Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says flood response will be evaluated in special session
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Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Unhealthy smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets the Upper Midwest when people want to be outside
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Much of the Upper Midwest on Saturday was dealing with swaths of unhealthy air due to drifting smoke from Canadian wildfires, covering the northern region of the U.S. at a time when people want to be enjoying lakes, trails and the great outdoors. Most of Minnesota and parts of Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin were ranked 'unhealthy' for air quality on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency map. Part of North Dakota that is home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and other tourist attractions was ranked 'very unhealthy,' some of the worst air quality in the nation. In Minnesota, 'If you have a nice pork loin you can hang from a tree, it'll turn into ham,' quipped Al Chirpich, owner of the Hideaway Resort near Detroit Lakes, where people come to enjoy tree-lined Island Lake for fishing and other water activities. Normally there would be boats and jet skis all over, but on Saturday he couldn't see a boat on the lake, where the smoke impaired visibility and curtailed his camper business. None of his 18 RV sites was occupied. His seven rental cabins drew a handful of customers. 'I suspect when the weather clears, we'll be swamped again. Fourth of July, I had probably 20 boats here lined up at my docks, and today my boat is the only one,' Chirpich said. The conditions started Friday, dragging smoke from the Canadian wildfires down to the surface, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Jennifer Ritterling, in Grand Forks. Periods of bad air quality are expected to last through the weekend in the region, she said. Limiting time outdoors, keeping windows closed and running air purifiers are good ideas for people with lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and even healthy people, Ritterling said. 'Our summers up here are fairly short and so everyone wants to get out and enjoy them, and it's a little frustrating when there's this smoke in the air,' she said. All of Manitoba is under a state of emergency due to the wildfires, which have led to 12,600 people evacuating their homes in the province. The fires in Manitoba have burned over 3,861 square miles (10,000 square kilometers), the most land burned in 30 years of electronic recordkeeping, the news outlet reported. Under 1,000 people have evacuated their homes in Saskatchewan, where wildfires also continue to burn. In Arizona, the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park is still closed due to a 2.3 square-mile (6.1 square-kilometer) wildfire and another fire nearby on Bureau of Land Management land that has burned nearly 17 square miles (44 square kilometers). In Colorado, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park remains closed due to a 4.4 square mile (11.3 square kilometer) wildfire burning on the South Rim of the park, known for its dramatic, steep cliffs. Crews have been fighting the fire on multiple sides to stop it from spreading. The fires in and near both national parks led to evacuations of hundreds of people. Chirpich, the Minnesota resort owner, said he has plans to go to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Thursday and is 'a bit pensive about how that's going to be there.' 'I'm going to leave one smokehouse for another, I guess,' he said.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
As questions mount over Texas floods, a key decision-maker remains silent
KERRVILLE, Texas — Before the flash flooding in Texas' Hill Country materialized in the early hours of July 4, Kerr County's most senior elected official said he had no inkling of the pending disaster that would sweep away structures and set off harrowing rescues across the region. 'We didn't know this flood was coming,' County Judge Rob Kelly said at a news conference later that morning, in response to why summer camps along the rain-swollen Guadalupe River weren't evacuated earlier, before many were missing or feared dead. 'We do not have a warning system,' he added, referring to the sirens along the river in other counties, used to notify of imminent flooding. The following day, at a news conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials, Kelly said of the preparedness effort: 'It's just Hill Country, and we didn't know.' In Texas, the county judge serves many functions in addition to judicial duties, including serving as the head of emergency management and handling many administrative functions in the county. But with a death toll surpassing 100 people — 67 adults and 36 children in Kerr County alone — and at least 166 still unaccounted for as of Friday, county officials are facing questions about what actions were taken ahead of the flooding and who was in command and communicating with the National Weather Service, particularly once the agency issued its first flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. Efforts to reach Kelly this week, including by phone and at the emergency operations center, his office and his home, were unsuccessful. He hasn't spoken publicly since his appearances at news conferences in the immediate aftermath of the flood. In addition, William 'Dub' Thomas, Kerr County's emergency management coordinator, has not spoken publicly and did not return repeated requests for comment. He also could not be reached at the emergency operations center or his home. Thomas, who has been the county's top emergency coordinator since 2015, is responsible for its emergency management plan, the emergency notification system known as CodeRed, its search and rescue team and other disaster-related duties, according to the Rotary Club of Kerrville website. Previously, while working for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Thomas helped direct the state's response to several catastrophic events, including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Kelly, a Republican who first took office in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022, has worked as a commercial litigation attorney and, in his role as county judge, he oversees Kerr County's four-person commission and its budget. Kelly was a certified member of the Kerr County Community Emergency Response Team, according to a bio on the Rotary Club of Kerville website. 'I truly believe God has been preparing me for this position all my life,' Kelly said in The Kerrville Daily Times in 2017 about running for the county judge before the election. 'I didn't go looking for this job, it came looking for me.' Tom Pollard, the former county judge Kelly replaced, said that in any major event, such as a disaster that requires an evacuation, the emergency management coordinator is in charge but takes direction from the county judge. 'The buck stops with the county judge's office, but the management director handles it and just gets going,' Pollard said. 'And he'll talk to a county judge every now and then, and if there's a decision that needs to be made, he'll consult with the judge who makes a decision.' Pollard said neither he nor his wife received emergency notifications on their phone in the early morning of the flooding. Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring said Tuesday on MSNBC that he saw no emergency alerts and was awakened only by a call from City Manager Dalton Rice at 5:30 a.m. By daybreak, the Guadalupe River had risen 26 feet in 45 minutes, according to sensor data. Just after 4 a.m., the National Weather Service had upgraded its flash flood warning to an emergency for Kerr County, advising that it was a 'PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!' Facebook posts from Kerrville police were posted after 5 a.m. regarding 'life threatening' flooding, but it's unclear whether officials were communicating with residents in other ways before then. Whether emergency alerts around that time would have been received on all phones is unclear. Spotty cell service or none at all is not uncommon in parts of the county, northwest of San Antonio. Others may not have had their phones with them, like the young girls who were staying at Camp Mystic in the unincorporated community of Hunt, where officials say at least 27 campers and staff members died. Federal Emergency Management Agency records obtained by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth show that Kerr County officials didn't use its Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, or IPAWS, to send warnings with safety instructions to all cellphones in the affected area the day of the flooding. As the water began rising in Kerr County, the National Weather Service delivered an IPAWS flood warning to phones as early as 1:14 a.m., NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported. However, it's up to county or city officials in general to send more urgent instructions, including whether to evacuate. Some families said they received a CodeRed alert from Kerr County, which is similar to an IPAWS message and can be sent via the sheriff's office. But the program allows people to opt out, meaning not everyone receives it. Dispatch audio obtained by NBC affiliate KXAN in Austin includes an Ingram volunteer firefighter asking a county sheriff dispatcher at 4:22 a.m. if they can 'send a CodeRed out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?' The dispatcher responds: 'We have to get that approved with our supervisor.' It's unclear at what times CodeRed alerts were supposed to be sent. KXAN reported that one person near the flooded area said they received a voicemail at 1:14 a.m. from a number traced back to CodeRed, while another area resident received a CodeRed alert at 5:34 a.m. about the National Weather Service's 'flash flood warning,' suggesting inconsistencies among recipients countywide. The National Weather Service's San Antonio office did not immediately return a request for comment Friday about any communications it may have had with Kerr County. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference Wednesday that his priority remains search and rescue efforts, but noted there would be an 'after-action' review of what happened on July 4. 'We'll get them,' Leitha said. 'I can't tell you when — in a week or two, OK? We're going to get them.' Raymond Howard, a council member in Ingram, another city in Kerr County, said he has a host of questions for county officials to investigate once the rescue efforts are exhausted, from preventative measures they plan to take going forward to the timing of emergency alerts. 'I did not get a CodeRed,' Howard said, 'and I'm signed up for CodeRed.' What's needed for the future, he said, is better planning and communication. 'It's too late for the victims and everything that's happened already, but for future floods, we can do something,' Howard said. 'It will happen again.' Minyvonne Burke reported from Kerrville and Erik Ortiz from New York. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
3 dead after historic flooding in Ruidoso
Editor's Note: The Village of Ruidoso confirmed late Tuesday night that three people died in the flooding. This story has been updated with that information. This is a developing story; KRQE News 13 will provide updates as it becomes available. RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – Devastation has hit Ruidoso again. Tuesday night, three people died, dozens had to be rescued, and homes were destroyed after violent flash flooding. Late Tuesday night, the Village of Ruidoso confirmed that a four-year-old girl, seven-year-old boy, and a 40 to 50-year old man were swept downstream and killed. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared a state of emergency, requesting federal response teams for the area. She added the state has already sent support and some federal resources are already on their way. 'Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy,' said Mayor Lynn Crawford in a news release. 'The entire Village of Ruidoso extends our deepest sympathy and compassion to these grieving families during this unimaginably difficult time. We are united in our sorrow and our commitment to supporting one another as we face this devastating loss together.' Story continues below News: Ruidoso residents begin long road to recovery following historic flooding Entertainment: Paul McCartney to perform in Albuquerque for the first time News: Record-breaking flooding destroys homes, leaves 3 dead in Ruidoso Community: Proposed project would add bicycling-centric upgrades along Buena Vista in ABQ Historic flooding caused the Rio Ruidoso to rise to 20 feet, five feet higher than the previous record. Flooding caused an entire home to be swept away. 'We started the morning with a flash flood watch from the National Weather Service, so we knew there was something probably on the horizon,' said Village of Ruidoso Public Information Officer Kerry Gladden. Only hours later, that watch became an emergency. 'On the north end of town, we were starting to see some significant flooding,' said Gladden. Flash flooding tore through parts of Ruidoso Tuesday afternoon, impacting areas around Upper Canyon, Brady Canyon, and the Rio Ruidoso. 'I don't think it was a shock because we were prepared, but you know you certainly don't want to see it happen on this scale,' said Gladden. Last summer, the South Fork Fire devastated the village, and then burn scar flooding caused even more damage. Yet, many are saying what happened Tuesday is the worst they've seen so far, and village officials agree. 'We had one of our water gauges, which we call the Hollywood gauge, and it's down at the end of Ruidoso in between Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs, and it saw a historical high of twenty feet,' said Gladden. Up from 15 feet just last year, Gladden said, swift water rescue crews quickly got to work. 'There was one home that was swept away, I do not know, I don't have any confirmation if there was anyone inside,' said Gladden. Ruidoso Downs Race Track crews had begun restoring the track earlier this year, putting in culverts and a retention basin to help with flooding. Video from Tuesday shows flood water taking over the track, overpowering those flood mitigation efforts that worked just two weeks ago. Gladden said this is the village's new reality for the next few years. She hopes in light of the tragedy in Texas, everyone takes these warnings seriously. Ruidoso officials said that there were 50-60 rescues made Tuesday. Search and rescue operations were still underway Tuesday night. A few people were taken to the hospital. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
