Category: kesq-local-news

City News Service

ALTADENA, Calif. (KESQ) – A transmission tower suspected of starting the Eaton Fire in January has been removed by Southern California Edison and the parts are being moved to a warehouse today to be tested in a lab.   

A helicopter lifted a part of a transmission tower out of Eaton Canyon on Wednesday, footage from ABC 7 shows, and a second part of the tower was moved about an hour later.

“This is all part of an effort to get as much information as we can to have a thorough and transparent investigation into the cause of the Eaton Fire,” Dave Eisenhauer of Southern California Edison told Eyewitness News.   

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Southern California Edison with the transmission tower at the center of the filings.   

Los Angeles County, the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre and many Altadena homeowners are among those suing Edison for being responsible for the fires starting.

The Eaton Fire started Jan. 7, destroying neighborhoods and scorching more than 14,000 acres. At least 18 people died in the fire, according to Cal Fire.

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Athena Jreij

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) — The Riverside County Department of Animal Services is getting ready to launch a new foster program aimed at getting more animals into fur-ever homes.

‘Ticket to Ride,’ would provide a temporary home to animals in transition between shelters. It’s asking foster volunteers to house pets between 2 to 4 weeks prior to adoption, if needed.

“We have people from out-of-state wanting to adopt. They’re not actually being transported to other shelters. They’re going to adopters. But sometimes getting those transports together was a conundrum. How do we figure out what to do with the dog or cat or bird or fish, or whatever it is until that transport can be arranged. And that’s how the concept of Ticket to Ride came,” Mary Martin, RCDAS Director said.

It comes as the county has received widespread criticism from animal advocates that a strong foster program is lacking.

Erin Hyland, a local foster dog mom, says her community welcomes the program but is approaching it with cautious optimism.

“We have been asking for this. Prior to the county stepping in and trying new fostering programs, it has all been 100% on the rescues,” Hyland said.

She’s currently fostering Bear, an 18-month old dog that was turned over to her after someone lost housing.

Martin and Hyland say this program should attract more fosters, since pets are already set up to be adopted.

“What’s particularly interesting to a lot of fosters about this program is it has a beginning, a middle and an end,” Martin said.

Hyland says the work to alleviate shelter overcrowding goes beyond the county’s scope.

“A big challenge are these antiquated policies on weight and breed restrictions. That’s why so many dogs are entering in the shelter in the first place. It’s the same with 55 plus communities or some of the expanded care for their older citizens. Make more communities where they’re able to bring their pets with them as they transition into long term care,” Hyland said.

If you’re interested in participating with Ticket to Ride, email foster@rivco.org.

If you’re interested in adopting Bear, Hyland’s foster dog, email her at erin@readwithmevolunteer.org.

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Jesus Reyes

NORTH SHORE, Calif. (KESQ) – A West Nile Virus (WNV) positive mosquito sample was found in the community of North Shore, the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District (CVMVCD) confirmed Thursday.

The positive sample was collected from a routine collection site near the intersections of Vanderveer and Avenue 73.

Officials said this marks the first time a WNV positive sample is collected in 2025.

According to CVMVCD, West Nile Virus (WNV) is endemic to the Coachella Valley and is primarily spread by native Culex mosquitoes, which are most active during the summer, especially at dawn and dusk.

To date, no human cases of WNV have been reported in California this year. For additional WNV information visit Westnile.ca.gov.

West Nile Virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States.

“To help prevent WNV transmission in the Valley, residents are encouraged to eliminate standing water around their homes by dumping and draining potential mosquito breeding sources and by using insect repellent when spending time outdoors,” says Jeremy Wittie, General Manager for the District.

The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District is increasing mosquito surveillance and control treatments in the area to reduce the number of mosquitoes and interrupt further transmission of the virus.

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CNN

Originally Published: 08 MAY 25 12:08 ETUpdated: 08 MAY 25 13:26 ETBy Lauren Kent, Chris Lamb and Rob Picheta, CNN

(CNN) — Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and has stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

He’ll be known as Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States.

Cardinals took two days to select a new pontiff, matching the timeline from the previous two gatherings and suggesting that Prevost quickly impressed his peers during the secretive process.

