Author: KESQ

Jesus Reyes

WAIKIKI, Hawaii (KESQ) – Hawaii faces a massive cleanup after Tropical Storm Lala swept through the islands with heavy rain and damaging winds.

On the big island, flood waters washed out roads and highways. The governor says at least 100 homes were damaged or destroyed.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut joined us live from Waikiki after experiencing travel delays trying to get home from his Hawaiian vacation, which is now running longer than he anticipated.

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Tommy Gallegos

A possible gas leak prompted a brief evacuation Tuesday morning at the Eisenhower George and Julia Argyros Health Center in La Quinta, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire said the incident was reported at approximately 9:30 a.m. after a gas odor was detected at the facility. The gas company was called to the scene to assist firefighters and emergency personnel.

An evacuation of the building was initiated as a precaution while crews investigated the reported leak. Cal Fire said the odor has since dissipated and the scene has been mitigated. The evacuation is no longer in effect.

Eisenhower Health confirmed that the building was evacuated during the incident.

In a statement to News Channel 3, Eisenhower Health said, “Earlier today, an unusual odor originating outside Eisenhower Health’s Argyros Health Center in La Quinta entered the building through the ventilation system. Out of an abundance of caution, the building was temporarily evacuated while the fire department and gas company evaluated the situation. After approximately 45 minutes, the fire department determined the building was safe for patients and staff to re-enter, and normal operations resumed. Although responders found no condition requiring the health center to remain evacuated, the exact source of the exterior odor is still being determined. Patients whose appointments were impacted are currently being rescheduled.”

No further disruption to services was reported following the incident.

This is a developing story and will be updated if additional information becomes available.

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Jesus Reyes

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – A 39-year-old man from Irvine was killed, and two others were injured after a crash Friday night near Twentynine Palms, authorities confirmed.

The crash was reported on Friday at approximately 7:55 p.m. along State Route 62 in the vicinity of milepost marker 73, approximately 11 miles west of California State Route 177.

Police said Rohan Satish Karnavat was driving a 2013 Honda Accord eastbound when he made an unsafe turning maneuver, causing his vehicle to leave the roadway and overturn, ultimately landing on its wheels.

Karnavat was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two passengers were transported to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Authorities said the use of alcohol or drugs is not believed to be a determining factor.

Officer Salinas of the California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation. If you have any additional information concerning this crash, you are asked to contact the California Highway Patrol at (760) 366-3707.

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City News Service

BLYTHE, Calif. (KESQ) – A 41-year-old pastor in the Coachella and Palo Verde valleys accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl pleaded not guilty today to felony charges.

Lino Hernandez of Mesa Verde was arrested last Wednesday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation that began in June.

Hernandez is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of lewd acts on a minor and one count of forcible penetration.

He was arraigned Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Randolph Rogers, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Sept. 22 at the Blythe Courthouse.

The defendant was being held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Berryman, after detectives received the initial report in June of an alleged assault, they began gathering evidence that ultimately pointed to Hernandez as the alleged perpetrator, confirming that he “served as pastor at churches in the Blythe and Indio areas.”

Specific details about the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, and the period during which she was allegedly assaulted were not provided.

A search warrant was obtained and served at Hernandez’s property in the 18000 block of Cottonwood Avenue in Blythe, where he was taken into custody without incident.

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Kiera McKinney

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Today, August 21, is National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. While fentanyl-related deaths have declined in Riverside County, the drug remains a major overdose threat. The county says fentanyl deaths dropped about 54%, from 545 deaths in March 2023–February 2024 to 251 in March 2025–February 2026.

Keeping kids away from fentanyl to save their lives will be among the themes emphasized during the current academic year at school districts throughout Riverside County.

“The county’s efforts to fight fentanyl on all fronts have helped reduce deaths at a rapid pace, but we are not done,” Board of Supervisors Chair Karen Spiegel said.

Under state Assembly Bill 2429, ratified in 2024, school districts are required to implement a structured “Fentanyl Awareness Curriculum” during health classes, in an effort to further spread awareness about the potentially toxic synthetic opioid.

“The Fentanyl Awareness Curriculum is a first-of-its-kind tool to help schools and communities address the growing dangers of fentanyl, making it particularly impactful,” county Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez said.

Relying on eight 50-minute sessions spread throughout a single semester, high school students will be educated on the dangers of fentanyl.

“The curriculum will contain vetted information, instructional materials, and lessons that build awareness, empower decision-making and promote student well-being,” according to the county Office of Education.

Sessions are slated to include explanations of different types of drugs and the particular perils associated with them, with the spotlight on fentanyl, featuring student activities to help them learn how to recognize it.

