By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on June 23, 2026

9:50 p.m. Update, June 23, 2026: Another load of 12 smokejumpers is en route to join the 11 already working on the Jade Fire (#285), which is burning about 3 miles west of Ambler and west of the Kopshesut Fire. Two single‑engine water scoopers — highly effective in calming the Kopshesut Fire in its early days — along with personnel aboard an air attack platform, are working the incident. The air attack platform is used to coordinate airspace and relay information between aircraft and firefighters on the ground.

The larger multi‑engine water scoopers were requested but were unable to respond due to weather at Ladd Airfield on Fort Wainwright.

At about 8:42 p.m., the fire was reported at 10 acres and was torching and active on all sides. It was burning toward the Kopshesut Fire, which stands between it and Ambler

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Use this link for an interactive map to zoom in and out for a closer look at the location of the fire: https://arcg.is/1XLmHm8

8:45 p.m., June 23, 2026: U.S. Wildland Fire Service contracted aircraft and smokejumpers are en route to Ambler after receiving reports of a new fire near the Kobuk River community.

Numberous reports from locals reporting the fire is west of the Kopeshusut Fire (#137) that escaped from the landfill June 4 and threatened the community before being contained last week.

More information will be released when it’s available.

Contact U.S. Wildland Fire Service Public Affairs Specialist Beth Ipsen at elizabeth_ipsen@ios.doi.gov or (907)388-2159 for more information.

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A new fire broke out 3 miles west of Ambler Tuesday night. The Jade Fire is also west of the Kopshesut Fire that escaped the Ambler landfill on June 4 and was contained last week. Click on the map for a PDF version.

Here’s a closer look at the Jade Fire (#285) burning west of the Kopshesut Fire and about 3 miles west of Ambler. Use this link for an interactive map to zoom in and out for a closer look at the location of the fire.

-USWFS-

U.S. Wildland Fire Service, P.O. Box 35005 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, AK 99703

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‹ Delta Area fires receive rain as suppression efforts continue

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Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, US Wildland Fire Service

Tags: 2026 Alaska Fire Season

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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona is launching a statewide task force aimed at cracking down on cargo theft.

CargoNet estimates $725 million was lost in cargo thefts nationwide in 2025. Arizona is among the states where cargo theft happens most often.

Cargo thefts rise in Arizona

State Sen. Kevin Payne was the sponsor of Senate Bill 1452, which created the Cargo Theft Task Force and was signed into law by Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday.

“There’s a lot of cargo theft going on,” Payne said.

The bill creates a statewide cargo theft task force made up of six investigators, legal staff, and any law enforcement designated by the Attorney General’s office. The task force will investigate cargo theft and track new criminal trends.

“I don’t think that people thought it was as serious as it actually is,” Payne said.

Scott Cornell, chief risk officer for SPG Cargo and Logistics and chair of the Transported Asset Protection Association, said he has investigated cargo theft for three decades and that cases have become harder to solve lately

“These large, sophisticated international crime rings have taken over cargo theft in the United States, and they pull the strings from a dozen or two dozen different countries,” Cornell said.

Cornell said addressing cargo theft directly through a specialized task force at the state level could have more impact.

“I think when you address it directly, like Arizona is with a cargo theft task force, you’re bound to have much more impact than a state that doesn’t have that specialization,” he said.

In Arizona, expensive shoes, watches and electronics are among the items stolen from semitrucks and trains in the last couple of years.

“We pay for it,” Cornell said. “The cost is absolutely going to be passed on to the consumer. There’s no question about it.”

Payne said the goal of the task force is to reduce cargo theft in Arizona.

“I sure would like to eliminate a lot of it,” Payne said. “You know, cut it down a lot. Make it to where it’s not profitable for them to do this so they’ll stop.”

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is in charge of establishing the task force. In a statement, the AG’s office says Attorney General Kris Mayes looks forward to continuing the ongoing work to combat retail theft and cargo theft through this task force, and it will coordinate efforts with law enforcement statewide.

The task force’s first report is due to the governor, Senate president and House speaker by July 1, 2027.

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Federal authorities on Tuesday charged 10 Southern California defendants in a series of healthcare fraud schemes, including one case involving nearly $270 million in fraudulent Medi-Cal claims and another that allegedly defrauded Medicare out of approximately $27 million.

The charges were part of the Justice Department’s broader “2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown,” which resulted in charges against 455 defendants nationwide in schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraud.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as “the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history.”

“Fraudsters can no longer rip off American taxpayers,” Blanche said during a news conference announcing the initiative. “If you seek to harm or cheat Americans, we will find you, seize any assets and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL

In the Central District of California, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 10 defendants accused of defrauding government-funded healthcare programs or abusing their positions as medical professionals to illegally prescribe controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said five individuals were arrested in the greater Los Angeles area for allegedly participating in a scheme that involved submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal for expensive prescription drugs.

Among those charged was Christina Mareik, 61, also known as Christina Marie Sanchez Hernandez, of Whittier.

HOSPICE FRAUD USES STOLEN IDENTITIES FOR FAKE PATIENTS

Prosecutors allege Mareik helped facilitate fraudulent prescriptions that generated nearly $270 million in claims to Medi-Cal, which ultimately paid out more than $178 million.

According to prosecutors, the claims involved expensive drugs containing low-cost generic ingredients that were either not medically necessary or were never provided to the purported recipients.

Authorities said Mareik also sent thousands of fraudulent prescriptions to a co-conspirator and caused the submission of fraudulent prescriptions under her own name.

LOS ANGELES HOSPICE FRAUD REACHES BILLIONS AS MEDICARE PROVIDERS SCAM FEDERAL SYSTEM WITH FAKE COMPANIES

Mareik was arrested June 17 and charged with healthcare fraud.

The charges also include a San Fernando Valley man accused of operating hospice care companies that fraudulently billed Medicare approximately $27 million, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also charged Oren David Shachar, 59, of Van Nuys; Abraham Shin, 66, of Corona; and Jeannie Choi, 57, of Torrance.

The three defendants face a 16-count indictment alleging they conspired to defraud Medicare out of approximately $27 million.

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The charges include conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, monetary transactions involving criminally derived property exceeding $10,000, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.