What to know: Tropical Storm Priscilla to drench Southwest US, raising deadly flash flood risk - By Mead Gruver, Associated Press
A region more accustomed to baking heat than soggy weather is about to get soaked, raising the risk of flash floods that can surprise — and kill — in minutes.
Downgraded from a powerful hurricane, Tropical Storm Priscilla has lost its punch in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. But the storm still carries plenty of moisture and is now bearing down on the southwestern U.S., where flood warnings already were posted Thursday.
Forecasters expected rain bands from Priscilla's remnants to saturate areas of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado through this weekend, bringing as much moisture in hours as some of those places might get all year.
Recent deadly flooding in Texas and New Mexico speaks to what can go badly with rain like that.
"We don't want to see people caught up in the hazards we are going to be seeing," said meteorologist Robert Rickey with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Arizona will be hit hardest
Northern Arizona is most at risk, with 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) of rain likely in and around Flagstaff, the national park gateway city south of the Grand Canyon.
Some areas could get even more, said Rickey, but where exactly that will happen is impossible to predict very long in advance.
High-elevation Flagstaff gets ample rain, upward of 2 feet (60 centimeters) a year, though not often in such big doses. Southwestern and northeastern Arizona see far less, in some places as little as 5 inches (13 centimeters) or less a year; Phoenix gets just 7 or 8 inches (18 to 20 centimeters) a year.
In such deserts, downpours on paved, urban landscapes with minimal drainage infrastructure and in backcountry areas mazed with canyons can become deadly fast.
Worried folks headed outdoors have been calling the National Weather Service asking if they should cancel. The agency has been kept open during the government shutdown.
"I had to have that kind of frank conversation with them," Rickey said. "Is the risk worth the reward?"
Never go here if heavy rain is possible
After heat, flooding is the deadliest weather phenomenon in the U.S., killing 145 people in 2024. Many victims were in their cars, braving high water that can be deceptively dangerous.
In Arizona, a "stupid motorist law" allows drivers to be billed up to $2,000 if they drive around a barricade or warning sign into a flooded area and have to be rescued.
By encouraging smarter driving, the law attempts to reduce the state's dozens of such rescues every year. Some, though, worry the law discourages people from seeking help right away, putting them in worse danger. The law isn't consistently enforced.
The Southwest's desert canyons and arroyos are notorious for flash flooding risk. Even a storm miles (kilometers) upstream can turn a dry wash into a raging torrent, churning debris downstream and blocking the way out for hikers and cars.
That is what happened in southern Utah a couple weeks ago, when a desert canyon flood trapped at least 10 people, all of whom were eventually accounted for by officials.
Mountains can also channel deadly flooding. In June, three people, including children ages 7 and 4, were killed in a flash flood at a riverside RV park.
Forested areas can become worse for flash flooding if they have recently burned clear of vegetation that can hold back water and allow it to soak into the ground. This weekend, that includes the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which burned in a massive wildfire last summer.
The National Weather Service had posted a flash flood watch for most of Arizona, as well as southern Utah and smaller portions of California, Nevada and Colorado.
Strong storms were already moving north across Arizona and southern Utah, bringing up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain in places. Scattered flash flood warnings were posted along the state line, including for Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Much of the Southwest's rain comes during the summer monsoon season of scattered storms from mid-June through September. Rain from autumn tropical systems like this one might happen once a year, said Rickey, the meteorologist.
In Flagstaff, heavy equipment was being positioned across the city, and staff were monitoring low water crossings and areas where wildfires have burned for potential flooding.
Self-serve sandbags were available to residents at a city park, and water was being released from a pond to make more room for runoff.
The Havasupai Tribe, whose reservation is deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon and is prone to flooding, advised tourists in a social media post not to hike to certain areas if it is raining or flooding, and to seek higher ground if they see water rushing through the area.
The reservation is one of the most remote in the continental U.S. and is accessible only by mule or foot. Tourists worldwide visit for the blue-green waterfalls and creekside campground.
Mike Rock with Junipine Resort in Sedona, which sits along Oak Creek, said staff were monitoring road and weather conditions, and letting guests know to take precautions.
Picnic tables closer to the creek will be moved if the water rises. If flooding or rock falls shut down nearby roads, staff can stay at the resort, as is typical with bad weather, he said.
"All signs are indicating we're going to get pretty hard," he said.
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Associated Press Assistant News Director Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed to this report.
