Federal wildland firefighters say they're burned out after years of low pay, little job stability
What started as a single tree fire in the mountains of Idaho in 2012 quickly escalated into a smoke-filled inferno that surrounded United States Forest Service helicopter rappeller Jonathon Golden and his small team.
Authorities Urge Orange County Residents To Stop Building Additions Onto Homes Currently On Fire
YORBA LINDA, CA—Asking the members of the wealthy local citizenry to put a brief pause on their construction projects, Orange County authorities reportedly urged residents Thursday to stop building additions onto homes that are currently on fire.
YORBA LINDA, CA—Asking the members of the wealthy local citizenry to put a brief pause on their construction projects, Orange County authorities reportedly urged residents Thursday to stop building additions onto homes that are currently on fire.
Two firefighters badly burned as two wildfires in California's Orange County prompt evacuation of 71,000 homes
LOS ANGELES — Two rapidly spreading wildfires prompted the evacuation of more than 85,000 people in two cities in upscale sections of Southern California's Orange County, fire officials said Monday.
LOS ANGELES — Two rapidly spreading wildfires prompted the evacuation of more than 85,000 people in two cities in upscale sections of Southern California's Orange County, fire officials said Monday.
Trump reverses course, approving assistance for California wildfires
President Trump late Friday reversed course on providing assistance for California’s wildfires, granting the request just hours after denying it.
California has had its most devastating wildfire season in history, currently battling 12 major fires that have burned through more than 4 million acres, according to figures released by the state yesterday.
President Trump late Friday reversed course on providing assistance for California’s wildfires, granting the request just hours after denying it.
California has had its most devastating wildfire season in history, currently battling 12 major fires that have burned through more than 4 million acres, according to figures released by the state yesterday.
Trump rejects California request for major wildfire assistance
SACRAMENTO — President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected California’s request for a major disaster declaration tied to the Creek Fire and five other catastrophic blazes, a rare move considering the breadth and high-profile nature of the disaster.
SACRAMENTO — President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected California’s request for a major disaster declaration tied to the Creek Fire and five other catastrophic blazes, a rare move considering the breadth and high-profile nature of the disaster.
Thoughtful Forest Management and Better Building Practices Can Help Mitigate the Impact of Wildfires
More than five million acres have burned across the West Coast in this year’s unusually severe wildfire season. Billowing smoke has traveled across the country, degrading air quality as far east as Washington, DC, and amplifying health risks for a nation still grappling with COVID-19.
More than five million acres have burned across the West Coast in this year’s unusually severe wildfire season. Billowing smoke has traveled across the country, degrading air quality as far east as Washington, DC, and amplifying health risks for a nation still grappling with COVID-19.
PG&E Equipment Might Have Ignited Northern California Wildfire
PG&E Corp. told California regulators that its power equipment might have contributed to igniting a recent wildfire that has killed four people.
PG&E Corp. told California regulators that its power equipment might have contributed to igniting a recent wildfire that has killed four people.
California Housing Policy Is Making Wildfires Worse
Monday morning, Sept. 28, California woke up sweaty, devastated, even shocked to find the state burning again. But if we’re honest, and to our great shame, no one was surprised. We’d seen this horror movie in this town. Three years ago, wildfire killed 25 people in Sonoma County. Now the Glass Fire was there, again, burning toward Santa Rosa.
Monday morning, Sept. 28, California woke up sweaty, devastated, even shocked to find the state burning again. But if we’re honest, and to our great shame, no one was surprised. We’d seen this horror movie in this town. Three years ago, wildfire killed 25 people in Sonoma County. Now the Glass Fire was there, again, burning toward Santa Rosa.
California wildfires shatter records, double in size from 2019
California’s wildfires surpassed a grim milestone Sunday, more than doubling the size of last year’s blazes — though the fire season is still far from over.
California’s wildfires surpassed a grim milestone Sunday, more than doubling the size of last year’s blazes — though the fire season is still far from over.
Why do California fires keep burning in the same places?
Shasta County burns every year, and blazes retracing their flames on landscape recently charred by wildfire isn't unusual.
So don't be surprised the Zogg Fire is burning within the footprint of the 2018 Carr Fire — even though in some areas the Carr Fire destroyed all trees, brush and grass in its path, experts say.
Shasta County burns every year, and blazes retracing their flames on landscape recently charred by wildfire isn't unusual.
So don't be surprised the Zogg Fire is burning within the footprint of the 2018 Carr Fire — even though in some areas the Carr Fire destroyed all trees, brush and grass in its path, experts say.
The West’s Infernos Are Melting Our Sense of How Fire Works
On the windy, hot day of July 26, 2018, as record 113-degree temperatures baked Redding, California, in the northern Sacramento Valley, Eric Knapp toiled in an air-conditioned government office. After work, he planned to meet his wife and 3-year-old daughter, and some family friends, for dinner. Slender and fair-skinned with a gentle smile, Knapp is a research ecologist for the US Forest Service. He was well aware that, three days earlier, in coastal mountains west of town, a wildfire had started when a trailer got a flat tire and the metal wheel rim scraped the asphalt, sending sparks into dry brush.
On the windy, hot day of July 26, 2018, as record 113-degree temperatures baked Redding, California, in the northern Sacramento Valley, Eric Knapp toiled in an air-conditioned government office. After work, he planned to meet his wife and 3-year-old daughter, and some family friends, for dinner. Slender and fair-skinned with a gentle smile, Knapp is a research ecologist for the US Forest Service. He was well aware that, three days earlier, in coastal mountains west of town, a wildfire had started when a trailer got a flat tire and the metal wheel rim scraped the asphalt, sending sparks into dry brush.
‘Horrifying’ Glass Fire burns homes, with 68,000 from Santa Rosa to Napa fleeing
A massive and chaotic wildfire that burned dozens of homes and threatened thousands more across Wine Country flared up on several fronts Monday, roaring across the northern Napa Valley and blazing toward dense residential neighborhoods in eastern Santa Rosa.
A massive and chaotic wildfire that burned dozens of homes and threatened thousands more across Wine Country flared up on several fronts Monday, roaring across the northern Napa Valley and blazing toward dense residential neighborhoods in eastern Santa Rosa.
Amid COVID and Wildfires, Farmworkers Have Been Pushed to the Brink
We’ve seen this before — in 2018, when farmworkers in California labored as fires raged in the background, contaminating the air and creating inhospitable work conditions.
We’ve seen this before — in 2018, when farmworkers in California labored as fires raged in the background, contaminating the air and creating inhospitable work conditions.
California braces for power shutoffs and warm, windy weekend
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Firefighters and officials at California’s largest utility company braced for hot, dry and windy weather in northern and central areas of the state this weekend that may fan the flames of several major wildfires or ignite new ones.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Firefighters and officials at California’s largest utility company braced for hot, dry and windy weather in northern and central areas of the state this weekend that may fan the flames of several major wildfires or ignite new ones.
Global warming driving California wildfire trends - study
Climate change is driving the scale and impact of recent wildfires that have raged in California, say scientists.
Their analysis finds an "unequivocal and pervasive" role for global heating in boosting the conditions for fire.
California now has greater exposure to fire risks than before humans started altering the climate, the authors say.
Climate change is driving the scale and impact of recent wildfires that have raged in California, say scientists.
Their analysis finds an "unequivocal and pervasive" role for global heating in boosting the conditions for fire.
California now has greater exposure to fire risks than before humans started altering the climate, the authors say.
West Coast Wildfires Underscore Ominous Global Trend: Forests Are Dying
Behind the apocalyptic wildfires in California and Oregon, another ominous trend is creeping across the globe: Everywhere in the world, trees are dying, with the biggest trees going first. Entire forests are threatened worldwide.
Behind the apocalyptic wildfires in California and Oregon, another ominous trend is creeping across the globe: Everywhere in the world, trees are dying, with the biggest trees going first. Entire forests are threatened worldwide.
Amid Record-Breaking Fires, Debate Over Blame
Between 2001 and 2010, wildfires burned a total of 7.03 million acres in California, according to a recent analysis published in The Los Angeles Times.
In 2020 alone, fires have already burned 3.2 million acres, destroying buildings, breaking records, and killing at least 25 people in the state. The largest of these fires, the August Complex, has already consumed an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island. And the blazes aren’t done yet: Twenty-six major wildfires are currently burning in California.
Between 2001 and 2010, wildfires burned a total of 7.03 million acres in California, according to a recent analysis published in The Los Angeles Times.
In 2020 alone, fires have already burned 3.2 million acres, destroying buildings, breaking records, and killing at least 25 people in the state. The largest of these fires, the August Complex, has already consumed an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island. And the blazes aren’t done yet: Twenty-six major wildfires are currently burning in California.
Climate change focus obscures complexities of wildfires
Timothy Ingalsbee, a wildland firefighter and executive director of the Eugene, Oregon-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, said “the science is pretty clear there’s no single cause of what’s going on,” though he sees climate change as the primary driver. “It’s why we’ve seen so many big fires on land simultaneously,” he said. “But it’s also an issue of forest management. Not the lack of forest management, but the legacy of forest management.”
Timothy Ingalsbee, a wildland firefighter and executive director of the Eugene, Oregon-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, said “the science is pretty clear there’s no single cause of what’s going on,” though he sees climate change as the primary driver. “It’s why we’ve seen so many big fires on land simultaneously,” he said. “But it’s also an issue of forest management. Not the lack of forest management, but the legacy of forest management.”
The Big Smoke
Oakland, California—On Tuesday, September 8, my husband and I were hiking along Pelican Bluffs Trail near Gualala, a tiny coastal town in Northern California’s Mendocino County, to which we’d come to escape from the heat and the wildfire smoke already plaguing the Bay Area. It was a dramatic walk, with views of white cliffs, pristine beaches, and the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, whose intense blue was rivaled only by the skies above it. As a flight of pelicans vanished into the patch of ocean fog, I reminded myself of how lucky I was: seventeen years into my life in the great state of California, it still felt as if I’d barely scratched the surface. Then I glanced up and noticed a gray halo around the suddenly orange sun. It’s just sea fog, my husband told me; it doesn’t get smoky on the coast. The nearest fire, which had erupted over Labor Day at Willits, where we’d been planning a ride on the Skunk Train through the redwoods, was an hour and a half away—surely too far to cause this.
Oakland, California—On Tuesday, September 8, my husband and I were hiking along Pelican Bluffs Trail near Gualala, a tiny coastal town in Northern California’s Mendocino County, to which we’d come to escape from the heat and the wildfire smoke already plaguing the Bay Area. It was a dramatic walk, with views of white cliffs, pristine beaches, and the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, whose intense blue was rivaled only by the skies above it. As a flight of pelicans vanished into the patch of ocean fog, I reminded myself of how lucky I was: seventeen years into my life in the great state of California, it still felt as if I’d barely scratched the surface. Then I glanced up and noticed a gray halo around the suddenly orange sun. It’s just sea fog, my husband told me; it doesn’t get smoky on the coast. The nearest fire, which had erupted over Labor Day at Willits, where we’d been planning a ride on the Skunk Train through the redwoods, was an hour and a half away—surely too far to cause this.