PARIS — The French general overseeing the reconstruction of fire-devastated Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is not saved yet because there's still a risk its vaulted ceilings might collapse. Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin told French broadcaster CNews on Sunday that “the cathedral is still in a state of peril”...
California Fire Kills 2 Girls and Dad Who Attempted Rescue
HEMET — A fire tore through a Southern California apartment early Friday, killing two girls and their father, who got out of the apartment but went back inside to try to rescue his children, police said. A boy rescued from the inferno was badly injured. Seven people were in the...
Notre Dame Cathedral to Miss First Christmas in Centuries
PARIS — Notre Dame kept Christmas going even during two world wars — a beacon of hope amid the bloodshed. Yet an accidental fire in peacetime finally stopped the Paris cathedral from celebrating Midnight Mass this year, for the first time in over two centuries. As the lights stay dim in the...
While Raising Flags, School Janitor Spots Flames, Rescues 2
School custodian Tony Martinez was raising the flags in front of Eastin-Arcola Elementary School about 6 a.m. Thursday when he saw flames engulfing a house across the street. Listen to this article: Martinez sprinted to the home, jumped a fence and burst inside. Through the thick smoke and flames,...
Walters: What Now for PG&E?
Gov. Gavin Newsom says he wants Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to become a “radically restructured and transformed utility that is responsible and accountable…” But how? Newsom, in rejecting the company’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy late last week, once again denounced it for “more than two decades of mismanagement,...
Fire Burns Vacant Building on HSR Property in South Fresno
A fire burned a vacant building on a plot of land owned by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Black smoke could be seen for miles — especially around highways 99 and 41 — when the fire started around 1 p.m. Listen to this article: CHSRA owns the plot of land...
PG&E Begins New Mass Power Shutoff Over Fire Danger
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was set to begin shutting off power Wednesday to some 375,000 people in 18 Northern and central California counties as the region faces extreme fire weather that’s lasted since October. A virtually rainless fall has left brush bone-dry and forecasts called for...
State Regulators Launch Investigation into Power Outages
SAN FRANCISCO — California regulators opened a formal investigation Wednesday into preemptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state in October, drawing strong rebukes from public officials and residents who said the shut-offs were too broad and poorly executed. The unanimous vote by the California Public Utilities...
Blackouts Possible Again as Fire Danger Looms in California
Less than two weeks after blacking out much of Northern California, PG&E is warning that dangerous fire weather could prompt it to shut off power to about a half-million people. Pacific Gas & Electric began notifying customers Monday that it could begin precautionary shutoffs to parts of 16 counties as...
Removal of Notre Dame's Melted Scaffold to Begin 'In Weeks'
PARIS — Melted scaffolding atop fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral will be removed "in the coming weeks" to allow restoration work to begin next year, France's culture minister said Tuesday. It's been six months since an April 15 fire gutted the medieval Paris structure, which was under renovation at the time...