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Slain teens remembered as search continues for suspects in Pittsburgh Airbnb house shooting

April 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PITTSBURGH) — As the investigation to identify suspects entered its fourth day in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh Airbnb house that left two teenagers dead, police amended the number of gunshot survivors from eight to nine.

The Pittsburgh Police Department said in a statement that the new non-fatal gunshot victim was taken to a hospital in a private car and arrived at an emergency room on the morning of the shooting in stable condition.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said another five people suffered cuts and broken bones fleeing the gunfire, some by jumping from second-story windows.

No arrests have been announced in the shooting that occurred early Sunday morning during a party at an Airbnb rental in the East Allegheny neighborhood of North Pittsburgh that police said was attended by more than 200 people.

Schubert said Tuesday that about two hours before the shooting erupted, a police officer responded to a noise complaint at the Airbnb house, but left after issuing a verbal warning to keep the noise down.

“There was nothing unusual to indicate that something was wrong,” Schubert said. “We have some information that shows that a lot of these people didn’t come until after midnight.”

The shooting erupted around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, and investigators collected 90 shell casings from the scene, including 50 from inside the Airbnb home.

Schubert said the shooting broke out after an “altercation” inside the house, but has declined to elaborate.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two 17-year-olds killed in the shooting as Mathew Steffy-Ross and Jaiden Brown. Both teens were scheduled to graduate from high school in June, according to friends and loved ones.

“Matthew was a fun, loving kid that cared so much about everybody. Matthew would give you the shirt off your back,” Steffy-Ross’ great-aunt, Bonnie McLain, told ABC affiliate station WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh.

She described Steffy-Ross, a senior at Grace Non-Traditional Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, as having “the biggest smile in the world.”

“He cared about people and he loved people, and he acted upon it,” McLain said, adding that she last spoke to her nephew on Saturday morning and heard of his death from a neighbor on Sunday.

Pittsburgh community activist Lee Davis of the Greater Valley Coalition Against Violence told WTAE that he was a mentor to both Steffy-Ross and Brown.

“I have been to over 100 funerals in the 17 years I have been doing this work, and I thought I was all cried out, but when I seen what happened to Jaiden and Matt, the tears just came all over again,” Davis said. “It just hurt my heart.”

Davis said he knew Brown, a senior at Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh, since he was a child.

“His energy was great,” Davis said of Brown. “Everybody loved him, and he became very well-liked in the community. To see this happen to him was really heartbreaking … because he had a very bright future.”

Cathy Jo Welsh, a member of the youth anti-violence program Helping Out Our People in Pittsburgh, said Brown’s father died from an illness a few years ago and that Steffy-Brown’s mother died recently.

“(Steffy-Brown) was just getting his bearings from losing his own mother and just learning how to live with trauma and grief,” Welsh told WTAE.

Suspect in New York City subway shoving attack deemed unfit for trial

April 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The man accused of pushing a New York City woman to her death in front of an oncoming subway train in January was deemed unfit to stand trial at a court hearing Tuesday in accordance with findings from a psychiatric evaluation.

Simon Martial, 61, will now be sent to a psychiatric facility under the custody of the city’s Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Briggs’ office.

The DA’s office did not contest the determination, but told ABC News that the office will continue to review the case and pursue Martial’s conviction.

Michelle Alyssa Go had been standing on the southbound N/Q/W/R platform at Times Square station on Jan. 15, looking at her phone, when she was suddenly shoved, unprovoked, onto the tracks, police say. She was pronounced dead at the scene just weeks after celebrating her 40th birthday.

Martial, who is homeless, fled the station but turned himself in later that day, according to police. He was charged with second degree murder.

New York County Defender Services, which is representing Martial, declined to comment Wednesday when reached by ABC News.

Though police have not classified the tragic attack as a hate crime, Go’s death heightened anxiety around a rise in anti-Asian sentiments and violence, weighing heavily on many as they came together for vigils in Times Square and San Francisco’s Chinatown in honor and remembrance of the Fremont, California, native and several other Asian crime victims back in January.

Go was a consultant for Deloitte and a longtime volunteer and advocate for the homeless, according to ABC affiliate WABC-TV.

Her family released a statement describing her as a “beautiful, brilliant, kind, and intelligent woman who loved her family and friends, loved to travel the world and help others.”

Victoria’s Secret introduces genderless, size-inclusive tween brand Happy Nation

April 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

kokkai/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — After undergoing a major brand revamp, Victoria’s Secret has continued to roll out new, inclusive launches including it’s recent venture: Happy Nation.

The lingerie retailer announced the new brand on Tuesday and revealed that it is a fully digital brand for tweens ages 8-13.

