Sacramento, CA | A level 3 Hazmat situation shuts down a large industrial area in South Sacramento. Budget weakend hazmat team has to reach out with unusual mutual aid requests.  Wednesday morning, the Sacramento City Fire Department was called to Mike and Sons Inc, in the 8500 block of Elder Creek Road, for a commercial trailer fire. When firefighters arrived “they realized the doors were shut and there was a very pungent odor; so they turned this into a level three hazmat which is the highest level of hazmat response that we have”, Niko King, Assistant Chief for Sacramento City Fire Department stated. As things progressed, they contacted the shipper and the property owner discovering t

Looking for something to do this Friday night? Put on your dancing shoes, head over to the Blue Lamp, and support a good cause! Japan XOXO is a benefit dance party, with all profits from the door going to the American Red Cross. Join local DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, Sam I Jam, and Taylor Cho as they do what they love to support an amazing cause. Feel like you could do more about Japan's dire situation? Feel helpless? Japan XOXO offers a very easy solution: COME DANCE. Expect an evening of fun house, bouncy house, hip house, topsy turvy techno, treacherous techno, and some fun indie stuff mixed in the middle keeping the party going all damn night. Plus, enjoy drink specials all night--

 Sacramento, CA | Early Tuesday morning, two South Sacramento families were awakened to find their homes ablaze. Sac Metro Fire and Cosumnes Fire Departments were called to Liscarney Way in the area of Vintage Park Dr. and Calvine Rd., for two homes burning. When firefighters arrived, they found two, two story homes with the second floor of both homes well involved with fire. All familiy members made it safely out of the homes after neighbors awakened them. Per Sac Metro Assistance Fire Chief Rice, both homes were severely damaged and the families would not be able to inhabit them. Red cross was called to assist the families. SacPress Contributing Writer and Photographer, Kati Garner, was

SWIM, SNORKEL OR SCUBA !!!   As most of you know the small Island of Haiti suffered and continues to suffer from a massive earthquake.  As a result of this The Northern California Swimstitute and SACSCUBA have partnered together to offer a unique fundraiser - DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING.   For every person who signs up to DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING - cost $70 per person - SACSCUBA & The Swimstitute will donate $40 to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the Haiti quake.  Very simple.  The date of the dive is:   FEBRUARY 6, 2010     Please call:  530-346-3483 Bring a friend and let's help out!

 In wake of the recent disaster in Haiti, many people are looking for ways to help the victims. There are various ways to do so on a local level, and some businesses are already making a difference. From big to small, fundraisers and donations are giving Sacramentans ways to reach out to Haiti. With the damage still unknown, there is still more we can do to help. Here’s what you can do to help with disaster relief in Haiti: -Local businesses and communities can take the initiative to raise and donate funds to the Sacramento-Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross, whose spokeswoman Trista Jensen says, “The best thing that people can do right now is to make a donation.” KCRA 3 is joinin

Dawn Lindblom is the new CEO of the Sacramento-Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross. According to Steve Turner, Sac-Sierra Chapter Board Chair, "Dawn is a perfect fit for this position, given her collaborative leadership style and track record. She came directly from her highly successful role as Regional Executive Director for the Inland Northwest Chapter in Spokane, WA". "Spokane is a regional chapter like Sacramento", Lindblom explains. She oversaw six district chapters spread out over 38,611 square miles, almost two-thirds of the state of WA. Much of the area is rural. The Sac-Sierra Chapter is the headquarters of eight district chapters in heavily populated areas. Lindblom say

Being the news photographer that I am I hit the road this morning around 9am to see how the storm was lashing our area. Thankfully it wasn't causing major damage from what I saw. What I mainly found today in my travels around East Sac, American River Drive, Land Park, Greenhaven/Pocket area, downtown and midtown was leaves and limbs in yards and streets, standing water from plugged storm drains, bark stripped from trees and the wonderful smell of trees (kind of like that Christmas-smell).   At 10am, I saw this at L & 26th:   In the Land Park area, around 10:30am, I came upon these two scenes just off Riverside in Land Park:   This was a typical scene along some areas of Freepo

The American Red Cross will continue to offer emergency assistance to victims of the Auburn ‘49er Fire through a Local Assistance Center opened Tuesday at the Placer County Government Center in Auburn. Evacuation Centers and Sheltering The Red Cross Shelter closed at the Auburn Recreational District at 3770 Richardson off Dry Creek. Several clients registered with the center, but none stayed overnight. Since the fire broke out Sunday afternoon, the Red Cross has registered about 220 clients (through 8 p.m. Monday) and served hundreds of others. On Sunday, about 130 clients registered with the two evacuation centers at Rock Creek Middle and Auburn Elementary schools. On Sunday night, 90