Category: kesq-local-news

Isaiah Mora

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — A 75-year-old woman is dead after she was hit by a vehicle on the Fourth of July in Indio.

Around 10:58 p.m. on Saturday, the Indio Police Department responded to a report of a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian at the intersection of Golf Center Parkway and Avenue 44.

Upon arrival, officers located the pedestrian suffering from major injuries.

Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and provided lifesaving measures before taking the woman to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.

The identity of the decedent is being withheld pending notification of next of kin by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.

The preliminary investigation found that a white Audi sedan was traveling northbound on Golf Center Parkway when it struck the woman, who had just stepped off the center median into the roadway.

The driver, a 50-year-old man, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. Golf Center Parkway remained closed for about three hours while investigators collected evidence.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.

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Timothy Foster

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — Thousands of people spent the Fourth of July at the Palm Springs Air Museum, where historic aircraft, patriotic flyovers and military history highlighted the holiday celebration.

The museum’s annual Independence Day event featured more than 70 historic aircraft on display, with several vintage warplanes, including the P-51 Mustang and C-47 cargo aircraft, taking to the skies throughout the day. Visitors toured aircraft, explored exhibits and learned about the role the planes played in American history.

Palm Springs Air Museum Vice Chairman Fred Bell said preserving the aircraft and sharing their history with the public remains one of the museum’s top priorities. He added that events like the Fourth of July celebration allow visitors to experience aviation history firsthand while honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans.

Among those attending was Dmitri Grozhankin, who visited the museum with his son, Michael. Grozhankin said they enjoy seeing aircraft from different eras and learning about their history, adding they planned to stay for the afternoon flyover.

For another visitor, Daniel, the event carried a personal connection. He wore his grandfather’s World War II jacket and said his grandfather’s military service inspired his lifelong passion for aviation. Watching historic aircraft take flight made that connection even more meaningful.

Many visitors said the museum offers a unique way to celebrate Independence Day while honoring the men and women who served in the armed forces.

Visitor Teresa Robinson said celebrating the nation’s independence at the museum made the holiday especially meaningful. She called it a blessing to witness another Independence Day surrounded by aircraft that helped shape the country’s history.

While the day focused on celebration, some attendees also reflected on the country’s current challenges. Visitor Maureen Arevalo said she hopes Independence Day can serve as a time for Americans to set aside their differences, celebrate the nation’s progress and remember the sacrifices that helped build the country.

As vintage aircraft soared over the Coachella Valley, visitors gathered along the flight line to watch history take to the skies, making the Palm Springs Air Museum one of the valley’s most popular Fourth of July destinations.

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Jonathan Ramont

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) — All lanes are back open after a crash on Date Palm Drive left at least one man injured Saturday afternoon.

A two-car crash happened just before 4:00 p.m. at the intersection of Via Colusa and Date Palm Drive. The collision blocked all southbound lanes as crews worked to clear the scene.

Our crew on scene saw one man with an apparent head injury. He was able to exit his vehicle before being treated by paramedics.

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Athena Jreij

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – It’s been over 20 years since La Quinta resident Richard Birdsall fought his homeowner’s association to keep up a 22-foot flag pole and American flag.

This Fourth of July, Birdsall says he’s proud of his fight to fly the nation’s flag, which he first raised after September 11, 2001. But 6 months later, Birdsall says he received a call from his HOA telling him to take it down, per their guidelines.

“I get the call, take it down. I tell them, I’m not taking it down. Well, if you don’t take it down, we’re going to take you to court. I said, you do what you gotta do, and I’ll do what I have to do. So, the fight was on,” he said.

From there, he took his fight to state legislators, who passed Senate Bill 2032 in 2032 on January 1, 2003, prohibiting homeowners’ associations restrictions on flags.

“We had the news media here, NBC, CBS. We had them all here. The Boy Scouts helped me dedicate the flag. I’ve been flying it ever since,” Birdsall said.

As America celebrates it’s 250th birthday, Birdsall says it’s more important now than ever.

“I was never in the service, but all my brothers were. I had three brothers and they were all in the military. I just felt that, you know, this flag means freedom to all of us,” he said.

It comes as other homeowners complain of similar restrictions across California, specifically in San Diego’s San Marcos neighborhood.

His message to them? Keep fighting to fly the flag.

“Definitely. In fact, there were a lot of people who lived in gated communities after we had won, they called and said, we thank you very much for doing what you did. We get to fly our flag, too,” Birdsall said.

More than 2 decades after the fight, Birdsall says he’ll spend the fourth with his flag and family he loves.

