logo
Aerial footage shows scene of devastation after huge explosion at fireworks warehouse

Aerial footage shows scene of devastation after huge explosion at fireworks warehouse

Independent02-07-2025
Smoke was seen billowing from a burning pyrotechnics warehouse in California following a huge explosion which caused several fireworks to be ignited.
Aerial footage taken on Tuesday (1 July) shows fireworks shooting from the building, sparking multiple blazes across the surrounding farmland.
Locals fled to safety as officials placed a one-mile evacuation order due to the 'immediate threat to life'.
'We strongly urge everyone to continue avoiding the area for the next several days so that fire crews, law enforcement, and emergency personnel can do their jobs safely and effectively,' The Yolo County Sheriff's Office said.
It confirmed that there were no immediate reports of injuries and that it would be launching an investigation into the cause of the blaze.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Man arrested after pack of dogs tore flesh from girl's ‘entire body' leaving her unrecognizable & needing 500 stitches
Man arrested after pack of dogs tore flesh from girl's ‘entire body' leaving her unrecognizable & needing 500 stitches

The Sun

time18 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Man arrested after pack of dogs tore flesh from girl's ‘entire body' leaving her unrecognizable & needing 500 stitches

A MAN has been arrested almost a month after a teenage girl was attacked by a pack of dogs, leaving her unrecognizable. Tracy Hurtado was left needing over 500 stitches after more than 10 "large breed dogs" savaged her whilst out for a jog in Newberry Springs, California. 6 6 6 The 17-year-old was running on a dirt road between 6:30 and 7 am on July 17 when she was nearly killed by the animals, cops said. A neighbor heard the girls screams, called 911 and rushed to help, quickly followed by Tracy's mother Maria. "I thought they ripped her arms off," the distraught mom told ABC News. "I didn't know who she was. She was so dirty, covered in dirt, so I couldn't recognize my daughter. "I recognized her bra, that's what I recognized." "I got close to her and she asked me, 'Mom, am I still pretty? and I said 'Yeah, you're beautiful," Maria added. Tracy was rushed for treatment at the Loma Linda Children's Hospital where she stayed for a number of days. Her stepfather Carlos Ramirez told the news outlet how she needed over 500 stitches for wounds all over her body. "What was going through my mind was the worst," he said. "It was not one dog or two dogs, it was a lot. I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles." Officials said she had suffered "large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh." On August 13, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced the arrest of Craig Arthur Simmons in connection with the attack. Officials confirmed the 61-year-old's arrest after having "conducted surveillance" on his home. Prior to the arrest, cops saw him riding his bike near the property and they interviewed him and took him into custody. He is charged with being the owner of an animal causing serious bodily injury or death. Officials had previously seized 16 dogs from the area before a criminal investigation was launched. The Sheriff's Department added that the canines belonging to Simmons were "not fenced or leashed at the time of the incident". A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with Tracy's recovery. At the time of writing it has raised over $33,000 of its $35,000 goal. "She was getting ready to do her senior year of high school this year," the page reads. "Now, because of this, she has to stay home and go to several doctor's appointments and rehab. "Due to the trauma, she cannot sleep at night; she's having nightmares." 6 6

Billionaire David Geffen, 82, slams his boytoy ex who lodged explosive sex-and-drugs lawsuit against him
Billionaire David Geffen, 82, slams his boytoy ex who lodged explosive sex-and-drugs lawsuit against him

Daily Mail​

time18 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Billionaire David Geffen, 82, slams his boytoy ex who lodged explosive sex-and-drugs lawsuit against him

