Remote Surveillance Trailer in Fresno, CA

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Action News has obtained a letter that went out to Fresno City employees.

It notified them that starting this month, they will be without in-network care at various Community Medical Center locations. Now, employees are calling for answers.

More than 1,500 workers were notified that their healthcare contract was terminated as of February 1 due to ongoing contract negotiations between Community Medical Center and Blue Shield of California.

"The city employees are frankly stuck in the middle, and as a result of the contract expiring, these city employees are going to be forced to pay out-of-network premiums, which is going to cost them more money," says Georgeanne White, Fresno City Manager.

The Community Health providers normally offered to the insured employees are no longer available in the network.

Those who are regularly seen at Community Regional or Clovis Community must now find care elsewhere, like St. Agnes or Valley Children's.

In a statement to Action News, Blue Shield claimed CMC, "request(ed) to terminate the existing contract, with intent to renegotiate."

But CMC's statement accused Blue Shield of "electing not to grant another extension and let it expire January 31, 2026."

Blue Shield went on to say, "We have provided CMC a series of offers withfair and reasonable rate increases while protecting our members' access to care. This includes offering additional payments when they deliverhigh-quality and good healthcareoutcomes for our members. CMC is not willing to tie any portion of their pay increases to performance, which is not in the best interest of our members."

CMC says they're actively working with Blue Shield to "reach an equitable agreement as soon as possible so we can continue providing quality healthcare to those who rely on us."

This comes on the heels of Community Health System reaching an agreement with Aetna, restoring coverage for over 6,000 retirees from the Fresno Unified School District.

Sharon Hart worked as a teacher and administrator for over 20 years. She was among the former educators who were put in a crisis situation.

"It was really shocking in many ways. It just shows how broken our healthcare system is nationally. This is not a problem unique to Fresno or to Fresno Unified retirees," says Hart.

Community Health System is the fifth-largest healthcare system in the state. Their footprint is critical in the Valley.

We asked CMC about its bottom line and if cuts to the federal government have impacted these negotiations.

They responded saying, "Our ability to provide high-quality, accessible care for our patients depends on contracts that fairly reimburse our care teams for the services they deliver. We look at each contract individually, however stagnant and declining government payments obviously impact our overall financial picture leaving us no wiggle room to accept a contract that doesn't adequately cover the cost of providing care," says Aldo De La Torre, Division President, Insurance Services & Managed Care for Community Health System.

The City of Fresno says its health and welfare board will hold a special meeting in March if the two parties do not come to an agreement by then to try and find alternate solutions.

For news and weather updates, follow Brisa Colon on Facebook, X and Instagram.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Construction on part of the High-Speed Rail project came to a halt on Wednesday as crews battled a fire at the Church Avenue overpass in Southeast Fresno.

"There's a lot of plywood and lumber that's involved in this," Josh Sellers with Fresno Fire said.

Workers, all unharmed, watched as firefighters attacked from above.

"We have the railroad tracks here that we ended up having to close down and stop the trains because we have a ladder truck in place that's blocking the tracks," Sellers said.

The fire began shortly before 9 AM, likely due to routine construction, investigators say.

Aerial video from the High-Speed Rail Authority last year appears to show the impacted structure.

"This is the shoring framework that the concrete is then poured in place, and that becomes the permanent structure," Sellers said on Wednesday.

The fire is the latest twist in a controversial project. The California High-Speed Rail is more than six years behind and nearly $100 billion over budget.

"We care about folks in Fresno, Kings, Tulare," Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday. "We care about folks all across the Central Valley."

The comments came at an event in Kern County, where officials opened a new facility to lay down track.

Eleven years after groundbreaking in Fresno, the project is still not operating.

"This is not just a transportation project," Governor Newsom said. "This is about reimagining the future of this region. One of the fastest, most dynamic regions - fastest growing - in the state of California. It's a point of pride."

On Wednesday, the High-Speed Rail Authority issued a statement confirming everyone evacuated safely.

