How will the City of Los Angeles cope with the statewide release of inmates under a new plan to lessen overcrowding in prisons? Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck says 150 officers will be taken away from regular duties in order to "deal with" the plan, according to L.A. Now. Doing so, cautions Beck, will affect how the LAPD deal with crime and emergency responses. more ›

City Controller Wendy Greuel isn't missing an opportunity to take a critical look at Los Angeles' emergency response plans after Hurricane Irene took most of the East Coast out of commission this weekend. She has announced an audit of L.A.'s current emergency disaster preparedness plans. more ›

Initially thought to be a drug overdose, three people were hospitalized Saturday after suffering apparent food poisoning while attending the 33rd Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Raul Jovel, according to CBS Local. more ›

A disaster like last week's massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan will provoke not only sympathy and outreach from Angelenos, but also signals a need to be aware and prepared for what a tsunami could mean for us here. To that end, the City of Los Angeles has released a set of three guides for each of three coastal regions that explain what a tsunami is, and how locals can be prepared and survive. more ›

It snowed last weekend in Los Angeles (okay, in outer LA), and if that’s not a sign of the end times I don’t know what is. Actually, it’s just a sign of shifting weather patterns and maybe global warming, but crazy weather is a good reminder that the potential for natural disaster is ever looming. more ›

The Huntington Beach City Council approved an "emergency services cost recovery program," yesterday that will see to it that visitors who cause car accidents while in the city "will now be billed up to $3,000 for emergency response," according to an AP report published on cbs2. more ›

Marta Lopez sat in church one Sunday as her head spun and her thoughts became blank. She recovered consciousness and stared in confusion as paramedics standing over her asked questions she could not answer. Lopez, a Spanish-speaking El Salvadoran, struggled not only to regain her senses but simultaneously muster up the little English she knew to describe a heart condition that had caused her to faint. more ›

16-year-old Abby Sunderland apparently set off her emergency beacon this morning, prompting a search for the Thousand Oaks teen who is attempting to sail around the world solo. She was in the Indian Ocean -- the place she was warned to be the most difficult -- when she lost contact while talking to her parents over the satellite phone. An hour later, the Coast Guard called the family to say her beacon was set off. Sunderland's last blog entry from yesterday was titled A Rough Few Days. She departed from Marina del Rey in January. Her brother Zac completed the journey last year. more ›

The recent winter storms have brought mudslides and flooding to some areas of L.A. County and beyond. Now the feds are ponying up some funding. Today, Obama declared that a major disaster exists in California, ordering Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in six counties. Possibly related: L.A. County officials have been calling on the feds to repay money for damaged incurred by mudslides, which were beget from the massively large Station Fire. It was the U.S. Forest Service, after all, that didn't take the conflagration seriously until it was too late, they say. more ›

Doctors who work in emergency rooms and in private hospitals will receive less compensation from Los Angeles County for their work with the uninsured, reports CBS2. more ›

There are over 1000 homes in the Station Fire burn area that are under mandatory evacuation orders this afternoon as a third severe winter storm pounds down on Southern California and poses a very serious threat of mudslides and debris flow. more ›

This afternoon Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa held a press conference to address concerns about the city's emergency agencies and the response to today's heavy and dangerous rainstorms. more ›

Yesterday the Los Angeles Fire Department released the audio recording of the 911 call made by Brittany Murphy's mother when she found the actress collapsed in her home last month, reports LA Now. more ›

An 8.0 earthquake in American Samoa this morning prompted a tsunami watch in Hawaii and a tsunami advisory for coastal areas of Southern California, including Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. [Update: Beaches in LA County will close at 8 p.m., more info here] more ›

With wildfires raging across the Southland right now, the Los Angeles County Health Officer is hoping to take a moment to remind people that it's important to have an emergency kit packed and ready to go. They've sent out a press release today detailing the suggested essentials you'll want to include so that if you are called up on to evacuate, like many residents in parts of northern Glendale and the Crescenta-Cañada Valley into Altadena are having to do due to the Station Fire. more ›

He also says "there is no need for alarm." Today's declaration of a state of emergency will quicken government response and aid in limiting Swine Flu's spread as quickly as possible. "[It] sets in motion a series of administrative actions, including ordering all agencies to coordinate with public health officials as needed," the Associated Press explained. Additionally, a local state of emergency was declared today by the LA County Board of Supervisors. more ›