David Geffen has doubled down on insisting his estranged boytoy husband's claims he's a sex and drug-crazed abuser are 'a work of fiction'. Donovan Michaels, 32, alleges his billionaire ex-beau Geffen, 82, forced him to take drugs, subjected him to abusive sex and controlled his every move. Among the salacious claims in his lawsuit were that Geffen forced him to have all his body hair lasered off and once flew into a rage at the sight of an ingrown hair. The pair met in 2016 on a dating website often used by rich people looking for much younger partners. Geffen, a movie and music producer worth about $9 billion, allegedly paid Michaels $10,000 for sex on the night they met, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court as part of their messy divorce. The pair began a relationship and married in 2023 without a prenup, according to the complaint that accuses Geffen of breach of contract. Geffen promised the Daily Mail the claims were false and he would defend them, insisting there was never any agreement he would look after Michaels. 'There was no contract - express, written, oral, or implied - that has ever existed. We will be vigorously and righteously defending against this false, pathetic lawsuit,' his lawyer Patty Glaser said hours after the lawsuit was filed. Geffen on Saturday made good on his promise with a written response to the court calling the claims 'ludicrous and contrived'. 'Plaintiff cannot embarrass Geffen and extort a settlement with petty gossip and salacious lies,' the document read. Geffen's lawyers denied Michaels' claim that the billionaire promised to give him a life of luxury until his death, along with shared ownership of assets. The response declared there were no agreements of this nature in Geffen's estate planning documents or financial records. He detailed how Michaels burned through massive amounts of cash during their relationship, using assistants to charge luxury purchases to Geffen's accounts. This included fine clothing, plastic surgery, extravagant gifts for friends, and as the marriage began to break down he spent big on OnlyFans and male escorts. 'Geffen loved Plaintiff and treated him with nothing but kindness, respect, and generosity throughout their relationship,' the filing claimed. The response cited the billionaire's friends and staff describing Michaels as 'living like a king' off Geffen's money during the marriage. All the while, it claimed, Michaels was hiding affairs and cocaine and ketamine addictions that persisted even after Geffen paid for rehab. Geffen's filing also rubbished claims he left Michaels destitute and homeless after cutting him off when he filed for divorce in May. He noted the younger man was living rent-free in one of his New York apartments and received a voluntary monthly allowance. Geffen's lawyers characterized the lawsuit as an attempt by Michaels to embarrass him into a settlement that he neither deserved nor needed, and asked for it to be dismissed. Michaels claimed in the lawsuit that he was targeted by Geffen because he was a vulnerable, marginalized young gay black man who spent the majority of his life bouncing around in the foster care system before turning to erotic dancing to make ends meet. The lawsuit claimed Geffen commanded Michaels to use drugs like cocaine and MDMA alongside the entertainment mogul's friends on his 450-foot superyacht, The Rising Sun. The suit also claimed Geffen enjoyed physically dominating his sexual partners and causing them pain, which triggered Michaels' childhood trauma. This allegedly caused him digestive issues, headaches and a desire to isolate himself. The complaint claimed Geffen told Michaels 'where to go, what to wear, what to read, what to watch, and what to say'. The lawsuit even accused the billionaire of making Michaels to undergo painful cosmetic treatments. Geffen is also claimed to have told Michaels he had to be constantly available to him, preventing him from being able to pursue a modeling career. Michaels' lawsuit claimed Geffen did this because after years of being 'a prop in Geffen's theater of virtue', Michaels finally approached his husband and asked to renegotiate the terms of their union. He 'wanted a new beginning wherein he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Geffen as an equal free from power dynamics that existed', the lawsuit claimed. Michaels claimed Geffen rejected this, cut him off financially, and immediately demanded a divorce. 'It was a sick game,' the complaint claimed. 'Michaels became a prop in Geffen's theater of virtue, paraded around as evidence of Geffen's supposed altruism, while privately used as a sexual commodity.' The complaint claimed while Geffen was at the Jeff Bezos–Lauren Sanchez wedding in Venice in late June, he ordered Michaels to 'immediately vacate' their New York property, leaving him without a home. 'At the very same time, Geffen was decadently and extravagantly partying and dancing the night away in Venice, Italy with the other .0001 percent of the wealthiest people on the planet,' it claimed. One of the divorce documents prepared by Geffen's lawyers claimed the pair separated in on February 22, 2025, months before the Bezos wedding. As well as Michael's claims about their final days together, the lawsuit includes astonishing allegations about what went on during their relationship. 'Geffen also found additional ways to satisfy his unquenchable thirst for control over Michaels,' the lawsuit claimed. 'With backhanded insults and put-downs about Michaels' past and lack of sophistication, Geffen cultivated Michaels' insecurity and self-doubt. He critiqued every aspect of Michaels' appearance and exercised strict control over his body hygiene.' The billionaire record executive is accused in the lawsuit of ordering his ex-lover to 'undergo extensive, painful' treatments to conform to his idea of 'perfection.' 'Geffen required Michaels to undergo extensive, painful laser and dental treatments. Even something as minor as an ingrown hair could provoke Geffen's ire and prompt a barrage of instructions to correct the imperfection,' according to the complaint. Michaels claimed he was 'awestruck by Geffen', a 'philanthropist' who 'talked the talk' when the younger man revealed issues 'during his underprivileged upbringing', during the ill-fated couple's first meeting nine years ago. He claimed he 'opened up to Geffen', confiding in him 'about the painful realities of his life – his traumatic upbringing in the Michigan foster care system, his lack of a real family, his instability, and his prior run-ins with the law'. 'He spoke candidly, not to gain sympathy from Geffen, but because he believed he had finally found someone who could understand and maybe even care,' it added. But Michaels claimed his future husband 'weaponized [his] vulnerability to fulfill his own personal fantasies', including the lucrative financial transaction he alleges was made on the first night they met. The former model turned go-go dancer claimed in his lawsuit that Geffen 'used Michaels' tragic story not as a reason to offer genuine support, but as a grooming tool – casting himself as savior, "white knight," mentor, and gatekeeper to a better life'. The younger man claimed he became a 'private sexual object and a public prop' that Geffen allegedly used to show off his 'self-proclaimed altruism to impress his powerful network'. 'From that moment forward, Geffen began transporting Michaels across the globe as his paid sex worker,' the complaint claimed.

