Firefighters in Southern California battling wildfires year-round may soon have one more tool to help them under their belt. 

This tool, however, would not be in the field with them. 

San Diego State University’s Visualization Center, in partnership with New Mexico-based company SimTable, have developed a modeling software that helps predict the spread of wildfires.

As California heads into its fourth year of severe drought, a lack of recent rain and an increase in dead trees have escalated fire conditions. The conditions on record heading into the heat of the 2015 fire season are some of the worst on record, Cal Fire told NBC 7. 

Justin Freiler, manager of the center and a former firefighter, said as firefighters work to battle fires in the field, watching a simulated spread on similar conditions may help them develope a better intuition when fighting them. 

“When I was a firefighter, you’d see a fire coming at you and you’d need to count on everyone knowing what to do and where to go,” Freiler said in a statement. “This technology gives a much more hands-on experience, which offers a better understanding of the full aspect of a fire.”

The program projects a map onto a sandbox filled with shell powder which can then be shaped into topography of certain areas. Users can spark a virtual flame anywhere on the three-dimensional model and watch how the flame spreads as it would out in the wild. 

In addition to predicting the spread of fires, users can also measure how extinguishing methods like water drops, firetruck crews, bulldozed fire lines and controlled burns would have an impact on the areas. 

Then, the system will produce data on topography, time of day, wind speed and direction and fuel types in the area to predict how the fire would spread.

“We’re hoping to put this into the hands of first responders who can use it to save lives and structures,” said Lance Larson, assistant director in the SDSU graduate program in homeland security, in a statement.

Developers are working on translating the programming into an application that would be used by firefighters to receive and track how a fire is spreading.

After waves of rainfall created a sea of troubles for San Diego County residents, many wanted to focus on the storm clouds’ silver lining: Did this downpour do anything to relieve Southern California’s drought?

Unfortunately, city officials told NBC 7 Monday that the impact is minimal, though the rain did break records.

Sutherland Reservoir, east of Lake Wohlford, received the most rainfall compared to other reservoirs in the county — two inches. Halla Razak, the director of San Diego’s Public Utilities, said those two inches provide enough water to sustain 800 to 1,200 families for a year.

Lower Otay Lake, which is one of the fullest reservoirs at 75 percent capacity, received one inch of rainfall. Razak said although it may have felt like a lot of showers, especially for this time of year, it will make a very small impact on the drought.

"We have had a very severe drought for four years,” Razak said. “And it's going to take years of sustained precipitation and snowfall to really get us out of the drought we're in.”

Meanwhile, cleanup continued Monday at flooded homes, streets and yards. In one of the hardest hit areas, Ramona, the San Vicente Golf Course closed for the day after its bridge that is normally used by golf carts was completely dislodged by water.

People who live in and around Ramona called it one of the wildest weekends of weather they’d ever seen. Videos and pictures showed a storage shed floating down a road and cars submerged in several feet of water.

By Monday morning, bulldozers started cleaning up piles of mud along Gunn Stage Road in San Diego Country Estates.

“Yeah, lots of cleanup and we have to find out if insurance covers it or the city covers it. We don’t know. So it’s all unknown,” said Kerrilee Mair, whose fence and retaining wall was wiped out by flash floods.

A creek along State Route 78 turned into a river, creating a pile of tree trunks and logs at one point.

Residents living nearby said that creek is usually running dry.

“It was something else,” said Robert Ball, “and the logs were coming down like you wouldn't believe. I saw trees uprooted down there. And man it was a mess."

Locals expect cleanup efforts to continue through Tuesday.

Heavy downpours across Southern California this weekend may help some make their water bill a little lighter this month.

San Diego resident Shelley Stapley said the weekend rain was great for the soil in her tomato garden.

"It is saturated; the soil is wet," said Stapley. She usually waters her plants by hand but now she's waiting a while before watering again.

"Less water, less money for the bill because water is really expensive," said Stapley.

California drought regulations ban watering for 48 hours after a rain, but Mark Mahady with Walter Andersen Nursery said most homeowners should wait longer than that.

"Most established plants will need no water for another week," said Mahady. He told NBC 7 lawns can go more than a week without water after a soaking rain. Fruit trees can go two weeks. As for vegetable gardens?

"If they are in containers, maybe you will have to water a little sooner," said Mahady, "But I can almost assure you those peppers and tomatoes don't have to be watered until next week.

The trick is to check the soil around your plants. By digging down a few inches you can see if the soil is still holding moisture. There are also moisture meters that can probe into the soil.

The heavy rain is not only good for saving money, the rain water is also better for your plants. It helps rinse out salts from the soil.

But while the rain will help your lawn and garden, there is a downside. The rain will also encourage the growth of weeds.

Four people, including one Navy SEAL and two sailors based in Coronado, were rushed to the hospital Sunday after a small plane crashed outside of Las Vegas Sunday.

Authorities say the single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee crashed around 1:20 p.m. about three miles south of the Henderson Executive Airport. A fire ignited after the crash, and the plane is a total loss, said Clark County Department of Aviation spokesman Paul Bobson.

All four occupants were transported to the hospital, city spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said. Two had critical burns, and the other two had injuries that were not life-threatening. All are expected to survive.

The three service members on board are assigned to commands in Naval Special Warfare at Coronado, according to Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, a spokesman for the command.

“At this point right now, it’s about supporting those members,” said Walton, “make sure they get the care they need and make sure the families get the support they need.”

Officials are not releasing the names of those involved or the specifics on their injuries.

The flight was not connected to the Navy, according to Walton, as the service members were on leave. According to Bobson, the aircraft was traveling to Southern California and was not based at the airport.

It was not clear what caused the crash, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.

According to the FAA's online database, the plane is registered to Jody Stuckey, of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
 

Starting this summer the City of Carlsbad Police Department will be giving residents’ cars "report cards."

It’s all part of a new initiative called “Operation Report Card,” intended to curb the rising vehicle crime in the area.

According to police, each summer, more residents report from their unattended vehicles, so officers believe taking your things from unattended cars will reduce the "opportunity" for crime.

Officers will be checking cars in recreation areas, leaving the "report card" on the windshield with either a "Congratulations! Thank you for removing all opportunities for crime” or “Caution, the unattended property inside your vehicle has created an opportunity for crime.”

The yellow notice also has safety tips for keeping your belongings and vehicle safe.

The notice suggests removing all property from unattended vehicles, parking your car where you can see it and never hiding a key in your car.

“The goal of the program is to create a police/community collaboration that ultimately reduces the occurrences of vehicle crime,” said Police Chief Gary Morrison in a news release. “Effective policing takes teamwork and together we can reduce crime and ensure a safe and secure summer for everyone.”

Similar programs have been used throughout the country, but this is the first time it will be implemented in Carlsbad. Carlsbad Police remind residents to report suspicious activity or report a crime by calling at 760-931-2197 day or night.

A prayer vigil was held in Aurora, Colorado, Monday night to mark the third anniversary of the movie theater shooting that took 12 lives and injured dozens of others.

Twelve crosses were lined along the street near Aurora's Century Theater in honor of those killed. People came throughout the day to see the memorial and write notes on heart-shaped cards attached to the crosses.

James Holmes, 27, entered a movie theater at 12:15 a.m. on July 20, and opened fire upon a crowded showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." A jury last week convicted Holmes of the chilling attack on defenseless moviegoers at the midnight Batman premiere.

On Monday, attorneys began debating jury instructions for the death penalty phase of Holmes' trial.

More than 1,200 guns and an estimated two tons of ammunition were discovered at the upscale Southern California home of a man who was found dead inside an SUV last week, according to police.

Officers received a report around 5 p.m. Friday about the discovery of the body in the 1700 block of Palisades Drive in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.

After learning that the man lived on the same street, detectives with the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division served a search warrant at the home and found a arsenal of handguns, shotguns, rifles and ammunition, police said.

A bomb squad searched the home for explosives and gave investigators the all-clear to seize the weapons.

"The boxes of ammunition were out behind the garage and they were just lots of them, piled at least 8-feet tall, and the pile just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger," said a neighbor, who did not want to be identified.

Police were trying to determine the origin of the guns and whether they were legally being kept at the home.

The neighbor said the man claimed to be affiliated with the CIA and the military.

The man's identity has not been released.

A 13-month-old girl kidnapped from a Motel 6 in Palmdale on Saturday was abducted by her mother's pimp, who was arrested along with a teenage accomplice, sheriff's officials said Monday.

The child was found in a shed in another part of the city hours after her abduction, suffering from exposure. The man suspected of assaulting the woman was taken into custody nearby, along with the accomplice, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Brandon Wynn, 34, and the teenager were booked on suspicion of attempted murder. Additional charges are anticipated, including human trafficking, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, child abuse and robbery, sheriff's officials said.

On Saturday, an Amber Alert was initiated by authorities when the abduction was first reported. Officials said the report was based on false information provided by the woman, and the alert was canceled.

The suspect had allegedly beaten the child's mother and sold her into prostitution.

The investigation led deputies to a vehicle, and they arrested its occupants - Wynn and a teen boy - in the afternoon near the intersection of East Avenue T-8 and 40th Street East.

Deputies found the baby a few blocks away in a shed, where she was alone still in a child seat. She had been left unattended for an undetermined length of time, sheriff's officials said.

Paramedics took the baby to a hospital for evaluation and treatment. The child showed symptoms of exposure but appeared to be otherwise unharmed.

The baby was placed in the custody of child welfare personnel.

Sen. John McCain said Monday Donald Trump doesn’t owe him an apology but that he should apologize to veterans for his comments about soldiers captured in war.

Asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" if Trump owes him an apology, McCain said: "No, I don't think so. But I think he may owe an apology to the families of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone the prison experience in serving their country."

McCain said Trump's remarks were "totally inappropriate."

"To denigrate their service is offensive to most of our veterans," McCain said. "The best thing to do is put it behind us and move forward."

Trump drew condemnation from his rivals and senior officials in the Republican party for saying on Saturday that McCain, who was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years during the Vietnam War and refused early release, was not "a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured." 

Trump later acknowledged that McCain's sacrifice was heroic. 

In a statement Saturday, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee said: "Senator McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period. There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably."

Other Republicans who are running for president pounced on the comments. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called Trump's words "slanderous," and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told NBC News that Trump "needs to apologize." Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has called on Trump to drop out of the presidential race.

On Monday, Trump blasted the media for distorting his remarks and sparred with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" show, acknowledging that McCain is a war hero. But he did not apologize.

"I'm not a fan of John McCain," Trump said via phone. "He's done a horrible job for the vets."

He insisted that in addition to blasting McCain's military record he did say during the talk he gave at the Family Leadership Summit over the weekend that McCain was a war hero.

"If you saw what I said and you saw the press conference afterwards...the media just has done such a false number as usual,'' Trump said. "I said it at the news conference. I said it on the stage. The next sentence was, 'He is a war hero.' I said that, but they never want to play it, and you don't want to play it. If you would've let it run just another three seconds, you would've said that I said very clearly, he is a war hero."

Trump went on to say Monday, "I do also respect greatly people that aren’t captured. Nobody talks about them. We talk about John McCain and he is a brave man, but we don’t talk about people that weren’t captured and that’s what I was trying to refer to.”

The two men in their 20s killed in a wrong-way Pauma Valley crash Friday have been identified.

The medical examiner's office says Alexander Gerald Parks, 27, and Andrew Michael Parks, 24, died after their Mazda Miata slammed head-on into a box truck.

Andrew was behind the wheel at about 10:30 a.m. Friday as he and Alexander drove east on State Route 76 in the Rincon area.

Their Miata drifted into westbound lanes for unknown reasons and hit the box truck heading the opposite way, according to the medical examiner's office.

Both inside the Miata died instantly, the California Highway Patrol says. Two men in the box truck, a 49-year-old and a 43-year-old, suffered minor injuries.

Officials told NBC 7 the truck's driver was unable to avoid the collision. The crash is still under investigation.

The FBI raided a Tennessee apartment as investigators tried to determine whether at least two acquaintances of Chattanooga shooter Mohammad Abdulazeez knew of his plans in the months leading up to the deadly rampage. 

Agents converged on the Mountain Creek Apartments complex in Red Bank, north of Chattanooga, on Monday afternoon. Ed Reinhold, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, said investigators have been "going all over this city talking to different friends and associates of our shooter." 

Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at a military recruiting station and a Navy and Marine reserve center Thursday, killing four Marines and a sailor and wounding a local cop.

A family representative told NBC News that he was battling depression, had expressed some anti-American feelings and was on a three-day downward spiral before the attack.

A fisherman snagged a shark off the Imperial Beach Pier on Sunday, according to photos shared with NBC 7.

Cheyana Scovack posted several images to Facebook showing the large fish.

She said the shark was reeled in just before noon Sunday. The men who caught the shark said it took about 30 to 40 minutes to bring it out of the water.

The shark appears to be a sixgill or sevengill shark, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

They are legal to catch. The bag limit is one.

A sexually violent predator is back in custody after he allegedly violated the terms and conditions of his release, the San Diego County District Attorney's office said. 

