Jul 28 Watch 10:33 Iraq’s record crop yield threatened by suspicious fires By Simona Foltyn Iraq is nearing record wheat production this year, even as widespread fires have destroyed thousands of acres of farmland in minority Sunni Arab and Yazidi communities. The Islamic State once terrorized the region in northern Iraq, where disputes over land… Continue watching
Jul 03 Watch 5:52 How Brian Fies used art to process a devastating wildfire By John Yang, Kira Wakeam For award-winning writer and cartoonist Brian Fies, life will forever be divided into before and after October 9, 2017 -- the date Northern California’s devastating Tubbs Fire devoured his home. In its aftermath, Fies felt compelled to process the trauma… Continue watching
Jun 09 Watch 6:07 With rise in wildfires, prescribed burns may be a solution One of the worst wildfire seasons in U.S. history took place in 2018, including catastrophic blazes in California that killed nearly 100 people. As this year's fire season ramps up, a new report shows how the use of prescribed fires… Continue watching
May 15 Cal Fire officials say PG&E equipment sparked deadly California wildfire By Janie Har, Associated Press The San Francisco-based utility sparked the Nov. 8 fire in the Pulga area that nearly destroyed Paradise and killed 85 people. Continue reading
May 08 Watch 8:56 How scientists are trying to predict wildfire movement By Miles O'Brien It’s been six months since the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California history, the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and burned 19,000 structures in November 2018. But even at the peak of the inferno, some scientists moved toward… Continue watching
Jan 30 In hearing, judge accuses PG&E of putting profits ahead of wildfire safety By Sudhin Thanawala, Associated Press A U.S. judge berated Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Wednesday, accusing the nation's largest utility of enriching shareholders instead of clearing trees that can fall on its power lines and start fires and making "excuses" to avoid turning off… Continue reading
Jan 11 Watch 2:24 Shutdown impact: Training, preparation for fighting wildfires An unexpected impact of the government shutdown: canceled training for wildland firefighters. With wildfires becoming more frequent, firefighters have a shorter off-season to prepare. Now that compressed window for training and gear acquisition has become even shorter due to the… Continue watching
Dec 12 California fires insurance claims at $9 billion and expected to rise By Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press Collectively, the fires destroyed or damaged more than 20,000 structures, with the vast majority in and around Paradise. On Tuesday, state and federal authorities estimated it will cost at least $3 billion just to clear debris. Continue reading
Dec 05 Paradise residents can begin to go home weeks after deadly blaze began By Don Thompson, Associated Press Evacuation orders were being lifted for all neighborhoods in the eastern side of the town of Paradise, where the fire that started Nov. 8 destroyed about 14,000 homes and killed at least 85 people, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said… Continue reading
Nov 30 8 numbers that tell the grim story of California’s wildfires By Vicky Stein The overall damage to the state after the 2018 wildfire season has been predicted, by one estimate, to top $400 billion, which could make it the most expensive slew of natural disasters in the history of the United States. Continue reading