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Articles on Fire

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A red hazy sunset over Indiana caused by wildfire smoke from the Western U.S. SOPA Images/LightRocket va Getty Images

How can smoke from West Coast fires cause red sunsets in New York?

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.
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

Curious Kids: why does wood crackle in a fire?

Water and sap inside the wood make mini explosions as they turn into gas and burst out. That’s why damp wood makes the noisiest fires.
When faced with a wildfire, responders must act quickly and decisively to save lives. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Making life-or-death decisions is very hard – here’s how we’ve taught people to do it better

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.
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

New research turns Tasmanian Aboriginal history on its head. The results will help care for the land

History has told us Aboriginal people in Tasmania almost exclusively occupied open plains. Revelations to the contrary could transform modern conservation.
A fire in the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, in Amazonas state, Brazil, Aug. 17, 2019. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

The Amazon is burning: 4 essential reads on Brazil’s vanishing rainforest

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.
The more fuel there is for the fire to burn, the bigger the fire. Leaves, trees and grass fuel the fire. Flickr/bertknot

Curious Kids: how do bushfires start?

Bushfires require three key ingredients to ignite: heat, fuel and oxygen.
Professional mountain climbers installing synthetic, waterproof tarps over the gutted, exposed exterior of Notre Dame Cathedral. AP Photo/Thibault Camus

Notre Dame has shaped the intellectual life of Paris for eight centuries

The influence of Notre Dame Cathedral extended into every part of the life of Paris. The cathedral school was the training ground for medieval thinkers and the place of birth of the first university.

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