The Brief

As the Palisades Fire was still burning in January, residents saw an eye-grabbing headline: the Santa Ynez reservoir, perched directly above the Palisades, was offline for repairs and empty.

The reservoir’s closure frustrated residents and spurred Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce a state investigation into whether the reservoir being full of water would have made a difference fighting the deadly fire.

After months of analysis, California agencies including the state’s EPA, Cal Fire and the Department of Water Resources issued a report confirming the explanations given by local officials and experts in the aftermath of the fire: the water supply was too slow, not too low — and even a functioning reservoir likely wouldn’t have done much in the face of an unprecedented natural disaster.

Why the hydrants stopped working

The report found that not even a full reservoir positioned uphill from the Palisades Fire could have maintained water pressure and stopped the devastation.

“The water system lost pressure, not due to a lack of water supply in the system, but because of an insufficient flow rate,” the report states.

A reservoir perched at a high elevation, such as the Santa Ynez, can serve an important role in maintaining water pressure for hydrants throughout the system. As water gets used downhill, water from the reservoir flows to towers that maintain water pressure. Because of gravity and physical limitations on flow rates, the pressure towers can't be refilled at the same pace as they are drained and eventually dry up.

In the case of the Palisades Fire, the report states, a full reservoir would have helped keep water pressure up for only a short time.

The report noted that some data points on the demand on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s system were missing.

However, investigators found that based on experiences with other fires, the high demand across the system meant it was “unlikely that [the reservoir] could have helped maintain pressure for very long.”

The system’s design

The report found that the closure of the Santa Ynez Reservoir was in line with the primary purpose of L.A.’s water infrastructure: maintaining a clean drinking water supply. The reservoir repairs were prompted by a damaged cover. The repairs, the report notes, were required by federal and state laws on drinking water safety.

More broadly, municipal water systems like L.A.’s weren’t built to fight wildfires, as LAist reported in January.

“This report confirms what we and others have been saying more broadly regarding water system expectations and capabilities, but does so completely independently and with new details specific to the L.A. fires,” Greg Pierce, the director of UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, said in an email to LAist.

What’s next

The report makes two major recommendations: continue to follow the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, and make sure firefighters in the state are positioned for year-round fires.

The state stopped short of recommending any changes to L.A.’s municipal infrastructure. Water experts like Pierce say massive amounts of water and a very expensive redesign of L.A.’s water system would be needed to keep fire hydrants working during large urban conflagrations.

For their part, researchers and others have been looking into other solutions, including putting more utility lines underground and redistributing water across the system.

The report about the reservoir comes on the heels of a separate report from the Fire Safety Research Institute about the timeline leading up to and during the January firestorm. That report, which was commissioned by the California governor's office, contains a detailed account of the Palisades and Eaton fires' progressions and emergency services' responses on Jan. 7 and 8.

As for the Santa Ynez Reservoir, the repairs to fix its broken cover and make it usable again are slated to begin in June and finish by May 2027.

The Library of Congress has found and restored a long-lost silent film by Georges Méliès.

The famed 19th century French filmmaker is best known for his groundbreaking 1902 science fiction adventure masterpiece Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon).

The 45-second-long, one-reel short Gugusse et l'Automate – Gugusse and the Automaton – was made nearly 130 years ago. But the subject matter still feels timely. The film, which can be viewed on the Library of Congress' website, depicts a child-sized robot clown who grows to the size of an adult and then attacks a human clown with a stick. The human then decimates the machine with a hammer.

In an Instagram post, Library of Congress moving image curator Jason Evans Groth said the film represents, "probably the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image." (The word "robot" didn't appear until 1921, when Czech dramatist Karel Čapek coined it in his science fiction play R.U.R..)

"Today, many of us are worried about AI and robots," said archivist and filmmaker Rick Prelinger, in an email to NPR. "Well, people were thinking about robots in 1897. Very little is new."

