Lucy Copp
is a producer for AirTalk, hosted by Larry Mantle, delivering conversations that offer an array of voices and topics.
Published November 15, 2023 2:15 PM
A historic view of the hangar in the former Tustin base.
(
City of Tustin
)
Topline:
Last week, one of the two Tustin Hangars, a relic of military history in Orange County, went up in flames. A few days after the fire, Orange County declared a state of emergency after smoke and debris from the Tustin hangar fire tested positive for asbestos and other toxins. School continue to be closed in the area.
Why it matters: The fire broke out at Tustin’s Marine Corps Air Station early Tuesday morning, irreparably damaging one of two historic blimp hangars there. The hangars were built in 1942 to hold Lighter-Than-Air aircrafts, or LTAs, that patrolled the U.S. coastline during World War II.
The backstory: At 17 stories high, more than 1,000 feet long, and 300 feet wide, the hangars were two of the largest wooden structures in the world when they were erected in 1942. They were built in a swift six months, as the country was eager to build up its coastal defense system. The purpose of the hangars was to store blimps that patrolled the coast to keep an eye out for Japanese aircrafts and submarines. "They are a testament to engineering," Jepsen said.
What's next: What will be become of the North Hangar that burnt so badly? "These things were built in the 40s and some of the materials are cause for concern," said Jepsen, who said he would be surprised if the North Hangar was partially reconstructed. At the moment, the South Hangar is awaiting environmental remediation before it's handed over from the Navy to the city of Tustin. A lot of different forms of adaptive reuse have been discussed but there are no plans at the moment. Perhaps losing the first hangar will lead people to cherish the second hangar all the more.
Last week, a relic of military history in Orange County and an iconic structure to many local residents went up in flames.
"All of us who have lived in Orange County really in the past four generations...it's just been part of our landscape," historian and Orange County Historical Society President Chris Jepsen said of the World War II era wooden blimp hangar that caught fire early on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 7.
"You see those hangars and you know you're home," Jepsen said during an interview this week with LAist's AirTalk, which airs daily on 89.3 FM.
Jepsen says the hangars were built in 1942 to house blimps that patrolled the U.S. coastline during World War II.
"The idea was they could keep an eye out for Japanese aircraft, or to some degree submarines coming toward our coast. These hangars, each one could house six large blimps inside it — fully inflated."
As the building burned, nearby residents, veterans and others with sentimental ties to the former Tustin air base flocked to the fenceline to get a final glimpse of the beloved hangars.
(
Jae C. Hong
/
AP
)
At 17 stories high, more than 1,000 feet long, and 300 feet wide, the hangars were two of the largest wooden structures in the world when they were erected in 1942. They were built in a swift six months, as the country was eager to build up protection along its coasts. Jepsen says he's been inside the hangar that is now destroyed, and recalls being awe-struck at its scale.
"It's hard to wrap your brain around what you're seeing when you're in a place like that. It is so enormous."
You see those hangars and you know you're home.
— Chris Jepsen, President of the Orange County Historical Society
Retired Marine Colonel Brian Delahaut was stationed at Tustin between 1983 and 1995. He told LAist's AirTalk, he remembers being awe-struck the first time he checked into the training squadron at the hangar.
"It was just absolutely incredible...when I checked in in the early 80s, the base was actually called...Marine Corps Air Station Tustin Lighter-than-Air (LTA). We all knew the buildings had been built...for the use of blimps, but the Marine Corps repurposed them and made them into helicopter hangars, so I don't think we appreciate what they were initially built for."
They’ve been mostly vacant since the base was decommissioned in 1999, sometimes serving as a shooting location for films and commercials. The hangars have been featured in television shows and films such as The X Files, Austin Powers, Pearl Harbor, and Star Trek.
The historic blimp hangar, at right, seen as it burned on Nov. 7, 2023.
(
Jae C. Hong
/
Associated Press
)
Orange County icons
AirTalk and LAist listeners also shared their memories of the hangars.
Listener Jeaniqua in San Diego says she grew up on base housing while her father served in as a helicopter crew chief in the Marines, and even recalls a ballet group she was part of holding a recital inside the hangar.
"It's really sad. We grew up in the shadow of [the hangars] so I have very distinctive and clear memories of the office spaces in there, and even just walking in. The offices were along the side and in the center it was that wide open space, and I remember....just looking up and it seemed like it went up forever."
