Last year at this time, some of the worst of the wildfire season on the Kenai Peninsula was yet to come. Just how different this summer's wildfire season has been was highlighted July 28, when the Alaska Division of Forestry sent about 20 members of the Fire Crew to California to help on the Apple Fire there. "That's the way it typically works," said Tim Mowry, public information officer for the Alaska Division of Forestry. "We have an earlier wildfire season than the rest of the United States." Last year was not typical. According to the Swan Lake Fire – Story Map, as of July 16 that fire had surpassed 100,000 acres. It increased just 1,213 acres between July 15 and 30, and another 292 acres between July 31 and Aug. 15. On Aug. 18, high winds flared the fire to 138,479 acres.  

PHOTOS: A massive fire burned in downtown St. Paul early Tuesday morning, apparently destroying a hotel under construction across from the Xcel Energy Center. The flames were more than 40 feet high at one point and visible on freeway traffic cameras nearby. Fire officials said shortly after 5 a.m. that a substantial part of the blaze had been knocked down. No injuries have been reported. Firefighters were climbing onto the roofs of nearby buildings, including the Catholic Charities homeless shelter across the street, to look for embers that may pose a fire threat nearby. Radio traffic among firefighters indicated at least part of the under-construction project had collapsed. Public works crews were also trying to boost water pressure to the area to aid firefighters.  

According to the UC Davis Fire Department, nearly 25% of its firefighters are wearing gear that doesn't fit them. UC Davis Fire Chief Nathan Trauernicht told FOX40 Monday that he is calling on uniform manufacturers to do better. "They need to have maximum range of motion, and at critical times, they have to be able to make critical movements, and if that doesn't happen, it puts all of us in danger," Trauernicht explained. Some firefighters told FOX40 that their safety is at risk because their gear simply doesn't fit right. "The inseam I would say is usually the biggest issue, especially if you're going to be getting low, like dropping to the ground or something, because it doesn't allow you to have that flexibility or dexterity," UC Davis fire engineer Corrie Beall explained. Officials said ill-fitting gear makes even simple tasks difficult.  

The bad news: COVID-19 appears to be filling hospitals throughout the South and the Southwest with patients with a deadly, highly contagious disease. The good news: The federal government is now publishing a COVID-19 hospital bed occupancy map that looks terrible. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been trying to track COVID-19 with a weekly collection of maps, tables and charts based largely on the data sources and methods used to track influenza. The idea has been that, in many ways, early and mild cases of COVID-19 are similar to cases of the flu, and that the CDC could use its flu tracking system to monitor the new pandemic. But, for whatever reason, the CDC's flu-based tracking system shows appears to show that the United States has defeated COVID-19.  

City Council has tabled a proposal to hire, for the first time, part-time firefighters to beef up the Fire Department staff, instead opting to seek a tax increase that would pay for additional full-time firefighters. The Strongsville Fire Fighters Association, the union representing firefighters here, opposed hiring the part-timers, saying it would undermine the professionalism of their department. The union supports the tax increase -- which residents will vote on Nov. 3 -- and expanding the full-time staff. Matt Kasza, firefighters union president, said in a June 25 email to council that the city administration failed to thoroughly explore the implications of hiring part-time firefighters. "The Fire Chief (Jack Draves) did not form a committee, no studies have been done and there is no cost-benefit analysis," Kasza said in the email. "There is also no plan on how part-timers would be implemented into fire department operations.  

Firefighters with the Orlando Fire Department who have recovered from COVID-19 are donating plasma. The Orlando Fire Department and OneBlood have teamed up for a plasma drive where firefighters and their family members who've recovered from COVID-19 can donate plasma. "As the cases surge throughout our service area, the need for convalescent plasma has reached new heights," said Susan Forbes, with OneBlood. OneBlood says it has seen a 500 percent increase in hospital orders for plasma. "We encourage people to follow in their footsteps. As they recover, to donate their convalescent plasma," Forbes said. "These donors really hold the potential key in helping many of these other patients still fighting the virus to recover."