In brief: California wildfire tests firefighters
WINTERS, Calif. – Rugged terrain, shifting winds and hot, dry conditions hampered efforts Sunday to contain a wildfire in Northern California that burned to the edge of a rural neighborhood, officials said.
A firefighter was hospitalized after a bulldozer he was operating in the steep mountains southeast of Lake Berryessa rolled over, state fire spokesman Colin McDonald said. He said he didn’t know the extent of the firefighter’s injuries.
The three-day-old Monticello fire burned about 10 square miles. It was only 30 percent contained, and officials said it has “a potential for extreme growth.”
Officials said flames were stoked by gusty winds in the remote mountain range of Yolo County and thick, brittle brush that has not burned for at least two decades.
In Southern California, a 217-acre wildfire near the town of Julian was fully contained Sunday.
The blaze broke out Thursday, prompting the mandatory evacuation of 200 homes and forcing the cancellation of the central San Diego County town’s Fourth of July parade and celebration.
Man loses hands in fireworks mishap
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A Northern California man igniting illegal fireworks blew off both of his hands when a device exploded prematurely, police said.
Officer Albert Morales of the San Jose Police Department said the man in his 40s is expected to live. The explosive went off in the man’s hands as family members stood nearby late on the Fourth of July holiday.
The San Jose Mercury News also reported that two other men were seriously injured in Sunnyvale while lighting a mortar-like explosive Friday.
The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said that at 10 p.m. the men – ages 41 and 32 – were hurt at an apartment complex when the illegal firework ignited prematurely. Witnesses said the men had been trying to ignite the firework when it went off in their hands, officials reported.
One man lost fingers on his left hand and finger tips on the right hand, while officials said the other man lost part of his right hand.
Three in custody after officer killed
GARY, Ind. – A Gary police officer was found shot to death Sunday in his patrol car and three people, including one person of interest, were taken into custody, authorities said.
Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield was found dead about 5:45 a.m. after a person called police and reported an officer bleeding in his car, police spokeswoman Cpl. Gabrielle King told the Associated Press.
Westerfield, whose 47th birthday was Sunday, was pronounced dead at the scene, officers said.
No charges were announced and a motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately clear.
Ex-Illinois senator Dixon dies at 86
CHICAGO – Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon of Illinois has died.
His son, Jeffrey Dixon, told the Associated Press the 86-year-old died Sunday at his home in Fairview Heights. He recently had been hospitalized for heart problems, but his condition had improved and he had returned home.
Dixon served in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1993. He also had a long career in state politics, serving in the Illinois House, Illinois Senate and as the state’s treasurer and secretary of state.
He lost the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat in 1992 to Carol Moseley Braun. She was the first African-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.