KJZZ’s Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.
Transcript
ANNOUNCER: KJZZ's Sun Up is supported by Banner Health, Arizona's largest nonprofit healthcare system. Last year, Banner reinvested more than $1.1 billion in community health and charity care. Banner Health: Nonprofit for Arizona. bannerhealth.com/nonprofitforaz.
PHIL LATZMAN: Hey, happy Monday, this is KJZZ's Sun Up. It is your daily news update from here in Phoenix on our student region—I'm Phil Latzman, good day. This podcast, a daily digest of Arizona news, is reported by our KJZZ news team. Monday, July the 6th is the day. Welcome to a fresh week, hope you had a nice holiday July 4 weekend. Happy 250, America. And here we go with a check of the news.
Well, response crews have achieved now 38% containment of the Pocket Fire over the weekend. That fire, located just north of Sedona, has burned now over 26,000 acres. In a video published on social media, lead spokesperson for the response team Bill Morris says the fire is going to be around for a while.
BILL MORRIS: We're not always going to have these big plumes of smoke, but it's going to take a while for it to settle down slowly.
PHIL LATZMAN: State Route 89A remains closed between Sedona and I-17, and a response team from California assumed management of the fire Sunday. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office will continue to alert the public about potential evacuations.
Well, the recent burnover deaths of three wildland firefighters brought the fire lines' immediate dangers into sharp focus. But as the Mountain West News Bureau's Murphy Woodhouse reports, federal agencies are taking further measures to address the work's many long-term risks.
MURPHY WOODHOUSE: Firefighters will now be able to use N95 masks on the fire line, building on a more limited voluntary rollout of masking that started last fall. There will also be expanded access to showers, time for routine gear cleaning, and so-called clean air recovery periods that can limit other exposures to toxins. Persephone Whelan is a high-level risk official with the U.S. Forest Service. She says that a lot more research is needed on long-term health dangers, but that we know enough now to take action.
PERSEPHONE WHELAN: Let's just start minimizing those risks in every way possible that we can while we continue to learn more.
MURPHY WOODHOUSE: Research in recent years has established links between wildland firefighting and serious diseases, including lung cancer. Firefighters are exposed to dozens of known carcinogens on the job. For the Mountain West News Bureau, I'm Murphy Woodhouse.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, if you had plans for the outdoors this week, you may want to reconsider them, as the National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for the Phoenix area. The warning begins tomorrow, Tuesday, through Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 115 degrees. Here's National Weather Service meteorologist Sean Benedict.
SEAN BENEDICT: The heat's going to obviously be the worst during the daylight hours. So if you can, try to take advantage of the early morning and late evening time frames if you are going to do some outdoor activities.
PHIL LATZMAN: Transportation to free cooling centers and other resources are available in Maricopa County by dialing 211. Well, heat does kill more Americans each year than any other weather-related event. So far this year, Maricopa County has confirmed 16 heat-related deaths, nearly 200 more under investigation. Katherine Davis-Young has more on how Arizona's summer temperatures can turn deadly.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: In high heat, the body tries to cool itself off by sweating. But that process has limits, says Dr. Amelia Gallitano with the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
DR. AMELIA GALLITANO: If you are dehydrated, you no longer have that extra fluid to be able to sweat. So you will stop sweating, and then you stop cooling.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: Then, a ripple effect begins. The heart strains to pump blood through the body. Organs don't get enough oxygen. The kidneys struggle to filter toxins. Cellular function breaks down. The brain can swell. The results can be fatal. And certain underlying health conditions can accelerate the process. Last year, cardiopulmonary diseases contributed to nearly half of the county's heat deaths. Katherine Davis-Young, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, the University of Arizona is working with U.S. Space Force to provide training and a new system to track satellites. Greg Hahne has details.
GREG HAHNE: The UA says the almost $9 million agreement to provide satellite imaging services will last for about three years. The military branch's division called Space Forces Southern, which handles operations in South America, says the UA will also provide training and technology to counter adversaries. The Space Force says it may share that training with allies in Latin America. Colonel Brandon Alford, commander of Space Forces Southern, says the UA's proximity to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and robust space research led to the partnerships.
COLONEL BRANDON ALFORD: If we're able to, to train partners to, to do space domain awareness, that's more opportunities to track and process what's going to go on in this space environment.
GREG HAHNE: Alford says that's critical in today's age, where so many military and public activities rely on satellites for communications. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The cost of fighting deportation in the state of Arizona continues to increase as federal policies change the immigration system. Lilly Roseburrough, in partnership with ASU's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, files this report.
