Alaska and Hawaii

"Lahaina is plagued by hazardous debris, chemicals and undrinkable water. A big storm could worsen and spread the wildfire contamination."

"The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 96 on Sunday as relatives of the missing frantically searched for signs their loved ones may still be alive, while survivors grappled with the scale of the disaster and sought solace at church services."

"Maui's wildfires have killed at least 55 people, a toll expected to rise, and unleashed destruction on the resort town of Lahaina that will take many years and billions of dollars to rebuild, Hawaiian officials said on Thursday."

"Thousands of Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years."

"Dune Lankard piloted the gleaming gill-net fishing boat to Simpson Bay, where eight buoys bobbed in the sunlight. The bright orange inflatables, connected by lines and spread out across five acres, provided the only indication of the ocean farm that lay beneath the water’s surface."

"For the Aleut community of St. Paul, Alaska, the loss of snow crabs is rippling through the economy and raising concerns about the future."

"The town of Hauula packs hundreds of homes into a narrow strip of land sandwiched between verdant, towering cliffs of the Koolau mountain range and the Pacific. But the stunning views obscure an environmental problem beneath the ground."

"The EPA will likely need to revise its rationale for protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine following the Supreme Court’s June ruling in a pivotal Clean Water Act case, but the mine is still unlikely to proceed, legal experts say."