Fire crews monitored hot spots after a wildland fire burned 40 acres Sunday in De Luz, north of Fallbrook.

Cal Fire officials in San Diego said the wildland fire on the 39400 block of DeLuz Road started at approximately 3 p.m. The fire was 50% contained as of 5 a.m. Monday.

DeLuz and De Luz Murrieta roads were both closed near the creek as firefighters worked. The Santa Margarita Truck Trail was also closed. 

North Comm sent fire crews up north to help with fighting the fire. Oceanside Fire said the fire's forward rate of spread has been stopped.

A precautionary evacuation notice was sent to 38 phone numbers and emails once the fire started.

Multiple units fought the fire from the ground and from the air, officials said. 

No evacuations were ordered. 

Sydney Seau, daughter of the late Chargers linebacker Junior Seau, would have paid tribute to her father's selflessness, passion and "ability to love unconditionally" in a speech on his behalf, had she been allowed to give it at her father's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday evening.

The New York Times published the text of the speech she wanted to deliver in his honor, instead. Officials cited a five-year-old policy that does not allow full speeches for deceased inductees.

"Your Junior Seau, your No. 55 and your buddy, was also my father. And although I didn’t know every aspect of his life, I did know one particular part very well," Sydney said from her Canton, Ohio hotel room. "His athleticism and talent made him extraordinary enough to make it into the Hall, but it is his passion and heart that make him truly legendary and deserving of this tremendous honor."

Seau, considered by many to be the greatest linebacker in NFL history, was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame Saturday. Seau was the only first-time eligible candidate selected for the HOF Class of 2015. He joined Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff, Ron Wolf when the class was officially inducted.

Tiaina Seau, Jr. played 20 years in the NFL. Wearing number 55, Seau played 13 seasons with the San Diego Chargers, three seasons with the Miami Dolphins and four with the New England Patriots.

"On the field he was relentless, hard-hitting, passionate and unstoppable. Off the field he was caring, gentle, hilarious and generous," Sydney said.

"But I think what we tend to forget about our favorite invincible, unstoppable, indestructible superhumans is the minor detail that they are also human. That is something that we all must endure today without his physical presence," Sydney said. 

On May 2, 2012, Seau was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound in his Oceanside home right along the shore. His death occurred less than three years after his retirement from football. His family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL that is now part of a class-action suit. Sydney did not mention the circumstances surrounding Seau's death in her speech. 

"The reason why this honor is so hard to accept is because we had always envisioned him still being here to accept it," Sydney said in the speech from her hotel room. 

"Even though he would never admit to retiring, I think this is the perfect final graduation," Sydney said. "I say final graduation because in 2006, instead of retirement, my dad decided to graduate from being a Charger after 13 years. Today is the day he graduates from the game itself."

During the induction ceremony, family members, colleagues and fans watched a six minute video presentation about Seau that left few dry eyes in the audience. The Seau children then unveiled the bronze bust set to go into the Hall of Fame and, following the unveiling, Sydney gave an interview remembering her father. 

"I know at times it seemed as if everything you accomplished in life wasn’t enough, but today and every day since you held me in your arms for the first time, you weren’t just enough; you were more than enough. In fact, you were everything," Sydney said in both her interview during the ceremony and the speech in her hotel room.

She spoke of her father's endless capacity for love, his passion for the game and the accomplishments that made him the icon that many considered to be one of the greatest linebackers of all time.

"There’s nothing I want more than to see you walk up on stage, give me a hug and tell me that you love me one last time, but that isn’t our reality," Sydney said. "You would always say you loved me, and even after I would respond and say I loved you, too, you would look me in the eyes and say, 'I love you; do you hear me?'"

"Well, after this speech, I hope you can hear us when we say that we love you, and I hope that this induction can exemplify the fact that you were more than just Junior Seau — you were a light, and you’re still mine," Seau said, tearing up. "This is your speech, your moment and your honor, and to say that I’m the most proud daughter on Earth would be an understatement. Congratulations, Dad; you made it."

To read the entire speech, click here. 

Officers caught a fugitive in Tijuana Saturday after the man escaped from a Julian prison camp nearly two months ago.

Baja California State Police apprehended Jesse Lozano, Sr. with the assistance of US Marshals and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department around 8 p.m.