Fentanyl Prevention & Awareness Day will be Friday, Aug. 21, serving to underscore the “Faces of Fentanyl” campaign undertaken by the county in 2022, which led in 2025 to the creation of instructional materials for schools.

Officials partly credit the campaign with the steady decline in fentanyl poisonings, which last year dropped to 251, compared to a high of 545 in the year ending February 2024.

“We believe prevention and prosecution go hand in hand,” District Attorney Mike Hestrin said. “That’s why we’re working to keep educating our kids to make safe choices and holding accountable those who put poison on our streets.”

The state-mandated curriculum will rely on resources from public safety and healthcare agencies.

Since passage of AB 2429, school districts in other counties have turned to Riverside County and its Faces of Fentanyl campaign for examples of how to set up curricula.

Additional information is available at https://www.rcoe.us/services-for-districts/instructional-services/content-areas/health-education/fentanyl-awareness-curriculum/.

See my full story tonight at 6.

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City News Service

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – The Trump administration announced today it plans to rescind decades-old conservation protections in the San Gabriel Mountains and other national forest lands.

The proposal from the U.S. Forest Service would scrap the entire so-called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton’s presidency in 2001. The rollback would remove long-standing protections for about 4 million acres in California.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims the move is necessary to reduce wildfire risk and expand forest management.

According to Alex Craven, the Sierra Club’s forest campaign manager, the roadless rule “is the only thing preventing much of our wildest remaining national forests from industrial development. These forests offer critical habitat for wildlife; provide clean, fresh air and water for millions; and contain vast swaths of the last remaining old-growth forests in the country.”

The measure protects 58 million acres of roadless national forest areas in 39 states, Craven said.

The Roadless Rule applies at mountain near the Coachella Valley as well

Eliminating the roadless rule would jeopardize popular recreation areas, wildlife habitat and drinking water sources across 10 national forests statewide, from the Klamath Mountains and the Sierra Nevada to southern ranges, such as the Cleveland National Forest, conservation groups say.

“By their very nature, roadless areas are remote and inaccessible and experience far fewer ignitions than lands near roads,” Dr. Gregory Aplet, senior forest scientist with The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. “Opening roadless areas to logging and road construction will only increase the number of fires, not reduce them.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the restrictions on forest lands have frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America’s national forests.

“Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction,” she said Tuesday. “Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions — overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease — turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes. For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities.

“Today, we filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands. It’s time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity.”

The action is intended to prioritize local agency decision-making over regulatory rules that are the same across the country, regardless of specific land management issues and needs, Rollins said.

“Active forest management is not an option,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz.

“It’s essential. More than 40% of inventoried roadless areas, primarily in the West, have high or very high wildfire hazard potential. And only 5% of those areas have received hazardous fuels reduction treatments since 2014. At the same time, more than a quarter of these lands — 11.3 million acres — are already near existing roads. Acting now, thoughtfully and decisively, is the best way to restore the balance, reduce wildfire risk, and secure the long-term health of our forests and neighboring communities.”

To comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement, go to Regulations.gov. Public comments must be received by midnight on Sept. 21. Information will be available Aug. 19 on the Forest Service Roadless Areas webpage.

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Jeff Stahl

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A new high-speed fiber-optic cable line is coming into the desert, adding redundancy to keep 911 emergency services up and running even when the current high-speed line goes down.

Local 911 emergency call centers know its importance after years of repeated data outages that have disrupted normal operations.

Those concerns were highlighted when a train derailment cut a major fiber-optic cable line during 2023’s Tropical Storm Hilary.

Thieves have also cut the same fiber-optic data line, hoping to steal copper.

But this potential fix, a high-speed fiber-optic data cable line, is in its final stages of completion.

The data lines are critical because they connect people in need of help with emergency dispatchers, who can send potentially life-saving police or fire aid when every second counts.

I-Team reporter Jeff Stahl said, “Losing a major data line has a big impact on your ability to send help five blocks down the street.” Cathedral City Police dispatcher Rick Osborne said, “It does. It could be a remote problem. Has a very significant local impact.”

The lines have failed repeatedly in Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Indio and other Coachella Valley cities following Tropical Storm Hilary. Calls for help may have to be transferred back and forth between the valley’s call centers, people may have to call backup numbers to reach help, and it takes more time for aid to arrive.

Osborne said an added data line would help, “Well, redundancy will always improve reliability.”

The state-led Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative (MMBI) program is set to bring that redundancy. It’s an additional high-speed data trunk line coming into the Coachella Valley by year’s end.

