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Texas border town fire department hemorrhaging $21,000 a day dealing with migrant-related calls

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Texas border town fire department hemorrhaging ,000 a day dealing with migrant-related calls

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An Eagle Pass Fire Department first responder arrives at either the Rio Grande or a Customs and Border Protection (CPB) holding facility nearly every hour to address a migrant-related emergency, costing an extra $21,000 a day, according to the Texas city’s fire chief.

“There’s not a day where we don’t go to the river’s edge to transport patients, and the city swallows the cost,” Fire Chief Manuel Mello told Fox News.

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The Eagle Pass Fire Department has been averaging about 45 EMS calls a day — about 30 of them migrant-related — since mid-September, Mello said. Before that, a busy day would be around 30 calls in total.

TEXAS BORDER TOWN REQUESTS REFRIGERATORS TO STORE MIGRANT BODIES AFTER DROWNINGS OVERWHELM MORTUARIES

Chief Manuel Mello points to a spot in the Rio Grande river where the Eagle Pass Fire Department often recovers the bodies of drowning victims. (Fox News Digital/ Jon Michael Raasch)

The department spends roughly $700 on each call, meaning migrant-related responses alone costs “approximately $21,000 in total” each day, according to Mello.

“We have all kinds of calls from minor cuts and bruises to hypothermia to heart attacks to broken bones to even childbirth,” he told Fox News. “So we’re transporting all kinds of patients, and they’re all migrants.” 

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“Sometimes the hospital gets overwhelmed, and we’re waiting 20 to 30 minutes with a patient inside the ambulance for a bed because we only have one hospital,” Mello continued.

EAGLE PASS FIRE CHIEF WARNS CITY’S MORTUARIES WERE OVERWHELMED WITH DROWNING VICTIMS:

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Migrant encounters at the southern border hit new records earlier this month. Over 10,000 migrants were being held in CBP facilities around Eagle Pass, Rep. Tony Gonzalez, who represents the area, said Dec. 20, noting that around 4,000 crossed into the city the day before.

“There’s no funding for this period,” Mello said. “So the city loses money right there.”

Dec. 18, 2023: Migrants flood into Eagle Pass, Texas, waiting to be processed at a CBP holding facility. CBP has recorded over 200,000 migrant encounters in December so far.  (Fox News)

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TEXAS BORDER TOWN BUSINESS OWNER SELLS FAMILY BBQ RESTAURANT AFTER MULTIPLE MIGRANT BREAKINS

The federal government has not reimbursed Eagle Pass for expenses involving the migrant surge, according to Gonzalez. The city has also lost over $500,000 responding to migrant-related incidents this year, Eagle Pass Assistant Fire Chief Rodulfo Cardona told KENS5, a San Antonio-based station. 

Local businesses, meanwhile, are also hemorrhaging cash, Mello told Fox News. December’s surge prompted CBP to close an international railroad crossing from Eagle Pass into Piedras Negras, Mexico “in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody,” according to an agency statement.

We usually have a lot of travelers coming in from Mexico to do their Christmas shopping,” the fire chief said. “With all of this going on … we’re not getting the shoppers that we used to.”

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The federal government has to put its foot down and say ‘no more migrants coming in,’” Mello told Fox News. “The government needs to step it up and stop this madness.”

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Los Angeles, Ca

Early morning Montebello fire leaves resident critically injured

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Early morning Montebello fire leaves resident critically injured

At least one person was critically injured in a house fire that erupted in Montebello early Thursday morning.

Crews responded to the blaze engulfing a detached unit in the 100 block of South 5th Street near West Whittier Boulevard around 5 a.m.

Flames quickly spread to a nearby electrical pole, blowing a fuse and knocking out power in the area. Sparks could be seen as a loud pop was heard in a Citizen.com video later obtained by KTLA.

A house fire in Montebello sparked a nearby electrical pole on May 14, 2026. (Citizen.com)

At least one person was believed to be in critical condition due to burn injuries, though officials have not released further details.

There was no immediate word on a possible cause of the fire.

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A neighbor told KTLA that three people lived inside the home, including a child.