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Haley Meberg

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Firefighters quickly contained an RV fire that broke out earlier Friday afternoon in Indio.

Cal Fire reports the fire began at approximately 12:52 p.m. at Mary Lane and Madison Street, with firefighters arriving at the scene shortly after. Initially crews believed the fire may have spread to a single-story family dwelling nearby.

Officials say the fire was contained at 1:24 p.m. with the damage being contained to the RV only. No injuries from the incident have been reported at this time.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more updates.

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Peter Daut

As Independence Day celebrations begin, fire officials are reminding the public that the Fourth of July is one of the busiest times of the year for firefighters, with many emergency calls involving fireworks-related injuries and fires.

According to Cal Fire, the holiday consistently brings a spike in burn injuries, particularly among children. Officials are encouraging families to attend professional fireworks displays instead of using illegal fireworks, which can be unpredictable and dangerous.

Even fireworks labeled as “safe and sane” require careful handling. Fire officials say following the manufacturer’s instructions and using fireworks only in cities where they are permitted can help reduce the risk of injury.

“Just follow the directions on those packages. Stay within local cities that allow safe and sane fireworks,” said Captain Richard Cordova with Cal Fire. “And once they’re out, make sure they’re out and not still lit or have heat to them. And if they do, just pour some water on them.”

Cordova emphasized that firefighters would rather see families enjoy professionally organized fireworks shows than risk preventable injuries at home.

“We don’t like seeing people get hurt, especially children,” Cordova said. “So please go out and see the professionals light those fireworks. We say it over and over every year, and still we have children that get hurt.”

Fire officials also recommend keeping a bucket or hose nearby when using legal fireworks, never allowing young children to handle fireworks, and never attempting to relight fireworks that fail to ignite. Duds should be soaked thoroughly with water before being discarded to prevent accidental fires.

Authorities hope residents will celebrate responsibly this holiday, helping reduce the number of injuries and emergency calls while keeping communities safe.

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Timothy Foster

The Palm Springs Air Museum is preparing to celebrate the Fourth of July with a unique event honoring 250 years of friendship between France and the United States.

The museum’s Allies In Liberty Celebration takes place Saturday, July 4, featuring a day of family activities, aviation history and a special French-American cultural exchange. French diplomats and museum officials will exchange commemorative gifts recognizing France’s support during the American Revolution and the lasting partnership between the two nations.

One of the highlights will be the Freedom Flight, a valley-wide flyover beginning at 6:30 p.m. featuring the museum’s C-47 Skytrain and two P-51 Mustangs. A rare French Fouga Magister CM-170 jet is also expected to arrive Friday and will be on display during the event.

Families can enjoy hands-on activities throughout the day, including building and flying balsa wood model airplanes, creating patriotic birthday cards, sitting in the cockpit of the museum’s P-40 Warhawk, and seeing DARKSTAR, the aircraft featured in Top Gun: Maverick. Live music, food vendors and free birthday cake will also be part of the celebration.

The event begins at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Palm Springs Air Museum. Regular museum admission applies, with free admission for children 12 and under with a paid adult, active-duty military and Palm Springs Air Museum members.

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Kiera McKinney

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ)- The biggest grilling day of the year, the Fourth of July, it is also the busiest day for grill-related fires.

71 percent of grill for the holiday, followed closely by Memorial Day and Labor day. Grill fires cause an average of 10,600 home fires and 150 million in property damage every year. Grills also send about 21,000 people to the emergency room annually, with burns being the most common injury. July is the peak month for these dangerous accidents.

Mike Alejo, the lead sales rep at Fireplace in Palm Desert says, “The first thing people should do before grilling is make sure that their connections to gas. Secondly is just make sure that you have a good ventilated area.”

Cal Fire says not cleaning grills is one of the biggest causes of the fires they see when it comes to grill fires.

Captain John Clingingsmith Jr. of Cal Fire Riverside County said “Not having a clean grill, most of us don’t clean the grill property and enough so a lot of the build up leads to a lot of fires.”

Stay tuned for my full story at 6.

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Luis Avila

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) — Federal immigration officials have significantly increased enforcement efforts nationwide, with sources saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested about 10,000 people over a five-day period.

According to the report, ICE is now aiming to make at least 2,000 arrests per day as the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown. The Department of Homeland Security says nearly 70% of ICE arrests involve people who have been charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States, though officials have not released details about those arrested in the latest operation.

The increased enforcement is drawing attention in the Coachella Valley, where in one local neighborhood, resident Norma Ortiz says fear of immigration enforcement has dramatically changed daily life.

“Right now, there’s no one out in the streets because of fear,” Ortiz said. “We’ve seen enforcement along this street and they just wait for people to come out and then trap them… they’re basically surrounding this community.”

Ortiz says the fear has also affected her own family.

“Last week, they took my nephew,” she said. “My son has autism. I’ve canceled my son’s appointments. I haven’t taken him in two months out of fear.”

Local immigration attorney Claudio Koren says the increase in enforcement is not unexpected following billions of dollars in new federal funding approved for the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.

“This increase in detention and arrest operations, also here in the Coachella Valley, is not a surprise, but it’s impacting the community really bad,” Koren said.

Koren says recent court rulings have reaffirmed that people in the United States still have constitutional rights regardless of their immigration status.

“In general, we have to understand we still have a system that provides defense and assistance to the community at large, in particular to immigrants against abuse and things that are unlawful,” Koren said.

He encourages anyone with questions about their legal rights to seek guidance from a qualified immigration attorney or accredited legal representative.

It remains unclear whether any of the recent arrests occurred in the Coachella Valley. News Channel 3 reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for information.

For resources, click here.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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Garrett Hottle

IDYLLWILD, Calif. (KESQ) As thousands of visitors head up the hill for Idyllwild’s Fourth of July parade this weekend, the people who live in the mountain town are paying more than ever to protect their homes from wildfire and many say they’re insuring for less than their homes are worth just to afford it.

Most homeowners News Channel 3 spoke with are on the California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort. The plan covered 655,204 properties statewide as of March 31, 2026, according to FAIR Plan data nearly triple the number from 2021.

Tamara McFarlane is the manager at the local hotspot Red Kettle, and owns a property with three buildings in Strawberry Valley. She pays $1,700 a year for $350,000 in FAIR Plan coverage far less than she says her property is worth.

“I’d probably be able to rebuild maybe a one-bedroom house if I’m lucky,” McFarlane said.

She said she chose the lower coverage deliberately. “I didn’t want to spend $2,000 a month to have insurance,” she said.

Dora Dillman, a realtor in Idyllwild for roughly 30 years, said the common belief that the town is uninsurable is false, but acknowledged costs have climbed sharply.

“I hear people say, ‘Oh, it’s impossible to get insurance up here,’ and I want to just – excuse me, that’s not true. We can get insurance,” Dillman said. She estimated premiums have “easily doubled” over the past decade. “But I wouldn’t trade it. I’ll pay whatever insurance it costs.”

Dillman said the bigger danger is homeowners who don’t understand what their policies cover, pointing to friends who lost homes in the 2018 Cranston Fire and discovered the gap between insured value and the actual cost to rebuild. She said rebuilding on the mountain can run $450 per square foot or more while some homeowners carry policies written at $250.

The FAIR Plan is a named-peril policy centered on fire coverage. It does not include protections standard in a typical homeowners policy, such as theft, water damage or liability homeowners who want that protection must buy a second “wrap” policy, adding to the cost.

Donnie Browne, an insurance agent who writes policies in the area, told News Channel 3 that Idyllwild carries the highest wildfire risk scoring used by many insurers, and that carriers have pulled back from high-risk areas across Southern California including, in some cases, parts of Palm Springs. He said homeowners frustrated by rising bills should shop their policies but never let coverage lapse in protest, because carriers are unlikely to reinstate the old rate.

Susan Cowper, a longtime Idyllwild homeowner on the FAIR Plan, said her former carrier stopped writing policies in the mountain communities. She credits the local fire department with keeping past fires out of the village but said she’s made peace with the risk.

“Life is more important than possessions,” Cowper said.

News Channel 3 reached out to Assemblymember Greg Wallis whose district covers the hill and who is Vice Chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee, who provided us with the following statement.

“I hear the frustration of Idyllwild families every day, and they deserve a serious response. As Vice Chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee, I have spent the past year pushing the Sustainable Insurance Strategy and smarter policy to rebuild a private insurance market that can actually work in California. For too long, well intended but unwise regulations have driven carriers out of high risk areas. The FAIR Plan was designed as a last resort, not a primary option, and too many homeowners now have nowhere else to turn. That is not acceptable. Our goal is simple: bring carriers back so families in Idyllwild and across the state can get real, affordable coverage. I will not stop working until Californians have the protection they deserve.”

Assemblymember Greg Wallis -(R) California 47th District

On Saturday morning at 10am the 60th 4th of July Parade in Idyllwild will kick off. For more information on parade details and local events happening this weekend visit this link.

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