wildfires News

Grass Fire Torches as Many as 20 Dallas-Area Homes

DALLAS (AP) — A grass fire apparently sparked by a mower swept about 300 yards across a tinder-dry open field to a suburban Dallas subdivision Monday, burning through wooden fences and torching homes, officials said. The blaze in Balch Springs …

Alaska Experiencing Wildfires it’s Never Seen Before

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is burning this year in ways rarely or ever seen, from the largest wildfire in a typically mainly fireproof southwest region to a pair of blazes that ripped through forests and produced smoke that blew …

As Fires Ease in Southern Europe, Blaze Hits Greek Capital

PALINI, Greece (AP) — Nearly 500 firefighters struggled to contain a large wildfire that threatened hillside suburbs outside Athens for a second day Wednesday, after hundreds of residents were evacuated overnight. Fires continued to burn across southern Europe, but authorities …

Man Detained in Police Probe of Raging Wildfires in France

LA TESTE-DE-BUCH, France (AP) — French investigators probing the suspected deliberate lighting of what has become a raging wildfire in the country’s southwest detained a man for questioning, as firefighters and water-bombing planes on Tuesday fought the ferocious flames fueled …

Fires Scorch France and Spain, as Europe Wilts in Heat Wave

PARIS (AP) — Firefighters battled wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain on Sunday as Europe wilted under an unusually extreme heat wave that authorities in Madrid blamed for hundreds of deaths. Two huge blazes, which have consumed …

Insurers, Consumer Groups Telling Different Stories About Smoke Damage Claims

Insurers and consumer advocates are conveying conflicting messages as both try to focus public attention on smoke damage claims. Mercury Insurance issued a press release Friday warning that an unidentified California public adjuster has been duping homeowners into submitting fraudulent …

Yosemite Wildfire Moving East into Sierra National Forest

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire that threatened a grove of California’s giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park was burning eastward into the Sierra National Forest on Wednesday. The Washburn Fire is one of dozens of blazes chewing …

Wildfire Threat Becomes Tool to Fight Home Builders

Preston Brown knows the risk of wildfire that comes with living in the rural, chaparral-lined hills of San Diego County. He’s lived there for 21 years and evacuated twice. That’s why he fiercely opposed a plan to build more than …

US Testing New Fire Retardant, Critics Push Other Methods

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials are testing a new wildfire retardant after two decades of buying millions of gallons annually from one supplier, but watchdogs say the expensive strategy is overly fixated on aerial attacks at the expense of …

Spain, Germany Battle Wildfires Amid Unusual Heat Wave

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Firefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year. The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of …