Pinot noir grapes at Oregon State University’s Woodhall Vineyard undergoing smoke experiments. (Credit: Sean Nealon / OSU) Listen (Runtime :54) Read Researchers are developing special coatings to protect Northwest wines… Read More
Autumn has knocked on our doors and crossed our thresholds. With its arrival comes wetter, colder, darker days — perhaps some pumpkin-flavored treats as well — and hopefully, fewer wildfires. Heavy recent rainfall has dropped the wildfire potential outlook down to normal for the Northwest, according to the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook.
So, how did Read More
Wildfires, invasive species and climate change are seriously threatening the Hanford Reach National Monument, and with it, a rare plant that grows only in one place in the world. Continue Reading New Hope For A Rare Plant At Hanford ReachRead More
Over the past year, wildfire smoke has made the air quality in the Yakima Valley, Eastern Washington and parts of Oregon some of the worst in the country, and even in the world. When the air quality is bad, experts recommend people stay indoors, but that isn’t an option for outdoor laborers, like farmworkers. Read More
As the weather gets colder the thought of wildfire may be floating away like smoke in the wind. But while the season is wrapping up, the management of wildfire isn't over. Continue Reading Is Fire Season Year-Round Now?Read More
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation says it lost more timber in 2015 than has ever burned on a U.S. reservation. The tribe is suing the federal government over the damage. Continue Reading Colville Tribe Sues Federal Read More
Last year, former President Trump refused to approve a routine disaster declaration for Malden because he was feuding with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat. So that federal aid didn't start arriving until after President Biden took office and he finally signed the order. Read More
“In this year of, well, exceptions, we’ve been handed an unprecedented level of damage to our wildlife mitigation program,” a Washington state wildlife biologist recently told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Read More
Labor Day 2020 lived up to its name if you’re a firefighter. It was a day that set up for numerous fires in central and eastern Washington that have burned tens of thousands of acres, and possibly many more. At least 80 fires started in Washington in what officials call a historic fire event. 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
Usually, fire season starts to tamp down in September. This year has been anything but normal. In an unprecedented fire event, at least 80 fires started in Washington over Labor Day weekend. Continue Reading Extreme End To The 2020 Read More
Washington Firefighter Quarantining With COVID; It’s A Test Of Safety Plan Ahead Of Wildfire Weather
The firefighter contracted COVID-19 outside of the fire camp. He tested positive after he left the fire. The firefighter came into contact with 14 others, who have now been quarantined and aren’t showing symptoms right now, according to the DNR. This year, fire camps have been kept smaller and more spaced out – to help prevent widespread outbreaks. Read More
The Bureau of Land Management announced a proposal Friday that would fund up to 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah in an effort to better control wildfires. Read More
The 2018 Camp Fire destroyed 90% of the town of Paradise, Calif., and killed 85 people. Should the federal government jump in to rebuild communities at high risk of future disasters? Continue Reading Rethinking Disaster Recovery After 2018 Read More
More people in the Northwest are worried about wildfires than they were four years ago. A new poll has found people in Washington are now five times more likely to say they’ll feel the effects of wildfires. In Oregon, people are three times more likely to worry about wildfires. Read More
As wildfires become more frequent and intense, the disappearance of snow now ushers in a season of higher anxiety for those who have experienced the destruction of wildfire. And this spring feels particularly ominous, with water levels in ponds and lakes already exposing bathtub rings of pale earth that wouldn’t normally be visible until the end of the dry summer months. Read More
From aviation contracts to deals with vendors and even seasonal hiring, the partial federal government shutdown is cutting into planning and preparation for the 2019 wildfire season in the Northwest. Read More
A small number of Northwest communities have an outsized level of exposure to wildfire, according to data released by the Forest Service. Continue Reading Analysis Reveals Northwest Communities Most Threatened By WildfireRead More
Nothing is simple when it comes to federal lands management. But in order to thin fire-prone forests — and to break legal and ideological gridlock — national forests in the Pacific Northwest are supporting collaborations with formerly adversarial interests. Read More
Not all wildfire is a force of destruction. Many of our favorite Northwest plants and animals have evolved to depend on it. Continue Reading Why Many Northwest Animals And Plants Need WildfireRead More
State and federal agencies throughout the Northwest are starting to lift burn restrictions on some lands. The Wildfire Preparedness level for the region was downgraded to its lowest stage -- Level 1 -- this week. But the region is below normal for precipitation and has been so for the past two months. Read More
Deaths related to air pollution from wildfires could double by the end of the century, according to newly published research into the links between climate change, wildfires and human health. Continue Reading Study: Fire-Filled Future Could Read More
When wildfires ripped through California's Napa Valley in October 2017, local artist Arleene Correa Valencia was shocked to hear that farm workers were continuing to work in the vineyards — even as smoke surrounded the area, and the locals were evacuating. 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
