West Coast Wrap Friday, 10/16/2026

Breaking tonight, a fast-moving wildfire burns homes in Southern California. People across the region being warned the increased fire danger will continue into the weekend. Have your go-bag ready, and if you're told to evacuate, do so immediately. And good evening, everyone. Welcome to West Coast Wrap. I'm Alex Savage. Fueled by those strong Santa Ana winds, that fire in Orange County has destroyed at least six homes. What's being called the Norte Fire started this afternoon, and it's burned more than 450 acres so far. Let's go live tonight to Fox 11's Nick Garcia, who's in Orange County where, Nick, evacuation orders are in place. And we have seen those crews. They are working hard to try to save homes. Absolutely, Alex. You know, typically I'd be giving you a beautiful view from here of the Pacific Ocean here in San Juan Capistrano. Instead, it's quite a heartbreaking view. But here's a look at the firefight here on the ground. This is one of those six homes. This one is in San Juan Capistrano. This neighborhood is nestled between San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. This massive house has been on fire for hours this afternoon, and the flames just continue no matter how much water they put on it, but it does seem like they're getting a handle on it here. We're being mindful, making sure that we're staying out of the crew's way as they do their important work, but we're going to show you over here. You can see across on that ridge over that way, You can see where the fire torched a couple of homes. There's a single home still standing there, still some smoke smoldering. But you can see where the fire came through, moved over and through the hillside here, miraculously almost, didn't touch any other homes, made its way to this hillside and onto that home. And you can see how close it is to other houses. Somehow, someway, this is the only house on this street at the end of this cul-de-sac that unfortunately is on fire, and it's looking like it's going to be a total loss. We've watched that throughout the afternoon as the roof collapsed and parts of the side of the house walls have come down. And thankfully, no injuries. We do know one firefighter was dealing with some heat-related exhaustion, heat exhaustion. It was a warm one out here earlier today. And, of course, the winds also posing a challenge for the crews out here. The winds have died down quite a bit compared to earlier, but we expect those red flag warning, those Santa Ana wind event, to continue at least another 24 hours. Yeah, and Nick, it's always remarkable to see those scenes where you have a number of homes untouched by a fire, and then unfortunately, one of the homes, like the one behind you there, that does go up in flames here. Does that just sort of speak to the nature of these Santa Ana winds, where once you get a fire going, you get those embers that just blow, and they land wherever they're going to land. Absolutely, and that's a big concern for those other homes. Those embers, it all just takes one little ember hitting a part of a house, going under the eave or hitting the roof, and taking it down. I'm noting that this house right next door is a tile roof there, so it would be a little harder to get on the top of, but that ember could land on any part of that home, and that would go up too. So they have done a great job of protecting that house. this one unfortunately it's going to be a loss and Nick looking ahead here I mean you talked about the fact that the winds do seem to be calm a little bit calmer than they were earlier this afternoon when this fire first started but but I imagine crews are not letting their guard down because you do have those red flag conditions that will continue all the way through tomorrow yeah absolutely and Alex I'll give you a little perspective I started my day on the Bryson fire in Malibu earlier today, a hundred miles north of here, the entire drive down here, down the 405, down the five was windy. So you can imagine, and you know, it's usually a little windier on the coast. So crews are dealing with that. And as night falls, that's a big concern too, because we've got this, this hilly terrain here, which we know is, is not a friend for crews when it comes to battling a fire. Yeah. A lot more work to do there in the southern part of Orange County. Fox 11's Nick Garcia live for us tonight there with that ongoing firefight. Nick, we appreciate it. Thank you. And just south of where Nick is in Orange County, the Henderson Fire in San Diego County has now grown to more than 2,000 acres tonight. This fire started yesterday afternoon at around 2.30 at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base. The fire did prompt a full closure of Interstate 5 for about an hour today because of poor visibility from all that smoke. The Las Pulgas area was under evacuation orders, but affected base personnel were allowed to return last night. According to Cal Fire, there is currently no containment on that fire. Meantime, in Northern California, PG&E says it has restored power to more than 30,000 customers whose electricity was turned off as part of those planned outages meant to prevent electrical equipment from sparking fires. The utility says its crews are now out inspecting lines in the hopes of restoring more service later tonight. One of those spots is in the Berkeley Hills where power