National

(NEW YORK) — More than a century ago, the globe was left devastated by a pandemic that has been described by experts as “the deadliest in human history.”

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed at least 50 million people worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, equivalent in proportion to 200 million in today’s global population. An estimated 675,000 of those deaths occurred in the United States.

Now, 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic, the virus has claimed more American lives than its counterpart a hundred years ago.

At this point, at least 675,446 Americans have been confirmed to have died since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, with thousands of Americans lives still being lost each day.

Surpassing the 1918 death toll is a dismal milestone, but experts suggest there are key differences between both pandemics that must be taken into account, given modern day access to better medical treatments and vaccinations.

“These are two different viruses, two different times in history, at two different times of medical history, with what you have available to combat or treat it,” Howard Markel, professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, told ABC News.

The influenza outbreak of 1918 began in the spring, with the novel H1N1 virus passing from birds to humans, and lasted for approximately two years. Approximately one-third of the world’s population at that time, or 500 million people, was ultimately estimated to have been infected, according to the CDC.

According to experts, it is important to recall, when comparing data from the two pandemics, that the numbers of deaths stemming from the 1918 pandemic are just estimates. In fact, according to Dr. Graham Mooney, assistant professor of the history of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, it is likely that these figures were significantly underestimated, because of non-registration, missing records, misdiagnosis or underreporting.

Likewise, experts believe that the current COVID-19 death count could already be greatly undercounted, due to inconsistent reporting by states and localities, and the exclusion of excess deaths.

In comparing the pandemics, Markel said, it is important to remember that we now have many more people living in the U.S. than in 1918, when the population stood at approximately 105 million, according to census data, compared to 328 million people in 2019.

The U.S. currently has a coronavirus case fatality rate of 1.6%, compared to the 2.5% fatality rate for influenza in 1918, noted Mooney. Normally, the flu’s fatality rate is less than 0.1%. And thus, the rate of death in the United States, due to COVID-19, remains significantly below the one attributed to the 1918 pandemic.

Ultimately, when compared on a per-capita basis, the pandemic of 1918 was far deadlier than this one, according to Christopher McKnight Nichols, associate professor of history at Oregon State University.

“The difference is that 1 in 500 Americans have died now, and about 1 in 152 died in 1918, although our number keeps going up,” Nichols told ABC News.

Vaccinations and traditional intervention methods key to protection

Although the two pandemics were at first comparable, the introduction of the coronavirus vaccine made the differences between the two “stark,” said Nichols.

“People were desperate for treatment measures in 1918. People were desperate for a vaccine,” Nichols said. “We have effective vaccines now, and so what strikes me in the comparison, if you think about this milestone, this tragedy of deaths, is that same number but we have a really effective treatment, the thing that they most wanted in 1918 and ’19, we’ve got. And for a lot of different reasons, we botched the response.”

Similar to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, no vaccines or treatments were available to protect people against the 1918 influenza. Thus, protection through non-pharmaceutical interventions was critical, Mooney said.

“The same kinds of measures — the so-called non-pharmaceutical interventions that were put on in 1918 — were the same that we saw last year: lockdowns, social distancing, hygiene masks, limits on gathering places,” Nichols said.

In fact, social distancing was also one of the great historical lessons learned from 1918, according to Markel, demonstrating that if done early, and for a long time, such measures can work.

Millions of different communities and demographics affected

One fundamental contrast between the two pandemics, according to Markel, is that different age groups were most significantly impacted. A disproportionate number of those who succumbed to the disease in 1918 were in the 18- to 45-year-old age group. Young children and the elderly were also significantly impacted.

However, in the coronavirus pandemic, the age group that has been the most affected is over the age of 65, who make up 78.7% of virus-related deaths.

Historical evidence suggests that racial and ethnic disparities, which have affected communities of color throughout the coronavirus pandemic, were also present during the 1918 pandemic.

Black Americans had higher case fatality rates from influenza in 1918-19 than whites, according to a 2019 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Similarly, Black Americans account for nearly 14% of COVID-19 related deaths, despite the fact that Black Americans only account for 12.5% of the population.

Becoming endemic

Domestically and globally, experts said, it will be crucial for vaccine uptake to increase, in order to blunt the impact of the coronavirus death toll.

“I’m a little pessimistic going into winter, given the fact that there’s such a large unvaccinated population that it is a lot like 1918,” Nichols said, adding that it will ultimately be “some combination of getting more of the population immune, with vaccines and with infections.”

