San Joaquin County Public Safety Digest

More than 6,000 residents live outside the targeted 5-minute accident, fire and police response-time zone in southwest Manteca.

The Lathrop Police Department announced the hiring of Gabrielle Johnson as a new Community Services Officer.

A CalTrans project to improve traffic, bicycle and pedestrian safety on a stretch of Kettleman Lane is set to begin on April 29 and will be completed by June.

At a promotion and induction ceremony on April 29, the The Ripon Consolidated Fire District will be swearing in new fire chief Eric DeHart.

In their April 9 meeting, the Ripon City Council discussed hosting a public workshop about the East Main Traffic Signal Project.

Manteca Fire responded to 168 fires in Ripon, providing coverage in cases when the single available fire engine and team were engaged.

Ripon Consolidated Fire District is seeking a parcel tax increase to fund the hiring of six firefighters.

Intended to reduce fire danger as summer approaches, the City of Manteca’s annual Weed Abatement Program begins May 1, enforcing the City’s weed ordinance requiring grass and weeds be under 6 inches in height.

Citing recent traffic deaths, residents ask for traffic safety measure including more stop signs at intersections.

CalTrans has reached out to inhabitants of the homeless encampments on the Main Street and 120 Bypass interchange and has begun work to clean up the area and secure it from future camping.

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.

Sacramento, known for its tree-filled landscape, faces unique challenges in intense weather. The convergence of high winds with large trees poses significant risks to people and urban infrastructure.

Heritage District residents asked the Lodi City Council why street and infrastructure improvements have not been considered in their neighborhood.

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

Atmospheric rivers are well-known weather phenomena along the West Coast. But the intensity of recent atmospheric rivers is almost certainly affected by human-caused climate change.

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.

The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted to allow guns in local government buildings, defying California law.

An updated earthquake hazard map from USGS shows a high shaking risk in California.

Hundreds of San Diego homes and businesses were damaged or ruined in devastating floods after punishing rainfall fell on Jan. 22.

If you’re driving on Interstate 80, you might spot a billboard displaying an animal wildfire mascot. But it isn’t Smokey Bear. It’s Burnie the Bobcat, with a new slogan: Only you can decide our fiery future.

Our understanding and preparedness have come a long way since Southern California’s magnitude 6.7 earthquake in 1994. We’re still learning from that destructive temblor.

An avalanche swept up skiers at Lake Tahoe’s largest ski resort on Jan. 10 as a 150-foot-wide sheet of snow slid down a mountain slope.

Michel Moore, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, announced he will resign. The departure of Moore, who has been in the job since 2018, will spur the appointment of an interim chief and a nationwide search for his replacement, according to Mayor Karen Bass.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case related to whether cities and towns can ban camping on public property. The high court could overturn Martin v. Boise, a 2018 federal court decision that keeps western cities and counties from blocking public camping when sufficient shelter space is unavailable.

An avalanche was reported Jan. 11 at a resort near Lake Tahoe, one day after a major avalanche roared down an adjoining mountain, trapping several people and killing a 66-year-old man.

Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism found that hate crimes rose 12.9% between 2022 and 2023. The spike follows a particularly stark increase in crimes against Jewish people.

California correctional officers train like ‘they are going to war’ to work in state prisons. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to transform San Quentin could require a kinder approach.

Munition boxes, depth charges and smoke floats have been found 3,000 feet underwater off the coast of Los Angeles. More than 100 square miles of ocean might be contaminated.

Heavy snow is projected in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Previously, warmer storms had been bringing precipitation mainly to higher elevations in the Sierras.