Why ‘aridification’ is a better term for our new, more parched reality.
Wildfire
Posted inArticles
The 416 Fire reminds us there’s no escape from climate change
Rumors that a popular tourist train sparked the fire have forced a reckoning.
Posted inArticles
There’s nothing normal about ‘the new normal’
The phrase is the linguistic equivalent of a shrug.
Posted inArticles
Exploring the West? Don’t start a wildfire.
Here are some tips on how to stay safe.
Posted inArticles
The Forest Service faces a century-old call for equality
As early as 1924, women were asking the agency for equal treatment.
Posted inArticles
How to celebrate Earth Day
Stand up for public lands, fight climate change and get outside this April 22 — and all year long.
Posted inArticles
Firefighters, it’s time we led the way on ending harassment
Allegations that the Forest Service enabled a culture of harassment were no surprise.
Posted inArticles
Fire funding fix comes with environmental rollbacks
The legislation sets up an emergency disaster fund but also weakens protections for trees and wildlife.
Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco
From bears to condors, the West’s wildlife is finding ways to survive
Five ways science is finding unexpected resilience in animals.
Posted inJanuary 22, 2018: A Separatist State of Mind
Climate change forced me to leave the place that I love
After finding their dream town, a family fled drought and fire.
Posted inArticles
Logging isn’t the solution to our wildfire problems
We can’t ‘solve’ fire any more than we can ‘solve’ hurricanes.
Posted inArticles
2017 in natural disasters
From massive wildfires to melting ice, the calamities that affected the West this year.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
Ancestral Pueblo logging practices could save New Mexico pinelands
Researchers look to the past to better fight fire.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
In a burning West, wildfire smoke threatens public health
Montana hospitals handled an increase of respiratory-related problems this year.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
Oregonians experiment with a new model to prevent megafire
A collaborative community-based project tackles overgrown forests.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
Proper fire funding continues to elude Congress
Nearly everyone agrees it’s important. So what’s the hold-up?
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
What fire researchers learned from California’s blazes
In California, land managers use fire as a tool.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
Nothing about future fires is guaranteed
Except that they will come.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
A ‘selfish’ decision
As neighbors evacuated, one family stayed behind.
Posted inDecember 11, 2017: Scorched Earth
‘Will my tears cool the ash?’
A firefighter contemplates the fire season.