Biochar produced by C6 Forest to Farm. CREDIT: Tom McCoy. Listen Fire scorching the forests of the Methow Valley in North Central Washington has become a devastating yearly event. “It’s… Continue Reading How Read More
The Northwest is primed for fire season, and not in a good way. East of the Cascades, forecasters say this year could be worse than recent record-breaking fire seasons. Continue Reading It’s Very Hot, It’s Read More
Smoke forecasting is notoriously hard to do, but a new tool from the state Department of Ecology may help us anticipate hazardous air five days in the future. Continue Reading Looking To Escape Northwest Wildfire Smoke This Year? A New Tool Could HelpRead More
This marks the second year the state Department of Natural Resources has pushed for legislation to expand Washington’s firefighting efforts. This time DNR is seeking $125 million every two years, during a legislative session complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
One hundred large fires are burning in 12 states across the West — but just five of them have been contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Continue Reading ‘The Thing I Dread The Most Is Not Read More
At least seven people have died in wildfires that are raging in Washington, Oregon and California, adding to the horrible toll from record-setting fires in 2020. "This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfires in our state's history," Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said. Read More
As the climate warms, fire seasons will get worse – that’s especially true for low-elevation ponderosa pine forests east of the Cascades. According to a University of Washington study published in the journal Fire Ecology, wildfires there will be larger and more frequent. Read More
Each year, state, federal and local officials train around 1,000 firefighters. Trainings start in April and last through May. Now, that's all on hold. Continue Reading Northwest Wildfire Season Is Coming Up — With Fewer Read More
Washington state lands officials are warning people working and playing outdoors to be mindful of higher wildfire danger. They've elevated the wildfire danger status in most of eastern and central Washington from low to moderate. Read More
Land managers are using prescribed burns -- also called "good fire" -- and thinning to restore forests and reduce the extra wood, sticks and needles that fuel megafires. Different land managers look for certain things when they’re selecting where prescribed fires will work best. Read More
Firefighters and forest managers are losing valuable time to prepare for the upcoming wildland fire season as the partial government shutdown continues. Continue Reading Shutdown Hampers Wildfire Preparedness And Training Read More
Federal and state agencies have come to realize fires should not be fought at all costs and, in fact, many should not be fought at all. Excluding natural fire led to forests burning in bigger, more destructive ways. Each year, hazardous fuels accumulate faster than we can reduce them through selective logging and burning. Read More
The Trump Administration has called for more logging of western forests to reduce wildfire risks. But people on the ground in the west say the solution is thinning and forest restoration, not logging. Continue Reading Will More Logging Save Western Read More
Wildfire activity in the American West is likely to get worse in coming years. A new study out in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences points to the lack of precipitation in the summer as the major driving factor when it comes to increasing fire severity. Read More
On Tuesday, Aug. 14, a water-scooping airplane crashed while working the Horns Mountain Fire in northeastern Washington. The pilot walked away with minor injuries. Continue Reading Firefighting Airplane Crashes In Read More
The West is in the midst of another intense fire season. Fires in California and Oregon have claimed lives and homes and burned up farmland. As part of EarthFix’s ongoing series on wildfire, reporter Tony Schick spoke with interim Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen about what her agency is doing to reform fire management and reverse the fire problem. Read More
A fast-growing wildfire east of The Dalles, Oregon, that forced evacuations Tuesday, July 17 and the following day is expected to make a push to the south and east due to dangerous fire conditions in the area, fire officials said. Read More
The intense fire season of 2017 led to calls for more "treatment" of federal forests to remove excess fuel that can make for bigger, hotter wildfires. But while there's broad bipartisan agreement that more needs to be done to promote forest health, the opposing sides can have very different pictures of what that looks like on the ground. Read More
A new study estimates smoke from wildfires contributes to 25,000 deaths per year around the world. CREDIT: INCIWEB Listen The wildfires that burned through the Northwest this past summer… Continue Reading Study Estimates Read More
The Eagle Creek fire is burning in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area near Cascade Locks, Oregon. INCIWEB Listen The forest fires raging in the Columbia River Gorge… Continue Reading Tribes Worry Over Lower Columbia Read More
Private companies are essential in fighting the mega-wildfires that yearly burn through the backcountry and encroach on towns. One fire company in the Methow Valley is a family affair. Continue Reading Private Fire Companies Help Fight PNW FiresRead More
