USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites
The directive from USDA’s office of communications, whose authenticity was validated by three people, could affect information across dozens of programs including climate-smart agriculture initiatives, USDA climate hubs and Forest Service information regarding wildfires, the frequency and severity of which scientists have linked to hotter, drier conditions fueled by climate change.
They helped save L.A. Will California ever pay them fairly?
Thanks to a state constitution that allows forced labor as a form of criminal punishment, California’s incarcerated workers are regularly deployed to complete dangerous, necessary work, from manufacturing key medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensuring that sanitation systems continue to function. But the state’s century-old incarcerated firefighters program, the largest in the country, stands out in its scope. According to some estimates, it accounts for nearly a third of California’s total firefighting force. In a state where destructive wildfires are common and growing more frequent, they are vital workers. They typically make less than a dollar an hour.
New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants
The research, conducted by a team from the University of Southern California and published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, found that between 2009 and 2021, wildfire retardant application in the U.S. released at least 380,000 kg (more than 400 tons) of at least four toxic metals into the environment. Toxic metals — like cadmium, chromium and vanadium — accumulate in ecosystems and organisms and are linked to organ damage, cancer and neurological disorders.
How wildlife survives after wildfires
Fire is a serious problem for humans, particularly when they build in fire-prone areas, and the losses of life, property and economies can be immense. The Los Angeles wildfires that occurred in January 2025 are predicted to have cost in excess of $135bn (£109.7bn).
However, it is not intrinsically a problem for wildlife. One study, which looked at the results of 31 research papers from 1984 to 2020, found that 65% of studies did not report any animal fatalities as a direct result of fires. Many species have a strategy for evading the fire itself, ranging from simply running away to hiding in burrows underground or sheltering in the treetops.
Global warming set the stage for Los Angeles fires
A new attribution analysis found that climate heating caused by burning fossil fuels significantly increased the likelihood of extreme fire conditions.
The Tongva’s land burned in Eaton fire. But leaders say traditional practices mitigated damage
“It’s important to listen to Indigenous voices and to understand that the knowledge that communities hold is thousands and thousands and thousands of years of knowledge,” she said. “I think that listening and allowing that knowledge to be practiced is really the key to the future of wildfire.”
A new kind of urban firestorm
Rising temperatures and shifting seasons have increased the risk of wildfires that burn faster and are harder to contain. When those blazes jump into nearby communities, they are fueled not by forests but by buildings — moving from home to home, from garage to business to school, until they consume even areas far away from the wilderness.
“It’s a new beast,” said John Abatzoglou, a climatologist at the University of California at Merced. “Or rather, it’s a beast that existed and we thought we had controlled.”
Experts say one practice could have slowed down devastating LA fires
But one thing that could have limited the mind-boggling devastation, many experts say, is better preparation by communities, specifically the widely promoted, yet sometimes overlooked, practice of creating “defensible space” around buildings and “hardening” homes to fire.
In Los Angeles County, like in so many parts of California, entire neighborhoods exist in or next to fire-prone wildlands. With flames bound to reach these areas and no assurances they can be stopped, especially in an age of climate-charged mega-fires, many say focusing on community-level safety should be top priority.
Trump’s pick for energy secretary rejects linking climate change and wildfires
Oil executive Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Energy Department, has argued that climate change has not fueled more frequent and severe wildfires — a claim at odds with the scientific consensus.
Could better brush clearance have helped slow the spread of the Palisades fire?
Given the weather conditions, Moritz is skeptical that more landscape-level brush clearance would have done much to slow the fire’s initial spread. He also noted that landscape-level brush management is distinct from brush clearance around individual homes, which is typically the responsibility of the property owner and can help give firefighters opportunities to protect structures.
Aerial support during the California wildfires has been grounded at times by high winds. Here's what the aircrafts do and why they can't fly in certain conditions.
High winds do more than spread fires — they keep firefighting aircraft on the ground
Fires are moving much faster now. Here’s how to prepare.
In short, we need to prepare. By the time a fast fire ignites, it is too late. To support firefighters and protect our communities, we need to be ready long before fire comes.
Could more controlled burns have stopped the L.A. fires?They can be an effective wildfire prevention tool — but not always.
Once the fires stop burning in Los Angeles and the city picks itself up from the rubble, the chorus of voices asking how such a disaster could have been prevented will rise. In California, the answer to that desperate query is so often “better forestry management practices,” and in particular “more controlled burns.” But that’s not always the full story, and in the case of the historically destructive L.A. fires, many experts doubt that prescribed burns and better vegetation management would have mattered much at all.
This Week’s Unholy Mix of Drought, Wind, and Fire in Southern California: A Warning of an Accelerating Insurance Crisis in Climate-Risk Areas?
In the not-too-distant future, certain areas will effectively be red-lined from a flood or fire insurance perspective, either formally or by having policies be so expensive as to be unaffordable, or having terms that limit coverage in the event of wildfire or flood losses? What happens to those properties when the only market is cash-only buyers (or much smaller mortgages, limited to the maximum that insurers will cover), and then ones who understand that they are at risk of bearing the full or large losses?
And consider: what happens to current home borrowers if they can’t meet the obligations in their mortgage to maintain adequate home insurance?
Hollywood Hills fire breaks out as deadly wildfires burn out of control across Los Angeles area
The Sunset Fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile (kilometer) from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The streets around Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were packed with stop-and-go traffic as sirens blared and low-flying helicopters soared by on their way to dump water on the flames. People toting suitcases left hotels on foot, while some onlookers walked towards the flames, recording the fire on their phones.
5 dead, more than 1,100 structures destroyed as firestorm besieges L.A. County
More than 1,100 buildings have burned and at least five people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.
Malibu residents flee as wildfire swallows homes along iconic Southern California coastline
The beaches are empty in Malibu as a wildfire tears through swaths of the iconic Southern California coastline, consuming homes and vehicles and forcing residents – including legendary actor Dick Van Dyke – to flee their coveted hillside properties.
Experiencing natural disasters increases partisan disagreement on climate change
Mike here: ndividuals often cling to pre-existing beliefs on politicized topics like climate change, even in the face of contradicting evidence. This phenomenon, well-documented in social psychology, shows that people frequently double down on their beliefs rather than reconsider them. For example, a study involving supporters of the false WMD claims in Iraq revealed that even after being shown evidence to the contrary, including President Bush's admission, their conviction in the validity of those claims increased. Interestingly, some who have experienced climate-related disasters may also deepen their denial, influenced by partisan media that supports their views.
It’s time to redefine what a megafire is in the climate change era
“The modern era of megafires is often defined based on wildfire size,” wrote Jennifer Balch, associate professor of geography at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her colleagues in the new study, “but it should be defined based on how fast fires grow and their consequent societal impacts.” While large fires have a major effect on air quality, ecosystems, and the release of planet-warming carbon, it is fast fires that have the greatest impact on infrastructure damage, evacuation efforts and, ultimately, death tolls.