By MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Trump administration funding cuts and a loss of federal workers who help support wildland firefighting continues to make planning for the upcoming wildfire season a challenge, according to forest and fire officials in...
WA Lawmakers Slash Wildfire Budget in Half
Isabella Breda - The Seattle Times May 8—CAMP CAMREC, Chelan COUNTY — The last fire to burn this forest was started by drip torches. Fingers of flame ignited the underbrush last fall, clearing fuels that could supercharge a wildfire. In a tour of the burn area last...
Wildfires Burn Thousands of Acres on Tribal Lands in ND
By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Crews have been fighting at least 16 wildfires throughout North Dakota in the last several days, including several large fires still burning Tuesday across wooded areas and grasslands on the Turtle Mountain...
Homeless Camp in OR National Forest to Be Cleared
BEND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service on Thursday is set to evict dozens of homeless people living in an encampment in a federal forest in central Oregon. The federal agency has been working for years on plans to close part of the Deschutes National Forest near...
Wildfire in NJ Pine Barrens at 75% Containment, Officials Say
WARETOWN, N.J. (AP) — Three-fourths of a vast wildfire in New Jersey's Pine Barrens has been contained, state officials said Monday. The state Forest Fire Service said the blaze in southern New Jersey's Ocean County had grown to nearly 24 square miles (62 square...
Wildfire Burns Thousands of Acres in a Rural, Rugged Area of NE
The Associated Press JOHNSTOWN, Neb. (AP) — A wildfire burning in a rugged, wooded area of Nebraska grew to more than 6,600 acres but by Thursday hundreds of firefighters managed to contain about 40% of the blaze. The Plum Creek Fire started Monday afternoon from a...
Man Charged With Arson After Authorities Say He Sparked NJ Pine Barrens Fire
By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press A man set a bonfire using wooden pallets in New Jersey's Pine Barrens and left them without fully extinguishing the blaze, sparking a quick-moving wildfire with smoke affecting air quality in the New York City area, authorities said...
Wildfire in NJ Pine Barrens Expected to Grow Before It’s Contained
By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press CHATSWORTH, N.J. (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire engulfing part of New Jersey's Pine Barrens has not resulted in any injuries, officials said, though it's expected to grow before forecast rain later this week. The fire in southern...
Pilot Dies After His Helicopter Crashes While Extinguishing a Fire in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A helicopter crashed during an operation to extinguish a fire in southeastern South Korea on Sunday, killing its pilot, the local fire agency said. A local fire office said that the fire at the hill in the city of Daegu had been put out about...
Large SC Wildfires Contained as Teens Charged With Starting Fire With Cigarettes
PICKENS, S.C. (AP) — Two wildfires that started lose to each other in the South Carolina mountains and burned an area over half the size of Hilton Head Island are nearly contained, authorities said. Four teens who did not fully extinguish their cigarettes while hiking...
Firefighters have high levels of PFAS in aftermath of Maui (HI) fires
Nina Wu - The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Maui firefighters who responded to the August 2023 Maui wildfires had the highest levels of “forever chemicals ” known as PFAS in their bloodstream when compared with other first responders a month later. PFAS, or per-fluoroalkyl...
On the Heels of a Dry Winter, Firefighters Around the US Brace for Wildfire Risks
By TY ONEIL and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — From the southwestern U.S. to Minnesota, Iowa and even parts of New Jersey, it seemed that winter never materialized. Many communities marked their driest winters on record, snowpack was...