The Brief

Sensors can keep you from backing your car into a garbage can; remote operations allow surgeons to work from thousands of miles away; your fridge can tell you when you’re out of milk. But in the earliest moments of a fire fight, authorities still rely on a time-tested technology: humans.

Capt. Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department says the most common way his agency and others are alerted to fires is via the public.

But new technology — including drones, camera networks and sensors — have joined the fight by augmenting human capabilities.

“I think as a society, we need to continue to think outside the box as we see wildfires increase in severity and duration,” Scott said. “And we just witnessed the largest natural disaster to hit Los Angeles in January. We all need to come together collectively, as a group of human beings, to work smarter, not harder.”

What happens when you report a fire?

The most common way authorities are alerted to a fire is a person calling 911 from a cellphone. That call bounces off a cellphone tower and gets sent to a dispatcher. For fires, they direct the call to the appropriate fire department.

“Often there'll be multiple 911 calls on a significant wildfire due to how visual a column of smoke can be in a large metropolitan area,” Scott said.

Once a report is made, technology can begin to assist firefighters.

Cameras can confirm the details of a 911 call. Depending on where the smoke and flames are, algorithms that take into account how severe a fire can get can help determine the appropriate resources and number of firefighters to be sent to the scene.

How cameras help firefighters

The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7 in an image taken from an Alert California video.

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UC San Diego

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If you saw time-lapse footage of the January L.A. fires on television or online, it was likely from UC San Diego’s Alert California system, which is part of a larger network of cameras operated by universities in Western states. This system of cameras that pan, tilt and zoom helps officials locate fires, distribute resources and track fires’ spread and containment.

How high-tech aircraft contribute

Airplanes are another tool to help firefighters understand the severity of a fire and predict its behavior — planes equipped with a system called the Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System. FIRIS can map the real-time perimeter “within five minutes of the aircraft arriving,” Scott said, as well as take high-definition live video and detect hot spots.

FIRIS, which began as a pilot program in 2019, is now available throughout California roughly 23 hours a day, according to Robert Scott, assistant chief at the California Office of Emergency Services and FIRIS operations manager.

“FIRIS operates at zero cost to the communities that request it,” he said.

FIRIS aircraft relay data to a system called WIFIRE. It’s a supercomputer that provides fire modeling and can predict fire behavior up to five hours in the future. It combines data from weather stations, topography, fuel models and the FIRIS aircraft’s data. Authorities can use the predictions and models to make decisions about allocating resources, communicating with the public and evacuations.

For smaller missions, firefighters don’t always need an expensive plane and a highly trained pilot. Sometimes, a drone will do.

The LAFD has “strived to become an early leader in the use of drones for firefighting applications,” Scott said. The Skirball Fire in 2017 was the first time the LAFD deployed a drone to provide “post-fire damage assessment and infrared capability to identify remaining hotspots in the brush,” he added.

The department’s fleet of drones helps save money on expensive helicopter flights, and they can also assist with hazardous materials incidents and urban and water search and rescue.

What could be next for fire tech?

Vasya Tremsin was a high school student when wildfires tore through Napa in 2017. He had a simple question: “Why does everyone have smoke alarms and fire detectors indoors, but there isn’t anything that does that outdoors?”

Now 25, Tremsin is the founder and chief executive of Torch Sensors, which makes a product he hopes can address that gap.

But it won’t be as simple as putting smoke detectors outside. Torch’s sensors have “six different cameras, including thermal, infrared, and visible cameras that perform spectral analysis. We have three different gas sensors, and then temperature and humidity. All of those variables are measured at the same time,” he said. That’s important because something as simple as wind could render a lone gas sensor useless.

Torch has a few early projects in the works, including 100 devices in North Carolina, 20 devices in parks in New Mexico, and plans to deploy 150 this month in L.A. County.

Torch is inviting L.A.-area residents to join a waitlist if they’re interested in receiving a sensor.

In a perfect world, Tremsin said, authorities wouldn’t have to place firefighters in areas where flames have been put out to watch for reignition because a solar-powered sensor would carry that load, freeing up firefighters to battle active blazes.

As technology makes its way into almost every aspect of modern life, generations of professional knowledge and experience are being converted to a computer’s ones and zeroes. But will technology ever be able to apply information in the same way a veteran firefighter would? Time and innovation will tell.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.