Wildland Firefighter The Voice of the Wildland Firefighter

Canadian-based company identifies C-130 crew     SYDNEY (AP) — The American tanker plane that crashed while fighting Australian wildfires had just dropped a load of retardant on a fire before it went down in New South Wales state, investigators ...

Crew of three dead while battling wildfire     By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Three American crew members died Thursday when a C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed while battling wildfires in southeastern Australia, officials said. New ...

Government officials are drawing up plans to reseed burned areas     By MATTHEW BROWN and CHRISTINA LARSON Associated Press Australia’s forests are burning at a rate unmatched in modern times and scientists say the landscape is being permanently altered ...

PG&E asserted it’s unrealistic to ensure all trees are maintained     By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday threatened to force Pacific Gas & Electric to hire more tree trimmers to ...

“These pines outlived the dinosaurs,”     By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Specialist firefighters have saved the world’s last remaining wild stand of a prehistoric tree from wildfires that razed forests west of Sydney, officials said ...

The commission is conducting an investigation into how the utility handled power shutoffs     By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A state lawmaker on Wednesday demanded an extensive review of the California Public Utilities Commission ...

County hired two firms to pursue action on utility     SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — A county in Northern California wine country is exploring plans to sue a utility over a massive wildfire last fall that caused losses of $725 ...

Hospital admissions have increased in the smoke-affected cities     By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Fire alarms have been sounding in high-rise buildings across downtown Sydney and Melbourne as dense smoke from distant wildfires confuse electronic ...

Nerrigundah will never be the same     By NICK PERRY and SAM McNEIL Associated Press NERRIGUNDAH, Australia (AP) — Ash Graham’s dog, Kozi, wakes him at 8 a.m., eager for his morning walk. Then Graham realizes he was dreaming, ...

FEMA official lashes out in conference call     By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tensions between the U.S. government and Pacific Gas & Electric are boiling over as the two sides battle over whether a ...