1 person killed, 2 critically injured in Palmdale crash

A motorist was killed and two others were seriously injured this evening when two vehicles collided near Palmdale, authorities said.

The accident was described as a T-bone collision that occurred about 7:30 p.m. at 116th Street and Pearblossom Highway, said California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball.

The driver of one vehicle was fatally injured. Two others were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, Kimball said.

Authorities responding to the scene discovered two dogs dead in the backseat of one of the vehicles, he said.

All lanes of both roads -- except for the westbound Pearblossom Highway lanes -- were shut down for more than an hour as a result of the crash.

-- Jack Leonard

Most Metrolink lines closed Thanksgiving Day; normal service resumes Friday

All but two Metrolink lines will be closed for service on Thanksgiving Day, officials announced today.

San Bernardino and Antelope Valley trains will operate on a regular Sunday schedule with seven round trips offered on the San Bernardino line and three on  the Antelope Valley line. Fares purchased on Thanksgiving Day will be 25% off regular weekday one-way and round-trip tickets.

The other five Metrolink lines will be closed. All trains will resume normal service Friday.

As part of Metrolink's holiday promotions, any round trip tickets bought on Thanksgiving are valid for free return travel on the San Bernardino and Antelope Valley lines on any day through Sunday. Also, up to three children 17 and younger can ride for free with a valid ticket on all lines during Thanksgiving weekend.

-- Baxter Holmes

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First of 3 L.A.-area care facilities for veterans to open

The first of three new long-term care facilities for veterans in California will open today in Lancaster, filling what officials say is a pressing need for basic care and assistance for military veterans.

The other facilities will open next month in Ventura and West next year in Los Angeles.

The William J. “Pete” Knight Veterans Home of California in Lancaster, which was built by the state Department of Veterans Affairs, will offer long-term care, assistance with daily activities and provide a place for veterans to socialize.

“It’s incredibly important because veterans need this help,” said Thomas Craft, a retired Navy captain and chairman of the nonprofit Lancaster Veterans Home Citizens' Committee, which pushed for the facility to be established in the Antelope Valley.

“They realize they need help, but they don’t want to go away from their families,”  he said.

Palmdale and Lancaster sheriff's stations start 'Safe Drug Drop-off' program [Updated]

Starting today, Palmdale and Lancaster residents can safely dispose of expired or unused prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, syringes and other controlled substances by dropping them off at special “narcotics mailboxes” at their local sheriff's station.

[Updated at 2:29 p.m.: The Lancaster sheriff's station also started a program. This post previously mentioned only Palmdale.

“The intent is to give people the opportunity to dispose of these dangerous drugs for whatever reason without having to do something that endangers people or endangers the environment,” said Lancaster Station Capt. Axel Anderson.

Lancaster Station is at 501 W. Lancaster Blvd.]

The initiative is part of a “Safe Drug Drop-off” program that originated at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lomita Station, law enforcement officials said in a statement. The pilot program was announced by Sheriff Lee Baca in September. The goal is to protect aquatic wildlife from being harmed when medicines are flushed down the drain.

Because wastewater treatment plants are unable to test for pharmaceuticals, or treat their negative effects, “the drugs end up in our rivers, streams, lakes, groundwater systems and oceans,” the officials said

They also noted that unused and expired medications could be used illegally if they fall into the wrong hands, and that children could gain access to the narcotics if they are left in home medicine cabinets. The drugs could be used inappropriately or sold, the officials added.

Fire weather expected in Inland Empire, San Diego

The Inland Empire and much of San Diego County are expected to be under a red-flag warning Sunday morning through Monday night, signaling critical fire conditions, the National Weather Service said.

High pressure over the Western United States is expected to fuel winds entering from the northeast. Meteorologists are expecting gusts of more than 35 mph to funnel through the Cajon Pass and the Santa Ana mountains. The winds are expected to spread to the inland areas of San Diego County.

The air is expected to become particularly dry Monday, with humidity dipping below 10%.

The situation appears to be less worrisome in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Fire weather watches had been expected for Sunday in those counties, but were canceled this afternoon.

