wildfires News

Hot, Dry Air, Possible Lightning Raise California Fire Worry

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — The interior of California was very hot and dry Wednesday and the forecast called for a risk of fire-starting dry lightning as thousands of firefighters already have their hands full with wildland blazes that …

California Fire Threat High Despite Progress Near Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — California could be on track for one of its worst fire seasons ever as hotter, drier conditions across the north raise the threat of new fires or existing ones flaring into dangerous life, officials …

Lake Tahoe Wildfire Seemed Controllable, Then it Wasn’t

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Just last week, managers overseeing the fight against the massive wildfire scorching California’s Lake Tahoe region thought they could have it contained by the start of this week. Instead, the Caldor Fire crested the Sierra Nevada …

UN: Weather Disasters Soar in Numbers, Cost, but Deaths Fall

GENEVA (AP) — Weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s, the United Nations weather agency reports. But these disasters are killing far fewer people. In …

Gaps in US Wildfire Smoke Warning Network Leave Many Exposed

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions …

California Wildfire Dangers May Be Spreading South

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A wildfire that burned several homes near Los Angeles may signal that the region is facing the same dangers that have scorched Northern California. The fire in San Bernardino County erupted Wednesday afternoon, quickly burned several …

Greece Wildfires: Firefighters Get Upper Hand on 2 Blazes

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Despite strong winds, firefighting aircraft and ground forces in Greece gained the upper hand late Monday over two new blazes that broke out in areas already scarred by major wildfires this summer. The first broke out …

Why Snow, Hail and Wildfire Are Expensive for the Insurance Industry

If you’re having trouble wrapping your mind around the scree of natural catastrophes currently plaguing the world—from deadly July floods in Germany and China to the wildfires still burning in Greece, California and Siberia —you may be interested to know …

Climate-Fueled Wildfires Take Toll on Tropical Pacific Isles

WAIMEA, Hawaii (AP) — A metal roof sits atop the burned remains of a homestead on the once-lush slopes of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea — a dormant volcano and the state’s tallest peak — charred cars and motorcycles strewn about as …

Greek Wildfires a Major Ecological Catastrophe, PM Says

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described the devastating wildfires that burned across the country for more than a week as the greatest ecological catastrophe Greece had seen in decades. The fires broke out as …