A massive Medura lit up the sky in Kiryas Joel on Wednesday evening, as tens of thousands of Satmar Chassidim joined their Rebbe, HaRav Aharon Teitelbaum, as they celebrated Lag Baomer. The event in Kiryas Joel is believed to be the largest individual Lag Baomer event and celebration in the United States. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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A fire early Sunday morning tore through multiple bungalows at Tolaas Yaakov Bungalow Colony in Swan Lake the Catskills – across the street from Apple’s Bungalow Colony Fire crews responding to the scene on Old White Lake Turnpike were overwhelmed by the flames and requested mutual aid from neighboring townships. The blaze was eventually tamped down, but not before several bungalows were completely destroyed. Sources tell YWN that at least 10 bungalows were destroyed. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A minor magnitude 3.6 earthquake shook parts of upstate New York on Sunday afternoon. There were no immediate reports of significant damage. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake struck at 2:10 p.m. with an epicenter about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Watertown, near Adams Center. People reported feeling a weak to moderate earthquake across an area stretching more than a hundred miles, including in neighboring Ontario, Canada and in Syracuse to the south, according to the federal agency. Posters on WWNY-TV’s Facebook page described their homes shaking closer to the epicenter. Significant damage and casualties don’t usually occur until earthquake magnitudes are around 5.5 or higher. (AP)

Heroic Hasidic residents jumped into action Thursday morning after a fast moving blaze ripped though South Blooming Grove’s new “Mint Leaf” Supermarket. The fire started at around 10:30am at the supermarket on Mangin Road. Thankfully, no one was injured, but sources tell YWN that it took nearly 20 minutes for the fire department to get adequate resources to work on extinguishing the fire. Not wasting any time time, local residents jumped into action, and can be seen in the attached video attempting to douse the fire with water. Six locals, dedicated and selfless heroic South Blooming Grove residents Yoely Simon, Moshe Lazer Rottenberg, Kalmy Saal, Shmiel Falkowitz, Meilech Friedman, and Moshe Bernath were seen “manning the line” to help put out the fire.

Summer camp campuses often lay quiet during the cold winter months, but Camp Simcha’s sprawling 125-acre campus in upstate New York was filled with laughter, friendship and learning this past weekend for the Chai Lifeline LH Family Retreat for families living with pediatric cancer. Families from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Florida and California had an opportunity to connect with other Chai Lifeline families facing similar challenges, gaining support from their peers while tapping into the knowledge of a team of professionals, to help navigate their medical journey. The Chai Lifeline retreat featured programs and activities that delivered educational tools, inspiration, solidarity and simcha.

Parts of the Northeast were bracing for a powerful winter storm that could dump heavy, wet snow and unleash strong winds, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people. The National Weather Service says the storm is expected to begin late Monday and last into Wednesday. The storm could hit parts of New England, upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey, with snowfall totals expected to range from a few inches to a few feet, depending on the area. “This could be deadly,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned at a storm briefing in Albany. “Let me repeat: This will be a dangerous storm. Please stay off the roads for your own safety.” Higher elevations in New York’s mid-Hudson region and the Albany area could receive 3 feet (91 centimeter) of snow.

The Kiryas Joel School District ripped into reporting from the New York Times on Monday, in which the outlet wrote up a hit piece spinning the town’s school officials as being corrupt and improperly funneling taxpayer money to their preferred schools. Interestingly, the story was published by the Times on Monday. The day prior, community activist Rabbi Yisroel Kahan predicted it. “It’s been a while since @NYTimes last hit piece targeting the #Orthodox community. What are the odds that they drop another one tomorrow, given that it’s a legal holiday???” he wrote on Twitter. Moshe Gluck replied, saying, “Very good odds…” to which Agudath Israel’s Chaskel Bennett wrote, “Take the bet. It’s pretty much a guaranteed hit piece.” Apparently, the odds were indeed high.

The NY State Police tells YWN that the tragedy which took the life of a young Kiryas Joel child was an accident. As YWN reported on Sunday, 6-year-old Efrayim Yaakov Lebowitz z”l was struck and killed by a school bus. The State Police investigation revealed that at approximately 11:01 A.M., a school bus from EMESS Transportation was traveling northeast on Seven Springs Mountain Road when a 6-year-old child ran into the roadway in front of the bus at which time he was struck. The vehicle continued to travel on, and the child was deceased at the scene. The bus and the bus driver returned to the scene a short time later. The operator was not impaired and at this point the accident appears to be non-criminal in nature. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A couple’s journey from Niagara Falls to Monsey following a peaceful Shabbos Chanukah quickly turned into a nightmare when the family along with their 3-month-old son became trapped in snow on a highway near Buffalo. Stuck in a deep snowdrift with no escape route in sight, the worried couple called 911 for assistance. But after an extensive wait, it was clear that help wasn’t on the way. So the couple did what they could: they phoned Chaverim of Rockland County and explained their concerning predicament. Chaverim immediately sprang into action, contacting New York State Police and local law enforcement to urge the rescue of the family, stressing that the young child was in serious danger due to the cold.

The community in Kiryas Joel is reeling from the tragic news of a 5-year-old boy having been R”L struck and killed by a school bus on Sunday morning. The horrific incident unfolded near Forest Road and Seven Springs Mountain Road. Hatzolah rushed to the scene and valiantly attempted to save the boy, but were sadly unable to do anything. The young victim is the son of R’ Yoel Lebowitz and a grandson of R’ Shulem Lebowitz and R’ Mendel Schwimmer. Levaya details will be published when available. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)