Fire destroyed a home in Oak Park Sunday morning, leaving the family of six who lives there homeless.

The blaze started just before 9 a.m. at a home on the corner of Juanita Street and Redwood Street, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue.

Firefighters used chainsaws so they could get to the fast-spreading fire. Thick, gray smoke could be seen billowing from the house.

“The fire was reaching the top (of the house.) It was kind of penetrating the roof,” witness Alexander Herrera said.

“We could see like these massive flames outside,” witness Selina Suhr. “We were like concerned because my mom like knows a couple people on this street.”

Fortunately, the family was able to escape unharmed. Their dogs were also rescued safely from the backyard.

Neighbors say thankfully, firefighters arrived quickly.

“They did it pretty fast. They did it, I want to say, like in five or six minutes that they turned it off,” witness Ana Duran said.

Virtually everything inside the house was destroyed. Fire officials estimate the loss at just under $300,000.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“It’s very sad, you know, what’s happened here because this could happen to anybody,” witness Carlos Castro said. “It’s a moment you got to think about.”

Authorities are hoping to speak Sunday to a 50-year-old homeless man who suffered severe injuries in an apparent mountain lion attack in Perris.

An emergency call was placed around 8 a.m. Saturday morning of a man suffering injuries to his face, chest, head and arms, according to Dan Sforza, assistant chief of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Dog Was "Fighting for His Life" in Mountain Lion Attack

The man, who was injured near a makeshift shelter near Highway 74 and Navajo Road, was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery, Sforza said.

Authorities believe his injuries are consistent with a mountain lion attack, but they haven’t been able to question him because of his condition.

“Were going to try to talk to him today if he’s up for it,” Sforza said.

Pursuit of Wrong-Way Driver Ends With Head-On Crash

The site of the incident is heavily populated, and authorities have placed baited traps in an attempt to catch the lion. Warnings have been put into place about the lion, Sforza said.

DNA samples have been collected to match the lion if it is captured, according to a news release from the Riverside Sheriff’s Department.

If confirmed, the attack would be the 15th in California since 1986, officials said. 

White Lodging, a franchise management company for nationwide hotel brands including Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton and Westin, is investigating a reported data breach.

The alleged breach, first reported by security blogger Brian Krebs Friday, may have exposed credit and debit card information of thousands of guests at White-managed hotels.

“An investigation is in progress, and we will provide meaningful information as soon as it becomes available,” White Lodging said in a statement.

Krebs, citing  banking industry sources, alleges some White-managed Marriott hotels, including those in Chicago, Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, Louisville and Tampa, were affected by the breach.

“One of our franchise management companies has experienced unusual fraud patterns in connection with its systems that process credit card transactions at a number of hotels across a range of brands, including some Marriott-branded hotels,” Marriott said in a statement. “They are in the midst of the investigation and are in close contact with the banks and credit cards companies. We are working closely with the franchise management company as they investigate the matter.”

White Lodging, based in Merrillville, Ind., manages 168 hotels in 21 states.
 

A car slammed through a fence and down sloped backyard Sunday in Otay Mesa.

The crash happened just before noon behind a home in the 4300 block of Del Sol Ct.

Besides destroying the fence, the driver also hit an air valve connected to the water system.

“When I came out of my house, I saw a bunch of water, like a waterfall,” resident Israel Martinez said.

The accident created a muddy mess in Martinez’s backyard. However, his home was not damaged.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI, according to San Diego police. Officials have not released his name.

No one was injured.

It’s unclear how many people were inside the car. Witnesses say they saw two other people run from the vehicle right after the crash.

Kyle Anderson, a friend of the driver, came to see the crash site Sunday afternoon.

“He could have died. He missed two trees right here. He could have hit other people on the street,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the driver told him another vehicle swerved in front of him and he lost control trying to avoid it.

A male suspect shot and killed by San Diego County Sheriff's deputies at a Vista apartment complex on Friday has been identified by his father.

On Saturday, the supect's father told NBC 7 his son, Michael Napier, was the man killed by deputies at the Vista apartment.

