A SpaceX rocket lifted off Friday from the Santa Barbara County coast in an early morning launch through low clouds.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched just before 7 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base northwest of Santa Barbara. The rocket soared through a deep layer of clouds and carried 20 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/u4pefHLdda

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 20, 2024

The first stage landed on a droneship at sea.

The rocket and its exhaust plume are sometimes visible for hundreds of miles as it soars along the coast, if skies are clear. Launches just after sunset and before sunrise usually provide the best views as the rocket reflects the sun’s rays against the backdrop of a darkened sky.

The rocket can produce a sonic boom as it soars along the Southern California coast.

SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the company’s rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere around the globe.

If light conditions are right, the satellites appear in a train as they parade across the night sky. The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.

Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.

At least 10 people who dined at a Valencia restaurant over the weekend were sickened in a salmonella outbreak, according to the Los Angles County Health Department.

Ava Pulaski, who was visiting Southern California, was one of the customers who fell ill after eating at Madre! restaurant in the northern Los Angeles County community.

“I went online, to leave a bad review, actually, and I saw everyone else’s,” said Pulaski. “I was like, ok, this is a serious issue.”

The restaurant’s owner told NBCLA a customer called him on Wednesday and said they tested positive for salmonella. Chef and owner Ivan Vasquez said he called the health department, which issued a notice of temporary closure due to the health hazard.

“It’s unfortunate that this happened at our restaurant,” Vasquez said. “We’re going to be working really hard with the health department with full transparency.”

A source of the contamination was not immediately identified. The restaurant will remain closed until that happens and sanitization is complete.

Salmonella can be contracted from contaminated food or by coming into contact with people and animals who are sick. Symptoms include gastrointestinal problems.

The health department offered the following tips to prevent its spread.

• Wash your hands after you use the bathroom or change a diaper.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.
• Wrap fresh meats, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags at the market to prevent their liquids from dripping on other foods.
• Use a meat thermometer to check the inside temperature of meats to make sure they are fully cooked.
• Immediately wash cutting boards and counters used to prepare raw foods to avoid spreading the germs to other foods.
• Avoid eating raw eggs and foods that contains uncooked eggs (i.e. cookie dough, homemade ice cream, tiramisu, eggnog).
• If you have salmonella, don’t prepare food for others until your diarrhea has stopped.

Eight firefighters returning from the Airport Fire were injured Thursday night in a rollover crash on a freeway in Orange County.

The collision was reported around 6:45 p.m. on the northbound 241 Freeway just north of Portola Parkway in Irvine.

An Orange County Fire Authority truck transporting firefighters swerved attempting to dodge a ladder on the road. The truck hit the guard rail on the toll road and rolled over, according to CHP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2aBAl5i7_Q

“For reasons still being investigated, the OCFA truck lost control and subsequently struck a metal guard rail causing the OCFA truck to overturn and coming to rest on its side,” the California Highway Patrol said in a statement.

At least 8 firefighters were injured, six of those with major injuries and two of them with minor injuries. The crew was transported to hospitals.

At a Friday morning news conference, said four of the firefighters were more seriously injured than the others.

The OCFA handcrew were finishing a 12-hour shift battling the Airport Fire, according got OCFA Fire Chief Brian Fenessy. The work, which requires extreme physical fitness, usually involves arduous work to help build fire lines, remove materials that can burn and other tasks essential to battling a wildfire.

“It breaks my heart,” said OCFA Fire Chief Brian Fennessy, adding that he has received messages of support from departments around the country. “We ask that you pray for our firefighters and their families. This is the beginning of a long road for our firefighters and their families.”

OCFA crew’s main duties include performing hazardous fuels reduction projects and wildland fire suppression.

#IRVINEPDPIO – Our partners from CHP are investigating a collision on the 241 Toll Road near SR-133. The NB SR-133 is diverted to exit to Irvine Blvd. The NB 133 on-ramps are closed at Irvine Blvd. Helicopters are in the area assisting. #irvine

— Irvine Police Department (@IrvinePolice) September 20, 2024

Several lanes were closed off prompting a SigAlert on the SR-241 near Tomato Springs Toll Plaza Ts. The 241 Toll Road is closed between Portola Parkway and the 133 Toll Road.

The Airport Fire 23,500-acre Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties was 39-percent contained after starting earlier this month.