Video from Peru shows first responders racing to rescue a Minnesota man after he was killed in a lightning strike. Now, his family is trying to figure out how to get his body home.
“You will be missed greatly by your family and son, especially,” said Brett Skoog, Yuri Botelho’s brother-in-law.
Brett Skoog said if he could tell his brother-in-law one last thing, he’d say, “We know you’re in a better place.”
On Thanksgiving Eve, Botehlo was biking in the mountains of Peru with his friend James and a guide when tragedy hit out of nowhere. A sudden lightning strike killed Yuri and left his friend critically hurt.
“Kelsey was tracking his watch, saw it wasn’t moving,” said Brett Skoog.
Botelho, 36, was on an annual Thanksgiving trip with his beloved wife of three years, Kelsey, and their 15-month-old son, Tyson.
“We’ll make sure we do our part in making sure Tyson knows how much he was loved,” said Mandy Skoog, Botelho’s sister-in-law.
Botelho, a jujitsu-loving Brazilian native, posted about how proud he was to become an American citizen in May on Instagram.
An Instagram post created by Yuri Botelho on May 2, 2025. It said, in part, “Officially American Citizen … after a lot of effort, hard work, paperwork, sweat, blood, tears, taxes, fees, doubts and anxiety we made it.”
Skoog Family
He had recently relocated to Minnesota with his wife and son to be near her family and worked for the city of St. Louis Park.
“If you met Yuri once, you’ll never forget him,” said Mandy Skoog.
When WCCO asked her, “Why?” She responded, “He is just the happiest person I have ever met.”
As of Friday night, his wife and baby boy are in South America, fighting logistics to get his body back home.
Yuri Botehlo, 36, with his wife, Kelsey, and their 15-month-old son, Tyson.
Skoog Family
“You almost feel helpless, which is why I’m very thankful my brother and Kelsey’s friend pretty much hopped on a plane as soon as they could,” said Brett Skoog.
Mandy Skoog added, “She’s fighting as a spouse trying to get Yuri home and fighting for her son, making sure he has everything he needs. Man, we were lucky to have him”.
The City of St. Louis Park said the following in response to the incident:
“We at the City of St. Louis Park are aware of the very tragic news about Yuri Botelho. This is a tremendous loss for his family, his friends and for all of us as his colleagues. Yuri had only been with the city for a short time but was already a trusted and valued employee and friend. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Financial support and prayers are what the family says they need most. An online fundraiser has raised nearly $30,000.
Above normal temperatures will be felt across the Bay Area for several days this week, with the hot weather giving way to increasing chances of thunderstorms and the possibility of lightning-sparked fires, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service said in its daily forecast discussion for the Bay Area that a ridge of high pressure is moving over Northern California on Monday. After the coastal fog and low clouds are peeled away, the region is expected to reach the mid-80s to upper 90s inland, with coastal areas in the 70s to low 80s.
There is no heat advisory Monday, although some inland areas will have a moderate heat risk for those spending extended periods of time outside. Tuesday is expected to be the warmest day of the week, with larger areas of moderate heat risk and some pockets of major heat risk. Forecasters were weighing whether to issue a heat advisory for Tuesday, with a decision expected later Monday.
Overnight lows will be warmer than normal, with drier air limiting humidity recovery, especially in higher elevations, according to the Weather Service. The combination of warm nights and drying grasses and brush is expected to increase fire danger later this week, especially as moisture from Tropical Storm Mario moves in from Southern California beginning late Wednesday into Thursday.
The Weather Service said the incoming moisture will raise the chance of thunderstorms, especially across Monterey and southern San Benito counties, along with increased potential for dry lightning, which could spark new wildfires.
As of Monday morning, the best initial window for elevated dry thunderstorms appears to be after midnight early Thursday through late Thursday morning, primarily along the Central Coast region but moving farther north into Friday, the Weather Service said.
Rainfall totals are expected to be limited to a quarter of an inch for the few locations that receive it. Spotty showers may continue into Saturday, though forecasters say confidence in the pattern beyond the weekend remains low.
Thunderstorms moved across Northern California Tuesday morning, bringing lightning strikes across the region that are suspected of sparking fires.
KCRA 3 viewers shared photos and videos of the captivating light shows. Meanwhile, a powerful wind event knocked out power to thousands in parts of Sacramento County.
More thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rain, frequent lightning and small hail are possible on afternoons in the Sierra and Foothills through Thursday, Meteorologist Kelly Curran said.
Thunderstorms rolled through parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Valley early Tuesday morning, leading to thousands of lightning strikes and sparking several fires.
According to the San Francisco Bay Area bureau of the National Weather Service, nearly 4,800 total lightning strikes were reported in the region between midnight and 5:30 a.m., which includes in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning. The storm brought very little rain, with most areas only seeing .1 inch or less.
“Dry” thunderstorms rolled through the Central Valley and portions of the East Bay this morning. Most areas saw less than 0.10″ inches of rain & there were a few fire starts. Here’s an image showing ~5,000 lightning strikes (cloud to ground and in-cloud) through 530am. #CAwxpic.twitter.com/uvtzRsaxez
A map provided by the weather service shows the lightning was concentrated in the inland East Bay and a wide swath of the Central Valley from Sacramento southward.
“Waking up to thunder and lightning this morning! This is the monsoonal moisture flowing north. Quite unusual to see this in the Valley this time of day / year,” said CBS Sacramento Chief Meteorologist Nic Merianos.
Waking up to thunder and lightning this morning! This is the monsoonal moisture flowing north. Quite unusual to see this in the Valley this time of day / year. pic.twitter.com/pZO30yBgoo
The weather service said lightning may be to blame for fires in southeastern Monterey County and southwest Fresno County early Tuesday morning.
Cal Fire crews are responding to several fires that have started in the Sierra Foothills on Tuesday, including the 2-2 and 2-3 fires near the community of Copperopolis, the Copper Fire burning in Amador County, the Rock Fire burning south of Folsom and the Sierra Fire burning in Placer County.
It was not immediately known if lightning sparked all of the fires.
According to the weather service, thunderstorms remain possible through the early afternoon in the interior eastern portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties.
In the Sacramento area and Central Valley, a 10-30% chance of isolated thunderstorms continues Tuesday afternoon and evening, with thunderstorms remanining possible into the overnight hours. The highest chances of thunderstorms are in the mountains.
Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for more than two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.
