Robert Schaulis - Times-Standard, Eureka, Calif. Last week, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus, introduced legislation to the Senate designed to “fix our forests.” A bipartisan bill cosponsored by Sens. John...
Californians Urged to Prepare Now for Fire Season
Darrell Smith - The Sacramento Bee SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians must fortify their homes against the ongoing threat of wildfire home by home, neighbor by neighbor and community by community. That’s the message state and local fire authorities are working to...
Wildfire in Sheridan County (ND) Injures Two Firefighters
BRAD NYGAARD and BLAKE NICHOLSON The Bismarck Tribune, N.D. (TNS) Two firefighters were injured while helping battle a wildfire in Sheridan County over the weekend, and one of them was flown to a Twin Cities burn hospital. The blaze Saturday also destroyed a wildland...
Evacuations Ordered for McDowell County (NC) Wildfire
The McDowell News, Marion, N.C. (TNS) Firefighters were on the scene of a wildfire in northern McDowell County Tuesday afternoon. Evacuations were ordered for the area around the fire. As of 4:15 p.m., emergency personnel were managing the fire on Armstrong Creek...
Steve Soboroff Bows out as L.A. Fire Recovery Czar, With Some Parting Shots
Julia Wick Los Angeles Times (TNS) LOS ANGELES — In his last week as L.A.'s fire recovery czar, Steve Soboroff said he was shut out of high-level planning almost from the start, raising questions about why Mayor Karen Bass chose him and whether rebuilding from the...
State, Federal Cuts Leave Unanswered Questions for Wildfire Season
Luke Thompson - Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash. Apr. 10—When the Retreat Fire exploded into a serious threat for people and homes last summer, forcing the closure of U.S. Highway 12 for three and a half weeks, it took the combined efforts of several agencies to contain...
HI Hotel, Cruise Ship Tax Hike Aims to Reduce Wildfire, Climate Risk
Dan Nakaso The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (TNS) Tourists would collectively pay millions of dollars more each year to stay in Hawaii hotels and on cruise ships to help the state address climate change and reduce the risk of future wildfires under a bill approved Tuesday...
MT Senator, Who Started Aerial Firefighting Company, Wants to End USFS Aircraft Inspections
JOSHUA MURDOCK - Independent Record, Helena, Mont. U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Republican representing Montana and the founder of multi-national aerial firefighting company Bridger Aerospace, is trying to end annual U.S. Forest Service inspections of aircraft contracted...
Wildfire in Syracuse (NY): 30-Foot Flames, Blowing Embers, Smoke Seen for Miles, Acres Burned
Darian Stevenson - syracuse.com Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse firefighters Wednesday night fought back a wildfire with 30-foot flames and blowing burning embers in a scene that looked more like California than Central New York. Around 6:57 p.m., fire crews got the call...
Officials at L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management Not to Blame for West Altadena Alert Failures, Sources Say
Rebecca Ellis, Terry Castleman and Grace Toohey Los Angeles Times (TNS) LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County emergency management officials responsible for sending evacuation alerts were not instructed to notify west Altadena residents until long after the Eaton fire...
CA Wildfires Are Burning Deeper Into Urban Areas and Finding New Victims
Summer Lin and Terry Castleman Los Angeles Times (TNS) LOS ANGELES — As California struggles to defend itself against increasingly destructive urban wildfires, recent fire deaths in Altadena highlight what researchers say is a growing trend in victim demographics. Up...
Evacuations Failed and 85 People Died During CA’s Deadliest Wildfire. What Are Lessons for L.A.?
Jenny Jarvie - Los Angeles Times (TNS) LOS ANGELES — A spark from a malfunctioning transmission line ignited a fire. Before long, gale-force winds whipped the flames into a mighty firestorm that tore through the Sierra Nevada foothills at the rate of one football...