Month: June 2011

El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar has informed ABC-7 that her Declaration for Local Disaster due to drought conditions in the Borderland has been extended by Gov. Rick Perry through 7 a.m. on July 5. This is in addition to Tuesday’s 3-2 vote by County Commissioners that ensures a ban on the sale, use and

Carlsbad Caverns National Park officials announced the park has resumed operations, beginning with Wednesday evening’s Bat Flight Program. Although the park was closed to the public for the night, the visitor center and cave tours were scheduled to resume operations Thursday. Wednesday afternoon, the fire that had already charred 30,000 acres was 60 percent contained.

Authorities say an Iowa woman has died while hiking the Alkali Flat Trail in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. National Park Service rangers say 23-year-old Erica Hoekstra, of Sheldon, was hiking Wednesday afternoon with a friend when she began experiencing symptoms of distress. Her unidentified friend quickly hiked back to the trailhead to

According to the El Paso Police Department, the suspicious device found at the Technician’s car service center at 11150 Montana Ave. in east El Paso on Wednesday was not a threat. The owner of Technician’s told ABC-7 that a mechanic found an unknown device magnetically attached to the bottom of a vehicle he was working

A soldier from El Paso was killed in Iraq on Monday after enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. The Department of Defense identified the man from El Paso on Wednesday as 26-year-old Staff Sgt. Nicholas P. Bellard. Bellard was one of two soldiers killed in the attack. The other has been

Firefighters were called to the 6400 block of Montana Avenue on Wednesday morning as a shed burned near Travelodge hotel in east El Paso. Huge black and gray plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the shed. Our camera crew arrived at the scene to see multiple fire trucks still in the Travelodge hotel parking

Investigators from the El Paso Police Department?s Pebble tactical unit have arrested Jerry GALLARDO for Impersonating a Public Servant. The investigation revealed that GALLARDO was driving a black, 2008 Ford Mustang at 1:20 a.m., Wednesday 06-15-2011 in the 1900 block of George Dieter. GALLARDO attempted to stop a motorist by activating blue and red flashing

The Texas Forest Service has approved El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar’s disaster declaration and county-wide fireworks ban. Judge Escobar’s declaration Monday afternoon is in effect for 60 hours, and the approval by the Texas Forest Service now clears the way for Governor Rick Perry to extend the fireworks ban through July 6th. If and

The Republican-dominated house is redrawing congressional districts. One possible change could have most of Fort Bliss and parts of the westside … being represented by a Congressman 600 miles away in San Antonio. “The redistricting affects everyone. This is a process that happens every ten years when the new census comes out, ” said Congressman

The 49th Annual Ascarate Junior Golf Tournament was held at the Ascarate Golf Course today. This is an official qualifying site for the Junior World Golf Championship in San Diego, CA. Here are your results: Boys 15-17 Isaac Merry, 1st place – 210 score Christian De La Cruz, 2nd place – 211 score Dominick Haskins,

El Paso City Council voted late Tuesday afternoon in favor of restoring the health insurance of everyone affected by a voter-approved referendum designed to rescind the benefits. The 4 to 4 tie vote was broken by Mayor Cook’s vote The City Council, in the Fall of 2009, extended health coverage for domestic partners of city

In a 3 to 2 vote, El Paso county commissioners banned the sale, use and possession of all fireworks for the upcoming Fourth of July. Commissioners Anna Perez and Willie Gandara Jr. voted for the ban. Commissioners Dan Haggerty and Sergio Lewis voted against it. County Judge Veronica Escobar, who proposed the ban, broke the

EL PASO, TEXAS ? Former UTEP soccer standout Melissa Desilets was one of 12 recipients of the Jim Castaeda Postgraduate Scholarship Award, Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced Monday afternoon. This is the third year the award has been named for Dr. Castaeda, who served Rice University for 46 years as an educator, coach and

The Organ Mountains look white and fuzzy, and health officials say the haze is a strong indicator of just how poor air quality conditions are from wildfires burning in eastern and southern Arizona, as well as Mexico. “It was just smokey, you could smell it,” a Las Cruces man told ABC-7. Combined with the winds,

El Paso’s county judge has issued a Declaration of Local Disaster during commissioners court Monday morning, citing the extreme drought conditions. This is the first step in her plan to request a complete fireworks ban in El Paso county. During Sunday’s ABC-7 Xtra, County Judge Veronica Escobar said she was extremely concerned about people setting

