L.A. NowCalifornia: This just in
Mystery light above L.A. brings fear, anger and questions
Garrett Therolf, W.J. Hennigan and Shelby GradContact Reporters
The mysterious light flashing across the California sky Saturday night brought fear, fun and even some anger, with some wondering why the public wasn't told in advance to expect the drama.
Here's what we know:
So what was the light?
Navy Strategic Systems Programs conducted a Trident II (D5) missile test flight at sea from the Kentucky, an Ohio class submarine, in the Pacific Test Range off the coast of Southern California.
Has this test occurred in Southern California before?
It's unclear. But the Pentagon called the test ongoing and that it occurs on a frequent basis.
The Pentagon said: "The tests were part of a scheduled, ongoing system evaluation test. Launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities," a spokesman told the Los Angeles Times. "The missile was not armed. Strategic Systems Programs does not routinely announce missile testing. Information regarding the test launch of Trident II (D5) missiles is classified prior to the launch."
Was the public warned in advance?
Apparently not. There was a notice about undisclosed military activity causing a flight path shift at Los Angeles International Airport, but it's unclear if it was related to the test.
Officials warned that LAX was diverting arriving flights away from normal landing routes to steer clear of temporary military airspace, airport officials announced. The adjusted paths will bring more noise to residential areas directly east of LAX until Thursday.
This all sounds a bit familiar.
Last year, residents along the L.A. County coast insisted they felt an earthquake -- even though seismologists said one had not occurred.
It turned out the shaking came from a supersonic Navy flight. The U.S. Navy confirmed an aircraft flew faster than the speed of sound as part of an exercise with the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan about 50 miles off the coast.
In 2010, videos flooded the Internet showing an orange tail of vapor seeming to hurtle skyward off the coast of Los Angeles. There was much speculation of some type of secret military launch, but that was never confirmed.
Then, of course, there was the Battle of Los Angeles in 1942. In that infamous event, observers mistook some weather balloons for a Japanese invasion -- or something even worse. Read more on the Battle of Los Angeles here.
Of course, there were many jokes about UFOs. What was the other speculation?
Some thought it was part of the annual Taurid meteor shower, which is reaching its peak. But Brian Keating, an astrophysicist at UC San Diego, quickly dismissed that.
“The Taurid meteors would be coming from the east -- and this light came from the west,” Keating told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We'd also be more likely to see meteors about midnight, and the flash came near sunset.”
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Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times
UPDATES
11:03 a.m.: This article was updated with information about another mysterious incident in the sky in 2010.
This article was originally published at 8:29 a.m.
Cold front could bring wind and light rain to L.A. area
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Temperatures are expected to drop, with highs ranging from the high 60s to low 70s Monday and Tuesday as a trough of low pressure moves through the area, said Scott Sukup, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
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UFO scares are the price we pay for secret missile tests, expert says
Missile tests like the one the Navy performed off the coast of Southern California on Saturday night present military officials with something of a conundrum.
On the one hand, said Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, the military needs to give local aviation officials enough information as to the time and place of an upcoming test to ensure no planes are in the area.
Smoke near Westside Pavilion leads to theater, mall evacuation
Victoria Kim
A movie theater and part of the Westside Pavilion mall was evacuated Sunday morning as authorities were trying to determine the cause of smoke coming out of a nearby underground power vault.
At about 9 a.m., officials received a report of smoke coming out of a sidewalk manhole near the intersection of Westwood and Pico boulevards, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Power to the three-story building next to the vault housing the theater was shut off, and the building was evacuated as a precaution, fire spokesman Shawn Lenske said.
Restoration work begins on part of Salton Sea
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Once the bay was hip-deep with water.
Detectives say dead youth in East L.A. may have accidentally shot himself
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Police found the boy lying in the 3500 block of Cesar Chavez Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday with a gunshot wound to his head.
The victim, a 14-year-old whose name was not immediately released, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead soon thereafter, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
Light from Navy test fire courses across the Southern California and Arizona sky
A naval test fire off the Southern California coast created a light that coursed across the sky shortly after dusk on Saturday, authorities said.
Navy Strategic Systems Programs conducted a Trident II (D5) missile test flight at sea from the Kentucky, an Ohio class submarine, in the Pacific Test Range off the coast of Southern California, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
The tests, first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, were part of a scheduled, ongoing system evaluation, a Pentagon spokesman told The Times.
City officials break ground on new park along L.A. River in Reseda
City officials broke ground Saturday on a new park in Reseda along the Los Angeles River.
The ceremony kicked off construction of the 2-acre park, which will include walking and biking paths as well as a greenway, City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the area, said in a statement.
The park is the latest step in the city’s push to revitalize the banks of the Los Angeles River, Blumenfield said.
Three San Francisco airport screeners charged with cocaine smuggling
Three security screeners at San Francisco International Airport have been charged with cocaine smuggling, according to federal authorities.
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Federal authorities used confidential sources and undercover agents in the investigation.
It'll be noisier for LAX neighbors as flight paths shift because of military activity
Los Angeles International Airport officials are diverting arriving flights away from normal landing routes to steer clear of temporary military airspace, airport officials have announced.
The paths will bring more noise to residential areas directly east of LAX until Thursday, when the military airspace is no longer active, officials said in a statement.
Flights typically use a route that takes aircraft over the ocean from midnight until 6:30 a.m. in an effort to minimize noise in residential areas.
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