Latest Wildfires News

North Dakota wildfire victim was about to return home to South Africa for the birth of his daughter

Oct. 08, 2024 18:05 PM EDT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A South African man who died due to a North Dakota wildfire over the weekend was planning to return to his wife within weeks in time for the birth of their first child. Nicolaas van Eeden, 26, died Saturday due to smoke inhalation after he was driving home to...

Critical locked gate overlooked in investigation of Maui fire evacuation

Oct. 08, 2024 16:19 PM EDT

The state attorney general’s latest report on the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire flagged various locked gates that blocked people trying to flee as flaws in Maui’s evacuation planning. Yet a padlocked gate where the largest cluster of Lahaina wildfire fatalities occurred was not...

This Montana Senate candidate said his opponent ate 'lobbyist steak.' But he lobbied—with steak

Oct. 08, 2024 14:45 PM EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — During an October debate, Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy denounced his Democratic opponent, Sen. Jon Tester, for ” eating lobbyist steak ″ while the Republican fought in Afghanistan. But Sheehy himself had a taste for red meat and lobbying,...

Researchers say poverty and unemployment are up in Lahaina after last year's wildfires

Oct. 08, 2024 14:11 PM EDT

HONOLULU (AP) — Unemployment and poverty are up and incomes are down among Maui wildfire survivors more than a year after a deadly blaze leveled historic Lahaina, a report published Tuesday found. The poverty rate among survey respondents more than doubled since the August 2023...

Weekend wildfires lead to 1 death, large areas burned in western North Dakota

Oct. 07, 2024 22:38 PM EDT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Wildfires driven by ferocious winds and fueled by dry conditions raged through parts of western North Dakota over the weekend, leading to one death and forcing more than 100 people to evacuate their homes. Officials don't expect the region's tinder-dry conditions to improve...

After the deluge, the lies: Misinformation and hoaxes about Helene cloud the recovery

Oct. 05, 2024 12:05 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The facts emerging from Hurricane Helene's destruction are heartrending: Businesses and homes destroyed, whole communities nearly wiped out, hundreds of lives lost, hundreds of people missing. Yet this devastation and despair is not enough for the extremist...

The Latest: Harris campaigns in Wisconsin and Trump in Michigan in battle for 'blue wall' states

Oct. 03, 2024 19:01 PM EDT

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is opening a two-day stay in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Republican candidate Donald Trump will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania. ...

Hurricane Helene brings climate change to forefront of the presidential campaign

Oct. 03, 2024 15:25 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign after the issue lingered on the margins for months. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two days...

Residents of landslide-stricken city in California to get financial help

Oct. 03, 2024 13:04 PM EDT

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) — As much as $10,000 will be distributed to some residents of a peninsula on the edge of Los Angeles where worsening landslides have damaged homes and led to utility shutoffs. The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on Tuesday allocated $2.8 million...

Deadly Maui fire erupted from earlier blaze believed to have been extinguished, investigation finds

Oct. 02, 2024 20:00 PM EDT

HONOLULU (AP) — The wildfire that killed at least 102 people on Maui last year erupted from an earlier brushfire, sparked by downed power lines, that firefighters believed they had extinguished, officials confirmed Wednesday as they presented their findings on the cause. The Aug....