Climate change is advancing. Snowpack is decreasing, and summers are hotter and drier. A century’s worth of fire suppression is leaving forests overloaded with fuel. All of that is creating the conditions for wildfires to spread quickly and widely and burn huge trees along with the underbrush. Fire seasons are now 105 days longer in the western U.S. than they were in the Read More
You’ve probably seen and felt it this week: a blanket of grey haze over large parts of the region. Smoke from wildfires in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and California has led to poor air quality, causing health experts to caution: minimize your exposure. So how do people who work outdoors fare? Read More
The U.S. has more than 46 million homes in this wildfire danger zone and more people moving in right when climate change is making for longer, hotter and drier wildfire seasons. Here are a few steps you can take to protect your home from wildfire. Continue Reading How Read More
For people living in the “wildland-urban interface,” wildfire risk is the new normal, and the risk is increasing as more people move into places where cul-de-sac meets forest or sagebrush. Continue Reading Four Read More
A variety of forest experts say that one of the best ways to reduce the threat of these mega-blazes is to use fire itself. They say we need to increase the pace of prescribed fire and let some wildfires continue to burn when it’s safe to do so. Of course, there’s not nearly as much political support for letting fires burn as there is for putting fires out. Read More
For the third year in a row, a military reconnaissance aircraft is joining the battle against Pacific Northwest wildfires. This specialized plane can locate new fires from many miles away. Continue Reading Military Reconnaissance Plane Read More
The West is way behind on reducing the buildup of hazardous fuels we created. And much of the work we do to reduce those fuels is missing the key ingredient: fire. Continue Reading Efforts To Reduce Wildfire Risk Fall Short, Buck ScienceRead More
The Substation Fire east of The Dalles has killed one person and burned more than 70,000 acres on a mix of Bureau of Land Management and private land. The fire is estimated to be 92 percent contained as of Monday morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Here’s what we know about it and how wildland fire investigations occur. 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 U.S. Forest Service and others have been saying for decades that we need to allow more wildfire on the landscape. But so far, we haven't practiced what we preach. Continue Reading Can ‘Moneyball’ Fix How The West Manages Wildfire?Read More
From Bend, Oregon, to Ellensburg, Washington, there is a fire weather watch Friday for hot temperatures, low humidity and breezy weather. Continue Reading July In The Northwest: Warm Summer Nights And Big Fire PotentialRead More
Conservation groups in Oregon are asking people to put down their Roman candles, sparklers and bottle rockets this week.
The reason: Humans ignite more wildfires on the Fourth of July than any other day of the year. Continue Reading People Read More
Federal officials anticipate a big wildfire season in the Northwest throughout July, August and possibly into September. Continue Reading Big Wildfire Season And Summer Of Drought Await The NorthwestRead More
“The perception for a long time has been that high-biomass forests will burn more severely,” said Harold Zald, forestry researcher at Humboldt State University in Northern California. Continue Reading Study: Wildfires Burn Read More
Tribes across the West are trying to restore their forests and grasslands to the way they were before white settlers arrived. Their goal is to return traditional foods like roots, huckleberries and big game. But it’s a complex job. Continue Read More
The U.S. Forest Service says it will have more money to fight wildfires and more tools to prevent them thanks to the new wildfire funding bill Congress recently approved. Continue Reading Forest Service Says Disaster Funding Bill Read More
Wildfire season used to start in mid-June, say state officials coordinating the response. Now they’re already out fighting wildfires in April, even in places west of the Cascades. Continue Reading This Is ‘New Read More
The new person in charge of regional firefighters at the U.S. Forest Service has called for an increase in prescribed fire and a change in attitude about wildfires. Continue Reading New Top Northwest Wildfire Official: ‘Not All Fire is Read More
It may still be wet and muddy out there, but it’s also the time of year when wildland firefighters start to gear up for hot, dry weather and wildfires. This year, the Washington Legislature approved $1.7 million in preventative fire management money (different from fire fighting) for the upcoming season. Fire managers are also waiting to see how much, if any, federal Read More
Exasperated members of Congress say they came close last week to ending the longtime stalemate over legislation aimed at reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires. Continue Reading Congress Fails To Close Deal On Wildfire Prevention Legislation (Once Read More
In January 2018, around 100 homes were destroyed by mudslides in Montecito, California. The same conditions that brought that destruction could exist here in the Northwest – after all, we’ve had the same kinds of wildfires that California saw in December. Continue Reading It’s Not Just Read More
Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is calling for an investigation into Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s use of wildfire preparedness funds after news reports revealed Zinke used the funds for unrelated travel. Continue Reading Oregon Sen. Ron Read More
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working with agencies that are responding to the Eagle Creek fire. Fire departments from North Bonneville, Tualatin, Dayton, Keizer and Hillsboro staged… Continue Reading Fire Near Bonneville Read More
The Carlton Complex burned through Ken Bevis’ property in 2014. Since then, he hasn’t cut down the dead trees — they make great bird habitat. Ken Bevis has left somewhere… Continue Reading Leaving Behind Burned Trees For Bird HabitatRead More