August Wildfire Ready special: Evacuation tips, fire simulation programs and detecting lightning
New fires starting every day. These winds are flowing out of the west. They’re pushing the flames away from the fire as lightning strikes in the foothills are sparking more fire concerns, and your family needs to be ready. There’s some nerves about evacuation response in the Tahoe Basin. KCRA 3 meteorologists are. Conditions outside fire behavior. If this fire is hot enough, it can push that cloud even higher. How to protect your property? But you just want to braided it so that it’s attached to their hair. Take time now to think about what’s most important to you that you want to take with you in an instant, and brand new tools that could save lives. We will implement that seek and destroy mission in *** KCRA 3 wildfire ready special. Welcome and thank you for joining us for our KR 3 wildfire ready special. We’re in the heart of wildfire season in Northern California, and so far it’s been *** quiet year, but we all know that the next big fire could ignite any day. The entire KCRA 3 weather team is here with the information you and your loved ones need to know, and we know, Heather, fires can start anytime, anywhere. Do you know how to get alerts for evacuations? Well, here’s some important tips. Each county in California has an alert program. You can sign up for if you work in one county but live in another, you should sign up for both. Scan the QR code for the list of alert programs. Another good thing to do is during *** fire, check your county sheriff and Office of Emergency Management social media pages. How about in the middle of the night? And what if your power goes out? Coming up later, I’ll show you *** tool that could provide *** life saving alert. Right now, fuels in the foothills in the Sierra are as dry as they can be. And when monsoon moisture comes up from the south, we get the risk for lightning fires. Lightning is the only natural cause of wildfire in California, but it can also cause the fires that are the hardest to put out. According to the National Science Foundation, 70% of all the acreage burned in the West is because of *** lightning fire. Coming up in *** few minutes, I’m going to show you the brand new sensors that were just installed in the Tahoe area that can help fire agencies detect *** lightning fire in seconds. Even without lightning, weather has *** big influence on our fire risk. Every day our team looks at wind, humidity, and fuel moisture to help you prepare for that risk with our fire threat index. The QR code on your screen will take you to that index at KCRA.com. One thing you can do right now is plan your evacuation route, and if you have young drivers at home, make sure they know the turns without using navigation and make sure that your go bag is ready with everything you and your animals need. Some of the things included in that list. Make sure you have *** 3 day supply of food and water. Make sure that you have *** first aid kit and make sure you have all of your prescriptions and medications. If you want to see the full list, we’ve got that online on our wildfire ready guide, and you can use our app to learn about fires burning near you. So far this year, more than 354,000 acres have burned on state and federally managed land. That is higher than the. 5 year average for this same time period and this year started off with two of the three most destructive fires in state history, showing just how severe that ongoing threat can be. Coming up, I’ll show you how wildfire simulations are helping Cal Fire learn about past fires, battle current ones, and prevent future blazes. Now to the Tahoe area where experts are using *** new network of lightning sensors to help prevent destructive fires. Lightning fires start in some of the most remote spots in California, so it can take days to see smoke. By then, *** fire could be out of control. Now the Tahoe Basin is home to *** network of sensors that can detect *** lightning strike within 100 ft and then alert firefighters in less than *** minute. This is one of those sensors positioned at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. There are 2 metal plates. It’s one of 9 keeping watch for high risk lightning in the Tahoe Basin. Basically, lightning will disturb this electromagnetic field, and it’ll be able to pinpoint where it was based off of that. It was developed by the Fire Neural Network team. The group got its start in Florida, the lightning capital of the United States. Its purpose is based on one big idea. Not all lightning is created. FNN’s Caroline Cummo says that *** strike lasting just 0.2 million. lids, the blink of an eye is enough to ignite *** wildfire. The strike is touching the ground 1000 times longer than normal strikes. FNN sensors single out those lightning strikes, then use data on fuel type in recent weather to predict the potential for an ignition. The data end up here in *** color coded dashboard. These big red dots are considered the high risk strikes. Cal Fire will get alerts and coordinates to within 100 ft for any high risk strikes. That’s going to be substantial on us, not only fire suppression efforts, but stocking that response up appropriately. Battalion Chief Nathan Ment says it’s the randomness of lightning that creates the biggest challenges. Lightning doesn’t. To land next to *** road necessarily right it’s that access. FNN sensors can alert them of *** threat in just 40 seconds. That alert process happens and then the human element can come in at that point, validate, verify, send resources if need be, instead of waiting for smoke, which could take days. Snow Lab lead scientist Dr. Andrew Schwartz says that’s exactly why he wanted to help bring the. And sensors to the region. Hopefully the sensor network gets away from that waiting game and becomes we can become *** little bit more proactive. Cal Fire says it uses every tool at its disposal to fight these remote lightning fires, but it’s always on the public to be aware of the risk and to be ready this time of year. If you are informed or if you gather intel or information that there is *** lightning fire. Uh, don’t wait for the evacuation warning or order to come. If *** fire starts nearby, you may need to leave at *** moment’s notice, but how can you make sure you get the warning, especially if it happens *** fire overnight. Take *** look at this important tool that could save lives. If *** fire starts in the middle of the night, do you know where to get your warning information? Sure, *** phone, that’s *** great tool, but what happens if your phone, it’s in silent mode, it’s turned off, or worse yet, Your power goes out. This NOAA weather radio is going to be one of your best tools to stay informed during *** wildfire. If there was an active alert, you would hear it out of the radio here. Right now, of course it’s just delivering *** forecast, but if there was an active alert, it would be followed with information from the National Weather Service for your region or your county on ***. Exactly what to do and where to go next. If you are deaf or hard of hearing or have *** low or reduced vision, there are two other great options to alert you, especially when you need information quickly. The strobe light, which attaches to the alerts issued from the NOAA weather radio, this would flash brightly to alert you to wake up and get out if you needed to. Then there’s also the pillow shaker, which is *** great option, which you can actually put under your pillow, and this would shake to let you know that an alert has been issued for your county. Getting access to vital information, this is going to be one of the best ways to do it through the NOAA weather radio. This is good to go to give you all of the access to updates and information, especially when *** wildfire is threatening. Earlier we mentioned those important things that you should pack in your go bag, but there may be other important heirlooms that you want to keep safe. Kelly Curran shows us how to make sure your family memories are preserved here at KCRA. We know *** thing or two about digitizing videos. We’re currently in the process of uploading our archives. It’s certainly time consuming, but there are services available to do it for you. I. It can be very costly and time consuming, so that’s why *** lot of people would just bring it here, let us take care of it for them, take away that that hassle and headache. Mike’s camera in Midtown Sacramento sees customers requesting to digitize every day, and it’s not just photos. We do digitize photographs like physical photos. We can digitize slides, negatives of all sizes, video tapes, VHS, reels, um, many DBs. You can organize your photos and negatives or just. Throw them all in *** box and deal with it later. We do offer *** service called *** Gather box for photographs, so that’s *** box that you buy from us. You fill it all up as much as possible, um. Sometimes you can fit up to like 1000 4x6s in there. Bring that back to us and we can have that done for you in about 3 to 4 days. Typically customers request flash drives. You can get more than one to share with family or friends for safekeeping or skip the hard copy entirely so you won’t waste time looking for it in an emergency. We can send things through email so you can save them into your cloud in case you can’t find the physical flash drives or CDs, Kelly Curran, KCR 3 News. Prices for digitizing photos in one of the gather boxes provided by Mike’s camera can range from $250 to $350 depending on the quality. When we come back, how agencies are using simulation programs to better prepare for fires, plus those huge clouds you see during fires, we’re going to explain what those are and how they form. Playing with fire, it’s *** new way to fight it. Fire management agencies are relying more on simulation programs to better understand fire behavior. Meteorologist Ophelia Young sits through *** simulation with fire officials in Tahoe. I’m in Golden Bear, South Lake Tahoe, *** subdivision of 150 to 200 homes. There’s one way in and one way out. What could happen if *** fire were to spark right there. You’re showing up. You got 8 acres. What are you thinking right now? Battalion Chief Brett Swingen is thinking one of three things that’s life, property, or environment. In this fire. There’s *** lot of homes, *** lot of people in that area, *** lot of life. So our number one priority is evacuations and getting people out, right? Life before property. Now where to evacuate this area down here is not really. Threatened. I’m not gonna maybe do evacuation orders down there more so up here and forecasting where this is gonna go. He plugs three main factors into this simulation program fuel, topography, and weather. The fuels are shrubs, grasses, needle cast. This is really receptive for embers and ember casts and things like that that can really impact control efforts in the fire. The topography kind of come in this uh to the north northeast already and then the wind pushing that that way as well. And speaking of those winds right now this has *** 60 mile an hour wind on it. Very bad day to have *** fire in that area. Assistant Chief Brian Newman says this simulation helps determine their next steps. Where are we going to be able to organize and direct resources? Trucks. Bulldozers And or aircraft. Is the amount of resources that we have arriving at scene and responding, is that enough? And where to position them? Who will position them? Just this fire alone you would have Lake Valley Fire District, the city, South Lake Ta Fire and Rescue. Uh, Tahoe Management unit or the US Forest Service and Cal Fire would all have *** piece on this fire. Now 7 hours, 700 acres still burning northeast. These streets all have multiple homes on them. But then this is