Ongoing damage assessments have so far counted a total of 637 homes, businesses and other structures destroyed by the fire. It ripped through the small community of Grizzly Flats, where nearly every home was destroyed. Firefighters have been working to combat the conflagration with the aid of 21 helicopters, 245 engines and dozens of bulldozers. The Caldor Fire is currently the nation’s main priority for assigning firefighting resources. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below....

Not only did the team’s 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday extended their losing streak to six games, but it marked an entirely separate low: the Flames haven’t even held the lead in nearly that entire timeframe. The last time Bill Peters’ team held any sort of lead was during their 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 7, when Sean Monahan scored a go-ahead goal halfway through the second period....

Without naming either the school or which of Newsom’s children it was due to privacy reasons, Politico reported that the child had been exposed at the private school they had attended and been tested twice, five and seven days past their last contact with the COVID-positive student. “After being alerted by the school that a classmate tested positive for COVID-19, the potentially exposed Newsom child began a 14-day quarantine from the date of exposure in accordance with state public health guidance for schools,” Newsom’s spokesperson Nathan Click said in a statement....

The rent forgiveness will cost a massive $5.2 billion, which Newsom noted is the “largest rent relief” package the nation has ever approved. Lawmakers made the deal on eviction protections and rent relief on Friday, with the measure expected to pass in the California Assembly and Senate as early as Monday, the Los Angeles Times said. “NEW: California is investing $5.2 billion to cover ALL the unpaid rent for lower-income Californians who struggled during the pandemic,” Newsom tweeted on Friday....

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Thursday that makes it illegal to remove a condom without fir stobtaining verbal consent, which was proposed by Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia. “This law is the first of its kind in the nation, but I urge other states to follow in California’s direction and make it clear that stealthing is not just immoral but illegal,” Garcia said. Newsom also approved a second bill proposed by Garcia which amended the marital rape law....

On June 19, he was rushed to hospital after a car accident in which he suffered a hip injury. Emergency services found that in the back of his car were a number of security bags containing a total of $18,305 from parish collections and so they called the police, CBS reported. A further investigation by the diocese found more than $95,000 in his home. The bishop of Santa Rosa diocese, Robert Vasa, said in a statement that the priest may not face criminal charges because a lack of clear records would make it difficult to pursue a prosecution....

Contra Costa College has forgiven the outstanding debt of more than 60 students as they graduated this week, as part of the Finish Line Fund. When the news was announced in April, Contra Costa College Interim President Damon A. Bell said in a press release: “Imagine the sigh of relief these students are taking right now. The Finish Line Fund is another example of how the Foundation is stepping up for our students during this difficult pandemic....

The Westminster Police Department suspended an unnamed police officer captured Wednesday on cell phone video punching 34-year-old Latina woman Ciomara Garcia. Officers encountered Garcia around 4 p.m. local time when responding to a call of one woman assaulting an Asian woman during an attempted dog rescue. The cell phone footage showed the officer punching Garcia twice in the face while she was held down by two other officers. A fourth officer then tried to push the attacking officer away from Garcia, the Los Angeles Times reported....

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis announced on Friday that the Pomona Fairplex has agreed to shelter the unprecedented number of migrant children crossing the border. “Los Angeles County has a responsibility and an opportunity to care for unaccompanied minors coming to the United States. This is not a border crisis—but, instead, it is everyone’s crisis,” Solis said in a statement. “That is why I was so moved that the Pomona Fairplex has agreed to provide an emergency intake site for these young people, “the statement reads....

The cause of death for the family’s dog, which was found with them on the trail, was still undetermined but believed to also be heat-related, Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said Thursday. Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung and their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, were first reported missing on August 16, one day after the family of three embarked on a hike along the Savage Lundy Trail. The trail is located in the Sierra National Forest, which is east of San Jose and south of Yosemite National Park....

That includes the Bobcat Fire in Los Angeles County, which has burned almost 42,000 acres, is three percent contained and has threatened the historic Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains. The fire was reported to have come within 500 feet of the evacuated observatory, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Fire crew attempted to fend off flames from the observatory using hand tools and bulldozers, while four water-dropping helicopters continued to blast the blaze from the air, the spokesperson confirmed....

Although Friday’s positive case count represented a decrease in the daily trend, Newsom said hospitalizations in connection with coronavirus infections were up by 3.3 percent while the number of coronavirus patients sent to intensive care units rose by 4.4 percent. In total, California has reported 201,054 positive cases with 5,810 fatalities attributed to the virus. Newsom said Friday that the numbers were an aggregate of reporting from the entire state, but that some areas were harder hit....

Across the country, the latest COVID-19 surge is being driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 sub-variant, prompting concerns that it could mean a return of broad indoor mask mandates in cities. The school district’s decision to reinstate indoor masking came after San Diego County moved into the “high” category of community transmission set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Indoor masking will be required at all schools and district offices for at least two weeks, the district said in a letter on Friday....

The temperatures across California have soared this week due to the blistering heat, leading to millions of peopleswitching on their air conditioning units to stay cool. However, this surge in use of power-hungry appliances has led to a severe strain on the state’s electrical grid, as seen in a grid usage tracker by the California Independent System Operator. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has issued a Flex Alert every day for the past week, asking Californians to conserve energy and minimize their power use in order to avoid overloading the grid....

The utilities company warned the power outage could come as early as Wednesday in areas across Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. The shutdown is slated to affect more than 200,000 households and businesses in the counties of Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Sutter and Yuba. PG&E sent mass texts, emails and automated messages to warn customers of the impending outage and said electricity would be cut only in attempts to protect power grids from potentially sparking fires during the state’s latest round of inclement weather....

Apple Bistro is located in Placerville, roughly 50 miles east of Sacramento. Its Yelp page was filled with one-star reviews on Monday afternoon, with numerous anecdotes chronicling reported health violations and anti-mask practices. “I literally could not even get food,” one Yelp user, identified as Mad C., wrote on Monday. The user went on to say Apple Bistro refused service because the reviewer arrived wearing a face covering. “There is a sign basically saying don’t social distance, don’t wear a mask and don’t wear gloves,” the review continued....

The Democratic state leader promised to have 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in California by Sunday, and was most of the way to his arbitrary self-imposed target on Saturday. According to the latest California Department of Public Health data, a little more than 1.3 million vaccine doses had been administered as of January 16, meaning a further 200,000 needed to be rolled out on January 17 for Newsom to hit his goal....

Multiply the Yoskowitzes’ dilemma by tens of thousands and you begin to understand why L.A.’s quake may turn out to be America’s most expensive natural disaster ever. President Clinton promised $7.5 billion in federal aid-but with damage estimates ranging as high as $30 billion, that will only begin to rebuild the homes, highways and businesses left in varying degrees of ruin. Late last week some 1,500 people were still living in tents in city parks....

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement that compliance was “a matter of personal responsibility and not a matter of law enforcement.” It comes just days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new orders would be brought in to help prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by COVID patients. The orders apply to certain areas (listed below) which report hospital ICU capacity falling below 15 percent, and require residents to stay home for three weeks....

According to the National Weather Service, a combination of strong offshore winds and very dry conditions is creating “potentially historic” fire conditions in the northern Bay Area. Meanwhile, “critical to extreme threats are likely to persist” across north-central and southern California further into this week. There are several factors which contribute to the spread of wildfires, including high wind speeds, low air humidity, warm air temperatures, as well as both live and dead fuel moisture, according to Robert Fovell, a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany....