Author: KVIA

Nina Gallegos

DONA ANA COUNTY, N.M. (KVIA) — Flooding across Dona Ana County brought up to three feet of floodwater to the Brazito neighborhood . For some residents, the pooling covered their only way out of their properties.

Just north of Vado, one Brazito resident told ABC-7 the flood didn’t just bring damage. It made her worried about her safety.

“If there’s an emergency, we only have one way in, one way out, and that’s the road we just came in on or what’s left of a road, the lake we came in on,” said Misty Skinner.

Skinner said she lived in Brazito for five years. While she’s seen flooding, she never dealt with as much as she did after this week’s rain.

ABC-7’s Nina Gallegos standing in three-foot-deep floodwater in the Brazito area.(Courtesy: KVIA)

“It has never been this way as far as we’ve lived here. We’ve lived here for five years now. And the last three rains is what really destroyed everything on our property,” she said.

A nearby dam nearly breached, and arroyos sent water directly into her backyard.

(Courtesy: KVIA)

Skinner said she loves her secluded property, but the cost of flooding is forcing her family to think about moving. With $35,000 of damaged equipment, she doesn’t know if her family will ever recover.

“We love this property and we love having nothing. I mean, the freedom to be able to just be us. And it feels like everything that we wanted is gone,” Skinner said.

Even after cleaning the damage from this week’s flooding, there’s a chance for more in the coming days.

ABC-7 reached out to Dona Ana County officials about what they’re doing to help residents like Skinner.

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Max Zepeda

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Less than a year after the North View Apartments opened, El Paso’s monsoon season brought more than a foot of floodwater to some first-floor residents.

The property’s general manager said the area’s landscape directed Tuesday and Wednesday’s rain into the apartment complex in Northeast El Paso.

“We do have our arroyo here that was made for ponding,” said Mike Baca, general manager of M7elp Property Management, told ABC-7. “Evidently the rain overtook that, and we’re dealing with the aftermath.”

According to Baca, only the first-floor residents in the building closest to the arroyo saw flood damage. He said four units have complained about the 1.5-foot-deep water.

He said tenants have to provide their own renters insurance.

“Whether or not they decide to not stay tonight would be up to them,” said Baca. “Renters insurance typically kicks in at that point, and hopefully it covers to where they’re allowed to stay a night or two in a hotel.”

Baca said trucks have been extracting water at the complex.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — After heavy rain and flooding, the El Paso Fire Department received 57 storm-related incident calls, the city said. Storms caused leaks at the El Paso airport.

Calls included stranded vehicles, home flooding, damaged roads, downed trees and utility lines, traffic light malfunctions and crashes.

The City of El Paso said the West Side experienced most of the incidents — 24 of the 57 reported calls.

At one location, floodwater stranded seven vehicles, the city said.

On the roads, crews worked to clear water, mud, rocks and trees. EPFD reported a sinkhole in Central El Paso.

Travelers at the El Paso International Airport saw parts of the building leaking. The city said the terminal is still open and operational. It encouraged travelers to go to the airport early and check with their airline for the latest flight information. Leaks have been cleaned and cleared.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced it’s removing conservators from the Socorro Independent School District. SISD said it finished exit criteria and corrective actions.

In March 2024, TEA and SISD agreed to appoint two conservators after an investigation revealed the district graduated students who didn’t meet requirements, failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest with a vendor and didn’t pay $283,000 in unauthorized stipends.

Michael Hinojosa and Andrew Kim acted as the district’s conservators.

In Wednesday’s announcement, TEA said the district “stabilized district leadership and rectified identified issues.”

The announcement noted the district chose a permanent superintendent, restored a balanced budget, resolved a $42 million deficit, implemented stronger academic compliance and transparency. For example, SISD “strengthened its graduation credit review processes. “

“TEA’s announcement marks the end of conservatorship in Socorro ISD and reflects the significant work completed over the past two years to strengthen governance, improve financial and operational systems, increase transparency, address academic compliance concerns, and support long-term student success,” SISD said in a news release.

Kim shared the following statement on the conservator removal:

“I appreciate our partnership and collaboration with Socorro ISD’s Board of Trustees and staff in addressing longstanding challenges and the district’s commitment to sustained compliance moving forward. Through newly established systems in budgeting, procurement and governance, Socorro ISD will be able to restore public confidence and better support its mission of serving students, families and its community.”

TEA broke down its findings after two years of conservatorship with SISD:

Restoration of a balanced budget and resolution of a $42 million deficit

Stronger budgeting, operational planning and accountability systems. Compensation plan processes corrected to ensure stipends receive proper authorization. Added enhanced controls and monitoring systems for budgeting, procurement, compensation and operational oversight. Established oversight systems to prevent unauthorized expenditures.

Implementation of stronger controls and monitoring systems to address academic compliance concern

Stronger graduation credit review process. Improved attendance monitoring, loss-of-credit procedures, transcript analysis and ADA reporting. Implemented graduation verification procedures and controls to make sure students meet state and local requirements. Established stronger attendance monitoring, transcript accuracy and academic achievement record compliance. Developed systems to address monitoring deficiencies found in previous audits and reaffirmed in the TEA investigation. Corrected deficiencies related to graduation certification, academic records and accountability reporting that led to the conservator appointment.

Improved transparency and community engagement practices that support public trust and accountability

Expanded community engagement with advisory committee, budget process, facility planning, surveys and public updates. Public meeting environments have stabilized and reflect improvement. Click here to follow the original article.

Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Wednesday, the City of El Paso broke ground on the Montwood Drive Extension Project. The $18.2 million investment will extend Montwood from Shreya Street to Rich Beem Boulevard.

The city said once the project is done, residents will see a dramatic improvement in access to homes, schools and businesses in the area. Plus, reduced travel times.