heading towards heavenly, and now this fire is burning into the mountains. The strategy changes and. So does the conversation. Now *** new challenge. So there are no roads up here. It’s very steep terrain, heavy fuels, and as you get in this upper elevations, the wind starts to impact it more so the rates of spread increase the intensity of the fire. They may need *** new simulation. They’ve got one in seconds. multiple simulations over and over. Before these plug and play fire simulation programs, Chief Newman would use *** sandbox to physically model *** fire. It took *** lot of math and time they often didn’t have. Now Chief Newman and Sweringen produce simulations regularly for evacuations. Leadership and teamwork exercises to planning where to reduce fuels, whether *** fire sparks right there, right now or later. No fire is the same, no incidents the same, right? Evacuation orders are always going to be different, different areas, fire is gonna burn differently from South Lake Tahoe, Ophelia Young, KCRA 3 News. Fire chiefs look forward to the next step in wildfire simulation technology, which is integrating artificial intelligence and real-time satellite images that will happen in the next few years. Now we often talk about weather and how it can influence *** wildfire, but sometimes the most intense fires create weather of their own. Meteorologist Dirk Ver Dorn joins us now to explain pyrocumulonimbus clouds and the erratic conditions that come with them. The making of *** pyro cumulonimbus cloud. The source is going to be *** little different here of lift, and that’s where the pyro part comes in. You have the fire that’s associated with this cloud. cumulo means the heap, and then you have nimbus, which means the rain that’s associated with it. So we have our fire. That’s going to be the source of lift. You have the air that’s being pulled up. You have all these gasses and smoke that are rising up because they’re warmer than the surrounding air, so you get the column of smoke associated with this. Now if this fire is hot enough, it can push that cloud even higher and it develops into, well, you have the water vapor that’s in the surrounding air that starts to lock on to all those particulates, and there’s *** lot of particulates to lock onto when you have *** column of smoke, but still it cools, it condenses, and it can even get to the point. If the fire is strong enough where you, you can have some rain associated with this, and again, even the possibility of some lightning associated with this that can actually create thunderstorms. Now the good thing about this, and there’s been cases where this has happened where the rain has actually helped to put out the fire. The problem though is if you have lightning, that can actually be *** problem because it could cause more fires to start. Now here we have *** pyrocumulus cloud and you can see the column of smoke from the fire rising up to *** point where the air. starts to cool and the smoke starts to dissipate in different directions, but there’s *** hot spot that has created enough lift where we’re getting this cauliflower looking cloud on top. That’s the pyrocumulus cloud, the cloud that’s caused by fire. Now this is not *** pyro cumulonimbus cloud. There’s no rain associated with it. It’s just *** pyro cumulus cloud. I wanted to show you that. Also what I wanted to talk about was *** change that’s been made. Now in 2017, the World Meteorological Organization. In their international cloud atlas they chose the term cumulonimbus Flamagenitus cloud to describe flame created rain clouds. So let’s go ahead and take *** look at this Flama means fire. Genitis means created. So this is then *** heaped up rain fire created cloud. Well, that’s *** mouthful, but it is descriptive. Coming up, protecting large animals in case of *** fire, the best ways to make sure horses and other animals are safe in some of our rural areas. Evacuating ahead of *** wildfire, it’s stressful, but evacuating with large animals that can make it even more complicated. Certainly can. KCR meteorologist Kelly Kern visited all about equine Animal Rescue to learn some tips on how to get your horses out safely. We see the footage every fire season, horse owners fleeing with full trailers and even horses being set loose to run for their lives. Mary Beth Brown, *** horse owner and volunteer with All About Equi Animal Rescue, is no stranger to evacuating. Always evacuate early. So my recommendation is always, even if you’re in *** warning area. That’s the time to evacuate just like you would do with your family or smaller animals, you want to have *** go bag. If there’s any medications or grains or feed, you wanna make sure that those are packed and ready to go. So again, you know, you kind of just want to make sure that you are prepared. So if you have *** trailer, you can keep that packed, keep that stock and practice. You definitely want to practice at home because when it’s not an emergency, if you’re having problems, it’s guaranteed you will have problems when the emergency arises because you’re stressed, they’re stressed, they don’t know what’s going on. And know where you’re going before fire season line up, find *** friend, find *** boarding stable, find somewhere that you know if you have to pick up in the middle of the night. You can call on your way. Unfortunately, wildfires can move faster than you can evacuate. Time for Plan B. Set them loose. There’s many reasons that you may not. Be able to remove the animal from the situation. In that case, while you still have control of the animal, you, you want to put identifiers on him. So the best case scenario would be ahead of time get your horse microchipped just like you would *** cat or *** dog. You can also use *** Sharpie to write your phone number on their hoof or use livestock paint markers to identify your horse. You can any type of tag, so *** key ring. Um, cattle ear tags, which you can get at your local feed store, but you just want to braid it in so that it’s attached to their hair, and then you can use the rubber band, you can use athletic tape, whatever it is to, to tie it off. Freeze brands like these can be used to identify your. when it’s located after the fire. Brown says no matter what, the horse community in California has each other’s backs. The community is here for you, especially in times of need, because everybody knows it could be them at some point. Kelly Curran, KR 3 News. If you must set your horse loose, remove halters and tack that could snag on trees, as well as nylon halters and fly masks that could melt in the heat. Also have copies of ownership documents as well as photos of your horses to prove they’re yours. Thank you for joining us for our wildfire ready special. Remember we have important evacuation information plus *** list of what to bring in *** go bag on the KCRA 3 app. Have *** good night.
While the Summer is drawing to a close it’s still important to be aware of the dangers of wildfires in California. Some fire officials would argue wildfire season has become year-round for the state, making preparedness more urgent. KCRA 3’s team of meteorologists put together a guide with tips on how to be ready for fires before they happen. The team has also spoken to agencies about developments in technology meant to help with fire prevention and response efforts. Having a ‘Go Bag’ readyA big part of wildfire preparedness is knowing what to take with you if you’re in the area of a burn and having those things readily available. Kelly Curran talked to Cal Fire about what they recommend to have in your ‘Go Bag.’ Some things, such as a first aid kit and water, may seem self explanatory, but there are plenty of other things officials recommend you pack. When it comes to food, deciding what to include can be confusing. You want to look for items that are shelf stable, nutritious and require minimal preparation. Granola bars and canned goods are a great option, but don’t forget to include a can opener in your kit.You also want to have an evacuation route and a map. For more ‘Go Bag’ tips, click here. Tracking lightning capable of starting firesLightning fires are some of the hardest for firefighters to attack directly because they often start in remote areas. It may take days for these fires to be visible. By the time crews reach the head of a fire, it may be too large to quickly contain.Heather Waldman spoke with the Fire Neural Network, the team behind a new network of sensor technology in the Lake Tahoe area that detects lightning capable of starting wildfires. The technology can report the hazard to firefighters in less than a minute. Each of the nine sensors in the Tahoe and Donner summit area can pinpoint a lightning strike to within 100 feet. Once a strike is detected, a built-in computer analyzes its duration along with recent weather and fuel moisture information. AI uses the data collected to determine a level of fire risk, according to FNN. One of the sensors is stationed at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab.”I thought it would be an ideal place to put these lightning sensors in the hopes that we can address wildfires before they got too big in the Tahoe Basin,” said Dr. Andrew Schwartz, who helped lead the process of bringing the technology to the region.Read the full story here. Playing with fire to save lives A rapidly advancing technology is becoming an essential tool in understanding and forecasting fire behavior. Cal Fire Amador–El Dorado Unit Battalion Chief Bret Swearengin walked KCRA 3’s Ophelia Young through a wildfire simulation demonstration, explaining how these programs help firefighters quickly make life-saving decisions.The program took the variables and, through an algorithm, simulated a wildfire spreading toward the mountains. This output helps crews decide which neighborhoods to evacuate first and what tactical steps to take next.Read the full story here. Ensuring valuable memories aren’t lost in a fire Safety is always first, and during a wildfire evacuation, you may not have time to grab many family photos on your way out. Digitizing family photos and videos and uploading them to flash drives or into the cloud ahead of fire season can give you peace of mind during an evacuation.One place you can do that: Mike’s Camera in Midtown Sacramento. They can digitize photographs of all sizes, slides, negatives, video tapes and reels.”We do offer a service called a ‘gather box’ for photographs, so that’s a box that you buy from us, fill it all up as much as possible. Sometimes you can fit up to 1,000 4x6s in there. Bring that back to us and we can have that done for you in about three to four days,” Sarah Sheldon, store manager of Mike’s Camera, told Kelly Curran. Read the full story here. | MORE | A 2025 guide for how to prepare for wildfires in California | Northern California wildfire resources by county: Find evacuation info, sign up for alertsCal Fire wildfire incidents: Cal Fire tracks its wildfire incidents here. You can sign up to receive text messages for Cal Fire updates on wildfires happening near your ZIP code here.Wildfires on federal land: Federal wildfire incidents are tracked here.Preparing for power outages: Ready.gov explains how to prepare for a power outage and what to do when returning from one here. Here is how to track and report PG&E power outages.Keeping informed when you’ve lost power and cellphone service: How to find a National Weather Service radio station near you.Be prepared for road closures: Download Caltrans’ QuickMap app or check the latest QuickMap road conditions here.
While the Summer is drawing to a close it’s still important to be aware of the dangers of wildfires in California.
Some fire officials would argue wildfire season has become year-round for the state, making preparedness more urgent.
