When hotter and drier means more – but eventually less – wildfire
Not all forests respond to hotter and drier conditions in the same way.
Not all forests respond to hotter and drier conditions in the same way.
Over 50 fire ecologists across the Western U.S. took an unprecedented look at how forests in thousands of locations are recovering from fire in a changing climate. The results were alarming.
More homes are burning in wildfires in nearly every Western state. The reason? Humans.
Nearly 22 million people lived within 3 miles of a US wildfire in the past two decades. A new study tracking their locations flips the script on who is at risk.
Much disaster reporting simply chronicles events, but good journalism digs deeper and examines causes. Stories about Colorado wildfires have raised questions about risk, especially on fire anniversaries.
Alarmingly, about half the people exposed to wildfires in Washington and Oregon were those least able to afford to protect their homes, evacuate safely and recover.
Adapting to our fiery future means preparing for the risks and not putting out every low-risk wildfire, writes the author of a new book on learning to live with fire.
A review of more than 40 years of wildfire activity in the western U.S. demonstrates the potent effect drier, warming spring seasons, due to climate change, is having on wildfires.
Human exposure to wildfires in the US more than doubled in the past two decades. A climate scientist looks at who is at risk and why.
In a part of Washington state hit hard by extreme fire, a fire ecologist explains how prescribed burns and thinning can make the land more fire-resilient.