The devastating wildfires in Southern California continue to impact people, pets and properties. Non-profits are hitting the ground to help provide aid on many fronts. The Humane Society of North Texas has partnered up with Wings of Rescue and Best Friends Animal Society to fly adoptable pets to DFW.

"We're creating hope on both ends, Wings of Rescue is flying in hope and the Humane Society of North Texas is receiving it, so to me, I think it's just what compassion looks like in action," said Cassie Davidson, senior director of marketing, communications and public relations for the Humane Society of North Texas.

Davidson also serves as the Senior Director of Social Awareness for Wings of Rescue, a non-profit that flies pets from disaster areas such as an earthquake or hurricane to other shelters. They also help fly animals when a shelter is overpopulated.

Next Sunday, Wings of Rescue will fly two planes to Dallas-Fort Worth with around 150 animals.

NBC 5's Sophia Beausoleil spoke with North Texans about how they're lending a helping hand to California.

"Wings of Rescue has stepped in to pull unowned pets that have been sitting in the shelter waiting for adoption. They're going to pull them to make room. They're going to create empty kennel space so that the evacuees' pets can then come in and they can be reunited with their pets. So Wings of Rescue will be flying the stray and those that have been surrendered to Los Angeles shelters to North Texas," explained Davidson.

On Saturday 80 pets were flown to Utah and on Sunday another 80 animals were taken to Oregon, Washington and Seattle.

As they prepare for the dozens of dogs and cats coming to the Lone Star State, Davidson said they need a lot of help from the public.

"We need people to step up and take pets into their homes a few days and few weeks and donations and be able to pay for their care fosters and funds," said Davidson.

If you are interested in fostering, volunteering time or making a donation, click here. People can also email [email protected] to sign up to open their homes.

Davidson, who flew into Los Angeles on Friday, said it was 'surreal' flying into the area and seeing the wildfires from above.

"The skies were just lit up with the fire and my heart just sunk. My eyes started watering, just thinking about all these people who have been devastated by this wildfire. There was no discrimination, this wildfire burned homes down that were billionaires, but it also burned down homes of people, laymen, people who work very hard for everything that they have," expressed Davidson.

She said seeing the devastation in person broke her heart.

"We're hearing a lot of stories of people, and I get so emotional about it, because there's a lot of stories about people who were working that day, and they got news that their homes, that the embers had flown miles over, and had been in their neighborhood," said Davidson as she teared up. "So they're rushing home only to be stopped and they were not allowed to enter, they weren't allowed to pull their pets from their homes, and they were sitting watching their homes and everything in it, including their pets, burn to the ground."

Davidson took a moment to express her disappointment in the cruelty of comments on social media regarding people whose pets were at home during the fire.

"They were at work, they weren't in their homes, and so I think this is a time for us to extend compassion and not let that hatred run rampant, but really step up as a community and extend whatever support you can, whether it is financial, whether it's donations to local shelters, but we need to be the change," said Davidson.

NORTH TEXAS – Snow is no longer falling over most of North Texas after the first winter storm of the season. The National Weather Service dropped a winter storm warning early Friday morning, and let a winter weather advisory expire at 12 p.m.

Several inches of a wintry mix of sleet and snow were forecast to fall over North Texas between Thursday and Friday.

Snow in Dallas and Fort Worth

About 2.6 inches of snow fell in the DFW airport area. Fort Worth is where the least amount of snow fell across the region, totaling just under 2 inches as of Friday morning. Trace amounts fell further south of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The most snow fell in Knollwood, just 4 miles outside Sherman, totaling 11 inches.

Snowfall totals in North Texas as of Friday morning

Here's a look at snowfall totals as of Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures are forecast to get warmer as Friday continues and snow isn't expected to fall after 12 p.m.

Although snow isn't in the forecast over the weekend, North Texans can expect roads to be icy Saturday morning due to melted ice and snow refreezing overnight.

Julia Falcon

Julia Falcon is a digital content producer at CBS News Texas. Julia has previously written for news outlets across Dallas-Fort Worth like the Denton Record-Chronicle, D Magazine, 1080 KRLD and 105.3 The Fan. She covers a span of topics, focusing on sports and trending topics. Every week, Julia produces a show called "Eye on Trending," where she answers top trending questions.

There's a blanket of snow covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area ahead of Friday's Cotton Bowl.

Fans traveling for the College Football Playoff semifinal between Texas and Ohio State could face hazardous conditions on the roads as a winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service remains in effect until noon CT on Friday. That is an improvement from the winter storm warning that was previously issued.

REQUIRED READING:Texas vs Ohio State: 3 pregame questions, including one about the Longhorns' running game

However, the NWS projects road conditions to improve in the afternoon, which should bode well for fans traveling for the 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff at AT&T Stadium. That doesn't mean the roads will be perfect, still.

Here's everything to know about the weather impacts for the Longhorns-Buckeyes matchup in the Cotton Bowl:

Dallas-Fort Worth weather updates

The winter storm that hit Dallas in the lead up to Friday's Cotton Bowl won't impact the game, as it'll be played indoors at AT&T Stadium.

