March 19, 2019
Inside the inferno: How large firenadoes form
At 7:30 p.m. on July 26, 2018, the Carr Fire, which devastated the Redding, Calif., region, reached a terrifying crescendo as tornado-strength …
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Wildfire
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25 articles · Page 1 of 2
February 13, 2019
Comment: After a disaster, should you gamble on returning? Paradise edition
Rumor has it that Paradise, Calif., might have originally been named “Par-O-Dice,” after a saloon that was supposedly there during the gold rush …
September 7, 2018
Sunny Southern California burns, missing its coastal clouds
Coastal Southern California is famous for cloudless blue skies all summer long, but it hasn’t always been that way. A new study indicates that …
January 9, 2018
Down to Earth With: Wildfire meteorologist Craig Clements
Not many people are able to combine their work and hobbies the way Craig Clements, a meteorologist at San Jose State University in California, …
January 9, 2018
A flammable planet: Fire finds its place in Earth history
We owe Earth as we know it to fire. Fire-prone ecosystems cover 40 percent of the land surface today, and fires play a key role in maintaining …
December 14, 2017
Western wildfires affect water quality
Wildfires have burned increasing acreage in recent decades, a trend that’s expected to continue with global climate change. In the U.S. West, the …
September 19, 2017
Benchmarks: October 8, 1871: The deadliest wildfire in American history incinerates Peshtigo, Wisconsin
On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire burned through 900 hectares of the city, killing as many as 300 people and leaving another 100,000 …
August 17, 2017
Ancient wildfires suggest rising atmospheric oxygen helped end past ocean anoxia
Many times throughout Earth’s history, oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have decreased dramatically in episodes called oceanic anoxic events …
January 26, 2017
Burning grass releases more nitrogen pollution than burning wood
Smoke from fires — whether from wildfires or from residential and agricultural grass and crop burning — carries pollutants into the air that …
November 15, 2016
Smokier U.S. West as climate changes
Extended wildfire seasons and larger and more frequent burns will likely be the consequence of the hotter and drier conditions expected to result …
October 18, 2016
Cave dripwater records wildfires
Water seeps through soil and bedrock before dripping from the roof of a cave and carries with it elements of the outside world and its climate …
August 16, 2016
Firefighting gets a leg up from earthquake sensor networks
Seismic networks monitor ground motion in earthquake-prone regions like California and Nevada. Now, they may also help combat other natural …
July 6, 2016
Benchmarks: February 7, 2009: Deadliest day of fire ever recorded in Australia
On Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, John Brumby, premier of the Australian state of Victoria, warned the public of the high risk of wildfires that weekend: …
October 15, 2015
Santa Ana winds get a fiery boost from the stratosphere
Southern California’s Santa Ana winds have long been implicated in the region’s dangerous and destructive wildfires. Now, a new study in …
July 16, 2015
Bark beetles not to blame for big fires?
Since the mid-1990s, outbreaks of voracious bark beetles have devastated more than 71,000 square kilometers of forests in the Rocky Mountain …
May 4, 2015
Flames fan lasting fallout from Chernobyl
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded during a catastrophic meltdown, spewing radioactivity over Eastern …
April 3, 2015
Fire-driven clouds and swirling winds whipped up record-setting New Mexico blaze
At about 1 p.m. on June 26, 2011, a wind-downed power line sparked a blaze in the Las Conchas area of Santa Fe National Forest. It would become …
August 27, 2013
Bare Earth Elements: Rim Fire Roundup
[UPDATED Aug. 27, 3:15 p.m. EDT: According to the most recent information from Cal Fire, the burn area has now grown to 726 square kilometers …
May 28, 2013
Drought outlook indicates further problems in Plains and West
A devastating drought currently affects almost half of the contiguous U.S., with conditions expected to persist or intensify in many of these …
May 20, 2013
N.E.O.N.: Studying critical ecological issues on a continental scale
On the morning of June 9, 2012, a column of thick smoke was seen rising from Roosevelt National Forest 24 kilometers west of Fort Collins, Colo. …
August 7, 2012
Policy in the Field: U.S. fire policy in the wake of catastrophic fire seasons
Somebody turn down the heat! Almost every region of the U.S. was on fire at some point in June. The fourth-hottest June on record in the United …
January 20, 2012
Voices: Wildfires and debris flows: Federal mud
“Los Angeles weather is the weather of catastrophe, of apocalypse, and, just as the reliably long and bitter winters of New England determine the …
January 5, 2012
When wildfires attack: Should I stay or should I go?
As California enters its third consecutive year of drought, officials are standing by for the state’s wildfire season, set to peak later this …
January 5, 2012
Trial by Fire
What makes a fire burn? In addition to fuel (such as wood or paper) and heat, fires need oxygen. If there isn’t enough oxygen in the atmosphere, …