is now back on to customers. Some communities further north like in Angwin in Napa County could be waiting until tomorrow morning. This is our fifth power outage in five weeks. We had four outages in the last four weeks where it says cause unknown for anywhere from four to 15 hours. It just I think makes everyone a little suspicious and you start feeling a little abused. PG&E has set up resource centers to help people affected by power shutoffs with snacks and water as well as portable chargers to keep people's devices up and running. And they are also dealing with gusty winds in Arizona. We're going to give you a live look here at Tucson tonight and we can tell you that a high wind warning will remain in effect here in southern Arizona through tomorrow morning. So obviously a lot of concern there with those high winds. They don't want a wildfire to break out in that area and we want to talk more about the conditions that we are seeing all across the West so let's bring in KTVU meteorologist Roberto Gonzalez who is tracking the increased fire danger especially in Southern California where they they have the Santa Ana winds still continuing they have a long way to go it's heartbreaking yeah we were talking about this yesterday as well saying that they would not have any kind of relief until about Saturday right and that's when the red flag warning is allowed to expire on Saturday night So we still have a long way to go, but the good news is that the gustiest winds, they're out of here, they're over. But nonetheless, we still are going to see some pretty strong winds in throughout the area. As you take a look at the elevated fire danger here, we've got to explain to you just what a Santa Ana wind is. First off, you have the high pressure. Remember, winds circulate around the core of the area of high pressure in a clockwise fashion. So they come over the San Gabriel mountain range, also over the San Bernardino mountains. And then as they descend there, what they do is as they go down, they compress, they cause friction, they warm up, and then they go in towards the Mojave Desert, and they get warmer, and then they start to go in throughout the gaps. And when they go in throughout the gaps and head towards the beaches, they squeeze, causing more friction, and they warm up some more. So by the time you hit the coast, these winds have driven in some warmer weather. And we've seen temperatures today along the California coast today approaching 90 degrees and even more. And this is why we continue to have the red flag warning in throughout the interior section of the state of California all the way into the Los Angeles Basin. Mind you, that red flag warning has allowed to expire in the San Francisco Bay Area. But look at this huge area where we continue to see fire danger all the way through Saturday because of those Santa Ana winds. Again, red flag warning, Saturday 8 p.m., those winds will continue to drop that relative humidity to 5%. That's generally something you'd see out towards Victorville or Apple Valley or Lancaster or the Barstow area. 55 mile per hour wind gusts still, but we're out of that 70 mile per hour range. So the other side of the coin is, Alex and I were talking about this earlier, it's hot. Heat advisory remains in effect with that red flag warning. And so you couple up the wind and you couple up the hot temperatures and the end result is fire weather. So here we have the heat advisory and everywhere it encompasses all the way into San Diego, all the way north up to the Santa Barbara area and in towards Shell Beach, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero as well. and this will continue all the way through Saturday again 8 p.m so the bottom line is the heat is going to hold tomorrow we have extremely dry conditions and we have extremely windy conditions with those 55 mile per hour winds and oh boy it went through this map one more time here but bottom line is we've got Santa Ana winds they will continue to blow all the way through tomorrow in the area not as vigorous not as aggressive but they are here and And then again, computers just going through what we already talked about, about that fire danger in throughout Southern California. And I apologize for the repeat here. For some reason, the maps just wanna circulate. So Alex, we're gonna regroup and talk about this more. But the bottom line is Southern California bearing the brunt of this hot weather. The winds are now beginning to relax somewhat in the San Francisco Bay Area. All right, Roberta, thank you. Hold your kids close, hold your family close. Life is such a delicate thing. Heartbreak in Bend, Oregon tonight as the community comes together following a tragic school shooting yesterday. New details are now emerging about the shocking act of violence and the people who stepped in to help prevent further loss of life. Authorities say that 16-year-old shooter who killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School was a former student. As Fox's Caroline Elliott reports tonight, another teacher fought with the shooter until a school parent opened fire, killing the teenager. I just figured, okay, today is a day that I'm sure that every teacher at the school thought, today is a day that I'm going to die, save my kids. Teachers and students at Silver Rail Elementary School reliving the horrific moments. A 16-year-old shooter broke into the school