Eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 near Arizona-New Mexico line reopen after train derailment caused closure

PHOTOS: The eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 reopened on Sunday after a freight train derailment caused a dayslong shutdown, authorities said. Authorities shut down long stretches of I-40 near the Arizona-New Mexico state line on Friday after a derailed freight train carrying fuel caught fire. The Arizona Department of Transportation announced the reopening of the eastbound lanes between mileposts 285-333 on Saturday night. However, eastbound I-40 lanes remained closed in Chambers at milepost 333. It was only on Sunday afternoon that ADOT announced the eastbound I-40 lanes had reopened at all mileposts. Motorists should expect long delays through the area, ADOT said. Around 35 rail cars were involved in the freight train derailment, according to the McKinley County Fire Rescue Department, which is in New Mexico.
KTAR-FM 92.3 Glendale

Fire crews help 2 hikers in separate Phoenix mountain rescues

Phoenix fire crews stayed busy with mountain rescues on Sunday morning as temperatures warm up and more Valley residents hit the trails. Around 9 a.m., crews from Phoenix and Chandler were called to the Telegraph Pass Trailhead at South Mountain after a hiker experienced a medical emergency. Crews found a woman in her 30s roughly a mile from the base of the mountain. Authorities say she began feeling dizzy and couldn’t make it down the mountain. Crews began tending to the woman and gave her some water. After a little rest, firefighters were able to help her make her descent down the trail. Crews checked her out again and she didn’t need to be hospitalized. Just two hours later, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Daisy Mountain firefighters were called to Apache Wash Trailhead for reports of an injured hiker.
KTVK-TV CBS 3 & KPHO-TV CBS 5 Phoenix (AZ Family)

5 people displaced after alley fire spreads to Phoenix residence

Five people were displaced after a fire tore through a Phoenix home on Saturday night, according to authorities. Phoenix firefighters responded to the area of 35th Avenue and Encanto Boulevards for reports of an alley fire at around 8:30 p.m. The initial crew that arrived on the scene found fire in the alley spreading to a nearby structure, according to the Phoenix Fire Department. Fire personnel used handlines to extinguish the fire and search the residence for victims, authorities said. However, all of the residents safely evacuated before the fire department arrived. “All five people living in the structure will be displaced as a result of the damage from the fire,” the Phoenix FD said. “The Community Assistance Program is assisting them with their needs at this time.”
KTAR-FM 92.3 Glendale

Yuma: Rural Metro Fire Department holds grand opening of fire station in the Foothills

The Rural Metro Fire Department (RMFD) held a grand opening ceremony on Sunday of their new fire station in the Foothills. The ceremony, which started at 10:00am, took place at Fire Station 10, located at 12535 South Foothills Blvd, where RMFD offered those who attend a tour of the station. The Fire Chief for Rural Metro Yuma, Melissa Hilpert, shares one reason why Station 10 was necessary for the Foothills. "Well, the Foothills has grown tremendously over the past, really, couple of decades, but in the last three or four years, or so, it's grown exponentially, and so, we recognize that there was a need for additional resources out [in the Foothills], and, you know, the station really kind of fills that gap." According to RMFD, Station 10 will also improve and increase access to care to the Foothills and the surrounding communities.
KYMA-DT CBS 13 Yuma

Wildfire burns hundreds of acres south of Maricopa

VIDEO: Over 300 hundred acres have been burned following a fast-moving wildfire Thursday in Pinal County. The fire broke out around 1 p.m. near SR 347 and Miller Road, about nine miles south of Maricopa. The Arizona Dept. of Forestry and Fire Management reported that multiple crews responded, including a hand crew, engine and air attack. An estimated 340 acres burned, mostly involving light grass and desert shrubs. Video from the Arizona’s Family news chopper shows at least one structure was destroyed. Firefighters remained on scene extinguishing hot spots. No injuries have been reported. In southeast Arizona, fire crews achieved 100% containment on the Bowers Fire on Thursday. The fire that began Monday in Cochise County left one man dead and another hurt.
KTVK-TV CBS 3 & KPOH-TV CBS 5 Phoenix (AZ Family)

Bomb squad responds to possible grenade in Green Valley

PHOTO: Pima Regional Bomb Squad responded to reports of a grenade in Green Valley Thursday morning. According to a release from Green Valley Fire, a Sonoita resident brought what he believed to be a live grenade to Station 153. The man told firefighters that he found the grenade on his son's property, and he didn't know what to do with he so it brought it to the fire station. The station and crews were evacuated and taken out of service until it could be determined if the grenade was live or inert. The Pima County Sheriff's Office was notified, and the Pima Regional Bomb Squad was mobilized and responded. Bomb technicians X-rayed the grenade and determined it was inert and did not pose a threat. Traffic on north Abrego at the intersection of Continental was closed during the incident.
KVOA-TV NBC 4 Tucson

Helicopter crew rains fireballs over Tonto National Forest to prepare for wildfire season

Smoke billowed from Diamond Rim on the Tonto National Forest on Monday afternoon as a helicopter bobbed along overhead, dropping tiny fireballs to stoke flames on the ground. The federally contracted chopper is based for this spring and summer at a new, $4.9 million U.S. Forest Service helicopter base in Star Valley that will aid in both fighting wildfires and igniting prescribed burns like the one on the ridge. The Payson Ranger District’s helitack team, which fights fires via helicopter, at times rappelling to the forest floor, has moved there from trailers that it formerly worked out of at the Payson airport. The Forest Service started work last week on burning some 5,500 acres of brush and dense woodlands north of Payson in an effort to protect more than 400 homes and summer cottages scattered around the woods north and east of town.
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