Mayor Clay Walker made a local disaster declaration and has asked Gov. Mike Dunleavy to declare a disaster emergency for Denali Borough residents. The Denali Borough has been affected severely by the Clear Fire; the Clear Fire has burned down two different state subdivisions and threatened other areas such as the city of Anderson and Clear Space Force Station. So far, the Clear Fire has burned over 72,000 acres, resulting in extensive property damages. According to the mayor's declaration, the severity of the damages caused and its recovery efforts, including debris removal and access restoration, seems to be beyond the effective capability of local resources. This is why the governor has been asked to declare a disaster emergency for the people impacted in the Denali Borough.  

When it comes to wildland fire fighting, the folks in the field are considered among the most valuable resources for a incident management team, as are the materials that allow them to combat the blazes they get assigned to. Among the most important of those materials is food. Without it, the crews on the scene cannot keep up the fight as they burn a large amount of calories every day fighting the flames. In order to keep personnel in the field well fed, the crew back at the incident base assigns the food unit to take care of those needs. Sam Katanich, the food unit leader for the Minto Lakes Fire says that this need is met through the use of food boxes. Field camps are sent food boxes filled with fresh meat, vegetables and assorted snacks along with non-perishables.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A packed Orange Line train transporting commuters on a bridge that runs over the Mystic River in Somerville caught fire on Thursday morning, sending hundreds of people scrambling for safety. Video shared with Boston 25 News showed flames shooting from a train car and thick smoke billowing into the air. An MBTA spokesman said the train was approaching Assembly Station when it caught fire around 6:45 a.m. About 200 people were forced to evacuate the train, including a woman who jumped into the river and others who climbed through smashed windows. The woman who jumped off the train bridge swam to shore and declined medical attention, according to the MBTA. There were no other injuries reported.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Brad Hillegass had operated a crane plenty of times but never with the lives of nine men in the balance. That changed July 24, 2002, when nine miners were trapped 240 feet underground at the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County and his job was to safely lift them to freedom one-by-one in a slim, yellow, metal capsule through a precariously narrow shaft dug by rescuers. Hillegass' challenges were many, not least of which was that the rescue capsule, which had never been used before, might get hung up on the shaft. There also were concerns that hoisting the miners too quickly might result in decompression sickness. With all that on the line, Hillegass practiced — over and over again — with the rescue capsule until the call came that the hole to the miners was completed and rescuers had spoken with the trapped men. It was time.  

VIDEO: Staffing shortages are being felt in every office across the country. Many companies have come up with new and creative ways to get people in the door. The Wilson County Emergency Management Agency is one of them. "We're basically starting over again, with a new curriculum. A lot of our administration a lot of our in house instructors have worked very diligently to set this up. And we're looking very forward to seeing how this goes," said Colton Young a firefighter and EMT for Wilson County and also the vice president for the Wilson County Firefighters Association. He says there are about 32 openings for the position. In Wilson County, it's a hybrid position where personnel serve as both firefighters and EMTs. The Department of Emergency Management Agency needs to fill these spots and decided to allow uncertified applicants to apply.  

California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery (CalDerm), the leading voice for Dermatologists, announced the launch of the Firefighter Skin Cancer Prevention Screening Program in California in partnership with the Firefighters Cancer Support Network. CalDerm, alongside our partners at the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, is pleased to utilize the framework built by their professional colleagues in Boston and offer their expertise in skin cancer prevention and screenings to firefighters on the firelines in California. Recent studies have demonstrated that firefighters are 9% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 14% more likely to die of cancer compared with age-matched cohorts. "Fire seasons in California, especially Northern California, are longer each year, requiring that firefighters have lengthened exposure to the most hazardous carcinogens that cause Melanoma," said Dr. Ann Haas, Board Member, CalDerm.  

VIDEO: When you call 911, you expect an ambulance within minutes. But Thursday, emergency services providers offered a bleak prognosis to state lawmakers. "You can sum it up in two words," said Bruce Baxter, president of the Connecticut EMS Chiefs Association. "It's a financial concern and a workforce concern." EMS providers, lobbyists for cities and towns, and hospital groups all weighed in before the General Assembly's Public Health Committee. All agreed the situation is nearing a breaking point, especially in rural areas. The problem? Not enough money and not enough workers. "Some towns saw a drop of half of their voluntary EMTs during this time – up to a third in some other towns," said Betsy Gara, president of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns.