Dragon bursts into flames in Disneyland show
ANAHEIM — Spectators at Disneyland’s popular “Fantasmic!” show got a shock this weekend when the feature’s fire-breathing animatronic dragon suddenly burst into flames.
No injuries were reported following the blaze Saturday night at the Southern California theme park, the Anaheim Fire Department said.
Ryan Laux, a frequent Disneyland visitor, said fire has always been a part of the “Fantasmic!” presentation. But he said he knew something was awry when when flames didn’t come from where they usually do.
“The head started going on fire instead of the fire projecting out,” said Laux, who lives in Los Angeles and captured the blaze on video.
The show was stopped almost immediately “and then right after that, the dragon started catching fire and the whole body was up in flames,” he told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The show takes place twice nightly near the park’s famous Tom Sawyer Island. The climax features Mickey Mouse battling a giant dragon named Maleficent.
Laux said Mickey vanished from the stage as soon as the dragon’s head became engulfed in flames.
The extent of the damage wasn’t immediately known.
SEA LION EUTHANIZED
SAN DIEGO — Freeway, the sea lion rescued after wandering inland from his ocean home and crossing busy San Diego thoroughfares, has been euthanized after falling ill.
The sea lion earned his name in January 2022 after being found on State Route 94, a freeway several miles from shore, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The SeaWorld San Diego team that got him to safety said he’d been previously spotted at San Diego International Airport and in a storm drain in the Logan Heights neighborhood.
Since being rescued last year, Freeway had contracted a “progressive disease that our animal care experts diagnosed,” SeaWorld said in statement Friday.
“Despite extensive treatment, the disease caused his health to deteriorate over time,” the statement said.
Given his decline, the team made the decision to humanely euthanize him, SeaWorld said.
Freeway was first rescued in November 2021 when he was found on a busy road near North San Diego Bay. A rescue crew rehabbed him at SeaWorld for a week, fitted his left flipper with an orange tag and brought him back to the sea.
SeaWorld never figured out why the sea lion kept wandering so far from the ocean.
When animals wander out of their habitat, it’s usually for food, SeaWorld officials told the Union-Tribune last year. But Freeway’s weight was good and he appeared healthy at the time.
“His adventurous spirit won the hearts of all San Diegans and he will be remembered for that and so much more,” SeaWorld said.
2 CHP OFFICERS HURT IN FREEWAY CRASH
SAN BERNARDINO Two California Highway Patrol officers were hospitalized early Sunday after a vehicle slammed into their parked patrol car at the scene of an earlier crash on a freeway east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The collision occurred around 4:30 a.m. on the northbound side of Interstate 215 in San Bernardino, the highway patrol said.
The officers were investigating an earlier three-vehicle crash when their patrol car was struck by an SUV, according to an incident report.
They were taken to a hospital in unknown condition, ABC 7 reported. .
One person was taken into custody but details on the suspect and any potential charges were not immediately available.
Video aired by the news station showed the crushed rear end of a highway patrol and an SUV with severe front-end damage.
All northbound lanes were closed for a time as paramedics and investigators arrived at the scene.
DRUG SUSPECT TAKES OFF AFTER STING FAILS
RIVERSIDE — A suspected drug trafficker is on the run with nearly 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of methamphetamine belonging to a California sheriff’s department after an undercover sting went wrong, authorities said.
The Press-Enterprise reported Friday that the Sheriff’s Department in Riverside County, southeast of Los Angeles, is now trying to get its drugs back.
Authorities set up the sting Wednesday in an attempt to identify drug traffickers. Undercover deputies met with the suspect for the drug sale, and the suspect later drove away, the newspaper reported.
Deputies from the gang task force then attempted to pull over the suspect, who refused to yield and sped off, the department said in a statement.
“Due to the high speeds and suspect’s disregard for public safety, deputies lost sight of the vehicle,” the statement said.
DOHERTY FILES FOR DIVORCE AFTER 11-YEAR MARRIAGE
LOS ANGELES — Actor Shannen Doherty has filed for divorce from her husband, Kurt Iswarienko, after 11 years of marriage. Doherty’s publicist said via email Saturday that, “Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted,” adding that Doherty felt she had been left with no other option. In early 2020 Doherty announced she was battling a recurrence of breast cancer that had progressed to stage four, calling it “a bitter pill to swallow.”
The 52-year-old actor from “Charmed” and “Beverly Hills, 90210” first revealed she had breast cancer in 2015. She has charted her battle with the disease on social media.