“So installation is construction essentially along State Route 111; we are installing fiber in the ground,” said Jared Johnson, Chief Deputy Director of California’s Broadband Initiative.

Construction crews are digging trenches and laying conduit, which will host this new fiber-optic network cable, the backbone of the internet.

Johnson says the $3.25 billion project has been in the works since 2021. It’s designed to improve internet connectivity for homes, businesses, and community institutions in unserved or underserved areas, including the Coachella Valley.

Jeff Stahl asked Johnson specifically if this new MMBI line will offer some redundancy so that if there is a problem with other data lines, the system won’t just collapse. Johnson said, “It will. It is scaled. It’s built with redundancy.” A break in one line could see data transfer to the other.

The lines are being laid all over the state’s rural areas. One line runs through the Banning Pass, into Palm Springs, then along the Union Pacific Rail Corridor all the way to Indio, Coachella, then south toward the Salton Sea along Highway 111.

By the Numbers, the MMBI has 8,209 total network miles in all 58 counties, including Riverside. 2,532 miles are in pre-construction, with 4,498 miles of line being actively installed. 1,179 miles are ready to connect, with9 tribal partnerships and engagements underway.

Indio is also no stranger to 911 outages during Tropical Storm Hilary, when a train derailed, and due to cuts by thieves. Dispatchers say this new data line could be a game changer.

“That would be a huge benefit if it does work with a redundancy,” said Indio dispatcher Shane Vernon, adding, “that it allows us to have an alternate route if one line of fiber is cut to have another route that also feeds into us so that we can continue answering at least some 911 calls.”

The City of Indio is working on a Last Mile project to connect to the state’s new Middle Mile data network

Johnson said, “And that project, when it’s completed, will be able to connect to our Middle Mile, and that will bring this new high-speed, affordable internet to that city.”

As of July, the state’s MMBI network has grown to nearly 1,250 operational miles, up from 423, now stretching from the Bay Area through Los Angeles.

We reached out to other local law enforcement agencies to get their responses to this new data line construction. Here are some statements we received.

“When someone faces an emergency and dials 911, they count on reaching a dispatcher right away, whether that’s the California Highway Patrol (CHP) or another local agency,” said Officer David Torres, CHP Indio Public Information Officer. Torres said, “Phone lines have gone down in the past for various reasons, and while CHP has remained reachable, the large volume of calls across the large Coachella Valley puts a heavy demand on our dispatch center. A second data line could provide the necessary backup needed to help ensure those in need can still reach their local emergency services if the phone lines happen to fail again.”

Captain Gustavo M. Araiza of the Palm Springs Police Department said, “The state’s middle-mile network creates an opportunity to improve the reliability of 911 communications by giving service providers and government agencies access to an additional fiber route. If implemented as system redundancy, it could reduce the risk that a single infrastructure failure will disrupt emergency communications. That’s a meaningful step toward building a more resilient 911 system, but the overall benefit depends on how local networks are engineered and connected.”

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment, stating, “Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to provide a statement in your story. Unfortunately, the Riverside Sheriff’s Office has not had any involvement in the planning, design, or implementation of this project, and we prefer not to provide a statement at this time.” – Respectfully, Lieutenant Deirdre Vickers, Riverside County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer.

There’s another broadband effort– the proposed BEAD grant-funded program under review. It would spend another $1.86 billion to expand high-speed internet to unserved and underserved areas.

Riverside County plans to use more than $63 million of that money on projects targeted specifically at unserved pockets in the county, with construction ideally starting next year.

The federal government is presently reviewing the state’s BEAD application.

You can find out more. See the interactive network map along with the latest project updates and goals here: LINK: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e2540ace2ac248ee8c3350aa39395342/page/Project

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KESQ News Team

INDIO, Calif. — Students at Kennedy Elementary School in Indio are getting some extra help getting ready for the new school year.

The Walter Clark Legal Group donated 350 backpacks to Kennedy Elementary students as part of the school’s “Chalk the Walk” back-to-school event Tuesday.

The backpacks were handed out to families as students prepare to return to the classroom. The event was rescheduled to accommodate more families returning to the Coachella Valley.

The donation is part of a larger effort by Walter Clark Legal Group to provide 4,500 backpacks to students across Southern California this school year. The law firm announced in July that the backpacks would be distributed through schools and districts in communities throughout the region.

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City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 75-year-old Coachella man who was convicted of child sexual abuse charges was sentenced today to 16 years in state prison.

Last month, Ysidro Anaya Sanchez pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. No charges were dismissed.

