wildfires

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Two-Thirds of Americans Exposed to Wildfire Smoke

Health hazard spans farther than people think, warns report

(Newser) - The US is going to experience more and more wildfires in the coming years, and that's going to pose a much bigger health risk than you might assume, the Natural Resources Defense Council warned in a new report today. Nearly 212 million Americans—or about two-thirds of us—lived...

Sydney Battles Worst Fires in 'Living Memory'

1 killed in New South Wales blazes

(Newser) - The Australian state of New South Wales is grappling with wildfires that have decimated homes and killed a man. Nearly 100 fires have taken hold, with 34 still out of control yesterday, firefighters said, per CNN . Hundreds of homes may have been destroyed already, they noted. Some 200 square miles...

We're Fighting Fires With Antique Planes

US Forest Service also uses parts pulled from museums

(Newser) - When the US Forest Service battled wildfires near Yosemite National Park in August, it did so with a fleet of restored tankers first built in the 1950s. The planes help firefighters on the ground by dropping thousands of gallons of retardant ahead of blazes, but critics say the tankers are...

Hunter Started Yosemite Fire: Feds

Campfire apparently got away from him

(Newser) - Looks like it wasn't an illegal pot farm after all : The gigantic wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park began when a hunter allowed an illegal fire to escape, the US Forest Service said today. No arrests have been made, and the hunter's name was being withheld pending...

There's an Upside to Yosemite Wildfire

It could restore the forest's ecosystem back to its natural state

(Newser) - The Atlantic goes looking for some silver lining to the Yosemite wildfire , and finds this: Carl Skinner, a US Forest Service ecologist, has discovered that the forest has been altered over the past 100 years due to human intervention into naturally occurring forest fires, becoming less diverse. So the current...

Yosemite Fire Will Burn for 18 More Days

It's now the 4th-largest fire in California history

(Newser) - California's Rim Fire is now 45% contained, but it's still getting bigger—so big, in fact, that it's now the fourth-largest the state has ever seen, the AP reports. It now covers 351 square miles; that's more ground than San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose combined,...

Rim Fire May Have Started on Illegal Pot Farm: Official

California's national parks are full of them, say authorities

(Newser) - A fire chief in California's Tuolumne County quietly revealed an interesting tidbit about the origins of the Rim Fire last week, the San Jose Mercury News reports: officials suspect it was started by marijuana growers. "We don't know the exact cause," he told a town meeting,...

Wildfire Smoke Reaches Yosemite Valley

Popular tourist area affected for first time

(Newser) - Smoke from a wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park is hampering both suppression efforts and the views sought by holiday weekend tourists. Park spokeswoman Kari Cobb said smoke from the 2-week-old blaze obscured Yosemite Valley for the first time today. The valley is home to the park's most...

Yosemite Firefighters' Plan: Set More Fires

Rim Fire could be fully contained by Sept. 10, officials say

(Newser) - The giant Rim Fire near Yosemite is still growing—it's now the sixth-largest in California history—but it's also slowing, and firefighters expect to have the 301-square-mile blaze fully contained by Sept. 10, the Los Angeles Times reports. How will they do it? By setting more fires inside...

Protecting Yosemite: Predator Drone, Elite Native American Crew

Firefighters have to mind restrictions in the national park

(Newser) - Firefighters now have about 23% of the Yosemite wildfire contained, and news outlets are spinning off plenty of interesting stories about the battle:
  • Native American crew: Among the teams fighting the fire is the Geronimo Hotshots, an elite crew of American Indians from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in
...

California Fire Damaging Air in Nevada

And it has a clear path deeper into Yosemite

(Newser) - The wildfire threatening Yosemite National Park is throwing so much smoke into the air that it is significantly hurting the air quality in Nevada—more than 100 miles away. Reno and Carson City issued emergency warnings over the smoke from the Rim Fire, and school children were kept inside for...

Yosemite Fire 'Will Burn Until Snow Flies'

But firefighters are gaining ground

(Newser) - The giant Rim fire near Yosemite National Park has now scorched an area the size of Chicago and is still growing, but firefighters are making steady progress. Officials say the fire is now around 20% contained and the 3,700 firefighters battling it are gaining ground as the blaze climbs...

Today Crucial in Yosemite Fire Battle

Rim fire still growing amid strong winds

(Newser) - The massive wildfire raging in and around Yosemite National Park is still growing, and forecasters warn that today will pose a huge challenge for firefighters. Progress has been made at the western edge of the fire, but it is still pushing to the north and east and strong winds spreading...

Yosemite Fire Now Threatens Giant Sequoias

Officials dig in as blaze looms 4 miles away

(Newser) - The Yosemite wildfire that is threatening to take out San Francisco's utilities now has some of the planet's biggest and oldest living things in its crosshairs: Firefighters are digging in around two groves of giant sequoias—about three dozen in all—taking the precautions of setting sprinklers and...

Yosemite Fire Threatens San Francisco Utilities

City in state of emergency over massive wildfire 150 miles away

(Newser) - It's some 150 miles away, but a massive wildfire burning in the Sierra foothills in and around Yosemite National Park has triggered a state of emergency in San Francisco, reports the Chronicle . The Rim Fire threatens transmission lines that carry power to the city, along with the reservoir that...

Calif. Wildfire Now Twice as Big as San Francisco

Rim Fire threatens Yosemite National Park

(Newser) - Tourists fled the area around Yosemite National Park yesterday, as a wildfire headed for the park quadrupled in size. The Rim Fire is now 63,000 acres, or about twice the size of San Francisco, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The main highway leading to the park was closed...

2.3K Evacuated in Idaho Wildfire

Vast, rapidly moving blaze threatens ski resort

(Newser) - At least 2,300 residences have been evacuated near the posh ski resort of Ketchum, Idaho, as an 11-day-old wildfire classified as the nation's top-priority fire threatened homes and subdivisions. The blaze was pushing north yesterday, even as officials said they were making progress. "It was a good...

Sole Surviving Arizona Firefighter Finally Speaks

Brendan McDonough says he isn't quitting firefighting

(Newser) - Brendan McDonough, the only member of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew to survive a deadly wildfire in Arizona in June , has given his first interview since the tragedy to ABC News . Contrary to earlier reports, McDonough—known to his colleagues as "Donut"—says the team was aware that...

How the Arizona Fire Tragedy Unfolded

New reports detail the final moments of the Hotshot crew

(Newser) - Although the circumstances of how 19 firefighters were killed in Arizona's Yarnell Hill Fire are already broadly known , new reports offer a more detailed look at how the tragedy unfolded. The AP has compiled a map of the Hotshot crew's final movements, confirmed by fire officials, showing the...

Arizona Fire Now 45% Contained

Yarnell Hill blaze has ravaged 8.4K acres

(Newser) - The Arizona wildfire that killed 19 elite firefighters has been 45% contained, up from an official figure of 8% yesterday, as teams link fire lines, the Arizona Republic reports. "We’ve had a very productive day today," an official said yesterday. Authorities said they hadn't seen any...

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