It’s Earth Day—and we’ve got a packed one. A pilot survived a wild Pacoima crash, a pre-dawn fire hit Canoga Park, and a deadly Woodland Hills crash shut down the 101 this morning. Plus, CSUN drops a timely Earth Day story on the California Holly 🌿

Also inside: Matador women’s tennis goes for its first-ever Big West title today, and Saturday’s Global Grill BBQ Fest at Northridge Park is shaping up to be a must. 🔥

Let’s get into it 👇

Monday morning a Cessna 172 left Whiteman Airport and was airborne less than 10 minutes before it snapped a high-voltage power pole, flipped upside down, and slammed into an O'Reilly Auto Parts parking lot off Van Nuys Boulevard. The 70-year-old pilot was trapped — until a group of strangers ran in and physically lifted the aircraft to pull him out. 🙌

📍 Why it matters locally: Whiteman Airport sits right in the Valley's backyard, and Pacoima neighbors have been pushing for years to shut it down after repeated small-plane crashes in residential areas.

NNN Take: The Good Samaritan save is the kind of thing that reminds you why we love this Valley. We're pulling hard for that pilot. 🤞

👉 Full story: NBC Los Angeles

Is your AI chatbot too wordy? It’s a Tuesday night and you need dinner inspiration, not an essay. 

heywa flips that. No long paragraphs to crawl through, just visual inspiration that matches how we actually explore. 

Try heywa. From finding new recipes through to identifying new habits which stick.

Try heywa for free

Around 2:30 AM Tuesday, LAFD rushed to a burning apartment building near West Bryant and Parthenia streets. Two men had to jump from a window to escape. More than 80 firefighters knocked the fire down in under 30 minutes — and now the department is investigating the blaze as a possible arson. 🚒

📍 Why it matters locally: Canoga Park sits just west of our coverage area, and suspected arson this close to home is worth keeping an eye on. If you saw or filmed anything overnight near Bryant/Parthenia, LAFD wants to hear from you.

NNN Take: Huge relief nobody was killed. Also — working smoke detectors, folks. Check yours today. 🔋

👉 Full story: NBC Los Angeles

If your commute north through the 101 corridor got wrecked today — now you know why. A fatal collision shut down the northbound 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills during the pre-dawn hours, killing one person and injuring another. CHP investigators worked the scene for hours before lanes reopened. 🚗💨

📍 Why it matters locally: The 101 is the western Valley's main artery. When it goes down, the surface streets in Woodland Hills, Tarzana, and Reseda back up fast — something to remember if you're heading that way today.

NNN Take: Another awful reason to leave a little extra space on the freeway. Drive safe out there, Valley. 🙏

👉 Full story: ABC7 Los Angeles

California Holly — a.k.a. toyon, those shiny-leaf shrubs with bright red berries you see all over our hillsides — is proving unusually chill about climate change, according to fresh research out of CSUN. Biology professor Jeremy Yoder's lab used a brand-new analysis technique nicknamed "TARDIS" to look at a century's worth of flowering data. The takeaway: toyon is tough. 💪

👉 Full story: CSUN Newsroom

This Friday, April 24, marks Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day — and CSUN's Armenian student community is leading the charge on campus to make sure the history isn't forgotten. With one of the largest Armenian populations outside of Armenia living right here in the Valley (think Glendale, Burbank, North Hollywood), this one lands close to home. 🇦🇲

Big day for Matador women's tennis. Plus the golf team wrapped up a strong Big West Championship, the softball bats went quiet at UCSB, and baseball couldn't quite knock off San Diego State. Here's the roundup. 👇

CSUN opens the Big West Tennis Championship at noon today vs. No. 7 seed UC Irvine at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. The Matadors finished 5-4 in conference and are chasing the program's first-ever Big West title. Nicole West was just named Big West Player of the Week heading in. Let's go Matadors! 🔥 → Preview

Kim Turgut finished THIRD individually at the Big West Championship, leading CSUN to a 4th-place team finish. Really nice way to cap the season. → Recap

A brutal 1-0 loss to the Gauchos closed out the UCSB series for CSUN softball. Pitching showed up; the bats didn't. → Recap

The Matadors couldn't complete the midweek comeback, falling 4-3 to the Aztecs. Big weekend series coming up. → Recap

Summer Mosley picked up Big West Field Player of the Week honors — the Matadors are stacking individual awards as we roll into championship season. → Release

🕔 5:00–10:00 PM • Chatsworth St, between White Oak & Zelzah, Granada Hills • 30+ food trucks, dog-friendly, weekly tradition. 🐶
🔗 Grubfest on Facebook

🕛 12:00–5:00 PM • Northridge Park, 10120 Reseda Blvd • A day of food, music, community & a BBQ contest judged by KCRW's Evan Kleiman and food critic Gustavo Arellano. Live music from Smiley Bones Jones and Jimetta Rose + cultural drum and dance from Hiza Yoo (Korean), Malaya (Filipino-American) & Raices Argentinas. Hosted by Councilmember John Lee. This is THE event of the week.
🔗 CD12 event page • Eventbrite

🌿 Sunday, April 26

🕘 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM • The Vineyards at Porter Ranch • Fresh produce, artisan foods, local vendors. A Valley Sunday staple.
🔗 The Vineyards Events

🎯 Tuesday, April 28

🕢 7:30 PM • Dave & Buster's, Northridge • Hosted by Leaderboard Games. Competitive format with rankings.
🔗 Dave & Buster's

• 📅 A local event coming up
• 🏪 A new or longtime local business
• 📣 Something happening others should know

If someone forwarded you this issue, you can subscribe free and get Northridge updates delivered straight to your inbox.