This is a developing story.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Deputies reveal what led to violent L.A. County bus crash that injured 13 people

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Deputies reveal what led to violent L.A. County bus crash that injured 13 people

Authorities revealed new details Wednesday afternoon about the violent Santa Clarita crash involving a city transit bus, an overturned semi truck and two other vehicles that left 13 people injured.

According to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, the driver of a semi truck hauling a full load of gravel may have been traveling as fast as 70 mph when the vehicle approached a yellow light at the intersection of Golden Valley Road and Centre Pointe Parkway around 9:30 a.m.

Investigators said the driver then attempted to make a right turn to avoid running the red light before crashing into the bus and two passenger vehicles.

“[The driver] tried to make a right-hand turn to avoid running the red light and then crashed into the bus and the other two passenger vehicles,” Capt. Brandon Barclay of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station told KTLA.

Officials noted that the speed limit on Golden Valley Road is 50 mph.

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Sky5 aerial footage showed the heavily damaged Santa Clarita Transit bus pushed onto a curb while the semi truck overturned nearby, and another vehicle appeared pinned beneath the front right side of the bus.

“When you look at it, it looks like a scene from Universal CityWalk,” Barclay said.

Authorities said 13 people were injured in the crash.

One passenger seated in the back of the bus had to be freed using the Jaws of Life and remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, KTLA’s Angeli Kakade reported.

Seven additional people were transported to hospitals while five others declined medical treatment at the scene.

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“You have a bus that was hit by a semi truck, so it’s very impactful for this community,” Barclay added.

  • Santa Clarita city bus crash
  • Santa Clarita city bus crash
  • Santa Clarita city bus crash
  • Santa Clarita city bus crash
  • Santa Clarita city bus crash
  • Santa Clarita city bus crash

Former Santa Clarita transit bus driver Darryl Richardson said he was stunned when he saw the aftermath of the crash.

“I know how a person feels to see a big old truck coming right at you,” Richardson told KTLA. “Thank God if it had broadsided the driver, we’d be talking about a different conversation right now.”

The City of Santa Clarita said road closures around the crash scene were expected to continue for several hours as deputies investigated what led up to the collision.

All directions of Centre Pointe Parkway between Golden Valley Road and Ruether Avenue remained closed Wednesday afternoon. Eastbound Golden Valley Road was also shut down from Robert C. Lee Parkway to Centre Pointe Parkway.

Drivers were urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

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The crash remains under investigation.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Burglary reported in San Fernando Valley hours after officials announce arrests 

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Burglary reported in San Fernando Valley hours after officials announce arrests 

Just hours after officials announced arrests connected to a string of residential burglaries, another one was reported in the San Fernando Valley.  

According to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson, the incident took place just before 1:45 a.m. Wednesday in the 5000 block of Bluebell Avenue, which is located in the Valley Village neighborhood.  

The person who lives in the home was too shaken to appear on camera but told KTLA that three masked suspects broke in while she was inside and took off within minutes.

The LAPD spokesperson was unable to confirm that detail, or any other details, right away. It was unclear whether anything was taken from the home.

Police investigate a reported burglary in the 5000 block of Bluebell Avenue in the Valley Village neighborhood on May 12, 2026. (KTLA)

The alleged break-in came less than a day after L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other officials announced arrests in a string of burglaries mainly plaguing the San Fernando Valley. At a press conference Tuesday, Mayor Karen Bass said there has been a 30% reduction year-to-date in property crimes and burglaries.

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The LAPD says part of their strategy is to saturate areas, like the Valley, that have been targeted disproportionately, using visible officers and others “behind the scenes.”

“Burglaries in the city are down over 30%, reflecting the effectiveness of our proactive enforcement and prevention strategies,” LAPD Deputy Chief Gerald Woodyard said. “We are aware that the burglary crews are highly organized and sophisticated, and we are constantly adjusting our strategies to counteract their tactics.”

That said, the LAPD is down anywhere from 800 to 1,400 police officers. The mayor said she’s fighting to hire more and is using mental health professionals on calls which don’t require a police officer.

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