As crews continue to battle wildfires raging across the state, the town of McGrath is preparing for major changes to its firefighting camp, which provides protection to an area in Western Alaska as large as New Mexico. Sixteen of the camp’s 22 seasonal positions are being cut July 1 as part of the Division of Forestry’s attempt to reduce its budget in the face of a gaping $3.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: alaska dispatch news

Fire department absenteeism, overtime costs and salaries growing faster than city income will force dramatic changes in the Newark Division of Fire, city officials said. Part-time, non-union firefighters, an idea discussed in recent city elections, will come before city council Monday night. Safety Director Bill Spurgeon and Fire Chief Pat Connor said it’s time to consider using part-time firefighters to complete shifts depleted by absent firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: newark advocate

Rotational fire engine company closures, in effect in Elk Grove since April 2013, will end Wednesday, thanks to new revenue sources. The Cosumnes Community Services District board authorized the fire chief to end the closures with approval of the district’s 2015-16 preliminary budget, according to a district news release.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sacramento bee

A wildfire fueled by high temperatures and strong winds roared into a Wenatchee-area neighborhood and commercial district, forcing more than a thousand people to flee, destroying at least 24 structures and gutting two wholesale businesses, authorities said early Monday. The 3,000-acre blaze sparked Sunday afternoon was destroying everything in its path and was still burning out of control the next morning, said Rich Magnussen, a spokesman for the Chelan County Emergency Management office.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: komo news

Fires that ignited Sunday night in a cluster of warehouses in North Wenatchee continued to burn this morning. Business owners and managers were on the scene to assess damage, and several companies were holding off-site conferences to plan on how to proceed in coming days. On Monday morning, smoke billowed from facilities of Michelsen Packaging Company, 1105 Hawley St.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wenatchee world