Texas
North Texas volunteers helping California wildfire victims sift through the ashes
California wildfires’ death toll raises to 24
Winds may pick up in Los Angeles again today, potentially stoking the wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and left two dozen dead. Here’s what we know:
DALLAS – Many in North Texas are working to mobilize to help people in California who have lost everything in the wildfires.
The fires have killed at least 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
North Texas Volunteers in California
Volunteers from North Texas are on the front lines working to help people sift through the ashes while others are working to help Los Angeles make room for hundreds of displaced dogs and cats.
Local perspective:
A group of volunteers known as Texans on Mission arrived in California early Sunday morning.
“Having volunteers wash those clothes while you get a warm meal is like getting a hug from people you don’t know,” said spokesperson Rand Jenkins.
Texans on Mission are assessing the best locations to set up.
“Our next step is ash out. That is the most emotionally draining,” Jenkins said. “You are sitting in the ashes of someone’s home and looking for things they want to find: memorabilia, photos, jewelry. You scoop a bucket of ashes and sift and hope those things were not completely turned to ash. Once you find it, they cry and tell you why it’s important.”
Helping Overcrowded Pet Shelters
The Humane Society of North Texas and Wings of Rescue are working to help Los Angeles clear its shelters of homeless pets to make room for the hundreds needing to be reunited with owners.
Cassie Davidson is the senior director of both organizations.
“I flew into Los Angeles on Friday night. And when we were flying over the mountains, it was so dark outside. It was dark in the airplane, and then it wasn’t,” she recalled. “The skies were just lit up. It was like an inferno. You could see the wildfires from the air, and my heart just sank.”
Davidson says they were able to fly out more than 160 pets over the weekend.
“Shelters like the Pasadena Humane Society are 500% over capacity right now,” she said. “They’ve got so many medical cases coming in that we have got to get these pets cleared out that have been waiting for adoption.”
What you can do:
Churches are calling on members to give financially.
“There are several churches we partner with in the LA area that have been partners with us for the past 10-20 years,” said Concord Church Pastor Bryan Carter. “We wanted to do a special offering up and above your regular offering to be a blessing.”
Davidson says many owners were separated from their pets when they were at work as the fires moved into their neighborhood. She says there is an emergency need for foster homes in North Texas to help.
“There is a plea to the community of North Texas,” she said. “If you could open your home. if you could donate, this is how you can make a difference.”
More than 150 homeless dogs and cats will be arriving from Los Angeles in North Texas Sunday afternoon.
If you are able to provide a foster home, contact the Humane Society of North Texas.
They also need Hills Science Diet food and pet beds. Those donations can be dropped off at any Humane Society of North Texas location.
The Red Cross is also taking donations for those affected by the California wildfires.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Texans on Mission, the Humane Society of North Texas, Wings of Rescue and previous FOX 4 reports.
Texas
‘This is devastation beyond anything I’ve ever seen': Texas firefighter reflects on first day battling California fires
LOS ANGELES – At least 24 people have died in the fires that are rapidly spreading across California.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has since directed the deployment of 135 Texas first responders to help fight the West Coast fires and respond to emergencies.
The crews of first responders from Texas are made up of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, The Texas A&M Forest Service, the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, and the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force.
The Alamo Strike Team, led by New Braunfels firefighter Jeremy VanAusdall, comprises 22 firefighters.
“We’re currently assigned to the Palisades fire in Malibu, California,” VanAusdall said.
The Alamo Strike Team has first responders from Bexar-Bulverde, Boerne, Canyon Lake, New Braunfels, Pharr, and Schertz.
“This is unprecedented weather for early January in California,” VanAusdall said. “To see weather patterns like this, to see this type of fire behavior this early in January. This is devastation beyond anything that I’ve ever seen.”
Three of the 22 members of the Alamo Strike Team are from New Braunfels.
“The pride for me is that our members aren’t just going to assist from an operations standpoint,” said the New Braunfels Fire Department Chief Ruy Lozano. “Many of them are leaders in those endeavors.”
One of those leaders is VanAusdall, who has been a firefighter for 25 years, and throughout those 25 years, he said nothing compares to what he is seeing in the Palisades right now.
“Humbled this morning to drive essentially from the West Side of the fire to the East Side of the fire all along the coastline and saw some pretty devastating sights,” VanAusdall said. “That’s something that I’ve never seen in my life for sure.”
While the devastation is unimaginable, the South Texas teams working on these fires are prepared.
“Last year alone, we did send out two different deployments,” said Chris Shadrock.
Shadrock works for the City of Boerne, which has one first responder fighting fires in California. The firefighter’s name is Santiago Anaya.
“Last year, we sent firefighters out to the Abilene-West Texas area, and then we also sent firefighters out to the Texas Panhandle Smokehouse Creek Fire, which ended up being the largest one in the state,” Shadrock said.
VanAusdall said they’re committed to 14 days of 24-hour and 24-hour off shifts. If South Texas services are needed beyond that timeframe, additional first responders are ready to serve.
“There is an anticipated wind event in the next in the next 24 hours,” VanAusdall said. “We’re essentially pre-positioning for initial attack on any fire that could happen, whether it’s from this fire or another one.”
He also said first responders are currently in the best possible scenario to attack these fires as wind speeds increase.
“There are over 5,000 firefighters assigned to this fire,” VanAusdall said. “There are crews strategically positioned around the entire perimeter of this fire today.”
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
Texas
Texas City father dies of heart attack after witnessing teenage son accidentally shoot brother
TEXAS CITY, Texas – A Texas City family is forced to bury two of its loved ones Monday morning after investigators say a teenager accidentally shot and killed his brother.
SEE ALSO: Friend tells deputies he accidentally shot two teenage brothers, killing one of them in north Harris County
Recommended Videos
Police are still gathering information, but said they were called to a home on 10th Avenue and 3rd Street a little after 1:15 a.m.
Texas City PD Chief Landis Cravens said it all started when an unidentified 15-year-old accidentally shot his 17-year-old brother, and the boy’s father witnessed the entire incident and tried to save him.
However, the chief said the father suffered a heart attack and died as a result.
SUGGESTED: NE Houston family loses 2 children after teen accidentally kills 11-year-old before turning gun on himself
As of this writing, no additional information has been shared, but an investigation remains underway.
Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
The Texas A&M Aggies continue to have a busy offseason after finishing the first regular season under head coach Mike Elko.
Texas A&M hosted 2026 five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell for a visit over the weekend and clearly impressed one of the best players in the recruiting class. Cantwell told On3’s Chad Simmons that he “likes the Aggies a lot.”
“The visit was good,” Cantwell told Simmons. “I enjoyed College Station and getting to see everything I needed to see. … They made me feel like a priority this weekend. … The development, culture, coaching staff and continued interest make the Aggies a contender. We will see how the official visits shake out, but I like the Aggies a lot.”
Cantwell, a product of Nixa (Missouri), is the No. 1 offensive tackle and the No. 3 overall player in the 2026 class, per 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. Name a program and he’s likely received an offer from them. He’s also taken unofficial visits with Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Oregon, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, TCU and Tennessee.
Both of his parents were Olympians, so it’s not too surprising that 247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks described Cantwell as having “a stellar athletic profile.”
“Tall, big-framed offensive tackle prospect with a stellar athletic profile and pedigree who’s an advanced mover at this stage of development,” Brooks wrote.
If the Aggies can beat out the rest of the country and land a commitment from Cantwell at some point in the future, he’d join a Texas A&M 2026 recruiting class that features four-star talents like receiver Aaron Gregory, quarterback Helaman Casuga, tight ends Xavier Tiller and Caleb Tafua, edge rusher Samu Moala, defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin and receiver Madden Williams along with three-stars like safety Markel Ford and cornerback Ryan Gilbert.
Join the Community:
You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @AllAggiesOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @TAMUAggiesSI
MORE TEXAS A&M AGGIES NEWS:
MORE: Former Texas A&M Aggies QB Makes Transfer Portal Decision
MORE: Texas A&M Aggies Set to Visit with No. 1 Five-Star OT
MORE: Texas A&M Aggies’ Mike Evans Ties NFL Record in Dramatic Fashion
MORE: Washington Huskies Transfer Commits to Texas A&M Aggies
MORE: WATCH: Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith Catches First NFL Touchdown
Pete Hegseth to Face Democratic Questioning in Confirmation Hearing
Why TikTok Users Are Downloading ‘Red Note,’ the Chinese App
A Stargazers’ Guide to Watching the Full Moon Pass Mars and the a New Come
Are GLP-1 Pills the Future of Ozempic? | Woman's World
Inside Carson Beck’s move from Georgia to Miami: NIL, injury timeline and optimism on offense
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
DOJ releases former Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on investigation into Trump election interference case
NATO to bolster Baltic military presence after power cables cut
This skateboarding economist suggests we need more skateparks and less capitalism
Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case
Weiss Report: Hunter’s drug use can’t explain away not paying taxes on money earned by 'last name'
-
Politics1 week agoWho Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health1 week agoOzempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25822586/STK169_ZUCKERBERG_MAGA_STKS491_CVIRGINIA_A.jpg "Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech")
Technology5 days agoMeta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech
-
Science3 days agoMetro will offer free rides in L.A. through Sunday due to fires
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25821992/videoframe_720397.png "Las Vegas police release ChatGPT logs from the suspect in the Cybertruck explosion")
Technology6 days agoLas Vegas police release ChatGPT logs from the suspect in the Cybertruck explosion
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ Review: Thai Oscar Entry Is a Disarmingly Sentimental Tear-Jerker
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoMovie Review: Millennials try to buy-in or opt-out of the “American Meltdown”
-
Health1 week agoMichael J. Fox honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom for Parkinson’s research efforts