McCall dispels allegations that ICE operations tied to pumpkin patch - Nakalya McClelland, Albuquerque Journal
At a Torrance County Commission meeting Wednesday, Vice Chair Kevin McCall shot down rumors — first made by a teachers union before gaining steam over social media — that his business, McCall’s Pumpkin Patch, was tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Our business is in no way communicating or working with ICE,” McCall said to a room filled with 20 residents of the county and numerous others over teleconference. “I want to be very clear. My decisions behind this table are for the betterment of this county, and it has no effect on my decisions with my personal business.”
The controversy was sparked after Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein emailed union members earlier this week, stating that McCall supported ICE and that commissioners ignored reports of unsafe conditions at the Torrance County Detention Center in the name of economic gain.
“He has proven to be an unquestioning supporter (literally) of using the Torrance County Detention Center to house people detained by ICE,” Bernstein wrote in the statement, which ended with “beware of rotten pumpkins.”
The tension comes after Torrance County commissioners unanimously voted in March to extend a contract that allows the detention facility to house ICE detainees.
The original 2020 agreement had already been extended once, adding seven months. The latest extension permits the facility to hold detainees for an additional four months.
McCall argued that criticism of the decision has come primarily from Albuquerque residents and people from out of state — not from within Torrance County.
After Bernstein’s statement, McCall issued a public statement on the pumpkin patch’s Facebook page and said “social media and other social media outlets have turned this in to a string of lies.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, fellow county commissioners voiced support for McCall, emphasizing the economic benefits the detention facility brings to the area.
“We’re 50th in education and I find it ironic that the union has the ability to throw these (statements) out to hamper economics, mislead students, to create fear,” Chair Ryan Schwebach said.
In a follow-up statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, ATF said their job as educators was to protect all students regardless of immigration status.
“I think it’s important that everybody who is a consumer understands where they’re spending their money,” Bernstein said. “Why would he be upset that we told our members how he (McCall) voted as a commissioner?”
At least one lawmaker voiced their opinion on the matter.
“Enough with the cancel culture nonsense,” said Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park. “Don’t let Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, and social-media liars and fearmongers impact a family-owned, community-first business.”
During public comment at Wednesday’s meeting, several people raised additional concerns, alleging environmental and safety issues at the detention facility, including a collapsed septic tank and malfunctioning cell doors that must be opened manually.
NM environment department proposes rules for pending PFAS labeling and restrictions - Source New Mexico
The state environment department on Wednesday put forward proposed rules that will be used to implement a new law regulating the use of so-called “forever chemicals” in consumer productions.
House Bill 212—the PFAS Protection Act—passed by New Mexico lawmakers in the regular 2025 legislative session, institutes the gradual phasing out of intentionally added per-and-polyfluouroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in everyday items.
“These rules will prevent toxic PFAS chemicals from unknowingly entering the places where we live, work and play,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement. “From cookware and food packaging, to furniture and cleaning supplies, to adult hygiene products and baby clothes and toys—these rules will protect the health of New Mexicans and our environment from toxic forever chemicals.”
New Mexico is the third state to enshrine a ban in state laws to address the use of PFAS in consumer products, joining Maine and Minnesota.
As detailed in a news release from the environment, the law phases out and then prohibits consumer products that contain intentionally added PFAS, which “can cause a range of adverse health issues including thyroid disease, liver or kidney damage, birth defects, certain types of cancers, and increase the risk of reproductive issues like decreased fertility, low birth weight, or developmental delays.”
Specifically, state law prohibits in 2027 the sale of certain products with intentionally added PFAS in items like cookware food packaging and juvenile products; cosmetics, furniture and carpets will be prohibited in 2028; and, in 2032, state law prohibits selling all non-exempt products —such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electronics and cars— with intentionally added PFAS in New Mexico.
On Wednesday, the environment department submitted the rules to the independent Environmental Improvement Board. If passed after the rulemaking process they will take effect in July of 2026. Public comments have already been opened, and the state environment department will host a virtual public meeting on Oct. 22 to provide an overview of the rules and answer questions.
“With the passage of House Bill 212, we had one clear objective – to safeguard New Mexicans from dangerous added toxins, PFAS, in everyday products,” State Rep. and Majority Whip Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Albuquerque) said in a statement. “Today’s Environmental Improvement Board filing brings us one critical step closer in removing harmful chemicals from our homes, and to provide peace of mind to our communities.”
The act also requires manufacturers to label products that include intentionally added PFAS. The environment department included two examples in a news release, but said neither are final.
“House Bill 212 represents an important step forward to protect New Mexicans from toxic PFAS chemicals,” state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces) said in a statement. “Data has shown that these dangerous cancer-causing chemicals persist in the human body and in the environment for a very long time, and we must do all we can to prevent New Mexican’s exposure to them.”
