Author: KION

Jeanette Bent

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION-TV) — In Santa Cruz County, firefighters from the city’s fire department, CAL FIRE CZU, and Scotts Valley Fire prevented a vehicle fire from becoming a wildland fire near Dimeo Lane and Highway 1, north of Wilder Ranch.

Crews said that an aggressive initial attack prevented the fire from spreading further.

Firefighters did say that the initial fire had spread to a nearby structure as well as a second vehicle.

“Due to a lack of hydrants in the area, additional water tenders and two engines were requested,” wrote CAL FIRE CZU San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit on Facebook. “Once CAL FIRE CZU engines and more resources arrived, the fire was extinguished.”

They said that a total of three CAL FIRE CZU engines, two Santa Cruz City Fire engines, and a water tender from Scotts Valley Fire District and Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Company 37 assisted with the operation, with CHP – Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office offering traffic control.

Over in the area of Mission Vineyard and San Juan Canyon Road in San Benito County, firefighters also battled a vehicle fire.

Aromas Engine 35 and Engine 4677 assisted Hollister Fire with the fire that involved a minivan fully engulfed.

Crews said that there was no spread to nearby vegetation thanks to quick action and strong coordination by crews on scene.

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Victor Guzman

SAN BENITO COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — CHP-Hollister/Gilroy is investigating after a motorcyclist suffered major injuries after crashing into a guardrail on Thursday morning.

The CHP says the motorcyclist tried to pass a big rig when it lost control and crashed into the rail along Highway 25 near Shore Road.

Officers say the rider suffered major injuries and was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

The CHP says there’s some residual traffic delays following the accident but the road is open after being shut down for about an hour.

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Briana Mathaw

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – The ongoing investigation into the alleged violent sexual assault that happened more than a month ago near the 400 block of Frederick Street

The woman survived, but police say the man who attacked her is still out there.

“At this point, we have not been able to identify the suspect through video surveillance in the neighborhood,” said Chief Bernie Escalante of Santa Cruz Police.

Chief Escalante stated that they are also waiting for the lab results of the evidence collected and tested.

“It happened in the middle of the evening. There were no direct witnesses. You know, so there’s a lot of factors for why, at this point, we have not been able to identify the person,” said Chief Escalante.

That update comes as concern continues to grow in this tight-knit neighborhood 

“Everybody is freaked out. They don’t know what to do,” said self-defense teacher Calra E. Minor

“I used to be pretty, pretty really pretty relaxed about it, where like the garage doors stay open all day and stuff,” said Nicole, a resident living in the area, “But then closing that lately and now hearing about this for sure, a little bit more, more on guard.”

Sketches of the suspect are still posted near the spot where the attack happened 

“It’s always felt really safe. So yeah, it’s terrible that this has happened,” said Lorna, another resident from the area.

“That infuriates me to no end, that there’s still this person out there that feels privileged, that they got away with it and that they can get away with it,” Minor said.

Minor, a local boxing instructor who teaches self-defense, is raising awareness.

“She was out at night, which she has every right to do. I was furious that yet another man decided that he could take advantage of another woman. I think every woman on this planet needs to learn self-defense training,” Minor said. “I’m such an advocate for each woman and each young person having the tools and the skills at their level to be able to stay as safe as possible and to defend themselves if they need to, so that they fight forward all the way.

Police say this case is not connected to the UCSC assault, where an arrest was made.

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jose.romo

APTOS, Calif. (KION-TV) — People living in the Seascape and La Selva are frustrated after numerous power outages in the last couple of weeks. Many of them are uncertain why these are taking place. The last couple of weeks have been a frustrating struggle for residents. Many of them are going onto social media asking others with similar complaints to report them to PG&E. 

“The power outages have definitely been happening more frequently, from what I’ve noticed,” said Giana Cacciatore. “I’d say generally we’ve had one within the past couple of weeks, every week, and it’s absolutely very impactful.”

The most recent outage was just last night. Residents said they were without power for 3 to 4 hours. 

“When it’s after work, it’s kind of a bummer because it’s like affecting our ability to make dinner, warm up dinner, specifically last night,” said Lauren Heller, who lives in Seascape. “Even just showering, like it’s dark at those hours. So it’s, like, okay, maybe we’ll wait till the electricity comes back on to shower.”

PG & E says the community is in a high fire risk district protected by enhanced powerline safety settings. This enables powerlines to shut off within one-tenth of a second when a hazard comes into contact with the powerline. In a statement, they said, “Vegetation and animal-related outages are among the primary causes. Our crews are actively clearing vegetation and retrofitting equipment in the area to help prevent animal-related outages and protect wildlife.”  

“Sometimes when I’m in meetings, my internet just goes down, and I also facilitate workshops and stuff like that,” said Laya Mosher. “So it’s kind of embarrassing when I am like leading something and then, you know, all of a sudden it’s just like the power is out,

Community members are concerned about the recurring nature of these power outages, many times for hours on end. They asked for better communication regarding the reasons for these outages from PG&E. 

PG&E said engineers are looking to separate the circuit so that coastal communities are no longer served by protected EPSS lines. Upgrades at their nearest substation are impacting the scale of the outages.

“It’s just kind of crazy to even like we pay quite a bit to live here, so it’s pretty frustrating,” adds Heller. “I don’t know if this is like a long-term place for us to live, honestly, because of that.”

PG&E adds that they are working to upgrade substations in the area, as they are currently being served by a neighboring station, which is impacting outages. They say these upgrades will improve reliability long term.

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Sergio Berrueta

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) – Santa Cruz County is inviting people to step out of their cars during their inaugural “Week Without Driving.”

