Month: July 2026

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Two people were injured after a single-vehicle crash Friday night near Banning.

The crash was reported just before 7:20 p.m. on Potrero Road.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the crash involved a Polaris side-by-side off-road vehicle traveling on a dirt road in the area.

The driver told authorities her brakes failed and that she and four passengers jumped out of the vehicle. The driver and three passengers suffered minor injuries, which police said was mostly road rash. A minor suffered a broken ankle.

A spokesperson for the tribe said two people were hospitalized.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – More than 200 citations were written and over 2,000 pounds of unlicensed pyrotechnics seized during the recent Fourth of July weekend multi-agency fireworks enforcement campaign throughout Riverside County, according to a report the Board of Supervisors will review next week.

The Executive Office’s “After-Action Report,” which will be part of the board’s consent agenda Tuesday, showed that, compared to the same period last year, there was a 22% jump in the number of citations issued — 212 this past July 4 weekend, as opposed to 172 in 2025.

Those figures combine the aggregate citations handled by the county Sheriff’s, Fire and Code Enforcement departments.

The number of 911 fireworks-related calls for service and complaints also rose — 3,776 during the holiday weekend this year, compared to 3,696 last year, according to the narrative.

Authorities confiscated 2,105 pounds of alleged illegal pyrotechnics during operations earlier this month, a drop from last year, when 2,194 pounds were seized over the same period, the report stated.

County fire personnel were sent to 69 fireworks-related blazes during the most recent holiday weekend, a one-third drop from 2025, when they responded to 102 fires, officials said.

“As a result of a robust public information campaign and enforcement program, the safety of our communities was enhanced with the reduction of fire risks associated with illegal fireworks,” according to the Executive Office.

For the last five years, the board has implemented a “You Light It, We’ll Write It” countywide messaging campaign, utilizing digital and traditional media sources to make the public aware of the potential perils and consequences of igniting unlicensed pyrotechnics.

In April 2021, the county Office of County Counsel, in collaboration with the Sheriff’s Department and Cal Fire, drafted amendments to Ordinance No. 858 that augmented civil penalties for possession,transportation or ignition of illegal fireworks, ranging between $1,000 and $5,000. The amount depends on the number of violations within a 36-month period. The previous fines werebetween $500 and $1,000.

The revisions also created liabilities for property owners who knowingly permit someone to light unlicensed pyrotechnics.

The final provision of the revised ordinance granted the fire chief authority to designate specific locations in unincorporated areas where so-called “safe and sane” fireworks can be sold and ignited by residents. In Blythe, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs and Indio, the devices — such as sparklers, fountains and snappers — are permitted.

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – An Indio Middle School teacher is getting new classroom resources to help students experience history in a more hands-on way after receiving a One Class at a Time grant.

Eighth-grade U.S. history teacher Dessa Keuilian was given with the award, sponsored by the Walter Clark Legal Group, to purchase classroom globes and a three-dimensional topographic map.

Keuilian said the new tools will help students better understand the geography behind major events in American history, from westward expansion to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

“One thing that I want to buy with the grant is a topographical map so that they can feel the mountains or the different areas of the country,” Keuilian said. “I think it’ll make history more engaging for them to look at it and feel it and touch it.”

A Coachella Valley native, Keuilian returned home to teach in the same community where she grew up. She hopes to pass along the same excitement for learning that her own teachers inspired in her.

“I loved going to school as a kid, and I hope that I can give them just a crumb of the good energy that I got from my teachers here in the Valley,” she said.

Indio Middle School Principal Robert Cullinan said the grant recognizes both Keuilian’s creativity in the classroom and her commitment to students.

“She’s still new at the trade, but she actually acts like a veteran teacher and does amazing things with our students,” Cullinan said.

The globes and topographic map are expected to remain in Keuilian’s classroom for years, allowing hundreds of students to explore history through hands-on learning.

One Class at a Time, sponsored by the Walter Clark Legal Group, recognizes outstanding educators across the Coachella Valley by providing grants for classroom projects and supplies. Community members can nominate a deserving teacher through News Channel 3’s website.