West
California wildfire survivor shares story of narrowly saving his own house from Eaton Fire: 'A miracle'
A survivor of the devastating Eaton Fire that devastated the Altadena area of Los Angeles County recently spoke up about his experience fighting the inferno.
Justin Christie, a resident of Altadena, spoke with Fox News Digital on Saturday afternoon about his experience. As of Saturday evening, the Eaton Fire, which began on Tuesday, is only 15% contained.
Christie explained that his family has lived in the area since 1967, and had never seen anything as destructive as the Eaton Fire before.
“[I’ve seen] tons of fires on this hillside,” Christie recalled. “When I saw this, when I came out in the street and I saw the flames up on the hillside, something just told me this was different.”
NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER PRESIDENT-ELECT POINTS FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY
Justin Christie is pictured in front of a view of damaged structures and homes caused by the Eaton Wildfires in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Getty Images/Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“I really got frightened, and I started to think [about] what I needed to do to prepare for it.”
Christie said that he was especially alarmed after seeing one of his palm trees catch on fire, which had never happened before. He quickly got all of his family members into his car and drove them away from the scene.
“I’ve never, in all the fires, never had one of our trees catch on fire,” he said. “And that was the one that really said, okay…we’re in big trouble.”
Christie later drove by to check on the status of his house – when he realized no one was going to extinguish the fire on his palm tree, Christie decided to put matters into his own hands and fight the fire himself.
“I thought my house, many times, was going to go,” he recalled. “From 8 in the evening to 12 o’clock noon. This house here, that burned next to me, was the last one that was to put me in danger.”
“When that one finally calmed down…I had a little sense of relief.”
NEWSOM RESPONDS TO THOSE ANGRY OVER WILDFIRE RESPONSE BY POINTING FINGER AT LOCAL LEADERS, TRUMP
Congress members tour the wildfire disaster zone in Altadena on Saturday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
But Christie said that that sense of relief was short-lived before another neighbor of his suffered a fire in their garage. Though Christie’s house was unscathed from that fire, the resident described the whole situation as “just shocking.”
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s just enough to make you want to cry,” Christie said. “So many people just lost everything.”
“And I never, ever thought….we’ve been here for so long…I always thought we were just far enough out of the fire’s reach.”
When thinking back to the experience, Christie described the sounds and sights of the wildfires as “incredible.”
The auditorium at Elliott Junior High is barely recognizable after being ravaged by wildfire in Altadena, Calif., on Friday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“The breaking glass, the explosions from gas lines, people’s propane tanks, cars catching on fire,” he vividly described. “It just sounded like several freight trains coming at you.”
Overall, Christie said that his house’s survival from the Eaton Fire was nothing short of a miracle.
“It was some miracle that I got a hold of the fire…the wind died down at one opportune time,” he said. “And if it hadn’t….it would have caught this trellis I have next to me, it would have caught my house on fire and I would have been done. And there were several times when I wanted to leave, but I didn’t. I stayed.
“If I had left, the house would be gone. Totally gone.”
Read the full article from Here
West
Las Vegas first responders conduct seven-hour rescue of injured climber stranded 600 feet up rock face
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First responders in Nevada carried out a dramatic seven-hour rescue after a climber was seriously injured while stranded roughly 600 feet up a steep rock face near Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said search and rescue teams were notified around noon Saturday about an injured climber on the “Dream Safari” route along Dark Shadows Wall in Pine Creek.
Authorities said the climber had fallen an estimated 40 to 50 feet, suffering severe head and back injuries.
The victim’s climbing partner and a guide from another climbing party reached the injured climber and controlled the bleeding while awaiting rescue crews.
Rescuers secured the climber in a titanium litter and lowered the patient in stages down the rock face. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Four search and rescue officers and a lead climb volunteer were inserted by the department’s AIR3 helicopter several hundred feet above the victim at the top of the route.
Rescuers then rappelled down the rock face, provided medical treatment while suspended mid-face, and secured the patient in a titanium litter.
Crews constructed a lowering system and brought the climber several hundred feet down to the ground through three separate lowering stations, with a rescuer attending to the patient during the descent.
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Las Vegas police search and rescue teams spent seven hours lowering an injured climber 600 feet to safety. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Once at the base, additional volunteers carried the litter to an extraction point where the helicopter returned to airlift the victim to a Bureau of Land Management helipad.
The climber was then transferred to a ground ambulance and taken to a local hospital.
