A settlement awarded $20 million to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to remedy the damage caused by the 2011 Bastrop wildfires that destroyed over 1,500 homes and killed two people, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced Wednesday. The wildfires that burned over 96% of Bastrop State Park were caused by the failure of Asplundh Tree Expert to properly manage vegetation growth, Paxton said. "The Bastrop wildfire was unquestionably a tragedy that took a terrible toll on the local community, Bastrop State Park, and the unique ecology of the Lost Pines," said Carter Smith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department executive director. "This landmark settlement will go a long way to help recover the state park and its wildlife and plant communities."  

After more than six years on the job, Kerrville Fire Department Chief Dannie Smith will retire from his post on Jan. 1, 2021. Smith has served as KFD's chief since 2014. "This is how he wanted it," said City Manager Mark McDaniel. "The Chief has been contemplating retirement for a few months now, and he wanted to provide notice well in advance to ensure a smooth leadership transition as he finishes a 39-year career as a firefighter Nov. 30." This is the second major retirement for the city in the last three weeks. Police Chief David Knight announced he was retiring and would be leaving his post next week. Smith began his career with the Houston Fire Department in 1981. Since then, he has seen the responsibilities of fire departments expand from a primary focus on putting out fires to include emergency medical services, fire prevention, community outreach and - in the wake of 9/11 - emergency preparedness and homeland security.  

VIDEO: The Houston Fire Department high rise rescue team saved two construction workers who were stuck on a dangling platform that had collapsed outside a building in the Washington Avenue area. Firefighters were called to 3131 Memorial Ct. shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday for a report of workers stranded on a platform. Officials said the workers were resurfacing the facade of the high rise when the scaffolding failed. Thankfully, the workers had on safety harnesses. Firefighters went to the 15th floor, broke a window and pulled them inside. One resident recalled looking out her window and seeing a construction hat falling. That's when she knew something was wrong.  

The number of cases may not be rising as high but our frontline workers are still the first being exposed to the virus, and now that our local fire department is preparing for a potential second wave, some help is coming their way. Our firefighters and emergency personnel are first to respond to COVID-19 related calls on a daily basis, and to ensure that our firefighters are protected thousands of dollars are going to be used for their health and safety. Last Thursday, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that $67,000 is coming from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant from FEMA. About $44,000 is going to the Webb County Fire Department and the City Fire Department will get about $23,000. On Wednesday's media briefing, the Laredo Fire Chief Guillermo Heard says some of the needs for the fire department is N95 masks, gloves, and gowns. He goes on to say that at the beginning of the pandemic, getting these supplies was a challenge, and now that there's more options out there prices for these items have gone up and this money would be very helpful.  

Fire crews fought a structure fire in the 3600 block of 32nd Street on Wednesday afternoon. The fire started around 1:40 p.m. According to Lt. Phillip Grandon with Lubbock Fire Rescue, an EMS crew was in the area and saw smoke coming from a house. They called the fire department. When LFR arrived, they found an abandoned house engulfed in flames and the home next door was also on fire. The backyard of the abandoned house also caught on fire, along with a shed and fencing. The home next door was damaged by the fire, but the extent of the damage is not known at this time. The family was home when the fire started and they, along with their pet cat, were able to escape unharmed.  

VIDEO: Flames engulfed a condemned church building Wednesday evening in downtown Rockford. Several Rockford Fire Department engine companies were on the scene, fighting the blaze at Kishwaukee and Walnut streets and First Avenue. The fire sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky over downtown Rockford. Smoke could be seen from miles away. The former Rockford Masonic Cathedral, 607 Walnut St., dates back to 1869 and sits just inside the Haight Village Historic District. Officials said the building had been boarded up for some time. It was last known as the Metro Christian Centre. The fire was first reported around 6:45 p.m. and quickly spread throughout the church necessitating a response from as many as 30 firefighters, Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten said. The chief confirmed that the building was not in use. Several windows had been boarded up, and there was no electricity going to the building. Old, dry timbers that frame the church are helping to fuel the fire, he added.  

The Centers for Disease Control has urged governors to be prepared for the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine by November 1, which is two days before Election Day. CDC Director Robert Redfield sent the letter dated August 27 to governors, informing them that the government is contracting with the company McKesson to distribute the vaccine to local health departments and doctors' offices and asked them to expedite any applications for distribution facilities requested by the company. CBS News has obtained a copy of the letter, first reported by McClatchy news service. "CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities and, if necessary asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020," the letter reads. "The requirements you may be asked to waive in order to expedite vaccine distribution will not compromise the safety or integrity of the products being distributed."  

VIDEO: The everyday trauma experienced by first responders across the country and in Northeast Ohio continues to lead to growing levels of post-traumatic stress and the oftentimes life-altering side effects that come with it. In an effort to curb this trend, a coalition of researchers, experts and state officials developed a new science-based mobile app, making Ohio one of the first states with such an offering. Called the F.I.R.S.T. Support app (First Incident Respondence Technology), the app was developed in partnership with Ohio State professor and researcher, Dr. Kenneth Yeager, and Accentus Health. Dr. Yeager leads the STAR Program (Stress, Trauma and Resilience) at OSU's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. After an extensive beta period, the app has been released on Android and the Apple app stores. The app had a simple goal in mind: bring scalable and sustainable mental health support to high-stress, high-trauma professions like medicine and public safety.  

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter who has been missing for nearly two weeks is likely the victim of a "violent kidnapping," according to the head prosecutor of Baja California, Mexico. Frank Aguilar, 48, was last heard from on the night of Aug. 20, when he went down to check on the condo the family rents out through Airbnb, according to his two daughters. The property is located in the coastal city of Rosarito, less than 20 miles south of the U.S. border. Aguilar traveled alone and was only expected to be there for a few days, they said. The FBI got involved in his disappearance six days later. Investigators in Baja California say there were signs of violence at the condo. "We are working with technical personnel to establish his last instance when his freedom was taken," Hiram Sanchez, the head prosecutor, said. "We have found a lot of evidence that leads us to believe this was an act of violence, nevertheless we have not determined for sure this is what happened to him." &n bsp;

Alabama is the worst state in the nation to work in during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey out that rates the states based on their policies to protect working families. Oxfam America, a nonprofit agency dedicated to ending poverty, used 27 different data points in three areas of state assistance - worker protections, healthcare protections and unemployment support. Alabama ranked 52 - dead last - in a survey that included the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It also ranked last in unemployment services, 49th in healthcare and 48th in worker protections. "The pandemic has exacerbated challenges facing low-wage working families in the US—but it did not create them," Minor Sinclair, Oxfam America's U.S. domestic program director said. "Instead, it has revealed the ugly reality of deep, structural problems for millions of working families who risk falling into poverty, hunger, and homelessness."