Explosions Alaska

Redoubt Volcano erupted more vigorously Tuesday than it has since it first exploded to life, and intense heat from the exploding mountain was melting nearby glaciers, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported. Airlines, virtually grounded by volcanic ash clouds, were taking the unusual step of telling many travelers to stay put for the holidays, or at least until the volcano calms down and flying returns to normal. But the U.S. Postal Service found a way to get mail in and out of Alaska.

Redoubt Volcano erupted more vigorously Tuesday than it has since it first exploded to life, and intense heat from the exploding mountain was melting nearby glaciers, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported. Airlines, virtually grounded by volcanic ash clouds, were taking the unusual step of telling many travelers to stay put for the holidays, or at least until the volcano calms down and flying returns to normal. But the U.S. Postal Service found a way to get mail in and out of Alaska.

Propane leaked from an air base storage building and exploded Wednesday, injuring eight people and shooting a "wall of flame 100 feet in the air," Air Force officials said. They said that two airmen and two civilians working in the frame building were burned and four firefighters suffered smoke inhalation.

Propane leaked from an air base storage building and exploded Wednesday, injuring eight people and shooting a "wall of flame 100 feet in the air," Air Force officials said. They said that two airmen and two civilians working in the frame building were burned and four firefighters suffered smoke inhalation.

This sun-scraped scab of desert has been pounded by the worst mankind could hurl at it: four decades of nuclear explosions. Those trials are over now. But this echoing expanse remains the proving ground for audacious inventions. Only now it's not the government experimenting, it's private industry. Need to blow up a building to test a new anti-terrorism design? Do it at the Nevada Test Site. Need to set a chemical fire to try out a new foam flame retardant? Feel free, at the Nevada Test Site.