Sacramento County Public Safety Digest

Folsom Lake Crossing will be receiving a long-anticipated upgrade and repair work to improve traffic safety. The area is frequented by residents of both Sacramento and Placer counties.

After a month of holding the position on an interim basis, local resident Sean Duryee is set to become the official leader of the statewide law enforcement agency.

A report from the USDA Forest Service reveals about 36.3 million trees across 2.6 million acres of federal, state and private land died in California in 2022.

Multiple commenters, including local business owners, demanded action at the Jan. 17 meeting of the Galt City Council, saying the presence and behavior of homeless people had made them and their employees feel unsafe.

Citrus Heights already has seen a reduction of more than two tons of litter and debris from across the city, thanks to nearly $1 million in federal pandemic relief funds going toward a newly launched program.

Higher monthly bills might jolt PG&E customers in the wake of the utility's request for additional revenue due to the company's spending on wildfire mitigation and catastrophic events.

Facing a mental health crisis, Cal Fire crews sought less of a workload. But they have to wait two years under their new contract.

District 10 Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen’s first legislation is Assembly Bill 32, intended to prevent hate criminals from early release. Similar legislation introduced by Nguyen’s predecessor, Jim Cooper, was voted down.

California cities have some of the worst drivers, according to QuoteWizard by LendingTree, an online insurance service. The annual report looked at 2022 data on insurance quotes and ranked cities based on number of speeding tickets, driving citations, accidents and DUIs.

State regulators plan to impose a $155.4 million fine against PG&E Corp. over the Zogg Fire, which killed four people in Shasta County. PG&E is already under criminal indictment in the fire, and has pleaded innocent to manslaughter and other charges.

Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno, are using a variety of new technologies with massive amounts of data and computational power to model and map fire-vulnerable forest vegetation across millions of acres in California.

Gas stoves in California homes are leaking cancer-causing benzene, researchers found in a new study, though they say more research is needed to understand how many homes have leaks.

A study by researchers at UCLA and the University of Chicago says that California’s wildfires of 2020 destroyed 4.2 million acres of forest—and erased years of progress the state made on battling climate change.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, trying to ease an insurance crisis that’s hurt rural California, has announced that all carriers active in fire-prone communities must incorporate his “Safer from Wildfires” program into their premiums.

According to the first in a series of reports to come from a consulting firm hired by California officials, PG&E’s efforts to improve wildfire safety are hindered by aging equipment, damaged power poles and hazardous trees that went undetected by the utility’s crews.

Four of the deadliest stretches of road in California are in Northern California, according to a study by the website MoneyGeek. The report, which analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, includes stretches of freeway in San Jose, Berkeley, Richmond and Sacramento.

Francine Tournour says personal history drove her to become a law enforcement officer. She has stepped into another role investigating law enforcement and corrections conduct.

One of California’s top elected officials announced steps to limit how developments can be built in areas that are at highest risk of wildfire. Attorney General Rob Bonta released guidelines for local governments to follow when they are deciding whether to approve subdivisions in the “wildland urban interface.”

National Fire Prevention Week, established in remembrance of the Chicago Fire of 1891, has been observed starting the second Sunday in October since 1922. It is the longest-running health and safety observance on record, according to the National Archives and Records Administration.

State and local officials couldn’t provide evidence that fire inspectors had ever gone inside the warehouse near Weed where the lethal Mill Fire is believed to have started. Several fires have broken out inside the building over the years.

Chris Costamagna has been appointed to serve as the next chief of the Sacramento Fire Department. A 27-year veteran of the department, Costamagna currently serves as its deputy fire chief of technical services. He will assume his new role immediately.

PG&E Corp. said Sept. 8 that fire investigators “placed caution tape” around a transmission pole near where the Mosquito Fire started. The utility said it hadn’t observed “damage or abnormal conditions” but filed a report with the PUC “out of an abundance of caution.”

The fire doubled in size Sept. 8, jumped the American River into El Dorado County and by the afternoon was moving in two directions, toward Foresthill and Volcanoville. Evacuations and road closures remain in place.

California state firefighters would receive three raises in a year in a contract aimed at shortening their long shifts without cutting pay. Cal Fire Local 2881 struck a two-year tentative contract agreement that will require approval from union members and the Legislature.

The house is at the center of a city investigation into whether the council member actually lives in the district he represents, as he is required to do by law.

Ken Jordan calls it “spotting smokes,” and it’s an easy job when the mountain air is clear. Jordan is engaged in his 38th wildfire season of spotting smokes rising from the canopy of Lassen National Forest—the first sign of a potential disaster.

The California Highway Patrol is marking the two-decade anniversary of the Amber Alert system. Hundreds of abducted children have been found and returned safely to their families following its implementation in 2002.

Dr. Ronald Li, a veterinarian at UC Davis, treated 23 cats rescued from the Tubbs fire in 2017. In addition to the expected traumatic injuries, something else caught Li’s attention. “We noticed clots forming within their hearts,” he said. “But at that time, we didn’t know why.”

Two local violence prevention leaders joined Pres. Joe Biden on Monday to sign the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which seeks to strengthen gun laws and expand mental health resources.

This year’s American Radio Relay League gathering took place in multiple cities and countries, including Rancho Cordova.

Local residents are mourning the murder of the former Inderkum High School and Boise State University football player, who was shot and killed in the early morning of July 4.

Evacuations for the Electra Fire on the border of Amador and Calaveras counties expanded Tuesday as the fire grew to more than 3,000 acres. Around 450 structures are currently threatened.