Gary Snavely, 49, moved into 45612 Old Highway 80 in Jacumba under a conditional release on Feb. 20 when Judge Louis Hanoian approved the move. He lived a mile away from Jacumba Elementary School. 

On July 2, the diagnosed pedophile was removed from that residence and placed back into custody of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department for violations of his release. 

Prior to his move into the Jacumba home, 10 letters opposing the placement were submitted, including one from San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

"This monster never belonged in the community in the first place," Jacob said in a statement Monday. "Word that he violated the terms of his release comes as no surprise and is the latest proof that sexually violent predators have no place in Jacumba Hot Springs or any other community. What makes this even more outrageous is that it's not the first time Snavely has broken the rules of his placement. He needs to be locked up for good."

In 1987, Snavely was convicted of molesting two young girls in Orange County. The molestations included fondling and oral copulation. He served three years in prison. He was later arrested for a patrol violation.

After his release, he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego in 1996, for which he served 16 months.

Two years later, the District Attorney's Office won a petition to civilly commit Snavely to the state hospital as a sexually violent predator.

A judge granted Snavely’s petition for conditional release in August 2014.

Judge Louis Hanoian said the decision to let Snavely live in Jacumba was not made lightly. He said Snavely would be closely monitored and would get treatment. He said he did not believe Snavely was a danger to society anymore.

Liberty Healthcare has formally requested the court revoke Snavely's outpatient status. A hearing is set for 9 a.m. on August 27 in Department 54. 
 

A new poll released Monday finds Donald Trump taking a commanding lead nationally among the 16 Republican candidates vying for the GOP presidential nomination, but raises questions of whether the real-estate mogul's political campaign can survive his latest controversial comments.

According to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, Trump is at the top of the crowded Republican field with 24 percent support among GOP voters, almost double that of his next-closest rival Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who captured 13 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush currently stands a close third behind Walker with the support of 12 percent of polled Republican or Republican-leaning registered voters.

The survey, fielded from Thursday to Sunday, did show a considerable drop in support for Trump following disparaging comments the businessman made about McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Trump held steady at 28 percent support during the first three days of polling before dropping into single-digit territory following those comments, according to ABC News.

“Although the sample size for the final day was small, the decline was statistically significant,” the Washington Post reported.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all received between 8 percent and 3 percent of Republican voters’ support.

Ranking within the Republican field is playing a significant roll in the 2016 race for the White House. Fox News Channel and CNN both announced that only the top 10 candidates, based on an average of the most recent national polls, will qualify for a spot behind a podium for each of the network’s first major GOP debates.

The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted with cell phone and landline respondents from July 16-19. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Three-time world champion surfer Mick Fanning who fought off a large shark with his bare hands during a surfing competition in South Africa -- a dramatic scenes that beamed live around the world-- paid tribute Tuesday to a "warrior" surf buddy who came to his aid as he was being attacked, NBC News reported. 

Fanning, 34, was competing against Julian Wilson on Sunday when he punched the shark after it attempted to pull him underwater by his foot rope. He yelled at Wilson, a fellow Aussie who he was mentoring as well as competing against, to get into shore, but Wilson paddled out towards the danger instead.

"At that stage I was just screaming and telling Jules to 'get in,'" Fanning told a press conference in Sydney, Australia. He said the 26-year-old Wilson was a "warrior" for "coming after me." The two were picked up by safety teams. 

Fanning told reporters the encounter with the shark "was so close. I'm doing OK, though. I haven't got a scratch on me. Just more of an emotional, mental sort of trauma right now."

"To walk away from a shark attack with not a scratch on you — it is a miracle really," he said.

A man who wielded a knife and stole a rental car from two tourists in Old Town this past spring was sentenced on Monday to 7 years and 8 months in prison.

Lawrence Atwood had earlier pleaded guilty to carjacking, use of a deadly weapon and abating arrest.

His defense attorney, Saba Sheibani, had requested a lower sentence, but the judge cited the 47-year-old man’s 30 years of criminal history of drug use, battery, resisting arrest and theft in handing down his sentence.

Sheibani pointed out that her client struggles with drug addiction and was high on meth at the time of the carjacking. Further, the attorney said he didn’t realize someone was in the car when he was attempting to steal it.

However, Deputy District Attorney Jalyn Wang noted how Atwood led Chula Vista police on a dangerous and reckless chase, zipping through a neighborhood and driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

The incident happened on March, when the husband and wife were visiting San Diego from Washington state and had stopped at an Arco gas station in Old Town.

The husband went inside the gas station, as his wife waited in the car with the engine running. That’s when Atwood climbed into the driver’s seat of the rental car, brandishing a knife, police said.

