New Mexico's governor has asked for a presidential disaster declaration to help get more money into her state as it battles the largest wildfire burning in the U.S.
12 days ago
CEDAR ATTANASIO and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press
Wind-whipped flames are marching across more of New Mexico’s tinder-dry mountainsides, forcing the evacuation of area residents and dozens of patients from the state's psychiatric hospital as firefighters scramble to keep new wildfires from growing.
As spring temperatures increase, wildland firefighters and public land managers are anticipating and preparing for what could be another challenging fire season.
A fast-moving wildfire in rural northern Arizona ballooned to over 9 square miles Tuesday as winds whipped the flames, shut down a major highway and grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant. About a couple hundred homes along U.S. 89, north of Flagstaff, were evacuated.
26 days ago
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and PAUL DAVENPORT, Associated Press
Firefighters are battling a wind-driven blaze that has burned at least 150 homes, barns and other structures in a mountain community in drought-stricken New Mexico.
Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation's largest utility, has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires sparked by its aging Northern California power lines and submit to five years of oversight in an attempt to prevent more deadly blazes.
A wildfire south of Boulder that forced nearly 20,000 people to flee was listed at 21% contained and most evacuations had been lifted by Sunday morning, officials with Boulder Fire-Rescue said.
Emergency officials say 19,000 Colorado residents are being ordered to evacuate Saturday due to a fast-moving wildfire in the area of a destructive 2021 blaze.
Utah saw a remarkable turnaround during last year’s fire season despite a record-setting drought. The 2021 Utah Wildfire Annual Report released Monday showed Utah had 922 fewer fires in 2021 compared to 2020, a 62% decrease.
Most people safely evacuated from a fast-moving Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes last week. But dozens of homeowners either had pets who died, had to scramble to find them or still don’t know the fate of their dogs or cats.
A Colorado official says nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed, hundreds more were damaged, and that three people are missing after a wildfire charred numerous neighborhoods in a suburban area northwest of Denver.
Fire crews made significant progress overnight against a wildfire burning for nearly a week in Southern California coastal mountains, officials said Sunday.
Four famous giant sequoias were not harmed by a wildfire that reached the edge of Giant Forest in California’s Sequoia National Park, authorities said.
Sequoia National Park has been shut down and its namesake gigantic trees are potentially threatened as forest fires burn in steep and dangerous terrain in California’s Sierra Nevada.
President Joe Biden will promote his administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to aid in wildfire preparedness during a Western swing in which he’ll survey wildfire damage in Idaho and California.