Wildfires

Indigenous groups have traditionally set fires to improve the health of forests and reduce underbush. This practice was reduced after Europeans settled in the US and functionally stopped after “The Big Blowup” wildfire in 1910. Experts saw the risk of this, and in the 1990s forest managers…

Blazing with increasing intensity and size each year, California fires have burned a total of 10.8 million acres (and counting) in the past decade. About 3 million of those acres were burnt in 2020 alone. Fire season will most likely continue into the rest of autumn as new fires tend to come along…

Throughout the past couple months, California—and the west coast—have been plagued by multiple fires. The lengthy fire season and greater intensity of fires have been linked to climate change. Millions of acres of land have been destroyed, leading to thousands of evacuees seeking refuge during a…

The August Complex fire is the largest fire in the history of California burns. More than 471,000 acres of land has been burned. The Complex fire has now beaten the 2018 Medocino Complex fires that burned 459,000 acres. There were 30 individual fires all caused by lightning. More fires all…

The intense fires in California continue to burn through Butte, Plumas, and Yuba counties. The number of death residents has increased to 10 people, and 16 people still remain missing. The fires, called the North Complex, have burned almost 252,000 acres of land. Smog continues to fill the clouds,…

As of last week, 11,000 lightning strikes sparked over 370 individuals fires throughout California, killing 5. With fire crews fighting these fires shorthanded due to COVID-19, these fires continue to burn through thousands of acres per day, putting more individuals at risk for evacuation. This has…

As San Francisco is filled with cloudy skies, thousands of homes in Northern California are in great danger as the wildfires continue. These wildfires are caused by lightning strikes and have burned thousands of acres. With about 2 dozen major blazes and more small fires, the people of dangerous…

California is no stranger to wildfires, seeing many in 2019 with some even leading to weeks of power outages. In response, Operation Sierra Storm at South Lake Tahoe called a meeting with leaders of Cal Fire’s new Wildfire Resilience Program, PG&E and the National Weather Service to discuss…

The fires continue to rage in Australia and consume a region larger than the size of Denmark. The New York Times asked residents in the affected areas to describe their experience fighting off and fleeing the fires. People detail their fear while packing a car with only the essentials to survive.…

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory in Southern California on Thanksgiving Day, saying that the rain could cause mudflows in areas that were previously affected by the Getty Fire and Palisades Fire. For a mudslide to happen, all it takes is an intense amount of rain in a short…

Australia is experiencing the second driest January-October period in recorded history for over a century. With about 60 fires currently blazing in the southeastern state of New South Wales, at least 6 people have died and about 600 homes destroyed. For more information, click here. 

Survivornet: With wildfires raging across the state, people are bringing up the fact that ash from the smoke is a big risk for those with breathing issues, and is known to cause lung cancer. Thin paper masks are not helping much, so officials are advising everyone to stay indoors with the windows…

Pacific Gas and Electric Company plans to shut off electricity to 940,000 customers in Northern California. This decision was made to combat the risk of more wildfires in the upcoming windy season. Multiple counties have experienced fires in the past week such as the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County,…

In response to last year’s wildfires caused by PG&E equipment, the company has decided to cut power to over one million California residents as a preventative measure. However, some have noted that this planned blackout is looking more like a series of small disasters, with residents and…