Thursday armed with a shotgun. From her classroom window, fifth grade teacher Kathy Smith saw the shooter walking into the school. She then called the front office to warn them and hid her students at a corner, praying he would not come into her classroom. They were so afraid. The looks on their faces was really hard to see. It's trying to calm them down. Some kids were praying. Some kids were consoling other kids. And so what they were doing so quietly because they know you don't make any noise. In total, four victims were killed, a teacher and three young students, just 5, 8, and 11 years old. According to police, the shooter broke into the school using a gun purchased by his mom. The suspect went directly into the classroom, immediately to the left of the entry doors, where he fired as many as 15 rounds. All of the victims were shot in that classroom. A teacher in the classroom threw her cell phone at the suspect and then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. She was not injured in that incident. but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed. And police are praising a bystander who stopped the shooter less than three minutes after the attack started, saying it could have been much worse. In New York, Caroline Elliott, Fox News. Coast Guard officials say crews rescued at least 16 people floating in the Pacific Ocean off Baja, California early this morning. Officials say they were found in the water about 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico. One of those rescued said as many as 27 people were on board that boat when it capsized. Authorities said the Coast Guard responded to a radio call from a vessel in distress around 1 o'clock this morning. Coast Guard helicopters were called in from Ventura and even Sacramento, as well as boats from the Coast Guard and the Navy. Those rescued were taken to hospitals in San Diego. One person was being treated for a suspected shark bite. Thanks to the help of our local San Diego Fire Department as well, got those folks to a high level of care. And then we relaunched that helicopter to go back out and see who else was out there, if we could help out with them as well. I would say the best thing about this case is we knew where they were because they had a working radio and they called the Coast Guard. Authorities say this area is frequented by smugglers who are transporting migrants by boat to the U.S. to avoid heavily guarded U.S. border crossings. Several boats have capsized in this area over the years. much more to come here on West Coast Wrap tonight, some basketball fans in Seattle feeling discouraged here's a live look at the city after the break, why there is growing doubt the NBA will be expanding to Seattle taking a live look at Seattle tonight there is growing doubt about NBA expansion in the city ESPN reports Commissioner Adam Silver left owners at last month's Board of Governors meeting with the impression Seattle expansion is not a lock. The network said Silver did not appear pleased with bids coming from potential ownership groups compared to the bids coming from groups trying to bring a team to Las Vegas. It also reported Silver brought up the possibility of expansion in Mexico City as an alternative. Silver has said publicly the league expects to decide by the end of this year whether to expand to cities here in the West. Well, Phoenix is hosting the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, and the countdown to that big event has officially begun. Today, city leaders unveiled the new NBA All-Star Countdown Clock at Sky Harbor Airport. The clock is counting down the days to one of basketball's biggest weekends. The NBA All-Star festivities will take place in Phoenix on February 19th through the 21st. Phoenix is a basketball city. We love basketball, we are great at it, and we are committed to having the very best All-Star game. City leaders say they're expecting thousands of fans to come from across the country to attend All-Star weekend. Tickets are now on sale. A New Mexico judge has dismissed an indictment against actor-director Timothy Busfield citing prosecutorial misconduct. The 68-year-old was charged with abusing two child actors while directing the TV series The Cleaning Lady. Busfield has denied the accusations, saying their parents were angry the boys lost their roles on the show. His attorneys asked the judge to throw out the charges, saying prosecutors were blind to the lack of evidence and kept the grand jury from hearing witness testimony. Actress Selma Blair is sharing more about what led to her arrest following a flight from Los Angeles to New York back on Sunday. Her spokesperson put out a written statement today saying, quote, Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight. There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone. Blair pleaded not guilty to assault charges on Monday. Prosecutors say she kicked a police officer and a nurse after being taken off that plane once it landed in New York. The FBI is also investigating allegations that Blair assaulted two flight attendants. She is facing an additional assault charge in that case. Police in Bakersfield, California, say they have arrested a woman who's accused of firing shots into a local TV station two different times. We brought you the story earlier this week. Officers say they picked up 46-year-old Thomas Shana Ziegler during a traffic