wildfires

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Friday Could Be a Smoky One for the Midwest

Wildfires in Canada are pushing smoke down into Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan

(Newser) - Wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have led to a state of emergency and the evacuation of around 17,000 residents in Manitoba, in what that province's premier is calling its largest evacuation in recent memory. What that means for the United States: Friday and Saturday are going to...

Canadian Province Declares Wildfire Emergency

Manitoba blazes force 17K evacuations

(Newser) - With wildfires raging across western Canada, Manitoba has declared a province-wide state of emergency and ordered the biggest evacuation in decades. "I can tell you everybody has to be out by midnight, and that includes me," the mayor of Flin Flon, population 5,000, told the CBC on...

The Goats of Sacramento Are Back
The Goats of
Sacramento
Are Back
May 28, 2025 6:15 PM CDT

The Goats of Sacramento Are Back

Calif. county to spend $400K to let herds graze on dry vegetation that could serve as wildfire fuel

(Newser) - Goats are back on the job in Sacramento, California, called in once again to help head off potential wildfires as the region's temperatures rise. Under a program led by Sacramento County Regional Parks, thousands of goats and sheep are grazing their way through open areas to eat down...

Fire Sweeps Through Civil War-Era Site

New Mexico officials say structures were damaged at Fort Stanton Historical Site

(Newser) - Campgrounds and a horse ranch were evacuated Monday as a wildfire swept through a Civil War-era historical site in southern New Mexico. Ground crews, air tankers, and helicopters joined efforts to contain a blaze that damaged several buildings at the Fort Stanton Historical Site, authorities said. The wildfire scorched more...

Disturbing Trend Seen in Record Rainforest Loss

Fires, not agriculture, are now the primary cause of tropical forest destruction

(Newser) - Tropical forests vanished at a record pace in 2024, losing 26,000 square miles—an area about the size of Ireland—according to new satellite data. Fires, rather than land clearance for agriculture, drove most of the loss for the first time, with the Amazon region facing unusually severe...

Contributing Factor in 15K US Deaths: Climate Change

Study attributes 15K deaths over 15 years to climate-fueled wildfires

(Newser) - Smoke from wildfires worsened by climate change has killed an estimated 15,000 people in the US over 20 years—and that's saying nothing about the economic costs. A new study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment attempts to quantify just how much climate change is contributing...

Tourists to Pay Nearly 20% 'Lodging Tax' in Hawaii

State approves legislation for funds to climate resilience, beach restoration, and wildfire prevention

(Newser) - Hawaii lawmakers have approved a new measure to raise the state's lodging tax, marking what experts say is the nation's first state-level tax of its kind designed explicitly to fund environmental protection and climate change adaptation. The legislation, which Gov. Josh Green is expected to sign, adds...

2nd Teen Nabbed, Charged Over Jersey Wildfire

This time it's a 17-year-old charged with arson, joining 19-year-old Joseph Kling as a suspect

(Newser) - A second teenager has been charged over the Jones Road Wildfire in New Jersey, which scorched thousands of acres of land and spurred the evacuation of thousands. According to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office , the unidentified boy, 17, was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with aggravated arson,...

Man, 19, Faces Arson Charges Over New Jersey Wildfire

Blaze has burned more than 23 square miles, impacted air quality in surrounding area

(Newser) - A spark from burning pallets in New Jersey's Pine Barrens has unleashed a wildfire, with smoke drifting as far as New York City and Long Island, prompting evacuations and raising air quality alarms. The blaze was sparked when a 19-year-old man from Waretown set fire to wooden pallets...

Nuclear Plant on 'Round-the-Clock Watch' as NJ Wildfire Rages

Firefighters are making progress, but it could still become state's biggest fire in 20 years

(Newser) - A wildfire raging in New Jersey's Pine Barrens could become the state's largest in 20 years, officials say, but progress is being made on containment even as it continues to grow. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service says the fire, which has burned more than 11,500 acres...

