SAN FRANCISCO — The Latest on a Calif. Senate hearing about the Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 :

State lawmakers are grappling with a growing public safety problem in Calif. cities where financially struggling artists are illegally converting warehouses into housing and entertainment venues.

State lawmakers formally considered the issue for the 1st time Wed at a Senate hearing in Sacramento, after a Dec. two fire at the so-called Ghost Ship warehouse killed 36 in Oakland.

Artists say high rents in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern Ca. drive them to lease warehouses in industrial areas that are not zoned for residential and entertainment uses.