Small-town firefighters are often first responders to some of the biggest blazes.
Wildfire
Posted inArticles
Will Congress fix wildfire funding this year?
Proposed legislation would put logging ahead of environmental concerns.
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What to do if you live in a wildfire zone
Homeowners can protect themselves and their neighbors.
Posted inJuly 24, 2017: Down the Dark Mountain
Life between one wildfire and the next
The climate-change train is out of control. What’s a fire-prone small town to do?
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Fires sweep the Southwest
In an unseasonably hot and dry West, an intense fire season takes shape.
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From cribbage to wildfire in just 5 minutes
Inside a Helitack crew’s fast response to wildland fires.
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West Obsessed: What drives explosive wildfires?
High Country News staff discusses science behind increasingly devastating blazes.
Posted inApril 3, 2017: Firestorm
Inside the firestorm
New technology allows scientists to see the forces behind the flames.
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People cause the majority of wildfires
New research finds illegal campfires, cigarette butts and other accidental ignitions have nearly tripled the wildfire season.
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Federal hiring freeze hits Western land agencies
It’s not clear what will happen with seasonal hires such as wildland firefighters.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Latest: California’s tree die-off is bigger than you thought
An additional 36 million trees have died since May.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
How to love a weird and perfect wilderness
A desolate Oregon landscape offers lessons on the modern wild.
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
The disappearance of Lyle Jeffs, firefighters and threats over an endorsement
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Will a twice-burned county change its ways?
Don’t count on wildfires to alter how counties plan development in fire-prone zones.
Posted inArticles
Wildfires spark where growth is sprawling
Nationally, nearly a third of homes built since 2000 are in wildland areas.
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The 10 most expensive wildfires in the West’s history
Why suppressing wildfires costs public land agencies so much money.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Alaska’s emergency wildfire crews are burning out
The state is grappling with more fires and fewer fighters where they need them.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire rips through California’s windy Cajon Pass
Under potentially ‘new normal’ fire conditions, 80,000 people have been evacuated.
Posted inArticles
The West’s ‘new normal’: Another long season of volatile wildfires
In California and across the region, drought and heat makes for big blazes.