The Caribou fire near Homer reached over 13 acres Wednesday night, but is 20% contained with no immediate threat to nearby homes according to the Division of Forestry. In an updated Thursday morning post on the division's Facebook page, the fire, located roughly four miles from the nearest settlement of Razdolna and over two miles from the mouth of the Fox River, was being attended to by 21 workers with the Pioneer Peak Interagency Hotshot Crew, as well as 12 smokejumpers from Fairbanks. The crews were busy cutting saw lines that serve as a barrier between the fire and other fuel sources and manmade structures. An update at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday measured the fire at 13.3 acres, a jump up from 10 acres from an earlier post in the day. Kale Casey, a spokesperson with the division, said that there are approximately 27 off-grid residences within a mile of the fire that were notified of current operations, but none were asked to evacuate.  

A home in Jackson's Belhaven neighborhood appears to be a total loss after a massive fire overnight. The house is at the corner of Pinehurst and Olive Streets, right across from Belhaven University and a few doors down from the historic Eudora Welty House. There's no word yet on how it started or whether anyone was inside at the time.  

A firebug is wreaking havoc in south Sacramento, setting more than a dozen fires during the month of May near the same intersection. Gesselle Pablo drove up on the flames and started snapping pictures. In one picture, fire lined Freeport Boulevard, but that wasn't the only one. Pablo spotted another fire a block away off Florin Road. "I think it's messed up. There's already a lot going on in this world to start this, too, especially in this neighborhood," said Pablo. What's more concerning is that there have been 16 fires just this month. They've all been right near Florin Road and Freeport Boulevard. "It's frustrating. I don't know what to do about it, though," said Chris Matsumoto. Matsumoto works at a nearby barbershop. "This is our area. We live around here. It hurts," said Matsumoto.  

One family is celebrating more than a century of service to Milwaukee in 2022. The Lipski family has been serving in the Milwaukee Fire Department for 110 years. It started back in 1912 when current Chief Aaron Lipski's great-grandfather's oldest brother started at Engine No 21 off of Palmer and Lloyd Street. "First Sylvan, and then the second one was Ignatz [who] came on the job," Chief Lipski told 12 News. "My great grandfather was Henry I." In 1944 his grandfather, Daniel F. Lipski joined, followed by his father Neil in 1977. "I was fortunate enough to come on in the same fire academy class as my older brother Dan," he said. The 110th anniversary is a milestone four generations in the making. When the first Lipski started in 1912 horses were still pulling their steam engines, and there were no water tanks on board.  

The city of Charleston is having trouble retaining employees, especially those outside of the police and fire departments. These workers, often referred to as "non-sworn" or "civilians," are leaving at a higher rate than in years past, according to an internal survey conducted by the city. So far in 2022, 62 percent of exiting employees cited pay as their main reason for leaving. That's up from 47 percent who cited the same reason last year. The city has over 900 civilian employees. If current trends from January through April continue, the city will see 33 percent of its civilian staff turn over by the end of the year. "We've lost about 10 percent of our non-sworn employees just through the end of last month," said Ryan Landry, Charleston's compensation and human resources data manager.  

A bill to ensure condominium safety passed both chambers of the legislature and was signed Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Within days of the special legislative session starting this week, both chambers passed bills to reform property insurance and increase safety measures for condominiums. Both bills, Senate Bill 2D, Property Insurance, and Senate Bill 4D, Building Safety, were sponsored by state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, who chairs the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance. The new law will "keep Florida's condominium residents safe in the aftermath of Surfside," Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said. It includes a "House-championed measure that requires condo associations to fully fund a reserve so that repairs and maintenance are covered and completed in a timely manner."