Climate Wildfires
All Stories
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![A firefighter stands on a hill overlooking Los Angeles. He's spraying a hose. Below him is a fire and billowing smoke; above him is a helicopter.]()
![A firefighter stands on a hill overlooking Los Angeles. He's spraying a hose. Below him is a fire and billowing smoke; above him is a helicopter.]()
As California burns, new research shows smoke is wildfire’s silent killer
The official death count from the Palisades and Eaton fires was 30 — the real number may be 15 times higher.
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![Firefighter stands on road next to a wildfire. The photo is tinged red from fire.]()
![Firefighter stands on road next to a wildfire. The photo is tinged red from fire.]()
The Trump administration claims roads in forests prevent wildfires. Researchers disagree.
Experts say repealing the "Roadless Rule" won't help stop fires, but it will help loggers.
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![Glenn Harris of the Bureau of Land Management surveys the scorched land of the watershed above Casatic Power Plant in the hills above Los Angeles.]()
![Glenn Harris of the Bureau of Land Management surveys the scorched land of the watershed above Casatic Power Plant in the hills above Los Angeles.]()
Pollution from wildfires can contaminate our water for up to 8 years, study finds
An analysis of 500 watersheds found levels of organic carbon, phosphorus, and other pollutants up to 103 times higher after a wildfire.
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How shrinking the EPA could make wildfire smoke even more dangerous
"It will leave communities more vulnerable."
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![Birds fly past a pile of wood used to make pellets at a Drax facility in Gloster, Mississippi.]()
![Birds fly past a pile of wood used to make pellets at a Drax facility in Gloster, Mississippi.]()
In California, a biomass company’s expansion raises fears of more fires
Facilities that make wood pellets have a track record of catching on fire. So why are there plans to build several near Yosemite's tinderbox forests?
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![Ukrainian rescuers of the State Emergency Service and firefighters continue to extinguish the forest fire after a Russian bomb explosion in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 17, 2024.]()
![Ukrainian rescuers of the State Emergency Service and firefighters continue to extinguish the forest fire after a Russian bomb explosion in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 17, 2024.]()
How 3 years of war have ravaged Ukraine’s forests, and the people who depend on them
Nearly 5 million acres have burned since Russia’s latest invasion in 2022, ignited by rocket fire, artillery shelling, and explosive devices.
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The smoke from Canada’s wildfires may be even more toxic than usual
A legacy of mining means that toxic metals could be carried along plumes of smoke.
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![A firefighter walks through a scorched section of forest that burned in a massive wildfire in New Jersey.]()
![A firefighter walks through a scorched section of forest that burned in a massive wildfire in New Jersey.]()
The New Jersey fire signals a new era for the Northeast
The worst fire in New Jersey's history is a warning that "there's no reason that what has happened in the western U.S. can't happen here.”
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![A firefighter in a hard hat holds a hose as a fire blazes in the background]()
![A firefighter in a hard hat holds a hose as a fire blazes in the background]()
Trump said cuts wouldn’t affect public safety. Then he fired hundreds of workers who help fight wildfires.
The White House and DOGE have sought to eliminate thousands of jobs from the Forest Service. The wildland firefighting force is one of many targets within the agency.
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![Logs sit in piles outside of a forest]()
![Logs sit in piles outside of a forest]()
Logging doesn’t prevent wildfires, but Trump is trying it anyway
The Agriculture Department is opening more than 112 million acres of federal forests to logging in a misguided bid to prevent fires and boost timber production.