The campaign is a week-long challenge to experience life without a personal vehicle.

It’s going from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, with a kick-off event will be held at the Capitola Mall on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.

It will feature booths from transit agencies, stories from locals who navigate Santa Cruz without a car, and opportunities to connect with officials.

Santa Cruz Metro will also be offering free fares all day on Oct. 1.

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Katie Nicora

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — PG&E is giving a $30,000 grant to United Way Monterey County to help expand access to the county’s 211 services, according to the company.

In the event of an emergency, 211 is a lifeline that can connect people to important resources like food, shelter, health care, financial assistance and other resources.

The program can also help people who rely on electricity for medical equipment make safety plans during a power outage.

United Way says that just in 2024, 211 Monterey County handled over 13,300 calls and texts that resulted in over 19,000 referrals.

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Ata Shaheen

MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KION-TV) – Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) here in Salinas gave an update on clean-up efforts and current conditions at the Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage Facility.

The building went up in flames at the beginning of the year.

It has now been two months since the U.S. EPA tasked Vistra Energy with cleaning up and removing the batteries and debris, and footing the bill. It will take them more than a year to actually get the batteries out.

Vistra has private firefighters on site and is continuing to monitor and sample air quality. The EPA said they’re focused on transparency and communication.

“No community needs or wants an incident like this. Nor does Vistra who was trying to be a community partner in this as well,” said Lynn Keller, supervisory environmental engineer at U.S. EPA. “So, we’re all trying to work together to do the right thing and get this issue addressed in a way that is transparent to the community and gets these potentially dangerous, partially burned batteries out of your community.”

The EPA stated they’re taking extreme precautions to ensure another issue does not arise during the cleanup.

A county website that displays testing results for hydrogen fluoride and other toxic chemicals near the site shows the limit to be below the health risk threshold in both the immediate and surrounding areas.

Vistra also said there’s no time frame for a decision about whether to start operating again at the facility

The question of where the batteries will be disposed of was answered as they will be sent to a special site near Reno, Nevada.

A demolition contractor is working on stabilizing the facility to make it safe for the removal to begin.

The building will be demolished in phases between this year and the end of next.

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Briana Mathaw

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – As e-bikes become more popular across Santa Cruz, local officials are responding to growing concerns about safety, especially when it comes to young riders. Instead of rushing to implement new laws, the city’s Transportation Commission is focusing on education as the primary solution.

We think we should let the state lead in, and specific programs and education that we can launch in the city of Santa Cruz that could enhance e-bike safety for all roadway users. Claire Gallogly said

One of the most pressing concerns raised by the city involves teenagers and children riding e-bikes before they’ve even learned the basic rules of the road.

“Riding e-bikes, younger than they would get a license? They’re really missing that opportunity to know how to behave on our roadways with other roadway users. And so enhancing the amount of education that we put out,” Claire Gallogly said

Residents are also sharing their experiences and frustrations with the way e-bikes are being used on streets and sidewalks.

“I’ve also seen e-bikes like, on, sidewalks where people are walking. and I think that’s, an issue. and then, I’ve seen e-bikes that are, that look like they’re going faster than, say, like motorcycle, and sometimes not stopping at stop signs,” Erik Staats said.

“They can be pretty dangerous if you’re not following the speed limit or the speed regulations on them,” Camaryn Harvel said.

Rather than writing new rules that specifically target e-bikes, the Commission says current laws already address most of the complaints they receive.

“We have existing laws that cover the plethora of issues I hear most commonly related to e-bikes. If people call and they say someone ran through a stop sign, that law exists, we don’t need to create a new law for e-bikes,” Claire Gallogly said.

Some residents support this educational focus, while also acknowledging the need for clearer guidelines.

“I think education is good at both e-bikes and regular bikes. I know some people that, work at organizations that go to schools to, promote, bike safety. and I think there should be regulations, Erik Staats said.

“More of an educational road. I think a lot of people just don’t realize that they can be more dangerous than you would think,” Emily Aron Hall said

The city is already partnering with local schools to get the message out to younger riders.

“Reaching out to Santa Cruz City Schools in order to continue to spread the word about education and encouragement, and working on building out other programing,” Claire Gallogly said.

Officials also emphasize the importance of having consistent rules across California, rather than each city creating its own patchwork of regulations.

“Having a unified set of rules that people can depend on that are the same as they complete their daily travels. Traveling between jurisdictions is really important. So having leadership at the state level, as we think about what changes may be needed to ensure that e-bikes as an emerging form of mobility continue to be safe on our roadways,” Claire Gallogly said.

The Santa Cruz City Council is expected to revisit the issue of e-bike regulations in November, but for now, education remains the city’s primary strategy.

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Victor Guzman

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — Salinas Police confirm a man is dead after being struck by a train in the area of East Market and Front Street on Tuesday.

Police said when they arrived on scene they found a 35-year-old man was still under the train after the collision.

Police said firefighters arrived on scene but the man was pronounced dead.

Union Pacific Police are handling the investigation.

The identity of the victim was not immediately released by officers.

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Victor Guzman

APTOS, Calif. (KION-TV) — Staff at Aptos High School confirm to KION classes are canceled September 17 because of power outages at the school.

Staff at the school say they’re running on generators but the school has been without power for the last few days.

They say today they received word from the district to cancel classes.

PG&E says the outage is not due to an issue related to PG&E.

PG&E crews were there Saturday to find out the cause of the outage and discovered the school-owned equipment is what is leading to the outage.

They add the school is working with a contractor to get their equipment fixed. Once that’s done the power will be restored.

This is a developing story

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