Lichen burns cool and quick, while spruce burns slow and hot.
Wildfire
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Is aerial firefighting worth it?
Aerial firefighting is dangerous, expensive and environmentally damaging. So why do we do it?
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
When the wildfire season never ends
As fire season gets longer, fire managers scramble to keep up.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Young men and fire
Review of “On the Burning Edge: A Fateful Fire and the Men Who Fought It” by Kyle Dickman.
Posted inArticles
The 2015 fire season hasn’t broken any all-time records — yet
The usually fire-prone Southwest has burned less than the Pacific Northwest, California and Alaska.
Posted inArticles
Climate-vulnerable pikas may be surprisingly resilient to wildfire
These high-elevation creatures may find insulation in talus fields, according to new research.
Posted inArticles
Hot times usher in early Northwest wildfire season
While Oregon and Washington broil, the Southwest and Southern Rockies enjoy a welcome reprieve of moisture
Posted inArticles
Rains bring incomplete drought relief to parts of Southwest
Snowpack is above normal in spots, but doesn’t make up for its lack earlier in the year.
Posted inArticles
More Alaskan forests are burning, not just due to climate change
Populated areas are seeing a large increase in wildfire, despite suppression efforts.
Posted inArticles
Congress considers treating wildfire like other natural disasters
The proposal to use emergency funding faces a key obstacle: Sen. Murkowski.
Posted inArticles
Don’t blame bark beetles for fire risk
A new study suggests hot dry weather, not beetles, make forests go up in smoke.
Posted inArticles
Drought persists in the Northwest, despite winter rains
Water supplies and drought outlooks are grim in most Western states.
Posted inArticles
The art – and science – of forecasting wildfires
This model could eliminate guesswork and predict fire according to geography.
Posted inArticles
Early start to wildfire season
Blazes in California and Utah have officials on alert, but what they spell for the coming season is unclear.
Posted inArticles
When the atmosphere ‘goes bananas,’ wildfires do too
2011’s huge wildfires and what they portend. Spoiler: More dead trees.
Posted inArticles
Female firefighters threaten to sue the Forest Service — again
Four decades after the first allegations of discrimination, some say little has changed.
Posted inArticles
How the hot and dry West is killing Rocky Mountain forests
A new report summarizes how climate change is accelerating tree death from fires, bark beetles and drought
Posted inSeptember 1, 2014: Lost in the Woods
Lost in the woods
How the Forest Service is botching its biggest restoration project.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2014: Lost in the Woods
Smoke and mirrors
Congress can’t seem to solve a big problem: how to pay for battling wildfires.
Posted inArticles
Forest Service’s mission goes up in flames
New report shows long-term firefighting costs eroding most other work.