This new release includes a large assortment of genderless, size-inclusive undergarments, swimwear, apparel and body care.

Happy Nation was inspired and developed by a mix of the company’s internal leaders, many of which are parents to tweens, as well as external experts who had an aim to ensure everything from its creative to photography and social media communications foster a safe, inclusive and supportive environment.

Throughout the lineup of items, shoppers will notice standard sizing ranging from S – XL to extended sizes that include SM+ – XL+.

“We heard from tweens and their parents that they felt like there isn’t an apparel or beauty brand that celebrates and lends a helping hand in their personal evolution,” said Claudine Rankin, GM at Happy Nation, in a statement. “As a mother, I feel a deep responsibility to be intentional about every decision behind this brand. The tween years can be a time of immense change and challenges yet excitement for both tweens and their parents, and we hope Happy Nation can provide the authenticity that younger generations crave, while offering comfy clothing and body care products that kids and their parents can feel good about.”

There are currently no plans to bring the kid-friendly brand to physical retail stores, but the brand does plan to engage with those interested on its social media platforms. There are also plans to activate in the metaverse — which is a first for any of Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s brands.

Connecticut state trooper charged with manslaughter for 2020 fatal shooting of teen

April 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BETHANY, Conn.) — A Connecticut State Police trooper was arrested on a felony manslaughter charge after a report by the state inspector general alleged his use of deadly force was not justified in the January 2020 shooting of a 19-year-old Black man.

Trooper Brian North, 31, surrendered Tuesday at the state police barracks in Bethany, Connecticut, after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with the fatal shooting of Mubarak Soulemane, state police said.

State Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr.’s investigation found that although Soulemane was allegedly armed with a steak knife, had stolen a Lyft rideshare vehicle and was apparently off his medication for schizophrenia, he was not a threat to North and other officers when he was shot multiple times, according to the report released Wednesday.

Soulemane was killed when North allegedly fired seven times at him through the closed driver’s side window of a stolen Lyft vehicle after troopers stopped him and pinned him in on Interstate 95 in West Haven following a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph, according to the report.

Delvin’s investigation found that Soulemane was sitting behind the wheel of the car surrounded by troopers and officers from other agencies and was trapped inside because North’s cruiser was blocking the driver’s side door.

An officer from the West Haven Police Department was bashing in the passenger-side window with a baton and another trooper was poised to deploy a stun gun on Soulemane when North opened fire as Soulemane reached into his pocket and pulled a knife, according to the report.

“Stated briefly, the investigation establishes that, at the time Trooper North fired his weapon, neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack at the hands of Soulemane,” Devlin concluded in his report. “Further, any belief that persons were in such danger was not reasonable. I therefore find that North’s use of deadly force was not justified under Connecticut law.”

North, a seven-year veteran of the Connecticut State Police, was booked on a charge of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm, Devlin said in a statement. North was released on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Milford on May 3.

‘A good day’

North was placed on administrative leave and his police powers have been suspended pending criminal proceedings, according to state police.

Mark Arons, the attorney for Soulemane’s family, said the arrest marked “a good day” for the family.

“This is the first step in the journey for justice for the wrongful killing of a 19-year-old Black youth in Connecticut…The family looks forward on this matter being tried and this state trooper being convicted,” Arons said in a statement.

The incident unfolded on Jan. 15, 2020, in Norwalk, Connecticut, after police received a complaint that Soulemane was armed with a knife and acting erratically at an AT&T store, according to Devlin’s report.

Police were called to the store, but Soulemane left in a Lyft vehicle as they arrived. The Lyft driver told police that Soulemane ordered him to “drive, drive, drive” when he got into the car, according to the report.

The driver alleged that Soulemane demanded his cellphone and slapped him on the side of the head when he refused, the report says. The driver told police he drove to a gas station and got out of the car, pulling a gun on Soulemane and flagging down a police officer, according to the report.

Soulemane allegedly jumped into the driver seat and fled, prompting the police chase.

Trooper claims he was protecting officers

North told investigators, according to the report, that he opened fire because he was concerned that the officers on the passenger-side of the car were in “imminent risk of serious physical injury or death.”

“As a result, I discharged my duty firearm to eliminate the threat,” North told investigators, according to the report.

North’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Connecticut State Police Union officials released a statement to ABC affiliate station WTNH-TV in New Haven, saying they are “disappointed” in the inspector general’s decision to prosecute North.

The union added that North “was forced to make a split-second decision during these dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances.”

The union asked the public to reserve judgment “until all facts are known in this case.”

