Three tropical cyclones are swirling over the Pacific Ocean, including a tropical storm that blasted Hawaii’s Big Island with heavy rain.

Tropical Storm Hone has increased to a Category 1 hurricane while continuing its steady approach toward Hawaii late Saturday.

Tropical Storm Hone is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend as it passes south of the island chain.

In a job traditionally dominated by men, a spark of inspiration ignites as 16-year-old Ashley Goff paves her own path and is breaking barriers for a generation of women in the field of firefighting.

The fire has grown to nearly 6,000 acres and continues to be only 2% contained.

The U.S. Forest Service said Matts Creek Wildfire has grown to 5,148 acres and is two percent contained.

People living near the Matts Creek wildfire are growing more fearful by the minute.

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service say more than 100 firefighters are battling the blaze and the fire is burning where motorized equipment isn't allowed, except in emergencies.

Crews are still working tirelessly to contain the Matts Creek wildfire in Bedford County. Get a look at smoky conditions in surrounding areas.

The Matts Creek wildfire, which broke out Sunday, has grown to 2,700 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The area where the wildfire is located is federally protected, limiting the kind of tools crews can use.

As wildfires continue to permeate much of our region, we’re working for you to keep you updated on the Matts Creek wildfire in Bedford County.

Thanks to Kimberley Mierzwa for today’s Picture of the Day from Big Island.

Big Island Elementary School will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 15 due to air quality concerns in the area, according to Bedford County Public Schools.

Thanks to Brenda Shafer for sending us today’s Picture of the Day from Big Island.

Scientists say an eruption of a Hawaii volcano that began nearly two weeks ago has come to a pause.

The Sedalia Center is home to some of the most anticipated annual food and music festivals in southwest Virginia, drawing loyal attendees' year-after-year from the local communities of Big Island and Sedalia, as well as from the cities of Lynchburg, Amherst, Roanoke and Bedford. Saturday March 25th the Celtic Games and Highland Festival comes to the center.

A strong winter storm is downing trees, knocking out power and flooding soccer fields as it moves across the Hawaiian Islands.

Florida prosecutors have announced a second-degree murder charge against social media model Courtney Clenney in the fatal stabbing last April of her live-in boyfriend.

A federal aviation accident investigator will be sent to Hawaii to investigate after a tour helicopter crashed on a remote lava field, injuring all six people on board.

Ezra Miller has been arrested again in Hawaii.

The Bedford County Fire Marshals Office is investigating a fire that destroyed a home Monday afternoon.

The Ironman World Championship is being held outside Hawaii for the first time in four decades.

Firefighters have gotten more control over a Hawaii wildfire that forced thousands of people to evacuate over the weekend and destroyed at least two homes on the Big Island.

Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California and another in Hawaii.

A firefighter came home to find his charger melted

An 86-year-old Bedford County woman is dead after a crash Friday morning in the Big Island area of the county.

BIG ISLAND, Va. – Icy conditions led to two separate rescues along the Appalachian Trail on Saturday. The longer rescue happened on the trail near Big Island and the James River Foot Bridge. It took a rescue team eight hours to free a hiker who injured his legs and suffered from hypothermia. UPDATE: At 1019 the Division III Technical Rescue Team was alerted about an injured hiker on the Appalachain Trail... Posted by Virginia Division 3 Technical Rescue Team on Saturday, February 20, 2021The second rescue happened in Roanoke County, where crews rescued a hiker who fell from the trail leading to McAfee Knob. At approximately 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 20, 2021 Roanoke County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to the... Posted by Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department on Saturday, February 20, 2021Some hikers still decided to travel the trail on Sunday, despite the icy conditions.

Lane closures are possible on a number of streets throughout Lynchburg starting today. For the next two months, Shentel crews will be working throughout the city installing lines. The Bedford County Board of Supervisors will make the completion of Phase II of the Bedford County Internet Initiative. ZiTEL has installed 48 miles of fiber at four sites in the county, giving internet connection to more than 1,800 homes in Big Island, Diamond Hill, Cedar Key and Staunton River. The $1.2 million project was partially paid for with CARES Act money.

