fire suppression News

Yosemite Wildfire Threatens Grove of Iconic Sequoia Trees

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — The largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park remained closed Saturday as firefighters battled a blaze that threatened the gathering of the iconic trees and forced hundreds of campers to evacuate. The …

One Home Destroyed, 155 People Told to Evacuate Alaska Fire

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — One home has been destroyed by a wildfire burning in Alaska’s interior, while a majority of people under evacuation orders are sheltering in place, an official said Friday. The Clear fire is burning near the community …

Wildfires Tear Across Several States, Driven by High Winds

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters across the country are battling multiple wildfires as tinder-dry conditions and high winds whip up flames from Arizona to Florida — including a prairie fire in rural southwestern Nebraska that has killed one person, injured …

Extreme Wildfires Are Here to Stay – and Multiply

LONDON —Indonesia’s peatlands, California’s forests, and, now, vast swathes of Argentine wetland have all been ravaged by extreme wildfires, heralding a fiery future and the dire need to prevent it. With climate change triggering droughts and farmers clearing forests, the …

Company Defends Use of Toxic Chemicals to Fight Plant Fire

A company whose northern Illinois chemical plant was heavily damaged in a fire last week defended its use of firefighting foam containing toxic chemicals Wednesday, saying crews had taken steps to contain the material. An industrial team hired by Lubrizol …

Amid Clamor to Increase Prescribed Burns, Obstacles Await

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — In the 1950s, when University of California forestry professor Harold Biswell experimented with prescribed burns in the state’s pine forests, many people thought he was nuts. “Harry the Torch,” “Burn-Em-Up Biswell” and “Doctor Burnwell” were some …

Researchers Say More Data Needed to Determine Cost-Effective Wildfire Solutions

While California wildfires cost property insurers billions each year, the impact of the smoke emitted by those fires may be even more costly — although scientists can’t say for sure. The cost of wildfire impacts on human health was one …

Goals to Fight Fire with Fire Often Fall Short in US West

KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — The thick scent of smoke hung in the midday air when a trail along the Kings River opened up to an ominous scene: flames in the trees and thick gray smoke shrouding canyon walls. …

Crews Use Controlled Burns to Fight Kenai Peninsula Wildfire

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A wildfire on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula expanded Wednesday but fire crews used controlled burns to create firebreaks and protect a highway leading to some of the state’s most popular tourist destinations. The fire grew about 8% to …

California Water Utilities Seek Relief from Fire Lawsuits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Facing more wildfires and the lawsuits that come with them, a group of public and private California water systems want lawmakers to shield them from having to pay damages caused by fires they did not start but …