Girl's devastating question to mom after being mauled by 10 dogs while jogging in quiet neighborhood
Girl's devastating question to mom after being mauled by 10 dogs while jogging in quiet neighborhood

Daily Mail​

time18 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Girl's devastating question to mom after being mauled by 10 dogs while jogging in quiet neighborhood

A girl asked her mom a devastating question after being mauled by more than 10 dogs while jogging in a quiet California neighborhood, leaving her nearly 'unrecognizable.' Tracy Azpeitia, 17, managed to speak to her mother through the pain of the attack, asking her: 'Mom, am I still pretty?' The teen girl was out jogging near her home in Newberry Springs on July 17 when she was surrounded and violently attacked by at least 10 dogs, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Nearly a month later, 61-year-old Craig Arthur Simmons was arrested on suspicion of being the owner of an animal causing serious injury or death, authorities announced. After conducting surveillance in the area, officers spotted Craig riding his bike down his driveway, where he was taken into custody in connection with the dog mauling. Following an interview at the police station, he was booked into the High Desert Detention Center without incident. Tracy's nightmare unfolded just after 8am, as she was jogging to a workout facility near the community center along the 30000 block of Newberry Road - a remote, desert area in Southern California. Moments later, she was suddenly attacked by '10 or more large-breed dogs,' prompting a nearby resident who heard her screams to call 911. 'The dogs bit the victim several times on her legs and arms. The bites caused large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh,' the sheriff's office said in a written statement. A total of 16 dogs were seized from the area by San Bernardino County Animal Control following the attack, with investigators noting the animals were neither leashed nor fenced. Carlos Ramirez, Tracy's stepfather, said the teen suffered hundreds of bites across her body, requiring more than 500 stitches to close lacerations and wounds from the attack. 'It was not one dog or two dogs, it was a lot,' Ramirez told ABC 7 News. 'I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.' A good Samaritan ultimately intervened, bringing the brutal attack to an end and preventing even more serious injuries. The attack left the teenage girl so severely injured that her own mother said she was unrecognizable when she arrived at the scene. 'I didn't know who she was,' Tracy's mother, Maria Azpeitia, told the outlet. 'She was so dirty, covered in dirt, so I couldn't recognize my daughter. I recognized her bra, that's what I recognized.' 'I thought they ripped her arms off,' she tearfully added. 'That's what it looked like.' 'I got close to her and [she asked me] 'Mom, am I still pretty?' and I said, 'Yeah, you're beautiful.' A GoFundMe page launched by Tracy's family to support her recovery and ongoing medical care has raised over $33,000 as of Sunday morning. 'She was getting ready to do her senior year of high school this year,' the description read. 'Now, because of this, she has to stay home and go to several doctor's appointments and rehab.' 'Due to the trauma, she cannot sleep at night; she's having nightmares,' it added. Local residents have since raised growing concerns about the ongoing presence of stray and unrestrained dogs in the area. 'We have been in situations where we're out walking, and all of a sudden dogs rush out from a fence, or out of nowhere, and start circling around us,' Kristine Watson, a Newberry Springs resident, told ABC7. The dogs are currently being housed at the Barstow Humane Society, about 17 miles from the attack site. Craig's bail was set at $30,000.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store