“Trooper North was risking his own life while trying to fulfill his oath of office to protect the lives of others,” the union’s statement said. “Regardless of the Inspector General’s decision, we will respect the judicial process while we vigorously defend Trooper North and his actions. It is our obligation to protect Trooper North’s constitutional right to due process of law and a fair trial.”

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Putin cancels Mariupol plant attack, orders site blocked off

April 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. The Russian military has now launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

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

Apr 21, 5:13 am
Putin cancels Mariupol plant attack, orders site blocked off

Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled his military’s attack on a Mariupol steel plant, one of the last areas in the port city held by Ukrainian forces, ordering his troops to instead seal all exit routes from the sprawling plant.

“I consider the proposed assault on the industrial zone impractical,” Putin told Sergei Shoigu, his defense minister, during a meeting televised on Thursday by Russian state media, according to a translation of the Kremlin’s official transcript.

The Mariupol city council claimed Tuesday that there are at least 1,000 civilians, mostly women with children and the elderly, seeking shelter in the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works plant. It was unclear how many Ukrainian troops were defending the site.

Putin in the televised meeting ordered his troops to “block” the industrial zone. He repeated the claim that Moscow would let troops leave unharmed if they lay down their weapons and surrender.

“There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground on these industrial facilities,” Putin said. “Block this industrial area so that the fly does not fly.”

Apr 20, 4:37 pm
Delegations walk out on Russian official

During a G20 meeting of economic and finance ministers on Wednesday, delegations from several countries, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, walked out of the room while Russia’s delegate began his remarks, the White House confirmed.

Canada’s Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, tweeted a photo of several officials, including herself, Yellen, U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, outside of the meeting room, standing in solidarity with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

“It’s an indication of the fact that President Putin and Russia has become a pariah on the global stage,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

The Treasury also unveiled new sanctions Wednesday against dozens of Russian and Belarusian people and institutions, including a key commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company.

“This is part of our stepped-up effort to crack down on those attempting to evade our unprecedented sanctions,” Psaki said.

The State Department has also imposed visa restrictions on over 600 Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainian separatists backed by the Kremlin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Apr 20, 3:59 pm
UN chief seeks peace talks with Putin, Zelenskyy

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres wrote separate letters to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday asking to meet “to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine,” a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the president’s office, tweeted that Ukraine is ready to hold a special round of negotiations in Mariupol.

Apr 20, 3:25 pm
Thousands more Russians enter Donbas: US official

Four more Russian battalions, each made up of roughly 800 to 1,000 troops, have crossed into Ukraine over the last 24 hours, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday. Three of those battalions — or up to 3,000 troops — moved to the disputed Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the official said.

Four flights carrying military aid, including artillery, from the Biden administration’s most recent $800 million package arrived in Ukraine over the last 24 hours, the official said. More supplies are set to arrive over the next day, the official said.

When ABC News asked why the U.S. decided to send artillery, the official responded: “We’re mindful of the importance of artillery in the fight that they’re in right now and in the fighting in the days to come because of the terrain, and because of what we think they’re going to be up against with Russian forces.”

Another reason was “the fact that it wouldn’t require an onerous amount of training for the Ukrainians to know how to use them” and the ability to ship them quickly, according to the official.

Apr 20, 2:12 pm
Humanitarian corridor from Mariupol didn’t work as planned Wednesday

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Wednesday’s humanitarian corridor from Mariupol didn’t work as planned but evacuation efforts will continue Thursday morning.

“Due to the lack of control over their own military on the ground, the occupiers were unable to ensure a proper ceasefire,” Vereshchuk said in a statement.

There also wasn’t “timely transportation of people to the point where dozens of our buses and ambulances were waiting,” Vereshchuk said.

Chicago prosecutors expunge 15,000 cannabis convictions

April 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s top prosecutor announced Wednesday that her office completed its Cannabis Expungement Project with over 15,000 cannabis convictions removed from the record.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said that her office has complied with Illinois’ new cannabis rules that took effect two years ago after the substance was legalized.

Foxx said in a statement that the expunges have brought relief to thousands of people.

“Felony charges can affect every aspect of a person’s life, from jobs to housing, long after the debt to society has been paid,” she said in a statement.

Foxx filed her first 100 motions to vacate cannabis related offenses in December 2019 and has presented more motions since.

On Friday, she will present 214 additional cannabis expungement requests, bringing the total to 15,191, according to her office.

There are 588 remaining cannabis cases in the system that date back as far as 1965, however, the state attorney’s office said it will require additional time for research and data to expunge those records.

