East Columbia home destroyed in fire, bridge detour raises questions about impacts to emergency response

KMIZ on July 5, 2026

Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Comments about a detouring slowing response to the fire have been edited out. The fire department said Monday that the St. Charles Road detour didn’t affect the fire response.

A home in east Columbia was considered a total loss after an early Sunday morning fire on Tara Lane, just down the road from the recently demolished St. Charles Road Bridge.

The Tara Lane homeowner told ABC 17 News he purchased the house last summer as a renovation project. He did not want to be identified but shared a few details Sunday as he was cleaning through the remains of the home. He said he was grateful he was at his primary residence when the fire broke out.

Three neighbors, Elijah Tucker, Peyton Mautin and Daxton Hansen are being praised after spotting smoke coming from the home and calling 911.

“The kids were really the heroes at the moment, because at 4 a.m. everybody around here was in bed or asleep,” said Walt Domanski with the United States Exercise Tiger Foundation. “They took the first call in and woke people up.”

The men said they were in the area on a walk, talking to one another, when they noticed smoke.

“You couldn’t really see anything when you were getting close. It was just all orange and light.” Hansen said.

Tucker added the smell from the smoke was potent even from a distance.

According to the Columbia Fire Department, crews were dispatched at 4:30 a.m. Sunday for a reported structure fire. Officials said the home is located on an unimproved road in a remote section of property near Columbia’s Hominy Creek Trail, making it difficult to immediately identify the exact location of the fire.

After receiving additional information from 911 callers, more fire companies were dispatched at 4:40 a.m. The department said the first firefighter reached the home on foot within eight minutes after locating the property.

The neighbors who first called 911 said it felt much longer.

“It took almost about an hour. For the response time, it was kind of sad,” Tucker said.

The home is about four miles from Columbia Fire Station 5.

Domanski said firefighters acted quickly once they arrived, preventing the fire from spreading beyond the home.

Domanski said Tucker, Mautin and Hansen will receive the organization’s Civilian Commendation Medals for their actions in reporting the fire.

Click here to follow the original article.

Paso Robles Fire tend to structure fire

KEYT on July 5, 2026

Caleb Nguyen

PASO ROBLES, Calif. (KEYT) – The Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services put out a house fire at the 600 block of Brookhill Drive just before 3:00 p.m. Saturday.

Initial fire crews found smoke and fire inside the home’s garage as the fire spread to the living room of the home, according to the PRFES.

Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading to a nearby home and prevented smoke and water damage upon arrival, according to the PRFES.

The homeowners and their dog safely evacuated after a neighbor let them know of the fire at the time, according to the PRFES.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the PRFES.

Click here to follow the original article.

Crews battle 15-acre grass fire in SLO County

KEYT on July 5, 2026

Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – CAL FIRE SLO crews alongside the SLO City Fire Department worked to fight a 15-acre grass fire near O’Conner Way in SLO County.

The fire first broke out just before noon and CAL FIRE SLO crews asked drivers to avoid the area for emergency personnel to reach it safely.

Forward progress of the fire stopped at 15 acres just before 1:30 p.m. and more information on the response will be provided once available to Your News Channel.

Click here to follow the original article.

Boonville Library to close as it moves to new building

KMIZ on July 5, 2026

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville library is set to close for about a month on Monday as it relocates to a new building.

After 65 years, the Cooper County branch of Boonslick Regional Library, located at 618 Main St. in Boonville, is moving. A news release says its new home is on the Historic Kemper Campus in Boonville.

A three-story red brick building built in 1906 will house the library and provide more than double the space of the current building. It recently underwent a $1,146,000 renovation, according to the release. The upgrades were made possible by private donations.

The library is closing to allow time for books and furniture to be moved and organized. It will reopen in about a month. In the meantime, online programs and services will remain available.

No fines will be given during the relocation, and items previously checked out will not be due back until the branch reopens.

The release says the MU Raptor Rehabilitation Program scheduled for 3 p.m. on July 15 and the storytelling event at 2 p.m. on July 31 will both be held in the State Fair Community College conference room—the building next to the library’s new home on Third Street.

The Boonslick Regional Library branches in Cole Camp, Sedalia and Warsaw will remain open.

Click here to follow the original article.

75-year-old woman dead following crash in Indio

KESQ on July 5, 2026

Isaiah Mora

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — A 75-year-old woman is dead after she was hit by a vehicle on the Fourth of July in Indio.

Around 10:58 p.m. on Saturday, the Indio Police Department responded to a report of a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian at the intersection of Golf Center Parkway and Avenue 44.

Upon arrival, officers located the pedestrian suffering from major injuries.

Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and provided lifesaving measures before taking the woman to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.

