wildfires

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Utility to Pay $80M Over 2017 California Wildfire

Under the terms, Southern California Edison does not accept blame

(Newser) - Southern California Edison has agreed to pay $80 million in connection with a huge 2017 wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes and other structures. Federal prosecutors said Monday that the deal, in which the utility does not admit fault or wrongdoing, will settle claims on behalf of the...

Fatal Gender Reveal Stunt Leads to Jail Time

California's Refugio Jimenez Jr. cops to involuntary manslaughter after firefighter died in El Dorado Fire

(Newser) - A man whose family's gender reveal photo shoot sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The El Dorado Fire erupted on Sept. 5, 2020, when Refugio Jimenez Jr., Angelina Jimenez, and their young children staged a photo shoot for...

After Years of Research, Expert Advice: Burn California's Forests

Burning, thinning, or a combination of both found to make trees more resilient to wildfire, drought

(Newser) - The findings of a 20-year study on the health of California forests will come as no surprise to Native Americans, whose ancestors traditionally managed land through controlled fires . The study out of the University of California-Berkeley confirms that prescribed burning, the use of controlled fire to clear debris; restoration thinning,...

Town Decimated by Fire Has New Obstacle to Rebuild

Homeowners in California town of Paradise find home insurance premiums have skyrocketed

(Newser) - The soaring cost of home insurance has consumed the California town of Paradise, residents and officials say, just after the five-year anniversary of the Nov. 8, 2018, Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history. Residents have received annual premiums that are near or exceed $10,000—leaving many to...

California's Famous Forests Are in Jeopardy

Management practices, more intense fires, a warming climate among the factors

(Newser) - On a steep mountainside where walls of flames torched the forest on their way toward Lake Tahoe in 2021, blackened trees stand in silhouette against a gray sky. "If you can find a live tree, point to it," Hugh Safford, an environmental science and policy researcher at the...

Unshared Wildfire Plan in Hawaii Only Raises Questions

Regulators weren't shown document until last week

(Newser) - Hawaiian Electric's chief executive reassured a congressional committee last week that the utility has a major wildfire mitigation plan in place, one that was completed in January after four years of development. Shelee Kimura's testimony, and the document, have raised a series of questions from regulators, including, "...

Lahaina to Hawaii Governor: We're Not Ready to Reopen

Residents deliver petition asking to delay new tourism, but it's a tricky economic situation

(Newser) - Residents from fire-stricken Lahaina on Tuesday delivered a petition asking Hawaii Gov. Josh Green to delay plans to reopen a portion of West Maui to tourism starting this weekend, saying the grieving community is not ready to welcome back visitors. The petition signed by 3,517 people from West Maui...

Woman Who Ran Through Burning Maui Field Dies

Laurie Allen, who escaped Lahaina's wildfire 7 weeks ago, succumbed to her injuries Friday

(Newser) - A woman who escaped Hawaii's Lahaina wildfire by running through a flaming field has died after spending more than seven weeks in a hospital burn unit. Laurie Allen died Friday at Straub Medical Center in Honolulu, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her and her husband, Perry...

Symbol of Hope Emerges in Lahaina
Symbol of Hope
Emerges in Lahaina
Sep 21, 2023 11:40 AM CDT

Symbol of Hope Emerges in Lahaina

Hawaiian town's scorched banyan tree sprouts new leaves after intensive treatment

(Newser) - Among a sea of brown, black, and gray, a hint of green in the scorched Maui town of Lahaina is cause for celebration. Locals have spotted new growth on the 150-year-old banyan tree that serves as a landmark at the center of the town largely destroyed in the Aug. 8...

After DNA Tests, Maui Death Toll Drops to 97

People died huddled together, coroner says

(Newser) - Authorities in Hawaii have adjusted the number of deaths from the deadly Maui wildfire down to at least 97 people. Officials previously said they believed at least 115 people had died in the fire, but further testing showed they had multiple DNA samples from some of the victims. The number...

Canada's Wildfire Season Has Obliterated Previous Records

An area the size of Wisconsin has burned, and more than 1K fires are still active

(Newser) - This year has been by far the worst on record for wildfires in Canada, with an area the size of Wisconsin burned, and the fire season isn't over yet. The fires have burned some 41 million acres, more than double the record of 17.5 million acres set in...

Oprah, the Rock: 'This Is What You Can Do' to Help Maui

Stars announce fund to help displaced residents

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires, through a new fund they announced this week. The People's Fund of Maui will give $1,200...

NWS Issues 'Red Flag Warning' for All of Hawaii

Weather agency says wind gusts, low humidity have upped risk of rapid-spreading fires on islands

(Newser) - The National Weather Service on Wednesday warned that gusty winds and low humidity have increased the risk that fires could spread rapidly in the western parts of each Hawaiian island, three weeks after a deadly blaze tore through a coastal Maui town during a similar alert. But the agency said...

Evacuated City Faces Influx of Bears

Wildlife officials believe wildfires pushed black bears into Yellowknife

(Newser) - Yellowknife, the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, was evacuated earlier this month as a huge wildfire neared the city, but emergency workers stayed behind —and they have been joined by bears. The animals, apparently attracted by the smell of garbage left behind when residents rushed to leave, have...

Survivors Describe a New Condition: 'Fire Brain'

After wildfires, some face a double-whammy of trauma and cognitive impairments from smoke

(Newser) - The first order of business in a wildfire, of course, is to survive the wildfire. But more and more, researchers are seeing evidence of cognitive impairment in such survivors after they were exposed to wildfire smoke, reports the Washington Post . And that's in addition to the very real possibility...

In Torched Maui, a Shred of &#39;Positive News&#39;
Maui's Number of Missing
Changes Dramatically
UPDATED
Aug 26, 2023 5:30 AM CDT

Maui's Number of Missing Changes Dramatically

Of the 388 people verified as missing, more than 100 say they're safe

(Newser) - Almost as soon as Maui's number of missing changed dramatically, it may have changed dramatically again. The AP reports that within a day of officials releasing the names of the 388 people who were verified as still missing Thursday, more than 100 of those names might be able to...

After Wall of Fire, Greece Finds 18 Bodies

They might have been migrants

(Newser) - Firefighters found the bodies of 18 people while scouring the area of a major wildfire in northeastern Greece burning out of control for a fourth day Tuesday. Authorities were examining whether the group might have been migrants who entered the country through the nearby border with Turkey, per the AP...

Winds Push Destructive Fire Through Washington State

One person is reported killed, 185 structures destroyed

(Newser) - A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway, and left one person dead, authorities said Saturday. The blaze began shortly after midday Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, about 15 miles west of Spokane, and then expanded, state Department...

Crews Won't Be Able to Put Out Canary Islands Fire

Inferno is 'beyond our capacity to extinguish it,' government says

(Newser) - Thousands more residents of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands have fled their homes as a wildfire that authorities deemed "out of control" raged on for a fourth day. The regional government for the Canary Islands said that 4,000 more people were ordered to evacuate on Saturday. Those...

Capital of Northwest Territories Is Like a 'Ghost Town'

Thousands are also fleeing wildfires in BC

(Newser) - The capital of Canada's Northwest Territories was virtually deserted late Friday after nearly all the residents of the city of just over 20,000 fled as a huge wildfire burned nearby . Officials in said Friday evening that about 19,000 people had left Yellowknife in less than 48 hours,...

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