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Top Stories: Wildfire Growing West Of Fort Worth; Addison's Kaboom Town Kicks Off

Cody Duty
/
AP

The top local stories this evening from KERA News:

A wildfire in Palo Pinto County, about 60 miles west of Fort Worth, has been growing throughout the day – and it's only about 10 percent contained.

The so-called “Surprise Fire” has now burned about 2,000 acres. Texas A&M Forest Service officials say rough terrain has slowed progress in fighting the fire. A disaster declaration has been issued for Palo Pinto County, which means personal fireworks are banned for the next 60 hours.

An outdoor burn ban is also in effect for the county, as well as for Tarrant, Denton, Parker and Wise counties.

Other stories this evening:

  • Some North Texas towns tonight are celebrating ahead of Independence Day tomorrow. Addison’s Kaboom Town has been named among the top fireworks shows in the country by USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the American Pyrotechnics Association. The town expects about 500-thousand visitors. The air shows starts at 7:15 p.m. – followed by the 30-minute fireworks show at about 9:30 p.m. Check out a full list of July 4th festivities across North Texas on Art&Seek.

  • Texas troopers have increased traffic enforcement through tomorrow to help keep travelers safe during the July Fourth holiday. The Texas Department of Public Safety today stepped up patrols with troopers on the lookout for drunk driving, speeding, failure to use seat belts and other violations. During last year’s Fourth of July enforcement period, Texas troopers issued more than 98,000 tickets and warnings – including more than 1,600 seat belt and child safety restraint citations.

  • Yesterday, President Donald Trump interviewed four candidates to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who recently announced his retirement. Today on Think, guest host Kim Malcom talked with SMU constitutional law expert Lackland Bloom and UT-Arlington political scientist Rebecca Deen about a few of the court’s recent decisions and concern over who will replace Kennedy.

  • On paper, Natalie Berquist has a good, steady grip on her life. She's had the same job for five years and earns 17 dollars an hour, with benefits. Despite making more than double the minimum wage, she was struggling when KERA's Courtney Collins met her half a decade ago. And she's still struggling now. As a part of our series One Crisis Away: Still On The Edge, we checked in with Berquistas she juggles, work, money and a more complicated version of motherhood.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.

Former KERA staffer Stephanie Kuo is an award-winning radio journalist who worked as a reporter and administrative producer at KERA, overseeing and coordinating editorial content reports and logistics for the Texas Station Collaborative – a statewide news consortium including KERA, KUT in Austin, Houston Public Media and Texas Public Radio in San Antonio.