image for display with article titled Roseville Tabs Sinkhole Pipe Fix on Cirby Way at $1M

After a water pipe leak caused a sinkhole and traffic accident a year ago, Roseville officials plan to spend $1 million to fix the waterworks under Cirby Way.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/16/2025
Describing the active wildfires in Southern California as a “catastrophe at an unprecedented scale,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas of Salinas gathered with dozens of Assemblymembers on Thursday in Los Angeles to introduce new bills that seek to quicken rebuilding efforts and lift development restrictions.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/16/2025
The LA fires have left domestic workers and day laborers jobless. They may soon be hired for wildfire cleanup work, where they can be exposed to ash and other toxins.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/16/2025
Robert MacKenzie is an assistant fire chief — but not the kind who works for your local fire department. As the Palisades Fire bore down on Southern California last week, the private fire crew he oversees headed out to help defend homes for their customers: insurance companies that offer wildfire protection to wealthy homeowners and others with the coverage built into their policies.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/15/2025
Three days after immensely destructive and deadly wildfires broke out in and around Los Angeles, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $322.3 billion state budget with a positive revenue forecast “based on an assumption of continued but slowing economic growth.”

Auburn Journal logo From Auburn Journal...

01/14/2025
Image for display with article titled Colfax Approves Sidewalk Repair Ordinance Introduction

The Colfax City Council approved the introduction of a sidewalk repair ordinance, which aims to maintain safe walkways for pedestrians, during its Jan. 8 meeting.