wildfires

Dixie Fire Grows to Second-Largest Wildfire in California’s History

Dixie Fire Grows to Second-Largest Wildfire in California’s History

The Dixie Fire ballooned in size over the weekend, polluting air quality to dangerous levels across the West. The fire, the 6th-largest on record in California history just last Thursday is now the second-largest fire in California history and the state’s largest-ever single-source fire with nearly 500,000 acres burned as of Sunday evening. At least […]

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    80 Wildfires Rage Across West, Bootleg Fire Burns Over 300,000 Acres

    80 Wildfires Rage Across West, Bootleg Fire Burns Over 300,000 Acres

    The Bootleg Fire has now burned more than 300,000 acres in southern Oregon and continues to grow as more than 80 large wildfires in the West forced evacuations across the region. The Bootleg Fire, currently the nation’s largest fire, is fueled by extremely dry vegetation and low humidity and grew at an average rate of […]

    Smoke From Western Wildfires to Spread as Far as New York

    Smoke From Western Wildfires to Spread as Far as New York

    There are currently 70 wildfires burning more than one million acres across the U.S., according to the most recent figures from the National Interagency Fire Center. While the bulk of the fires themselves are burning in the West, the smoke is projected to fill skies across the entire country, reaching as far east as New […]

    Continental U.S. Suffers Wildfires, Dangerous Flooding From Coast to Coast

    Continental U.S. Suffers Wildfires, Dangerous Flooding From Coast to Coast

    Not to be outdone by the climate-fueled disasters broiling and incinerating the West, parts of the Mid-Atlantic have been deluged by torrential rain this week. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in less than 4 hours in southeastern Pennsylvania on Monday, prompting “widespread and life-threatening flash flooding,” according to the National Weather Service. […]

    6 Things to Know About Climate Change and Heat Waves

    6 Things to Know About Climate Change and Heat Waves

    By Tara Lohan It’s hard not to think about how hot it’s been — even if you live somewhere that has escaped the heat in the past few weeks. When British Columbia clocks temperatures of 121° F, it gets the world’s attention. As it should. Here are six reasons why we need to be paying […]

    Fourth of July Fireworks Banned in Several Cities Across U.S. West

    Fourth of July Fireworks Banned in Several Cities Across U.S. West

    Record heat and extreme drought have caused several cities in southwest Washington, Oregon and California to ban fireworks this Fourth of July, citing wildfire concerns. Due to the extreme conditions, lighting fireworks at home could create a tinderbox-like situation, according to The Guardian. On Monday, Portland saw its hottest temperatures yet — a record high […]

    Arizona to Use People in Prison to Fight Its Wildfires, Pay $1.50 an Hour

    Arizona to Use People in Prison to Fight Its Wildfires, Pay $1.50 an Hour

    As extreme heat, drought, and wildfires spread across the state, Arizona is allocating funding to pay incarcerated people fighting those wildfires $1.50 per hour. Incarcerated people clearing brush, in temperatures that hit 115°F in Phoenix for six days in a row last week, will make $1.00 per hour. The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States […]

    Severe Drought Is Taking a Toll on California and Western U.S.

    Severe Drought Is Taking a Toll on California and Western U.S.

    By Dana Nuccitelli California, along with much of the rest of the western United States, is once again mired in drought. In fact, California has experienced significant drought conditions in 13 of the 22 years (60%) since the turn of the century. A 2020 study in the journal Science concluded that 2000 through 2018 was […]