Although winds are expected to kick up tonight in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, except for the Santa Monica Mountains, relative humidity is expected to remain higher than 35%, said National Weather Service spokesman Bill Hoffer.

A freeze warning will be in effect overnight in the Antelope Valley as temperatures dip into the mid-20s.

—Rong-Gong Lin II

Antelope Valley to unveil mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

A mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is scheduled to be unveiled this evening at Joe Davies Heritage Airpark in Palmdale.

The wall is designed to honor Vietnam veterans, including those from the Antelope Valley, and is a replica of the original in Washington, Palmdale officials said.

“We are very proud and honored to have this,” said Palmdale city spokesman John Mlynar. “It’s a community monument. It was everyone in the Antelope Valley coming together. It’s a healing wall.”

Standing about 6 feet high at its apex and measuring about 250 feet in length, the Antelope Valley wall is engraved with the names of service personnel who were killed or went missing in action during the Vietnam War.

Disney plans big soundstage in Santa Clarita Valley

The Walt Disney Co. today filed plans to build a sprawling soundstage and production complex on the northwest corner of its Golden Oak Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The proposed Disney/ABC Studios at the Ranch would occupy 56 acres of the sprawling, 890-acre ranch just off Route 14 at Placerita Canyon Road, just south of Santa Clarita. Plans call for six pairs of soundstages, talent bungalows, administrative and production offices, storage and a commissary and other amenities.

Read the full story here.

-- Dawn C. Chmielewski and Richard Verrier

Image: Disney

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Antelope Valley crime rate continues downward trend

An overall decline in the number of serious crimes in Lancaster and Palmdale for the third quarter of the year is helping to continue a downward trend in the crime rate for the Antelope Valley, officials said.

In Lancaster, the crime rate decreased by 21% between July and September, with an overall improvement in the rate by 23% since the beginning of the year. Palmdale saw an 11% decrease in its crime rate in the third quarter, and experienced a 9% drop in the rate of serious crimes for 2009.

Lancaster’s crime rate improvement so far this year represents 1,043 fewer serious crimes than during the same period in 2008, law enforcement officials said Thursday. Serious crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, assault, larceny and grand theft auto.

Firefighters battle small brush fire west of Lancaster [Updated]

Los Angeles County firefighters are knocking down a 75-acre brush fire in a sparsely populated area west of Lancaster — not far from Elizabeth Lake. Only one home is threatened and the fire is already 65% contained. 
Three water-dropping helicopters, two Super Scoopers and a heli-tanker were marshaled to snuff out the blaze, which began just after 5 p.m. in grass and brush near West Ave K and 110 Street West.

“The area lends itself to being able to get hand crews in and there are [bull] dozers that are cutting lines,” Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Frederic Stower said. “They look like they are getting a good handle on it."

A second small brush fire was spotted near Highway 138 and Ridge Route, but officials were still gathering information about that blaze.

[Updated 8:44 p.m.: The fire is now 90% contained after burning 75 acres of brush and grass. No homes are threatened and there have been no evacuations.] 

-- Maeve Reston

Google maps

Space shuttle Discovery heads back to Florida

The space shuttle Discovery left California’s Edwards Air Force Base this morning on its cross-country journey back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.  The shuttle is being ferried back to Florida piggyback-style on a modified 747 known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

The plane will make several stops for refueling over the course of the 2,500-mile trip -- in Amarillo, Texas, today and at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana overnight before arriving in Florida on Monday.

Discovery and its crew of seven astronauts landed in California on Sept. 11 after a 14-day mission focusing on the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.

-- Maeve Reston

Photo: The space shuttle Discovery and its modified 747 carrier aircraft take off from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of the ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA

Space shuttle to land at Edwards AFB in California

Unstable weather on the East Coast will force the space shuttle Discovery to land this evening at California's Edwards Air Force Base instead of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA announced today.

The so-called “deorbit burn” is scheduled to begin at 4:47 p.m. PDT for a 5:53 p.m. landing at Edwards in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles, according to details published on NASA’s website.

The second opportunity for leaving orbit will come at 6:23 p.m., ending with a landing at 7:28 p.m.

“The burn lasts three to four minutes, slowing Discovery enough to begin its descent,” according to information published by NASA.

This evening’s scheduled landing would complete a trip to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The mission lasted 14 days and covered 5.7 million miles. A strong sonic boom may possibly be heard over a large section of the coast and some inland areas of Southern California upon the shuttle’s arrival, according to NASA.

-- Ann M. Simmons

Detectives try to solve mystery of body parts found near desert school

Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the discovery of human remains, including a severed hand and a torso, found in the vicinity of a Lake Los Angeles middle school.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives and the county coroner’s special recovery team initially went to the 41700 block of 170th Street East, near Challenger Middle School, east of Palmdale, about 8 p.m. Tuesday after a resident who was riding a  horse saw the hand and called authorities.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said it was not immediately clear if the hand belonged to a man or woman or how it turned up where it was found or even if it was the result of foul play. Cadaver dogs were brought in and made no additional discoveries.

Severed hand found near Antelope Valley school

Authorities are looking for information about a severed human hand found near a middle school in Lake Los Angeles.

The discovery of the hand was reported about 9 p.m. Tuesday to Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives, said Deputy Robert Boese. He did not know who found the body part.

The hand was found in the 41700 block of 170th Street East, near Challenger Middle School. There was no immediate information on the victim, Boese said.

-- Alexandra Zavis

Station fire 56% contained; another firefighter injured [Updated]

Containment of the 13-day-old Station fire burning in Angeles National Forest reached 56% this morning as thousands of firefighters worked to encircle the historic blaze as it continued to crawl eastward through steep canyons.

[Updated at 11:57 a.m.: Controlled burns later today in the mountains north of Monrovia and Arcadia could send up towering plumes of smoke and residents should not be alarmed, officials said. When and if the backfires will be conducted depends on wind and weather conditions, said Nathan Judy, a U.S. Forest Service public information officer.

The intentional fires would help protect the Mt. Wilson Observatory and a series of critical communications towers, as well as several campgrounds in the Cogswell Dam area, Judy said.

Meanwhile, on the eastern flank of the fire, one of the most active stretches has been near the Mt. Waterman ski area. Hand crews were working today cut protective fire breaks. “We’re not out of the woods just yet,” Judy said. “The weather could change and we could be running again.” ]

The Station fire, which officials say was caused by arson, has destroyed 78 homes. The estimate of acreage consumed remained at 157,220 acres this morning, the largest forest fire on record in Los Angeles County. The fire was 51% contained Sunday.

Crews are working sporadic hot spots above Little Tujunga near the western flank of the fire.
But for the most part the charred horn of the fire area stretching from La Cañada Flintridge around the San Gabriel Mountains to the Littlerock area in the high desert was under control. “The whole western portion of the fire is looking real good,” U.S. Forest Service information officer Nathan Judy told The Times this morning.

Along the still-uncontrolled eastern edge of the fire, commanders planned to set backfires about a mile east of Mt. Wilson and cut new fire lines to make a stand in the next few days above the Duarte area.

“We’re hoping to hold it within the wilderness area, which isn’t a whole lot more, mileage-wise,” Judy said.

A firefighter who fell while cutting fire breaks overnight had to be airlifted out of the mountains. The extent of the firefighter's injuries wasn't immediately available.

“Our crews working that wilderness area are in real steep, rugged terrain,” Judy said. "One misstep and you're going down the hillside.”

Two firefighters have been killed and authorities are treating the probe into the fire's origins as a homicide investigation. Ten firefighters have been injured.

-- Jason Felch at Hansen Dam and Rich Connell in Los Angeles

Photo: La Canada residents Sandra and Richard Loe check information about the progress of the Station Fire at a Fire Safe Council information booth located at a roadblock on the north end of Santa Anita Avenue. The Loes own a walk up cabin not far from Chantry Flats, near Mt. Wilson. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Photos: Wildfires | 360° view | High-res | Shots mapped	Interactive map: The Station fire

Big cat animal preserve in Acton readies for fire

Lions, tigers and fire -- oh my!

