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Pflugerville Fire Chief: July 4th one of busiest days for firefighters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — As the sun set over Travis County on July 4, 2022, Austin Fire Department's incidents webpage rapidly added new incidents across the city and county: grass fires, structure fires and more.Pflugerville Fire Chief Nick Perkins said that the night of July 4th is routinely one of the busiest nights for firefighters. What to know about fireworks use in Travis County this 4th of July "I think it's a combination of it being a holiday weekend — there's a lot of people out celebrating," Perkins said. "Obviously, there's a fire danger because people are lighting fireworks. So, we see a dramatic increase in our number of fires. Last year, we had almost almost 30 fires in a shift, and that's a lot. That's everything from a small grass fire in the yard, all the way to structure fires. All of which had some involvement with fireworks."Perkins said that in 2022 his department saw a 142% increase in call volume, which prompted extra staffing this year. Specifically,...

Spotty storms for parts of the long holiday weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We managed another triple digit day to begin the month. Our high on Saturday at Austin's Camp Mabry of 102º was our 16th triple digit day of the year.Isolated to widely scattered thunderstorms have developed and will continue to linger through the evening, mostly in the Hill Country. We can't rule out a spotty storm closer to I-35, but generally the wet weather will stay farther west. CENTRAL TEXAS RAINFALL TOTALS Late tonight rain chances drop off and low clouds thicken back up.Spotty showers and storms should return to parts of the area again on Sunday, but the best rain chances will stay west of I-35 again.Almost daily rain chances are in the forecast for the week ahead. The main threat for any isolated thunderstorms will generally begin in the Hill Country and majority of the storms should fizzle out by dark everyday if any occur. Our highest rain chances for the week ahead seem focused on Thursday (40%), but even then not everyone gets much-needed rain.Our be...

Bailey Ober fantastic in 1-0 victory as Twins take series in Baltimore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

BALTIMORE — Sometimes, one run is enough. It was for Twins pitcher Bailey Ober on Saturday, at least.After an offensive breakthrough a day earlier, Twins hitters were only able to push across one run Saturday, but with Ober at his best, that was all they needed. Ober threw seven scoreless innings, and got some support from Joey Gallo, who hit his second home run in as many days, to help lift the Twins to a 1-0 victory over the Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.The starter worked efficiently all day, only falling into one three-ball count. He was ahead for almost all of the game, working his way quickly through the Orioles lineup. The Orioles had just three baserunners on against him — he hit a batter in the fourth inning — and mounted no serious threats against Ober.Ober leaned heavily on his changeup, racking up five of his eight strikeouts on that pitch and throwing it as often on Saturday as he threw his four-seam fastball.Baltimore did not have a runner reach second base un...

St. Louis area under thunderstorm watch through 9 p.m.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Residents in the St. Louis metro area should be ready for another round of storms today, although the exact location of impact remains somewhat uncertain. The entire St. Louis region is under a thunderstorm watch through 9 p.m. Saturday. Some counties west of St. Louis (like Texas, Dent, Phelps, Pulaski, Shannon) had thunderstorm warnings issued as early as 2 p.m. The storm system has moved east in recent hours, bringing some warning to the Metro East. Under a thunderstorm watch, which can take effect for several hours, weather conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms to develop. A thunderstorm warning means the current storm conditions can turn worse. In that case, lightning, heavy rain and strong winds have been indicated in your area. Those under the area of a thunderstorm warning should seek shelter immediatelty. The National Weather Service reports that the highest threat of severe weather is expected to be along and south of I-70. St. Louis radar: See a...

I-170 closed in Olivette as crews respond to storm damage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

OLIVETTE, Mo. - Interstate 170 is closed in both directions near Olive Boulevard as crews respond to storm damage Saturday afternoon. Witnesses tell FOX 2 that there is a downed powerline near the area leading to major traffic backups. Drivers planning to head on I-170 should consider alternate routes. The highway has been closed since at least 4:30 p.m. and it could be shut down several hours. Stay updated with FOX 2's traffic map. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here A round of thunderstorms and gusty winds is moving to the east of the St. Louis metro through Saturday evening, though a thunderstorm watch remains in effect through 9 p.m. This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.

Looters target Arnold fireworks stand hit hard by severe storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

ARNOLD, Mo. - After several rounds of severe storms this weekend damage is isolated around the St. Louis region.In Arnold, a firework tent located in the Walmart parking lot on Michigan Avenue not only got destroyed by weather Saturday, but it was also targeted by looters. There are zip ties, cardboard and other firework debris all over the ground. Severe storms may impact the St. Louis area Saturday Brandon Jackson works for W&W Roofing and is a sponsor of the tent. Jackson tells FOX 2 he witnessed people taking advantage of the storm damage and decided to take everything they could. They’re working to figure out what to do next, like possibly filing a police report.  "It's sad,” Jackson said. “All these fireworks stands are usually all small business, locally-owned. It's unfortunate that somebody would just come by and take what they can and run away, you know? It's unfortunate. Unfortunate people are like that." Close Thanks f...

Triple-digit temperatures usher in Fourth of July for Inland Empire, desert communities as SoCal heats up 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

The Inland Empire and desert communities are expected to see triple-digit temperatures and lots of sunshine in time for Independence Day celebrations while the rest of Southern California also heats up. An excessive heat warning is in place for the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys for Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.“Interior valleys and mountains will see the hottest temperatures in this summer’s first heatwave,” NWS said. Saturday and Sunday are set to be the hottest, as the hot air mass that recently settled over SoCal is not forecast to move completely out of the region until Wednesday or Thursday. Skies are expected to remain clear from Saturday through the beginning of the week, and the weather for July 4 is forecast to be sunny after the morning clouds burn off. Coastal fireworks may likely be limited by clouds in the evening, NWS said.  Click here to view the most up to date weather forecast for your area The rise in temperat...

2023 NBA free agency tracker: Warriors have hole at backup guard with Ty Jerome’s departure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

When the Warriors were eliminated from the Western Conference semifinals by the Los Angeles Lakers, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson all vowed that it wouldn’t be the end of their Warriors dynasty.Green signed a four-year, $100 million deal with a player option in the fourth year to lock in one big piece and their biggest priority within minutes of free agency opening up on Friday afternoon.Green’s name has been linked to several Western Conference teams in the lead up to free agency, but it seemed inevitable he would return to Golden State for his 12th season, especially after the Warriors pulled off a blockbuster trade in the hours leading up to the 2023 NBA draft last week.In Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s first move as general manager, Golden State agreed to send Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins to the Washington Wizards for future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul.The trade further signaled the Warriors’ commitment to win now.The ...

DeSclafani surrenders 3 home runs as SF Giants fall to Mets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

NEW YORK — It took three pitches to spoil a homecoming of sorts for Anthony DeSclafani and send the Giants to a loss Saturday in their second game against the Mets.DeSclafani surrendered a trio of home runs in the span of four batters in the third inning Saturday, while the Giants’ bats were unable to crack Justin Verlander in a 4-1 loss. San Francisco hasn’t announced its pitching plans for Sunday, when it will attempt to avoid dropping consecutive series for the first time since the first weekend of June.The Giants broke through in the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate but wasn’t able to replicate the magic from the night before. The inning even transpired similarly, kickstarted by a throwing error from first baseman Pete Alonso, but Brandon Crawford struck out to end the threat on a slider from Verlander, his 102nd and final pitch of the game.The Giants, who were held to two runs on five hits for the first seven innings of Friday night’s win, ...

Sweltering temperatures scorch Bay Area, gradual cool down expected through Fourth of July weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

Man, it was a hot one.The Bay Area’s first summer heat wave arrived just in time for backyard barbeques and fireworks shows this Fourth of July weekend as temperatures soared into the upper-90s and triple digits across much of the region Saturday before an expected cool down ahead of the holiday.The scorching temperatures were forecast to dip a bit Sunday and cool the rest of the long weekend, with highs by Monday and Tuesday expected in the 80s and low-90s in inland parts of the South Bay and East Bay, in the 70s around the San Francisco Bay and the mid-60s along the coast.“We’ll continue to see a gradual cool down so that most of our temperatures will get closer to seasonable levels,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Brooke Bingaman.By Saturday afternoon, temperatures had hit 106 in Livermore, 100 in Santa Rosa, 93 in San Jose, 77 in Oakland and 69 in downtown San Francisco, according to the weather service. The readings were expected to keep tic...