Wall Street eyes cybersecurity, with Goldman Sachs announcing $125 million investment

April 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Wall Street eyes cybersecurity, with Goldman Sachs announcing 5 million investment

(NEW YORK) — Growing concerns over cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the United States are prompting record investments from firms to protect critical industries.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said last month that intelligence officials were “concerned” about the possibility of Russian cyberattacks against critical U.S. infrastructure in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“The reason we’re concerned about it is not just based on our longstanding understanding of how the Russians operate, but it’s actually the product of specific investigative work and surveillance work that we’ve been doing all together,” Wray told an audience at the Detroit Economic Club in March.

Wray’s comments came a few weeks before Tuesday’s announcement that Goldman Sachs planned to expand its reach in supply chain cybersecurity, investing $125 million in a strategic partnership with a company that serves energy, government and aerospace and defense accounts.

Nikhil Gupta, a professor with New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, who is affiliated with the NYU Center for Cyber Security, told ABC News the investment was part of a growing trend.

Over the past year, several private investment firms have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in cybersecurity. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital spent $525 million to acquire mobile security vendor Zimperium last month; Turn/River Capital acquired security policy management firm Tufin for $570 million earlier this month; and software security giant McAfee sold its Enterprise business to Symphony Technology Group for $4 billion dollars in March 2021.

Gupta noted that “more than 70% of manufacturing is conducted by actually small and medium-sized companies, and these companies don’t have resources to invest in upgrading their computers or, or implementing cybersecurity solutions.”

He added, “A lot of times they are manufacturing companies and they just don’t have expertise to even understand the value of electronic files which are transmitted to them.”

Goldman Sachs billed its $125 million investment as part of a new strategic venture with Fortress Information Security, a company responsible for securing 40% of the U.S. power grid, as well as assets in critical manufacturing and the nation’s defense industries.

Fortress is seen by industry insiders as one of the nation’s leading cybersecurity providers for critical infrastructure organizations with digitized assets. The company says its platform is focused on allowing customers to manage their outside vendors, assets and software as a part of their supply chains. The firm also maintains a central repository of security information shared by utility companies across the country.

“The depth and breadth of the Fortress platform are unmatched and we believe there is a meaningful opportunity to accelerate,” Will Chen, a managing director for asset management at Goldman Sachs, said in a statement about the new venture.

Chen noted Goldman Sachs’ investment will allow Fortress to expand its platform into “product adjacencies, including software and hardware bill of materials, workflow orchestration, and additional analytics and reporting capabilities.”

Gupta, the NYU professor, said the hefty investment was a start and “this investment should not be just one time.”

“No amount of investment is enough, and you can look at the attacks that’s happening and the targets that you have to save like nuclear power plants, and the supply chain for other kinds of manufacturing goods, which goes into billions of dollars,” he said.

Fortress Chief Operating Officer Betsy Soehren Jones told ABC News that the company’s “biggest risk right now is with small and midsize companies in the United States because they don’t think about cyber the same way that they think about a CPA or hiring a law firm or HR or anything else.”

“This can’t not be part of what they spend money on, but they don’t and so they become the biggest targets because of the information that they have,” she added.

Retired Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told ABC News “the big issue is that we are vulnerable.”

“We know we’re going to be compromised. The question is, can we mitigate the impact of it and recover from it rapidly? That’s where investments are needed. That’s why investments like this one contribute to improve cybersecurity,” Montgomery said.

In recent years, the number of cyberattacks — specifically ransomware attacks — against the government and private companies have increased, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last year at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event.

One of the biggest vulnerabilities is linked to a commonly used piece of software called Log4j, a utility that runs in the background of many commonly used software applications, according to Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Log4j is widely used across the internet — from cell phones to e-commerce to internet-connected devices in homes and offices.

“This vulnerability, which is being widely exploited by a growing set of threat actors, presents an urgent challenge to network defenders given its broad use,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement in December.

Soehren Jones says the Goldman Sachs investment will allow them to address these types of vulnerabilities faster.

“The speed at which you answer these things is so critical. That’s what this is going to do…it’s going to be able to put us on warp speed when it comes to a response,” Soehren Jones said.

With the investment, Fortress said it plans to double in size in a year, growing to 400 employees.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.

Florida Department of Health pushes back on federal guidance on trans youth care

April 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ORLANDO) — The Florida Department of Health has released new guidance reaffirming its stance against gender-affirming care for transgender youth, following similar efforts by several other Republican-led states across the country.

The agency slammed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which recently stated its commitment to “supporting and protecting” transgender youth, their families and caretakers.

“The federal government’s medical establishment releasing guidance failing at the most basic level of academic rigor shows that this was never about health care,” said Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.

He claimed the HHS’ move to protect gender-affirming care was about “injecting political ideology into the health of our children.”

