wildfires

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Culprit in NM's Biggest-Ever Fire: US Forest Service

Planned burns combined into massive forest fire

(Newser) - A massive New Mexico wildfire that has stampeded through more than 330 homes and nearly 500 square miles wasn't the result of a carelessly tossed cigarette ( or firework ), but rather the deliberate machinations of the United States Forest Service in an effort to, well, to avoid massive...

Newborn Elk Calf Rescued From Ashes of Wildfire

Firefighter deployed to New Mexico spotted Cinder in a burned forest

(Newser) - Firefighters have rescued an abandoned newborn elk calf found amid the ashes of the nation's largest wildfire as calving season approaches its peak in New Mexico and fires rage across the American West. Missoula, Montana-based firefighter Nate Sink said Tuesday that he happened upon the motionless elk calf on...

Man Who Started Fire That Killed Condors Gets 24 Years

2020 California fire nearly killed 14 firefighters

(Newser) - A man who started a 2020 wildfire that killed 12 endangered California condors and seriously injured a firefighter has been sentenced to 24 years in state prison. Ivan Gomez, 31, was sentenced Wednesday by a Monterey County judge for setting the Big Sur Dolan fire while illegally growing marijuana in...

New Mexico Tells Biden It Needs More Help

Prescribed burn in national forest is part of the problem, governor says

(Newser) - New Mexico's governor is asking for additional federal assistance to respond to wildfires burning across the state's north, including one that is the second-largest in state history and that officials estimate has destroyed hundreds of homes. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Friday in a letter to President Biden...

As 'Heartbreaking' Blaze Burns, Thousands Just Won't Leave

Residents in Mora County, NM, refuse to evacuate amid largest US wildfire

(Newser) - In the mountains north of Santa Fe, NM, residents are known for being able to tough things out. Which helps explain why thousands are now refusing to flee in Mora and San Miguel counties, where the nation's largest current wildfire is still raging, reports Reuters . It has scorched more...

Deputy 'Engulfed' in Blaze Raging Across Texas

Deputy Sgt. Barbara Fenley died while reportedly trying to check on an elderly resident

(Newser) - Fire crews in Texas hope to make progress Saturday against a massive complex of wildfires that have killed one person and burned at least 50 homes, officials said. Winds were expected to diminish on Saturday, raising hopes for the attack on the flames, said a spokesman for the task force...

Ominous UN Report: We Must 'Learn to Live With Fire'

Number of catastrophic fires could increase by 50% by century's end

(Newser) - A warming planet and changes to land use patterns mean more wildfires will scorch large parts of the globe in coming decades, causing spikes in unhealthy smoke pollution and other problems that governments are ill prepared to confront, according to a UN report being released Wednesday. The western US, northern...

Wildfire Shuts PCH at Big Sur
Big Sur Fire Shuts Highway 1
photos
Jan 22, 2022 2:30 PM CST

Big Sur Fire Shuts Highway 1

Winds up to 70mph are expected in Southern California, as well

(Newser) - A wind-driven wildfire broke out late Friday in the rugged mountains above Big Sur, forcing residents to evacuate their homes and authorities to shut down a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. The fire started in a canyon and was pushed by 35mph winds to the sea, jumping the highway and...

Officials Now Count 2 People Missing After Fire

Family says 91-year-old woman couldn't escape her burning home

(Newser) - After wildfires races through two Colorado towns on Thursday, local officials said no one was killed, which the sheriff said would be "our very own New Year’s miracle." Now they're worried that the announcement was premature, the Denver Post reports. Local officials had been working through...

Coloradoans Return to Where Homes Stood
Coloradoans
Assess Fire Loss
photos
Dec 31, 2021 4:40 PM CST

Coloradoans Assess Fire Loss

One woman finds just the mailbox still standing

(Newser) - Forrest Smith fled his home in Louisville, Colorado, with only a coffee cup, a water cup, and his cellphone. In the rush, as hot ashes burned him while he started his car, he'd even left behind his wallet, USA Today reports. "For some reason, I'm thinking in...

