Storm soaks Texas; hurricane in Atlantic

Houston

The tropical-weather season revved up Thursday as the Atlantic's first hurricane formed and quickly strengthened, and as Tropical Storm Erin's remnants soaked rain-weary Texas, killing at least one person and snarling rush-hour traffic.

Even as they rescued dozens of stranded drivers, authorities in Houston and San Antonio looked over their shoulders at Hurricane Dean, a Category 2 storm building in the Atlantic as it neared islands in the eastern Caribbean.

Hurricane warnings were issued for some islands, and a tropical-storm warning was issued for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The thunderstorms from Erin brought 7 inches of rain to parts of San Antonio and Houston, where one person died and another was injured when the waterlogged roof of a storage unit outside a grocery collapsed, Fire Chief Omero Longoria said.

Minneapolis

Death toll now 11 from bridge collapse

The discovery of two more sets of human remains amid the wreckage of the collapsed interstate bridge increased the known death toll to 11 and left only two more victims to be found.

The remains were found in cars that divers could reach only after cranes moved debris out of the way, said Randy Mitchell, spokesman for the team of Navy divers working the scene.

The bodies of Vera Peck, 50, of St. Anthony, and Christina Sacorafas, 45, of White Bear Lake, were recovered from two vehicles pulled from the Mississippi River, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Frenchtown, Mont.

Wildfire spreads to cluster of homes

High winds pushed a wildfire out of the forest and into a cluster of about 60 homes west of Missoula on Thursday. The fire had burned at least 850 acres, though firefighters said that was a conservative estimate. Crews were dispatched to determine the condition of the homes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

In Wyoming, a historic lodge built by "Buffalo Bill" Cody more than a century ago was in the path of a spreading wildfire outside of Yellowstone National Park on Thursday. The last guests were evacuated Tuesday from the Pahaska Tepee Resort, three miles east of the park.

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 people killed in plane crash

Five people were killed Thursday night when a small airplane crashed north of Ketchikan, authorities said.

There were four survivors in the crash, including a 2-year-old girl, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

Three of the four were to be transported to hospitals in the U.S. mainland for further treatment of burns, Ketchikan Public Safety Director Rich Leipfert told the Ketchikan Daily News.

Information about the fourth survivor was not available.

Also

Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska's most active volcanoes, could be nearing a massive eruption that could affect air travel but was not expected to threaten any towns, scientists said Thursday.

Seattle Times news services