KCRA 3’s team of meteorologists put together a guide with tips on how to be ready for fires before they happen. The team has also spoken to agencies about developments in technology meant to help with fire prevention and response efforts.
Having a ‘Go Bag’ ready
A big part of wildfire preparedness is knowing what to take with you if you’re in the area of a burn and having those things readily available.
Kelly Curran talked to Cal Fire about what they recommend to have in your ‘Go Bag.’ Some things, such as a first aid kit and water, may seem self explanatory, but there are plenty of other things officials recommend you pack.
When it comes to food, deciding what to include can be confusing. You want to look for items that are shelf stable, nutritious and require minimal preparation. Granola bars and canned goods are a great option, but don’t forget to include a can opener in your kit.
You also want to have an evacuation route and a map.
Lightning fires are some of the hardest for firefighters to attack directly because they often start in remote areas. It may take days for these fires to be visible. By the time crews reach the head of a fire, it may be too large to quickly contain.
Heather Waldman spoke with the Fire Neural Network, the team behind a new network of sensor technology in the Lake Tahoe area that detects lightning capable of starting wildfires. The technology can report the hazard to firefighters in less than a minute.
Each of the nine sensors in the Tahoe and Donner summit area can pinpoint a lightning strike to within 100 feet. Once a strike is detected, a built-in computer analyzes its duration along with recent weather and fuel moisture information.
AI uses the data collected to determine a level of fire risk, according to FNN.
One of the sensors is stationed at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab.
“I thought it would be an ideal place to put these lightning sensors in the hopes that we can address wildfires before they got too big in the Tahoe Basin,” said Dr. Andrew Schwartz, who helped lead the process of bringing the technology to the region.
A rapidly advancing technology is becoming an essential tool in understanding and forecasting fire behavior.
Cal Fire Amador–El Dorado Unit Battalion Chief Bret Swearengin walked KCRA 3’s Ophelia Young through a wildfire simulation demonstration, explaining how these programs help firefighters quickly make life-saving decisions.
The program took the variables and, through an algorithm, simulated a wildfire spreading toward the mountains. This output helps crews decide which neighborhoods to evacuate first and what tactical steps to take next.
Safety is always first, and during a wildfire evacuation, you may not have time to grab many family photos on your way out.
Digitizing family photos and videos and uploading them to flash drives or into the cloud ahead of fire season can give you peace of mind during an evacuation.
One place you can do that: Mike’s Camera in Midtown Sacramento. They can digitize photographs of all sizes, slides, negatives, video tapes and reels.
“We do offer a service called a ‘gather box’ for photographs, so that’s a box that you buy from us, fill it all up as much as possible. Sometimes you can fit up to 1,000 4x6s in there. Bring that back to us and we can have that done for you in about three to four days,” Sarah Sheldon, store manager of Mike’s Camera, told Kelly Curran.
DENVER — One of several fires that sparked in Rio Blanco County is now 100% contained.
The 2,073-acre Crosho Fire, first reported on Aug. 11, burned in the Routt National Forest. The cause of the blaze, which threatened several structures, is unknown at this time.
No structures were lost in the fire. The following roads have reopened, according to Routt County officials:
Routt County Road 132 from Routt County Road 15 to Dunckley Pass
Routt County Road 25 from Routt County Road 132A to Routt County Road 132
Routt County Road 19 from Routt County Road 15 to Routt County Road 25
Rio Blanco County Road 8 (Dunckley Pass) at the intersection of Rio Blanco County Road 8 and Rio Blanco County Road 19
The only road that remains closed is Routt County Road 15 from the intersection of Routt County Road 17 to Crosho Lake.
As of 9:30 p.m. Monday, the fire has burned 138,844 acres and is 90% contained.
Denver7 is tracking several other wildfires on Colorado’s Western Slope. Below is a summary of those fires, containment amounts and where residents can learn more details.
Size: 5,345 acres Containment: 0% First reported: Aug. 16 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 13 miles north of Dotsero Evacuations 🏠: Mandatory evacuations and pre-evacuation notices can be viewed here.
The lightning-sparked Derby Fire, first reported on Aug. 16, is burning 13 miles north of Dotsero in Eagle and Garfield counties.
In an update Monday, fire officials said three-quarters of recent growth on the fire’s southeast flank has been halted thanks to new control lines. Air support dropped flame retardant and water on the area on Monday.
The fire is growing slowly on other parts of its south perimeter. Firefighters are constructing new control lines in order to slow that growth.
Officials said structure protection crews are working along Red Dirt Creek Road. Firefighters have positioned sprinkler kits and removed surrounding fuels in an attempt to protect more than 500 structures.
Size: 138,844 acres Containment: 90% First reported: Aug. 2 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 18 miles southwest of Meeker Evacuations 🏠: For the most up-to-date evacuation map, click here. Pre-evacuations: For the most up-to-date pre-evacuation map, click here.
The lightning-sparked Lee Fire, first reported on Aug. 2, is burning 18 miles southwest of Meeker in Rio Blanco County. Three homes and 12 outbuildings have burned so far.
The FDNY Incident Management Team assumed control of the fire Monday morning. Crews worked Monday to continue securing its perimeter.
Officials said fire activity remained minimal on Sunday, with only “isolated creeping and smoldering observed.”
A wet weather pattern is expected this week, with a 90-100% chance of daily rainfall in the area through Thursday. Fire officials said these storms may bring periods of heavy rain, frequent lightning, gusty winds and small hail.
The Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office downgraded Evacuation Zones 20, 21, 22, 23, 61, 62, 63 and 64 from SET (yellow) to READY (green) on Monday. Evacuations for Zone 50 were lifted. To see what zone your address falls into, click this link.
A partial closure of the White River National Forest is still in effect due to the fire within the Blanco Ranger District west of and including the Long-Lost Trail system.
Size: 10,249 acres Containment: 42% First reported: July 28 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 5 miles west of Rico in the San Juan National Forest Evacuations 🏠: No current evacuations
The lightning-sparked Stoner Mesa Fire, first reported on July 28, is burning west of Telluride inside the San Juan National Forest in Dolores County.
In an update Monday evening, fire officials said the San Juan Team 8 Incident Management Team will assume responsibilities for the fire on Tuesday. Firefighters on Monday were able to take advantage of the wet weather that moved through the area.
To sign up for Dolores County emergency alerts, click here. To sign up for Montezuma County emergency alerts, click here.
Blue Ridge Fire Size: 25 acres Containment: 100% First reported: Aug. 15 Cause: Under investigation Location: La Plata County Notes: All evacuation and pre-evacuation orders lifted on Aug. 18.
Crosho Fire Size:2,073 acres Containment:100% First reported:Aug. 11 at 3:25 pm. Cause:Unknown
Deer Creek Fire Size: 17,724 Acres Containment: 100% First reported: July 10 Cause: Under investigation (as of last update on Aug. 12) Location: Eastern Utah and Montrose County (Colorado)
Leroux Fire Size: 195 Acres Containment: 100% First reported: Aug. 3 Cause: ⚡️ Location: Delta County
Oak Fire Size: 75 acres Contained: 78% (as of last update on Aug. 13) First reported: Aug. 10 Cause: Structure fire Location: Archuleta County west of Pagosa Springs Notes: The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office said two suspects have been arrested in connection with an illegal burn that started this fire. The suspects have been identified as Sergio Alaniz Jr., 41, and Ross Heirigs, 60. They were arrested on charges of fourth-degree arson.
Peninsula Fire Size: 17 acres Containment: 80% (as of last update on Aug. 10) First reported: Aug. 8 Cause: ⚡️ Location: South of Highway 145, between Norwood and Placerville
South Rim Fire Size: 4,232 Acres Containment: 100% containment likely will not occur until snowfall First reported: July 10 Cause: ⚡️ Location: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Turner Gulch Fire Size:31,699 acres Contained: 96% First reported:July 10 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 8 miles northeast of Gateway in Mesa County Evacuations 🏠: All evacuation orders have been lifted
Wright Draw Fire Size: 466 acres Containment: 100% First reported: July 10 Cause: ⚡️ Location: Mesa County
Windy Gap Fire Size: 30 acres Containment: 100% First reported: Aug. 6 Cause: Unknown Location: Grand County
Yellowjacket Fire Size: 29 acres Contained: 40% (as of last update on Aug. 16) First reported: Aug. 15 Cause: Unknown Location: Northeast of Meeker
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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Lightning is being blamed for sparking at least 10 wildfires in the Grand Junction area in the past 24 hours, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit on Saturday.