Ultimately, although “it’s not the worst of all time, it’s pretty darn close,” Markel said of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s the worst of our lifetimes, and it’s changed our lives in so many ways.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(HAWAII) — It’s been more than a week since the disappearance of 6-year-old Isabella Kalua in Waimanalo, Hawaii. The search for Isabella continues, as Honolulu police and volunteers spread across the city to find the missing child.

Isabella was last seen asleep in her room at her Puha Street address on Sunday, Sept. 12 around 9 p.m., local time, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

Her adoptive family has not participated in search crews, but their attorney told KITV that they have spoken and are cooperating with police. Since they have received death threats regarding the child’s disappearance they have not gone out to search, the attorney said.

KITV reports that HPD has acquired several items that may be linked to Isabella, including a photo album and toys found in a garbage bag, but they have yet to confirm its connection to the case.

Police are also working with the FBI to investigate her disappearance.

“We have conducted numerous interviews; however, there are still individuals, to include acquaintances and family members, who have yet to come forward to be interviewed,” HPD said in a statement to KITV.

Honolulu Police say it won’t rule out foul play.

“I don’t want to think the worst-case scenario,” Alena Kaeo, Kalua’s biological aunt told ABC-affiliate KITV. “But it is always is a possibility. Again, I’m trying to keep my faith as strong as possible and I pray — I pray hard that she is safe. I don’t want to think the worst but it is a possibility.”

Isabella is described by authorities as being a brown-eyed, brown-haired, white, and mixed-race girl. Police said Isabella was likely wearing a black hoodie, black leggings, colorful socks, and Nike slides when she went missing.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Two people are being treated for gunshot wounds following a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia, according to police. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Students at the high school were evacuated and sent to the tennis courts, according to the Newport News Police Department.

Police said at 11:30 a.m., they responded to a shooting call at the school. “Four, maybe five” students were sent to area hospitals. Of those, two were being treated for gunshot wounds.

The two gunshot victims are 17 years old. One male was shot in the face and a female was shot in the lower leg, police said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Another student is being treated after falling during the chaotic scene, while another was transported for breathing issues related to asthma, police said.

No suspect is in custody, police said.

Police said they are going through footage and evidence recovered from the scene as they hunt for the suspect. Police officers said they don’t believe the suspect is a threat to other members of the community and it seems there was some type of altercation that led to the shooting, but they’re still investigating.

An official with the FBI Field Office in Norfolk, Virginia, tells ABC News they are aware and providing assistance to local authorities. The ATF said it is also assisting.

Police have not publicly released the name of the suspect or victims.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — One Arizona woman is on a mission to educate others about influential Latin women — by using her TikTok.

Fernanda Cortes, 23, immigrated to Phoenix with her family from Guadalajara, Mexico, when she was in elementary school. Growing up, to connect her to her culture, Cortes said her family made sure to teach her about influential Latinas.

“I think it wasn’t necessarily them trying to teach me history, but they’re just trying to teach me about these cultural icons that touched so many people in my culture,” Cortes said.

Like many 20-somethings, Cortes downloaded TikTok during the pandemic and began to get ideas for videos she could make. While millions of others were learning the latest dance crazes, she decided to make it a space where she could teach others about Latinas who changed the course of history.

“I just decided to start talking about these women that inspired me,” Cortes said. “I felt like they weren’t being recognized or acknowledged. … I wanted to put their names out there, their stories out there and hopefully connect with someone and have another young Latina find someone that they can see themselves in.”

Cortes began a series on her account called “Bad a— Latinas in History.” In every video Cortes highlights a different Latina and shares how she helped change the world. She began her series honoring Mexican film actress María Félix and has now highlighted nearly 100 influential Latina woman through her videos.

“I’ve talked about Rita Moreno, how she was the first Latina to win an Oscar, or Sylvia Mendez who and her and her mom helped end segregation in California, which set a precedent to end segregation in the entire country,” Cortes said. “I felt like their stories were so important. … So I wanted to put them out there and hopefully connect with someone who had never heard about them before.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A massive search is continuing in southern Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities say is “consistent with the description” of a body discovered on Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.

The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.

Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.

The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media.

Petito’s parents, who live in Long Island, New York, reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.

Sep 20, 10:33 am

Search of vast Florida swamp preserve ‘exhausted’: Police

The North Port, Florida, Police Department said on Monday that a search for Laundrie in the vast Carlton Reserve near North Port has been “exhausted.”

Josh Taylor, a spokesperson for the North Port Police Department, told ABC News that the two-day search of the nearly 25,000-acre swampland preserve turned up no sign of Laundrie.

