New technology propels efforts to fight Western wildfires
3 years, 5 months ago

New technology propels efforts to fight Western wildfires

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As drought- and wind-driven wildfires have become more dangerous across the American West in recent years, firefighters have tried to become smarter in how they prepare. When “critical weather” is predicted — hot, dry winds or lightning storms — the technology, on top of hard-earned experience, allows California planners to pre-position fire engines, bulldozers, aircraft and hand crews armed with shovels and chain saws in areas where they can respond more quickly. With the computer modeling, “they can do a daily risk forecast across the state, so they use that for planning,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for Cal Fire, California’s firefighting agency. Fire managers can then “start making tactical decisions based on what they can see,” even before firefighters reach the scene, Tolmachoff said. “Using that technology, we can start being more strategic and working with fire to keep people safe, keep homes safe, but let fire do the work it needs to do — which is recycle all the dead stuff into soil.” ____ Associated Press writers Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

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History of this topic

California wildfires are spreading and intensifying faster, putting more people in danger
1 month, 4 weeks ago

California wildfires are spreading and intensifying faster, putting more people in danger

LA Times  

San Bernardino County firefighters work to save a home in Wrightwood as they battle the Bridge Fire in September. A new paper in the journal Science puts that sentiment to the test, with startling findings: California fires spread almost four times faster in 2020 than they had in 2001. “People are pretty good at putting out all fires,” said Park …

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California

China Daily  

Xinhua | Updated: 2024-09-11 09:21 Firefighters monitor the progression of the Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest's mountains over Highland, California, US Sept 8, 2024. LOS ANGELES - Three fast-moving wildfires continued to burn in Southern California Tuesday as millions of residents in the region are still under an excessive heat warning. The largest one, dubbed the Line …

Southern California wildfires worsen firefighter shortage as West explodes
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Southern California wildfires worsen firefighter shortage as West explodes

LA Times  

Firefighters battling wildfires burning in Southern California are stretched thin amid a nationwide shortage of firefighters, aircraft and contractors. On Wednesday, more than 400 personnel, seven helicopters and four large air tankers were assigned to the Bridge fire, said Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the California Interagency Complex Incident Management Team. Chris Cline, division chief with the Oregon Department of …

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California

China Daily  

Firefighters monitor the progression of the Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest's mountains over Highland, California, US Sept 8, 2024. LOS ANGELES - Three fast-moving wildfires continued to burn in Southern California Tuesday as millions of residents in the region are still under an excessive heat warning. The largest one, dubbed the Line Fire, had scorched at least …

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California

China Daily  

Xinhua | Updated: 2024-09-11 09:21 Firefighters monitor the progression of the Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest's mountains over Highland, California, US Sept 8, 2024. LOS ANGELES - Three fast-moving wildfires continued to burn in Southern California Tuesday as millions of residents in the region are still under an excessive heat warning. The largest one, dubbed the Line …

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Three massive wildfires continue to burn in southern California

China Daily  

Firefighters monitor the progression of the Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest's mountains over Highland, California, US Sept 8, 2024. LOS ANGELES - Three fast-moving wildfires continued to burn in Southern California Tuesday as millions of residents in the region are still under an excessive heat warning. The largest one, dubbed the Line Fire, had scorched at least …

Firefighters significantly tame California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record
4 months ago

Firefighters significantly tame California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record

Associated Press  

CHICO, Calif. — California’s largest wildfire this year has been significantly tamed as the state’s initially fierce fire season has, at least temporarily, fallen into a relative calm. The Park Fire was 53% contained Monday after scorching nearly 671 square miles in several northern counties, destroying 637 structures and damaging 49 as it became the state’s fourth-largest wildfire on record. …

California wildfires off to explosive start, burning 30 times as many acres as all of last year
4 months, 3 weeks ago

California wildfires off to explosive start, burning 30 times as many acres as all of last year

LA Times  

Laguna Beach firefighter Brian Adams keeps a close eye on fast-moving flames as dozens of firefighters manage the southeastern flank of the Borel fire near the community of Twin Oaks in Kern County. In 2022, 7,477 wildfires burned 331,358 acres, according to Cal Fire data. The fifth-largest wildfire in the state’s history, it has scorched almost 390,000 acres and remains …

Firefighters make progress against California wildfire, but heat and fire risks grow in the West
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Firefighters make progress against California wildfire, but heat and fire risks grow in the West

Associated Press  

OROVILLE, Calif. — Firefighters made progress Friday against a California wildfire that triggered extensive evacuation orders, but damage assessments raised the number of destroyed structures to 25, and forecasters said heat and fire risk were expanding on the West Coast. Firefighters “did a really good job yesterday” enforcing containment lines, and wind hasn’t been a factor, said Cal Fire Capt. …