Most of the fires have been contained to a quarter-acre in size, the agency said. However, the Baxter Fire, as it is being called, burning 15 miles northwest of Mack, has grown to more than five acres.
That Mesa County blaze is burning in rugged and remote terrain, making it difficult for crews to reach, the Upper Colorado fire agency said. But additional resources have arrived to assist in containing the Baxter Fire.
More dry thunderstorms are forecast again for the area Saturday, increasing the potential for new fires.
In Grand County, firefighters responded Saturday to a new fire burning two miles southwest of Meadow Creek Reservoir. The Hurd Fire is only a half-acre in size and 50% contained as of Sunday. There is no word on its origin.
Besides Mother Nature, the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit said that of the 133 Colorado wildfires started in 2025, 79 of them have been human-caused.
The 42-acre La Plata Fire, first reported Aug. 16, was caused by an abandoned campfire, fire officials reported Saturday. The fire is 0% contained and burning in the Pike-San Isabel National Forests, four miles west of Twin Lakes in Chaffee and Lake counties.
Crews battling the La Plata Fire are getting some help as almost a half-inch of rain fell over the area overnight.
Other Western Slope counties have seen similar fires over the past couple of months.
The extreme fire behavior prompted Gov. Jared Polis to sign an executive order declaring a disaster emergency, which will bolster the state’s response to these and any new potential wildfires.
Denver7 is tracking several other wildfires on Colorado’s Western Slope. Below is a summary of those fires, containment amounts and where residents can learn more details.
Size: 5,248 acres Containment: 0% First reported: Aug. 16 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 13 miles north of Dotsero Evacuations 🏠: Mandatory evacuations and pre-evacuation notices can be viewed here.
The lightning-sparked Derby Fire, first reported on Aug. 16, is burning 13 miles north of Dotsero in Eagle and Garfield counties.
On Friday, a helicopter assigned to the Derby Fire was involved in an “incident,” according to the US Forest Service.
The agency said there is an unconfirmed report that the aircraft is in a lake 13 miles northwest of the Eagle County Regional Airport.
The US Forest Service said the helicopter pilot was picked up by another aircraft and flown to Eagle County Regional Airport. The pilot was checked out by emergency medical personnel and had “minor bumps and bruises” but refused further medical attention.
At least one structure has been lost in the Sugarloaf Mountain area due to the fire, officials said.
On Sunday, officials said they are working on a plan to allow limited access to the evacuation zone for some Sweetwater residents—specifically, those who own property or depend on it for their livelihood.
Size: 137,758 acres Containment: 86% First reported: Aug. 2 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 18 miles southwest of Meeker Evacuations 🏠: For the most up-to-date evacuation map, click here. Pre-evacuations: For the most up-to-date pre-evacuation map, click here.
The lightning-sparked Lee Fire, first reported on Aug. 2, is burning 18 miles southwest of Meeker in Rio Blanco County.
Three homes and 12 outbuildings have burned so far in the Lee Fire, according to officials in Rio Blanco County, who said firefighters completed chipping operations on the east flank of the fire.
In a Saturday update, fire officials said Lee that afternoon storms Friday produced nearly 0.20 inch of rain in Meeker, but no measurable amount over the fire area. However, suppression efforts were successful in the northwestern corner of the fire area on a hot spot that was detected.
However, a week-long wet pattern will bring rounds of showers and thunderstorms to the fire area, with notable wetting rainfall by the end of the week.
Additionally, the Bureau of Land Management rescinded the land closure order for BLM-managed public lands in Garfield County because of the Lee Fire. The rescission is effective immediately because fire and emergency managers have determined the area is safe.
A partial closure of the White River National Forest is still in effect due to the fire within the Blanco Ranger District west of and including the Long-Lost Trail system.
Size: 2,072 acres Containment: 81% First reported: Aug. 11 at 3:25 pm. Cause: Unknown Location: Routt National Forest in Rio Blanco County Evacuations 🏠: No evacuations at this time
The 2,072-acre Crosho Fire, first reported on Aug. 11, is burning in Routt National Forest in Rio Blanco County. The cause of the blaze, which is threatening several structures, is unknown at this time.
The Crosho Fire continues to burn in the Routt National Forest but has seen no growth since the weekend, according to the latest update from fire officials.
Sixty-seven structures continue to be threatened by the fire, according to the Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team, but none have burned as of Friday.
In a Friday update, fire officials said the eastern perimeter of the fire has been contained. Mop-up operations, supported by water, were progressing to the north and west of the fire, where crews were extinguishing pockets of remaining heat.
There are currently no pre-evacuations or evacuation orders for the fire, according to the latest map from the Routt County Office of Emergency Management.
Size: 10,233 acres Containment: 41% First reported: July 28 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 5 miles west of Rico in the San Juan National Forest Evacuations 🏠: No current evacuations
The lightning-sparked Stoner Mesa Fire, first reported on July 28, is burning west of Telluride inside the San Juan National Forest in Dolores County.
The west side of the Stoner Mesa Fire, near the Stoner Creek drainage, continues to be most active, fire officials said in an update Friday, adding work will continue to improve the fireline and will conduct strategic firing operations, as conditions allow, to remove fuels between the line and the canyon rim.
On Saturday, fire activity decreased with the arrival of thunderstorms and rainfall. Overnight relative humidity recovery was high, and firefighters will see additional precipitation over the fire area for the next several days.
A community meeting is being planned for Sunday, Aug. 24, in Dolores, but no details about when or where it’ll be have been released yet.
To sign up for Dolores County emergency alerts, click here. To sign up for Montezuma County emergency alerts, click here.
Blue Ridge Fire Size: 25 acres Containment: 100% First reported: Aug. 15 Cause: Under investigation Location: La Plata County Notes: All evacuation and pre-evacuation orders lifted on Aug. 18.
Oak Fire Size: 75 acres Contained: 78% (as of last update on Aug. 13) First reported: Aug. 10 Cause: Structure fire Location: Archuleta County west of Pagosa Springs Notes: The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office said two suspects have been arrested in connection with an illegal burn that started this fire. The suspects have been identified as Sergio Alaniz Jr., 41, and Ross Heirigs, 60. They were arrested on charges of fourth-degree arson.
Peninsula Fire Size: 17 acres Containment: 80% (as of last update on Aug. 10) First reported: Aug. 8 Cause: ⚡️ Location: South of Highway 145, between Norwood and Placerville
Yellowjacket Fire Size: 29 acres Contained: 40% (as of last update on Aug. 16) First reported: Aug. 15 Cause: Unknown Location: Northeast of Meeker
Deer Creek Fire Size: 17,724 Acres Containment: 100% First reported: July 10 Cause: Under investigation (as of last update on Aug. 12) Location: Eastern Utah and Montrose County (Colorado)
South Rim Fire Size: 4,232 Acres Containment: 100% containment likely will not occur until snowfall First reported: July 10 Cause: ⚡️ Location: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Turner Gulch Fire Size:31,699 acres Contained: 96% First reported:July 10 Cause: ⚡️ Location: 8 miles northeast of Gateway in Mesa County Evacuations 🏠: All evacuation orders have been lifted
Leroux Fire Size: 195 Acres Containment: 100% First reported: Aug. 3 Cause: ⚡️ Location: Delta County
Wright Draw Fire Size: 466 acres Containment: 100% First reported: July 10 Cause: ⚡️ Location: Mesa County
Windy Gap Fire Size: 30 acres Containment: 100% First reported: Aug. 6 Cause: Unknown Location: Grand County
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Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what’s right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.
When Nora Bruhn bought admission to the Lightning in a Bottle arts and music festival on the shores of Kern County’s Buena Vista Lake earlier this spring, her ticket never mentioned she might end up with a fungus growing in her lungs.
After weeks of night sweats, “heaviness and a heat” in her left lung, a cough that wouldn’t quit and a painful rash on her legs, her physician brother said she might have valley fever, a potentially deadly disease caused by a dust-loving fungus that lives in the soils of the San Joaquin Valley.
Bruhn said she hadn’t been warned beforehand that Kern County and Buena Vista Lake are endemic for coccidioides — the fungus that causes the disease.
“If there had been a warning that there’s a potentially lethal fungal entity in the soil, there’s no way I would have gone,” said the San Francisco-based artist. “Honestly, I would have just been paranoid to breathe the whole entire time I was there.”
