Aug 13 Northwest heat wave spurs help for vulnerable residents By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press Oregon volunteers are scrambling to hand out water to homeless people in Portland's isolated encampments as the Pacific Northwest sweats through a heat wave that is gripping the normally temperate region. Continue reading
Aug 02 Watch 8:09 Severe drought reignites decades-old conflict between Oregon ranchers, Indigenous peoples By Stephanie Sy, Leah Nagy Vast stretches of the Western U.S. are suffering under scorching temperatures, rampant wildfires and a years-long drought that's depleting lakes and reservoirs. The water scarcity is tearing apart one southern Oregon community where farmers, native tribes and endangered species are… Continue watching
Aug 01 Evacuations lifted as progress made against western fires By Associated Press Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California. Continue reading
Jul 29 Wells dry up amid Oregon water woes By Gillian Flaccus, Nathan Howard, Associated Press Dozens of domestic wells have gone dry in an area near the Oregon-California border where the American West's worsening drought has taken a particularly dramatic toll. Continue reading
Jul 27 Watch 2:07 Uniquely challenging West U.S. wildfires usher in a ‘new era of firefighting’ By Stephanie Sy Firefighters in parts of the western U.S. were hoping for help from cooler weather Tuesday, but there's still no end in sight to a plague of wildfires — including one in Northern California that keeps growing. Stephanie Sy reports. Continue watching
Jul 27 Western wildfire battles aided by weather but losses grow By Associated Press In southern Oregon, improved weather is helping the fight against the massive Bootleg Fire, but new damage assessments show 161 residences have been destroyed. Continue reading
Jul 25 Watch Most fire victims are still waiting to be paid by PG&E’s Fire Victim Fund, investigation finds By PBS NewsHour As the Dixie fire ravages northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric has admitted that its equipment could have sparked it. The utility company has sparked fires before, including the deadly Camp fire in 2018. As it emerged from bankruptcy last… Continue watching
Jul 24 Wildfires blasting through West draw states to lend support By Nathan Howard, Associated Press Out-of-state crews headed to Montana Saturday to battle a blaze that injured five firefighters as the West struggled with a series of fires that have ravaged rural lands and destroyed homes. Continue reading
Jul 23 Crews make progress on huge Oregon blaze amid Western wildfires By Nathan Howard, Associated Press The Bootleg Fire, which has scorched an area half the size of Rhode Island, is 40% surrounded after burning some 70 homes. Fire officials say they've surrounded much of the bottom half. Continue reading
Jul 20 Watch 5:08 West U.S. wildfires are so extreme that they’re creating lightning, fire whirls By William Brangham, Courtney Norris More than 80 large fires are burning in 13 states across the U.S. currently, impacting nearly 1.3 million acres. One of the worst remains in Southern Oregon — the Bootleg Fire. It has been burning for two weeks and has… Continue watching