Near-real time satellite data provided by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is helping state and federal agencies fight wildfires ignited by last week's thunderstorms. Thunderstorms packing some 42,000 lightning strikes have ignited dozens of wildfires over the past 10 days that've burned some 47,000 acres around the state, and forced evacuations in at least two communities. And the agencies fighting all those fires over such a large area require a lot of information to help get resources where they're needed, as quickly as possible. "Alaska's a big state," says BLM Alaska Fire Service spokesperson Beth Ipsen. "It's hard for us to get everywhere, to check every nook and cranny." Ipsen says that's why fire managers are increasingly using maps updated by near-real-time satellite data to determine where lightning has struck and which fires require immediate response.  

Three firefighters were hospitalized after a fast-moving, wind-driven fire ignited at a junkyard in west Phoenix Wednesday afternoon, according to Phoenix Fire. Phoenix firefighters were dispatched to the blaze near 27th Avenue and Buckeye Road just before 3 p.m. for reports of a grass fire that may have spread to a fence nearby. When fire crews arrived, they were met with heavy smoke and flames. Officials said due to high winds the fire quickly spread to nearby industrial properties and the incident was upgraded to a fourth-alarm fire. A neighbor showed 12News surveillance video that captured the moments before the fire started. A dust devil could be seen forming in the APS station dirt lot near 31st Avenue and Sherman Street, the wind picked up and a piece of metal went flying into the air.  

More than 100 people in Alabama died in fires in 2022, and 2023 is on pace to be even worse. "Unfortunately we're usually in the top 5 or the top 10 annually," said Scott Pilgreen, Alabama's state fire marshal. "In my view, all of them are preventable." The Alabama Fire Marshal's Office reports there were 108 fire fatalities in the state in 2022, and 67 more through July 27 of this year, though that number may be out of date. "As I talk to you now, we're probably at 70 or just north of 70," Pilgreen said on Tuesday, the first day of August. "We have to change the trajectory of our numbers. If I'm correct and our unofficial number is around 70, when cold weather hits, we're going to have an uptick. And I hope I'm wrong when I say this, but what I foresee is we're going to be pretty close to triple digits again before the end of this year, and we shouldn't."  

A man is critically hurt after the van he was driving crashed into an ambulance that was going the opposite direction on Georgia Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., early Wednesday morning, fire officials say. Surveillance video of the crash shows the ambulance driving on Georgia Ave. near Farragut Street NW about 7:20 a.m., when a white minivan going the opposite direction veers over and slams into the side of the ambulance. Part of the front portion of the van then appears to go under the ambulance, jolting the truck before the van spins around in the other direction. When the van comes to a stop, the front of the car appears to be crumpled to pieces and smoke can be seen rising out of the area where the hood of the car was just seconds before. The driver of the van was trapped after the crash and firefighters had to get him out, D.C. Fire and EMS said.  

Which U.S. counties face the biggest danger from Earth's most powerful storms? With climate experts forecasting a "borderline hyperactive" hurricane season, Gutter Gnome ranked 2023's Most Hurricane-Vulnerable Counties. The study combined hurricane risk assessments by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) with 10 years of historical storm data and financial impact projections from government agencies. See how over 300 counties might fare this hurricane season in the ranking. The Sunshine State might also be called the Hurricane State, as two of its counties, Broward and Palm Beach, occupy the two worst spots for hurricane risk. It's also no surprise that the Southeast has the biggest hurricane vulnerability, the ranking confirms.