'This Is the Kind of Fire We Can't Fight Head On'

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated northwest of Denver

(Newser) - An estimated 580 homes, a hotel, and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. Just a few injuries have been reported so far, but authorities didn’t rule out finding out later about more severe...

California Wildfires Ruined a Winery's Grapes. It Had a Plan

Napa Valley's Pine Ridge Vineyards is now producing vodka made from the smoke-tainted fruit

(Newser) - When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When it hands you ruined grapes, make ... vodka? That's what Napa Valley's Pine Ridge Vineyards opted to do when its grape crops were sullied by smoke from last year's California wildfires, thanks in part to a partnership with an Almeda...

Fire That Threatened LakeTahoe Region Is Now 100% Contained
Father, Son Accused of
Starting Caldor Fire
UPDATED
Dec 9, 2021 1:48 AM CST

Father, Son Accused of Starting Caldor Fire

California wildfire burned for 67 days before it was contained

(Newser) - Update: A father and son stand accused of reckless arson in the California wildfire that threatened the storied Lake Tahoe region, the Sacramento Bee reports. After a monthslong investigation involving multiple search warrants, David Scott Smith, 66, and Travis Shane Smith, 32, were on Thursday taken into custody on a...

'I Think We're Making History,' Pilot Said. Then He Crashed

Marc Olson died Tuesday during pioneer mission to battle Colorado wildfire at night

(Newser) - A pilot who'd flown for 42 years—32 of those spent in the Army and Air Force— died Tuesday during a pioneering effort to fight a Colorado wildfire at night. Marc Thor Olson of CO Fire Aviation successfully completed a water drop over the Kruger Rock Fire in Larimer...

Thousands of Sequoias Must Be Chopped Down

Trees pose danger after California wildfires

(Newser) - Thousands of California's famed giant sequoias are doomed in the wake of devastating wildfires that have swept the Sierra Nevada. Per ABC News , upwards of 10,000 of the trees, which can reach 275 feet and live for 3,000 years or more, must be culled for safety reasons....

Convicted Arsonists Are Executed En Masse in Syria

Human rights activists 'shocked' that 24 were put to death for 2020 wildfires

(Newser) - Wildfires that swept through Syria last year were intentionally lit, and now 24 individuals linked to setting them have been executed, per the country's Ministry of Justice. Al Jazeera notes that while executions aren't uncommon in Syria, so many being killed at once is unusual. It's not...

Calif. Wildfires Deliver a 'Heartbreaking' Loss

Hundreds of giant sequoias are believed to have burned

(Newser) - Northern California wildfires may have killed hundreds of giant sequoias as they swept through groves of the majestic monarchs in the Sierra Nevada, an official said Wednesday. "It's heartbreaking," Christy Brigham, head of resources management and science for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, told the AP...

Woman Allegedly Sparked Wildfire Trying to Boil Water

Alexandra Souverneva hit with multiple charges in California

(Newser) - The woman who was arrested after walking out of a Northern California wildfire near the fire line has now been charged with arson. Authorities say Alexandra Souverneva, 30, was trying to hike to Canada when, she told them, she found a puddle of water to drink but wanted to sterilize...

Woman Walks Out of Brush Near Fire Line, Is Arrested

Alexandra Souverneva accused of arson in Fawn Fire, which has forced evacuations of 4K

(Newser) - A fire that erupted Wednesday in California's Shasta County has quickly spread to cover 5,500 acres , forcing thousands of people out of their homes. It's also prompted an arrest. Cal Fire and Shasta County Fire said employees spotted a white woman trespassing on property accessed through two...

Special Blankets Helped Save World's Biggest Trees

Recent controlled burns also kept sequoias safe in California

(Newser) - The general is safe, for now. The reference is to the world's biggest tree, known as General Sherman, in California's Sequoia National Park, reports NPR . Encroaching wildfires had forest workers scrambling to protect the ancient trees last week, and their efforts appear to have paid off. Not only...

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