According to Napier's father, Napier was sought by deputies in connection to a felony warrant for drug-related charges on Friday at around 6:40 p.m. in Vista.

Deputies said they spotted the suspect inside a garage at the Shadow Ridge Park Apartments in the 2000-block of South Melrose Drive. 

The suspect appeared to be fixing a bicycle inside the garage. According to the sheriff's department, deputies made contact with the suspect and ordered him to show his hands. Officials said the suspect did not comply and, instead, allegedly moved his hands towards the waistband of his pants.

Fearing for their safety, deputies opened fire on the suspect, critically wounding him. The man was pronounced dead on scene a short time later.

Immediately following the deputy-involved shooting, officials shut down the area around the apartment complex so investigators could gather evidence.

Napier's father said that, at the time of the incident, he tried to get more information from officials at the scene, but he was handcuffed and wasn't given any information.

With tears in his eyes, Napier's father told NBC 7 that Napier leaves behind two children, a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old.

As of Sunday, the names of the deputies involved in the shooting had not yet been released and officials had yet to release the name of the suspect.

San Diego police were searching for three suspects who stole a man’s car at gunpoint as he arrived to work in La Jolla early Sunday morning.

Police report the crime occurred at about 6 a.m. when the man was parking his car outside his job at the La Jolla Nursing Care Facility located at 2500 Torrey Pines Rd.

According to police, as the victim parked, a red Honda Civic pulled up behind him and three men armed with handguns approached him and demanded his keys.

The victim reportedly then gave the suspects his keys before running away from them.

The suspects then fled from the scene in the victim’s vehicle and the Honda Civic.

Police described the suspects as three Hispanic males between the ages of 35 and 38. Each of them reportedly stood about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed around 160 pounds. One of the suspects was wearing a camouflage jacket and another was wearing a black jacket.

Police said the Honda Civics’ California license plate number was 7DQS352.

The SDPD robbery unit was investigating.

Growers across San Diego County are rejoicing over the rain forecasted for Sunday night.

San Diego's Most Accurate Weather Forecast

Bernardo Winery owner Ross Rizzo, Jr., says the rain is a much-needed relief.

"This windmill will actually start to pull water out of the ground and pump it through our irrigation channels, and we tend to soak our avocado trees and our grape vines with it,” Rizzo explained. “But because of the drought, it's been dry for quite some time.”

This January has nearly tied for San Diego's driest January on record. Since July, only 2.25 inches of rain have fallen, when the norm is closer to 5.5.

The weather has been so dry, it’s tricking Rizzo’s grapevines to thinking it’s spring.

“It throws off their yearly maturation calendar, so some of the plants are bud-breaking currently," he said.

Because of California Governor Jerry Brown’s drought declaration across the state, many have changed the way they use water.

Rizzo’s vineyard uses water from a well and recycles runoff water from the property. He only waters his plants for a few hours every other week.

But even with all those water conservation efforts, he says he can't wait for good, old fashioned rain.

"Rain now means water in our wells and tanks later," Rizzo said.

The San Diego County Water Authority says most of the water we consume is used outside for watering plants and crops.

"We need a lot of rainstorms in the next couple of months to help increase the amount of water that's going to be available around the state and in San Diego County," said Jason Foster with the water authority.

Water Authority officials say they also hope the rain will help build up the snow pack in Northern California, which is where we get 20 percent of our water. Currently, it's only at 12 percent of normal.

Each Friday, dozens of homeless people line up for free food at Ocean Beach.

Two local college students started the weekly giveaway. They say they were inspired by Bible stories to give away food and create a place where everyone is welcome.

“I think there’s a lot of hurt, you know, in the world,” student David Liestman said. 

Liestman hopes to heal that hurt not only with sandwiches and yogurt, but by offering friendship to passersby.

“Them sharing their life with me, and I learn and I grow, and we learn and we grow,” he said.

“They just come to us, and it’s super cool,” student Molly Murphy said.

However, not everyone in the area agrees.

“It seems odd to have a food line at the beach,” said Denny Knox, Director of the OB Main Street Association.

