Fires

The union representing firefighters in the Town of Normal is giving up its request to add a fourth fire station. And the town is considering new traffic signal preemption technology that could cut 15-20 seconds off the average drive time to emergencies.

A noon hour warehouse fire on Saturday forced the closure of the Center Street bridge in downtown Bloomington for a couple of hours. Firefighters said they contained the flames to the cupola of an elevator shaft.

Cooksville Fire Department said the Longbranch Again bar is considered to be close to a total loss.

Canadian wildfire smoke has caused unhealthy air quality in Bloomington-Normal. The Ecology Action Center in Normal is recommending people stay indoors whenever possible.

Over the next couple of weeks Bloomington-Normal residents may see controlled burns in natural areas. These burns are done in prairies to control invasive plant species and stimulate growth of native plants.

State Farm has asked the state of California to approve an emergency 22% homeowner policy rate increase following wildfires in that state.

As a coordinator with The Nature Conservancy, Meredith Brown will oversee Women in Fire Fellows — opportunities aimed at training more women for jobs in wildland firefighting.

According to a news release from the Bloomington Fire Department, fire crews were called to the third-floor apartment on Willedrob Drive near Four Seasons Road in southeast Bloomington shortly before 9:30 a.m.

McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder said Lucas Hensley, 42, died of smoke and soot inhalation.

It will take years for California to recover from this season's wildfires. In this edition of the GLT gardening podcast Grow, Mike McCurdy and Illinois…