"Thanks to the work of (the) Fresno Fire Department, the fire has been extinguished," a spokesperson said. "We will continue to support and coordinate ... as needed."

The overpass is scheduled to be finished by next month. There is no word on how the fire will impact that timeline.

For news updates, follow Gabe Ferris on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Dense fog is creating dangerous travel conditions across California’s San Joaquin Valley, prompting a Dense Fog Advisory that remains in effect through noon Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.

The advisory warns of visibility frequently dropping below 200 feet and at times near zero, particularly during overnight and early morning hours. The National Weather Service classifies the event as a Level 5 out of 5 transportation risk, the highest category on its Experimental Fog Severity Index.

Impacted roadways include State Route 99, Interstate 5, State Route 41, State Route 180, State Route 168, State Route 152, and State Route 198, which serve as major commuter and freight corridors through Fresno, Kern, Tulare, Merced, and Kings counties. Officials report that sudden visibility reductions may lead to stopped traffic with little warning.

According to the National Weather Service, dense fog is expected to redevelop each night and morning through the remainder of the week, with only partial clearing possible during afternoon and early evening hours. The fog is most persistent in low-lying areas and near agricultural zones where moisture remains trapped near the surface.

Transportation officials urge drivers to slow down, use low-beam headlights, and increase following distance. Motorists who encounter rapidly deteriorating visibility are advised to exit the roadway safely rather than stopping on highway shoulders, where rear-end collisions are more likely.

The fog event may also impact early-morning school travel, agricultural transport schedules, and young workers commuting before sunrise. Commercial drivers operating along CA-99 and I-5 are encouraged to adjust routes or delay departures when possible.

The advisory is based on updated analysis issued at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, with forecasters noting high confidence in continued fog development through at least Thursday morning.

During a Tuesday visit to a California High-Speed Rail facility, Gov. Gavin Newsom touted the train’s investment in the Central Valley and said the Trump administration gave the region “the middle finger” when it decided to pull $4 billion of the project’s federal money last year.

The governor described President Donald Trump as “temporary” and also took shots at the state of Texas, which he said has been incapable of making any progress on its own high-speed rail plans.

Newsom’s comments came during a speech at the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s railhead facility, a 150-acre yard in Kern County that will receive, store and send out materials for track construction on 119 miles between the Shafter area and the Fresno-Madera area.

The governor joined rail authority CEO Ian Choudri to announce the completion of the facility and suggested the project, historically plagued by delays and cost increases, has reached better days. The rail authority says the facility will be filled with workers and materials this year, as it is scheduled to begin laying the project’s first tracks in the Central Valley before the end of 2026.

“We’re there, we’re on the other side of the hardest part of this project,” he said.

The rail authority has a big to-do list this year as it tries to advance the project without help from the federal government, which has been hostile toward the California project with Trump in office. Besides beginning to lay tracks in the Central Valley, the agency is attempting to leverage its renewed financial backing from the state — $20 billion through 2045 — to secure private partners who can pay for construction up front and build faster.

The project has grown controversial since California voters in 2008 approved $9.95 billion in bonds for a train that would connect the state’s major metro areas at a total cost of about $45 billion. Today, after years of delays and cost increases, the focus is first on completing a 171-mile Merced-to-Bakersfield segment that the rail authority estimates could cost at least $36.75 billion and would be operational by 2033.

But Newsom said the project has now obtained environmental clearance on 463 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and that track construction on the first 119 miles in the Central Valley is fully-funded.

“This is the phase everybody’s been waiting for,” he said. “Can’t believe what you can’t see? Well, you’re about to see a lot.”

Newsom says Trump policies hurt Central Valley, Texas failing on high-speed rail

The governor blasted the Trump administration’s decision to pull $4 billion for California high-speed rail last year, but said only 17% of the money the project has ever spent has come from the federal government.

The rail authority has pivoted toward more reliance on the state, which last year committed long-term financial support for high-speed rail through its Cap-and-Invest program. The program generates public dollars from companies that buy credits at state auctions to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.

