wildfires News

What’s Behind New York Fires? Climate Change, Land Use and History

Wildfires that are raging across New York and New Jersey highlight a new threat to one of the world’s most affluent regions. Climate change is regarded by scientists as the pre-eminent factor driving long-term changes in weather, and the New …

High Winds in Southern California Drive Two Blazes

A wildfire sparked in California’s upscale Malibu beach community on Wednesday was driven by powerful winds sweeping apart the state’s southern region. The Broad Fire in Los Angeles County, which had shut down Pacific Coast Highway between Web Way and …

Insurance Czar Has ‘Harsh’ Message About Climate: You May Just Have to Move

The soaring cost and difficulty of insuring against climate risks may force people to relocate, the head of Canada’s main financial regulator warned. Rising damages from extreme weather don’t seem to be a regulatory problem, but rather a cost problem, …

A Continent Ablaze: South America Surpasses Record for Fires

South America is being ravaged by fire from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest through the world’s largest wetlands to dry forests in Bolivia, breaking a previous record for the number of blazes seen in a year up to Sept. 11. Satellite data …

Storm Warnings Across Southern Europe From Italy to Serbia

Thunderstorm alerts are in place for a swath of Europe from the south of France to the Balkans. There are orange warnings for Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany and Umbria in Italy, as the summer heat gives way to violent storms. Serbia …

Extreme Weather Sends Insured Losses 70% Above Historical Norms

Natural catastrophes caused about $62 billion of insured losses in the first half of 2024 — roughly 70% above the 10-year average — as extreme wildfires, droughts and floods upend historical norms. The data, which were compiled by Munich Re, …

Wildfires Encircle Canada’s Oil-Sands City Amid Hot Weather

A ring of wildfires has erupted around Canada’s unofficial oil-sands capital of Fort McMurray, adding new threats to crude production from the world’s third-largest petroleum reserves. Eight out-of-control blazes have been discovered just south and southwest of the city since …

FEMA Ready for Extreme Hurricanes and Wildfires, But Money is a Concern

The head of the Homeland Security Department said that the agency tasked with responding to disasters across the country is prepared as it goes into what is expected to be an intense hurricane and wildfire season but he’s concerned about …

Wildfire Threats Make Utilities Uninsurable in U.S. West

Trinity Public Utilities District’s power lines snake through the lower reaches of the Cascade Range, a rugged, remote and densely forested terrain in Northern California that has some of the highest wildfire risk in the country. But for several years, …

Oregon Utility Regulator Rejects PacifiCorp Request to Limit Liability in Wildfire Suits

Oregon utility regulators have rejected a request from PacifiCorp that sought to limit its liability in wildfire lawsuits. Under the proposal, PacifiCorp would only have been responsible for paying out actual economic damages in lawsuit awards. The company submitted the …