Placerville

She first tracks Kinkade from his impoverished Placerville, Calif., youth to his late-1970s days as a bohemian art student at UC Berkeley and Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design, followed by his work as a background artist for Ralph Bakshi’s 1983 animated fantasy “Fire and Ice.”

The only city the agency mapped that saw a decrease in hazard severity zoning was Placerville in El Dorado County.

Guides say the South Fork of the American River is a perfect introduction to river rafting, thanks to its evocative scenery, relatively mild Class III rapids and proximity to campgrounds and the pleasant town of Placerville.

Family-friendly river floats typically begin north of Placerville, below the Chili Bar Reservoir, near Coloma.

Part of a Times investigation into the shocking series of murders that stunned Placerville, Calif., in the Sierra Nevada foothills in the 1980s, this is a story of murder, controversial police tactics and justice delayed in a California community.