Over 50,000 acres have burned in wildfires across Alaska this summer as communities deal with high fire danger following a month of record heat in May. Beth Ipsen, a spokesperson for the Alaska Fire Service, said they've bought up a total of 30 smokejumpers from the Lower 48 so far this summer. Monday morning a group of eight smokejumpers flew out of the Warren "Bud" Woods Palmer Municipal Airport to fight a fire outside of McGrath. Usually, the specially trained wildland firefighting crews are flown up commercially, according to Ipsen. But that wasn't the case this year, as they faced challenges getting the crews to Alaska. "This year because of the lack of available flights and the high expense we ended up shuttling them with agency aircraft," Ipsen said.  

After another active day of burning, BLM Alaska Fire Service officials in Galena are reassessing efforts after the East Fork Fire, burning north of St. Mary's, spotted on the west side of the Andreafsky River Tuesday afternoon. The Alaska Type 2 Incident Management Green Team was ordered to take over management of the wildfire due to its proximity to numerous Native allotments, historical sites and the roughly 500 people living in village of St. Mary's. An incident management team is mobilized during complex emergency incidents to provide a command and control infrastructure in order to manage the operational, logistical, informational, planning, fiscal, community, political, and safety issues associated with complex incidents.  

VIDEO: Six inmate firefighters were injured when a flash fire occurred in the back of their crew vehicle while working in the Castaic area Tuesday morning. The incident was reported about 11 a.m. near the Golden State Highway and Templin Highway, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "A flash fire occurred in the back of an inmate camp crew vehicle," Fire Department officials said in a tweet hours after the incident. A flash fire is a sudden burst of flames typically caused by air mixing with a flammable substance and ignited by a heat source Battalion Chief Chad Sourbeer called the fire "spontaneous," which he described as being "a little odd." All six victims were taken to hospitals with mild to moderate burns and are in stable condition. One was taken to a critical burn center as a precaution because of where the burns were located, Sourbeer said.  

Today marks a milestone in the storied history of The Bloomfield Fire Department. Firefighter Stephanie Orgueira-Aponte began her career as the first professional female in the history of the 139-year-old department. FF Aponte recently completed a rigorous training curriculum at the Passaic County Fire Academy as well as EMT certification prior to today. She is in the midst of her first shift at Fire Station 2 located on Watsessing Avenue. "Getting to the firehouse I was excited but nervous about how the guys would feel working with me and meeting their expectations. As soon as I got in they were ready to show me the ropes and were very accepting of me. They made me feel comfortable and confident in myself after some training. Today's been eventful to say the least, and I am grateful to be here," said Aponte.  

Baltimore County has approved restarting a program to incentivize police, firefighters and paramedics to delay future retirements and extend their careers. The benefits incentive, known as a Deferred Retirement Option Program, won't have an immediate effect in curbing departures from public safety agencies, as the change applies to hires made after July of 2007, who aren't eligible for retirement until 25 or 30 years of service. Still, the renewed version of the program is being praised as a recruitment and retention tool, as well as a way to keep more experienced public safety professionals on the job. "We are grateful every day for our brave and selfless first responders, and this new benefit demonstrates our commitment to making sure we continue to honor them even after they retire," County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said in a Tuesday news release.  

At 58 years old, Salem resident John Payne leads a less-than-average life. While most 50-something-year-olds spend their weekends on the golf course, Payne spent his Saturday night in the center of an Octagon, securing his first TKO win at Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth, proving that age is really just a number. Payne has been a firefighter for the Salem Fire Department for 30 years. Fighting is in his DNA, but it took some warming up for him when it came to following mixed martial arts. "My sons and my stepsons starting following MMA," he said. "I wanted nothing to do with it." One of his stepsons convinced Payne to try it out it. He began following local fighters such as Joe Lauzon and John Howard, and the itch to compete needed to be scratched. Payne would go on to take his first MMA fight in his 40s.  

Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood will donate $1 from each ticket sold to her recently announced tour to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the Staten Island-based charity has announced. The donation continues Underwood's longtime tradition of designating a portion of ticket sales from her tours to support what she considers to be worthwhile charities and organizations. Underwood's "The Denim & Rhinestones Tour" kicks off in October and will hit 43 arenas across the country through March 2023, including a performance at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 21. Tickets are on sale now. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of Staten Island FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001, after running through the former Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to assist at the World Trade Center.