Taylor said search dogs did not pick up the sent of Laundrie while searching the preserve, which authorities described as alligator infested.

“At this time, we currently believe we have exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there,” Taylor said in a statement. “Law enforcement agencies continue to search for Brian Laundrie.”

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 672,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 63.6% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Sep 19, 2:40 pm
The FDA booster decision shows the process worked: Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci defended the White House’s plan to provide COVID-19 vaccine booster shots before the Food and Drug Administration voted to only provide those shots to Americans 65 and older and immunocompromised.

Fauci told ABC This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz that he was not disappointed by the panel’s decision and he thinks the process worked.

“The goal of this particular decision was to prevent people from getting serious disease who are at risk, such as the elderly and those that have underlying conditions,” he said.

When pressed whether the president’s premature announcement would confuse Americans, Fauci said that people need to understand that such decisions depend on science and approvals by the appropriate health agencies.

“The plan was that we have to be ready to do this as soon as the decision is made and when you have a plan, you put a date on it and you say we want to be able to get ready to roll out on the week of September the 20th,” he said. “So giving that date, I don’t think was confusing.”

Sep 17, 11:22 pm
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s children test positive, he tests negative

Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four children have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesperson.

“Yesterday, two of the Governor’s children tested positive for COVID-19,” Erin Mellon, spokesperson in the governor’s office, said in a statement. “The Governor, the First Partner and their two other children have since tested negative. The family is following all COVID protocols.”

“The Newsoms continue to support masking for unvaccinated individuals indoors to stop the spread and advocate for vaccinations as the most effective way to end this pandemic,” she added.

The governor’s office did not specify which of his children tested positive but he has two sons, Hunter and Dutch, and two daughters, Montana and Brooklynn. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine. All of his children are under 12, though Montana turns 12 on Saturday.

The week has been an eventful one for the governor. On Tuesday, Newsom survived a recall attempt with 64% of voters choosing “no.” Removing him from office would’ve taken more than 50% voting in favor of the recall. Radio host Larry Elder was the leading candidate to replace Newsom had the effort succeeded.

Sep 17, 5:32 pm
White House to hold virtual COVID-19 summit next week  

The White House is planning to hold a virtual COVID-19 summit with world leaders next week, officials announced Friday.

President Joe Biden will convene the summit Wednesday amid the U.N. General Assembly, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

The meeting will focus on “expanding and enhancing our shared efforts to defeat COVID-19,” according to Psaki, including equitable vaccine access and making therapeutics and tests more available.

More information will be available in the coming days, she said.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CHICAGO) — At least six people have been killed and 37 wounded, including a 3-year-old boy, in shootings that erupted across Chicago over the weekend, according to police.

As of noon Sunday, Chicago police had responded to at least 35 separate shooting incidents across the city since 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to police incident reports reviewed by ABC News.

Like other major cities across the country grappling with a rising number of shootings this year, Chicago has deployed a series of strategies to tackle the problem, including a crackdown on illegal guns pouring into the city by targeting firearm straw buyers. Police have also stepped up enforcement in areas that have seen spikes in shootings.

So far, nothing seems to have curbed gun violence.

In one incident early Sunday, five people ranging in age from 18 to 47 were wounded when two gunmen drove up in a silver sedan, got out and opened fire on a group of people gathered on the street. The gunmen then got back in the car and fled, police said.

The mass shooting unfolded just after 3 a.m. in the Austin neighborhood of northwest Chicago, and all of the victims were in serious condition at hospitals, police said. No arrests were made in the incident.

Also on Sunday morning, a tow truck driver was shot and killed as he was providing roadside service to a customer in the Englewood neighborhood on the city’s South Side, police said. The 27-year-old tow truck driver, whose name was not released, was working when someone approached on foot and shot him multiple times.

The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. No arrests have been made in the homicide.

On Saturday, five other men were fatally shot over the span of about four hours Saturday.

Two men, ages 29 and 34, were fatally shot in one incident around 12:14 a.m. Saturday as they were walking on a street in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side of the city, police said. Police are searching for a red vehicle they believe the fatal shots came from.

Less than an hour later, a 31-year-old man was found shot and unresponsive on a street in the West Pullman neighborhood on the South Side, police said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said. No arrests have been made.

A 21-year-old man was fatally shot around 2:39 a.m. Saturday. Police said the victim, whose name was not released, was arguing with a woman on a street in the East Garfield Park section on the West Side when a gunman walked up and shot him multiple times, including once in the chest, police said. The victim was taken to Mt. Sinai Medical Center and pronounced dead.

