The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.     Emily Fusco University of Massachusetts Amherst (THE CONVERSATION) The Santa Ana winds that help drive fall and winter wildfires in California have ...

Distribution Fault Anticipation     By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — B. Don Russell wasn’t thinking about preventing a wildfire when he developed a tool to detect power line problems before they cause equipment failures, blackouts or ...

Utility could be held liable for past wildfires     By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The nation’s largest utility said Friday that its distribution lines haven’t sparked any major wildfires since it began shutting off power ...

Experts look at vulnerability of overhead lines     By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Trees toppling onto above-ground power lines spark wildfires, more than 1,000 of them in the last decade in California alone. ...

11 hours on a single access road     By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Conservationists trying to block expansion of the Lake Tahoe ski resort that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics say the developer is ...

CEO says power cuts were well planned     By ADAM BEAM and MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor called the chief executive of a troubled utility to his office on Tuesday for a closed-door meeting ...

Residents return and rebuild after deadliest wildfire     By DON THOMPSON Associated Press PARADISE, Calif. (AP) — There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise. She’d thought she was going to die during the six ...

Several focus on fire resistant homes and surroundings     By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is adopting nearly two dozen laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have charred large swaths of ...

Outages become burdens for smaller, poorer counties     By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When California’s largest utility warned it would cut power to thousands to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during warm, windy ...

Wind-driven fires have raised questions about the limits of fire safe construction     By ANNA HUNTSMAN and JAKE STEINBERG ELFIN FOREST, Calif. (AP) — Elfin Forest is named for the miniature trees that blanket the surrounding ridgeline. The terrain ...