But Newsom said the Trump administration’s decision to pull money dedicated to the project by past presidents was a move that “pulled the rug out from under” residents of the Central Valley, who he said would have been “the biggest beneficiaries” of that money through new jobs. He also slammed the cuts to healthcare pushed through by the Trump administration, which experts have warned could have serious impacts in the San Joaquin Valley and other high-poverty regions in the coming years.

“He’s temporary,” Newsom said about the president. “A couple years go by in a flash. By the time he’s out, we’ll have substantially completed this rail line.”

He added that California could try to seek new federal dollars for high-speed rail when there is a new administration in the White House.

Newsom also took jabs at a Texas high-speed rail project, which he described as “abandoned” by that state. That plan, a Houston-to-Dallas train, was proposed as a private venture shortly after California’s project began. But the Texas plan has also sought federal dollars.

“They couldn’t get anything done there,” Newsom said. “Big, red state of Texas, supposed to show us how to do it. They couldn’t get a damn thing done.”

Dense fog could make driving dangerous in Fresno and other Central Valley cities, according to the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory on Tuesday, Feb. 3, of thick fog and extremely low visibility overnight.

The dense fog advisory, which goes into effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday, impacts Fresno, Merced, Los Banos, Hanford, Selma, Tulare, Visalia, Delano, Bakersfield and Taft.

Dangerous Dense Fog Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Consider other travel plans, alternate routes. Switch from AUTO to LOW BEAMS. Leave plenty of distance between vehicles. Probabilities for 1/8th mi visibility or less depicted for Wednesday morning. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/x1ZRcllya6

— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) February 3, 2026

Modesto and Stockton will also be under a dense fog advisory starting at 10 p.m. Tuesday, the weather service said.

Visibility could be down to a quarter mile or less in the thick fog, the weather service said in the advisory, dropping “down to zero” in a “worst case scenario.”

The weather service previously issued a dense fog advisory that expired at noon Tuesday, The Fresno Bee previously reported.

How long will fog last in Fresno?

In the Fresno area, the latest dense fog advisory was expected to expire at noon Thursday, Feb. 5.

“Low visibility will make driving conditions hazardous,” the weather service said. Roads expected to see “very high transportation risks” included Interstate 5, Highway 99, Highway 41 and Highway 180, according to the agency.

“Widespread dense fog” was expected after 11 a.m. Tuesday, when the low temperature will drop to 44 degrees or so, according to the National Weather Service’s latest seven-day forecast.

The fog was forecast to linger until about 11 a.m. Wednesday. After that, it will gradually lift to reveal sunny skies, the weather service said.

Dense fog will blanket the San Joaquin Valley each morning this week with visibility down to zero, according to the National Weather Service’s area forecast discussion.

When will dense fog end in Modesto and Stockton?

Modesto and Stockton were expected to see fog until 10 a.m. Wednesday, the weather service said.

Dangerous Dense Fog Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Consider other travel plans, alternate routes. Switch from AUTO to LOW BEAMS. Leave plenty of distance between vehicles. Probabilities for 1/8th mi visibility or less depicted for Wednesday morning. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/x1ZRcllya6

— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) February 3, 2026

Why is it so foggy in the Central Valley?

These low-lying clouds typically form in the valley during the colder months when winds are light and the soil is moist.

Tule fog becomes especially dense when moist marine air, calm winds and clear skies come together.

“The Central Valley is fertile ground for the formation of tule fog, a persistent radiation fog, in late autumn and winter,” NASA said.

“The perfect recipe for radiation fog ... is for there to be low-level moisture, clear skies and light winds,” said former National Weather Service forecaster Jan Null, a professor of meteorology at San Jose State University.

Null said the area’s early fall weather patterns caused a perfect storm for a particularly heavy fog year.

Driving in foggy conditions

Take extra caution when on the road or avoid driving if possible. If you must drive in foggy conditions, keep the following safety tips in mind, the National Weather Service said: