According to the latest update from the US Forest Service, the Matts Creek Wildfire in Bedford County is 100 percent contained. State Education officials were in the Star City to get resident input on new accountability measurements for Virginia’s public schools. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently gave Mountain Valley Pipeline crews permission to drill horizontally 24 hours a day, seven days a week - about 50 feet below I-81 in Montgomery County, just north of the Ironto exit. Roanoke City’s Christmas Tree was installed downtown yesterday in anticipation of Friday’s tree lighting. The Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association recently presented Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne Youngkin with a Christmas tree and two wreaths to display in Virginia’s Executive Mansion for the holiday season.

The Matts Creek wildfire in Bedford County is 93 percent contained, according to the latest update from the US Forest Service. Some guests at Hotel Roanoke say it was frustrating that officials did not inform them about an active shooter hoax on Thanksgiving morning. A Virginia Republican not yet sworn into his first-time State Senate seat has already announced a run for Congress -- upsetting some in his party, not to mention the current G-O-P Representative. Virginia State Police say a 14-year-old is dead and a 16-year-old is in the hospital following a vehicle crash in Henry County. "The Elf on the Shelf Adventure," has returned to downtown Roanoke. The goal is to find all 16 "Scout Elves" that have been hidden in various retail shops. A Fairfax man recently hit the 5-million-dollar jackpot while playing the Virginia Lottery.

Roanoke City Police responded to reports of an active shooter yesterday morning at Hotel Roanoke. Authorities determined the call was a hoax. A Northern Virginia Congressman says the United States must continue serving as a beacon of freedom amid conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. It's another "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally marks the start of the holiday shopping season. A personal finance website has been surveying promised discounts and says some stores will offer deals that average more than 50 percent.

Here is the latest from around the Roanoke Valley.

Here is the latest from around the Roanoke Valley.

Firefighters are continuing to battle the Matt’s Creek wildfire which is causing some hazardous health conditions.

The latest Roanoke and Virginia news.

Prosecutors say a California man, who supplied as many as 30,000 pressed fentanyl pills a week to individuals who shipped the pills to Southwest Virginia, pled guilty yesterday to a pair of federal drug charges. Roanoke Pastor Tom McCracken tells WFIR News he has received an apology from Roanoke City Councilman Luke Priddy, who accused McCracken of touching a 15-year-old girl during a county school board meeting in August. Slowly but surely the 9th Street industrial park is being cleaned up, the first step in a long-term redevelopment project that could create a unique village of sorts in Southeast Roanoke. Work is just getting underway for the latest step in efforts to eventually create a continued Roanoke River Greenway from Explore Park to Montgomery County. As party leadership positions are announced, a former Governor of Virginia is discussing whether the criminal past of the incoming speaker of the House of Delegates should matter. The NCAA has rejected JMU football’s latest request to become bowl eligible.

Bedford County School officials say Big Island Elementary School will be closed today due to air quality concerns related to the ongoing Matts Creek wildfire. Saying Congress has “done nothing on any guardrails” on social media and technology - Virginia’s Senior U.S. Senator warns that several countries are planning to interfere in the 2024 elections. One of those who has proposed to redevelop the former Holdren's Country Store property in Vinton - at one time a 19th-century grain mill - says they will be ready to move forward once agreements signed this afternoon at a special Town Council meeting are completed. One major project has a mission of restoration to create a ripple effect across all of Roanoke. As his second week in office comes to a close, Roanoke’s new chief of police is discussing areas of the department that need to be addressed.