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.
Restoring forest landscapes through active thinning and letting fires burn in order to minimize fire damage has proved harder and less effective than advocates believed, says historian of 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.
Paul Roundy, University at Albany, State University of New York
Yes, climate change is creating conditions for the extraordinary wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, but El Niño played a bigger role, says atmospheric scientist.
Last year, fires burned 2 million hectares of peatlands in Indonesia. The country wants to restore them. But first it needs to know the extent and depth of its peatlands.
While Indonesia has taken steps to address the worst forest fires in living memory, a new palm oil alliance with Malaysia threatens to take a giant leap back.
Federal agencies pay much of the cost to fight forest fires, which means taxpayers are subsidizing the risky practice of building more homes at the wildland-urban interface.
Scientists and policymakers - aware of the extreme dry season of El Nino - have warned of fires in Indonesia months in advance. Why then, do fires continue to blaze and what is being done about it?
The US West – suffering one of the most damaging wildfire seasons this decade – needs to break with current practices to avert more costly and dangerous wildfires in the future.