JACOB LAKE, Ariz. (AP) — Visitors and staff at two national parks in the U.S. West have been evacuated because of wildfires.

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, about 260 miles southwest of Denver, closed Thursday morning after lightning sparked blazes on both rims, the park said. The wildfire on the South Rim has burned 2.5 square miles , with no containment of the perimeter. The park is closed until further notice.

The conditions there have been ripe for wildfire with hot temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and dry vegetation, the park said, adding that weather remained a concern Friday.

Firefighters saved the visitor center along the South Rim by removing dry vegetation and coating the building in a layer of protective material, fire officials said. Small aircrafts from Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control dropped retardant from the sky Friday while ground crews tried to contain the burn.

The Grand Canyon’s North Rim in Arizona also closed Thursday because of a wildfire on adjacent Bureau of Land Management land near Jacob Lake. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said it helped evacuate people from an area north of Jacob Lake and campers in the Kaibab National Forest nearby.

This photo provided by Melinda Rich shows smoke from a wildfire behind the Jacob Lake Inn in Jacob Lake, Ariz., on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Melinda Rich via AP)

The fire began Wednesday evening after a thunderstorm moved through the area, fire officials said. It has burned about 1.5 square miles with zero containment.

About 500 visitors who planned to stay in the park overnight were evacuated Thursday night, Grand Canyon spokesperson Joelle Baird said. Employees and residents on the North Rim were told to shelter in place.

Authorities say a new acquaintance sleeping in a car in a family’s yard climbed into a 12-year-old girl’s bedroom window and tried to sexually assault her.

Thammathorn Laohalertdecha, of St. Paul, who turns 26 on Saturday, was charged Thursday in Ramsey County District Court with first-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual contact and burglary, according to the criminal complaint.

Thammathorn Laohalertdecha (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

The criminal complaint gave the following details of the incident:

Police say shortly after midnight on Wednesday, they were called to a house in the 390th block of Blair Avenue in St. Paul on reports that a man had broken into a girl’s bedroom through her window and tried to sexually assault her while holding a hand over her mouth.

The girl screamed and punched him and called family members on her phone during the struggle.

A family member who was alerted to the attack by the girl’s muffled screams came into the bedroom and charged the man, who tried to crawl back out the window. Instead, family members captured him and dragged him outside of the house into the backyard. When one family member let go of the man, allegedly so another family member could strike him with a piece of wood, Laohalertdecha managed to run away and down the alley.

During the investigation, authorities learned that a family member had met Laohalertdecha earlier in the week through a mutual friend. He was helping the man get a car and some money. During that process he took a picture of the man’s identification from Thailand so he could help sell him a car. He told police that Laohalertdecha was homeless and he was letting him sleep in a car in their yard but that he didn’t have permission to come into the house, even to use the restroom.

At one point, Laohalertdecha allegedly asked to speak to the 12-year-old girl but was told that she was a child.

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Later in the day on July 9, Laohalertdecha reached out to the family member who let him sleep in the car and said he wanted to meet to discuss what had happened. Laohalertdecha said he was on the 300 block of Hatch Avenue.

The family member called police, who went to the location and arrested Laohalertdecha. He refused to speak to the police.

Laohalertdecha was charged with one count of first-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with someone under 14, one count of second-degree criminal sexual contact with someone under 14 and one count of first-degree burglary with assault on a person. He is being held on $200,000 bail.

No attorney for Laohalertdecha is listed on the criminal complaint.

The St. Paul Police Department said officers were involved in a shooting Friday afternoon near Maryland avenue East and Clarence Street.

The shooting occurred just after 12:30 p.m., according to a post on X.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be investigating.

The BCA said on X that it had personnel on scene and would release more information after a preliminary investigation occurred.

No officers were injured.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Minnesota United vs. San Jose

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny, 8 mph east wind
Betting line: MNUFC minus-120; draw plus-300; San Jose plus-270

Form: MNUFC (10-4-7, 37 points) is unbeaten in four total matches, including a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal win over Chicago Fire on Tuesday. San Jose (7-7-7, 28 points) is undefeated in four within MLS but lost an Open Cup shootout to Austin FC late Tuesday night.

Recent matchups: In the third MLS match of the season in March, San Jose dominated the ball (72% possession), but the Loons had more quality scoring chances (2.2 to 1.3 in expected goals) and won 1-0 in Northern California.

Big question: How much does each team have left in the tank? Both clubs went to added time and played 120 minutes in the national tournament on Tuesday and might be running on fumes this weekend. The Loons should have advantages in playing both at home, while the Earthquakes will have to travel across two time zones. Plus, San Jose has to pick itself up after being bounced in the Open Cup, while Minnesota has advanced to the final four.

Player to watch: Striker Kelvin Yeboah’s two goals in the 3-1 win over Chicago gives him three in 147 minutes in Open Cup — compared to six goals in 1,347 MLS minutes. Coming off a couple injuries, he has been scoring more in MLS lately, with two two-goal outings in the previous four league matches.

“A couple of really good moments on top of the moments that he had,” head coach Eric Ramsay said Tuesday. “He looked fit. He looked strong. He looked explosive. And I think, given the stop-start nature of how his season’s gone, you can see where maybe the lack of (explosiveness) comes from time to time.”

Absences: Hoyeon Jung suffered a “serious” injury and will be out long-term, but Ramsay did not specify the timeline on Friday. Wessel Speel (shoulder) remains out.

Theme: The Loons have put themselves under a stress test holding a lead late in recent games, and their lack of possession creates more strain.

“I would love to strike a better balance than we have over the last couple weeks in terms of making good decisions as when to counter-attack and play in a more composed way (and) when to kick long,” Ramsay said. “That isn’t a balance that we have found yet.”

Nugget: Ramsay showed his players a sequence at 116 minutes against Chicago during a team meeting Friday.

“With every player fully engaged in a defensive phase and it leads to Kelvin’s (second) goal,” Ramsay said.

Stat: Loons left wingback Anthony Markanich has a goal contribution in four straight matches across all competitions. He assisted on Robin Lod’s second-half goal against Chicago.

Scouting report: San Jose is third in MLS with 41 goals scored this season, with Chicho Arango leading the way with 10. But his status might be up in the air after playing all 120 minutes on Tuesday. Top playmaker Cristian Espinoza (eight assists) might still be fired up after his tirade Tuesday. His knee was bleeding after being cleated by an Austin player and was irate over no red card issued.

Prediction: Given both teams’ fatigue and their transitions to another MLS match in the dog days of summer, Saturday probably won’t resemble “The Beautiful Game.” In order to keep challenging for first place in the Western Conference, however, it’s the type of match where you still take care of business and get three points. MNUFC wins 2-1.

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