U.S. Forest Service News

Robots Are Starting Fires in California — and That’s a Good Thing

Cody Chiverton has spent the past decade lighting fires. As a former firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service, he participated in dozens of prescribed burns across the American West, in which fire-prevention teams would carry drip torches to ignite dry …

Judge Says Fire Retardant Polluting Streams but Allows Use to Continue

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. government can keep using chemical retardant dropped from aircraft to fight wildfires, despite finding that the practice pollutes streams in western states in violation of federal law, a judge ruled Friday. Halting the use …

Fire-Stricken Rural New Mexico Warily Eyes Insurance Fight

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Manuel and Marcy Silva combed through the charred rubble that used to be their home, searching for any salvageable bits in the wake of the largest wildfire in New Mexico history. Manuel found two of his …

Fire Victims Seek over $85 Million for Tamarack Fire Damages

RENO, Nev. (AP) — People who lost their homes and property in last summer’s Tamarack Fire in northern Nevada and California have filed a claim against the U.S. Forest Service seeking more than $85 million. The filing by attorney William …

Hundreds of Lightning Bolts Hit Dry Oregon, Start New Fires

SALEM, Ore. (AP) _ Lightning bolts struck the parched forests of southern Oregon hundreds of times in 24 hours, igniting some 50 new wildfires even as the nation’s largest wildfire continued to burn less than 100 miles (161 kilometers) away, …

Southern California Edison Focus of Wildfire Probe

SAN FRANCISCO — Investigators are looking into the possibility that tree branches hitting Southern California Edison electrical equipment may have sparked a fire in the mountains near Los Angeles that destroyed nearly 90 homes, the utility said Monday. A 23-foot-long …

Desert Communities Told to Evacuate as Winds Stoke Flames

JUNIPER HILLS, Calif. — Strong winds stoked a wildfire burning for nearly two weeks in mountains northeast of Los Angeles, prompting authorities to issue new evacuation orders for desert communities that lost some homes a day earlier. Meanwhile, officials were …

Nothing Left in The Bucket’: Wildfire Resources Run Thin

Justin Silvera came off the fire lines in Northern California after a grueling 36 straight days battling wildfires and evacuating residents ahead of the flames. Before that, he and his crew had worked for 20 days, followed by a three-day …

Thousands Remain Evacuated From Southern California Wildfire

BANNING, Calif. — Evacuation orders remained in place early Monday for thousands of people after a wildfire in mountains east of Los Angeles exploded in size and forced crews to battle flames in triple-digit heat. The Apple Fire in Riverside …

California Virus War Slams Into Its Other Crisis: Wildfires

A crisis California didn’t foresee — the Covid-19 pandemic — is complicating preparations for one that arrives with a vengeance every year. With wildfire season on the horizon, state officials have ordered prevention efforts to proceed after rains have tapered …