ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A heat wave hitting Alaska may not rival the blazing heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas, but to residents of the 49th state, the days of hot weather feel like a stifling oven — or a tropical paradise.

Our state's lack of moisture and gusty winds are making things difficult as crews battle the wind-fueled Doce Fire.

Plants need water to keep cool, pump minerals up to their leaves and grow. And in many regions and many seasons, they can fend for themselves getting water.

Arizona’s summer monsoon season presents the most dangerous weather of the year in the state.

The sun-drenched colors and inviting textures of summer provide plenty of decorating ideas. The trick is doing it right: A summer-inspired interior can become a tacky, tropical disaster if it's done with too heavy a hand.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Myrtle Beach, this year celebrating the 75th anniversary of its incorporation, is the heart of South Carolina's $16.5 billion tourism industry. Myrtle Beach is in the center of a 60-mile (100-kilometer) reach of beaches that attracts more than 14 million visitors a year to dozens of golf courses, hundreds of restaurants and tens of thousands of hotel, motel and other rental units. There's shopping at hundreds of stores and nine live entertainment theaters with almost 12,000 seats. But there's a lot to do for free. Here are five suggestions:

Children exiting second through sixth grades can study the nuances of the atmosphere at Central Arizona College’s College for Kids “Wild, Wild Weather” program this summer.

It’s honored in songs, thrown back in barroom movie scenes, and mixed into fruity frozen cocktails as the weather heats up — and now you can pay homage to the Southwest’s favorite liquor on National Tequila Day.

What do Newtown and Moore have in common? They were both heartbreaking tragedies, of course. But they were also targeted by opportunistic politicians eager to push their left-wing ideological agendas.

Regarding the story, “Mathieu enters NFL drug testing program” from May 26:

Now that June is boiling up all over, as a public service this column will provide, especially to new arrivals, unsolicited advice on summer survival in the Sonoran Desert. When you’re not covering yourself in aloe vera juice to relieve a scalding sunburn, when surfaces inside your car are noticeably less than molten, when you’re watching someone else on TV being carried down from Camelback Mountain giving a thumbs-up to the camera — that’s when you’ll thank me, um, I hope.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. — The commemoration of this year's milestone anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg will include amenities that soldiers would have relished 150 years ago.

Weather conditions, circumstances and time permitting, the following areas are scheduled to be fogged midnight Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday in Mesa.

GLENDALE

Stephen Rayleigh and Matt Lyon thought they were done with careers in drones after they left the Army in 2010 and enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott.

The great weather expected this weekend across Arizona is an open invitation to step out into the state’s great outdoors. Between hiking and camping in Arizona State Parks, checking out your favorite fishing hole, or just getting some all-around exercise, there are plenty of opportunities. Just be sure to pack your common sense when you pack your car or bike.

The trouble with spring is that we get eager to grill, but we can't always count on the weather to cooperate.

Pasta carbonara — richly cheesy, creamy and studded with crisped pancetta — is easily one of the most comforting of pasta dishes. The only trouble is, with the onset of warmer weather we tend to crave salads more than steaming bowls of pasta. So for this recipe, we decided to have it both ways.

When the weather turns warm, I find myself craving the smell and taste of a great homemade burger off the grill.

EastValleyTribune.com presents ABC15.com's 'most accurate forecast' coverage, bringing you updated forecasts, seven-day outlooks, radar maps, current conditions,  and weather network look-ins from throughout the state.

Design magazines and home decorating catalogs tend to feature sprawling backyards with big wooden decks and room for everything from decorative fountains to artificial ponds.

A lone, painted white bicycle sits at the side of Usery Park Road near Bush Highway.

Get the kids ready for summer with a free afternoon of swim lessons and warm weather fun at SWIMkids USA, where they’ll enjoy playing on water slides, eating hot dogs, and noshing on cotton candy and snow cones.