The Contact Creek Fire (#151), burning 40 miles southeast of King Salmon, continues to be monitored by National Park Service and DOF personnel as it burns in a limited management area in Katmai National Park & Preserve. The fire is currently estimated to be 1,500 acres in size and will continue to grow due to the lack of rain and the availability of sun dried ground fuels. However, fire managers from the National Park Service have stated that even a small amount of rain would help to halt fire growth as the tundra at depth is still retaining moisture from the winter. At the time of aerial observation, the fire had a 100% active perimeter with an east wind. It is burning in approximately the top three inches of vegetation where conditions have dried and is considered a "shallow burn".  

PHOTOS: While many Alaskans enjoyed a relaxing Memorial Day weekend, 53 wildland firefighters-in-training were getting hands-on field experience at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry's Fire Field Day. The Fairbanks Area Forestry staff organized and hosted the event, with assistance from the White Mountain Type 2 Initial Attack Crew. It capped a week of training and testing and included demonstrations and simulations, with opportunities for hands-on learning. The hands-on skill building included learning how to unroll, roll, and connect fireline hose and operate pumps; how to conduct a grid search for hot spots in burned areas; how to work safely around saw operators felling trees; how to use drip torches; and how to respond to medical emergencies in the field.  

VIDEOS: A fire at a chemical production plant in downtown Omaha burned Monday night into Tuesday morning. KETV NewsWatch 7 drone footage and Google Earth images show the damage to the Nox Crete facility, located near 20th and Center streets. The first call for help at the facility came at 6:53 p.m., according to Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick said firefighters first struggled to access the fire, then realized it was bigger than they thought. Fire crews pulled back, knowing there were chemicals and large propane bottles on site. Explosions could be seen between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. as part of the building collapsed and ruptured the propane containers. Fitzpatrick said projectiles were flying 50 feet in the air. Nox Crete manufactures a variety of products, including form coating and deactivator, liquid floor hardeners, joint fillers, curing and sealing compounds and water repellents, according to its website.  

VIDEO: Vandals destroyed the Homewood Acres volunteer firehouse over Memorial Day weekend – and the break-in happened in broad daylight. The discovery was made days later, and the vandals were kids caught on camera. As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reports, the firehouse at 3860 183rd St. in the unincorporated community of Homewood Acres was left looking like a tornado had ripped through it. Every single one of the 11 rooms in the firehouse was a disaster area. Cameras caught four kids making a mess of the place the members of the volunteer fire department call their second home. "We're violated," said Homewood Acres Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bryan Rouson. Chief Rouson walked through the wreckage of the firehouse Tuesday. He has spent 46 years working there. "We didn't know what to think," Rouson said. "We were speechless." he showed us what was left of where his team of 12 eats.  

Firefighters are in the middle of a sleep study being conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Health and Human Performance Department. The goal of the study is to improve firefighter health. Smart watches worn by Superior crew members 24 hours a day, seven days a week are gathering data about their heart rate, blood pressure and sleep patterns at home and on the job. A sleep tracker tool records deep and light sleep cycles, when subjects fall asleep and how many times they wake up during the night. Later, the data will be paired with information about the firefighters' dispatched calls. "We're trying to address the acute and chronic health of our first responders," said Kim LeBard-Rankila, field work director with the Health and Human Performance Department. The study was facilitated by an internship collaboration between the city and university that has been in place for over a decade.  

The Junction City Fire Department is hoping to stop bullying starting with schools in Boyle County. Firefighters said after incidents in their own community and now the tragedy in Texas, the department is hoping to change lives, one student at a time. It is called "Firefighters Against Bullies." The program was started in Pennsylvania by a group of firefighters hoping to draw awareness to schools and to build an anti-bullying program. Abigail Thomas is one of the Junction City firefighters hoping to make a change. The 19-year-old attended school in Boyle County and said resources to prevent bullying were hard to come by growing up. Thomas said, "I know we had counselors and teachers and they always said come to them if there is ever an issue but as a kid that's hard because you often have the fear that going to them will make the situation worse." The program will teach Boyle County students how to properly respond to bullies and how to prevent becoming one themselves.  

It was the single biggest loss of life in the history of the Houston Fire Department. Nine years ago, the Southwest Inn fire ultimately claimed the lives of five firefighters. The four firefighters who died on the scene were Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Mathew Renaud, and Anne Sullivan. In March 2017, Captain Bill Dowling, who lost both of his legs in the fire, died of complications from the injuries sustained in the line of duty. Firefighters gathered Tuesday afternoon where their colleagues paid the ultimate sacrifice to mark the anniversary of the tragic fire. "Every year, we come to this site to remember to never forget them, and to send a message to the families of our fallen. Our mission starts with the families of our fallen who have given their lives in a line of service to the city of Houston," said Patrick "Marty" Lancton, the president of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association.