Officials said Lozano gave up without a fight. He will be booked into San Diego Central Jail. 

Lozano walked away from a CAL Fire Conservation Camp inmate program on June 15.

After several weeks of surveillance and interviews, evidence led detectives to Tijuana.

Lozano was originally arrested in 2014 on drug charges and sentenced to three years in prison.
 

Cyber spies linked to China have accessed the private emails and email address books of "many" top Obama administration officials, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official and a top secret document obtained by NBC News.

The intrusion, first codenamed "Dancing Panda" then "Legion Amethyst," was detected in April 2010, according to a top secret NSA briefing from 2014.

Government email accounts assigned to the officials, which are more secure, were not hacked.

The names of the government officials whose emails were accessed were not disclosed.

The time period overlaps with Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account while secretary of state.

A senior official told NBC News the intrusion into personal emails in ongoing. 

"Jackass" star Steve-O was arrested Sunday night after drawing emergency responders to a Hollywood construction site where he climbed a crane towering at least 100 feet above ground in a protest against Seaworld, police said.

Officers who initially responded to the site were unsure whether the stunt performer needed to be rescued from the crane on Selma Avenue at Gower Street, but firefighters were preparing a cushion in case of a fall, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

A heavy rescue crew, several fire trucks and ambulances were sent to the scene about 8 p.m.

The stunt performer, whose real name is Stephen Glover, was streaming video of himself on Facebook climbing the crane.

Police said Glover inflated a large killer whale balloon with a message about SeaWorld, and at one point set off fireworks from the tip of the crane.

On Saturday, Glover posted a photo of himself holding an inflatable whale on his official Instagram account and announced that he would be performing a "big dangerous stunt."

Last year, he was slapped with a $239 fine after changing a 5 Freeway sign in San Diego to read "SeaWorld Sucks." Glover said his protest was in response to controversy over the 2013 documentary "Blackfish," which criticized SeaWorld's treatment of killer whales.

During the incident Sunday, he wrote in a Facebook post, "Anyone wanna bail me out of jail?"

Glover climbed down just before 9 p.m. and was taken into custody, police said.

As of 9:45 p.m. he had not been booked, but police said he could face several charges including conspiracy to commit a crime, trespassing, setting off explosives - the fireworks - within city limits without a permit and filming for personal gain without a permit.

"Some of the resources on this hoax could have been devoted to a real emergency," Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart told The Associated Press.

Glover's representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A call to SeaWorld has not been returned.

He was being held at the LAPD's Hollywood Division station.

A bicyclist was struck and killed by a driver Monday on Interstate 15 at West Bernardo Drive.

One witness told officials several cars struck the victim after the initial crash in the northbound lanes at approximately 4:40 a.m.

California Highway Patrol officers say the victim appears to be male. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office has been called.

Investigators are looking for a white truck with front end damage in what they believe may be a hit and run incident.

CHP officers were checking area and off ramps to see if a truck was abandoned.

The CHP diverted northbound traffic onto HOV lanes at Camino del Norte. All lanes of northbound Interstate 15 were reopened as of 8:20 a.m. 

The spill that sent a yellow-orange sludge from an abandoned Colorado gold mine into the Animas River is three times as large as first thought, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

An EPA supervised crew accidentally breached a debris dam Wednesday, triggering the spill. Three million gallons of wastewater spilled from the mine, the EPA said Sunday.

Water downstream tested for higher than normal levels of arsenic, lead and other metals.

The sludgy water seeped into New Mexico and was headed for Utah, NBC News reported.

St. Louis County authorities declared a state of emergency Monday and more than 100 people were arrested on the second day of protests marking a year since a police officer killed Ferguson, Missouri, teen Michael Brown, NBC News reported.

The move was announced by County Executive Steve Stenger, who cited the violence that marred protests Sunday night in Ferguson: "The recent acts of violence will not be tolerated in a community that has worked so tirelessly over the last year to rebuild and become stronger."

Several people — no official count was released — were arrested Monday night after protesters blocked a traffic lane on West Florissant Avenue, The Associated Press reported, the third location where arrests were made Monday.

Officials announced criminal charges against Tyrone Harris, 18, who allegedly exchanged gunfire with police officers Sunday night and remained in critical condition Monday.

Teenagers may focus on shopping for clothes and snazzy stationery as school begins, but it is important that they get vaccinates to protect their health, according to "Today."

There are four shots that teens should get that may not be on your radar, including two that even a fully vaccinated teen should consider.

Here’s an overview of the shots they should get:

Meningitis — It is recommended that all teens get a vaccination against the bacteria that causes meningitis. It kills one in 10 of those infected and in another 20 percent causes severe disabilities, including the amputation of limbs.

HPV — Although all teens are supposed to have three doses of the human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine, federal health officials say most still don't get them. The viruses are by far the major cause of cervical cancer, which kills 4,000 U.S. women a year, as well as anal and penile cancers in men.

Tdap - The combined tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine is the adult version of the shot all kids got in elementary school, called Dtap. Some teens who received five doses of the Dtap vaccine during their childhood “are still at risk for whooping cough as well as needing a booster for the tetanus and diphtheria,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads the vaccine division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Flu — Flu vaccines are already available in many doctors' offices and clinics and the CDC recommends just about everyone get a flu shot every year. Teenagers can get either a shot or the nasal spray.  

Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman had been using his cell as an office, both for business and personal use, according to acclaimed Mexican journalist Anabel Hernandez, NBC News reported.

El Chapo received messages from his chief attorney through signs and codes, according to Jose Daniel Aurioles Tabares, one of two guards specifically designated to monitor every move and conversation "El Chapo" made.

"All the appointments 'El Chapo' had in prison were recorded," according to Hernandez who sat down with Telemundo's Cristina Londoño, in Berkeley, California where Hernandez has been living after receiving death threats in Mexico.

Telemundo could not independently confirm the documents Hernandez has in her possession.

Guzman escaped from one of Mexico's most secure prisons last month through a sophisticated mile-long tunnel that opened up in his cell's shower.

Two coyote attacks over the weekend in Carlsbad have residents there on high alert.

Some residents have taken their concerns to the social media site, Next Door, to warn others about the animal attacks.

On Friday, a dog was killed near Interstate 5 and Poinsettia Lane and then two days later, a cat was killed in front of the owner’s home in the same area.

Still, animal control experts say there are steps owners can take to keep their pets safe. Coyotes spend up to 20 hours per day hunting.

Urbanized and easily adaptable to changing living conditions, coyotes don’t shy away from urban areas.
That’s why Animal Control Officer Dan DeSousa says we need to adapt to them.

DeSousa recommends that residents recognize that coyotes are most active at dusk and night. Also, the animals can jump 6-foot fences, so using a safeguard like a coyote roller -- a ribbed roller that mounts to fences -- could help ward them off.

While some residents are worried, DeSousa said coyotes are good for our ecosystem because they keep rodents under control.

Residents can learn more about how to stay safe from coyotes at a community lecture offered by the county. He said those living in Rancho Bernardo and Oceanside have also reported coyote sightings.

“We have been asked on several occasions to come out and talk about how to coexist with coyotes,” DeSousa said. “That’s something we’re more than willing to do.”

To find out how to host a community lecture on coyote safeguards, visit this site.

"Catch of the day?"

A YouTube video taken at Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach apparently shows a fisherman hooking a drone.

The video has received more than 700,000 views on YouTube since being posted by Tice Ledbetter on Friday and was a trending item on Facebook on Monday.

The video is taken from the vantage point of the unmanned aircraft. It zooms in on several people standing on the pier.

A fisherman is shown casting his line toward the drone and then it appears he’s able to hook his line to the drone before it escapes.

Watch the video and let us know what you think: Did the fisherman really hook the drone?

We’ve reached out to Ledbetter about the video and will update this story once we hear back.

San Diego Police were looking for the driver who lost control of a Mercedes and slammed into a University City home Monday.

A white Mercedes smashed the door and landed on the stoop at the home on Camino Aguila where Elena Cardenas and her roommate usually hang out at night.

“I heard a crash and then I felt the whole building shake,” Cardenas said. “I looked out my window and there was a car pretty much outside my front door.”

The car crashed through the door and broke through a good chunk of the wall, scattering debris everywhere just before 1 a.m. Monday.

No one was injured.

“Thankfully we were both in our bedrooms,” Cardenas said.

