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In just 3 days, the McKinney Fire in Northern California has exploded to become the state’s largest blaze this year

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In just 3 days, the McKinney Fire in Northern California has exploded to become the state’s largest blaze this year


The blaze, dubbed the McKinney Fireplace, broke out Friday afternoon within the Klamath Nationwide Forest close to the California-Oregon border and has since ripped via greater than 52,000 acres, advancing on houses and forcing practically 2,000 residents to evacuate Saturday, authorities mentioned.

Heavy smoke over the hearth helped gradual its development Sunday, but in addition stored firefighting plane grounded, the US Forest Service mentioned in a Sunday night time replace.

Because the weekend ended, the blaze was 0% contained and firefighters face an extended battle forward as lightning and thunderstorms sophisticated efforts whereas the flames raced via dry vegetation.

Oregon state Rep. Dacia Grayber was tenting together with her husband, each firefighters, close to the California state line once they woke as much as orange skies, scorching wind gusts, lightning and blowing ash, she said on Twitter. They evacuated from the campground figuring out one in all them could return on deployment if the hearth grows.
“In 22+ yrs of fireside I’ve by no means skilled something like this fireplace habits at night time. It felt completely surreal and never just a bit apocalyptic,” Grayber tweeted.
The realm remained below a Crimson Flag Warning as a menace of dry lightning, robust winds, excessive temperatures and low humidity created harmful fireplace situations via Sunday night time. “Ample lightning” is predicted via Monday, in addition to scattered thunderstorms that might doubtlessly unfold the flames out additional, in response to the Nationwide Climate Service.
“These situations could be extraordinarily harmful for firefighters, as winds could be erratic and intensely robust, inflicting fireplace to unfold in any course,” forest service officers mentioned in a information launch.

The dry thunderstorms that occurred over the weekend occur when rainfall evaporates earlier than ever hitting the bottom, leaving solely lightning strikes able to sparking new fires and fueling present ones, CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford mentioned.

At an estimated 52,498 acres, the McKinney Fireplace has develop into California’s largest wildfire to this point this 12 months, CAL FIRE Capt. Chris Bruno instructed CNN.

And it is not the one blaze crews must take care of. There have been 10 totally different wildfires burning within the Klamath Nationwide Forest Sunday afternoon, forest officers mentioned.

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The fires generated their very own climate within the type of pyrocumulus clouds, that are created from the extreme warmth of the hearth forcing air to rise.
Tor Mason was one of many tons of evacuated as a result of McKinney Fireplace. He mentioned he and his pals fled their houses and arrived on the Klamath River Group Heart, solely to search out the hearth closing in, he instructed CNN affiliate KDRV.

“Once I bought to the neighborhood heart it was virtually on fireplace. I am like, holy crap, this is not good,” Mason mentioned. “So I put the … pedal to the metallic and I boogied. … I heard this morning it shot up in flames.”

California’s persistent drought situations have set the scene for speedy fireplace unfold within the forest, with the fires burning extraordinarily dry, receptive fuels, in response to the forest service.

Racing via dry brush, grass and timber, the hearth exercise has been excessive, with the flames operating uphill, and recognizing additional out, in response to fireplace officers.

“Klamath Nationwide Forest is a giant and exquisite forest, but it surely additionally has some steep and rugged terrain. And with that, coupled with the excessive temperatures, low humidity, all of them come into play and make it a really excessive fireplace hazard state of affairs proper now,” Tom Stokesberry of the US Forest Service instructed CNN affiliate KTVL.
A horse grazes in a pasture as the McKinney Fire burns in Klamath National Forest, in California Saturday.

A complete of 648 firefighting personnel have converged on the blaze, attacking the flames from the bottom and the air and dealing to defend evacuated houses.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Saturday for Siskiyou County, saying the blaze has destroyed houses and threatened important infrastructure. CAL FIRE mentioned no info was obtainable on buildings broken by the McKinney Fireplace, although Stokesberry instructed KTVL there have been unconfirmed experiences of misplaced buildings.
On Saturday, about 60 folks have been evacuated from the Pacific Crest Path because the McKinney Fireplace approached, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Workplace in Oregon mentioned on its Fb web page, noting the hikers have been rescued from the “California facet of the Crimson Buttes Wilderness.”
Situations may get higher Monday as the possibility of remoted dry thunderstorms shifts to the north, Shackelford mentioned. There may be additionally an opportunity for as much as 2 inches of rain falling over the realm, which may assist firefighters battling the McKinney Fireplace.

