VIDEO: A North Texas wind farm is one turbine down thanks to what officials believe was a devastating lightning strike to one of the massive structures on Friday afternoon. Videos from witnesses and firefighters showed the wind turbine generator ablaze and disintegrate in the sky over Crowell, Texas. Doppler radar indicated there was plenty of lightning strikes around the Foard City wind facility before firefighters received the call about the high-altitude fire. Crews with the Crowell Volunteer Fire Department responded, but Fire Chief Perry Shaw said there was little his firefighters could do to put the fire out. "We're not equipped to handle that kind of fire. Nobody in the area really is to speak of," Shaw said. The fire chief estimated there were 800 gallons of oil in the gearbox and around 1,300 gallons of mineral oil in the ground-level transformer, which caused the smoke to appear dark black in the sky.  

VIDEO: The Austin Fire Department responded to a fire at an illegal dumping site in southeast Austin on Sunday, making it the second fire in three days at the site. Located off of Brandt Road and I-35, smoke in the area was visible near East Slaughter Lane. The fire is now under control and crews are monitoring the area and will continue to do so overnight. It was the same site as a fire that ignited on Friday, July 22. The fire department said the cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Austin-Travis County EMS said it responded to the scene as some firefighters at the scene reportedly experienced heat exhaustion. ATCMES said it evaluated two patients but did not transport anyone.  

A large fire ravaged 18 apartments in the Medical Center area, forcing 15 families to find new housing, according to the San Antonio Fire Department. Firefighters were called to the 8000 block of Data Point Drive around 10:50 p.m. Saturday for a structure fire on the North Side. When crews arrived, they found a fire had started on the patio of an apartment before it began to spread up the wall and into the attic. Everyone was evacuated from the apartment building as firefighters fought the blaze, eventually taking control of the flames. Though the fire was extinguished, the damage left behind was significant. SAFD said a total of 18 units were affected by the fire. Of those units, six were "directly affected" and 12 other units had smoke and water damage.  

The Williamson County Office of Emergency Management said Saturday evening that all evacuees asked to leave their homes due to the wildfire are now allowed to return. Williamson County authorities first reported a 100-acre fire in Liberty Hill early Saturday afternoon. That fire has since burned through 500 acres and was 75% contained as of 9:03 p.m. Sunday. The Texas A&M Forest Service tweeted that the forward progression of the fire had been stopped. Crews were mopping up and improving the containment line as of Saturday afternoon. The forest service said air resources have assisted in cooling the perimeter and are reinforcing the line with retardant. Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell said Sunday that 12 DC-10 loads of retardant and 50 loads of water had been dumped in the area.  

Law enforcement arrested a man for arson charges after a house fire in Perryton that left a 4-year-old girl dead. According to the Perryton Police Department, 39-year-old Humberto Martinez has been arrested for 2nd degree felony Arson. Officials said at about 9:53 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters were called out to a fire at a home near S. Drake. The fire was in the southwest bedroom and was mostly contained in the room. As firefighters were putting out the fire, they noticed a 4-year-old girl in the bed who had passed away. Crews found that the fire seemed to have started on the bed where the girl was found dead. Firefighters found a man who had crawled under the home who appeared to have injuries. He was taken to Ochiltree General Hospital and then transferred to Lubbock for further treatment.  

VIDEO: The drought and record-breaking heat are affecting the Atascosa County fire departments' call volume and budgets this year. The Poteet Volunteer Fire Department is one of many departments experiencing an exceptionally high call volume compared to previous years. "Lately, it's been overwhelming," said Poteet volunteer firefighter Donovan Garcia. The total number of calls Poteet firefighters responded to last year was 129. So far this year, it responded to 331. "That's more than we've ever seen in the year, period. And we're only about halfway through the year right now," Garcia said. The calls consist of house fires, medical responses and mostly grass fires. Atascosa leaders issued a disaster declaration for wildfire risk in March. "The temperature, how dry things are, the lack of precipitation -- things could get hectic in a matter of minutes," Garcia said.  

VIDEO: A North Texas wind farm is one turbine down thanks to what officials believe was a devastating lightning strike to one of the massive structures on Friday afternoon. Videos from witnesses and firefighters showed the wind turbine generator ablaze and disintegrate in the sky over Crowell, Texas. Doppler radar indicated there was plenty of lightning strikes around the Foard City wind facility before firefighters received the call about the high-altitude fire. Crews with the Crowell Volunteer Fire Department responded, but Fire Chief Perry Shaw said there was little his firefighters could do to put the fire out. "We're not equipped to handle that kind of fire. Nobody in the area really is to speak of," Shaw said. The fire chief estimated there were 800 gallons of oil in the gearbox and around 1,300 gallons of mineral oil in the ground-level transformer, which caused the smoke to appear dark black in the sky.  

PHOTO: A Syracuse Fire Department pickup truck stolen early Friday morning was found using the vehicle's GPS heading onto the New York State Thruway, fire officials said. The truck was stolen at about 1 a.m. from in front of a residence in the 100 block of North Edwards Avenue in the city's Eastwood neighborhood, Onondaga County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jon Seeber said. A fire crew was inside the home treating a patient when an American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance crew noticed the truck was being driven off, Syracuse fire officials said in a news release Friday afternoon. The crews alerted Onondaga County 911 Center dispatchers of the stolen truck. The truck, stolen by Nathan Kane, 23, of Syracuse, was tracked by GPS heading onto the Thruway, fire officials said.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: The benefits and shortcomings of social media are often debated, but two local families are crediting Facebook with solving a mystery that was decades in the making. The story began to unfold when a couple began cleaning out a storage area in the basement of their new home in Lorain, and discovered an old firefighter's helmet. Alicia Zadorozny told FOX 8, "it was like ‘whoa, what is this, where did it come from, how long has it been here?'" The helmet had the name "Wilker" on it, and Alicia and Andrew Zadorozny decided to see if the firefighter was still alive or if they could find his family and return the helmet. "I have a lot of stuff that was passed on to me, so I know how valuable some of the memories are, so you know some of those things I hold on to very dearly," said Andrew. They posted a story about the helmet on a Lorain Facebook page. "And I said ‘this might be a long shot but maybe somebody knows somebody who may know somebody," said Alicia.  

In the 1950s, a group of local farmers felt nostalgic. Before World War II, they tended the land with wheat thrashers and steam engines, but as technology improved, their tools fell out of use and things started to change. Channeling their nostalgia into action, farmers pulled their old equipment out and invited the public in. In Oregon, just shy of Silverton, the Western Steam Fiends were born and continued the tradition of showcasing old farming equipment, culminating in the purchase of land to do just that in 1970. "When they bought it, it was just farmland. They'd grow some grain and put their machines out there," said Evan Burroughs. "Now, it's a complex of 14 museums." The 62-acre complex is now named Powerland Heritage Park and will host the 52nd annual Oregon Great Steam-Up starting July 30, headed by Burroughs and his army of more than 1,000 volunteers.  

VIDEO: The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department (MFRD) showed off some brand new vehicles today. Four firetrucks and three ambulances joined the MFRD's fleet along with two special additions... a hydration truck and training trailer. The hydration unit is a response to high temperatures. "It is a rehabilitation unit for firefighters. Essentially what that provides is an area for them to cool off and rehabilitate after being in their bunker gear at the fire scene, especially in Mobile, Alabama where the heat is a hundred-plus degrees during the summer time," said Jeremy Lami, Fire Chief of the MFRD. The training truck will be taken to schools, nursing homes, and other facilities, providing instruction that mimics real-life situations.