If you were pregnant or parenting during Australia’s 2019–20 summer of smoke and fire, chances are you felt acutely anxious – and grappling with impossible responsibility.
A Wyoming Hotshot crew conducts night operations on the Pine Gulch fire in Colorado in August 2020.
Kyle Miller, Wyoming Hotshots, USFS
Working a day on the firelines as a wildland firefighter can require the endurance of riding the Tour de France. That takes a toll, as a physiologist explains.
Many of the people caught in the wildfire that swept through Paradise, Calif., in 2018 were older adults.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by climate change.
Martin Puddy/DigitalVision via Google Images
We used satellite data to create global maps of where and how fires are burning. Fire season lasts two weeks longer than it used to and fires are more intense. But there are regional differences.
The costs of climate change are clear with the flood devastation in Lybia simply being the latest grim example. What is also clear is that traditional policymaking has failed and climate assemblies may provide a novel and more equitable path forward.
(AP Photo/Jamal Alkomaty)
Research shows gender-based violence increases in the aftermath of disasters. Governments must incorporate ways of addressing it into their disaster response plans.
A pine forest in the Canary Islands after a wildfire.
Tamara Kulikova/Shutterstock
An expert in disaster law explains the steps for securing aid, what to do if everything is lost and the deadlines to watch.
A photo taken by a migrant farm worker from a vineyard located in South Kelowna on August 18, 2023. Wildfires have burned large areas in region.
(Cesar Chavez)
Losing power also has real consequences for people’s businesses, livelihoods and potentially their health and safety.
Thick wildfire smoke blankets the landscape near Water Valley, Alta., in May 2023. Evidence linking wildfire smoke with adverse health effects has been accumulating for years.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The notion that wildfire smoke is ‘natural,’ and therefore less harmful than other types of air pollution, is not supported by the evidence. Wildfire smoke has been linked to adverse health effects.
Homeowners and local governments can take steps to help protect homes from fires.
AP Photo/Keith D. Cullom
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.
Thousands of Maui’s cats, dogs and other companion animals went missing or were injured.
Maui Humane Society
The devastating wildfire that destroyed the historic Maui town of Lahaina was still making headlines when Yellowknife issued an evacuation order.
People without vehicles line up in Yellowknife to register for a flight to Alberta; residents were ordered to evacuate the area because of encroaching wildfire.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden
As the mass evacuation of Yellowknife unfolds, the needs of minority populations will emerge. Past experiences indicate emergency officials may not be ready to meet the needs of a diverse population.
Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue University
Wildfire Specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension; Adjunct Professor Bren School of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara