High Country News

Results for keyword: firefighting

Good policy and good intentions won't stop big wildfires

Federal agencies have made strides in reducing fire danger in the West's forests, but many factors hinder their efforts

by Jodi Peterson, Oct 17, 2011
Monster wildfires have become the new normal

Wildfires cannot be entirely prevented by logging or anything else, but small-scale prescribed burns can help make them less destructive.

by Roy Keene and Tim Hermach, Jun 21, 2011
Fire fight: Forest Service explores chemical retardant hazards

The Forest Service finally assesses the impacts of fire retardant chemicals, but never answers the question of how useful they really are.

by Judith Lewis Mernit, Jun 15, 2011
California prepares for the next burn

Public officials – and even homeowners – are beginning to accept the inevitability of wildfires in the Golden State.

by Peter Friederici , Jun 05, 2009
Standing outside, late, in a charcoal forest

by Alan S. Kesselheim, Feb 04, 2008
Two weeks in the West

The West is on fire; Dick Cheney exposed; toning down RS-2477; and firefighting statistics

by Jonathan Thompson, Jul 23, 2007
Heard around the West

Gail Kimbell and the vanishing Forest Service budget; not saying the Pledge in Mesa, Ariz.; racing old beaters in California; talkative men’s rooms; saying it (the Miranda warning, that is) with flowers.

by Betsy Marston, Mar 05, 2007
National Fire Plan vs. the Healthy Forests rule changes

The National Fire Plan, the Healthy Forests Initiative and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act are explained and compared

by Kathie Durbin, Apr 17, 2006
Heard around the West

Forest Service fire liaison busted for tossing cigarette butts; Interior decorator Gale Norton; horse slasher; cell phones vs. snakes; neighborhood with the slurry on top; tough on crime at Yellowstone; and Bonner County, Idaho, is quiet

by Betsy Marston, Aug 16, 2004
Heard around the West

Firefighting fisherman; Denver’s dangerous principal; peregrine falcons and bridges; San Francisco’s parrots; jaguar gets the finger in Albuquerque

by Betsy Marston, Jun 21, 2004