Knox says she isn’t against students helping the homeless, but thinks there’s a better way to do it.

“There's no one to police it or to pick up the trash afterwards, so we're left to deal with it,” she said.

Shades Bistro owner Dave Martin said the food giveaway is impacting business.

“A lot of families don't want to (come here) because they're concerned about what, they think, could be a dangerous situation,” Martin said.

He says there are churches, facilities and other organizations that Liestman and his friends can work with to do even more good.

“Give them a path to follow and not just a bag of chips and a sandwich,” Martin said.

“We're concerned that they're keeping some of these folks from seeking help from organizations that can really help them,” Martin said.

Despite these concerns, the students feel they are making a difference. They say the last thing they want is conflict. Liestman and his friends hope to continue giving away food each week, but plan to talk to opponents to figure out a solution.

A small earthquake shook parts of the Inland Empire Sunday night, and residents from across the region reported hearing loud booming sounds before feeling the small rumble.

A preliminary magnitude-3.1 earthquake struck about 3 miles southeast of Rancho Cucamonga about 10:59 p.m., according to the US Geological Survey.

"(The quake) sounded like a train coming, and then a quick shake," NBC4 viewer Kristin Chapman said. "The sound of it scared me more."

Residents reported feeling the quake across the Inland Empire, including in Alta Loma, Azusa, Chino, Eastvale, Fontana and Riverside.

"It was loud, and I thought it was thunder," NBC4 viewer Tere Nelson said. "Then the rumble, and I knew it was a quake."

Other viewers described the quake as making their home feel like "it was on rollers" and making a "big popping sound" in their house.

"(We) definitely heard before we felt (it)," viewer Simone Pascual said via Facebook.

Film and theater professionals are mourning the loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman, including here in San Diego.

Celebrities React to Hoffman's Death

The Oscar-winning actor was found dead Sunday in his Manhattan apartment of an apparent heroin overdose, law enforcement sources said.

Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park, released a statement Sunday night sharing his memories of Hoffman.

In the statement, Edelstein says he is “distraught” over Hoffman’s death. Edelstein met Hoffman 25 years ago, and the two became close when they worked together in “Othello.”

Hoffman may be best known for his movies, but Edelstein says,” to me, he was a true and pure man of the theater. “

Despite the fame, Edelstein said Hoffman remained down to Earth: “He always took time out of his very busy schedule to talk to students and answer questions from fans."

Read Edelstein’s entire statement below:

Like so many in the tight-knit community of the American stage, I am distraught at the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Phil gained international renown through his brilliant work on screen but to me he was a true and pure man of the theater. I met him over twenty-five years ago when we were both fresh out of school and just hitting the professional world. I saw him play the dark clown Launcelot Gobbo in director Peter Sellars's landmark production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE and was awestruck: the fearlessness and emotional rawness that he brought to the work was unlike anything I'd seen. I'd see it again and again in the gallery of indelible characters he'd go on to create. Another actor in that MERCHANT, John Ortiz, would later team with Phil to found New York's Labyrinth Theater Company, which for a decade was the most exciting and adventurous troupe in the country. Phil produced, acted, and directed for Labyrinth, and the work he drew from the company was as honest and truthful as his own. He was a leader, a mentor, and a visionary.

He was also a student of the game. He loved to talk about the work, and to compare notes on shows he'd seen, artistic techniques he'd encountered, and plays he'd read. He thrilled to the work of great actors and he always took time out of his very busy schedule to talk to students and answer questions from fans.

My closest work with Phil was when he again teamed with Ortiz and Sellars on Shakespeare's OTHELLO, of which I was a producer during my time with the Public Theater's Shakespeare Initiative. Phil's Iago was searing, a soul on fire. Night after night I'd watch him and boggle at the titanic force of his fury. Offstage, Phil was soft-spoken and sweet, with a hangdog expression and soft, weary eyes. But onstage he was a cyclone. And his emotional nakedness, his complete commitment to the truth of his character, came at a cost: acting, especially live on stage, was for Phil beyond enervating. I remember visiting his dressing room after one performance and finding him alone in the dark, sprawled flat on the floor, silent. Playing Iago came from his deepest recesses, and it left him drained. In my entire career I've never known another actor who pushed himself to such roiling depths, or who poured his very life-force onto the stage in such a torrent. It was the only way he knew to do it, and it was astonishing to behold.

I didn't know Phil well enough to know the source of the churning emotion that made his acting so powerful. But I gather that the inner turbulence that was the font of his creativity was linked to the demons that led to the awful circumstances of his death. And in my grief, I honestly don't know what to make of that. What's better: a great artist for whom work is agonizing, or a lesser light who's happier in rehearsal? I cherish the extraordinary Phil Hoffman performances I was privileged to see: on stage his Iago, Gobbo, his work in O'Neill and Miller and many plays at Labyrinth, and of course those magnificent screen performances that will endure forever. I only wish he'd been able to come to them at a lower personal cost.

But genius doesn't work that way, and Phil was a genius, and Phil wouldn't have been Phil if his work didn't draw on his very lifeblood. He was a giant, the greatest American actor of his generation and one of the best of all time. I count myself lucky to have known him and I will cherish his memory. I think of his partner Mimi and their three young children and my heart breaks. They and Phil's entire family are in my thoughts and prayers, and in the thoughts and prayers of all of us at The Old Globe who are working tonight in an art that Philip Seymour Hoffman raised to new levels of excellence.

San Diegans woke Monday to a cold winter storm bringing rain and some snow in parts of San Diego County.

See NBC 7 Interactive Radar

The scattered showers were expected before noon with much cooler temperatures forecast for the rest of the day.

People living along the coastline and in the valleys will see highs of just 59 degrees according to NBC 7 meteorologist Jodi Kodesh.

Get Your Forecast

Our local mountains are under a winter weather advisory through noon with up to 4 inches of snow possible above 4500 feet.

As a result, drivers could experience blowing snow. It's suggested travelers use caution in higher elevations.

A struggling waitress in Tennessee got a reprieve from her mounting bills in the nick of time from generous strangers who left her a $1,075 tip.

Knoxville waitress Khadijah Muhammad's fateful bill was one for just $29.30, for a small meal she served to a couple and their young son on Jan. 22 — the same day she had received a disconnection notice from her local utility for not having paid her bill, Knoxville's NBC affiliate WBIR reported.

"They really did not stand out. They were just nice folks," Muhammad recalled of the generous couple she served at Cheddar's recently, along with their young child.

"I remember talking to them and having a friendly conversation like you would with a neighbor. The father ordered a country steak. The mother and son split a fish taco. They split it. They were really humble people," she told WBIR.

When she came to the table at the end of the family's meal to pick up their check, she found the receipt turned upside down.

"Normally as a server, when a receipt is turned upside down it means you did not get a good tip or any tip. Or people will leave a nasty note about how you messed something up with their service. I remember thinking, 'I wonder what I did wrong.' Then I picked it up and I just was in shock," Muhammad said.

As it turned out, she hadn't done anything wrong.

"I just remember seeing a comma after the one and knew it wasn't $10. And I was like, 'Oh, my God!' And I just lost my balance and I was like, 'Does this say a thousand dollars?' I could not believe it," she told WBIR.

The tip came accompanied by a note explaining the family's generosity: "Jesus has blessed us & we were led to give it to you! God bless!"

Muhammad was especially touched by the gesture because it came just as she was struggling to pay her bills, after having had to take time off work to visit her mother, who had suffered a heart attack, she said.

And Muhammad, who spends much of her time serving food to homeless people when not waitressing, told the station she was humbled by the generous tip and intended to show the same kind of selflessness to somebody else.

"I'm humbled. I'm grateful. I do believe that God led you to me at this time in my life," she said of her tippers. "I hope and pray that someday I'm able to do this for somebody. And at the first opportunity I will do it."

San Diego police are investigating possible connections between six pedestrian robberies across the city Sunday night. 

San Diego State celebrated a few milestones in Saturday’s 65-56 win over Colorado State. Moving up in the polls was not one of them.