Listener Tee in Irvine remembers living in an Irvine apartment at Jamboree and Alton and being able to see the hangars from her bedroom window there, and recalls her niece participating in the video for Michael Jackson's song "Hold My Hand" that was shot at the hangars.
"It's just strange that one hangar is now gone. I actually went over...and took pictures. It's unbelievable how basically it looks as if everything has caved in, except for the concrete structures on the end. It's just really sad...it's strange not to have those there because it is a part of the community."
What will be become of the burned hangar?
Local officials have not yet announced plans for what will happen to what remains of the structure, but Jepsen says he'd be surprised if anything is saved or reconstructed, given the condition it's in and some of the environmental concerns about asbestos exposure.
"These things were built in the 40s and some of the materials are cause for concern," said Jepsen.
At the moment, the South Hangar is awaiting environmental remediation before it's handed over from the Navy to the city of Tustin. Jepsen says while a lot of different forms of adaptive reuse have been discussed, there are no concrete plans at the moment.
A closer look at the damaged hull left behind.
(
Courtesy André J. Ausseresses
)
Listen to the conversation
Listen
30:36
SoCal History: The Significance Of The Tustin Airfield Hangars
An engagement photo of Kris Edwards and his wife, Tilly, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in June.
(
Chaseedaw Giles
/
KFF Health News
)
Topline:
American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston are among the major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, such as the global Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, such deaths are up 20% in the U.S. from a decade ago.
The effectiveness of Vision Zero: In January 2017, then-L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined 13 other L.A. city leaders in pledging to implement the Vision Zero action plan and eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025. Instead, deaths have increased. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 traffic deaths, the second consecutive year that the number of people killed in collisions exceeded the number of homicide victims, according to Crosstown LA, a nonprofit community news outlet.
Why deaths have increased: An audit released in April that was commissioned by the city’s administrative officer found that the level of enthusiasm for the program at City Hall has diminished and that it suffered because of “the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered, and scaling issues.” The report also cited competing interests among city departments and inconsistent investment in the city’s most dangerous traffic corridors.
Kris Edwards waited at home with friends for his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, to go out to dinner, but she never made it back to the house they had purchased only four days earlier. Around 9 p.m. on June 29, a hit-and-run driver killed Tilly as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Hollywood.
“I’ve just got to figure out how to keep living. And the hard part with that is not knowing why,” Edwards said of his wife’s death.
Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, such as the global Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, such deaths are up 20% in the U.S. from a decade ago, from 32,744 in 2014 to an estimated 39,345 in 2024, according to data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Although traffic deaths have declined since peaking at 43,230 in 2021, the number of deaths remains higher than a decade ago.
Since the covid-19 pandemic, the Pew Research Center found, Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, from reckless driving to drunken driving, which road safety advocates call a public health failure. They say technology could dramatically reduce traffic deaths, but proposals often run up against industry resistance, and the Trump administration is focusing on driverless cars to both innovate and improve public safety.
“Every day, 20 people go out for a walk, and they don’t return home,” said Adam Snider, a spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state road safety offices.
American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among the major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 traffic deaths, the second consecutive year that the number of people killed in collisions exceeded the number of homicide victims, according to Crosstown LA, a nonprofit community news outlet.
Kris Edwards and his cat, Rex, in the garden of the home he bought with his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, only four days before her death.
“Simply put, the United States is in the middle of a road safety emergency,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, testified during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing this summer. Out of 29 high-income countries, America ranks at the bottom in road safety, Harkey said. “This spike is not — I repeat, is not — a global trend. The U.S. is an outlier.”
In January 2017, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti joined 13 other L.A. city leaders in pledging to implement the Vision Zero action plan and eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025.
An audit released in April that was commissioned by the city’s administrative officer found that the level of enthusiasm for the program at City Hall has diminished and that it suffered because of “the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered, and scaling issues.” The report also cited competing interests among city departments and inconsistent investment in the city’s most dangerous traffic corridors.
Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A hit-and-run driver killed Tilly Edwards as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Los Angeles’ Hollywood neighborhood in June.
(
Chaseedaw Giles
/
KFF Health News
)
Last year, California state Sen. Scott Wiener proposed a bill that would have required new cars sold in the state to include “intelligent speed assistance,” software that could prevent vehicles from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph. But the bill was watered down following pushback from the auto industry and opposition from some legislators who called it government overreach. It was ultimately vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said a state mandate would disrupt ongoing federal safety assessments.