Wildfire weather is increasing in California and much of the U.S., report finds
7 months, 1 week ago

Wildfire weather is increasing in California and much of the U.S., report finds

LA Times  

Wildfire weather has become more frequent in the Western United States over the past five decades, with some of the largest jumps in California, according to a new report by Climate Central, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on climate change. The report found the average annual number of fire weather days is increasing throughout the majority of California, especially …

How California firefighters are using artificial intelligence to spot wildfires
1 year, 4 months ago

How California firefighters are using artificial intelligence to spot wildfires

Hindustan Times  

California firefighters are using artificial intelligence to help spot wildfires, feeding video from more than 1,000 cameras strategically placed across the state into a machine that alerts first responders when to mobilize. Cal Fire fire captain Kris Yeary watches over screens in his duty captain chair from Cal Fire's San Diego County headquarters in El Cajon, California, U.S. August 4, …

Op-Ed: Wildfires have changed. Firefighting hasn’t
2 years, 5 months ago

Op-Ed: Wildfires have changed. Firefighting hasn’t

LA Times  

Already this year, both Colorado and New Mexico have seen the most destructive wildfires in their states’ histories. In an interview with NPR, Boulder’s wildland fire chief Brian Oliver likened the futility of fighting some wildfires with “trying to fight a hurricane.” I came across this strange comparison often in interviews with wildland firefighters. Success created other risks: As one …

Firefighters make progress coralling big California wildfire
3 years, 2 months ago

Firefighters make progress coralling big California wildfire

Associated Press  

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Firefighters reported significant progress in corralling a wildfire in Southern California coastal mountains on Friday. The Alisal Fire in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara grew only slightly since Thursday morning to 26.4 square miles and containment of the blaze jumped to 41%, up from 5% 24 hours earlier. Elsewhere in California, gusty winds …

As US western wildfires ravage property, protection services boom
3 years, 2 months ago

As US western wildfires ravage property, protection services boom

Al Jazeera  

Businesses that provide wildfire risk assessments and home hardening services say demand is rising as US western wildfires grow fiercer. “I was reading about this fire and thinking, ‘Wow, California is burning.’” Fires of such magnitude were indeed seen as exceptional events nearly two decades ago, but the passage of time has intensified nature’s fury. Glessner travels throughout the western …

Crews scramble to make progress against California wildfires
3 years, 3 months ago

Crews scramble to make progress against California wildfires

LA Times  

Flames consume a house near Old Oregon Trail as the Fawn fire burns north of Redding in Shasta County, Calif., on Sep. 23. Friday was one of the most active days for the fire since it was sparked by a Sept. 9 lightning storm, said Mark Garrett, public information officer with the National Park Service. “That’s going to be there …

Wildfire warning issued across California as strong wind, drought and high heat brings fire risk
3 years, 3 months ago

Wildfire warning issued across California as strong wind, drought and high heat brings fire risk

Daily Mail  

The National Weather Service has issued a wildfire warning for most of Northern California as fast-moving thunderstorms with lightning and little rain moved across the area early Friday, raising the risk of new wildfires in the drought-stricken region. The National Weather Service has issued a wildfire warning for most of Northern California as fast-moving thunderstorms with lightning and little rain …

Tourist sites threatened by raging US wildfires
3 years, 4 months ago

Tourist sites threatened by raging US wildfires

Al Jazeera  

The Caldor Fire in California and Greenwood Lake Fire in Minnesota are fuelled by climate change, a new report concludes. Enormous wildfires in California and Minnesota are forcing tourists to change their plans in two US vacation spots as a new study blames climate change for creating conditions that fuel the massive blazes. The Greenwood Lake fire burning in the …

Two fast-moving California fires are creating their own dangerous weather systems
3 years, 5 months ago

Two fast-moving California fires are creating their own dangerous weather systems

LA Times  

Jessica Bell takes a video as the Dixie fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest on Friday. “Right now,” said Tamarack fire incident spokesman Mike DeFries, “there’s a lot happening all at once.” The 5-day-old Dixie fire spanning Butte and Plumas counties has stymied fire crews as it continues to swell — doubling in size to roughly 60,000 …

California fire prompts evacuations; Oregon blaze balloons
3 years, 5 months ago

California fire prompts evacuations; Oregon blaze balloons

New Indian Express  

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests. "This fire is large and …

Western US wildfires force hundreds from their homes
3 years, 5 months ago

Western US wildfires force hundreds from their homes

Al Jazeera  

A growing wildfire in a bone-dry forest in the Western United States has forced hundreds of people from their homes as it charred more than 854sq km and showed no signs of slowing on Wednesday amid a blistering heatwave and drought. Tim McCarley, one of the evacuees, told the Reuters news agency earlier this week that sheriff’s deputies and state …