Francis and Benedict XVI were both revealed in the evening of the conclave’s second day, while John Paul II, the longest-reigning pope of modern times, was selected on the third day in 1978.

President Trump reacts to the new Pope:

“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

‘An exceptional leader’

A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.

He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.

Prevost is a member of the Augustinian religious order – which he also led for more than a decade as their prior general, which has given him leadership experience of leading an order spread across the world.

Considered a highly capable and accomplished leader, Prevost most recently led the powerful Vatican office for new bishop appointments, the Dicastery for Bishops, assessing candidates and making recommendations to the late pope. He also served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US, due to America’s outsized global political influence, Prevost’s long experience in Peru may have mitigated those fears among the electors.

“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,” said Elise Allen, CNN’s Vatican analyst. “You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.”

Allen added that he is seen as an apt leader in Vatican circles because “he’s able to accomplish things without necessarily being authoritarian about the way he did things.”

“Prevost is somebody who is seen as an exceptional leader. From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,” Allen said. “He’s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed, and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done… but he’s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.”

Prevost earned his bachelor’s in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

He was later sent to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University and was ordained as a priest in June 1982. Later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru.

In an interview with Vatican News shortly after he became the leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost said: “I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”

Asked about the contributions of three women who were made members of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost told Vatican News: “I think their appointment is more than just a gesture on the part of the Pope to say that there are now women here, too. There is a real, genuine, and meaningful participation that they offer at our meetings when we discuss the dossiers of candidates.”

He also addressed the responsibility of combating clerical abuse, saying: “There are places where good work has already been done for years and the rules are being put into practice. At the same time, I believe that there is still much to learn.”

This is a breaking story. More details soon…

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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María García

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs and Riverside County Fire responded to reports of a structure fire in an abandoned building just after 2:00 a.m. Thursday, on the corner of Sunrise Way and East Palm Canyon Drive.

Firefighters say they found heavy smoke in the vacant structure, Another two additional engines and a ladder truck were called, making it 18 fire units on scene.

No one was injured, and fire investigators are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

Stay with News Channel 3 for the latest updates.

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Jeff Stahl

From wildfires to earthquakes and even a tropical storm hitting the Coachella Valley, disasters can strike unexpectedly.

I-Team investigator Jeff Stahl is digging deep into Emergency Operation Plans and finding that there is a lot of work to do. 

Nine cities have nine unique plans.

The I-Team has been requesting and combing through the documents. 

Palm Desert and La Quinta approved their latest plans in 2010, and Palm Springs in 2012, but you’ll find most cities are updating their plans right now.

What could this all mean during our next widespread emergency? 

Disasters come in many forms, Coachella Valley residents can all relate to, from Tropical Storm Hilary’s rain and widespread flooding, to lockdowns during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Los Angeles wind-driven wildfires to our west. 

In Palm Springs, Emergency Planning documents show the city’s top disaster concerns include a major earthquake, fire, flooding, dam failure, hazardous materials spills, severe heat– even civil unrest and terrorism.

Palm Springs Emergency Management Coordinator  Daniel DeSelms confirmed with News Channel 3, “Those are our major ones.”  

Like others we examined, the city’s plan presents an organizational chart for the police, fire, and all other department operation centers to work together and with outside districts, state, and federal agencies during high-stress times.

DeSelms said, “When two more of those are activated on a single incident, the Emergency Operations Center gets kicked into gear.” 

He says the city’s new plan will be more streamlined, closer to a hundred pages from the current 600. It will list important crisis job requirements and remove many redundancies to make the new document more readable. DeSelms has been working on it for several years now.

“What any community member can take from this,” DeSelms said, “is knowing that the city is planning for protecting the community. That is our number one priority.”  

Cathedral City is like most others in the Coachella Valley with these Emergency Operations Plans. They run several hundred pages. This is just a fraction of Cathedral City’s and was produced in 2022. They are working on a new version of this plan and hope to have it completed by June.”

“Now, for us, we were already in the process of planning it out when we had Hurricane Hilary,” Fire Chief Michael Contreras said, adding, “While I think we did everything we could, what can we do better?