Meanwhile, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an influential automotive lobby, this year sued the federal government over an automatic emergency braking rule adopted during the Biden administration. The lawsuit is pending in federal court while the Department of Transportation completes a review. Even before Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term, the alliance appealed to the president-elect in a letter to support consumer choice.
Under Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is prioritizing the development of autonomous vehicles by proposing sweeping regulatory changes to test and deploy driverless cars. “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were written for vehicles with human drivers and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in September in announcing the modernization effort, which includes repealing some safety rules. “Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety.”
Some Democratic lawmakers, however, have criticized the administration’s repeal of safety rules as misguided since new rules can be implemented without undoing existing safeguards. NHTSA officials did not respond to requests for comment about Democrats’ concerns.
Advocates worry that without continued adoption of road safety regulations for conventional vehicles, factors such as excessive speed and human error will continue to drive fatalities despite the push for driverless cars.
“We need to continue to have strong collaboration from the federal, state, local sectors, public sector, private sector, the everyday public,” Snider, of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said. “We need everyday drivers to get involved.”
Kris Edwards points to photos of his wife, Tilly. Traffic deaths across the U.S. are higher than they were a decade ago.
(
Chaseedaw Giles
/
KFF Health News
)
It took nearly a month for police to track down the driver of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen allegedly involved in Tilly’s death. Authorities have charged Davontay Robins with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run driving, and driving with a suspended license due to a previous DUI. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is out on bail.
Kris Edwards now tends to the couple’s backyard garden by himself. Since his wife’s death, he has experienced sleep deprivation, fatigue, and trouble eating, and he relies on a cane to walk. His doctors attribute his ailments to the brain’s response to grief.
“I’m not alone,” he said. “But I am lonely, in this big, empty house without my partner.”
Edwards hopes for justice for his wife, though he said he’s unsure if prosecutors will get a conviction. He wants her death to mean something: safer streets, slower driving, and for pedestrians to be cautious when getting in and out of cars parked on busy streets.
“I want my wife’s death to be a warning to others who get too comfortable and let their guard down even for a moment,” he said. “That moment is all it takes.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.Subscribe to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.
Gillian Morán Pérez
is an associate producer for LAist’s midday All Things Considered show. She also writes about your daily forecast.
Published November 28, 2025 5:00 AM
Temperatures will drop to the mid 60s to low 70s.
(
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
/
via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
)
Quick Facts
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy
Beaches: 65 to 71 degrees
Mountains: 60s to low 70s degrees
Inland: 70 to 75 degrees
Warnings and advisories: A no burn alert is in effect
What to expect: Mostly sunny skies with the exception of partly cloudy conditions along the coast.
Read on...for more details and who is affected by the No Burn Alert.
Quick Facts
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy
Beaches: 65 to 71 degrees
Mountains: 60s to low 70s degrees
Inland: 70 to 75 degrees
Warnings and advisories: A no burn alert is in effect
Cooler weather has returned to Southern California for the weekend. Coastal communities will experience mostly to partly cloudy skies on Friday.
Along the L.A. and Orange County coast daytime highs will drop to as low as 65 degrees with the warmest areas topping out at 71 degrees.
The eastern San Fernando Valley will have highs from 69 to 74 degrees, meanwhile the western side will see highs from 71 to 76 degrees.
Over in the Inland Empire, temperatures will range from 70 to 75 degrees. In Coachella Valley, communities there will see temperatures from 75 to 80 degrees.
No burn alert in effect
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a no burn alert for most of SoCal until 11:59 p.m. because of high air pollution. That means you should avoid any burning of wood, including fireplaces or manufactured logs made from wax or paper.
The alert applies to O.C. and L.A. County's non-desert areas and Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Excluded from the ban area are residents without natural gas, as well as communities in the High Desert and mountains.
Erin Stone
is LAist's climate and environment reporter. She's been covering the Eaton Fire and it's aftermath throughout the year.
Published November 28, 2025 5:00 AM
A three-bedroom, one-bath home by San Francisco Bay Area prefab builder Villa.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Topline:
On a small, formerly vacant, county-owned lot on Lincoln Avenue in Altadena, fire survivors can get a glimpse into one of the fastest and most affordable ways to rebuild — prefabricated and modular housing.
