Latest reporting from the Public Safety desk.
Public Safety
A tropical disturbance about 1,500 miles south of San Diego has a 90% chance of becoming a tropical depression within seven days, but most weather models show it staying well south of California; La Jolla's record-warm ocean temperatures and El Niño conditions have forecasters watching closely.
Public Safety
La Jolla businesses and neighbors rallied to help 20 dementia residents evacuated from Revere La Jolla after an Aug. 16 fire, carrying them down stairs and providing food, drinks and shelter until all returned home two days later.
Public Safety
La Jolla Institute for Immunology researchers published a Nature Microbiology study showing an experimental Zika vaccine protected mice through CD8+ T cells alone, a finding that could reshape vaccine design for viruses where antibodies risk worsening related infections.
Public Safety
Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers report 42 record-high ocean temperatures at the Scripps Pier through mid-August and warn that the approaching Super El Niño could raise sea levels 13 inches, threatening La Jolla's bluffs and beaches with erosion this winter.
Public Safety
The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality has active health advisories at La Jolla Children's Pool and the beach at Vallecitos/Kellogg Park, warning that bacteria levels exceed state standards and may cause illness.
Public Safety
Tyler Muehl, 18, pleaded guilty Aug. 13 to a federal misdemeanor for kicking a sea lion at La Jolla Cove, intensifying a debate between Coastal Commissioner Matt O'Malley, who wants a partial closure, and City Council President Joe LaCava, who is pushing for ranger citation authority instead.
Public Safety
A La Jolla nonprofit has documented roughly 80 fishing-gear entanglements of pelicans and cormorants since April, with nearly three-quarters at Point La Jolla and a sharp spike in July, and is urging residents to report sightings.
Public Safety
California's new School Albuterol Access Initiative will supply La Jolla's five SDUSD schools with free emergency asthma inhalers and spacers starting the week of Aug. 25, while private schools can purchase them at steep discounts through CalRx.
Public Safety
A Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher warns that El Niño-driven record ocean warmth will keep juvenile white sharks near La Jolla's coast later into fall, with at least three sightings already reported and a greater than 90% chance of a very strong El Niño peaking this winter.
Public Safety
The 130-acre Sorrento Fire near La Jolla reached 75% containment by late Tuesday as the arson suspect, a 30-year-old man, awaits arraignment Thursday afternoon at San Diego Central Jail on $75,000 bail.
Public Safety
San Diego officials and Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers warned Aug. 18 that a potentially record-breaking El Niño is developing, urging La Jolla residents to prepare for heavy flooding this winter amid a $5 billion stormwater infrastructure backlog.
Public Safety
San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan warned families that no amount of time is safe to leave a child in a parked vehicle, as 18 children have already died nationally from vehicle heatstroke in 2026 and back-to-school routines raise the risk of deadly forgetfulness.