The incidence and range of valley fever has grown dramatically over the last two decades, and some experts warn that the fungus is growing increasingly resistant to drugs — a phenomenon they say is due to the spraying of antifungal agents on area crops.
As annual cases continue to rise, local health officers have sought to increase awareness of the disease and its symptoms, which are often misdiagnosed. This messaging however focuses only on Kern County and other Central Valley locations and rarely reaches those who live outside Kern County, or other high-risk areas.
In the case of the Lightning in a Bottle festival, Bruhn said she wasn’t provided with any information about the risk on her ticket, or in materials provided to her by the event organizers. As far as she can recall, there were no signs or warnings at the site where she ate, slept, danced and inhaled dust for six straight days.
And she wasn’t the only one infected. According to state health officials, 19 others were diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis in the weeks and months following the event. Five were hospitalized.
According to a statement provided by the California Department of Public Health, officials have been in communication with organizers and “encouraged” them to notify “attendees about valley fever and providing attendees with recommendations to follow up with healthcare providers if they develop illness.”
Do LaB, the company that stages the festival, said through a spokesperson that it adheres to the health and safety guidance provided by federal, state and local authorities. “Health and safety is always the primary concern,” they said.
The company’s website warns festivalgoers about the prevalence of dust — but doesn’t mention the fungus or the disease.
“Some campgrounds and stage areas will be on dusty terrain,” the website says. “We strongly recommend that everyone bring a scarf, bandana, or dust mask in case the wind kicks up! We also recommend goggles and sunglasses.”
Bruhn said that’s not enough.
“I think it’s really irresponsible to have a festival in a place where breathing is possibly a life-threatening act,” she said.
Kern County’s health department is also in discussions with the production company.
Kern County’s Buena Vista Lake was the site of the Lightning in a Bottle festival this spring.
(Nora Bruhn)
In California, the number of valley fever cases has risen more than 600% since 2000. In 2001, fewer than 1,500 Californians were diagnosed. Last year, that number was more than 9,000.
Most people who are infected will not experience symptoms, and their bodies will fight off the infection naturally. Those who do suffer symptoms however are often hard-pressed to recognize them, as they resemble the onset of COVID or the flu. This further complicates efforts to address the disease.
Take for example the case of Brynn Carrigan, Kern County’s director of public health.
In April, Carrigan began getting a lot of headaches. Not really a “headache person,” she chalked them up to stress: Managing a high-profile public health job while also parenting two teenagers. But as the days and weeks went by, the headaches became more frequent, longer in duration and increasingly painful. She also developed an agonizing sensitivity to light.
“I’ve never experienced sensitivity to light like that … all the curtains in my house had to be closed. I was wearing sunglasses inside — because even the clock on my microwave and my oven, and the cable box … oh, my God, it caused excruciating pain,” she said. In order to leave the house, she had to put a blanket over her head because the pain caused by sunlight was unbearable.
She also developed nausea and began vomiting, which led to significant weight loss. Soon she became so exhausted she couldn’t shower without needing to lie down and sleep afterward.
Her doctors ordered blood work and a CT scan. They told her to get a massage, suggesting her symptoms were the result of tension. Another surmised her symptoms were the result of dehydration.
Eventually, it got so bad she was hospitalized.
When test results came in, her doctors told Carrigan she had a case of disseminated valley fever, a rare but very serious form of the disease that affects the brain and spine rather than the lungs. In retrospect, she said she probably had the disease for months.
Valley fever, a fungal infection, spreads through dust.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
And yet, here she was, arguably the most high-profile public health official in a county recognized as a hot spot for the fungus and the disease, misdiagnosed by herself and other health professionals repeatedly before someone finally decided to test her for the fungus.
Now she’ll have to take expensive antifungal medications for the rest of her life — medication that has resulted in her losing her hair, including her eyelashes, as well as making her skin and mouth constantly dry.
As a result of Carrigan’s experience, her agency is running public service announcements on TV, radio and in movie theaters. She does news conferences, talks to reporters and runs presentations for outdoor workforces — solar farms, agriculture and construction — to educate those “individuals that have no choice but to be outside and really disturbing the soil.” She’s also hoping to get in schools.
But she realizes her influence is geographically constrained. She can really only speak to the people who live there.
For people who come to Kern County for a visit — like Bruhn and the 20,000 other concertgoers who attended Lightning in a Bottle this year — once they leave, they’re on their own.
A truck raises dust on a dirt road in Bakersfield in March 2022.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Outside of California, valley fever is also prevalent in Arizona and some areas of Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Texas, as well as parts of Mexico and Central and South America
Experts worry that as the range of valley fever spreads — whether by a changing climate, shifting demographics, or increased construction in areas once left to coyotes, desert rodents and cacti — more and more severe cases will appear.
They’re also concerned that the fungus is building resistance to the medicines used to fight it.
Antje Lauer, a professor of microbiology at Cal State Bakersfield and a “cocci” fungus expert, said she and her students have found growing pharmaceutical resistance in the fungus, the result of the use of agricultural fungicides on crops.
She said the drug fluconazole — the fungicide doctors prescribe off-label to treat the disease — is nearly identical in molecular structure to the antifungal agents “being sprayed against plant pathogens. … So when a pathogen gets exposed via those pesticides, the valley fever fungus is also in those soils. It gets exposed and is building an immunity.”
It’s the kind of thing that really concerns G.R. Thompson, a professor of medicine at UC Davis and an expert in the treatment of valley fever and other fungal diseases.
“If you ask me, what keeps you up at night about valley fever or fungal infections?, it’s what we do to the environment” he said. “We learned that giving chickens and livestock antibiotics was bad, because even though they grew faster, it led to antibiotic resistance. Right now, we’re kind of having our own reckoning with fungal infections in the environment. We’re putting down antifungals on our crops, and now our fungi are become resistant before our patients have ever even been treated.”
He said he and other health and environment professionals are working with various local, state and federal agencies “to make sure that everybody’s talking to each other. You know that what we’re putting down on our crops is not going to cause problems in our hospitals.”
Because at the same time, he said, there’s a growing concern that the fungus has become more severe in terms of clinical outcomes.
“We’re seeing more patients in the hospital this year than ever before, which has us wondering … has the fungus changed?” he said, quickly adding that health experts are actively investigating this question and don’t have an answer.
John Galgiani, who runs the Valley Fever Center for Excellence out of the University of Arizona in Tucson, is hopeful that a vaccine may be forthcoming.
He said a Long Beach-based medical startup called Anivive got a contract to take a vaccine that’s being developed for dogs — outdoor-loving creatures with noses to the ground and a penchant for digging, and therefore susceptible to the disease — and reformulate it to make it suitable for human clinical trials.
He said prison populations, construction workers, farmworkers, firefighters, archaeologists — anyone who digs in the soil, breaths it in or spends time outdoors in these areas — would be suitable populations for such inoculations.
But he, like everyone else The Times spoke with, believes education and outreach are the most important tools in the fight against the disease.
As there is with any other risky activity, he said, if people are aware, such knowledge empowers them with choice — and in this case, the tools they need to help themselves should they fall ill.
Seven members of a youth group hiking in Utah were transported to hospitals Thursday after lightning struck the ground near them.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints youth group from Salina, Utah, were in the eastern part of Sevier County around 1:45 p.m. when a light rain began.
“Approximately 50 youth felt the shock of the lightning,” Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said in a statement, adding that seven of the young people had “medical concerns due to the electrocution.”
Two had serious symptoms and were flown by helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi, Utah. Five others were transported by ambulances to Sevier Valley Hospital in Richfield and Gunnison Valley Hospital in Gunnison, Curtis said.
None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, according to Curtis, who said the other hikers were returned to their families in Salina, which is 139 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds, heavy rain and a tornado are possible in Colorado’s northeast corner Sunday and isolated showers are expected in the mountains and Denver metro area, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe thunderstorms are possible in the eastern plains this afternoon, especially east of Sterling and Akron from 3 to 7 p.m. Hail larger than 2 inches in diameter with damaging wind greater than 60 mph, heavy rain and an isolated tornado is possible. Weak showers and thunderstorms are expected in north central and western Colorado, according to NWS forecasters.
The Denver metro area will be mostly sunny today with a high of 89 degrees. Showers and thunderstorms between 3 and 5 p.m., with wind gusts up to 23 mph, are possible. The low tonight will be around 52 degrees.
