Cooler temperatures and calmer winds helped firefighters in their battle against the most destructive of two big wildfires that have burned homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate mountain communities on the edge of the Mojave Desert and in the southern Sierra Nevada.
A teenage boy is "lucky to be alive" after being swept in an arroyo for several miles Wednesday, officials said.
The 16-year-old boy, who was not identified, was with friends at a park near Juan Tabo and Candelaria NE when he stepped into an almost empty arroyo shortly after 3 p.m. Upon taking the second step in, a strong current swept him away, Albuquerque Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Romero said.
The water was at most 2 feet high but traveled about 35 mph, Romero said.
An Albuquerque deputy fire chief finds himself under investigation after what his own colleagues call a threatening outburst.
In a letter to the fire chief, serious allegations are made about the deputy chief behaving badly during a safety committee meeting.
Action 7 News obtained a letter to Chief James Breen. In it, two AFD Lieutenants said Deputy Chief Richard Sears went on a tirade during a meeting last week.