stop last night, and police believe she was on her way to that same TV station. They say they found a loaded gun in her car. No one was injured in those two separate shootings. Ziegler is facing a number of charges, including shooting at an occupied building. Well, Elon Musk is taking on new heights, finally unveiling the new Tesla Roadster that flips, flies, and even fires rocket thrusters. Fox Business correspondent Jeff Flock brings us an inside look at this new rocket on wheels. According to Elon Musk, at dealerships like this one, And pretty soon, the only Tesla vehicle you'll be able to buy that you can actually drive will be the new Tesla Roadster. Here's what it looks like as it rolled out at the SpaceX rocket facility down in Texas last night. Sort of looks a little bit like the Cybertruck, but it's not about what the car looks like. It's about what it does. Yeah, like climb a wall perpendicular. then go into an upside down mode fly into the air flip over and lower itself down how does it do that well rocket thrusters that actually lift the car up or in some ways suck it down yeah according to Elon Musk this car sucks it's using an advanced uh ultra high pressure uh air tank so the car can recharge its air tank so it's not like you you know need special propellant or anything like that it literally is just going to pop itself up and uh and and and be able to do these maneuvers whenever you'd like and if what you like may to be a jump over a traffic jam in your way well the Roadster may have you covered as well using the thrusters lifting up and jumping over an entire uh fleet of Tesla vehicles including that semi autonomous semi truck that Tesla is developing and then coming down on the other side well what about more conventional tasks like actually just driving fast on the road got you covered there too in a video that was shown the new Roadster went from zero to 60 in one second flat that would break the all-time record great cars now, even between 1.2 and 1.8 seconds for zero to 60. Then Elon Musk said, I think we can go faster and live. They ran it again. And he says, he claims they got down to zero to 60 in 0.81 seconds, car going about 230 miles per hour, they say. And as Musk himself points out, this will not be one for the faint of heart to drive. I should say that this is not necessarily a safety-optimized car, okay? But it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10. And that was Jeff Flock reporting for us tonight. It's unclear how much the Roadsters will cost. $250,000 deposits are required for the version that flies. A $50,000 deposit is needed for the conventional model. All right, much more to come here on West Coast Rap tonight. You know him, you love him, and now your dog can chew on him. After the break, we'll have the details on where you can get the new dog toy inspired by the viral Seattle raccoon, Jimothy. Costco's newest viral item is hitting shelves in the Pacific Northwest, and it's inspired by one of the internet's favorite animals. Meet the dog toy version of Jimothy, the famous Seattle raccoon with short spine syndrome that stole the internet's heart earlier this year. The $10 plushie is officially rolling out to select Costco warehouses. For the rest of us, the toy maker says it will be available online in just a few weeks. Well, a university professor in Nevada is using artificial intelligence to help physical therapist students understand complex concepts. Reporter Alexis Fernandez explains how AI is being used in the classroom. At Touro University Nevada, artificial intelligence is becoming another tool in the classroom. I use it to create tools that students can use to better understand material. Associate Professor Daniel Huddard is helping future physical therapists visualize concepts. That might be a multiple choice question bank that I put into the AI platform. It might be some sort of clinical reasoning tool that they have to work through with a case. He also created animated demonstrations, including one showing how pain signals travel from the body to the brain. Rather than a student coming in and me teaching them that and drawing it all out, the economy of scale, making an AI tool that all students could see. A majority of U.S. college students are using the technology in their coursework, according to Gallup polling. AI cannot replace humans. And so basically when we take our students through the steps of utilizing AI appropriately, we want them to come out smarter we want them to spend their time um really like applying the information and being able to come into the world and and really be high level thinkers and for Associate Professor Huddard the ai tools have freed up time it's like having someone who can help me assist the students in learning and it just frees up my time it makes me more productive as a faculty member, and the students have said that this is allowing them to better understand some harder concepts. AI is not teaching, it's facilitating my teaching style. Alexis Fernandez, Fox 5 News, local Las Vegas. A bear stumbled into a California library to browse the books and grab a bite to eat. Surveillance footage captured the furry visitor walking through the aisles of the Mammoth Lakes Library on Wednesday. The bear raided the staff's snack supply, eating a number of items, including a jar of honey. Amazingly, no damage reported there. You're watching West Coast Wrap.