The Brief

Fall in Southern California can bring on warm feelings about holidays, pumpkin spice or — for fans of Big Bear’s famous bald eagles — nesting season.

Jackie and Shadow, the feathered couple that star in a popular YouTube livestream focused on their nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, are preparing to potentially welcome new eggs — and chicks — in the coming months.

Jackie usually lays eggs in January. She laid three eggs in each of the past two seasons. But the eggs could come as late as March, as seen in 2019, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that manages the livestream.

Sandy Steers, executive director of the organization, encouraged eager viewers not to have expectations from nature — Jackie and Shadow know when the time is right, she said.

“Every year is different,” Steers told LAist. “You just have to watch and see what they choose.”

Preparing for new life in the nest

The nest is a bit of a mess lately, Steers said, but the bald eagle duo has been fixing it up to mark the beginning of nesting season.

Jackie and Shadow have been bringing in fresh sticks to furnish the nest, which is about 5.5 feet wide and 6 feet deep toward the top of a Jeffrey pine tree. Friends of Big Bear Valley called it the couples' "nestorations."

The eagles even broke their daily stick record last Saturday, stopping by with at least 28 sticks (Jackie with 15, Shadow with 13), according to Friends of Big Bear Valley records.

The previous single-day record was 25. There may have been more last Saturday, but eagle watchers aren't sure because the livestream cameras, which are usually on around the clock, were on for only about four hours.

Recent livestream interruptions

The pair of wildlife cameras run off a 24-volt solar system that recharges during the day, but recent stretches of heavy cloud cover and snowy solar panels have caused issues and intermittent outages.

“The batteries got completely run down,” Steers said. “So as soon as they would click back on, it wouldn't take very long before they ran down again.”

Friends of Big Bear Valley has been taking both cameras offline overnight to conserve power, but the organization is hopeful a few sunny days in the forecast will get the batteries, and livestreams, back up and running again normally.

What to expect in the coming months

Jackie and Shadow are expected to continue to bring sticks throughout nesting season before they start "flirting" with each other, as Steers calls it.

“They start … getting more interested in each other and bumping into each other in the nest,” she said. “Jackie is usually the one to flirt the most, and Shadow says, ‘I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.’”

The duo typically starts mating toward the end of the year on perch trees near the nest and away from the cameras (maybe the eagles want some privacy too?).

Then, the wait is on.

Jackie will start to show certain behaviors when an egg is incoming, including lingering on the nest longer, Steers said. She will have contractions before laying the first egg and potentially one or two more in the days after.

During the most recent season, Jackie laid the first egg Jan. 22, the second Jan. 25 and the third Jan. 28 as thousands of fans watched online. In 2024, she laid the first egg Jan. 25, the second Jan. 28 and the third Jan. 31.

Jackie and Shadow's three chicks during the hatching process in March 2025.

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Friends of Big Bear Valley

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YouTube

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Jackie and Shadow's three chicks on March 7, 2025. One of the chicks later died, while Sunny and Gizmo successfully fledged a few months later.

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Friends of Big Bear Valley

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YouTube

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Each season is a bit different for Big Bear’s bald eagles, and Steers said there aren’t standard markers people can depend on for hints at the egg-laying timeline.

But Steers said she wouldn’t be surprised if eggs arrive a bit later than usual this upcoming season, partly because of the weather.

It was unseasonably hot in Big Bear Valley this fall compared to previous years, and Jackie and Shadow usually respond to cooler winter weather before they get serious about nesting season, according to the organization.

The past season also was the first time the couple successfully raised two bald eagle chicks instead of one. Sunny and Gizmo fledged — meaning flew away from the nest for the first time — earlier this year.

“I'm sure it was a lot more work than with just one,” Steers said. “So I think that had something to do with them needing a longer break.”

This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:

• CalFire incident page
• Latest evacuation map
• Los Angeles County Fire Department
  

A fire near Stevenson Ranch Monday afternoon prompted evacuation orders and warnings before firefighters were able to stop its forward progress hours later at 6:25 p.m. The Max Fire, which was reported at about 4:20 p.m., has so far burned 45 acres, according to the L.A. County Fire Department.

The fire is located just west of the 5 Freeway in Pico Canyon Park, near Stevenson Ranch Parkway, according to Cal Fire.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of the communities of Southern Oaks and Sunset Pointe, including the Laing-Brookefield Open Space. Parts of Valencia and Newhall are under evacuation warnings.

The basics

• Acreage: 45 acres as of 6:25 p.m. Monday.
• Containment: 0%
• Structures destroyed: None reported.
  
• Deaths: None
• Injuries: 0
• Personnel working on fire: Not immediately available
  
  • Live maps show multiple aircraft over the fire

Evacuation map and orders

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for:

• STV-PICO

And warnings have been issued for zones:

• SCL-DELPRADO
• SCL-MEADOWS
• STV-CONSTITUTION
• STV-E109
• STV-POEEvacuation warnings

Authorities say those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave immediately.

What we know so far

The Max Fire broke out about 4:20 p.m. west of Stevenson Ranch. It's currently 0% contained.

It's among several fires in recent days, including the Hazel Fire near Lancaster, which burned 66 acres Monday before the L.A. County Fire Department said crews had stopped forward progress of the fire. Evacuation warnings for nearby residents are still in place for that fire. LAist media partner CBS LA reports aerial footage showed a few structures on fire.