The identity of the decedent is being withheld pending notification of next of kin by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.

The preliminary investigation found that a white Audi sedan was traveling northbound on Golf Center Parkway when it struck the woman, who had just stepped off the center median into the roadway.

The driver, a 50-year-old man, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. Golf Center Parkway remained closed for about three hours while investigators collected evidence.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Columbia home likely total loss after Sunday morning fire

KMIZ on July 5, 2026

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A house in east Columbia is likely a total loss after a Sunday morning fire, according to Columbia Fire Department spokesperson Skyler Clark.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw at least three CFD fire engines and one Boone County Fire Protection District fire engine around 5:30 a.m. on Tara Lane near the Hominy Creek Trail. Clark said no injuries were reported.

Columbia residents Elijah Tucker, Peyton Mautin and Daxton Hansen were in the area and called 911 after seeing smoke coming from the home.

“We see a giant cloud of black smoke, I immediately get on my phone like, ‘Call 911, call 911,'” Tucker said.

“Me and Peyton took it upon ourselves to run down here and check out the flames closer, and we ended up running up to the hill and checking if anybody was in the house,” Hansen said.

Courtesy: Daxton Hanson

The group said the home looked fully engulfed, and they stayed nearby to warn neighbors.

“I was concerned about the embers from the fire catching on to the trees and maybe taking down the power lines, and that as well as the embers carrying far distances and hitting maybe a trailer in that trailer park back there,” Hansen said.

According to Clark, getting to the scene of the fire also proved difficult. Fire hydrants were scarce in the area, and a bridge to the home was too narrow for initial fire crews.

CFD had to call the Boone County Fire Protection District for mutual aid. Once more units arrived, smaller brush fire trucks were used to get to the home.

“There was a bridge that won’t allow us to move large apparatus up here, so by the time we were able to make access, it immediately became a defensive attack,” Clark said.

“Not too long after the firemen got here, and then we proceeded to show them how to get up there so they can do their job,” Mautin said.

Because the home is expected to be a total loss, Clark said crews switched their focus to preventing the fire from spreading.

The Columbia Fire Marshall is working to inspect the building.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

UPDATE: Day 7 of Aspen Acres Fire may be best yet for firefighters

KRDO on July 5, 2026

Scott Harrison

PUEBLO & CUSTER COUNTIES, Colo. (KRDO) — KRDO 13 has a crew in southern Pueblo County to provide an update on the Aspen Acres wildfire, which has burned nearly 87,000 acres.

For the first time, authorities report some containment — 6% late Saturday night, and up to 13% as of 7 a.m. Sunday.

→ Most up to date coverage on the Aspen Acres wildfire, including links to the latest evacuation maps

Fire crews made the first containment on the east side of the burn zone, near Highway 78.

The checkpoint on Highway 165 has been moved east from Crow Cutoff and is now at the Interstate 25 interchange.

Businesses on both sides of the interchange were closed — including two gas stations — as is the rest area.

Many drivers through the area are vacationers unaware of the fire and disappointed at being unable to turn east onto Highway 165.

Members of the Colorado National Guard are now manning the checkpoints at road closures to release state troopers and Pueblo County deputies for other duties.

Smoke is thick in the fire zone as of 8 a.m. Sunday.

KRDO 13 spoke with a Rye resident who evacuated on Tuesday and said that his home still stands.

More than 800 personnel from across the country are fighting the fire in Pueblo and Custer counties, while southern Fremont County remains on pre-evacuation status and a segment of the north end of Huerfano County, near Colorado City, remains on mandatory evacuation.

KRDO will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Click here to follow the original article.

How the Maryland Zoo protects animals during extreme heat

CNN Newsource on July 5, 2026

By Ashley Paul

Click here for updates on this story

    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Maryland Zoo is home to more than 50 different species of animals from all over the world. While some of them are used to extreme heat, others are not so much.

Therefore, the zoo has all kinds of protocols in place to make sure that all 1,800 animals stay cool and healthy.

You wouldn’t have found a red panda in sight if you had visited The Maryland Zoo on Friday, despite having air-conditioned logs, shaded areas, and temperature-controlled water bowls.

“The first choice the animals have is the choice of whether to be outside or whether to be inside where it’s cool and air-conditioned. So right now, the red pandas are exercising that choice,” Mike Evitts, Director of Communications at the Maryland Zoo, said.

Evitts says especially for animals like red pandas, who are naturally found in cold weather, it’s important that they can stay cool all summer, especially when the temperatures reach over 100 degrees.

“Unlike people, most animals do not sweat. So, they can deal with hot temperatures in a couple of different ways. Obviously, they can drink water. They exchange hot air through panting and breathing like your dog at home might. They also just lie down. They don’t move much; they stay in the shade, and they conserve their core temperature to try and keep their body temperature low,” Evitts explained.