A long journey

Groth said the film arrived in a box last September from a donor in Michigan, Bill McFarland. "Bill's great grandfather, William Frisbee, was a person who loved technology," Groth said. "And in the late 19th century, must have bought a projector and a bunch of films and decided to drive them around in his buggy to share them with folks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York."

McFarland didn't know what was on the 10 rusty reels he dropped off at the Library of Congress' National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Va. A Library article about the discovery describes the battered, pre-World War I artifacts as having been, "shuttled around from basements to barns to garages," and that they, "could no longer be safely run through a projector," owing to their delicate condition. "The nitrate film stock had crumbled to bits on some; other strips were stuck together," the article said. It was a lab technician in Michigan who suggested McFarland contact the Library of Congress.

"The moment we set our eyes on this box of film, we knew it was something special," said George Willeman, who heads up the Library's nitrate film vault, in the article.

Willeman's team carefully inspected the trove of footage, which also contained another well-known Méliès film, Nouvelles Luttes extravagantes (The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match) and parts of The Burning Stable, an early Thomas Edison work. With the help of an external expert, they identified the reel as having been created by Méliès because it features a star painted on a pedestal in the center of the screen – the logo for Méliès Star Film Company.

A pioneering filmmaker

Méliès was one of the great pioneers of cinema. The scene in which a rocket lands playfully in the eye of Méliès' anthropomorphic moon in Le Voyage dans la Lune is one of the most famous moments in cinematic history. And he helped to popularize such special effects as multiple exposures and time-lapse photography.

This moment from George Méliès' <em>Le Voyage dans la Lune</em> (<em>A Trip to the Moon</em>) is considered to be one of the most famous in cinematic history.<br>

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George Méliès

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Public Domain

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Presumed lost until the Library of Congress's discovery, Gugusse et L'Automate loomed large in the imaginations of science fiction and early cinema buffs for more than a century. In their 1977 book Things to Come: An Illustrated History of the Science Fiction Film, authors Douglas Menville and R. Reginald described Gugusse as possibly being, "the first true SF [science fiction] film."

"While it may seem that no more discoveries remain to be made, that's not the case," said Prelinger of the work's reappearance. "Here's a genuine discovery from the early days of film that no one anticipated."

Copyright 2026 NPR

Two months past a statutory deadline, California’s top fire safety regulator published a report Monday on whether and how the state should legalize mid-rise apartment buildings with a lone staircase.

If this doesn’t sound like riveting news, you may have missed the brewing battle between pro-housing advocates and firefighting professionals over the cause of “single-stair reform” and whether America’s fire-averse building standards are standing in the way of more affordable, higher quality urban living.

The report, published by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, takes a fairly dim view of the “single stair” cause, but offers a few policy recommendations to state legislators should they move forward with the idea anyway.

At least one Democratic legislator appears intent on doing just that with legislation aimed at rewriting the state building code.

In California, as in much of North America, apartment buildings over three stories are required to have at least two staircases. This rule is meant to give residents multiple ways out in the event of a fire. But a coalition of Yes in my Backyard activists, architects and urbanists argue that much of the world does just fine with single-stair apartment blocks and that the state’s restrictive stairwell regs make it more difficult and costly to build modestly sized apartments on small city parcels.

Though modern safety measures, such as automatic sprinkler systems, smoke detectors and self-closing doors reduce the risks associated with smoke and flame, they “do not fully substitute for the redundancy of two independent stairway” which “is important for maintaining safety in the face of unforeseen failures,” the report read.

If state lawmakers opt to change the law anyway, the report recommended that single-stair apartment buildings max out at four stories, rather than three, and that they be subject to additional safety rules. The state should not consider going up to six stories — the current standard in New York City, Seattle, Honolulu and Culver City — without a second fire marshal study, the report concluded.

In its section on financial implications, the report also evaluated three mid-rise apartment projects and found that a second staircase made up between 7.5% and 12% of estimated total construction costs.