Head coach Steve Fisher earned his 300th win with the team, which stays at No. 5 in the Associated Press poll for the second straight week. They are also No. 5 in the USA Today coaches poll.

With the win, the Aztecs are 8-0 in the conference for the first time in school history. They have now won 18 straight games, which ties them for the longest win streak in school history. This is the Aztecs’ highest ranking since reaching No. 4 in 2011.

Xavier Thames led SDSU on Saturday with 24 points. Winston Shepard added 16.

The Aztecs go for their 20th win of the season at Boise State on Wednesday. They return home Saturday night to play Nevada.

Syracuse took over the top spot in the poll after beating Duke on Saturday. Former No. 1 Arizona fell a spot after losing to California. Florida and Wichita State are also ranked ahead of the Aztecs.

Are Border Patrol agents using migrants as target practice? That is what one group claims happened at a local Border Patrol event.

The controversy centers around a series of photos taken last June at the annual San Diego Fallen Agents Memorial 5K Run. The photos show Border Patrol agents supervising as young children hold paintball guns and shoot at human-like targets along the San Ysidro/Tijuana border fence.

Immigrant rights activist Pedro Rios calls the activity disturbing.

“It resembles who the targets are for border patrol,” said Rios, with the Immigrant Rights Consortium, on Monday.

Rios also says he first saw the photos a few months ago on the event’s website, but did not think anything of them. He says it was not until another round of photos were brought to his attention by an anonymous source, this time involving children.

A spokesman with the Border Patrol says it was a family-friendly event where off-duty agents held a variety of demonstrations. The Border Patrol says the event aims to raise awareness about law enforcement tools without the use of deadly force. Agents say claims that they were teaching children to "attack migrants" – are false.

A U.S. Border Patrol Spokesman with the San Diego sector released the following statement:
“The U.S. Border Patrol takes pride in participating in community events to help build awareness about our activities and operations. Displays at the exposition included information about the U.S. Border Patrol's horse patrol, fire and emergency rescue services, vehicles and other equipment used by Border Patrol agents, and other topics.

"The expo also coincided with the annual Fallen Agent Memorial Run, a local San Diego five kilometer run that agents participate in during their free time to remember U.S. Border Patrol agents lost in the line of duty, and raise money for scholarships for local high school children. The photos in question are from an activity at the event that allowed members of the community to fire a pepper ball launch system that had been loaded with 'inert rounds' -- filled with a baby powder-type substance to be able to see whether the intended target had been hit  The target is a standard practice used by law enforcement and even amateurs throughout the U.S., and is clothed in plain jeans and a t-shirt, also standard when conducting exercises/demonstrations.

"The 'stop' for the exercise was an existing fence that is at the back of the parking lot chosen for safety reasons, rather than facing the exercise toward the crowds attending the expo.  It is not the border fence (primary or secondary), but rather a fence that helps ensure safety at the mall by marking a clear space that can be used for U.S. Border Patrol agents conducting law enforcement activities along the border.”

Still, Rios calls the paintball activity insensitive, especially from an agency under constant scrutiny for their use of force. He also urges agents to remove the activity from future events.

“Had they had a bulls-eye, had they had some sort of silhouette that's used in shooting ranges, I think it probably would've not had been such a huge issue."

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has identified those involved in a shooting by deputies that left one man dead in a Vista apartment complex Friday.

Sheriff's homicide Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said Monday that Michael Napier, 33, was shot and killed by Dep. Brandon Boisseranc, a 6-year department veteran, and Dep. Nicholas Danza, a 7-year department veteran.

On Friday four members of the Vista Sheriff’s Station Gang Enforcement Team was trying to arrest Napier on a felony narcotics warrant. Napier was also a suspect in two burglaries.

The deputies spotted Napier inside a garage at the Shadow Ridge Park Apartments in the 2000 block of South Melrose Drive at about 6:20 p.m.

According to Giannantonio, the team asked Napier to show them his hands, but instead Napier reached both hands down to his waistband.

Fearing that he was reaching for a gun, Boisseranc and Danza shot him. Napier was hit six times and was pronounced dead at the apartment complex.