South Korea: We've Found Our Wildfires Culprit

Police suspect 56-year-man tending to grandparents' gravesites started historic blaze

(Newser) - The mystery of how South Korea's worst wildfires in history began—or at least one of them—may soon be solved. The Guardian reports that police there have launched a probe that's focused on a 56-year-old man who they believe started a fire while tending to his grandparents'...

Evacuations Ordered as Wildfires Spread in NC, SC

Debris from Hurricane Helene is fueling the fires and blocking logging roads used by firefighters

(Newser) - More people have been asked to leave their homes in the North Carolina and South Carolina mountains as wildfires spread. The forecast for the rest of the week is not encouraging—dry and windy. A half-dozen large fires are burning in the Blue Ridge Mountains, putting a lot more gray...

South Korea's Wildfires Are 'Rewriting the Record Books'

24 people have been killed in fires that began Friday

(Newser) - Wildfires are infrequent in South Korea—but the ones burning there now in the country's southern regions have been labeled the deadliest ever. The fires, which CNN reports began last Friday from a spark from a lawn mower, have destroyed an ancient temple and prompted the evacuation of tens...

Sad Ending for Firefighter Who Vanished After Boss Died

Remains of Carlos Baltazar found in San Bernardino County, 4 years after he disappeared

(Newser) - For more than four years, firefighter Carlos Baltazar has been missing, after a mysterious disappearance following the death of his fire chief. Now, remains found in October in a remote part of the San Bernardino Mountains have been identified as those of the 35-year-old. Per SFGate , Baltazar had been part...

Cops: Family Making S'Mores Started Long Island Fires

More than 600 acres burned over the weekend after Manorville family tried to make the sweet treat

(Newser) - Authorities say a series of brush fires that tore through the East End of Long Island over the weekend can now be traced back to one local backyard, where a family's attempt to make Saturday morning s'mores apparently went awry. At a Monday presser , Suffolk County Police Commissioner...

Investigators Trace SC Wildfire to Woman's Yard

Myrtle Beach resident faces charges of negligence

(Newser) - A wildfire that scorched 2,000 acres around Myrtle Beach in South Carolina last week started in the backyard of a local resident burning debris, say forestry investigators. The suspect has been identified as 40-year-old Alexandra Bialousow of Myrtle Beach, who has been charged with negligence in allowing the fire...

Wildfires in North and South Carolina Cause Evacuations

Officials have not said what caused any of the fires

(Newser) - Crews battled wildfires in North and South Carolina on Sunday amid dry conditions and gusty winds as residents were forced to evacuate in some areas, the AP reports. The National Weather Service warned of increased fire danger in the region due to a combination of critically dry fuels and very...

State Farm Wants a Monster Rate Hike in California

After LA wildfires, insurer seeks emergency 22% rate increase

(Newser) - California's largest home insurer has some not-great news for homeowners. On Monday, State Farm General, which currently insures about a million homes in the state, said it was asking the California Department of Insurance to OK an emergency rate increase as a result of the recent Los Angeles wildfires,...

Opinion: Wildfires Taught Me a Lesson About Help
Opinion: Wildfires Taught
Me a Lesson About Help
OPINION
Jan 31, 2025 12:34 PM CST

Opinion: Wildfires Taught Me a Lesson About Help

Meghan Daum writes about losing everything, then learning to let her friends step in

(Newser) - The Eaton Fire destroyed the Altadena home being rented by Meghan Daum and thus turned all her "material possessions into ash," she writes in a New York Times essay. Since then, "I've had to accept more help in more forms from more people—friends and strangers...

Kelsey Grammer Is Furious at LA Officials Over Fires

The Frasier star is calling for accountability

(Newser) - Kelsey Grammer isn't holding back about the role he believes Los Angeles officials played in the the wildfires that devastated Southern California earlier this month. In an interview with Fox News , the 69-year-old Frasier star said he's "devastated" by the "human loss" and "loss of...

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