Flames are roaring across the street from the Shambala Preserve, an exotic animal center in Acton. But the 64 lions, tigers, leopards and other big cats that live here are staying put.

As firefighters beat back flames and helicopters fly overhead, a big male lion is sunning himself, said Chris Gallucci, vice president of operations.

The area around the preserve is under mandatory evacuation order, Gallucci said, but the crew at the preserve has decided to stay and fight the fire, if necessary.

"We have everything to fight fires on this property," Gallucci said. "Our plan is to hold in place. We have done this for 40 years. We are very good at what we do."

The preserve has dozens of steel evacuation crates ready to go in case the 64 big cats need to be moved. It also has equipment to beat back flames: A 22,000-gallon water tank, a lake and a complete fire road around the 80-acre site, Gallucci said.

Acton fire evacuee: 'Thank God for the firefighters'

In the town of Acton this morning, Robert Ruiz, 67, who owns a clothing store in North Hollywood, was waiting in the parking lot of the 49er Bar and Grill on Crown Valley Road.

A two-year resident of Hepner Road in Acton, the Angeles National Forest fire is Ruiz's first. He was evacuated twice Sunday, once at 2 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. He packed everything he could, mostly clothes and papers, into the bed of an old Dodge pickup. He went to see his house this morning, and it was fine.

He credits firefighters for aggressively cutting a fire line.

"The fire came this close to burning the house down," he said, holding his arms shoulder-length apart. "Thank God for the firefighters; they went down and cleaned all that stuff out. We thought we were going to have to find another place to live."

-- Jason Song in Acton

Photos: Southland wildfires	Interactive map: The Station fire

Big cat animal preserve in Acton readies for fire

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Twitter: Follow @latimescitydesk | @latimesfires

Man found beaten to death at Lancaster state prison

Authorities today are investigating the beating death of an inmate inside a two-man cell at California State Prison in Lancaster.

The man was discovered in his cell about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. No further information was available.

-- Corina Knoll

Lake Los Angeles woman found dead, husband sought

Authorities are searching today for the husband of a woman found dead in her Antelope Valley home with her hands bound and head covered.

Tammy Lynn Howell was reported dead Monday at about 12:30 p.m. in the 41000 block of 176th Street East in Lake Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Her husband, 44-year-old Kenneth David Howell, who had been inside the home at the time of the report, was no longer there when detectives arrived, officials said.

Homicide detectives said Howell is a person of interest in the case. He is described as white, 5-feet-11, 180 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

-- Corina Knoll

Man stabbed 14 times by intruder in Palmdale model home

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man who broke into a model home in Palmdale and stabbed another man 14 times before fleeing the scene.

An employee of Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA Inc. responded Aug. 8 to a silent alarm triggered at the home in the 1500 block of West Avenue P-6, said officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The unidentified employee was confronted by the man, who wielded a small screwdriver, said deputies at the Palmdale station.

The assailant stabbed the victim 14 times in the chest, shoulder and back area, but the injured man was expected to recover, Deputy Robbie Royster said.

The assailant is described as about 6 feet tall, 17 to 20 years old, and weighing 150 to 160 pounds. He is clean-shaven and has neatly trimmed hair and a light-caramel-colored complexion, according to a bulletin issued by the Palmdale station. He was wearing a short-sleeved dark blue T-shirt with black pants and was carrying a medium-sized dark blue backpack with gray trim.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives in Palmdale at (661) 272-2400.

-- Ann M. Simmons

3 injured as LAPD helicopter makes a 'hard landing'

A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter with three people aboard made a "hard landing" in Lancaster today.

There were some injuries, but they do not appear to be life-threatening. The three people on board were part of the LAPD's air support division involved in a training exercise, police said.

They were taken to a local hospital. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, there were one moderate and two minor injuries.

The crash occurred about 12:30 p.m. No one on the ground was hurt. The crash occurred at Fox Field.

—Andrew Blankstein

Schwarzenegger signs bill permanently banning big rigs on Angeles Crest Highway, other legislation

Five months after a runaway truck killed two people and injured 12 in La Canada Flintridge, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed into law a permanent ban and steeper fines on big rigs using the Angeles Crest Highway.