On the other hand, African Elephants are accustomed to the heat.

“They’ve lived in Maryland for many years, so we like to call them our Maryland elephants,” Sarah Balzer, a zookeeper, told WJZ’s Ashley Paul.

Tuffy, the 44-year-old African Elephant, was loving the water cannon on Friday, one of many ways he stays cool during the heat wave.

“The sand, the mud, they will put that all over their bodies, and that helps with bug repellent, all the nasty flies and everything, so that will help keep them from that. And it will act as a natural sunscreen too,” Balzer added.

Elephants have many blood vessels behind their ears, so when they flap them, they can lower their body temperature by up to 10 degrees.

They also have the option to hang out in the mud wallows or swim.

That’s what the otters had been doing all day.

“Obviously the otters have a really amazing pool of water and waterfalls and a lot of area to swim, but also if they want to dry out or want to use the restroom, they have lots of shore and sandy areas,” Evitts said.

Otters also have hollow logs to lay in that are ventilated if they need a break from swimming but want to stay cool.

During the winter months, the zoo has a separate set of protocols to ensure the animals can stay warm and healthy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suspected in hit-and-run

CNN Newsource on July 5, 2026

By Jose Fabian

Click here for updates on this story

    NAPA COUNTY, California (KPIX) — Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is suspected of crashing into a parked car and driving away from the scene Friday afternoon in Northern California, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said.

Pelosi allegedly struck a vehicle on the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville, around 2:30 p.m. local time, the sheriff’s office said. The vehicle, which was unoccupied, was legally parked on the side of the roadway and was left with major rear damage, according to the sheriff’s office. Yountville is located about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Deputies said they were told by a witness that the driver who hit the car briefly stopped, but then left the scene. The vehicle that left the scene was described as a brown-colored convertible, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office said deputies soon found the suspect vehicle partially blocking Yountville Cross Road and that a California Highway Patrol vehicle was parked behind it.

Deputies then learned that the driver was 86-year-old Paul Pelosi and noticed that the vehicle had significant damage on the front right side, the sheriff’s office said.

According to the sheriff’s office, Pelosi admitted to hitting something but told them he did not know what he hit so he had kept driving. He allegedly told deputies he continued to drive until his vehicle became disabled.

Deputies said an investigation ruled out alcohol being a factor in the crash and that Paul Pelosi was not arrested in accordance with misdemeanor arrest laws.

“A California DMV re-evaluation referral form will be submitted to DMV, which is common for elderly drivers,” the sheriff’s office said.

The case was forwarded to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office.

In a statement provided to CBS News, a spokesperson for the Pelosi family said: “Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle and assured them that he would take responsibility for the damage to their vehicle. Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”

In October 2022, Paul Pelosi was the victim of a violent break-in and politically-motivated attack in the couple’s San Francisco home.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Burn survivor hopes fireworks safety message lasts beyond the holiday

CNN Newsource on July 5, 2026

By Conor McGill

Click here for updates on this story

    SACRAMENTO, California (KOVR) — As another Independence Day comes to a close, safety advocates hope one message sticks with families long after the fireworks have faded.

For Rhea Vidhun, the dangers of fireworks are deeply personal.

She was 12 years old when a sparkler ignited her dress during her family’s Diwali celebration, leaving her with severe burns.

“In less than a minute, everything was just on fire,” Vidhun recalled. “I went on the floor. I stopped, dropped, and rolled.”

She spent months recovering in the hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries and physical therapy. While she has returned to the activities she loves, she says the scars serve as a constant reminder of that day.

“It definitely isn’t an easy injury, and you’re left with the scars of what happened for the rest of your life,” she said.

Her story comes as the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates about 13,000 people were treated for fireworks-related injuries last year, including roughly 1,300 involving sparklers.

Burn specialists say what happens in the first few minutes after an injury can have a lasting impact.

“The first thing is to get the person away from the firework and put the burn under cool running water,” said Dr. Tina Palmieri, chief of the Burn Division at UC Davis Health. “Keep it under cool running water for about 20 minutes. That can decrease the need for skin grafting by about 30 percent.”

Today, Vidhun volunteers in the same burn unit where she was once a patient and hopes to become a doctor, using her own experience to help others.

As the holiday wraps up, she hopes her story reminds families that a few simple precautions can prevent life-changing injuries.

“If you’re going to do it,” Vidhun said, “at least keep a bucket of water or something. Try to keep safe, keep watch of your kids, and don’t have too many going at the same time.”

Doctors say even after the holiday, anyone treating a burn should cool the injury with running water and seek medical attention if the burn is severe.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.