By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Had emergency responders known about widespread cellphone outages during the height of last summer's deadly Maui wildfires, they would have used other methods to warn about the disaster, county officials said...
A Committee Finds a Decayed and Broken Utility Pole Caused the Largest Wildfire in TX History
By JAYME LOZANO CARVER, The Texas LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A decayed utility pole that broke, causing power wires to fall on dry grass in the Texas Panhandle, sparked the state’s largest wildfire in history, a Texas House committee confirmed Wednesday. And other poorly...
After Maui Fire, HI Lawmakers Budget for Firefighting Equipment and a State Fire Marshal
By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers on Wednesday appropriated funds for more firefighting equipment and a state fire marshal after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the historic Maui town of Lahaina and...
Greece Boosts Special Firefighting Units to Cope With Its Growing Heat Risk
By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press KRYO PIGADI, Greece (AP) — Skimming over miles of hills blackened by wildfires west of Athens, Fire Lt. Col. Ioannis Kolovos readies his elite fire crew crouched inside a helicopter. The 10-member group from the 1st Wildfire...
Growing Wildfire Risk Leaves States Grappling With How to Keep Property Insurers From Fleeing
By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Months after a catastrophic fire burned more than 2,200 homes in Hawaii, some property owners are getting more bad news — their property insurance won't be renewed because their insurance company has deemed the...
Evacuees: Understanding the Other Side of the Fence
By Chad Costa This job is fantastic, and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. Being able to help during someone’s worst day runs deep in all first responders’ blood. However, the past few years have put us all through the wringer. Having been involved with the...
Fire Chief, Four Others Convicted Over Greece’s Deadliest Wildfire
By DEREK GATOPOULOS and COSTAS KANTOURIS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court convicted five former firefighting and disaster response officials on Monday over the deadliest wildfire in the country's history, with more than 100 people killed outside...
After Two Decades, Napa County (CA) Plans Revamp to Cal Fire-Contracted Firefighter Program
Edward Booth - The Press Democrat Apr. 25—Napa County's volunteer fire departments will soon be consolidated under a new plan to create a single chain of command. Beginning in July, the county's nine individual volunteer departments will be placed into the hierarchy...
Wildfire Rips Through Wharton (NJ) State Forest
Jessica Schladebeck New York Daily News (TNS) Emergency crews on Wednesday were working to battle back a wildfire ripping through Wharton State Forest, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. The blaze, dubbed the County Line Wildfire, was sparked sometime...
Corrosion Linked to New Fire Retardant Grounds Two Air Tankers as Forest Service Investigates
Two aerial firefighting jets have been sidelined due to corrosion believed to be caused by a recently approved fire retardant used by the U.S. Forest Service in 2023. Last year, two large air tankers deployed a magnesium chloride-based fire retardant while battling...
Firefighter, Forester, Trail Builder: The First U.S. Climate Corps Jobs Are Here
Alicia Clanton Bloomberg News (TNS) Restoring coastal ecosystems with oysters in Florida, protecting forests from wildfire in California and maintaining a cultural site (the Pearl Harbor National Memorial) in Hawaii: These are a few of the paid positions that job...
Forest Service Seeks Safer, Smarter Way To Burn After Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon (NM) Fire
Maya Hilty - The Santa Fe New Mexican Apr. 21—As Brandon Glenn hiked through a light, open area of the Santa Fe National Forest northeast of the city Thursday morning, he paused and bent over a circle of burned earth about six feet in diameter, skimming the back of...