Federal government allocates over $6 billion to wildfire technology and management

By Lauren Gallup
Firefighters stand in the distance with drip torches along a road surrounded by trees. A fire burns in the foreground of the picture. It's climbing up some smaller trees.
Lawmakers are allocating over $6 billion this fiscal year to support the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service in wildfire response. It’s an increase of 14% from the last year’s funding, and will support wildfire suppression, operations and a new research hub to aid fire management. This fiscal year, the forest service will see an increase of Read More

Electric Utilities In Northwest Spending Millions On Upgrades To Reduce Risk Of Wildfire Ignitions

By Tom Banse
Utility crews replace power poles burned in the Beachie Creek Fire east of Salem in September 2020.
Private electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest are planning tens of millions of dollars in upgrades to reduce the risk that their power lines could spark wildfires during extreme weather. Utilities such as Pacific Power, Avista, Idaho Power, Portland General Electric and Puget Sound Energy are either required to or are voluntarily submitting wildfire mitigation plans. Read More

Despite What The Logging Industry Says, Cutting Down Trees Isn’t Stopping Catastrophic Wildfires

By NWPB News
Oregon State University researcher Chris Dunn next to a Douglas fir, which burned in Oregon’s September 2020 fires and was later cut down by fire crews who considered it a safety hazard. CREDIT: Jes Burns/OPB
In the decades since government restrictions reduced logging on federal lands, the timber industry has promoted the idea that private lands are less prone to wildfires, saying that forests thick with trees fuel bigger, more destructive blazes. But an analysis by OPB and ProPublica shows last month’s fires burned as intensely on private forests with large-scale logging Read More

Evans Canyon Fire In Yakima And Kittitas Counties Over 75K Acres, At Least 6 Homes Burned

By NWPB News
A plane drops fire retardant near a home Sept. 2, 2020, during the Evans Canyon Fire burning in Yakima and Kittitas counties. Courtesy of Tony Miller
Firefighters are stretched thin across the Northwest, and officials are trying to keep crews healthy with bagged lunches and smaller camps. So with near-record temps this weekend, they’re asking Labor Day revelers to please watch those campfires (though campfires are banned in much of Washington due to fire danger). And make sure chains on trailers and boats don’t drag and Read More

Washington Has Seen A Significant Rise In Wildfire Starts So Far This Year

By Courtney Flatt
A helicopter uses a bucket to drop water on the Milepost 22 wildfire, Thursday, June 21, 2018, near Vantage, Wash. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/TED S. WARREN
Washington fire managers say they’ve seen a significant number of wildfires in “every corner of the state.” So far this year, the state Department of Natural Resources says it has responded to more than 468 wildfires of varying sizes – nearly double the 10-year average for an entire fire season. But this year’s unprecedented uptick in the number of fires has an unforeseen Read More
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