By MIKE CATALINI

A man set a bonfire using wooden pallets in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens and left them without fully extinguishing the blaze, sparking a quick-moving wildfire with smoke affecting air quality in the New York City area, authorities said Thursday.

Authorities arrested the 19-year-old from Waretown, New Jersey, and charged him with arson and aggravated arson in the fire that’s still burning in southern New Jersey that they described as started with “an improperly extinguished bonfire.”

Prosecutors said there’s no attorney listed for him.

It’s peak forest fire season in the vast pine wilderness that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) — an area roughly as large as the Grand Canyon — and firefighters are contending with low humidity and the aftermath of a monthslong drought in the region.

Though large tracts of the Pine Barrens are uninhabited, New Jersey is the nation’s most densely populated state and officials have warned the fire could threaten developments nearby. The fire had grown to more than 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) on Thursday, approaching what officials believe to have been the largest wildfire in the state in the last two decades.

Authorities had said there were no injuries or deaths in the fire, but a commercial building and some vehicles had been destroyed. About 5,000 people had been evacuated but were permitted to return home on Wednesday, officials said.

“This is still a very active fire,” LaTourette said Wednesday. “As we continue to get this under full control the expectation is that the number of acres will grow and will grow in a place that is unpopulated.”

An update is planned for later Thursday.

The effects of the fire are beginning to be seen beyond the state.

Higher-than-normal pollution levels were expected Thursday in New York City, Rockland and Westchester counties, and in Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation advised Wednesday. The fire is roughly 54 miles (87 kilometers) south of New York City.

It said “going indoors may reduce exposure” to problems such as eye, nose and throat irritation, coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office in New Jersey also cautioned early Thursday about air quality, saying “smoke will continue to permeate the area.” It said emergency personnel will be on site for the next few days.

In New York, dry conditions across the state are resulting in a “high” fire danger rating in several regions including New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, and portions of the North Country, the state air quality advisory said. The rest of the state is at a moderate or low level of fire danger.

Officials said the fire is believed to be the second-worst in the last two decades, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles (67 square kilometers).

Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency Wednesday and officials said they’ve contained about 50% of the wildfire. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is on an official visit in Poland for a Holocaust memorial. He’s due to fly back home on Friday.

Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.

The Pine Barrens sit between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east. The region, with its quick-draining sandy soil, is in peak forest fire season. The trees are still developing leaves, humidity remains low and winds can kick up, drying out the forest floor.

The area had been under a severe drought until recently.

Bruce Shipkowski in Chatsworth, New Jersey; Hallie Golden in Seattle and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

Robert Crimo III will spend the rest of his life in prison for opening fire on spectators at the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade.

Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti imposed the expected sentence Thursday after listening to statements from 19 survivors and loved ones of people killed in the mass shooting. He was sentenced to seven consecutive natural life sentences without the possibility of parole − one for each of the seven people he murdered — plus an additional 50 years for the four dozen spectators he injured.

“A mass shooting is like a bomb blast throughout a community,” said Highland Park resident Erica Weeder, who was injured in the attack alongside her husband. “Because of this mass shooting, this act of terror, I, my children, and our entire community now know that no one is ever really safe.”

The proceeding was temporarily halted when Crimo —who repeatedly declined to attend the two-day hearing — decided he wanted to make an appearance. Rossetti had already issued the seven consecutive life sentences when he made his decision, another act seemingly intended to cause confusion and further pain for a traumatized community.

The 24-year-old gunman unexpectedly pleaded guilty last month to 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted murder, minutes before opening statements were set to begin in his murder trial. His decision eliminated the need for a weekslong, high-profile court battle that would almost certainly have ended in a guilty verdict.

Under state law, anyone found guilty of committing two or more murders receives an automatic life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole. Before Rossetti announced her decision, Crimo’s attorney said the shooter understands he will die in prison because of his actions.

Killed in the shooting were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband, Kevin McCarthy, 37; Stephen Straus, 88; Jacki Sundheim, 63; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69.

Several victims and their families remain in civil litigation related to the shooting, including against Crimo III, his father, gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson and the gun shops that helped Crimo III get his weapons. Several lawsuits also have been filed against the Illinois State Police for approving Crimo’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card application despite concerns he was a danger to public safety.

Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., sponsored his son’s FOID card, which allowed him to purchase the high-powered rifle used in the shooting despite red flags. Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct for his role in helping to secure the gun permit and was sentenced to 60 days behind bars in late 2023.

Several survivors spoke about the need for gun control during their impact statements, saying there was no reason for Crimo to have the AR-15-style assault rifle he used to fire 83 bullets at spectators over a 40-second period.

“My dad was living the American Dream,” said Karina Mendez, whose father Eduardo Uvaldo was among those killed. “And died the American nightmare.”

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Adelynn Campbell’s last plane trip ended with a panic attack that she got through largely with the help of a kind flight attendant.

That was last year — before 67 people died in January when an American Airlines jet collided with a helicopter over Washington, D.C., in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost a quarter century.

Now, Campbell is even more hesitant to book a flight.

“It’s definitely spiked my concern about getting on a plane and it’s making the whole situation a little more stressful than it used to be,” said Campbell, 30, who manages a coffee shop in San Diego.

Being at least a little nervous about flying is understandable. As Mel Brooks once said: “If God wanted us to fly, He would have given us tickets.” But for some people it causes deep anxiety that could require professional help.

Here’s a look at air travel anxiety and ways to cope with it.

More people seem to be nervous about flying

The evidence is anecdotal, but psychologists and flight attendants say they’ve seen and heard increased worries — and not only in people who already had anxieties about flying.

“Even people who didn’t have a fear of flying are talking about it, given recent events,” said Jennifer Dragonette, a California-based psychologist who treats people with air travel anxieties.

U.S. air travel was down in March and early April compared with last year, according to TSA statistics. Airlines have attributed the decline to economic uncertainty, a decline in government and corporate travel and — yes — concern about recent aviation incidents.

FAA officials recently acknowledged they weren’t doing enough to ensure air safety. Recent polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that fewer Americans report feeling safe about flying this year.

Flight attendants who work planes out of the Washington, D.C., airport were particularly rattled by the January collision, said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union. Some asked for time off to process their emotions, and at least one flight attendant left the job, she said.

What is fear of flying?

Fear of flying — sometimes called aerophobia — goes beyond just being nervous about a flight. It is an intense form of anxiety that centers on certain aspects of air travel. Many aerophobes get most rattled during take-off and landing, or when they think about being locked in a plane.

Some research has suggested it affects about 25 million U.S. adults. Psychologists say it often surfaces in adulthood, developing in people who didn’t mind flying as kids but grew more rattled as they aged.

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In many cases, it starts when people are in their 20s or 30s, at a time they are experiencing big life changes and new responsibilities — like getting married or becoming a parent — and they start to think that “everything counts,” said David Carbonell, a Chicago-based psychologist who authored a workbook to help people cope with flying fears.

A bad flight with heavy turbulence or some other problem may trigger an anxiety that persists, he said.

Campbell, who has other forms of anxiety, developed a fear of flying a few years ago. She is transgender, and said travel can be stressful because of concerns about how she’ll be treated by airport security or in other interactions.

Aerophobia can be complicated, Carbonell said. For many people, it’s not so much a fear of crashing as it is claustrophobic feelings of being in an enclosed cabin and not having control.

Campbell said that’s what she experiences: “feeling trapped and unable to breathe.”

Nelson said flight attendants regularly deal with suffering passengers: “We’ve had people have panic attacks, and we’ve had to give them oxygen. It can be quite intense.”

How to cope with flying anxiety

Statistics have long shown that airliners are probably the safest way to travel. According to the National Safety Council, the odds of dying in an airplane crash are too low to be calculated, based on 2023 statistics — making them far, far lower than of being killed in a motor vehicle crash or, for that matter, walking on a sidewalk or crossing a street.

But experts say you can’t really reason your way out of an anxiety disorder.

Carbonell spends little time on statistics, telling patients: “I know you already looked at them all, and they’re not helping you.”

For people with milder levels of aerophobia, deep breathing often works. Longer exhales help the body relax, said Dragonette, who counseled Campbell for aerophobia and other anxiety disorders at a Newport Healthcare residential facility in Temecula, California.

People suffering more extreme cases can be helped with exposure therapy. It can start by simply getting patients to become comfortable looking at photos of planes, watching videos of planes flying safely, or putting on a virtual reality headset that shows recordings of being inside a plane, Dragonette said.

It’s a matter of getting patients to learn to live with their feelings and better handle them.