The truck ban was one of 140 bills signed or vetoed today by the governor as he cleared his desk of legislation that had been delayed as lawmakers grappled in recent months with the state’s budget problems.

After a series of runaway truck accidents including one April 1 that killed a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Caltrans imposed a temporary ban on commercial trucks using the steep roadway, but that ban was set to expire today.

With the governor’s signature, Caltrans workers were out today replacing temporary signs with permanent ones detailing the ban, according to Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge), who authored the bill.

18-year-old man arrested in Palmdale deputy shooting

Officials this morning said an 18-year-old man shot and wounded a L.A. County sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale who had tried to stop him for questioning.

Dejon King was arrested Sunday night after a brief pursuit less than an hour after the shooting. He was expected to be booked on charges of attempted murder, according to a statement by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The deputy was in stable condition with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his shoulder. His name was not released but officials said he was in his 20s.

He had tried to stop King, who was crossing Avenue Q-4 about 8 p.m., after noticing the man appeared to have something concealed in his waistband. King tried to flee into an apartment complex, but the gate was locked. Instead, he turned around and started shooting, officials said.

The deputy returned fire and missed King, but King hit him in the shoulder in the gun battle.

King abandoned his handgun at the scene and sped away in his car, leading deputies on a brief chase. He later forced his way into a house with an elderly woman inside, but surrendered when deputies surrounded the home, officials said.

 -- Victoria Kim

CHP asks for help finding driver in hit-and-run death

Authorities are requesting the public’s help in tracking down the driver and car involved in a suspected hit-and-run incident that killed a man in Lancaster last week.

The man, who relatives identified as Abraham Guevara, 26, was believed to have been jogging near the north shoulder of Avenue O in Lancaster when he was struck, said Officer Henry Ross, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol station in Lancaster.

The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. July 2 at West Avenue O, near 180th Street East, Ross said. Authorities determined that the car that hit Guevara was a light blue Hyundai.

“A broken mirror left at the scene helped to determine the make and color of the vehicle,” Ross said. In addition to a missing right side mirror, the car also is believed to have sustained extensive front-end damage, including a broken windshield and a broken headlight.

Guevara, whose body was discovered by a passerby, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Guevara’s cousin, Cheryl Guevara, said he was a member of the Army National Guard, who had served two tours of duty, most recently in Iraq. He had been expected to report for duty Sunday, for a special assignment in Australia, Cheryl Guevara said.

She described her cousin as “an avid, die-hard Dodgers fan,” whom friends and family would remember for being “a kind, compassionate, trustworthy soul, who loved to make people laugh.” Guevara would pretend to be tougher than he was, but that couldn’t conceal his real persona of being a "big softy," Cheryl Guevara said.

Guevara leaves behind parents, Juan and Lourdes Guevara; sisters, Christie and Marila; and brother Diego. Anyone with information should contact the California Highway Patrol at (800) TELL-CHP or (661) 948-8541.

--Ann M. Simmons

L.A. County rape suspect fatally shot by Ohio police

 A 35-year-old man linked by DNA to five sexual assaults in the Antelope Valley, including the rape of a minor, was shot by Ohio police after a harrowing freeway chase.

Abram Bynum was fleeing officers from the Columbus Police Department on Tuesday when he drove head on into a tanker truck on Interstate 70, police said. Bynum was pronounced dead after being shot by police when he reached for a gun, authorities said. But it was unclear whether he died from the gunshots or from injuries incurred in the crash.

Read more about the rape suspect shot by Ohio police.

-- Richard Winton

Photo: L.A. County Sheriff's Department

California's first West Nile case this season found in Antelope Valley

Health officials have confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in California for the 2009 season.

The virus was confirmed in an Antelope Valley resident who donated blood in early June and is not showing signs of illness.

Health officials are working to determine where the patient may have contracted the virus. A dead blackbird found in Lancaster is the second dead bird to test positive for the West Nile virus in the Antelope Valley this year.

Read the full story at KTLA News.