During a sentencing hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Kristi Hester imposed the term of imprisonment stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to prosecutors, Sanchez groped a girl between June 2015 and June 2016, and molested another girl in July and August 2019.

The defendant was arrested on Jan. 15, 2020, following a sheriff’s department investigation initiated after one of the victims came forward.

Investigator Prezell Burgie wrote in a bail-setting declaration that Sanchez admitted to detectives he had a “problem” with his sexual impulses.

“I asked him if his `problem’ is touching young girls, and he said `yes,”’ Burgie said.

No other details were provided.

The defendant had been in the county correctional system since his arrest more than six years ago.

He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Raymond Kalra

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – California is set to become the first state in the nation to require energy-efficiency standards for replacement tires, a move state regulators say could save drivers money over time but one that is already raising questions about cost, availability and consumer choice.

The California Energy Commission unanimously approved the new Replacement Tire Efficiency Program, which begins applying to covered tires manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 2029. A stricter second phase is scheduled to begin in 2033. Tires manufactured before 2029, including tires already installed on vehicles, will not be subject to the new performance requirements.

At the center of the rule is rolling resistance, a measurement of how much energy a tire loses as it moves. Lower rolling resistance means less energy is required to keep a vehicle moving, which can improve fuel economy or reduce electricity use in electric vehicles. The state has established different maximum rolling-resistance levels depending on the type of tire, including separate categories for light-truck, commercial, long-life and high-performance tires.

For drivers, however, the immediate concern may be less about the technical standard and more about the price tag.

“It always comes to the bottom line. How much is that going to cost me?” driver Heather Ludlow told News Channel 3.

The Energy Commission estimates a typical set of four passenger tires meeting the 2029 standard would cost about $6 more while producing approximately $85 in fuel savings over the life of the tires. That works out to an estimated net savings of $79.

Under the stricter 2033 requirements, the state projects an added cost of about $26 per set and $179 in fuel savings, or approximately $153 in net savings. Those projections assume gasoline costs of $4.60 per gallon, roughly 10,413 miles of driving each year and a four-year tire service life.

Industry groups have challenged whether those estimates reflect what consumers will actually encounter.

The Tire Industry Association compared several tire models and found a sizable price gap between some entry-level products and tires marketed for lower rolling resistance. The organization warned that higher costs could lead some drivers to delay replacing worn tires, buy used tires or seek options outside California.

America’s Tire has also raised concerns about availability. In comments submitted during the rulemaking process, the retailer said applying the stricter standard to its 2026 product selection would have excluded roughly 70% of its available options. That comparison was made before the commission finalized later implementation dates and additional exemptions, but it remains part of the broader debate over how much choice drivers will have once the rules take effect.

At Sergio’s Automotive, owner Sergio Ceballos said many customers are already focused heavily on price when choosing tires.

“A lot of people, I tell you what had to put in that vehicle, and the people say, ‘No, I need the cheap. I don’t want to spend so much money,’” Ceballos said.

Driver Isaac Angel said the last set of tires he bought cost about $100 per tire, and that prices can quickly climb depending on the vehicle.

“It was like a hundred each tire. So imagine four tires. That’s like $400. Or it could go up to like $800, depending on the year, make and model of your car,” Angel said.

For Coachella Valley drivers, price is not the only consideration.

Ken Arnold said the kind of driving someone does can make a major difference in what tire they need.

“If I’m going to be driving on the highway in my family car, then I’ll want efficient tires. If I want a truck to go drive off in the desert, then I want tires for that,” Arnold said.

That concern is partly addressed in the final regulations, which use different efficiency limits for different tire categories and exclude several specialty products. Used and retreaded tires, motorcycle tires, temporary spares, certain off-road tires and some limited-production models are among those that are not subject to the primary performance standards. The rules also include a last-resort process for cases where a compliant tire is not reasonably available for a specific vehicle.

Ceballos said the desert climate and different driving conditions could also affect how drivers evaluate the new products once they begin appearing.

He said there can be significant differences between a tire designed for highway driving and one intended for off-road use, and he wants to see how the new standards perform across those conditions.

The regulations will also require most covered tires manufactured beginning in 2029 to meet a wet-grip standard, an effort aimed at improving efficiency without sacrificing traction.

The California Energy Commission estimates the program could eventually save motorists nearly $1 billion each year in gasoline and electricity costs while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 2 million metric tons annually.

For now, drivers do not need to replace anything early or change the tires already on their vehicles. The first enforceable changes will begin with covered tires manufactured in 2029, giving manufacturers, retailers and consumers several years before the new standards begin reshaping the replacement-tire market.

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