There are, however, some precautions for travelers headed to Arlington, Texas, for the CFP semifinal.

For those driving Friday morning, the National Weather Service says, "light snow or minor drizzle may cause some minor ice accumulations through the morning hours mainly on elevated surfaces."

It might be best to leave for the game once the afternoon starts, as the NWS projects road conditions to improve in the DFW metroplex at noon, once the light snow and rain stops. The temperatures in the area are also expected to rise about the freezing point of 32 degrees, which would help the roads improve.

Temperatures will fall back below freezing again in the evening and night, which could result in leftover precipitation freezing again. The NWS says there might be a cause for concern with black ice forming.

Cities in DFW saw anywhere from 2-4 inches of snow over the past two days, with some surrounding areas of the metroplex reaching up to six inches, according to the NWS.

Dallas-Fort Worth road conditions

Road conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have improved since Thursday, however, those traveling for the Cotton Bowl should still take precautions.

A live tracker of the DFW highways and roads can be found here.

Only part of Texas’ new Bluebonnet Learning curriculum will blossom in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD.

Trustees in December agreed to adopt the math portion of the state-developed instructional materials for kindergarten through eighth grade. They did not, however, take up the state’s new optional reading materials that fold biblical stories into lessons because of concerns about some reading passages and the State Board of Education’s narrow approval vote.

Administrators also said too many questions remained about its effectiveness to teach students how to read.

The State Board of Education approved Bluebonnet Learning in November. The reading curriculum garnered the most attention because of its inclusion of religious texts and was approved in an 8-7 vote. Other subjects in Bluebonnet mostly flew under the radar for approval.

“The math curriculum approved like that,” Superintendent Jim Chadwell said, snapping his fingers. “The reading, language arts (curriculum) has been really controversial on a number of levels, but there are concerns about the quality of it as well.”

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD administrators wanted to adopt another state-approved reading curriculum called Amplify, said Cindy Tucker, director of teaching and learning. However, costs were too prohibitive. Estimates showed Amplify would cost the district more than $2 million annually to roll out the instructional materials to kindergarten through fifth grade reading classes.

The Texas Legislature tied adoption of Bluebonnet Learning to financial incentives for school districts. Districts receive $60 per student regardless of subject.

Bluebonnet Learning is free to use, but school districts have to pay for printing costs, Tucker said.

The district eventually wants a new reading curriculum, but they want to wait for more options from the State Board of Education, Tucker said. The district is hoping to adopt a new reading curriculum for the 2026-27 school year.

In the meantime, the district plans to tweak its existing reading curriculum. Among the changes include increasing the complexity of reading passages; focusing on evidence-based discussions and writing; and using research-based instructional strategies effectively.

Bluebonnet Learning’s math curriculum is expected to be rolled out throughout the spring 2025 semester, Tucker said. Several classrooms in elementary and middle schools have already been using the math lessons.

Administrators plan to keep an eye on the Legislature, which convenes Jan. 14 in Austin, for further changes — including the possibility of the state mandating the use of Bluebonnet Learning, Tucker said.

Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.

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Jacob SanchezSenior Education Reporter

Jacob Sanchez is senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His work has appeared in the Temple Daily Telegram, The Texas Tribune and the Texas Observer. He is a graduate of St. Edward’s University.... More by Jacob Sanchez

North Texas is still dealing with its first winter storm of the year, but California is experiencing five deadly wildfires.

There have been 10 deaths and over 9,000 buildings torched to ashes or damaged since the first spark began in the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The fires have burned through a combined 36,000 acres, forcing residents to evacuate.

The Santa Ana winds did not help, racing at 46 mph, according to an ABC news report. The initial cause of the fires are still being investigated, however the combination of an 8-year drought and the Santa Ana winds was a recipe for a catastrophe.

People have returned home to houses made up of ash and belongings burned by the flames. Schools, a health clinic and iconic Los Angeles landmarks like the Will Rogers Ranch House have been utterly destroyed, leaving the communities heartbroken.

Fire stations from Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Idaho and Utah are headed to California to help fight the flames as first responders are carrying the weight of this disaster on their shoulders.

Texans may be too far to make an impact physically, but there are still ways you can help from home.

⚡ More trending stories from our newsroom:

→How much snow did we get last week?

→Could Texas be impacted by LA fires?

→How Texans can help people affected by LA fires

If you feel led to donate, ensure that you are giving money to a viable source. Con artists take advantage of moments like this to mislead people into donating money to a false cause. To double-check that you are truly donating, you can visit Charity Navigator, which will lead you in the right direction.

Otherwise, these certified organizations have put efforts together specifically for California wildfire relief:

GoFundMe

American Red Cross

Mutual Aid L.A. Network

Y.M.C.A. of Metropolitan Los Angeles

Direct Relief Los Angeles

World Central Kitchen

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation

This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM.