Tag - wildfires

 
 

WILDFIRES

Firefighters tackle a forest fire ravaging the Bolivian Amazon, in San Buenaventura, Bolivia, in November 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 18, 2024
Reading the ruins of Amazon fires, scientists see crisis ahead
Fanned by drought, high winds and human felling, the forest is suffering unprecedented early-year fires.
A utility crew works to restore power in a neighborhood burned by wildfires in Fritch, Texas, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 1, 2024
Homes destroyed and land scorched as Texas battles its largest wildfire ever
While Texas is in midst of its natural fire season — running from January through May — the sheer size of the Smokehouse Creek blaze makes it an outlier.
The aftermath of a wildfire in Villa Independencia, Valparaiso region, Chile on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Feb 5, 2024
Forest fires kill 112 in Chile's worst disaster since 2010 earthquake
Hundreds of people are still missing, authorities say, stoking fears the death toll will keep climbing.
A man sits near the remains of burnt houses following the spread of wildfires in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024
Wildfires threaten 2 Chilean cities, destroying 1,000 homes and killing 46
The disaster comes as Colombia battles its own blazes the mountains around Bogotá, in what officials say is the hottest January there in 30 years.
A Palestinian child cries next to his mother after they were rushed to a hospital following an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 13. Fighting erupted after Hamas conducted a coordianated attack against Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians. More than 20,000 people in Gaza have died in the  conflict, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
WORLD
Dec 27, 2023
Images of 2023: World
Images of 2023: From war in the Gaza Strip and in Ukraine to concerns in Asia over North Korea and China, conflict took center stage in 2023.
A New South Wales firetruck at a hazard reduction burn site in Sydney in September
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 16, 2023
Australia swelters through heat wave amid 'extreme' fire danger
Heat wave alerts were in place for parts of Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Scientists discovered what they described as widespread and dangerous levels of toxic chromium in areas of Northern California severely burned by wildfires in 2019 and 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 15, 2023
Wildfires are unleashing dangerous metals from soil, study shows
Firefighters and anyone living downwind of a wildfire would be at most immediate risk if chromium 6 becomes airborne.
Sections of the forests in Colville, Washington, have already been thinned, allowing trees to grow less densely and reducing the risk for wildfire.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 26, 2023
How to prevent forest fires by building cities with more wood
Not everyone is convinced mass timber will help forest health.
Scarred by the wildfire but still sprouting new leaves, the 150-year-old banyan tree, which for some has become a symbol hope and resilience, in the center of Lahaina, island of Maui in Hawaii, on Aug. 11.
WORLD
Oct 22, 2023
For Maui future, native Hawaiians push for honoring its past
The history of Lahaina is complicated, intertwined with the painful loss of land and sovereignty for Native Hawaiians.
In almost 30 years of fighting wildfire, Art Gonzales has seen blazes grow progressively bigger and stranger.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 20, 2023
‘It’s all-consuming.’ Wildfire whispering is now a year-round job
What was once limited to certain months now encompasses an entire ‘fire year'
Climate activists protest demanding that the World Bank stop fossil fuel financing on the first day of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in Marrakech, Morocco, on Monday
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / ANALYSIS
Oct 13, 2023
Why money matters when taking climate change to court
More litigation funding for climate lawsuits could mean more cases.
In Australia, past El Nino events have led to destructive fire seasons, including the catastrophic Black Summer of 2019-2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023
Australia hoped to dodge wildfires. El Nino has other plans.
The 1983, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2015 fire seasons, some of the most damaging in the country’s history, all occurred during El Nino.
An aerial view of part of the 95,000-hectare Rio Preto-Jacunda State Nature Reserve, in Rondonia State, Brazil, after it was burned down, on Sept. 6.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 25, 2023
Arson turns Amazon reforestation project to ashes
A project that replanted trees in an illegally deforested nature reserve in Brazil was allegedly torched by land-grabbers.
The rubble of a home in Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, on Aug. 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2023
China sows disinformation about Hawaii fires using new techniques
False posts carrying images apparently made using artificial intelligence put China among the first to have used these tools in such a campaign.
Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, last month.
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Sep 9, 2023
Conspiracy theories falsely link wildfires to 'smart cities'
Disinformation about deadly wildfires in the United States and Canada has run rampant across social media.
The remains of the community of Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, is seen after wildfires driven by high winds burned across most of the town last month.
WORLD
Sep 9, 2023
A month after deadly Maui fire, 66 people still missing
The official death toll of the Aug. 8 fire that left the historic town of Lahaina in charred ruins stands at 115 people.
An aircraft drops flame retardant on burning vegetation in Sicily, Italy, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 31, 2023
Climate change boosts risk of extreme wildfires 25%, study finds
In certain partly dry conditions, global warming pushed areas beyond key thresholds, making extreme fires much more likely
Czech firefighters watch smoke rising as a wildfire burns at the Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 30, 2023
Wildfire-preparation tactics every community should consider
Looking at lessons from past disastrous fires, here are steps that can help reduce fire risk at the home and community level.
Birds fly away from rising flames and smoke as a wildfire burns at Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 30, 2023
Wildfire in Greece destroys area bigger than New York City
Fueled by gale force winds and hot weather, the fire quickly spread across the Evros region, killing at least 20 people last week.
The charred remains of Lahaina, a coastal town on the Hawaiian island of Maui, on Aug. 11
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 28, 2023
Extreme weather events are driving climate denialism online
Researchers tracking talk on social media report that some people believe recent climate catastrophes are actually proof that climate change is fake.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores