The Burning Issue
Wildfire season in North America has gotten progressively more intense over the past few decades, lasting longer and burning nearly 10 times as many acres as it did just 30 years ago. As these disasters worsen, we’ve seen fires reshape communities and economies across the U.S. West. Follow Grist as it delves into all aspects of the 2021 fire season — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
In This Series
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![Animation: trees on fire with a coal plant in the background]()
![Animation: trees on fire with a coal plant in the background]()
California is banking on forests to reduce emissions. What happens when they go up in smoke?
How faulty rules and wildfire could unravel California’s climate progress
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![firefighters watch trees go up in flames]()
![firefighters watch trees go up in flames]()
You thought the U.S. fire season was bad. Russia’s is much worse.
Emissions from Siberia’s fires are more than Germany’s total annual greenhouse gases.
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A deadly fungal disease on the rise in the West has experts worried
Researchers haven’t pinned down exactly what’s behind the rise in Valley fever cases or how to stop it. One thing is nearly certain, though: Climate change plays a role.
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![Emory and Henry Peters, 2, walk with their nanny Cynthia Chavez at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The unusual orange and red-hued skies were a result of smoke from the Northern California wildfires.]()
![Emory and Henry Peters, 2, walk with their nanny Cynthia Chavez at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The unusual orange and red-hued skies were a result of smoke from the Northern California wildfires.]()
Wildfire smoke claims more than 33,000 lives each year, new study finds
And that number doesn't even account for long-term exposure.
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![Animation: a drip torch setting trees on fire on a sign that says]()
![Animation: a drip torch setting trees on fire on a sign that says]()
How one town put politics aside to save itself from fire
Timber Wars tore this town apart. Wildfire prevention brought it back together.
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![A firefighter wearing a yellow vest, orange helmet and black pants walks past burned houses in Los Angeles. In the background, against the blue sky, semi-burnt trees are visible.]()
![A firefighter wearing a yellow vest, orange helmet and black pants walks past burned houses in Los Angeles. In the background, against the blue sky, semi-burnt trees are visible.]()
No matter the fire risk, California insurance companies can’t cancel your policy
State officials have banned companies from revoking renewals of policies in high fire risk areas.
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![a landscape scene where large, red flames burn behind trees and power lines]()
![a landscape scene where large, red flames burn behind trees and power lines]()
Can burying power lines prevent California’s next big wildfire?
PG&E, one of the country’s largest utilities, wants to put 10,000 miles of lines underground.
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![Ponderosa pines are silhouetted by the diffuse orange glow of smoke lit by dozens of fires.]()
![Ponderosa pines are silhouetted by the diffuse orange glow of smoke lit by dozens of fires.]()
As California’s fire season ramps up, “unprecedented” is getting a lot of use
The Caldor and Dixie disasters are just a glimpse of what this fire season could hold.
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![Illustration: silhouette of a woman looking at a large wildfire]()
![Illustration: silhouette of a woman looking at a large wildfire]()
Welcome to the Pyrocene
We have created a planetary fire age. Now we have to live in it.
