San Benito 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: 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 CalMatters...

01/16/2025
From left: Homeowners Christine Meinders and Sohrab Nafici return to their fire-ravaged neighborhood in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo

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.

Benito Link logo From Benito Link...

01/15/2025
Image for display with article titled Three Teenagers Killed in Car Accident on Shore Road

At around 7 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the driver of a black Acura traveling west on Shore Road lost control of the vehicle, which crossed into opposing traffic and collided with a white Sedan. Three of the four teenagers in the Acura died. 

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.”

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

01/14/2025
Read on to learn about the measures taken to harden and protect the lone remaining house of the neighborhoodfrom the Pacific Palisades fire in Southern California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/14/2025
Key moisture measurements are only 2% to 5% of average, leaving dusty soils. And the recent swing from wet to dry is among the most extreme on record. This combination of climatic conditions crossed into a danger zone, priming much of Southern California for wind-whipped fires.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/14/2025
Jennielynn Holmes stood in the middle of a make-shift evacuation center when the scope of the crisis hit her.

Benito Link logo From Benito Link...

01/13/2025
Image for display with article titled San Benito-Monterey CAL FIRE Helps Battle Los Angeles Blaze

This is the second article in our recent Los Angeles Fires coverage. The San Benito-Monterey Unit of CAL FIRE has sent a third of its staff to contain the fires raging in Los Angeles. The region’s Unit Chief, George Núñez, told BenitoLink they are fully committed to ending the “most catastrophic, most apocalyptic fire to date.”

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

01/13/2025
A presumptive case of H5N1 bird flu has been identified in a child who resides in San Francisco, the city’s Department of Public Health announced.The child had a fever and conjunctivitis but did not need to be hospitalized and has since made a full recovery, public health officials said Friday.

Benito Link logo From Benito Link...

01/12/2025
Image for display with article titled Hollister Firefighter Battles to Put Down the LA Conflagration

The unprecedented wildfires in Los Angeles have triggered a massive statewide response where more than 7,500 firefighters from all over California have been summoned. Among them is Battalion Chief Phil Rossi of the Hollister Fire Department.

California Local Pin Marker From Watch Duty Palisades Fire Information...

01/11/2025
Official updated information from WatchDuty about the Palisades Fire in Southern California.

California Local Pin Marker From Watch Duty Eaton Fire Information...

01/11/2025
Official updated information from WatchDuty about the Eaton Fire in Southern California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/09/2025
After days of sniping back and forth with President-elect Donald Trump over California’s handling of the fires ravaging Los Angeles, Gov. Gavin Newsom today invited the incoming Republican president to visit the state and survey the damage.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/09/2025
State prisoners have long been a part of California’s firefighting force. Hundreds of them now are deployed in Los Angeles County.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/08/2025
The federal government typically covers 75% of rebuilding costs after a major disaster. President-elect Trump has threatened to withhold firefighting money from California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/08/2025
President-elect Donald Trump faulted California water policies for the devastating wildfires that are burning in Los Angeles County. The fires started because of fierce winds and extremely dry conditions.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/08/2025
As climate change warms the planet, wildfires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege — even fire pandemic. California has 78 more annual “fire days” — when conditions are ripe for fires to spark — than 50 years ago. When is California’s wildfire season? It is now almost year-round.

Benito Link logo From Benito Link...

01/07/2025
Image for display with article titled Fire Protection Services Town Hall Postponed Again

For the second time, San Benito County has canceled a town hall meeting to discuss the future of the county’s fire protection services. The meeting—which was supposed to take place in December but was then rescheduled for Jan. 9—has been indefinitely postponed.

Benito Link logo From Benito Link...

12/28/2024
Image for display with article titled Bird Flu Outbreak Not a Threat to General Public

Mallory Schmitt, San Benito County’s deputy director of public health services, said the general public is not at a high risk from the bird flu outbreak that led Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency on Dec. 18.

California Local Pin Marker From California Healthline...

12/19/2024
Keith Poulsen's jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.