PHOTO: The McDonald Fire (#119) burning 31 miles south of Fairbanks was active Sunday, growing to an estimated 8,000 acres thanks to hot, dry and windy conditions. While the winds diminished since Saturday, the warmer temperatures helped push the fire out from both flanks as it burned through stringers of black spruce. The fire has had little eastward progression and remains 7 miles west of Harding Lake and the Tanana River. The McDonald Fire (#119) is burning in a remote part of a military training area in the Tanana Flats. It was estimated at 8,000 acres on Sunday. Photo by BLM AFS The lightning-caused fire is burning in an area with a mixture of black spruce and hardwood trees. Saturday's 20 mph winds pushed the lightning-caused fire west and deeper in the Tanana Flats military training area.  

The Anchorage Fire Department is raising money to buy supplies needed to help train future firefighters. They're partnering with the Fire Department Coffee Foundation for this fundraiser to benefit Anchorage Fire Explorers Post 264. The Explorer program helps prepare young Alaskans who dream of one day becoming a first responder. "It really helps the post because now that we're becoming more recognized, we are expanding in terms of our training and that can be costly. So that really helps us," said Ava Barlow with the Anchorage Fire Explorers. "There is hand-down gear. It's had a life span on a firefighter for about ten years or so. It gets beat up, gets torn up. This is an opportunity for us to get new gear that actually fits some of our smaller kids," added AFD firefighter Jaso Russell.  

PHOTOS: About 15 boats were damaged or destroyed after an early morning fire at Las Vegas Boat Harbor at Lake Mead. According to the National Park Service, the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and was contained by 3:30 a.m. As of Sunday evening, authorities were still investigating what caused the fire. Jeff Sammons, a Boulder City resident who operates a waste removal company at Lake Mead, was asleep on his boat when he was startled by an explosion sometime after midnight. "It was crazy," Sammons says. "A (National Park Service) ranger knocked on the door of my boat and said I have to evacuate. There were flames everywhere. Thank goodness there were no fatalities." Owners of affected boats have been notified of damages by Las Vegas Boat Harbor staff.  

VIDEO: Pat Sajak, the host of one of the most popular television game shows, is retiring after 41 years, and this end of an era comes with a local connection. Nino Toro, an Augusta Fire Training lieutenant for the Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department, is a contestant on Sajak's final episode as the host. "Just being there for that momentous kind of occasion, knowing that millions of people are going to be watching it and talking about it, and it's kind of historical," says Toro. "You know, it was just great, like I really didn't have the words for it. When I found out that I was going to be there that day, like that's insane. I could never have imagined it. When I finally realized that it was going to be that episode, it was just unbelievable." Pat Sajak is the longest-running host on the same television show hosting more than 8,000 episodes during his tenure.  

The waters off Walton County, Florida, closed after back-to-back shark bite incidents Friday. Both incidents occurred in Walton County — which is in the Florida Panhandle — and not near a boat, but officials are unclear how far the attacks happened from land, said Mackenzie McClintock, a spokesperson for the South Walton Fire District. The two incidents took place about 4 miles apart within about 90 minutes, South Walton Fire District Chief Ryan Crawford said. There were three victims in total. It's "extremely unusual" for two bite incidents to occur in one afternoon, Crawford said during an evening news briefing. A 45-year-old woman was injured in the first "reported shark incident." It took place in the water around 1:20 p.m. in Watersound, in the area of Founders Way in Watersound Beach, Crawford and the Walton County Sheriff's Office said.