CNN’s Paradise Afshar, Tina Burnside, Amanda Jackson, Robert Shackelford and Claire Colbert contributed to this report.





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California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles


California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will provide rebates to residents if President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration does away with a federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

In a news release issued Monday, Newsom said he would restart the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which provided financial incentives on more than 590,000 vehicles before it was phased out late 2023.

“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”

The federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles were implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. When Trump’s second term in office begins next year, he could work with Congress to change the rules around those rebates. Those potential changes could limit the federal rebates, including by reducing the amount of money available or limiting who is eligible.

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Limiting federal subsidies on electric vehicle purchases would hurt many American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and the EV startup Rivian. Tesla, which also builds its automobiles in the United States, would take a smaller hit since that company currently sells more EVs and has a higher profit margin than any other EV manufacturer.

Newsom also announced earlier this month that he will convene a special session “to protect California values,” including fundamental civil rights and reproductive rights, that he said “are under attack by this incoming administration.”

“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said on X on Nov. 7.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t the first time California will be taking action against the Trump’s administration concerning clean transportation legislation.

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In 2019, California and 22 other states sued his administration for revoking its ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for vehicles, The Associated Press reported.

California sued the Trump administration over 100 times during his first term, primarily on matters including gun control, health care, education and immigration, the Los Angeles Times reported.



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45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence

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45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence


A 45-year-old cold case of a 17-year-old girl brutally raped and murdered has been resolved, bringing closure to the family. On February 9, 1979, Esther Gonzalez walked from her parents’ home to her sister’s in Banning, California, roughly 137 km east of Los Angeles. She never arrived. The next day, her body was discovered in a snowpack near a highway in Riverside County, California. Authorities determined she had been raped and bludgeoned to death, leading to an investigation that spanned decades.

The lab was able to match the DNA to a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014. Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran, called authorities on the fateful day to report finding Ms Gonzalez’s body. At the time, he claimed he could not identify whether the body was male or female. Described as “argumentative” by deputies, Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test, which he passed, clearing him of suspicion in the pre-DNA era. He had faced assault allegations in the past but was never convicted of any violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Despite limited leads, the Riverside County cold case homicide team didn’t give up. A semen sample recovered from Ms Gonzalez’s body in 1979 was preserved but remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades.

In 2023, forensic technology finally caught up. The homicide team collaborated with a genetic lab in Texas that specialises in forensic genealogy. A sample of Williamson’s blood from his 2014 autopsy provided the DNA match needed to confirm him as the 17-year-old’s rapist and killer.

The Gonzalez family had mixed emotions—relief at finally having answers and sadness knowing Williamson would not face justice, as he died in Florida ten years ago. Ms Gonzalez, remembered by her family as a shy yet funny and mild-mannered young woman, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”

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“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” Ms Gonzalez’s sister, Elizabeth, 64, shared with CNN. “We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”




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Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California

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Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California


The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has detected the avian influenza or “bird flu” virus in a sample of a raw milk product. The product which was for sale at retailers at the time of the testing has now been recalled by the producer after the state of California requested it’s withdrawal from sale.

The affected product is cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County with lot code 2024110. The best buy date of the batch is 11. Nov, 2024 meaning consumers could still have it in their homes. No illnesses have currently been reported from this batch of milk, but people can take several days to develop bird flu after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, but can take up to 17 days to develop.

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According to the CDC, bird flu symptoms may include fever or feeling feverish or chills, eye redness or irritation, and respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.

Customers should not consume any product matching the description above and should return the product to stores or dispose of it. The CDPH is also in the process of informing re also in the process of informing retailers about the infected product to notify them to remove it from their shelves. The CDPH has since visited both locations of the company’s farms and has found no further evidence of bird flu. The CDPH will continue to test the farm’s milk twice a week.

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The CDPH stresses that there is no risk of consuming pasteurized milk as the milk is heated to temperatures which inactivate bacteria and viruses. However raw milk does not go through this process, meaning any bacteria or viruses in the milk can be transferred to the consumer. Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.

California has been hit with bird flu outbreaks in both dairy cow herds and poultry farms with over 400 dairy herds affected as of 22. November. Twenty-nine human cases have also been recorded in the state, mostly individuals who have had close contact with infected livestock. The numbers of infected individuals are likely to be under reported and very little is known about the severity of disease in humans so far. Just two days ago, the CDC confirmed a case of H5N1 bird flu in a child in California with no known contact with livestock.



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