Though the findings mirror those contained in an earlier draft of the report CalMatters obtained in February, they came as a disappointment to some supporters of looser staircase requirements.

“As to be expected from this group,” said Bubba Fish, the Culver City councilmember who spearheaded that city’s single stair ordinance last year, in a text message. He called the four story max “ridiculous,” noting that even with that modestly relaxed requirement, California’s building code would remain out of step with much of the world.

The report is more than two months tardy, missing the January 1 deadline set by a 2023 bill authored by Milpitas Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee.

Lee said that his office was still reviewing the report’s findings late Monday afternoon. But in a written statement, he expressed enthusiasm for future changes to the building code.

“Stairway requirements can have a profound effect on what does and does not get built in our neighborhoods, Lee said. “With the development of modern fire mitigation measures, it is critical that we re-evaluate our building codes and unlock previously undevelopable properties to build more housing."

Last month, Lee introduced a bill with the express intent of allowing “housing buildings with 4 or more stories to have a single stair entry and exit,” but which so far includes no additional detail.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

The United States evacuated diplomats as attacks intensified across the Middle East, with drones striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, while President Trump signaled the conflict with Iran could turn into an extended war.

Israel said it sent ground forces across the border into southern Lebanon and bombed Beirut suburbs as fighting with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah resumed after more than a year.

The U.S. and Israel kept up their attacks in Iran, where the death toll rose Tuesday to 787 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Explosions were heard in Iran's capital of Tehran and other parts of the country.

Trump said Monday that the war could last four to five weeks, but could go longer than that.

In a social media post, Trump said that the U.S. had a "virtually unlimited supply" of munitions. "Wars can be fought 'forever,' and very successfully, using just these supplies," Trump wrote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox it would not lead to an "endless war."

The war has so far killed six U.S. service members, according to the Pentagon, which warns that more casualties are expected.

Ten people in Israel have died since Iran began retaliating with missile attacks there.

Here are more of the key updates NPR is reporting on.

To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:

U.S. Embassies | Americans evacuate | Lebanon | U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran | Strait of Hormuz | Global natural gas

U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia hit

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia Tuesday urged Americans to avoid the compound after the Saudi Defense Ministry said the diplomatic post had been attacked by two drones.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry called it "a flagrant Iranian attack" in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Defense Ministry said the drone strikes caused "limited fire and minor damage" to the U.S. Embassy.

The State Department has ordered evacuations of diplomatic missions in several Middle Eastern countries.

This comes after an Iranian attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait on Monday. The embassy said on social media Tuesday that it was closing until further notice.

In Jordan, the State Department said Tuesday it had evacuated its large embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman after threats against it.

Iran has been striking Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates that are normally considered safe in retaliation to U.S. attacks that started Saturday. Iran has also hit commercial targets after warning that it would attack American interests across the region.

Amazon said Monday that two of its data centers in the UAE and one of its centers in Bahrain were hit by drones, affecting their operations.

— Jane Arraf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi

Americans urged to leave several countries

The State Department urged Americans to leave more than a dozen countries and territories in the Middle East because of the conflict, even as options to leave narrowed with flight cancellations and airport closures.

Americans need to "DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks," Mora Namdar, the State Department's assistant secretary for consular affairs, said in a post on X.

The countries and areas included:

• Bahrain
• Egypt
• Iran 
• Iraq
• Israel 
• Jordan 
• Kuwait 
• Lebanon
• The West Bank and Gaza 
• Oman
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia 
• Syria 
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen
  

— Ayana Archie

Israel resumes strikes in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah

The Israeli military said soldiers were "operating in southern Lebanon" as it continues strikes against Hezbollah, including in the Lebanese capital.

Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire in November 2024 but Israel has continued almost daily strikes since then. Iran-backed Hezbollah had refrained from attacks until Sunday, when it launched strikes in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli military said Tuesday it targeted what it called Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut's southern suburbs.