A little over an hour later, a 33-year-old man died from gunshot wounds he suffered in the River North section of Chicago’s North Side when someone in a blue SUV drove by and opened fire, hitting the victim in the chest, police said. The man was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

At about 10:45 p.m. Saturday, someone fired shots into a home in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side, hitting a 3-year-old boy in the back, police said. The child was taken to Trinity Hospital and later transferred to Comer’s Children Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, according to police.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old girl was among two people shot and wounded as they were standing on a street in the West Englewood neighborhood on the South Side at about 11:18 p.m. Saturday, police said. A gunman, who police are working to identify, opened fire from a distance hitting the girl in the buttocks and a 20-year-old woman in the leg.

More than 250 minors have been shot in Chicago so far this year, according to ABC station WLS in Chicago.

The shooting of children over the weekend came just two weeks after eight children were shot, including a 4-year-old who was killed over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

A total of at least 2,490 people have been shot in Chicago this year, a 9% increase from the same period as last year, according to police department crime statistics. The city has recorded 558 homicides, most of them the result of shootings, this year — a 3% increase from 2020.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TETON COUNTY, Wyo.) — A body “consistent with the description of” Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, was discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.

The FBI Denver, the National Park Service and law enforcement made the announcement during a news conference Sunday evening in Grand Teton National Park. Charles Jones, the FBI’s supervisory senior resident agent, said that a full forensic identification hasn’t yet been completed, but investigators did notify Petito’s parents.

A cause of death was also undetermined. Jones declined to comment further on the investigation.

“We continue to seek information from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between the dates of August 27 and August 30. Anyone that may have had contact with Gabby, or her boyfriend or who may have seen their vehicle in that area, please share any new information with the FBI,” Jones said.

An attorney for the Petito family released a statement Sunday evening asking for privacy to grieve and also thanking the agencies that assisted in the search.

“Your tireless work and determination helped bring Gabby home to her parents,” the statement said. “The family and I will be forever grateful.”

North Port Police tweeted that it will be working with the FBI in its investigation.

“Our focus from the start, along with the FBI, and national partners, has been to bring her home,” the department tweeted.

The Teton County coroner confirmed to ABC News on Sunday afternoon that the agency dispatched resources to a body found in the national forest. No further details were disclosed.

The development came as a search for Brian Laundrie, Petito’s boyfriend, resumed in Florida.

Petito’s parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not speaking with her for two weeks.

Laundrie had been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. The 23-year-old Laundrie, who returned home more than two weeks ago without Petito and has refused to speak to police, has not been seen since Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.

The Laundrie family attorney said in a statement Sunday evening, “The news about Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The Laundrie family prays for Gabby and her family.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MIAMI) — When a condo building suddenly collapsed in the Miami Beach area earlier this summer, killing 98, it shocked the nation.

Rescuers worked for days at the Champlain Towers South in Surfside to try to find survivors in the rubble. But hope faded after all surviving victims were rescued and the mission shifted to recovery.

In the wake of the collapse, profound grief and questions about how a massive concrete structure could just fall to the ground lingered.

As federal investigators piece together evidence, a trail of documents indicated the 12-story, 136-unit oceanfront condo building had substantial concrete structural damage to its pool deck area and was overdue for repairs.

While federal authorities have not yet concluded the investigation to determine the cause of the fall, a number of experts and engineers believe prolonged structural damage, delayed repairs and environmental issues over four decades could have contributed to the building’s deterioration.

Here is what we know:

‘Independent spirit’

The Champlain Condominium Towers North and South were built in 1981 in Surfside, Fla. a neighborhood that sits just north of Miami.

“Surfside always had an independent spirit. The Surf Club was really the center of Surfside and it was built in 1930. The owners and the members of that club. wanted to have their own neighborhood and didn’t want to be part of Miami Beach,” Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League, told ABC News.

During the 70’s and 80’s, Miami city leaders were looking to transition into a higher-end market, according to the New York Times at the time.

But at that time, a quarter of South Beach Miami was made up of mostly retired residents, many of whom protested the idea of rebuilding the city as many feared displacement.

“In 1973, a building moratorium was imposed partially due to a decaying Miami and concerns about the sewage system,” Ciraldo said. To rectify this, the condominium developers fronted at least half of a $400,000 bill to fix the sewage issue and resume construction, according to a Miami Herald report from 1979.

The Champlain Towers were the first condominiums built once the moratorium was lifted.