Contreras says the pandemic and especially Tropical Storm Hilary highlighted the need for updates including the types of services the fire department should be involved with that previously it had not been.

“Depending on jurisdiction, because a lot of it was run by the county,” Contreras said, adding, “but in a lot of places, the fire department ran the vaccination clinics, because that’s one thing we do pretty well.”   

As for those updates. Who can forget the images of a neighborhood flooded with gooey mud– a derailed freight train– or those senior citizens rescued from a flooded care home in a tractor’s scoop? Here is exactly what Contreras hopes the new plan solves.

The city is streamlining its emergency plan by making it shorter and easier to read, and with more specific information on all of the potential resources available to help when disaster strikes. 

Contreras says the city secured the heavy equipment to rescue those stranded seniors from the mud that came from the Edom Hill Landfill, which is not a traditional equipment supplier. Now, the new plan will also list that and other non-traditional potential sources for potentially needed resources. 

Yet questions remain.

“Now, for us, we were already in the process of planning it out when we had Hurricane Hilary,” Contreras said, adding, “While I think we did everything we could, what can we do better?

DeSelms said, “Things like Ebola and other pandemics have occurred that really changed the thinking of, ‘What is a public health crisis?'”

Agencies we spoke to say they’re already prepared for wildfires so January’s Los Angeles fires in January have not required any changes for an already well-defined command structure.

The new Palm Springs plan is set to be approved by the city council this month. Rancho Mirage tells us its plan is still current, but it will be updated next year. 

ey’re already prepared for wildfires– so January’s LA fires have not required any changes for an already well-defined command structure.

The plans are intended to facilitate multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional coordination, particularly between the cities and Riverside County, special districts, and state agencies, in emergency operations.

The new Palm Springs plan is set to go before the city council for approval this month. Rancho Mirage tells us their plan is still current, but they are set to update it next year.

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Cynthia White

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – With unanimous approval by the Indio City Council on Wednesday to enter an agreement with the agency, the Coachella Valley Power Agency-Joint Powers Authority (CVPA-JPA) is now official.

The goal of the new governing authority is to give Coachella Valley residents more control over their electricity.

The City of Indio joins La Quinta and Riverside County as the first three members of the JPA though the agency provides the ability for additional members, including tribal nations and more cities, to join in the future.

Once the JPA is formed, representatives from all participating entities will be chosen to form a board, weighing concerns for local power governance and infrastructure. The board will then work with Imperial Irrigation District to address their issues.

News Channel 3’s Shay Lawson earlier reported on some of the details of the CVPA-JPA.

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Cynthia White

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – JFK Memorial Hospital held a celebration on Wednesday for achieving an advance certification in perinatal care.

Peri-natal care is care offered to pregnant mothers beginning at conception and extending to a time after the baby is born.

The certification comes from the Joint Commission and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It is awarded to hospitals that demonstrate excellence in providing comprehensive, coordinated care for expectant mothers and their infants.

JFK Director of Maternal Child Services Geraldine Samaniego, RN says, “Our team at JFK Memorial Hospital is dedicated to providing the highest quality level of care for expectant mothers and their newborns. Receiving the Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our entire staff.”

JFK CEO Karen Faulis adds, “We are thrilled to have earned this certification and look forward to continuing to serve our community with exceptional perinatal care.”

JFK Memorial is the second hospital in the Coachella Valley and one of only 15 in California to achieve advanced certification in perinatal care. Last year, Desert Regional Medical Center became the first hospital in the Inland Empire to achieve the new certification.

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Cynthia White

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – A Palm Desert man was taken into custody on Wednesday on suspicion of exposing himself while in his car, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The Department reports that Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station deputies were called to the 77000 block of Country Club Drive in Palm Desert just after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday for a report of indecent exposure. Before deputies could get to the location, the suspect drove away from the scene.

Deputies later found the car and the suspect driver, who was arrested and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center.

The Investigations Bureau is handling the ongoing investigation, and they ask anyone with information on this incident to call Investigator Hickok at 760-836-1600.

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