Sarah Lovenheim, the assistant secretary of public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, slammed the decision.

“HHS stands with transgender and gender non-conforming youth and their families — and the significant majority of expert medical association — in unequivocally stating that gender-affirming care for minors, when medically appropriate and necessary, improves their physical and mental health,” she said in a statement.

In March, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced actions the department was taking to protect the decisions of families with LGBTQ youth following a move from Texas leaders that declared gender-affirming care “child abuse.”

“At HHS, we listen to medical experts and doctors, and they agree with us, that access to affirming care for transgender youth is essential and can be life-saving,” Becerra said in a statement.

HHS issued guidance that gender-affirming care for minors, when medically appropriate and necessary, improves their physical and mental health.

“Attempts to restrict, challenge, or falsely characterize this potentially lifesaving care as abuse is dangerous,” the HHS stated in its guidance.

It continued, “Such attempts block parents from making critical health care decisions for their children, create a chilling effect on health care providers who are necessary to provide care for these youth, and ultimately negatively impact the health and well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming.”

The Florida DOH says social gender transition should not be an option for children or adolescents and people under 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

It also says gender reassignment surgery should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.

Instead, the department recommends social support and counseling for transgender students.

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

The state agency argued that the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments can cause a lapse in brain development or cause cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, infertility, increased cancer risk and thrombosis.

This argument has been debunked by several physicians who spoke to ABC News, who say these potential side effects only present real risks after puberty has already occurred and are not a risk to youth taking puberty blockers.

They also assert that adolescents are not being given physical gender reassignment surgeries.

LGBTQ advocates quickly denounced Florida’s move.

“Decades of evidence demonstrates that affirming transgender and nonbinary youth in their identities contributes to positive mental health outcomes and can reduce the risk for suicide,” said Sam Ames, the director of advocacy and government affairs at LGBTQ suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project.

“This is appalling. Governor DeSantis and the Florida Department of Health should be doing everything they can to support all kids, rather than playing politics with their lives,” LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD said in a statement. “All major medical associations support gender-affirming care for trans youth. Denying kids live-saving, medically necessary, gender-affirming care is downright dangerous.”

Eric Church takes “Heart on Fire” acoustic as he celebrates the one year anniversary of his ‘Heart & Soul’ album

April 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

It’s been a year since Eric Church dropped Heart & Soul, the massive, chart-topping triple album that produced hit singles like “Hell of a View.”

To celebrate, Eric just shared a new acoustic version of another single off the project, “Heart on Fire.” The original version of the song was the first track on the first disc of the three-disc album. It was also the first song Eric wrote for Heart & Soul.

Originally released as a high-octane rock song with a music video that tips its hat to big moments from Eric’s career to date, the new version of “Heart on Fire” is much simpler. Sitting alone on a stool in front of a microphone, Eric sings a stripped-down version of the song, accompanying himself only on acoustic guitar.

The acoustic version of the song premiered on Wednesday — exactly one year after the middle disc, &, dropped on April 20, 2021.

The one-year anniversary of Heart happened on April 16, and the one-year-anniversary of Soul will follow on April 23.

Eric is currently on tour, and he’s also planning a couple of stand-alone stadium dates this summer: One in Milwaukee over Memorial Day weekend, and another in June, featuring Morgan Wallen and Ernest as opening acts.

Nearly 800 homes, 1,000 animals evacuated from Tunnel Fire in Arizona

April 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.) — Dangerous fire conditions are creating the perfect fuel for wildfires to scorch through the arid landscapes of the Southwest.

The Tunnel Fire, which sparked Sunday about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, exploded to more than 16,000 acres by Wednesday morning, destroying at least 25 structures, according to Coconino County officials. More than 200 firefighters are battling the fast-moving inferno, which is currently 0% contained.

An additional 250 structures are threatened, which has prompted evacuations of nearly 800 homes and 1,000 animals in the area. While the Red Cross has opened a shelter at a local middle school, the Fort Tuthill County Stables has been opened for horses, goats, sheep, pigs and chickens that reside in the evacuation zone, according to the county.

A red flag warning has been canceled in Arizona due to relaxing winds but remains in five neighboring states from Nebraska to New Mexico.

Videos taken in the region show skies covered in orange flames and thick plumes of smoke as the blaze continues to gain traction and spread. Some flames are reaching up to 100 feet, according to officials.

A decades-long megadrought, combined with low humidity and high winds, has created tinderbox conditions in the area.

The Southwest is experiencing the driest conditions in at least 1,200 years, a study published in Nature Climate Change in February found.

Officials have declared a state of emergency in the area affected by the Tunnel Fire.

ABC News’ Max Golembo and Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.

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