wildfires News

California Power Regulators Cast Doubt on Utility’s Plans

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — California power regulators are poised to reprimand Pacific Gas & Electric for continuing to neglect its electrical grid that has ignited a series of deadly in Northern California and could order the utility to do …

Study: Drought-Breaking Rains More Rare, Erratic in US West

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Rainstorms grew more erratic and droughts much longer across most of the US West over the past half-century as climate change warmed the planet, according to a sweeping government study released Tuesday that concludes the situation …

Swiss Re Says Secondary Perils Should Be a Priority Concern for Insurers

Swiss Re warned insurers Tuesday that secondary perils such as thunderstorms and wildfires are making up a growing share of the losses caused by natural catastrophes, even in a year that experienced an abnormally active North Atlantic hurricane season. The …

California AG Challenges Housing Plans in Wildfire Areas

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general is challenging some of the state’s largest suburban development projects as local officials weigh the risk of increasingly devastating wildfires against the state’s dire need for more housing. Attorney General Xavier Becerra on …

Wildfire Victims Sue Former PG&E Executives Alleging Neglect

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — A trust representing more than 80,000 victims of deadly wildfires ignited by Pacific Gas and Electric’s rickety electrical grid is suing nearly two dozen of the utility’s former executives and board members, alleging they neglected …

California Sets Home Hardening Standards to Lower Fire Risks

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As consecutive years of catastrophic wildfires in California drive up the cost of insuring homes, state regulators on Monday announced a step toward creating incentives for retrofitting older homes to make them more resilient to fires. …

Wildfire Smoke’s Economic Damage Lingers After the Flames

The damage caused by wildfires can be devastating, gutting structures and driving out people who live and work nearby. And researchers say the smoke from the annually recurring blazes also delivers economic damage to areas that were never touched by …

East Troublesome Fire May Signal New Era of Big Blow-Ups

DENVER (AP) — Grand Lake Fire Marshal Dan Mayer never thought the East Troublesome Fire would make it to town. On the morning of Oct. 21, 2020, the fire was still about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the vacation …

Storm Pounds California, Nevada With Rain, Wind and Snow

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A powerful storm packing heavy rain, snow and wind pounded parts of California and western Nevada on Wednesday, toppling trees, and causing power outages and mud flows in vast areas scarred by wildfires. The onslaught was …

Foot of Snow Blankets Parts of Midwest, Disrupts Travel

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A major winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of Nebraska and Iowa, disrupting traffic and shuttering some schools, while blanketing other parts of the middle of the country with snow that …