drought News

Crews Battling Black Hills Wildfires Gaining Control

NEMO, S.D. (AP) — Firefighters on Tuesday began to gain control of wildfires in the Black Hills of South Dakota that have forced the evacuation of more than 400 homes and closed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Three separate wildfires …

Forecasters Say Much of the Dakotas Could Be in for Drought

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — Snowfall in the region earlier this week was a welcome sight, falling on parched ground throughout the area. However, much more moisture is needed to alleviate drought conditions that prevail from border to border in North …

Study: Wildfires Produced Up to Half of Pollution in US West

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildfire smoke accounted for up to half of all health-damaging small particle air pollution in the western U.S. in recent years as warming temperatures fueled more destructive blazes, according to a study released Monday. Even as …

California Utility Cuts Power as Strong Winds Pummel State

Southern California residents are starting off the week in the dark as near-hurricane-force winds batter the state, whipping the flames of two wildfires and raising the risk of new ones. Edison International began shutting power in parts of Los Angeles …

California Girds For Most Dangerous Fire Weather of Year

SAN FRANCISCO — California, which has endured its worst wildfire season in history, is bracing for the most dangerous winds of the year, a forecast that prompted the largest utility to announce plans to cut power Sunday to nearly 1 …

Floods, Drought Are Destroying Crops and Sparking Food Inflation

Wild weather is wreaking havoc on crops around the world, sending their prices skyrocketing. On wheat farms in the U.S. and Russia, it’s a drought that’s ruining harvests. The soybean fields of Brazil are bone dry too, touched by little …

Maine Blueberry Industry Reels From Drought, Frost, Virus

PORTLAND, Maine — A late spring frost, a devastating drought and labor troubles wrought by the coronavirus pandemic conspired to make 2020 a difficult year for the wild blueberry producers who harvest the fruit in the nation’s northeastern corner. America’s …

These Scientists Are Studying Why California Keeps Burning

Residents of fire-ravaged Western states, and an entire world of observers looking on in horror, have asked themselves, “How can this be happening?” As fire last week taunted Paradise, California, destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, many others have found …

Fires Raise Fight Over Climate Change as Trump Visits California

BEAVERCREEK, Ore. — With crews battling wildfires that have killed at least 35 people, destroyed neighborhoods and enveloped the West Coast in smoke, another fight has emerged: leaders in the Democratic-led states and President Donald Trump have clashed over the …

Drought and Rain Are Reshaping Global Grain Trade Routes

The global wheat trade is being shaken up again after extreme weather hurt crops in the European Union while harvests are booming elsewhere. Fresh from leapfrogging Russia as the top exporter, the EU will drop to third place this season …