Wildfires

Climate Change Redefining Wildfires on the Great Plains
Wildfires, exacerbated by climate change, are ravaging the Great Plains with new intensity, according to a new study.

Coming to Grips With the Future of Wildfires
As wildfires become bigger, more frequent, and more expensive to fight, new methods for preventing the worst impacts of fire will be necessary, according to a new study.

Wildfires Becoming More Common in Southern States
This year has seen a significant uptick in wildfires across much of the South, spurred by drought and heat waves. The region's pattern of development increases the potential danger.

Wildfires and Climate Change
Study links wildfires to climate change.

Study: Forest Fires Have Doubled in the Western United States
Wildfires ravaged the western United States again this year, reflecting the new normal of climate change.

Five Canadian Cities Already Facing Climate Change
The CBC produced an interactive feature about the dangers of climate change in Canada, focusing on five cities threatened by environmental factors like sea-level rise, flooding, and wildfires.

Thank Climate Change and Sprawl for Worsening Wildfires
Along with climate conditions, urban sprawl is intensifying wildfires and increasing the damage they do.
Strategic Land Use Planning Could Lower the Cost of Wildfires
New research says land use patterns have increased the costs of wildfire protection, so strategic land use planning would help lower the costs of wildfire protection.
2015 Wildfire Season Breaks Records—Congress Sticks With the Status Quo
Congress could have had a landmark moment—but it stopped short of passing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act. Meanwhile the wildfire season is wrapping up as the most expensive ever.
More Americans Living Next Door to Fire Danger
A summer of drought and devastating fires has demonstrated the dangers of allowing residential developments to sprawl ever farther into wild, natural environments.

On the Altered Landscapes of the Wildfire West
The heightened intensity of wildfires in the Western United States, along with other human factors, are short-circuiting the natural processes of rebirth.
Lessons from Washington's Record Breaking Wildfire Season
The largest fire in the state history is burning in Washington. This year's particularly bad fires had predictable, perhaps preventable, origins.
A 'New Era of Wildfires' in Alaska
The last great U.S. wilderness won't forever remain the frozen tundra imagined by residents of the Lower 48. A new report finds evidence of Alaska's transformation in the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires around the state.
Fighting Wildfires with Big Data
WIFIRE, a real-time and data-driven simulation, prediction, and visualization technology, combines satellite and remote sensor data to forecast the potential spread of wildfires.
Poor Planning Decisions Exacerbate Wildfires—Should Locals be Held Accountable?
A new study by the union of Concerned Scientists faults local development policies that place homes in wildfire-prone areas for the increasing cost of wildfires. Should local agencies split the bill for the risks they've permitted?
The Incredible, Rising Cost of Forest Fires
The kicker in a recent article about the current realities of forest fires—and the cost of fighting them—in the United States: The federal government spends 624 percent more on fires than it did 20 years ago.
Congress' Head-in-the-Sand Approach to Fire Management
The way Congress has appropriated funds for the prevention of forest fires, and fighting forest fires when they occur, guarantees that they will become more costly and dangerous in the future.
Half the Country Now Facing Drought
On the flip-side of the polar vortex in the climate news department, drought conditions are worsening across the country. In much of the West, the drought means water supply challenges and a growing threat of fire.
Fight Fires with Funds: New Federal Funding Mechanism Proposed for Wildfires
“Robbing Peter to pay Paul” and “thumb in the dike” describe the way the federal government has been funding the cost of fighting the nation’s wildfires. President Obama’s new budget proposal could change the current arrangement.
Sunny California Is Getting a Whole Lot Warmer
With the number of days of 'extreme heat' on the rise, and dramatic increases projected, will global warming melt the Golden State?
Pagination
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