As Alaskans eagerly anticipate the delights of the approaching summer, they also worry about the upcoming wildfire season — and rightly so. Last summer's 590 wildfires burned more than 3.1 million acres in Alaska, about 41% of the total acreage burned in the U.S. It ranks seventh among the number of acres burned in an Alaska fire season. Much of that acreage — 1.2 million acres — was in Southwest Alaska, an area that has not generally had big fire seasons. The 2022 season more than doubled the area burned in that region since the 1950s. It was also an early fire season. Despite widespread heavy snowpack across much of the state, more than 1 million acres burned before summer solstice. Plus, the 2022 season impacted Alaskans across the state, from the voluntary relocations at St. Mary's to widespread unhealthy air quality from smoke. Most tragically, we lost Doug Ritchie, a helicopter pilot supporting firefighters on the Clear Fire near Anderson.  

PHOTOS: First responders were working to battle a large house fire in Anne Arundel County on Monday. Firefighters were called to 100 block of Wallace Manor Road in Edgewater, officials said. Everyone inside made it out safely, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Residents were asked to avoid the area. As of 2 p.m., the fire had been contained, officials said. A possible cause for the fire remains unclear.  

President Joe Biden yesterday nominated telecom attorney Anna Gomez to be the fifth FCC commissioner and renominated current commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to serve additional five-year terms on the FCC. "I thank President Biden for this honor," Gomez tweeted yesterday. "I am humbled and grateful. If confirmed, I look forward to working with Chairwoman [Jessica] Rosenworcel and my fellow commissioners to bring the benefits of modern communications to all." If the nominations of Gomez, Starks and Carr are confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the FCC would have five commissioners—three Democrats and two Republicans—for the first time during the Biden administration. The FCC has been deadlocked 2-2 along party lines as Gigi Sohn, Biden's previous FCC nominee, failed to secure Senate confirmation during two different sessions of Congress.  

"Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat." That's a new film that honors volunteer firefighters. It premiered over the weekend at Deere and Company world headquarters in Moline. The goal is to encourage more people to volunteer. Jacob Smith is a "product dissolve specialist" at John Deere in Silvis. He also volunteers for the Hillsdale and Coal Valley fire departments. And Jacobs is featured in the film. "If I don't answer the call, who's going to do it? So when someone calls 911 they don't care who comes, they just expect that somebody is coming and I guess that should be me." His fire department is also feeling the effects of the firefighter shortage. Smith says an important part of his mission is to attract more volunteers. "We don't have a lot of people knocking on the doors to volunteer."  

VIDEO: EMS national week is May 21 through May 27, and it is an opportunity to celebrate emergency medical services staff and the work they do in our communities. In Denver alone, paramedics at Denver Health respond to more than 120,000 calls every year. But it would not be possible to do without proper training. One local educator and paramedic for the EMS program has found a way to make learning very realistic in a cost-effective way. For more than 20 years, Christy Allen has been helping train EMT students at Denver Health Paramedics - EMS education school. "I like to teach people how to save lives," said Allen. Ten years ago, Allen was asked to find a cost-effective way to make this experience of teaching students realistic, while also saving the school some money.  

VIDEO: Arlington County Fire and EMS addressed an image showing an explosion near the Pentagon Monday, tweeting that there was no credibility to the picture. The photo was posted on Twitter and circulated across social media platforms. Some news outlets, including Russia Today, were among the organizations and people who shared the image, which appeared to show a large cloud of smoke rising near a building. A more thorough examination of the image calls into question its authenticity. Arlington Fire said there was no explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon. DC News Now's Max Marcilla reached out to public information officer Nathaniel Himer with Fairfax Fire and EMS who said he recognized the incident as false almost immediately.