NORWEGIAN CLIMBER LOOKING TO BECOME FASTEST PERSON TO CLIMB WORLD’S 14 HIGHEST MOUNTAINS
The climber’s helmet was destroyed in the fall but likely saved the person’s life, officials said. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
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LVMPD wrote on Facebook that the entire operation lasted about seven hours from initial insertion to final extraction.
“Although the victim’s helmet was destroyed during the fall, it likely saved their life,” police said.
Read the full article from Here
San Francisco, CA
Floats for San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade get finishing touches
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — ABC7 Eyewitness News got a sneak peak as crews put the finishing touches on the floats you’ll see at Saturday’s San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade.
Since it’s the year of the fire horse, you’ll see a lot of horses and fire symbolism on the floats, housed at Pier 19.
“So Year of the Horse, it’s energy, it’s passion, it’s momentum so a lot of things that we’re really hoping to embody in the new year,” said Stephanie Mufson, owner of San Francisco-based The Parade Guys, which designs and constructs the floats.
She said they’ve been building them for about three months, with the designs starting in November.
MORE: Bay Area artist brings Year of the Horse statue to life for Golden State Warriors
“We’re in the home stretch,” she said. “We’ve got a couple of days left and we’ve got a nice little team that’s cranking out all the finishing work that needs to go into it.”
Derrick Shavers was sanding some wood that will be painted and become cherry blossom trees on a float.
“It’s exciting,” Shavers said. “I look forward to coming every year and just creating and making things shine and sparkle.”
Bon was painting mountains for a float, making sure everything is perfect in time for the parade.
MORE: Meet the 2026 San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade mascot, Maverick
“It’s one of the few parades that actually happens at night still,” Bon said. “So we got to make sure all the lighting is in check, and people are safe on the float. It’s all in the details, just for it to walk by you for 10 seconds.”
Ten seconds that bring so much joy to those watching the parade.
Here’s how you can watch the parade on ABC7 Eyewitness News on Saturday, March 7.
Coverage starts at 5 p.m. wherever you stream ABC7.
SF Chinese New Year Parade 2026: How to watch ABC7 Eyewitness News live coverage
If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Denver, CO
Grand Junction, Palisade reach Great Eight in Denver
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — The Class 5A Sweet 16 has arrived, and both Grand Junction and Palisade are still standing with trips to the Great Eight in Denver on the line.
At The Jungle, the No. 2 seed Grand Junction Tigers set the tone early against No. 18 Golden. Defense carried the Tigers from the opening tip as they held the Demons to nine first quarter points while scoring 16 of their own.
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Grand Junction added eight points in the second quarter while Golden managed six, sending the Tigers into halftime with a nine point lead.
Golden responded in the third quarter, outscoring Grand Junction 16 to 11 to cut the deficit to five entering the fourth. The Tigers answered in the final period, attacking the rim and converting key shots to win the quarter 19 to 10. Grand Junction secured a 54 to 41 victory to protect its home court and advance to the Great Eight in Denver.
Top seeded Palisade also defended its home floor with a trip to Denver at stake. The Bulldogs opened with nine straight points to energize a packed gym, but Frederick settled in and closed the first quarter on a run to tie the game at nine.
Frederick continued to respond in the second quarter and took an eight point lead into halftime.
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Palisade shifted momentum after the break. The Bulldogs tightened defensively, holding Frederick to 21 points in the second half while scoring 39 of their own. Palisade completed the comeback to advance to the Great Eight.
Colorado Mesa University Women Deliver Historic RMAC Tournament Win
In collegiate action, the top seeded Colorado Mesa University women’s basketball team defeated Colorado School of Mines 96 to 51 in the RMAC Tournament, marking the largest margin of victory in the tournament this century.
Olivia Reed-Thyne led the Mavericks with 34 points on 11 of 15 shooting, her third 30 point performance this season. Mason Rowland added 22 points and Hallie Clark contributed 10 as Colorado Mesa matched a program record with its 31st win. The Mavericks will host the semifinals Friday with a berth in the championship game at stake.
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Colorado Mesa University Men Survive Overtime Thriller
The Colorado Mesa University men’s basketball team faced New Mexico Highlands University for the third time this season. The Mavericks scored 36 first half points and led by four at the break.
New Mexico Highlands shot 50 percent in the second half, received 21 bench points and outscored Colorado Mesa 43 to 39 to force a late push. With the season in the balance, Ty Allred hit a game tying 3 pointer to make it 75 and send the game to overtime. Allred scored seven points in the extra period as Colorado Mesa earned a 91 to 90 victory to advance to the next round.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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