Dry conditions across the West follow a hot, dry year of record-setting wildfires in 2020. Communities were left with scenes like this, from California’s Creek Fire.
Amir Aghakouchak/University of California Irvine
Drought conditions are so bad, fish hatcheries are trucking their salmon to the ocean and ranchers are worried about having enough water for their livestock.
Fire in one part of a community can contaminate the water system used by other residents, as Santa Rosa, California, discovered after the Tubbs Fire.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Combining evidence from archaeology, geochronology and paleoenvironmental science, researchers identified how ancient humans by Lake Malawi were the first to substantially modify their environment.
The celebration of Nowruz in Tehran in 2014.
AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
Last week, much of the Midwest and eastern US experienced hazy skies and red sunsets. The cause was smoke transported from the Western US by the jet stream and spread as far as Boston and even Europe.
A late season fire in Bwabwata National park.
Conor Eastment
Evidence shows Native Americans in New England lived lightly on the land for thousands of years. It wasn’t until Europeans arrived that the landscape experienced major human impacts.
The 235 Gosford Apartments, one week after the tragic Nov. 15 2019 fire.
Jack Rozdilsky
A fire in Toronto’s Black Creek neighbourhood displaced hundreds of people. One person died of smoke inhalation. The after-disaster response reveals some of the challenges faced by urban communities.
If you’ve ever put wet wood on to a fire, you may have noticed it makes a lot more noise than dry wood.
Shutterstock
Emergency responders and military personnel need to think creatively – even imaginatively – to save lives under pressure. Analyzing the Grenfell Tower Fire in London reveals useful lessons.
Focus on the fire service.
John Gomez/Shutterstock.
It will take time to digest the details of the 830-plus page report from phase one of the inquiry, but there are clear improvements to be made.
Aborigines Using Fire to Hunt Kangaroos, by Joseph Lycett. New research suggests the assumption Aboriginal people lived in open vegetation sustained by fire is misplaced.
National Library of Australia
History has told us Aboriginal people in Tasmania almost exclusively occupied open plains. Revelations to the contrary could transform modern conservation.
Don’t blame climate change for the 39,000 forest fires now incinerating huge tracts of the Brazilian Amazon. This environmental catastrophe is human-made and highly political.
Fighting fire during training session.
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