What's on view: The Altadena Prefab Showcase has staged six models of factory-built homes and ADUs on the lot this month. Time is running out to visit — the showcase closes up shop after Sunday.
Why it matters: With homes ranging between $50,000 to $200,000 and above, prefab housing can often be installed on property lots cheaper and faster than customized homes built from scratch. It means fire survivors can back home in months, not years.
Keep reading ... for details on how to visit and prefab resources.
On a small, formerly vacant, county-owned lot on Lincoln Avenue in Altadena, fire survivors can get a glimpse into one of the fastest and most affordable ways to rebuild — prefabricated and modular housing.
The Altadena Prefab Showcase has staged six models of factory-built homes and ADUs on the lot this month. Time is running out to visit — the showcase closes up shop after Sunday.
The factory-built “village” is an “educational tool to help Altadenans understand what might be a really stable, predictable, economical pathway home,” said Ryan Conroy, director of architecture at UCLA’s cityLAB, a housing and urban design research center.
The homes range between about $50,000 to more than $200,000. Prefabricated housing is built at a factory offsite, and designs already are approved at the local and state levels, so the process is often cheaper and faster.
“So you can get a home in months, not years, essentially,” Conroy said. “Things can move concurrently, where your home is being built in the factory while you're working on permits with the county, while you're getting your site ready for foundations.”
The homes also are built up to fire codes, and survivors can use them as a permanent dwelling, a temporary home while they rebuild their main house, or as an ADU.
The showcase is a partnership between the UCLA’s cityLAB, L.A. County, prefab housing manufacturers (largely local) and a variety of community-based organizations. Several of the companies, such as AMEG and Liv-Connected, helped rebuild or provide temporary housing after other disasters and recent fires such as in Lahaina, Maui.
A 3D-printed ADU by Gardena-based modular homebuilder Azure.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
A prefab housing showcase has been installed on Lincoln Avenue in Altadena over the past month.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Option to stay on property
Tameka Alexander and her daughter still are staying in a hotel — their home was spared by the Eaton Fire, but severe smoke damage has made it unsafe to move back in. She says they’re currently waiting for their home’s insulation to be replaced. That’s why she was at the showcase on a recent Saturday — to see if a prefabricated home may help them return to their property sooner, while their house gets remediated.
“It's been nine months, and I just don't know how much longer it'll be, but I would prefer to actually be in something that would allow me to be on the property,” she said.
Various prefab housing designs at the Altadena Prefab Showcase.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Casty Fortich also was at the showcase one recent Saturday with his wife. They and their two teenaged daughters, plus their dog and cat, have been living in a small apartment in Monrovia since losing their Altadena home of more than 20 years in the Eaton Fire. The rent was affordable for them for up to three years — the time Fortich estimated it could take to rebuild.
But the apartment is cramped — and with their rebuild still years in the making (Fortich hopes it can be complete by summer 2027), the family is considering purchasing a prefab unit to live in while they rebuild, and then they can rent it out as an ADU. Even with insurance, they estimate they have about a $300,000 to $500,000 gap to rebuild.
“A lot of us are unable to pay for a replacement, and so I think this is an option for many to stay on their property,” he said.
Robert Garrova
is on LAist's Explore L.A. team. He also covers mental health.
Published November 27, 2025 5:00 PM
The LADWP headquarters in Downtown L.A.
(
Omar Omar via Flickr
)
Topline:
A longtime employee at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is being accused of misusing her city position by the L.A. City Ethics Commission.
More details: The commission alleges Renette Anderson misused her position for personal benefit. A written determination of probable cause was issued in October.
Anderson is accused of asking a subordinate to take care of personal errands on city time, such as booking a flight and physical therapy appointments.
In one instance, Anderson allegedly asked a staffer she supervised to purchase Snoop Dogg & Friends concert tickets at the Hollywood Bowl and then later asked for help seeking a refund when the concert was rescheduled. The ethics commission’s accusation, dated earlier this month, alleges the ticket requests were made on city time using city resources.
What’s next? She faces seven counts against her and potential fines.
Response from Anderson’s attorney: In a statement to LAist, Anderson’s attorney, John W. Harris, said she “has an unblemished, exemplary record of service at DWP for over 23 years. The finding of probable cause doesn't constitute a finding that the alleged violations occurred.”
Harris added that the “baseless accusations” originated from a “former disgruntled subordinate.”
LAist's Gillian Morán Pérez contributed to this story.