Energy company abandons proposal to store nuclear waste at site in New Mexico - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
A private energy company is abandoning a proposal to store nuclear waste at a site in southeastern New Mexico.
Holtec International described an "untenable path forward for used fuel storage in New Mexico" as it walked away from the proposal to temporarily hold spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants across the nation. The New Jersey-based company confirmed its decision Thursday.
Holtec said the move would allow it to work with other states that are more amenable.
The New Mexico project was cast aside despite a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling in August that rebooted plans for temporary storage in Texas and New Mexico.
The U.S. is at an impasse over a permanent solution for storing spend nuclear fuel, as roughly 100,000 tons (90,000 metric tons) of spent fuel, some of it dating from the 1980s, pile up at current and former nuclear plant sites nationwide. The waste was meant to be kept there temporarily before being deposited deep underground.
U.S. nuclear regulators in 2023 licensed the proposed multibillion-dollar storage complex in New Mexico, while opposition persisted.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Legislature put up stiff resistance with legislation that threatened to withhold state permits at least until a permanent storage solution is in place.
"It's inappropriate to call anything 'interim' when you don't have a permanent repository" for spent nuclear fuel, said Sen. Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces, lead sponsor of the bill.
He called Holtec's decision to withdraw "a huge relief," adding that "of course it's still a national problem that needs to be solved."
By contrast, Lujan Grisham's Republican predecessor, Susana Martinez, had been supportive of the project. Holtec had argued the plan was safe and would be an economic boon for the region, without interfering with nearby oil development.
Critics of the project, including the Sierra Club, said Holtec's decision highlights an enduring roadblock.
"Nuclear energy has an intractable problem — no one wants the waste," said Camilla Feibelman of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter.
NM DOJ to investigate Givan death - KOAT-TV
The New Mexico Department of Justice will investigate the case of a man whose 2024 death in Albuquerque is currently getting national attention.
Jayvon Givan was found on September 17 last year hanging by a chain from a wall at a business closed for renovation, according to a police report from Albuquerque police.
APD and the Office of the Medical Investigator had ruled the death a suicide. But his family only learned of his death recently. Givan’s sister, who lives in Kansas City, filed a missing person’s report on October first of this year. She told police her brother left Kansas City over a year ago to backpack through America. She learned of Givan’s death and the Albuquerque Police report this month.
On Tuesday (Oct. 7) Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina launched an independent review into the initial investigation of Jayvon Givan's death.
KOAT reports that on Wednesday (Oct. 8) the New Mexico Department of Justice confirmed with KOAT that it received a request from Albuquerque Police to conduct an independent review into Givan's death for further investigation.
Earlier this week, about 100 people gathered at the Albuquerque Police Department headquarters to call attention to the case and demand further investigation.
Gallup to take over animal shelter; ends contract with McKinley County Humane Society - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
The city of Gallup will soon be assuming control of the local animal shelter after terminating its contract with the McKinley County Humane Society and accusing it of substandard care, among other things.
“There has been a disregard on the society’s part for veterinary guidelines aimed at ensuring animal safety, a notable increase in euthanasia rates, and little transparency or accountability for the use of public funds the society receives,” according to a Facebook post by the city.
In response to a request for comment, the Humane Society referred the Journal to the city.
On Sept. 25, the Humane Society, which is contracted with the city, said on social media that it had to vacate the shelter at the end of October.
Five days later, the city of Gallup posted on social media that it “tried to foster a cooperative relationship between animal control and the humane society regarding the animals in the society’s care, but without success,” citing two canine parvovirus outbreaks.
It is unclear how the alleged outbreaks started, but Gallup City Manager Frank Chiapetti said 143 animals were affected.
Known as parvo, the virus attacks a dog’s white blood cells and gastrointestinal tract. In puppies, the virus can damage the heart, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
“This change is intended to reduce parvo cases at the facility through greater adherence to veterinarian recommendations, which, in turn,” according to the city, “will lead to significant decrease in euthanasia, lower costs for adoptions and vaccines, new partnerships with other rescues and shelters, and increased public transparency regarding shelter operations and the use of public money...”
On Monday, the city released a transition plan regarding animal shelter operations.
“Following the contract’s termination, the city, working with the (Gallup-McKinley County) Animal Control Authority will assume responsibility for all shelter operations, including continuing intake of stray and surrendered animals, adoptions, fostering, transport, and veterinary services, and the city, the humane society, and the Animal Control Authority will endeavor to work and cooperate with one another in all such matters.”