LILLY ROSEBURROUGH: A review of government fees and estimated attorney costs revealed that in Arizona, the total cost of fighting deportation ranges from approximately $25,000 to more than $50,000. Mo Goldman is an immigration lawyer and says these high costs lead to many detainees going unrepresented.
MO GOLDMAN: A lack of understanding from most respondents—the people who are in the proceedings—is something that can be very problematic because they don't have the access to counsel.
LILLY ROSEBURROUGH: Goldman says since immigration court is a civil matter, detainees are not given a government-appointed attorney. Tucson-based immigration attorney Sivan Ayala says families often bear the brunt of these costs.
SIVAN AYALA: It'll be the primary breadwinner is detained, and the homemaker, who doesn't work, is the one that's out of detention. It's very difficult.
LILLY ROSEBURROUGH: Detainees who choose not to fight their case and instead opt for voluntary departure still have to pay their own plane ticket to their country of origin. Lilly Roseburrough, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, temperate regions are now warming faster than tropical ones due to climate change. A new study from the University of Arizona found almost 50% of species from temperate regions face climate-related extinctions compared to just over 30% of species in tropical regions. John Wiens is an ecology and evolutionary biology professor at the University of Arizona.
JOHN WIENS: So people thought that tropical species would be more sensitive to climate change. And part of what we find is just that there's much more climate there's been much more climate change, much more warming in the temperate zone, and that just seems to wipe out any other effect.
PHIL LATZMAN: Over 5,000 plant and animal species from around the world were analyzed as part of the study.
Well, decades of suppression have led to an overgrowth of vegetation across Western states, increasing the explosiveness of wildfires, according to researchers who say reducing the risks improves wildlife habitat. The Mountain West News Bureau's Kaleb Roedel has more.
KALEB ROEDEL: The study focused on the Great Basin in eastern Nevada. Researchers found targeted prescribed fires can clear out old vegetation and help native plants grow back. That creates better forage for wildlife, like Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Louis Provance is with The Nature Conservancy and the study's lead author.
LOUIS PROVANCE: Bighorn sheep like young forests that recover, so shrubs, grass, and flowering plants and all that. And so, that fire is just, will just create that.
KALEB ROEDEL: He says that pattern isn't unique to Nevada. Federal and local agencies widely use prescribed fires, but past suppression has left many landscapes overgrown. That can squeeze out native plants, and it can lead to more intense wildfires when they do occur. The study says prescribed fire, used carefully under the right conditions, can help reset those systems and rebuild habitat for bighorn sheep, mule deer, and elk. For the Mountain West News Bureau, I'm Kaleb Roedel.
PHIL LATZMAN: Uber customers will no longer find Waymo robotaxis on the app in Phoenix. As Ignacio Ventura reports, the two companies have ended their partnership here.
IGNACIO VENTURA: The partnership between the rideshare and autonomous car companies first launched in Arizona in 2023. A spokesperson for Waymo says the collaboration with Uber served as, quote, "a productive pilot that paved the way for future expansions and partnerships across the globe." The announcement comes after Waymo suspended freeway trips in Phoenix and other cities in May to improve performance around construction and flood zones. Waymo will still work with Uber in the cities of Austin and Atlanta. Ignacio Ventura, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, speaking of driving, drivers are getting some relief at the gas pump. AAA's latest numbers show crude oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels in months. The average price for a gallon of gas in June, just over $4.60. Now the average cost in Arizona is just under $4. The cheapest gas is currently available in Pima County; the most expensive in Coconino County. Overall, gas prices remain the highest they've been in four years.
In sports, baseball: All-Star Eduardo Rodriguez gave up a seventh-inning home run to Milwaukee's Jake Bauers as the Diamondbacks fell to the Brewers 3-2 yesterday in the finale of their series at Chase Field. The D-backs lose two of three. They drop back under .500 with the loss. They'll start a four-game series in San Diego against the division rival Padres this evening. Rodriguez and Corbin Carroll will be Arizona's reps in the upcoming All-Star game; their selections were announced on Saturday.
Basketball: In the WNBA, the Mercury off till tomorrow, when they'll host the Chicago Sky. The Merc are on a roll — they've won three straight and four of their last five.
And that will do it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast. This Monday, July the 6th, I'm Phil Latzman, thanks so much for being here, and we'll do it again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
