A wildland firefighter who was missing near the Lost Horse Creek Fire has been found alive, a spokesperson for the Alaska Incident Management team said. The Alaska Department of Natural Resource's Division of Forestry and Fire Protection initially reported that a member of an Oregon-based wildland firefighting crew had gone missing while camped near the Lost Horse Creek fire north of Fairbanks midday Thursday. According to a social media post from the DNR's Division of Forestry and Fire Protection, 51-year-old Saudith Rendon of the Oregon Wildland Fire Hand Crew was reported missing after he did not meet with his crew at a scheduled departure time. By 6 p.m. Thursday night, he had been located and his medical condition was being assessed.  

No injuries were reported in three separate fires this month in Kotzebue, the city officials said. "There was three fires in town over the span of this month," said Shaylin Ferguson, the city's public relations officer. "No one was hurt." On Aug. 11, at about 12:35 a.m., the Kotzebue Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at a conex behind Kotzebue Middle High School, according to a city statement. On Aug. 16, at about 9 a.m., the department responded to a fire at an unoccupied house on Otter Street. Ferguson didn't share the date and location of the third fire but said that it damaged a car. "The vehicle fire was determined to be accidental," Ferguson said. The fires at the conex and unoccupied building are under investigation, Ferguson said. "A lot of the information is going to be confidential," she said.  

PHOTOS: More than a dozen apartments were destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon in Greenville County, South Carolina. The fire started just before 1 p.m. at the Stoneledge Plantation Apartments at the corner of Roper Mountain Road and Garlington Road. The Boiling Springs Fire Department said 16 apartments were burned and two other buildings were damaged by heat. The fire started toward the front of building 17, melting siding on surrounding buildings. Everyone made it out. A few residents were treated for minor injuries, and one firefighter was taken from the scene by EMS for minor injuries, fire officials said. Residents say at least one person had to jump from a second story balcony to escape. A fire official said the flames progressed quickly through the attic space.  

VIDEO: According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, a man has been arrested after a video showed a car racing around a fire truck with lights and sirens on in April. Deputies said 25-year-old Elijah Grove-Thomas faces felony and misdemeanor charges. According to Orange County Fire Rescue, the incident happened near Sand Lake and Winegard as they responded to a car fire. When they arrived, they say the crew "encountered large crowds" and cars "involved in street racing." The trouble started when the truck tried to leave after finding no car fire. Orange County Fire Rescue says as the truck tried to leave, someone driving recklessly around it prevented the truck from returning to service. They say once the sheriff's office arrived, the cars left.  

PHOTOS: Anthony Cardiff knows exactly where he was on Aug. 21, 1963, even though it was nearly 60 years ago. It was the day he lost a leg; 19 other people were injured, and three Ashland firefighters were killed by an oil tank explosion at the Centre Coal Company off Route 9 in Framingham. "I remember there was no pain and I sat up," said Cardiff, who was 12 at the time. "I sat up and remember grabbing my pant leg and seeing the blood and my foot was gone. I think I passed out after that." The 60th anniversary of the deadly fire is Monday. Ashland Fire Chief Charles Moran, Lt. Norman E. Barry and firefighter John Rebenacker died while fighting the fire. Cardiff and his then 8-year-old brother, Michael, saw the smoke from the porch of their 11 Merriam Road home just before 7 p.m.  

There were an estimated 42,795 fatalities due to motor vehicle crashes in 2022, down by 0.3% from the year prior, according to early estimates released in April 2023 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While a reduction in crash-related deaths, even one as slight as this, is generally positive, the facts remain deeply concerning: Crash-related deaths rose more than 10% in 2021 and more than 7% the year before that, marking a disturbing trend leading into and persisting through the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the most recent full year of traffic-death data available, drunken driving fatalities rose by 14% from 2020. Monge and Associates cited data from NHTSA to identify states with the highest rate of fatalities from car accidents involving at least one drunken driver.