Carbonell recommends patients take practice flights that do not involve work trips or any other responsibilities. When they have symptoms, he recommends they keep a written inventory.

“They’re keeping a simple count,” he said. “We’re using counting as a proxy for acceptance.”

It’s OK to ask for help

Nelson, who was a longtime United Airlines flight attendant, says: “I’ve had situations where I’d sort of sit in the aisle and hold someone’s hand.”

On a Frontier Airlines flight last year from Detroit to San Diego, Campbell tried breathing and other coping skills, but they didn’t halt her panic attack. The passenger next to her noticed she was increasingly anxious, and summoned a flight attendant.

The flight attendant took deep breaths with Campbell and helped her get through it, and also took down Campbell’s phone number and checked on her a day later.

“I was really impressed,” she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By Arthur Allen, KFF Health News

While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of the measles vaccine and the threat of the disease are sharply polarized, fed by the anti-vaccine views of the country’s most senior health official.

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About two-thirds of Republican-leaning parents are unaware of an uptick in measles cases this year while about two-thirds of Democratic ones knew about it, according to a KFF survey released Wednesday.

Republicans are far more skeptical of vaccines and twice as likely (1 in 5) as Democrats (1 in 10) to believe the measles shot is worse than the disease, according to the survey of 1,380 U.S. adults.

Some 35% of Republicans answering the survey, which was conducted April 8-15 online and by telephone, said the discredited theory linking the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to autism was definitely or probably true — compared with just 10% of Democrats.

The trends are roughly the same as KFF reported in a June 2023 survey. But in the new poll, 3 in 10 parents erroneously believed that vitamin A can prevent measles infections, a theory Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has brought into play since taking office during the measles outbreak.

About 900 cases have been reported in 27 U.S. states, mostly in a West Texas-centered outbreak.

“The most alarming thing about the survey is that we’re seeing an uptick in the share of people who have heard these claims,” said co-author Ashley Kirzinger, associate director of KFF’s Public Opinion and Survey Research Program. KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

“It’s not that more people are believing the autism theory, but more and more people are hearing about it,” Kirzinger said. Since doubts about vaccine safety directly reduce parents’ vaccination of their children, “that shows how important it is for actual information to be part of the media landscape,” she said.

“This is what one would expect when people are confused by conflicting messages coming from people in positions of authority,” said Kelly Moore, president and CEO of Immunize.org, a vaccination advocacy group.

Numerous scientific studies have established no link between any vaccine and autism. But Kennedy has ordered HHS to undertake an investigation of possible environmental contributors to autism, promising to have “some of the answers” behind an increase in the incidence of the condition by September.

The deepening Republican skepticism toward vaccines makes it hard for accurate information to break through in many parts of the nation, said Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer at The Immunization Partnership, in Houston.

Lakshmanan on April 23 was to present a paper on countering anti-vaccine activism to the World Vaccine Congress in Washington. It was based on a survey that found that in the Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma state assemblies, lawmakers with medical professions were among those least likely to support public health measures.

“There is a political layer that influences these lawmakers,” she said. When lawmakers invite vaccine opponents to testify at legislative hearings, for example, it feeds a deluge of misinformation that is difficult to counter, she said.

Eric Ball, a pediatrician in Ladera Ranch, California, which was hit by a 2014-15 measles outbreak that started in Disneyland, said fear of measles and tighter California state restrictions on vaccine exemptions had staved off new infections in his Orange County community.

“The biggest downside of measles vaccines is that they work really well. Everyone gets vaccinated, no one gets measles, everyone forgets about measles,” he said. “But when it comes back, they realize there are kids getting really sick and potentially dying in my community, and everyone says, ‘Holy crap; we better vaccinate!’”

Ball treated three very sick children with measles in 2015. Afterward his practice stopped seeing unvaccinated patients. “We had had babies exposed in our waiting room,” he said. “We had disease spreading in our office, which was not cool.”

Although two otherwise healthy young girls died of measles during the Texas outbreak, “people still aren’t scared of the disease,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which has seen a few cases.

But the deaths “have created more angst, based on the number of calls I’m getting from parents trying to vaccinate their 4-month-old and 6-month-old babies,” Offit said. Children generally get their first measles shot at age 1, because it tends not to produce full immunity if given at a younger age.

KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér contributed to this report.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.