El Paso Electric customers had been warned the utility might need to implement rolling blackouts if the growing Wallow Fire in Arizona damaged some critical power lines in its path. That possibility has now diminished as the fire has moved east to New Mexico, instead of northeast toward the Springerville-Luna power line. The flames were

An El Paso teenager faces smuggling charges after authorities at the Ysleta Port of Entry in El Paso found 126 lbs. of marijuana hidden in the van he was driving. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers say the teen was crossing the bridge Sunday afternoon when a drug-sniffing dog alerted them to the drugs

A mid-afternoon fire near Carlsbad Caverns National Park forces the evacuation of visitors and employees. According to National Park officials on the scene, park employees reported a fire at 4:30 Monday afternoon. The employees were in a ‘backcountry’ area of the park, and notified park fire crews. Firefighters rushed to the area and an incident

Thousands of residents in Northeast El Paso lost electricity Monday at around 12:30 p.m. El Paso Electric told ABC-7 the cause of the outage is under investigation. Emergency radio transmissions indicated there were reports of malfunctioning traffic lights at the following intersections: Rushing at Fairbanks, Dyer at Hondo Pass, Dyer and Diana, Railroad at Diana.

It’s a new round in the battle over city health benefits and it’s getting even uglier. The authors of an embattled voter-approved ordinance are threatening to recall El Paso mayor John Cook over a recently introduced ordinance of his own. “If it does pass we will recall the mayor and we will recall every city

This weeks MANHUNT MONDAY Most Wanted Fugitive is a subject sought for leading authorities on a car chase after committing a theft. The target is identified as CHRISTIAN KING (22) of El Paso, TX. JULY 2010 EL PASO, TX – EPPD Officers were called to the Circle K convenience store located at 7800 Gateway East

A freak accident sparked a large fire in the Aguirre Spring area south of Highway 70, about 15 miles east of Las Cruces Friday afternoon. According to New Mexico State Police Lt. Jim Johnson, the cab of an 18-wheeler suddenly caught fire. “There was a small explosion which caused the brush to catch fire,” he

A 17-year-old driver is facing charges and the passenger in his car is dead, following a high-speed chase that began with a robbery. David Cerrato faces two counts of robbery and one count of evading arrest or detention resulting in death. Police said David Cerrato and another man robbed a convenience store in the 300

She weathered a brutal runoff campaign by avoiding public forums and interviews. And she won. Representative Ann Morgan Lilly gets to keep her city council seat after she attracted 55 percent of the vote against challenger Lyda Ness-Garcia. The race was mired by personal attacks, yet it attracted a slightly higher turnout — 7 percent

”Storm 2006” inundated parts of El Paso after heavy rains brought flash floods to many areas across the city. Since the monsoon season brings significant amounts of moisture to the El Paso area, flash flooding can be a major threat. Flash flooding occurs when there is heavy rainfall in a short period of time. Unlike

The massive wildfire in eastern Arizona that has claimed more than 30 homes and cabins and forced nearly 10,000 people to flee was poised to move into New Mexico on Friday, threatening more towns and possibly endangering two major power lines that bring electricity from Arizona to West Texas. Much of the growth toward New

Dozens of family members, friends and supporters of Sheriff Richard Wiles came together for a dual celebration at Azulejo’s restaurant inside the Camino Real Hotel in downtown El Paso Thursday evening. They’re celebrating Wiles’ run for re-election and his birthday. “I’m actually announcing early because I figured that would be a good way to celebrate

El Paso Electric officials say they continue to monitor the Arizona wildfire and the possible impact to their power transmission lines. Officials with the utility say that the fire closest to their Springerville transmission line is five percent contained. They add that the fire line in the northeast part of the blaze had not progressed

A Mexican caravan for peace ended a seven-city tour with a stop in Juarez. Buses rolled into the border city carrying people from across Mexico. The caravan is led by poet Javier Sicilia whose son was kidnapped and killed in March. Organizers chose to end the tour in Juarez because it’s ground zero in Mexico’s

ate Thursday night 06-09-11 at 7:00 PM, Sheriff?s Deputies were called to the area of 600 NE G in Fabens, TX as a Sheriff?s Deputy was heard over the radio requesting assistance. Assisting Sheriff?s Patrol Units along with USBP Agents responded to the area. As Authorities arrived seconds later, they located the Sheriff?s Deputy who