Climate Wildfires
All Stories
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![A fire rages at night with a transmission line in the foreground]()
![A fire rages at night with a transmission line in the foreground]()
Who pays for wildfire damage? In the West, utilities are shifting the risk to customers.
Utah laws cap wildfire damages and let utilities pass the cost onto customers. Utility lobbyists are pushing the model in other states.
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![A postal carrier makes deliveries in San Francisco, the mid-day sky darkened and orange from smoke wafting in from wildfires burning hundres of miles away.]()
![A postal carrier makes deliveries in San Francisco, the mid-day sky darkened and orange from smoke wafting in from wildfires burning hundres of miles away.]()
Wildfire smoke could soon kill 71,000 Americans every year
The haze may already kill 40,000 people in the U.S. each year — the same number who die in traffic crashes. Climate change will only make matters worse.
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![digital collage of photo of damaged house, man looking at bills and covering his mouth, with red jagged cutouts showing invoice details on top]()
![digital collage of photo of damaged house, man looking at bills and covering his mouth, with red jagged cutouts showing invoice details on top]()
First came the wildfire. Then came the scams.
As extreme weather becomes more frequent, so too have post-disaster contractor scams like excessive billing and shoddy repairs.
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Your home has a 1 in 4 chance of being at severe risk from extreme weather
Here's what that means for your insurance policy.
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![A photo shows a man in a hard hat looking up at a drone flying above a forest on a cloudy day]()
![A photo shows a man in a hard hat looking up at a drone flying above a forest on a cloudy day]()
How drones and AI are changing the way we fight wildfires
As the threat of wildfires intensifies, modern technology is playing an increasingly large role in both research and management. But not all communities have access to it.
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Homeowners affected by the 2023 Maui wildfires: Here’s how to keep and rebuild your home
Hereʻs a list of resources to get funding and help to save and rebuild your house.
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![A couple looks at the charred remains of their home burned in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, January 9, 2025. Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles remained totally uncontained January 9, 2025, authorities said, as US National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. Swaths of the United States' second-largest city lay in ruins, with smoke blanketing the sky and an acrid smell pervading almost every building.]()
![A couple looks at the charred remains of their home burned in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, January 9, 2025. Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles remained totally uncontained January 9, 2025, authorities said, as US National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. Swaths of the United States' second-largest city lay in ruins, with smoke blanketing the sky and an acrid smell pervading almost every building.]()
Illegal price-gouging is rampant after disasters. Can it be stopped?
Rents jumped 20 percent after this year’s Los Angeles wildfires, forcing displaced residents to scramble for housing in an already-tough market.
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![An empty lot with a sign]()
![An empty lot with a sign]()
Two years after a wildfire took everything, Maui homeowners are facing a new threat: Foreclosure
A Native Hawaiian mother’s fight to keep her family in Lāhainā despite soaring costs, mortgage limbo, and land-hungry investors eager to own a piece of Hawaiʻi.
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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.