So the big one strikes. Your home is destroyed and you need shelter, but where do you go? The American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles has 80 relief containers across the region just in case emergency shelters are needed (just keep in mind, a shelter area could be destroyed in an earthquake, too). It's all part of their ongoing and long-term Catastrophic Disaster Plan, which aims to build capacity to feed and shelter 250,000 people. more ›

You can't predict an earthquake, but there's been a certain amount of buzz around city hall water coolers this week regarding a plethora of minor and moderate tremblers taking place around Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea, 150 miles east of Los Angeles at the tip of the San Andreas fault. News headlines told of 42 quakes over the weekend through Monday and there's been 31 today alone as of 7 p.m. more ›

Say goodbye to that bonus hour you picked up back in the fall--overnight tonight we've got to set our clocks ahead an hour for Daylight Savings Time. You can also use this as an opportunity to do a six-month check-up around your place to be sure your smoke alarms are properly powered, and that you've got fresh water for the household (and your pets) in case of an emergency. more ›

If today's record breaking unemployment rate was not bad enough, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's office announced that he will be declaring a state of emergency over the water drought later this afternoon. Last June, he declared a statewide drought but did not call it an emergency until today. more ›

The Los Angeles Fire Department keeps on garnering national attention for their use of web 2.0 and social media technologies to communicate information to the public. Last month, it was Wired. This week it was a five-minute spot on National Public Radio's Day to Day: more ›

Oprah this morning spoke to Rob Lowe on the phone about the "Tea Fire" burning two miles from her home in Montecito near Santa Barbara. Lowe, who also lives in the neighborhood, was home last night when the fire began, but knew nothing of it until his wife called. "This thing came on so fast, you wouldn't believe it... I walked out [my door] and my jaw just dropped," he explained to Oprah. He did not smell any smoke because of the wind direction. Lowe helped pry open the gates at a neighbors house to rescue them. Lowe's house was undamaged when he spoke to Oprah. KNX1070 has the full audio. more ›

At least 100 homes have been destroyed and 13 people have been injured in the blaze that began yesterday shortly before 6 p.m. in Montecito near Santa Barbara. At least two buildings at Westmont College were lost as well as many million dollar homes--"the Montecito Zip Code the seventh-highest-priced in the U.S., and the median price of a home is $2.9 million," reports Forbes via the LA Times. Officials have asked nearby residents who were not evacuated were asked to curb water use to nearly zero due to the low water levels in reservoirs that water dropping planes are using. 14,000 people from 5,400 homes were evacuated and Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for the conflagration. 2,000-2,500 acres have burned. more ›

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A follow up from yesterday's amazing and scary video. Sign up to participate (or just do it anyway) at the Great Southern California ShakeOut website. more ›

Finally. With tomorrow's massive earthquake drill planned for 10:00 a.m. (are you taking part in the Great Southern California ShakeOut?), the federal government along with tons of scientists and local agencies have put out this death-defying dramatic video on YouTube that will hopefully scare the bejesus out of Los Angeles area residents to actually prepare themselves. This is one of those scare tactics we'll gladly accept from big bro. Get thyself prepared. more ›

An article posted today on RonKaye.com by Glenn Bell gives a firsthand account of the events of last Monday morning when a wildfire raged in the hills above Kagel and Lopez Canyons and near his home in the Blue Star mobile home community. more ›

As the Sesnon Fire reached around 10,000 acres, heading into Granada Hills and prompting new evacuations near O'Melvany Park, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared a local emergency late this morning. Such declarations can be made when Villaraigosa finds that an event reaches a magnitude beyond the control of the normal services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the departments within the City government, according to the Mayor's Office. more ›

Whether you're a homeowner or renter, after a fire destroys your property, you'll be working with insurance to start over again (that's assuming, you have insurance, probably a good idea if you live in Southern California). "Residents need to prepare for evacuation with a 'grab and go box' containing important insurance and financial documents, a room-by-room inventory and relevant receipts," tips the Daily News. more ›

"Winds are causing fire conditions to change by the hour, which is why it is so important that residents in the areas surrounding these wildfires heed warnings from public safety officials to evacuate," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in preface to his emergency proclamation. "It's critical that everyone in the warning areas continue to be prepared-know what you're going to take and be ready to move very quickly if the evacuation order comes in your area. The state is coordinating with federal and local officials to ensure that firefighters have the resources they need, but with such a serious situation on our hands, we need residents to take every precaution to remain safe during this dangerous and difficult time." more ›