A plume rises near active fissures in the crater of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. A spokeswoman for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park says the volcanic activity is a risk to people in the park Monday and that caution is needed. Geological Survey via AP)HONOLULU – Lava was rising more than 3 feet (1 meter) per hour in the deep crater of a Hawaii volcano that began erupting over the weekend after a two-year break, scientists said Tuesday. Kilauea volcano within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island was gushing molten rock from at least two vents inside its summit crater, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It had a lava lake in its crater for the last decade of that eruption.

In this photo provided by the National Park Service, people watch an eruption from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on the Big Island on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. In the first hours of the eruption, lava mixed rapidly with water in the summit's crater lake to create steam. The water was the first ever recorded in the summit crater of Kilauea volcano. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said in a telephone interview that the volcanic activity is a risk to people in the park and that caution is needed. Last night's eruption was contained to the summit caldera within the national park.

Coronavirus weary residents and struggling business owners in Hawaii will be watching closely as tourists begin to return to the islands on Thursday without having to self-quarantine upon arrival. The new testing program is an effort to stem the devastating downturn the pandemic has had on Hawaii’s tourism-based economy. But gaps in the pre-travel testing program coupled with increasing cases of COVID-19 across the U.S. have raised questions about whether Hawaii is ready to safely welcome back vacationers. David Ige on Wednesday to talk about a new restaurant debit card that will give some unemployed Hawaii residents a $500 to spend at local restaurants over the next 60 days. “This second test upon arrival to Hawaii island will provide an extra layer of protection for our community," said Big Island Mayor Harry Kim in a statement Monday.

BIG ISLAND, Va. Authorities are investigating a fatal crash in Bedford County. According to the Big Island Volunteer Fire Department, the crash happened early Saturday morning on Lee Jackson Highway in Coleman Falls. A portion of Route 501 closed while crews investigate and clear the scene. The road reopened around 10 a.m.No word on what led to the crash or the identity of the victim(s). Stay WSLS.com for the latest.

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – A 66-year-old Big Island man died in a single-vehicle crash on Tuesday evening in Bedford County, according to Virginia State Police. At 5:40 p.m., on Route 652, a mile east of Route 752, Woodrow Franklin Gibson was driving a 1992 Chevrolet S-10 eastbound when he ran off the right side of the road and hit a tree, according to police. Gibson was wearing a seat belt and police said he died at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.

Courtesy of Dr. Beach(CNN) - A major marine heat wave in the Pacific could spell disaster for the coral reefs along the coastline of Papa Bay near Hawaii's Big Island. "Coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet -- 25% of all marine species live in association with coral reefs," Jamison Gove, a research oceanographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told CNN. "Coral reefs provide habitat for fish that serve important ecosystem functions and provide sustenance for local people." In addition, coral reefs break up ocean waves and swell, creating a barrier that protects coastlines from storms, waves and flooding. They are also important to the economy in Hawaii, as vibrant coral reefs are a huge tourist attraction for divers and snorkelers.

Lava erupts from a Kilauea volcano fissure in Leilani Estates, on Hawaii's Big Island, on May 24, 2018, in Pahoa. (CNN) - Hawaii's Kilauea volcano could be bracing for another dangerous eruption after a pond of water was discovered inside its summit crater. "I would have guessed that the lake water would drain." It could heat the water to form another lava lake, or it could react violently with the water and create explosions if the lava rapidly rises through the water. "When magma comes in contact with lake water the explosions can be more energetic and more explosive," Manga said.

Here is a recent longwave infrared satellite image of Erick in the eastern Pacific Ocean between Baja Californina and Hawaii. HONOLULU, Hawaii - Hurricane Erick and Tropical Storm Flossie churned closer to Hawaii on Thursday as forecasters warned of high surf and flooding threats. A high surf warning has been issued for the eastern coast of the Big Island. Flossie remains a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65 mph and little change in strength is forecast over the next 36 hours, Brink said. Rain and high surf are also possibilities with Flossie.