City Representative Ivan Niño said District 5 saw a 47% growth from 2010-2020.

“With that growth there was a lot of lacking infrastructure” Niño said.

On Sept. 1, city council awarded $30.8 million in construction contracts for the Montwood Drive and Resler Drive projects. Voters approved the 2022 Community Progress Bond, which will fund the two projects, the city said.

International Eagle Enterprises took the contract for the Montwood project. IT includes 1.4 miles of new roadway, landscaping, storm sewer systems, ADA-compliant facilities and street lights.

Construction for the project has an anticipated end date for spring 2028.

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Heriberto Perez Lara

UPDATE: EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Pasoans Fighting Hunger will close its on-site distribution on Friday due to storm damage.

The food bank says severe weather on Thursday caused major damage to its offices and warehouse.

“For an organization that takes pride in showing up for the community, this is a heartbreaking interruption,” the organization said in a statement. “Every distribution day, neighbors arrive counting on the food they will bring home. They are parents trying to stretch a paycheck, older adults living on fixed incomes, and families working hard to make ends meet. For them, a trip to the food bank is an essential part of getting through the week.”

EPFH is asking people to follow its social media channels for updates on when food distribution will resume.

ORIGINAL STORY

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Tuesday’s heavy rain damaged El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, according to a news release. Wednesday, the food bank asked for volunteers to help repair canopies and its main sign.

EPFH said the rain damaged two of its mercado canopies and forced food distribution to close at 2 p.m. Some neighbors went home empty-handed.

“What you see on the outside is one thing, but there are other conditions on the inside too; this is an older building and we also have some roof challenges. We have water coming in; there are a lot of things that we have to just kind of come out of hiding to fix,” said interim CEO Kris Yagel. “We don’t have a lot of extra money lying around.”

The building’s front entrance shut down as a precaution due to its sign needing to be removed.

EPFH said it needs to remove a damaged sign after heavy rain.(Courtesy: KVIA)

“Canopies, signage, and facility upkeep may not be the first things people associate with hunger relief, but they are part of maintaining a welcoming, functional place for neighbors to turn,” the food bank said in a statement.

A damaged canopy at EPFH’s warehouse.(Courtesy: KVIA)

“This is very hard to predict a year in advance when we do our yearly budget, so we don’t necessarily budget for weather instances like this.” “That means we have to find the money somewhere, so that will come out of our our operating budget that we use to get food and we use for transportation and to keep the lights on and things like that,” interim CEO Yagel said.

The food bank said it’s welcoming volunteers who can help with repairs and removing the sign.

“We’re here on the front lines, but we’re going to solve this as a community; maybe it’s time and maybe if you feel encouraged to join us at this time, maybe give us a donation, come out and volunteer, support us in any way you can, and together we’ll meet the needs of the community,” interim CEO Yagel added.

EPFH reported the damage at its location at 9541 Plaza Cir.

You can also donate to the food bank here.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Tuesday, the El Paso Police Department posted a warning about the “grey death” drug.

EPPD said the “drug cocktail” looks like fine grey powder, concrete mix or rock-like chunks. It’s a deadly combination that can include heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and U-47700.

A photo of the “grey death” drug posted by the El Paso Police Department.(Courtesy: @eppolice on Instagram)

Police said carfentanil is up to 10,000 times stronger than morphine — meaning tiny amounts can cause a deadly overdose. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, U-47700 is seven to eight times more potent than morphine.

The “grey death” mixing ratios vary, according to police. Users won’t know the true strength.

Police said not to touch the drug. Signs of overdose include shallow breathing, loss of consciousness, cold/clammy skin, pinpoint pupils and blue lips/fingertips.

Call 911 immediately for help. Naloxone, or Narcan, can also be used. Police said repeat doses may be necessary due to the strength of synthetic opioids.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)-The countdown has begun. Paso del Norte Community Foundation invites nonprofits from across the region to sign up for the 11th El Paso Giving Day, the biggest day of giving in our area. The last day to register is Wednesday, September 30, 2026. El Paso Giving Day began with the same spirit as Giving Tuesday and a clear local need: to give all nonprofits a fair chance to succeed and help ensure that money raised here stays in our community.

Sign up at: elpasogivingday.org

Registration deadline: September 30. Early Giving Week: October 8-14. El Paso Giving Day: October 17.

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Gabrielle Lopez

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — A Las Cruces woman received an eight-year federal prison sentence for trafficking fentanyl. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said 32-year-old Cassidy Shae Montoya also had a stolen gun and led deputies on a high-speed chase.

On July 30, 2025, Montoya drove away from Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office deputies after they tried to stop her near Vado. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said she drove toward Las Cruces at 90-110 miles per hour.

She eventually hit a curb near Telshor Boulevard and Terrace Drive. Officials said she ran away from the vehicle before deputies apprehended her.

Deputies found a loaded handgun on the driver’s side. It had been reported stolen in March 2025, officials said.

Deputies also found 356 fentanyl pills and $373 in cash.

Montoya said she meant to distribute the fentanyl and had the gun to protect herself, officials said. At the time, she had a felony conviction and knew she wasn’t allowed to have a gun.

There’s no parole in the federal system.

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Joseph Montero

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — U.S. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and more than 100 members of Congress are demanding medical care and not deportation for a man allegedly shot by ICE in Austin.

On Sept. 20, an ICE agent allegedly shot 28-year-old Garces Perez in the back.

They sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David Venturella.

They asked ICE to release Perez from detention so he can receive medical treatment. They also asked ICE to abandon efforts to deport or remove him from Texas.

Additionally, the members of Congress asked the ICE agent allegedly responsible for shooting Perez stay in Texas.

The letter also asked DHS to preserve all evidence related to the shooting, and share it for a transparent investigation.

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