In photos: California firefighters battle wildfires in searing heat
16 August 2020
As firefighters struggle to contain two massive wildfires near Los Angeles amid a heat wave, power companies were warning Californians of possible power outages overnight. And the National Weather Service in Reno issued a tornado warning after a "firenado" was spotted near one fire.
The big picture: Firefighters had contained 12% of the Lake Fire, which has destroyed property as it burned across 14,714 acres, per CalFire. The Ranch Fire has razed some 2,500 acres and had yet to be contained. Los Angeles County said smoke from both blazes "has caused unhealthy air quality" in nearby neighborhoods. The Loyalton fire in Sierra County, where fire tornado was sighted, had burned some 20,000 acres and was 5% contained Saturday, per the responding Tahoe National Forest unit.
Extremely dangerous fire behavior noted on the #LoyaltonFire! Rotating columns and potential for fire whirls. Responders should exercise extreme caution!!! https://t.co/DYghar7yiz
— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) August 15, 2020
The threat remains high in the Lake Hughes area. Photo: Nick Ut/Getty Images
A scorched statue in front of a home razed by the fire on Aug. 13. It's one of several properties and vehicles destroyed along Pine Canyon Road west of Lake Hughes. Photo: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Firefighters work to extinguish hotspots from the Lake Fire at Pine Canyon Road. Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
Emergency vehicles respond to the wildfire on Aug. 12. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
#LakeFire; Ferdinand the Bull wasn’t clowning around when he chased FF’s down the road. Crews were clearing the road so the engines could get to a clearing when they were chased out. Luckily no one was injured and #Ferdinand went about his day. @VCPFA#vcfdpic.twitter.com/vxdOTFoEB7
— Ventura County Fire (@VCFD) August 15, 2020
A smoky morning due to the #RanchFire. Our live cams can be found here: https://t.co/XPfY5s6ZKVpic.twitter.com/iIuskfJ7Vd
— Mount Wilson Observatory (@MtWilsonObs) August 14, 2020
Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.