Sharon McNary

An oil well blew earlier this month at a hotel construction site in Marina del Rey. It took county officials more than a week to inform local residents.

A spectacular bust short-lived gas blowout didn't result in any notifications for the people living nearby.

When it rains, the Los Angeles County Flood Control system mainly works to channel stormwater runoff to the ocean. But about 28 percent of that rain is captured before it's lost to the Pacific.

During a storm, when roads are flooding and mud is flowing, critical decisions get made at the Los Angeles County Public Works operations center in Alhambra.

During the New Year's cold snap, power plants reduced operations, SoCal Gas customers were asked to lower their thermostats and people who are enrolled in a special conservation program had their thermostats lowered automatically.

The mudslide that destroyed homes and lives in Montecito last January buried the area’s popular hiking trails under debris and boulders. But nearly a year later, most trails are re-opened, thanks to volunteers, donations, and some carefully placed explosives.

Air quality inspectors were at the Torrance Refinery Monday following up on a toxic chemical spill over the weekend. Five gallons of Modified Hydrofluoric Acid leaked from a hose as it was being transferred from a tanker truck to a container at the Torrance Refinery.

The bikes were all donated, but the bike shop owner had to scramble to find enough people to build and give them all away.

Nearly a month after the Woolsey Fire was contained, some families whose homes burned are still couch-surfing, staying in hotels, and struggling to find interim homes to live in. Escalating rents in an area with already-low rental vacancy rates mean some insurance policies may not stretch to cover replacement rentals.

Some landlords are hiking rents as Woolsey fire victims seek interim rental housing.