California wildfire advances as heat wave blankets US West
3 years, 5 months ago

California wildfire advances as heat wave blankets US West

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heat wave blanketed the West, prompting an excessive heat warning for inland and desert areas. Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s reading at Furnace Creek. The National Weather Service warned …

Firefighters make progress against California forest fires
3 years, 5 months ago

Firefighters make progress against California forest fires

Associated Press  

REDDING, Calif. — Firefighters were making progress Friday against Northern California forest fires that burned several homes and forced thousands to flee communities even as authorities prepared for a hot, crowded Fourth of July weekend that could bring the threat of new blazes. Three wildfires near the towering Mount Shasta volcano an hour’s drive from the Oregon border have burned …

California firefighters battle big wildfires in high heat
3 years, 5 months ago

California firefighters battle big wildfires in high heat

India TV News  

Hundreds of firefighters worked Thursday in high heat to beat back three large wildfires in the forests of far Northern California, where the flames destroyed several homes and forced some communities to evacuate. “It is very hot and dry,” said Suzi Johnson, a Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokeswoman for the Salt Fire, which broke out Wednesday and grew to 7 square …

Experts To Western States: Time To Finally Fight Wildfires With More Fire
4 years, 1 month ago

Experts To Western States: Time To Finally Fight Wildfires With More Fire

NPR  

Experts To Western States: Time To Finally Fight Wildfires With More Fire Enlarge this image toggle caption Noah Berger/AP Noah Berger/AP Earlier this month California Gov. "It's not something in which incremental, cautious decisions are going to solve the problem," says Malcolm North, an outspoken research scientist with the U.S. Forest Service who has long advocated for more controlled burns. …

Record-breaking California wildfires surpass 4 million acres
4 years, 2 months ago

Record-breaking California wildfires surpass 4 million acres

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — In a year that has already brought apocalyptic skies and smothering smoke to the West Coast, California set a grim new record Sunday when officials announced that the wildfires of 2020 have now scorched a record 4 million acres — in a fire season that is far from over. “And that number will grow.” So far, in …

Latest: Washington governor blames climate change for fires
4 years, 3 months ago

Latest: Washington governor blames climate change for fires

Associated Press  

The Latest on wildfires in the U.S. West : 3:30 p.m. SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the fires devastating California and the Northwest shouldn’t be called wildfires, but “climate fires.” At a news conference Friday, the Democrat noted that the roughly 980 square miles burned in Washington in just the last five days amounts to the state’s second …

AP PHOTOS: Wildfires race through dry, windy California
4 years, 3 months ago

AP PHOTOS: Wildfires race through dry, windy California

Associated Press  

Over the last month, California wildfires have chased thousands of families from their homes, destroyed more than 3,600 buildings, blackened huge expanses of land and killed 12 people. In all, more than two dozen major fires are burning around the state, some of them among the largest in recent California history. Feeding off strong winds and dry brush, the fast-growing …

California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever
4 years, 3 months ago

California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When it comes to California wildfires, it now takes days, not decades, to produce what had been seen as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Hotter temperatures, longer fire seasons and an estimated 140 million dead trees from a five-year drought mean that “fires in California are moving faster and growing larger,” said University of Utah fire expert Philip Dennison. …

Firefighters, aircraft from 10 states routed to help California douse deadly wildfires
4 years, 4 months ago

Firefighters, aircraft from 10 states routed to help California douse deadly wildfires

India Today  

Firefighters and aircraft from 10 states began arriving in California Friday to help weary crews battling some of the largest blazes in state history as weekend weather threatened to renew the advance of flames that have killed six people and incinerated hundreds of homes. Two Bay Area clusters, the LNU Lightning Complex and the SCU Lightning Complex, became respectively the …

California firefighters brace for wildfire season
4 years, 4 months ago

California firefighters brace for wildfire season

CNN  

CNN — With temperatures soaring and winds gusting, California firefighters may soon face their first significant battle against wildland blazes, but they will also have to contend with the uncertain terrain caused by the coronavirus. “For every large wildfire we build a base camp, our own mini city, so it’s a large quantity of personnel in tight quarters,” said Captain …

Progress reported against two major wildfires burning in Northern California
4 years, 5 months ago

Progress reported against two major wildfires burning in Northern California

LA Times  

Smoke rises from the Hog fire west of Susanville in Lassen County. Firefighters on Friday continued to make progress against two major wildfires burning in Lassen County, northeast of Sacramento, officials said. The 19,000-acre Gold fire was 35% contained as of early Friday, up from 15% the day before, said spokesman Jeff LaRusso of the Riverside County Fire Department, which …

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