(LOS ANGELES) — As hundreds of firefighters battled a raging wildfire on Thursday in the steep mountains north of Los Angeles, cooler weather sweeping into Southern California aided their fight, fire officials said.
The so-called Bridge Fire, which is burning in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest, saw “minimal” growth on Thursday as winds died down and humidity increased, officials said in their most recent update, posted at about 4 p.m. Thursday.
But the fire’s containment was still at zero percent as of that update, fire officials said. The blaze by then had spread to about 51,580 acres that straddled Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
“Firefighters made great progress on the ground, aided by aircraft to attack the fire aggressively 24 hours per day,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
About 480 firefighting personnel were working to contain the fire, which was ignited Sunday and was the largest of several active blazes in Southern California.
The three largest blazes burning on Thursday covered a total of more than 110,000 acres and threatened tens of thousands of structures, according to fire officials.
The Line Fire in San Bernardino County was spread over about 37,207 acres with 21% containment, Cal Fire said. That fire had destroyed or damaged by early Friday at least four structures, with some 65,000 others threatened, officials said.
And the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties covered about 23,453 acres with about 5% containment, Cal Fire said.
Officials with San Bernardino County announced further evacuations for the Bridge Fire late on Thursday, broadening their order near The Baldy Village to including several additional neighborhoods from San Antonio Heights to Wrightwood and east to Cucamonga Peak.
The temperature in Los Angeles was expected to peak on Friday and Saturday at about 78 degrees Fahrenheit, before further cooling next week, according to the National Weather Service.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck, David Brennan and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Two now-retired chiefs from the New York City Fire Department were arrested early Monday morning following a yearlong corruption investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Retired Chief Brian Cordasco was arrested at home on Staten Island. Retired Chief Anthony Saccavino was arrested at home in Manhattan, the sources said.
Saccavino and Cordasco “repeatedly abused their positions of trust as high-ranking officials in the New York City Fire Department” by soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
The two men were chiefs with the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention, which regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings. For nearly two years, the indictment said, Saccavino and Cordasco misused this authority for their own financial gain.
The two allegedly accepted $190,000 in bribes in exchange for expediting inspections, according to the indictment.
The FBI had searched their homes and offices earlier this year. he FDNY placed the chiefs on modified duty at the time. The New York City Department of Investigation searched FDNY headquarters as well.
The alleged scheme appears to have been discovered as an offshoot of the investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign took illegal money from Turkey in exchange for expediting the inspection of the new Turkish consulate.
Cordasco publicly complained about a so-called “City Hall List” of building projects that should be prioritized by FDNY inspectors, according to the indictment.
(NEW YORK) — Robert Telles, the former Nevada politician convicted of murdering journalist Jeff German in September 2022, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 28 years.
The former Clark County public administrator was found guilty in August of fatally stabbing German to death after the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter reported on alleged corruption in his office, which ended his political career and his marriage. German’s story detailed an allegedly hostile work environment in Telles’ office — including bullying, retaliation and an “inappropriate relationship” between Telles and a staffer — all of which Telles denied.
Following his conviction in August, the jury sentenced Telles to 20 years in prison. On Wednesday, Judge Michelle Leavitt sentenced him to additional eight to 20 years for enhancements of murder of a person over 60 and use of a deadly weapon. Having already served two years behind bars, Telles will become eligible for parole in 26 years.
Days after German was found dead outside his Las Vegas home in September 2022, Telles was taken into custody. Police said DNA evidence found in Telles’ home tied him to the crime scene, and a straw hat and sneakers — which the suspect was seen wearing in surveillance footage — were found cut up in his home. His DNA was also found on German’s hands and fingernails, police said.
Ahead of the judge’s ruling on Wednesday, Telles addressed the court, extending his “deepest sympathies” to German’s family but continuing to maintain his innocence.
“I understand the desire to seek justice and have somebody accountable for this, but I did not kill Mr. German,” Telles said.
German’s brother, Jay German, also spoke Wednesday, remembering him as a beloved brother, uncle, and friend to many who miss him.
“He was our leader, and we’re never going to see him again,” he said.
Jay German pushed for enhanced sentencing for Telles, saying the family would worry for their safety if Telles were released.
“We have a lot of anxiety about the future safety of our family, and the children of our family, if Robert Telles were to be released after just 20 years incarceration,” he said.
In a press conference after the hearing, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Telles had shown no signs of remorse or acceptance of his guilt.
“We got what we wanted: a life sentence and max on the enhancement,” Wolfson said.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, German was the only journalist killed in the United States in 2022, with a total of at least 67 journalists killed around the world that year.
Previously, Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo called the case against Telles “unusual,” saying that “the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome.”
“It is troublesome because it is a journalist. And we expect journalism to be open and transparent and the watchdog for government,” Lombardo said. “And when people take it upon themselves to create harm associated with that profession, I think it’s very important we put all eyes on and address the case appropriately such as we did in this case.”
In a statement published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal following Telles’ conviction in August, the paper’s executive editor Glenn Cook praised the guilty verdict “as a measure of justice” for not just German, but “slain journalists all over the world.”
“Jeff was killed for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: His reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job,” Cook wrote. “Robert Telles could have joined the long line of publicly shamed Nevada politicians who’ve gone on with their lives, out of the spotlight or back in it. Instead, he carried out a premeditated revenge killing with terrifying savagery.”
“Let’s also remember that this community has lost much more than a trusted journalist,” Cook added. “Jeff was a good man who left behind a family who loved him and friends who cherished him. His murder remains an outrage. He is missed.”