Early signs of damage

Signs of structural damage to the Champlain Towers South’s pool deck and garage ceiling were reported as early as 1996. Western Water Co., a local contractor, noted in a report the pool deck of the Champlain condo building and the ceiling of the underground parking garage beneath needed “concrete structural repair.”

The work was later completed and certified to the city in November 1997, according to documents obtained by ABC News.

“The most common problems are weather intrusions. The way you combat that is with good quality solid weatherproofing and paint; and those repairs need to be identified when they happen and repaired in order to maintain the strength and integrity of the building,” Peter Dyga, the president and CEO of Associated Builders & Contractors, Florida East Coast Chapter (a national construction industry trade association), told ABC News.

40-year recertification underway

After a Miami-area building collapse in 1974, county lawmakers enacted a mandatory inspection for commercial and residential buildings 40 years after they’re constructed. The Champlain towers were in the process of recertification when part of the building came crashing down.

Morabito Consultants, a structural engineering firm, was hired by the condo association in 2018 to conduct the inspection and reported, among other things, concrete structural damage to concrete structural slabs on the pool deck due to failed waterproofing. They estimated repairs would cost more than $9 million, but those repairs were never completed.

Frank Morabito, a consultant and engineer from Morabito Consultants, declined to comment to ABC News.

‘Very good shape’

Despite the structural engineering report and the detailed construction plan from Morabito, Rosendo “Ross” Prieto, the former Surfside building inspector, told residents at Champlain Tower South at a board meeting in November 2018 that their building was “in very good shape,” according to records released by the city of Surfside.

“When things happen related to building construction, builders are generally the scapegoats and it may be the quality of the building,” Dyga told ABC News. “On the other end of the problem is with a building. One that is most common that we see is failing to maintain. One of the most important things about building maintenance is weatherproofing,” Dyga added.

In April, two months prior to the collapse, Champlain condo owners received an itemized bill from the board, a two-page letter obtained by ABC News shows.

The estimated repair costs was nearly $15 million, $6 million more than what Morabito assessed three years before. The owners were expected to begin making payments beginning July 1.

Following the collapse, Prieto, who was no longer Surfside’s building inspector, was placed on a “leave of absence,” according to a statement from the city of Doral, where he had been listed as interim building inspector but has since been removed.

He has not responded to ABC News’ repeated requests for comment.

‘The future’

In the wake of the collapse, Miami-Dade County inspected more than 500 buildings that were approaching the 40-year recertification deadline to identify any obvious structural concerns.

Buildings in Surfside that are more than 30 years and more than three stories high were notified to begin recertification. Surfside operates as its own city and has its own building department.

“The future is what is the capacity of a small town when we’re talking about really large development projects?,” Ciraldo said. “And the corollary of what is the ability of a volunteer condo association to be the permanent stewards of these properties,” he continued.

In late July, a Florida judge ordered the families who suffered losses from the collapse to be compensated $150 million — $50 million in insurance and nearly $100 million in proceeds upon the property sale.

At the conclusion of the federal agency National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation, which could take several years according to NIST experts, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has pledged to bring the matter to a grand jury, which will gather evidence and hear testimony and could recommend criminal charges or needed reforms.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Wildfires swirling around California’s giant sequoia trees are prompting more evacuations as they spread toward communities surrounding the forests.

Residents in Ponderosa and Quaking Aspen in Tulare County have been ordered to evacuate immediately now that the Windy Fire had fanned to more than 18,000 acres surrounding the Sequoia National Forest and was 0% contained on Sunday morning.

Other communities in Tulare County, such as Johnsondale and Camp Whitsett, had been ordered to evacuate several days earlier due to the Windy Fire, while the KNP Complex Fire, which is also threatening the historic sequoia forests, prompted evacuations in the Three Rivers community.

The KNP Complex Fire had grown to nearly 22,000 acres by Sunday morning and was also 0% contained.

Fire crews were seen earlier this week wrapping cabins and other structures in Sequoia National Forest in foil to protect them as the wildfires continue to spread. The historic trees are thousands of years old and grew to be hundreds of feet tall.

The sequoia trees are increasingly being threatened by drought, climate change and extreme fire.

Last year, the Castle Fire wiped out 10% of the world’s native sequoias, according to the National Park Service.

Firefighters faced high temperatures and dry conditions as they battled the blaze over the weekend, and the dangerous fire conditions are expected to continue in the region.

Parts of Sequoia National Forest and Sequoia National Park are closed to the public due to the fires.

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.