"Let me be clear: this is not a ground maneuver into Lebanon. It is a tactical step to create an additional layer of security for the residents of northern Israel," said Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani describing the Israeli troop movements.

Thousands of Lebanese streamed out of Dahya, the suburb where Hezbollah, a political party as well as paramilitary group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and some other Western countries, is based.

They joined what the government says are at least 30,000 Lebanese fleeing Israeli strikes in south Lebanon and in Beirut. Shelters were so over-crowded some families resorted to laying out blankets on sidewalks of the corniche, Beirut's sea-side.

The Lebanese government says 52 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Saturday.

— Jane Arraf

U.S. and Israel continue to strike Iran

In the Iranian capital, residents heard the sound of explosions overnight. There were no immediate reports of what had been hit.

Israel's military said it struck Iran's intelligence ministry and state broadcaster. The Israeli authorities also said that they are now focusing on targeting Iran's missiles and launchers.

Iranian missile strikes on Israel have significantly decreased. Israel says Iran may be rationing munitions gearing up for a long war.

An official in the region who spoke on condition of anonymity tells NPR Israel thinks it can achieve its war goals in two weeks total. Israeli officials say they want to create the conditions for Iranians to topple their government.

In Iran's southern city of Minab, a mass funeral was held for 165 people — most of them young girls — killed in an attack on a girls school Saturday. Many of the bodies had been buried under rubble.

The U.S. military said it was looking into reports of missiles hitting the school. The Israeli military said it was unaware of its forces operating in the area.

Some in the large crowd attending the funeral chanted "Death to America," "Death to Israel" and "No surrender."

Iran's Red Crescent Society said Tuesday at least 787 people have been killed in attacks on 153 cities across the country.

Ten people have been killed in Israel since the start of the conflict, according to Israeli officials.

— Daniel Estrin and Jane Arraf

Iran says it closed the Strait of Hormuz

Iran continued to threaten ships near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway vital to Gulf oil exports.

"The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Anyone who wants to pass, our devotee heroes in the IRGC navy and the army will set those ships on fire," security official Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, said Monday. "Don't come to this region."

In a sign of the vast repercussions of the war, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told an Iranian envoy that Iran must reopen the waterway.

Global natural gas supplies greatly reduced

In addition to the effect of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on oil supplies, about 20% of the world's liquified natural gas, or LNG, is shipped through the Strait. On land, Iranian strikes hit Ras Laffan, the world's largest LNG export plant in Qatar. State-owned QatarEnergy says it has shut down LNG production.

Many countries are somewhat insulated from the disruptions in oil flows because they have oil in strategic reserves. But natural gas is a different story, says Anne-Sophie Corbeau,  a global research scholar at the Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. Gas storage levels are particularly low because it's the end of winter.

" This is absolutely massive," Corbeau says. "It's going to impact everybody who is importing LNG."

Oil prices have risen since trading opened Monday, and so have natural gas prices in Asia and Europe. Energy experts say that higher gas prices and reduced LNG flows out of the Persian Gulf is highly profitable for LNG exporters elsewhere, including in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the U.S. The U.S. is the biggest exporter of LNG and is set to open a new LNG terminal in Texas soon.

— Julia Simon

Jane Arraf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi reported from Amman, Jordan; Daniel Estrin reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Ayana Archie from Washington; Julia Simon from San Francisco.
Copyright 2026 NPR

This first week of March will bring warm temperatures, plenty of sunshine and some windy conditions.

Coastal communities will wake up to some morning low clouds, even some patchy fog, followed by afternoon sunshine. Temperatures at L.A. County beaches will reach 67 to 72 degrees, but hover around the low 60s for Orange County beaches. Most of the region, including downtown L.A., should see highs in the low to mid 70s.

Valley communities and the Inland Empire will see highs mostly in the upper 70s, and up to 81 degrees in the western San Fernando Valley.

In Coachella Valley, the highs today are expected to reach up to 88 degrees.