He told the woman to get out. She followed his orders and he took off in the rental car, police said.

Atwood later surrendered after leading police on a pursuit through a neighborhood.

“It really has affected her life,” Wang said, referring to the wife. “She felt that the defendant was extremely bold and brazen to do this in broad daylight and he just seemed so disconnected from the gravity of what he was doing.

Atwood still has pending indecent exposure and under the influence charges in El Cajon.

The Special Olympics USA National Team made a stop in San Diego Tuesday en route to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.

On the way to the World Games in Los Angeles, more than 480 Special Olympics athletes and coaches dropped by the USO Neil Ash Airport Center at the San Diego International Airport.

While taking a brief break from their travels, the athletes also took the time to meet members of the military and their families.

Amie Dugan, Director of Marketing for the Special Olympics, told NBC 7 the athletes passing through San Diego have their eyes on the prize and have been preparing for the World Games for a long time.

“These athletes are like any other athlete. They’ve been training for months, if not years, to make it to the world stage to compete and show the world what they’re capable of,” said Dugan. “It’s hard work. They’ve earned the right to be here and the competition is going to be fierce. They definitely want to bring home the gold.”

Team USA athlete Alisa Hazelett, of Indiana, will compete in bowling at the World Games. She told NBC 7 she bowls regularly at home with her mom as her main partner.

“Hopefully I can do really good and get gold,” Hazelett said, adding that it's really cool to meet other Special Olympics athletes at events like the visit to San Diego Thursday.

Kendrick Uebbert, from Westpoint, Neb., also said he has his sights set on gold in the powerlifting competition. At home, Uebbert trains several times a week in powerlifting and deadlifting.

"I’m here to win. Team USA baby, all the way,” Uebbert told NBC 7.

The 2015 Special Olympics World Games begins Saturday and runs through Aug. 2. More than 6,500 athletes – accompanied by 2,000 coaches – from 165 countries will compete across 25 different sports at venues throughout Los Angeles, including UC Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC).

Organizers expect 500,000 spectators throughout the week-long sporting event, which will be orchestrated with the help of 30,000 volunteers.

Organizers say approximately 100 “Host Towns” will help welcome the Special Olympics World Games athletes from all over the globe to Southern California in the three days leading up to the Wold Games, giving them a taste of the local culture, recreation and entertainment.

In San Diego County, communities partaking in the Host Town program include: Chula Vista; Clairemont; Coronado; Del Mar; El Cajon; Encinitas; La Jolla; National City; Point Loma; Poway; Rancho Santa Fe; Solana Beach; and University City.
 

The Natural Dog Company, Inc. is recalling some dog treats due to a possible contamination with Salmonella.

The Colorado-based company is recalling its 12oz bags of 12" Tremenda Sticks after a Colorado Department of Agriculture inspection showed a presence of Salmonella in a sample taken from one of the packages, according to the company's press release.

The Salmonella could affect the dogs as well as humans handling the treats, especially if the person did not thoroughly wash their hands after being in contact with the Tremenda Sticks.

Common symptoms in infected people with Salmonella include, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Consumers exhibiting those symptoms should contact their doctor. If a pet has been infected, they may become lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. If a pet has consumed the recalled treats and has these symptoms, you should contact your veterinarian. 

No illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled product, the company said. 

The recalled treats were distributed in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, and Washington. The product comes in a 12oz bag without a lot number or expiration date with UPC number: 851265004957. Products with new packaging, which includes both a lot number and expiration date but the same UPC are not affected by this recall.

Product production has been suspended while the FDA conducts an investigation. Consumers are encouraged to return the treats to the place of purchase for a refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-888-424-4602/

While images of Pluto are still coming in from NASA, the organization has released another milestone photo: one of a sunlit Earth.

The last time NASA released a full image of the Earth from space the year was 1972 and the photo, snapped by the Apollo 17 astronauts, was called the "Blue Marble." 

This photo is significantly better in quality than the "Blue Marble" pic because of the resolution (click here for the high resolution version). 

A camera, known as Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite took the historic photo from one million miles away, according to NASA. EPIC is made up of a four megapixel camera and telescope. 

The Earth image, taken on July 6, 2015, was created by combining three different images — taken with red, green, and blue filters — to create one full photo.

The image is meant to show the effects of sunlight scattered by air molecules. It showcases North and South America.

Eventually, NASA said on their website it is hoping the camera will harvest regular data and provide daily images of Earth.