However, she said she thinks the driver spotted her looking out the window before he drove in reverse.

When San Diego Police arrived, they followed a trail of liquid from the vehicle to where the Mercedes had been abandoned.

Cardenas attends San Diego State University and has lived in the neighborhood for about a year.

She said it’s usually a very quiet community.
 

San Diego County Sheriff’s officials have identified the law enforcement officers involved in the shooting that left one man dead in North County last week.

Five Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) deputies and two Border Patrol agents shot and killed Vista resident Daniel Robert Avila, 55, after a standoff ensued on Aug. 4 off Interstate 5, close to Camp Pendleton.

The OCSD officials who fired at Avila were Deputy David Zill, Deputy Chris Lamberta and Sgt. Doug Ellithorpe, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. U.S. Border Patrol Agents Anthony Fazio and Mark Aluia also shot at Avila.

Officials say an OCSD deputy found a man in distress and acting strangely pulled over on Las Pulgas Road near I-5.

When the deputy approached Avila, he started aggressively pointing at the deputy and yelling. At one point, he said he had a weapon and threatened to kill the deputy and then himself, according to investigators.

The deputy retreated to his patrol car and called in backup.

For an hour, deputies and Border Patrol agents tried to negotiate with Avila, who claimed he had a gun pointed at a deputy’s stomach, officials say.

Finally, when Avila emerged from his car, he "had his right arm extended with something black — some sort of black material — wrapped around his hand, extending it as if it was a weapon," said San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. John Maryon.

A deputy shot a bean bag round at the suspect's stomach, but Avila continued to point his arm in their direction.

The three OCSD deputies and two Border Patrol agents then fired their guns, killing Avila. No weapon was found on him, according to Maryon.
 

California firefighters will continue to face strong fires as the state heads into its fourth year of severe drought, and some people are arguing that Californians should learn to live with the fires.

An opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times argues that Californians need to learn to live with wildfires because our efforts to fight the fires have only made the situation worse, particularly when it comes to forest fires. 

One local geologist agrees with the approach, saying now that fire season has become a year-round occurrence, it’s time for locals to change the way they look at fires. 

“We’re seeing more and more fires, larger and larger. That will continue; it’s not climate change or global warming,” said Dr. Patt Abbott, a geologist and former San Diego State University professor, told NBC7. “That’s recovering from fire suppression policy we had through most of 20th century.”

Policy that states fires should be put out right as they happen allows vegetation to keep growing, Abbott said. When Santa Ana winds come through, fires grow quickly.

“We cannot stop them then; the amount of acreage for the big ones wouldn’t have been as big if the smaller ones had been allowed to burn, particularly in areas not directly affecting any human structures,” Abbott said.

“I hate to be negative, but it’s like, no gain. It’s like all those efforts all they did was lead up to making the Cedar Fire,” Abbott said.

He urged people to think more about smart growth, including how and where communities build.

“When someone goes out and buys their 40-acres and puts their cabin in the middle of dry vegetation that will burn….It’s not fair to put firefighters in positions to save buildings that were fundamentally built to burn,” Abbott said.

Lee Swanson, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said it’s important to distinguish between fires that burn in brush, and the more common grass fires in Southern California. 

He said people should try their best to build with fire-resistant materials in low-risk areas and create defensible space by thinking brush and trees around houses.

The City of San Diego has been mandating and advocating similar proactive measures for more than two decades, Swanson said.

Dana Rauzon was shocked when she look at the number on her cell phone and she saw the letters 'I.R.S.'

It was even worse when she answered the call.

"He said, 'I needed to get an attorney or I'm going to jail,'" said Rauzon.

The caller claimed to be working for the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S) and that Dana owned $2,591 in back taxes.

The Chula Vista woman said she couldn't go to jail, so the caller said the I.R.S could give her a break if she could send them the money in the next half hour.

"It really scared me," said Rauzon.

So she took out the money at her local credit union. The caller told her she could send the money by loading it onto a "Reloadit" card. The nearest place to get the rechargeable card was at a neighborhood Albertsons supermarket.

The cards can be loaded with up to $500 each. Once you have the card you can scratch off  the covering in back and read off the pack numbers. Those numbers allow for an immediate transfer of money.

When Albertsons assistant store director Thelma Curiel saw Dana loading money onto multiple cards, she got concerned.

