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EV fire on I-65

The challenges sometimes faced by those fighting an electric-vehicle fire visited Alabama on Christmas night, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

Those challenges are often related to EV’s lithium-ion batteries. Monday night’s fire after a wreck involving a Tesla on I-65 in Autauga County is under investigation.

If you were traveling the interstate after 11:14 p.m. you didn’t miss that something was going on. Responding to the fire were three fire engines, two rescues, one ambulance, four water tankers, one squad, one brush truck and three command vehicles.

It took two hose lines, 36,000 gallons of water and more than an hour to get control of the fire. The Tesla’s driver was not hurt.

Police-shooting investigation

The state’s criminal investigation into the Decatur police fatal shooting of Stephen Perkins has been completed and submitted to the Morgan County DA’s office, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

The findings were not publicly released.

Decatur police officers say that on Sept. 29 Perkins threatened a tow-truck driver with a gun in his yard and later turned the gun on an officer. The first police report also said Perkins refused orders to drop his weapon, but the Decatur Police chief later said that part wasn’t accurate. Mayor Tab Bowling announced this month that three officers were fired and another suspended related to the shooting.

Protesters have been marching in the city since the shooting, demanding that the officers be fired, arrested and prosecuted.

Designer puppies?

Trends among new dog owners are hurting adoption efforts at Birmingham-area shelters, reports AL.com’s Joseph D. Bryant.

According to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, adoptions are declining and shelters are full countywide, partly because people are buying more dogs from breeders over the internet.

The organization’s executive director, Allison Black Cornelius, said home-delivered designer puppies are competing with the shelters.

“Shelters are all full, and adoptions are down across the country,” she said.

Which means that, if you’re in the market for adopting a dog, there are plenty of options for you.

More Alabama news

Born on this date

In 1948, former Steppenwolf guitarist Larry Byrom of Huntsville.

In 1959, NFL Hall of Famer Andre Tippett of Birmingham.

In 1979, pop-country singer/songwriter Walker Hayes of Mobile.

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