Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue appoints a permanent Forest Service chief.
Wildfire
Posted inArticles
Wildfires don’t hurt hot real estate markets
Our love for nature causes more homes to be built in the path of destructive wildfires and leads to more blazes.
Posted inOctober 15, 2018: Nature Retreat
Latest: Wildfire smoke deaths could double by century’s end
New research shows fire-polluted air could kill up to 44,000 people per year by 2100.
Posted inSeptember 17, 2018: The Pioneer of Ruin
Latest: Forest Service report calls for changes in wildfire management
Increases in timber sales, prescribed burns and thinning projects are needed to save life and property.
Posted inArticles
Gender diversity on the fire line
A photographer chronicles several of the firefighters combating and cleaning up after California’s Donnell Fire.
Posted inSeptember 17, 2018: The Pioneer of Ruin
As the West burns, a town fields its own amateur firefighters
The community of Dufur, Oregon, bands together to douse the flames.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire suppression is a decades-old conundrum
Wilderness managers are still trying to balance the risks and necessity of fire.
Posted inArticles
California’s apocalyptic fires are a side effect of modern life
The ‘new normal’ of a year-round wildfire season is a problem of our own making.
Posted inArticles
Rural railroads are more important than your new trails
Converting rails to trails can hurt economies and make it harder to battle blazes.
Posted inArticles
How tweets can map a #wildfire
Social media could help monitor air pollution that physical monitors miss.
Posted inArticles
Latest: The Forest Service’s use of fire retardant has doubled since 2014
Despite environmental harms, the agency continues to rely on aerial drops to battle blazes.
Posted inArticles
To protect a forest, a town agreed to leave it alone
With wildfires looming, Flagstaff came together to support national forest closures.
Posted inArticles
What it’s like to fight wildfires in the West
A photojournalist and firefighter describes the challenges of battling wildland blazes.
Posted inArticles
Where there’s smoke, there’s suffering
The small, sad harms of a summer spent indoors to avoid wildfire smoke.
Posted inArticles
Wildfires hit the West: ‘We’re stretched to our limits’
Fires this year have covered 1 million more acres than the 10-year average from January to July.
Posted inArticles
A bird’s eye view of wildfire
Ecologically important blazes are a crucial part of Western landscapes.
Posted inArticles
This year’s burn bans are crucial in parched Colorado
Another dry summer sparks memories of past wildfires — and worries for the future.
Posted inArticles
In a time of division and hate, wildfire unites a community
Disaster response offers an antidote to the era of “me.”
Posted inArticles
A fiery Fourth of July threatens Southwest economies
Wildfire, forest closures and canceled fireworks displays keep tourists at bay.
Posted inJuly 23, 2018: Pay for Prey
Saving baby Jo from the smoke
A mother grapples with her decision to flee the 416 Fire with her infant daughter.