"She seemed a little nervous and that amount that she was purchasing gave me a red flag," said Curiel.

Thelma asked Dana why she needed to transfer the money. Dana was embarrassed to tell the clerk that she owned back taxes, but eventually she told her what she was doing.

Albertsons convinced Dana that it was what the I.R.S. called a scheme and that she should not send the money.

"I could see it in her eyes that she cared," said Dana about Thelma. She finally believed the Albertsons staff that she was making a mistake and did not send the money.

"It was Albertsons that saved the day because they said this is fraud," said Dana.

Albertsons community relations specialist Jenna Watkinson says it's part of their job to look out for their customers.

"Our goal is to look out for the best interest of our customers," said Watkinson, "and when we see something happening we want to intervene and make sure they're taken care of."

Dana was so grateful she returned to the Albertsons to give Thelma a thank-you card and a bouquet of roses.

Bank robberies are on the decline in San Diego County, dropping by nearly two-thirds this year, the FBI confirmed Monday.

Seventeen bandits targeted local banks between January and June, the FBI said, compared to 49 for the same period in 2014. The numbers are also a considerable drop compared to 2013 and 2012 figures.

The city of San Diego had the most bank robberies with six in 2015, while both Carlsbad and Chula Vista have seen two. One bank has been robbed in Oceanside, Santee and National City this year.

The "Geezer Bandit" is still out there, evading arrest after a series of bank robberies from La Jolla, to Vista, Santee and Poway, but the numbers show there are fewer criminals in his line of work.

The FBI said it is working closer than ever with banks to improve security and deter would-be robbers.

Additionally, some of the most prolific robbers have been caught.

Criminal defense attorney Anthony Colombo told NBC 7 some criminals have switched to "virtual crime," using computer skills instead of a gun to loot banks and bank accounts.

"And those same individuals who demonstrated sophistication and planning in the past are just applying that skill in a new world,” said Colombo.

But defense attorney Gretchen von Helms said it's way too early to declare victory on bank robbers.

“Sometimes those numbers are up, and sometimes those numbers are down,” she said. “It doesn't appear to have anything to do with how harsh the sentences are or what law enforcement is doing or not doing. Either the people are out there committing those offenses or they're not. And it just seems to ebb and flow, like the tide.”

There were more than 100 bank robberies in San Diego County last year. If the trend continues, there will less than 40 this year.

Nationwide, 20 percent of bank robberies happened on a Friday, while Monday was the second day of choice for bank robbers.
 

San Diego police are looking for one suspect who shot a victim multiple times in the back in  Talmadge.

Several people heard gunfire and screams just before 9 p.m. Monday, and a witness saw a dark-skinned man, possibly with braids, leaving the scene on foot after the victim had been shot at 52nd and El Cajon Boulevard, police said.

The victim is undergoing surgery, and is in extremely critical condition. No arrests have been made.

Check back for updates on this breaking story.

When a Southern California homeowner first noticed small lawn statues being dropped off on her front yard, she brushed it off as a harmless prank.

But then more began cropping up over several weeks - dozens of them - and the statues had been placed facing her front door "as if they were plotting against us," Robyn Yearout said.

Since the end of July, ceramic gnomes, lions, bunnies and other decorative lawn statues have dotted the front yard of her Victorville home. Of the 54 statues – some of them broken and chipped –  Yearout says only two belong to her.

"We walked out in the morning and we had a group of them looking at us when we came out the door.

"I have three kids so I assumed that instead of being TP'd (toilet-papered) I got yard-creatured," she said with a laugh.

But her children had no idea who had left the statues there.

"Some of them are creepy though. Their faces are all broken, like, ugh," said Yearout's son, Nolan.

Things got even creepier when another batch of about 20 suddenly showed up a few days later.

"They were in the tree. They were everywhere," Yearout said.

On Monday morning, it happened a third time. Yearout figured the statues had probably been stolen from other yards.

"There's a good section of them that look like they came from the same home, because someone has taken the time to paint them all similar," she said.

Yearout contacted the sheriff's department and put pictures of the statues on Facebook, hoping to reunite them with their owners. She's also hoping whoever is stealing them and putting them in her yard will stop.

"I feel bad because I know these things aren't cheap," she said.