No gun was found on Napier After a search of the garage, deputies did not find a weapon, although they said they found a knife stuck in the wall next to where he was standing. Investigators also found property that was reported stolen in at least one residential burglary and one vehicle burglary.

Giannantonio said deputies knew Napier had been previously arrested for illegal firearm possession, which is why they used deadly force.

"No deputy comes to work wanting to shoot somebody." said Giannantonio. "Using a firearm or deadly force is a last resort, and if Mr. Napier had complied with the deputies' lawful orders, all of this would have been avoided."

Napier's father said that, after the incident, he tried to get more information from officials at the scene, but he was handcuffed and wasn't given any details.

He told NBC 7 that Napier leaves behind two children – a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old.
 

Doctors at the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation say a teen who plummeted 3,500 feet to the ground last month walked with assistance Monday and may make a full recovery.

Makenzie Wethington, 16, was severely injured when her parachute malfunctioned Jan. 25 while skydiving over Chickasha, Okla.

Dr. Seema Sikka, the physician overseeing Wethington's care at Dallas' Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, said Monday the teen's prognosis for a full recovery is very good.

During a news conference, Sikka said doctors are still conducting cognitive evaluations but that Wethington is having no trouble communicating with those around her.

Sikka outlined some of Wethington's outstanding issues, mainly fractures to the spine, hip, pelvis and ribs. She said she didn't expect Wethington would need any surgeries in her recovery other than what may be required to fix dental fractures.

Sikka said Wethington's main challenges in her recovery will be pain management. She'll need to find the balance so that she can take part in activities while healing without over-sedating.

"I think, for her, it's going to be mainly giving herself actually some time to recover. She's a young girl she wants to get out there again with her friends, be active," said Sikka. "The main challenge is going to be stepping back a little and give her some time to heal and recover and, kind of, being able to understand what that means for her."

Sikka said that Wethington may need to remain in rehab for several weeks, but that she would know more about the teen's recovery timeline in the coming days.

"Her strength and her movement of her extremities and her sensation appears pretty intact, so I think her spinal cord itself has been pretty intact," said Sikka.

Wethington's mother and father, Holly and Joe, were at the news conference Monday and also spoke on their daughter's behalf.

"It's amazing the things the school is doing for her. The pep rally, as soon as she got pictures sent to her, you know, it put a smile on her face. She's real happy that everybody, you know, really, loves and supports her and sending all the prayers," said Holly Wethington.

Last week, Makenzie's father said his daughter's parachute did not fully deploy when she jumped. The owner of the sky diving company, Bob Swainson of Pegasus Air Sports Center, has said there was nothing wrong with the parachute and that he believes Mackenzie did not follow instructions given during her training.

After a little more than a week, the teenager was discharged from the University of Oklahoma Medical Center so that she could continue rehabilitation in North Texas.

A winter storm brought some of the season’s first snow to Mt. Laguna overnight and a snow advisory for areas higher than 4,500 feet this morning.

The mountain saw about an inch of snow overnight with potential for up to four more inches today. The winter weather advisory expires at noon.

See NBC7 Interactive Radar

“I was kind of excited. It’s nice to see the snow. It’s beautiful,” said Faith Berry, who has lived in the area for seven years. “I was hoping there would be a little bit more so I could go cross country skiing, but there’s not enough to do skiing of any sort.”

Residents say there was about a foot of snow at the same time last year. Typically, January and February bring in four to eight feet of snow during the winter months in Mt. Laguna. This year has been remarkably less.

Get Your Forecast

The lack of snow and hotter temperatures this winter raise the risk for fire season. It also brings in less visitors to the mountains to enjoy the powdery snow and bring in business to shops/lodges in the area.

Three adults and four juveniles were injured in a car crash Monday evening in Rolando, according to fire officials.

The accident happened just for 5:15 p.m. at College Avenue and University Avenue.

Officials say the seven victims were taken to the hospital. The extent of their injuries is not known.

San Diego Police and Fire-Rescue are currently on scene. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Check back for updates.

View University Ave & College Ave in a larger map