Nearly two dozen coronavirus cases have popped up in the past 10 days at Fort Yukon after community leaders took extreme measures months ago to avoid the disease. Like other rural villages scattered around Alaska, leaders in March imposed travel bans and other restrictions far beyond those imposed by the state to protect residents in a place without an emergency room. Fort Yukon, an Interior community of about 600 on the Yukon River 145 miles northeast of Fairbanks, reported 21 new cases as of Tuesday morning. The first person with symptoms appeared this week — someone sick enough to get medevaced on Monday, according to City Manager Andrew Firmin. The individual had to be airlifted to a hospital because the local clinic doesn't have any ventilators.  

VIDEO: Emergency crews pulled a man who was trapped in a deep trench on the Northwest Side after about two hours of effort on Tuesday. The man, a construction worker, fell into the trench while his crew was excavating near Galm Road and Swayback Ranch. He was waist-deep in dirt, officials said after the dramatic rescue. After San Antonio Fire Department crews were able to pull the man out of the hole, he was immediately transported to the hospital an Airlife helicopter. The unidentified man is in stable condition but may need immediate surgery, officials said. Crews used a crane to pluck the man out of the hole and then he was placed on a stretcher. He could be seen moving while on the stretcher. About five to 10 San Antonio Fire Department members lowered themselves into the trench to strap the man to a stretcher. The cause of the trench collapse is still unknown.  

Buffalo Fire Officials say first responders were blocked while responding to an emergency early Sunday morning on Laurel. "We couldn't pass through that intersection to get to the scene," said Buffalo Fire Commissioner Bill Renaldo. Firefighters were responding to a call for a car into a house further down on Laurel. When firefighters got to the intersection of Laurel and Purdy, they were blocked by cars illegally parked on both sides of the street. Commissioner Renaldo says there was a large block party going on, and firefighters had to lay on the horn until someone came out to move the vehicles. It took an extra three minutes to get to the accident scene. Firefighters then say members of the crowd started throwing beer bottles and other bottles at the fire rig. When firefighters arrived to the accident scene, they say people were trying to extract the woman from the vehicle where she was trapped. Firefighters say the female driver was pronounced dead at the scene.  

VIDEO: A special mural in honor of a volunteer for the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation is finally finished. It's for Patty Vallance who recently passed away. Vallance commissioned local artists, Wagon Burner Arts, to paint a mural honoring firefighters just one week before she went into the hospital. But she died before ever getting to see it. The mural, located at 2801 E. Grant Road, is 15 feet high, 85 feet long and represents the brotherhood and the sacrifice these men and women share. But none of them have faces. The artist said that's intentional. He wanted to show how every firefighter is one under the badge. There's also a painting of Vallance to honor her help in starting the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation back in 2010 and the thrift store, where the mural is painted.  

PHOTOS: Four Davidson and Randolph County firetrucks were damaged in three separate accidents over the weekend. The Westside Volunteer Fire Department in Asheboro responded to a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 73/74 northbound near Vision Drive on Friday night. At around 9:30 or 10 p.m., a vehicle hit their firetruck in the back, said Chief Racil Williamson. No one was injured in the accident, but the truck is out of commission, Williamson said. The Linwood Rural Fire Department in Davidson County responded to a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 85 south near mile marker 86 early Friday morning. They were using the firetruck to block the left lane, and at around 5:30 a.m, a car struck their truck. The back right corner of the fire truck was damaged, and the truck is unusable, said Linwood Fire Chief Terry Leonard.  

Convenience stores across America are joining together this Friday, July 24, to recognize the contributions of front-line responders, medical personnel and American Red Cross volunteers on 24/7 Day. The NACS Foundation's 24/7 Day features a variety of free in-store offers from 18 different convenience and fuel retailing partners, most of which are available to doctors, nurses, EMTs, police officers, firefighters and American Red Cross volunteers. The regional deals range from free coffee and soft drinks, to breakfast sandwiches, to combo meals; bp and Amoco are offering a 10 cent-per-gallon "Heroes Bonus" for up to 99 fueling transactions. The largest participating national chain, Shell, displays offers available to first responders through the month of July.