Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Germany’s Forests Damaged by Droughts and Wildfires, Stoking Climate Debate
Aug 12 2019 // Germany’s forests – long a source of pride and national identity – are feeling the heat. A second consecutive year of unusually dry and warm weather has left swaths of dead and dying trees, fueling fears that the...
Lawsuit Says Manufacturer, Rancher Caused Oregon Wildfire
Aug 9 2019 // A lawsuit says a rancher, workers and the John Deere farm equipment company are at fault for a wildfire that burned parts of an Oregon Native American reservation. The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs filed the...
PG&E Posts $2.6B Loss Stemming From California Wildfires, Bankruptcy
Aug 9 2019 // PG&E Corp. reported a $2.6 billion loss for the second quarter as costs from devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 and the California utility’s giant’s ongoing bankruptcy wiped out earnings. The loss...
ISO, Intterra, Western Fire Chiefs Partner to Better Understand Wildfire Risk
Aug 8 2019 // ISO and Intterra are partnering with the Western Fire Chiefs Association to explore new ways of analyzing and understanding wildfire risk. Intterra has worked with the WFCA for several years to develop the Fire Data Lab, a...
U.S. Northwest Faces Growing Wildfire Threat
Aug 6 2019 // Nestled in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, the bustling Seattle suburb of Issaquah seems an unlikely candidate for anxiety over wildfires. The region, famous for its rainfall, has long escaped major...
Artificial Intelligence Helps to Contain Wildfires, Predict Wild Weather
Aug 5 2019 // On a tower in the Brazilian rainforest, a sentinel scans the horizon for the first signs of fire. Only these eyes aren’t human. They don’t blink or take breaks, and guided by artificial intelligence they can...
California Governor Defends State’s Wildfire Efforts
Aug 2 2019 // Gov. Gavin Newsom defended California’s wildfire prevention efforts this week while criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to help protect the state as it enters the height of fire season after two...
Sun Valley Climate Conference’s Broad Agenda: Wildfires, Military, Insurance, Resilience
Aug 1 2019 // Washington had a record 1,850 responses to wildfires on Department of Natural Resources lands last year. Over the last five years, wildfires have continued to hit the state hard. One state official, who believes climate...
PG&E Doesn’t Agree That Maintenance Played Role in Deadly Camp Fire
Aug 1 2019 // PG&E Corp. said in court papers on Wednesday that it “strongly disagrees” with a suggestion in a Wall Street Journal article that the company knowingly deferred maintenance on equipment that caused...
Oregon Lagging on Disaster Preparedness, Scientists Warn
Jul 29 2019 // Oregon state lawmakers abandoned a multimillion-dollar project to develop early warning systems for earthquakes and wildfires, and scientists warn that the funding shake-up could endanger public safety and put Oregon...
Climate Change Blamed for Europe’s Latest Heatwave
Jul 26 2019 // Europe’s latest summer heatwave broke heat records just weeks after the continent had its hottest ever June, fueling concern that a shifting climate is triggering more extreme weather. Germany probably set a new...
Utilities Want in on California Wildfire Insurance Fund, But Others Will Decide
Jul 26 2019 // All three of California’s investor-owned utilities have now signed off on the creation of a $21 billion wildfire fund that any one of them could tap the next time a power line sparks a catastrophic blaze. PG&E...
Crews Aided by Light Rain in Battle Against Arizona Wildfire
Jul 25 2019 // Light rain falling Wednesday helped crews battle a wildfire near Flagstaff, Arizona, that has raged for days in a mountain pass recreation area overlooking the city, officials said. Up to 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain...
Insurers Owed $20 Billion Offer Own Rescue Plan for PG&E in Bankruptcy Court
Jul 25 2019 // Insurance companies that say Pacific Gas & Electric owes them more than $20 billion from wildfire claims wants to take over the California utility and pull it out of bankruptcy. The group of insurers filed court...
Wildfire Prompted Evacuations from Idaho Nuclear Energy Lab
Jul 24 2019 // Some employees were evacuated from the Idaho National Laboratory in southeastern Idaho while crews fight a wildfire burning near the nuclear energy research site. INL officials say non-essential employees were evacuated...
Clearing Large Swaths of Land Part of Plan to Slow Western Wildfires
Jul 23 2019 // The Trump administration is proposing an ambitious plan to slow Western wildfires by bulldozing, mowing or revegetating large swaths of land along 11,000 miles of terrain in the West. The plan announced this summer would...
Europe Faces Heatwave with London and Paris Expected to Break July Records
Jul 23 2019 // Europe is facing a second heatwave this summer, just weeks after the hottest June on record, intensifying concern over climate change and the rise in extreme weather events. Swathes of northwest Europe will struggle to...
Town Leveled by California Wildfire Reopens Its Public Pool
Jul 22 2019 // The public swimming pool in Paradise, California, is reopening for the first time since a catastrophic wildfire destroyed much of the town. CBS13 in Sacramento reports state firefighters used their hoses last week to...
Utility Customers Sue Over California Wildfire Law
Jul 22 2019 // Two Pacific Gas & Electric customers want the federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy to strike down a new California law that Gov. Gavin Newsom has championed as a way of shoring up the state’s...
California Safety Board Oks Regulation to Protect Workers from Wildfire Smoke
Jul 19 2019 // The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has adopted an emergency regulation designed to protect workers from hazards associated with wildfire smoke. The regulation is expected to go into effect in...
