wildfires News

Fires Becoming Deadlier as Firefighter Recruitment Wanes

Fires feeding off modern materials found in people’s homes are burning faster and becoming deadlier at the same time that fire departments across the country are struggling to retain and recruit firefighters, officials said Thursday. Officials with various firefighting-related agencies …

Top 10 West Insurance Journal Stories of 2022

GEICO closing offices in California, insurers battling with regulators, lawsuits, settlements, and wildfires were among the most read stories in Insurance Journal’s West region. Following were among the region’s top 10 articles for the year that interested readers. The Top …

Counting the Rising Cost of Climate Change With Top Most Costly Natural Disasters

Climate change has raised the cost of natural disasters, as rising sea levels and drought increase the frequency and severity of flooding and wildfires, insurers and risk modeling experts say. The list of the 10 most expensive events of the …

Viewpoint: Wildfires Should be California’s No. 1 Priority When it Comes to Climate Change

In an Executive Order dated September 25, California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed all agencies of state government to double down on their efforts to address climate change. The governor, state agencies and the Legislature are spending billions of dollars in …

Kentucky Army Base Fighting Fire that Started in Training Area

Fort Campbell staff are using controlled burn techniques to manage a fire that started in a training area last week, base officials said. The fire started near Trigg County, Kentucky, during routine training. Clinton Allen, branch chief of public works …

US Starts Criminal Probe Into PG&E Role in California Wildfire

Federal officials have initiated a criminal investigation into PG&E Corp.’s potential role in starting California’s largest wildfire of the year. On Sept. 24, the US Forest Service removed one of the utility’s transmission poles from the site in Placer County …

Prescribed Fires at National Forests Resume After Review

The U.S. Forest Service is resuming its practice of intentionally lighting fires to clear brush and small trees from forested areas nationwide after a three-month hiatus to review the risks of runaway wildfires under increasingly severe climate conditions, the agency …

Southern California Evacuations Prompted by Rains and Mudslides

Thousands of residents were under evacuation and shelter-in-place orders early Tuesday after heavy rains unleashed mudslides in a mountain area east of Los Angeles that burned two years ago, sending boulders and other debris across roads. Firefighters went street by …

Colorado River Nearing Crisis Point 100 Years After Compact

The intensifying crisis facing the Colorado River amounts to what is fundamentally a math problem. The 40 million people who depend on the river to fill up a glass of water at the dinner table or wash their clothes or …

Deadline for Western States to Cut Colorado River Use Looming

Banks along parts of the Colorado River where water once streamed are now just caked mud and rock as climate change makes the Western U.S. hotter and drier. More than two decades of drought have done little to deter the …