News
‘Like an Inferno:’ US West Burning at Furious Pace
By MARCIO J. SANCHEZ and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires are on a furious pace early this year — from a California hilltop where mansions with multimillion-dollar Pacific Ocean views were torched to remote New Mexico mountains...
Red Bluff (CA) Firefighter, 26, Dies Preparing Prescribed Burn
Wildland firefighter Darin Banks of Red Bluff died Friday when a dead tree fell on him. Banks was assigned to a Type II Initial Attack Hand Crew working to prepare an area for prescribed burning in Tuolumne County, according to Firestorm Wildland Fire Suppression...
Owl With Melted Wing Tips Rescued After Falling from Burning Tree in AZ Wildfire
Helena Wegner - The Charlotte Observer A firefighter was working on a southern Arizona wildfire when he saw burning oak trees in the distance, park officials said. Jason Shafer, a Sierra Vista firefighter, and another crew member headed toward the burning trees on May...
New Mexico Fire Costs Top $65M; Closes in on Taos
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press Many homes near America's largest wildfire survived the latest barrage of howling winds and erratic flames but New Mexico's governor said Tuesday the risk of more destruction is high and that the long-term costs of recovering...
Record Fleet of Super Scooper Aircraft Assembled at Santa Fe (NM)
A quick look at the airport in Santa Fe and the casual observer might think there was a convention of super scooper aircraft in town. That's because the location of multiple wildland fires in the Southwest makes the airport the perfect base of operations for both...
‘Unrelenting’ Fire Seasons Putting New Mental Strain on Crews That Fight Fires
Rick Hurd - Bay Area News Group Firefighter Chuck Stark summed up life in the 2020s for crews at the Contra Costa Fire Protection District and throughout the state: “If I could describe it in one word: Unrelenting,” he said. “There used to be an ebb and a flow to...
Fire Crews Close in Around Massive NM Wildfire
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — Firefighters in New Mexico took advantage of diminished winds Thursday to build more fire lines and clear combustible brush near homes close to the fringes of the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. They did so ahead of what is expected to be...
President Declares Disaster in New Mexico Wildfire Zone
By CEDAR ATTANASIO and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — Firefighters slowed the advance of the largest wildfire in the U.S. as heavy winds relented Wednesday, while President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration that brings new...
NM Governor Seeking US Disaster Status for Wildfire
By CEDAR ATTANASIO and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's governor on Tuesday asked President Joe Biden to declare a disaster as firefighters scrambled to clear brush, build fire lines and spray water to keep the largest blaze...
As Wildfire Closes in, New Mexico Residents Prepare to Flee
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — Wind-whipped flames raced across more of New Mexico’s pine-covered mountainsides on Monday, closing in on a town of 13,000 people where some residents hurried to pack their cars with belongings, others hustled to clear brush from around their...
‘Wall of fire’ Forces Evacuations Near Flagstaff (AZ)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town Tuesday, ripping through two-dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. Flames as high as 100 feet (30 meters) raced...
