New legislation comes despite science showing timber salvage harms essential wildlife habitat
Wildfire
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
For the Lassics lupine, wilderness is a mixed blessing
The Wilderness Act has complicated efforts to protect the rare California wildflower.
Posted inArticles
Dispatch from Valley Fire evacuation camp in California
State officials are calling the Lake County blaze one of the fastest-moving fires in memory.
Posted inArticles
Dispatch from a medic on the North Star Fire in Washington
What base camp and wildfire look like from one firefighter’s perspective.
Posted inArticles
The nature of fire has dramatically changed
It’s time to move irrigation pipe. It’s one of those things you have to do when you have a certain amount of land and enough water to irrigate it. My knees hurt as I walk each piece of pipe over to the next dry spot. Here in central Oregon, it’s always a race with evaporation. […]
Posted inArticles
What we’ve lost in the Methow Valley wildfires
Three firefighters have died as fires continue to rip through Washington.
Posted inArticles
BLM launches a native seeds strategy for damaged landscapes
The initiative aims to restore burned ecosystems and target fire-prone invasives like cheatgrass.
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
Climate showdown, increase in driving, where the wildfires are this season, and more.
Hcn.org news in brief.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
As wildfires get bigger, is there any way to be ready?
After one record-setting wildfire, a Washington county prepares for more.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Plants that burn fastest in a wildfire
Lichen burns cool and quick, while spruce burns slow and hot.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Is aerial firefighting worth it?
Aerial firefighting is dangerous, expensive and environmentally damaging. So why do we do it?
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
When the wildfire season never ends
As fire season gets longer, fire managers scramble to keep up.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Young men and fire
Review of “On the Burning Edge: A Fateful Fire and the Men Who Fought It” by Kyle Dickman.
Posted inArticles
The 2015 fire season hasn’t broken any all-time records — yet
The usually fire-prone Southwest has burned less than the Pacific Northwest, California and Alaska.
Posted inArticles
Climate-vulnerable pikas may be surprisingly resilient to wildfire
These high-elevation creatures may find insulation in talus fields, according to new research.
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Hot times usher in early Northwest wildfire season
While Oregon and Washington broil, the Southwest and Southern Rockies enjoy a welcome reprieve of moisture
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Rains bring incomplete drought relief to parts of Southwest
Snowpack is above normal in spots, but doesn’t make up for its lack earlier in the year.
Posted inArticles
More Alaskan forests are burning, not just due to climate change
Populated areas are seeing a large increase in wildfire, despite suppression efforts.
Posted inArticles
Congress considers treating wildfire like other natural disasters
The proposal to use emergency funding faces a key obstacle: Sen. Murkowski.
Posted inArticles
Don’t blame bark beetles for fire risk
A new study suggests hot dry weather, not beetles, make forests go up in smoke.