High temperatures in the Denver metro area are expected to continue for much of the week, with a high of 87 degrees Monday, 84 Tuesday and 91 Wednesday. Showers and thunderstorms may return Thursday night and Friday, according to the NWS.
Thunderstorms are possible in portions of central, east central, south central and southeast Colorado Sunday. Storm may develop over the Raton Ridge this afternoon between noon and 1 p.m. and move east into portions of Kiowa, Bent, Prowers and Baca counties. Severe storms, especially east of Eads, with hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter, 60 mph wind gusts, cloud to ground lightning and heavy rainfall may be possible.
Isolated showers and thunderstorms may continue along the mountains in portions of central, east central, south central and southeast Colorado through much of the week. Gusty winds and lightning may also be possible.
Very warm weather is expected to continue in northeast and north central Colorado throughout this week. Wednesday may be the hottest day of the week, with highs in the lower 90s for most of the plains and the Interstate 25 corridor. Showers and thunderstorms may be possible Monday night, with dry conditions through Thursday, according to NWS forecasters.
Scattered thunderstorms may develop over the eastern slopes of the Front Range this afternoon with storms drifting east of the mountains this evening. Light rainfall is expected, but small hail and wind gusts up to 40 mph is possible.
Today will be sunny with a high near 80 degrees in the Denver Metro area and a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m. and before 10 p.m. Tonight will dip to 52 degrees with gusts up to 18 mph.
Wednesday will be mostly sunny with a high of 83 degrees. Showers and thunderstorms may return with a 30% chance of precipitation after noon. Rain may continue into that evening with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight and a low of 51 degrees.
There will be a slight drop in temperatures Thursday with a high of 77 degrees and a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon and before midnight. Thursday night may dip to a low of 51 degrees.
Afternoon showers and thunderstorms may continue in the Denver Metro area on Friday and Saturday.
Weak storms with possible gusty winds and lightning are expected over the mountains late this morning in portions of central, east central, south central and southeast Colorado. Strong storms are expected in the southern plains and Pikes Peak region early this afternoon. The storms may become severe as they move eastward into portions of eastern Las Animas, Baca, Kiowa, Bent and Prowers counites late this afternoon. Large hail up to 2 inches in diameter, wind gusts up to 60 mph and lightning are possible.
Thunderstorm coverage will increase on Wednesday. Some thunderstorms may become strong to severe across the rural plains, according to NWS forecasters.
Thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon and evening may bring hail and high winds to the rural plains in northeast and north central Colorado.
Strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible Wednesday and Thursday throughout the plains east of Interstate 25. Cloud to ground lightning, high winds and large hail may be possible. Weaker storms are expected over the mountains and interior valleys in central, east central, south central and southeast Colorado.
Drier weather is expected Friday into the weekend, but strong storms may linger on the eastern plains Friday afternoon and evening.
JACKSON COUNTY — A rancher and more than 30 head of cattle were killed by a lightning strike in Jackson County on Saturday, according to the Jackson County Coroner’s Office.
As first reported by Steamboat Radio, the strike killed the animals and 51-year-old Mike Morgan, who had just finished branding cattle and was starting to feed them when lightning struck. It knocked about 100 head of cattle off their feet, killing 34 of them.
The first call to 911 came in around 2:08 p.m.
Jackson County Coroner George Crocket told Steamboat Radio that a storm blew in northwest of Rand Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service (NWS) out of Boulder noted the storm as it moved east on Saturday, and warned people in the foothills and Font Range to go inside if they heard thunder.
After a press conference for his upcoming fight with Mike Tyson, Jake Paul posted a video to Instagram showing turbulence in his private jet and claiming that it had been struck by lightning. What do you think?
“Clearly not enough.”
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“Lucky. Near-death experiences are great for engagement.”
The weekend-long series of thunderstorms and snowstorms across Colorado will linger Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Lingering rain showers may remain over the plains Sunday in northeast and north central Colorado. Mountain snow showers will diminish throughout the day but a few additional inches of snow is possible. Widespread rain showers may return Wednesday with a few inches of snowfall for the northern mountains, according to NWS forecasters.
There is a slight chance of rain showers in Denver on Sunday morning with possible showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunday will be partly sunny with a high of 59 degrees and a 30% chance of precipitation. Wind gusts could reach 15 miles per hour.
Sunday evening will be partly cloudy with a low of 39 degrees and a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday are expected to be mostly clear with highs around 70 degrees. Rain and thunderstorms return Wednesday with a 40% percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon and may continue throughout the week.
Showers, high elevation snow showers and thunderstorms will develop later in the day in higher terrain portions of central, east and south central and southeast Colorado and move over the plains Sunday evening, according to the NWS.
Lingering snow showers with light accumulation will continue over the mountains and higher terrain of Teller and El Paso County. Freezing fog is possible for portions of the Palmer Divide.
There is a slight chance that some of these showers and thunderstorms may produce flash flooding for burn scar and urbanized areas. Wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour and dangerous cloud to ground lightning with hail up to half an inch in diameter is possible. There may be a few additional inches of snow over the southern Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains.
Critical fire weather conditions return to portions of the San Luis Valley and eastern plains on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Showers and thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon and evening in western Colorado. Dry conditions return Monday with a light chance of precipitation along the Wyoming and Colorado. More widespread precipitation may return to western Colorado Wednesday into Thursday.
A collaboration between Rocket League, the video game where you play soccer but as a car, and Disney and Pixar’s Cars franchise is such an obvious match that it’s strange it took till now to happen. But better late than never, and now Lightning McQueen himself is racing into Rocket League. Kachow!
The Lightning McQueen cosmetic bundle hits the game on Nov. 7. The McQueen car body will be the very first in the game to come with dynamic expression. This means that the Lightning McQueen car’s eyes will move and blink and change depending on what’s going on in the game. He wouldn’t be lightning without that cocky smile, after all!
There are also three new decals to mix up Lightning’s look: the classic racetrack red, the spruced up shiny deep crimson, and a Dinoco Blue fit. There are also new wheels to choose from, including the iconic whitewall wheels promoted by Radiator Springs residents Luigi and Guido.
The bundle also includes a Ka-chow Goal Explosion, a Lightning McQueen Player Banner. and a “Life Is A Highway” Player Anthem by Rascal Flatts. It’ll be available for 2500 credits.
With the gift of magic, Sorcerers can set things on fire, freeze their enemies, and create wondrous demonstrations of lightning’s lethality. Reminds me of when I was a teen, really. As a result, the Sorcerer is a hell of a lot of fun to play and very versatile thanks to their many options for direct damage, area of effect damage, and healing.
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That in mind, here are three powerful but straightforward builds for the Sorcerer, with Frost, Fire, and Lightning specializations.
Frost Sorcerer Build: Levels 1-15
Kick things off with Frost Bolt, Enhanced Frost Bolt, and Flickering Frost Bolt. Flickering will make frozen enemies Vulnerable for three seconds. A universal truth across almost every Sorcerer build (and probably every class for that matter) is that the more you can send enemies into Vulnerable status, the better.
Next up, grab Ice Shards, Enhanced Ice Shards, and Greater Ice Shards. Greater Ice Shards helps us plan ahead for the next upgrade. Select Ice Armor, Enhanced Ice Armor, and Mystical Ice Armor. Here, we’re looking to stack as many opportunities as possible to freeze and make enemies Vulnerable. After Ice Armor, get yourself Frost Nova, Enhanced Frost Nova, and Mystical Frost Nova. To wrap up your first 15 levels, continue investing skill points into previously acquired skills, and consider unlocking Teleport and Enhanced Teleport. You can leave Teleport at Enhanced for a while if you want, otherwise consider Mystical Teleport if you want to up your damage output or Shimmering Teleport for some damage reduction. If you grab the second Teleport upgrade, go ahead and grab Glass Cannon or Devastation. Ideally you should have both before you reach level 50.
Once you hit level 15, take on the “Legacy of the Magi” quest which will automatically appear in your quest log. That complete, it’s time to start building toward 50, taking additional skills and powering up existing ones.
Fire Sorcerer Build: Levels 1-15
For our Fire Sorcerer, start with Firebolt, Enhanced Firebolt, and Glinting Firebolt. (Glinting Firebolt is the better choice here as it’ll have you outputting more damage over time.) You’ll find that fire builds benefit greatly from abilities with the “Burn” keyword. Following Firebolt, grab Fireball, Enhanced Fireball, and Destructive Fireball. Because it’s so useful, grab Teleport and Enhanced Teleport next. Unlock Flame Shield, Enhanced Flame Shield, and Mystical Flame Shield. You should also take Glass Cannon.