Listen to our Big Burn podcast

Fire resources and tips

Check out LAist's wildfire recovery guide

If you have to evacuate:

• Why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
• How to get packed up
• How to leave your house
• What evacuation terms mean and how to sign up for alerts

Navigating fire conditions:

• How to drive in high winds and fire danger
• How to prep for power outages
• How to navigate poor air quality

How to help yourself and others:

• Resources for fire victims, evacuees and first responders
• If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer
• How to help find lost pets

How to start the recovery process:

• What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
• How to make an insurance claim
• How to safely clean up wildfire ash

What to do for your kids:

• How to talk to children about wildfires and losing a home
• What parents should know about wildfire air quality

Prepare for the next disaster:

• Fire season is here. Make sure you're signed up for these alerts
• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire
• Yes, wildfires are getting worse. The history that got us to this moment

A B-52 bomber crashed Monday and burst into flames, killing all eight people aboard, shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, military officials said.

Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. during a routine test mission at the base, which is north of Los Angeles. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert near what appeared to be a runway on the base, with emergency vehicles nearby.

After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Col. James Hayes, the Deputy Commander at Edwards Air Force Base, said at a news conference.

“We lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were working to notify their families.

On board was a mix of military service members and government and civilian contractors, Hayes said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and it could take up to six months to complete an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “radar modernization program.”

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.

In 2025, a B-52 flew to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the air force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy.

Edwards Air Force Base is home to a large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts and is about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, also conducts developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan.

The vast desert base is also where Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.

The airfield was closed most of Monday and all inbound aircraft were being diverted, but it reopened by late afternoon. Non-commercial visitor passes for the base were suspended as emergency crews doused the flames.

It’s too soon to say what might have happened.

The way the B-52 crashed so quickly after takeoff without getting very high or going far makes aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti suspect some kind of flight control malfunction.

It’s possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance, he said, or a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of a piece of equipment that was being tested.

“I think it was definitely a controllability issue. Now, whether that was tied to an engine failure, a flight control failure, or some new testing device failure, I’m not sure,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Although the Air Force has been flying B-52 bombers for more than 70 years, testing out new equipment on a plane can create new challenges.

“A flight test is always riskier than normal operations, so that’s why you have specially trained test pilots, and you should have other safety protocols,” Guzzetti said.

___

Toropin reported from Washington D.C. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed to this story from Omaha, Nebraska and AP reporter Hallie Golden contributed from Seattle.

Heavy surf, high tides and rip currents have done some damage to the Southern California coast, with potentially dangerous conditions expected to last at least until Thursday.

The conditions already have had devastating consequences. Just last week in Laguna Beach, a 5-year-old girl drowned after she was swept into the ocean by powerful surf. Authorities said they were able to rescue her mother and brother, who were caught in the same swell.

In Crystal Cove State Park, tides over 7 feet and heavy surf damaged part of a historic cabin, and nearly flooded another. A lifeguard tower was nearly pulled into the water.

Heavy surf and high tides pulled sand from beneath a cabin at Crystal Cove Historic District.

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Erin Stone

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LAist

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'Biggest waves I've ever seen'

“ At the peak of it, just the biggest waves I've ever seen here in my experience as a lifeguard,” said Jake Beckley, who’s been a Crystal Cove lifeguard for six years. “We've lost pretty much the entire beach at certain points.”

The tide reached as high as The Beachcomber restaurant at one point, and pulled chunks of a historic seawall from beneath a cabin nearby.

Sandra and Rigo Garcia of San Dimas have been visiting Crystal Cove to stay in those historic cabins since the late 1990s. They’ve seen the beach change over the decades.

Sandra and Rigo Garcia have been coming to Crystal Cove for decades and have seen the beach change.

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Erin Stone

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LAist

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“The tide is just so high that it took all the sand, and we're just like, ‘Oh, where's my beach?’” Sandra Garcia said as they sat under an umbrella on the sand of a small road.

Rigo Garcia pointed to the patch of sand in front of them.

“This spot was always the greatest spot, because I would come early in the morning, set up the easy-ups and chairs, and we always had plenty of real estate,” he said. “The kids would be able to swim maybe 10, 15 yards while they're out there. But now it's so dangerous…too many rocks.”

How we got here

A strong southern swell, combined with high tides, has led to the coastal erosion and flooding. The highest tides of the year, however, usually come in the winter, but over the last week some beaches have seen record high tides for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.

Riley Pratt, an environmental scientist with California State Parks Orange County District, said these events are a window into the future — as pollution in our atmosphere heats up the planet and melts glaciers, sea levels rise.

“As sea levels rise, things like this are gonna become more common, and their impact is going to be proportionally greater because the baseline is shifting,” he said. “That's going to change what is this just annual cycle into something that's new and that we haven't seen before.”

But for now, the beach is crowded, the sun is shining, and summertime is in the air. And for the Garcias and their fellow beachgoers, there’s no time like the present.

“Earth changes, so you have to go with it,” said Sandra Garcia. “Even though it has changed so much, we still can enjoy it… and be thankful that we have this paradise here.”

What's next

In Orange County, the National Weather Service warns that dangerous surf conditions, including rip currents, are expected to continue through Friday evening.

This creates dangerous conditions for swimming. Anyone caught in a rip current is advised to swim parallel to the shore to clear it. And, as the NWS says, "always swim near a lifeguard."

In L.A. County, conditions are expected to continue through Wednesday night, including coastal flooding, high tides and rip currents.