wildfires

Fight fire . . . with fire? August 17, 2026 Above: In 1944 the Forest Service created a new campaign with a bear resembling an upstanding and charismatic forest ranger: Smokey. A history of fire suppression in the United States Wildfires have been the story of Utah's summer where, as of August 10, a record 514,000 acres have burned. Of that figure, 290,000 acres of woodland forest alone have succ…

There's a lot homeowners can do to prepare for wildfires, such as managing flammable plants and using fire-resistant building materials. But some states struggle to pass rules requiring those steps.

Information to help contextualize the major environmental, health and consumer concerns posed by wildfires. The post 2026 wildfire season coverage: Data, resources and interview opportunities appeared first on Environment America Research & Policy Center .

npj Natural Hazards, Published online: 02 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s44304-026-00239-y Mapping hazard-access mismatches in wildfire evacuation systems: a multi-facility accessibility framework

For decades, the United States made steady progress in reducing surface ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog. But that progress – achieved as vehicles, industries and power sources became cleaner – is increasingly being overshadowed by a different and growing source of ozone pollution: wildfires. We found that the gases in wildfire smoke have reversed the national ozone trend, forcing a s…

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Drought and fire are a dangerous duo. The Southeastern United States is witnessing this firsthand, as several major blazes have burned tens of thousands of acres across the parched region, destroying homes and prompting evacuations in some areas. Florida…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Burning time for North American wildfires is going into overtime. Flames are lasting later into the night and starting earlier in the morning because human-caused climate change is extending the hotter and drier conditions that feed fires, a new study found. Fires used to die down or even die out at night as temperatures dropped and humidity increased, but that’s happening less …

Tl;dr - Great book covering a wide range of angles to understand wildfires out west, including frontline firefighting experience, indigenous fire management, modern fire management, and environmental policy. When you grow up east of the Mississippi, wild fires don’t take up much space in your day. It’s rainy, snowy and icy (if you’re north enough) — and wet. It rains. It’s humid. But then I moved…

United by Fire lays out key insights from the two largest blazes in Colorado history, the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires of 2020.

Congress should create a modern, centralized wildfire intelligence system that can serve firefighters nationwide. The post The threat from wildfires is growing. The US needs a unified response. appeared first on Atlantic Council .

California has already recorded more than 6,000 wildfires this year, underscoring the need for better mitigation strategies to reduce their devastating impact. Now, researchers have created a model that may shed light on how these fires spread through communities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), enabling us to better assess the risks of wildfire and take steps… The post New model sheds ligh…

In 2006, the Tripod Complex Fire burned more than 175,000 acres in north-central Washington. The fire, which was within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, was more than three times the size of Seattle. Yet while considered severe at the time, even larger wildfires in 2014, 2015 and 2021 have since dwarfed Tripod. Past research shows that large and severe wildfires like these were much rarer …

In Washington state, fires burned more land in a day than they normally burn in entire fire seasons. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation specialist, discussed the connection between climate change and wildfire for National Public Radio. “Basically, climate change is loading the dice” when it comes to wildfire risk, Crystal says. “And then you get a wind event, and things are just ready to go.”