wildfires News

PG&E’s Power Lines Caused Biggest California Fire of 2019

Less than a month after emerging from bankruptcy triggered by a string of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018, PG&E Corp. has now been found responsible for California’s biggest blaze of 2019. The California energy giant’s power lines sparked the …

California Homeowners Are Doomed to Repeat Their Past Mistakes

On Oct. 8, 2017, sparks from private electric equipment set fire to the dry hills of Northern California’s wine country, but it was only once the flames jumped from the grasslands to densely packed Santa Rosa that the destruction intensified. …

California, Nevada Crews Scramble to Douse Blazes from Fireworks

SAN FRANCISCO — Firefighters scrambled to douse grass and structure fires sparked by illegal Fourth of July fireworks in California’s Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. The city of San Francisco saw at least 100 fires between 3 …

PG&E Exits Bankruptcy After Wildfires Pushed It to Brink of Ruin

Nearly a year and a half after collapsing under $30 billion in liabilities from wildfires sparked by its equipment, PG&E Corp. has emerged from the biggest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. The California power giant said in a statement Wednesday …

Wildfires Are Taking an Unexpectedly Huge Toll on America’s Lungs

During the 2018 Camp Fire, which lasted 17 days and killed 85 people, residents of nearby Northern California communities breathed in enough smoke to equal half a pack of cigarettes. Many of the questions being asked then sound eerily familiar …

Weekend Wildfires Break Out in Utah, Nevada and Arizona

Wildfires prompted evacuations in Utah, Nevada and Arizona over the weekend. Fireworks caused a wildfire in Utah that forced out residents of houses and an apartment building early Sunday as the flames encroached on a residential area, officials said. A …

The Arctic is on Fire: Siberian Heat Wave Alarms Scientists

MOSCOW — The Arctic is feverish and on fire — at least parts of it are. And that’s got scientists worried about what it means for the rest of the world. The thermometer hit a likely record of 38 degrees …

Crews Make Varying Degrees of Headway in Arizona Wildfires

PHOENIX — Hundreds of firefighters made some progress Monday against major wildfires across Arizona. Crews were fighting fires in the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado National Forest overlooking Tucson, in the Tonto National Forest northeast of metro Phoenix, the …

California Regulator Approves PG&E’s Chapter 11 Reorganization Plan

PG&E Corp said on Thursday its Chapter 11 reorganization plan has been confirmed by a California power regulator, bringing the power provider one step closer to emerge from bankruptcy and participate in a state-backed wildfire fund. The decision by the …

California Prepares for More Wildfires as Coronavirus Challenges Budget

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has had 60% more wildfires so far in 2020 than last year because of drier weather, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday, and he promised increased funding for firefighting even as the state’s budget faces a …