Pennsylvania
Facing drought, Pennsylvania bans campfires in state parks and forests
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has prohibited campfires on all state park and forest lands until further notice.
The ban, announced Monday, is due to persistent dry conditions that have put half the commonwealth’s counties under drought warnings, including Allegheny County.
Wednesday’s light rains do not affect the drought warning, which was issued Nov. 1 by the Department of Environmental Protection.
“DEP makes drought declarations based on long-term trends; a rainy week may not lift the drought status for an area,” DEP acting secretary Jessica Shirley said in a statement.
The DCNR is also encouraging Pennsylvanians to avoid burning on all lands during the dry conditions. The DEP has also asked residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce nonessential water use. (Suggestions include skipping car washes, running dishwashers and washing machines less often, and checking for and repairing household leaks.)
DCNR officials note that the campfire ban followed an unusually dry September and October, during a time of lots of sun and low humidity.
“Practicing fire prevention outdoors is absolutely critical during these dry conditions,” said state Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook.
The week ending Monday had seen 100 reported wildfires in the state, officials said. Human activity causes 99% of wildfires in the state, leading to the destruction of thousands of acres of woods each year.
Pennsylvania
1 killed in crash involving horse and buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania State Police say
One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash involving a horse and buggy in Lancaster County on Wednesday afternoon, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 4000 block of Strasburg Road in Salisbury Township, state police said.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police.
Strasburg Road, or Rt. 741, near Hoover Road, is closed in both directions, PennDOT says.
PSP said the Lancaster Patrol Unit, Troop J Forensic Services Unit and Troop J Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialists Unit are on scene investigating the crash.
Pennsylvania
Police hunt for masked suspects who looted a Pennsylvania Lululemon overnight
Pennsylvania police are searching for at least two masked suspects believed to have looted a Lululemon store overnight.
At least two masked men broke into a Lululemon in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police told NBC 10 Philadelphia. Ardmore, a suburb of Philadelphia, is home to about 14,000 people.
The suspected thieves used a sledgehammer to break the glass on the store’s front door, according to police.
Once they gained access, the masked individuals grabbed handfuls of merchandise, security footage shows. The men went in and out of the store several times, grabbing handfuls of items that included coats, vests and shirts from the men’s section, police told local outlet WPVI.
“This is taking it to another level,” Lower Merion Police Superintendent Andy Block told WPVI.
The suspects then loaded the merchandise into a U-Haul truck. Their truck was last seen at the intersection of Bryn Mawr Avenue and Woodbine Avenue, just a few miles from the store, police said.
The entire incident lasted about five minutes, which Block said is longer than usual for this type of burglary.
“Usually, it is because in a smash-and-grab situation they want to get in and get out before they’re identified or anybody’s notified on it,” Block told CBS Philadelphia.
Block told WPVI the store is a popular target for robbers, given that many of its items cost more than $100. Now, he expects the alleged thieves have sold or exchanged the items.
“They’re using it on the market, maybe they’re exchanging it for drugs, or they’re selling it on the black market. It’s a highly sought-after item,” he told WPVI.
Even though police say Lululemon is a popular target, Lt. Michael Keenan of the Lower Merion Police Department still called the incident “out of character.”
“This is an out of character, out of type incident where we don’t normally see people smashing windows in the middle of the night. But, certainly this is something that is distinct,” Keenan told NBC 10 Philadelphia.
The store still opened Tuesday, with a banner covering the smashed glass on the door, according to Fox 29. Gina Picciano, a general manager at a restaurant across the street, said it was a frightening incident.
“I walked out here with my bartender and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Picciano told Fox 29.
The same store was previously robbed in May 2024. Thieves stole more than $10,000 worth of merchandise during that incident, NBC 10 Philadelphia reports.
The Independent has contacted the Lower Merion Police Department and Lululemon for comment.
Pennsylvania
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