Continue investing in previously unlocked abilities until you hit level 15 for the Sorcerer’s class quest, “Legacy of the Magi.” Now it’s time to aim for level 50, unlocking additional abilities and investing further into existing ones along the way.
Lightning Sorcerer Build: Levels 1-15
For a Lightning-focused build, start with Arc Lash, Enhanced Arc Lash, and Flickering Arc Lash. After that, grab Chain Lightning, Enhanced Chain Lightning, and Greater Chain Lightning. Now you’ll want to get Teleport, Enhanced Teleport, and Shimmering Teleport. You may also find Mystical Teleport to be useful if you’re not satisfied with your damage output. Few Sorcerers can live on Lightning alone, however, so you’ll also want to unlock Ice Armor, Enhanced Ice Armor, and Mystical Ice Armor. You may also wish to grab Frost Nova or Fireball and be sure to unlock Glass Cannon and try to put at least two skill points into it in your first 15 levels.
Finish the Sorcerer class quest “Legacy of the Magi” that unlocks at level 15, and then proceed to level 50 by juicing current abilities and unlocking new ones.
Frost Sorcerer Build: Levels 16-50
As you progress toward level 50 as a Frost Sorcerer, consider the following abilities:
Deep Freeze > Prime Deep Freeze > Supreme Deep Freeze
Avalanche
Upgrade as much of these as you can, prioritizing anything that increases your ability to deal more damage to Vulnerable enemies, such as Ice Blades.
Fire Sorcerer Build: Levels 16-50
In the run-up to level 50, consider these abilities:
Devastation
Hydra > Enhanced Hydra > Summoned Hydra
Firewall > Enhanced Firewall > Mage’s Firewall
Meteor > Enhanced Meteor > Wizard’s Meteor
Align the Elements > Mana Shield and Protection
Inner Flames > Devouring Blaze and Crippling Flames
Inferno > Prime Inferno > Supreme Inferno
Fiery Surge > Endless Pyre > Warmth
Esu’s Ferocity
Increase these as necessary, when you’ve acquired all the skills you think are necessary, start investing into the AoE and healing skills you find yourself using most.
Lightning Sorcerer Build: Levels 16-50
As you level up your Lightning Sorcerer to level 50, consider the following abilities:
Unstable Currents > Prime Unstable Currents > Supreme Unstable Currents
Coursing Currents > Conduction > Convulsions
Vyr’s Mastery
Feel free to experiment with skills from different elements for the Lightning Build, especially ones that’ll stun or freeze enemies in place, making it even easier to chain lightning off of them.
These elemental specializations merely scratch the surface of Sorcerer build possibilities, but they’ll help you get a taste of the many different arcane arts at the class’s disposal. As demonstrated by the hybrid aspects of the Lightning build, combining different elements can make for even more destructive possibilities.
Strike, the leading digital payment platform built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, has announced the expansion of its “Send Globally” product to the Philippines. This will allow for fast, secure and low-cost money transfers between the U.S. and the Philippines, which is one of the world’s largest remittance markets. The Philippines relies on more than $35 billion annually in money sent from abroad, with over $12 billion coming from the U.S. alone.
Strike has partnered with Pouch.ph to enable transfers from U.S. dollars to Philippine pesos, which can be received in a bank or mobile money account in the Philippines.
Strike uses the Lightning Network to make digital payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible, particularly in countries with a high number of unbanked individuals. With Send Globally, dollars are converted into bitcoin, sent via the Lightning Network to a third-party partner in the recipient’s country, then converted into local currency and sent directly to the recipient’s bank or mobile money account. This eliminates the need for both the sender and recipient to worry about bitcoin’s tax treatment, dollar volatility or custody implications.
“Remittances are a broken system and Strike delivers an incredibly empowering experience for people to send money around the world in nearly an instant,” Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Strike commented. “We’re excited to partner with Pouch.ph to advance financial inclusion and bring fast, low-cost cross-border payments via the Lightning Network to the Philippines. Our technology allows us to both improve on the existing cross-border experience and include those that have previously been excluded by legacy payment rails.”
Bitcoin Magazine was fortunate enough to interview Mallers on the development, which can be viewed below:
Send Globally was launched in December 2022 starting with transfers from the U.S. to Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. CoinCorner has also partnered with Pouch.ph to enable remittances for European customers.
With the integration of Pouch.ph and Strike, the cross-border payment experience has been revolutionized and has further empowered people to easily send money to their loved ones back home. Lightning will continue to expand into more markets with more partners to provide better payment services to communities around the world.
Strike CEO Jack Mallers has taken to Twitter to announce that Strike is now an integrated partner with payments giant Fiserv, parent company of Clover. Subsequently, Strike has launched a pilot integration with Clover allowing merchants to accept bitcoin over the Lightning Network.
According to his announcement, the integration is not limited to Strike. Instead, merchants will be able to accept Lightning payments from any source — “From Cash App to a node over Tor. If it can make a Lightning payment, you can use it,” Mallers stated on Twitter.
Mallers clarified that this rollout is part of a 90-day trial period, which will involve measuring the speed and cost of facilitating transactions using the new integration. In addition to that, the amount of business that integrating Lightning brings to merchants will be closely monitored.
After the pilot, Strike aims to enter the Clover app store, and afterwards, direct integration into Clover. This would enable Lightning by default for all Clover merchants, putting it right next to card networks like Visa and MasterCard.
“Ultimately, these payment giants want to see Lightning in action,” Mallers said on Twitter. “They want to feel it, touch it, and see people use it. An open, instant, cheap, inclusive, and innovative payment network seems too good to be true. Time to show Lightning is the world’s superior payments rail.”
The trial period is now active and Clover merchants can reach out to Strike in order to enable cheaper, faster payments using the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Mt Pelerin, a Swiss-based cryptocurrency exchange, has announced new support for the Bitcoin’s Lightning Network on their app.
The press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine describes how “users can now get Bitcoin directly on the Lightning network easily, by card or bank transfer, spend, receive and manage their sats with Mt Pelerin’s mobile app Bridge Wallet and cash out funds from Lightning back on their bank account in 14 currencies.”
The app and exchange serve 171 countries and six languages globally. Swiss regulation allows for users to buy and sell bitcoin with no identification required for amounts under CHF1,000 per day. This preserves privacy in the face of growing threats related to compromised personal information.
“Mt Pelerin plans to let advanced users run their own Lightning node in Bridge Wallet in the near future,” the release explains. “In the meantime, the current release takes care for the user of all the complex channel and liquidity management features of Lightning. This allows for a much easier user experience and completely free transactions. Those already running their own Lightning node and wallet can of course use the service to buy and sell sats on it.”
Also mentioned is the exploration of a payments solution for merchants, which could greatly grow the merchant-end of the Lightning Network. The virtually free and instant transactions that Lighting enables are especially useful for merchants, and express the power of Bitcoin in tangible ways for users.
Fountain Podcasts, a Lightning-enabled podcast app designed to facilitate value for value transactions, has introduced their 0.6.0 update with many features oriented towards capturing new value for value users.
In a blog post, Fountain highlighted the new ability to fund your Fountain account via a partnership with MoonPay. Through this partnership, users can now use a debit card or credit card to purchase satoshis which arrive in the app’s wallet shortly thereafter.
The update also brings the arrival of the activity page, a feed which shows popular episodes and clips. The release describes how, “This is just the first of many new social discovery features we will be adding to Fountain that use money as a signal for value.”
In addition to these larger updates, several UI changes were implemented, including a new content card design, the ability to reply to clips, clips and comments being displayed on the episode pages under Activity and more.
Through the Fountain app, podcasters can receive sats for the content they provide, while listeners can receive sats for likes on their comments or clips. Streaming your favorite podcaster sats on a minute-by-minute basis provides a direct link between the consumer and the content creator, and is a way to empower these creators using Lightning.
By facilitating this value for value model, podcasters can avoid external sources of funding. In many industries, but especially in the Bitcoin industry, these external sources can introduce conflicts of interest which can potentially even prove harmful to consumers who trust their favorite podcasters. With software like Fountain, these consumers can directly support these podcasters and reduce the potential for such events.
