*UPDATE 5:01: One firefighter was killed and another critically injured after reporting to the scene of an explosion that blew manhole covers off the ground and damaged part of a building in Westchester. The firefighters were responding to a report of an underground explosion and blown manhole covers in the 8800 block of Sepulveda (between Manchester and La Tijera) and were injured in a second, larger explosion after reporting to the scene, according to LAFD......

It's starting to feel a little like Fall: an "unseasonably strong and cold storm system" is headed our way. Bundle up! How green was Burning Man this year? Elsa Wenzel from CNet's News.com explains her perspective: "As a first-time Burner, I've finally shaken the playa dust from my shoes and mind to conclude that it was perhaps the most and the least eco-friendly mega-event I've attended." With a name like Inland Empire, you deserve......

That there black goo bluging streets and seeping through manhole covers in downtown seems to be oil, indeed. Workers at a nearby oil well were flushing old lines with high-pressure water to get any last drops of oil out — and started wrecking havoc on Olive Street. And havoc continued online. It's craziness in LA blog world this week! Blogging.la redesigns, embracing gray! LA Voice re-appends, from .org to .com! What could be next?......

At 2am officials got a call of stink in downtown LA but found nothing. But 12 hours later a "black tarry substance" was coming up through the ground, manhole covers and sidewalks along Olive Street. Oozing. Bubbling, even. 120 feet of Olive St has cracked and risen about 18 inches. An apartment building was evacuated; it may not be able to withstand the shifting ground. Exactly what the smell or substance is, where it's......