Strong winds, dry fuel spark concerns for wildfires in West Texas, New Mexico
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Red flag warnings were issued Monday due to critical fire danger in West Texas, eastern New Mexico and the Oklahoma/Kansas/Colorado corner.
The combination of warm temperatures, gusty winds and low humidity could produce the potential for dangerous fire conditions across portions of the area.
With wind gusts reaching over 60 mph, alerts remain in effect from Colorado to Texas.
Relative humidity may only reach the low teens or even single-digits in these areas.
The public is urged to avoid the use of open flames or any activities that may generate sparks, according to the National Weather Service. In addition, people are asked to extinguish smoking material in vehicles since accidental ignitions have the potential to grow into dangerous wind-driven wildfires.
The warnings will remain in effect through Monday evening.
In this screen grab from a video released by the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station, a tortoise was sucessfully rescued after the owner’s home was destroyed by fire. Via San Dimas Sheriff’s Station/Instagram
(LOS ANGELES) — A beloved pet tortoise has been found safe in the wake of California wildfires.
The rescue occurred after the family’s Altadena home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, according to the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station.
In a video the station shared Saturday to Instagram, a deputy was seen bringing the 100-pound tortoise, Rocky, to safety.
Rocky was found in a hole in the family’s backyard, the sheriff’s office said.
The family can be heard cheering and celebrating as a deputy carried Rocky over to them.
“Yay! Rocky’s home!” a woman can be heard saying in the video.
ABC News has reached out to Rocky’s family for comment.
(NEW YORK) — New video obtained by ABC News shows UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer waiting for him moments before shooting him outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel.
The video shows others pass by, and then, when the masked gunman sees Thompson, he runs across the street and opens fire.
The video, which has not previously been seen publicly, appears to support the police narrative that the shooter targeted Thompson in the Wednesday morning attack because he loitered while others wandered by.
Police haven’t established a motive but said they haven’t uncovered evidence that would show the killing had anything to do with Thompson’s private life.
The unidentified suspect appeared to have planned his movements with precision, but law enforcement is “on the right track,” Mayor Eric Adams told New York ABC station WABC on Sunday.
“As I say, the net is closing and closing,” Adams said. “This was an extremely challenging investigation. A fully masked person. The amount of detective work it took to put the pieces together — we feel we’re getting closer and closer.”
NYPD detectives arrived this weekend in Georgia. Investigators have said the suspect took a bus to New York, arriving on Nov. 24 from Atlanta, although it was unclear if his travels began in that city. And the FBI is assisting the nationwide manhunt, according to law enforcement sources.
Back in New York on Sunday, members of the New York Police Department’s dive team were again searching underwater in the Central Park. They were seen in the water near the Bethesda Fountain.
The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range at 6:44 a.m. on Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson’s company was holding an investors conference. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as “brazen” and “targeted.”
Adams on Sunday declined to comment on specific evidence, saying only that “every piece is important.” And he spoke generally about the ongoing underwater search.
“Everywhere is important. Everyplace is important,” Adams said, adding a moment later, “It’s dark down there, you know.”
The suspect’s backpack — with Monopoly money inside — was found nearby in Central Park. Police have not yet recovered the distinctive gun used in the shooting.
On Wednesday morning, right after the shooting, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park to the Upper West Side. He then took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City, according to police.
NYPD officials released new images this weekend of the suspect in the back of a taxi, where he could be seen peering through the open slider in the partition between the seats. Another photo appeared to show the man walking by the window of a cab.
“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to tip him off that we’re on his trail, but we feel really good where we are,” Adams said on Sunday. “Finding the knapsack, getting the cab photos, looking at some of the evidence that we have available to us, we feel really good where we are.”
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.
(NEWARK, N.J.) — Six people who were traveling in a vehicle in Newark, New Jersey, were killed after the car crashed off an elevated roadway Friday night, the authorities said.
The incident took place around 10:47 p.m. at the intersection of Raymond Boulevard and Blanchard Street, where the vehicle was traveling on a southbound on-ramp, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s office.
“While on the ramp, the vehicle somehow went off the roadway, became airborne, and struck a support column for the Pulaski Skyway before landing on the ground. Upon landing, the vehicle caught fire,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The six people who were killed were not immediately identified.