Latest Fire weather News

Fire burns in the grass near Bumbalong, south of the Australian capital, Canberra, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. The threat is posed by a blaze on Canberra's southern fringe that has razed more than 21,500 hectares (53,000 acres) since it was sparked by heat from a military helicopter landing light on Monday, the Emergency Services Agency said. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australia wildfires probe recommends climate risk forecasts

Oct. 30, 2020 1:10 AM EDT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An investigation into Australia’s catastrophic wildfire season on Friday recommended greater efforts to forecast the impacts of climate change on specific parts of the country, warning fire behavior was becoming more extreme. The Royal Commission into National Natural...

A helicopter drops water as firefighters walk with drip torches to set a backfire against the Blue Ridge Fire on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Chino Hills, Calif. Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included hurricane-level winds, the main utility in Northern California cut power to nearly 1 million people while its counterpart in Southern California pulled the plug on just 30 customers to prevent power lines and other electrical equipment from sparking a blaze. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Evacuation orders lifted for many Californians who fled fire

Oct. 29, 2020 12:20 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of Californians were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday as calmer winds helped firefighters beat back two wind-driven wildfires that had spurred widespread evacuations. Roughly 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate Monday after the wildfires broke out in brushy hills...

The Blue Ridge Fire burns along the 71 state highway Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Chino Hills, Calif. Crews tried to beat back two out-of-control wildfires in Southern California on Tuesday that have kept tens of thousands of people out of their homes even as another round of dangerous fire weather raises the risk for flames erupting across the state. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Utility: Winds too weak to cut power before California fire

Oct. 28, 2020 12:49 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included hurricane-level winds, the main utility in Northern California cut power to nearly 1 million people while its counterpart in Southern California pulled the plug on just 30 customers to prevent power lines and other electrical...

A man leaves his home during a mandatory fire evacuate as smoke from the Silverado Fire fills the air, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Utility says its equipment may have sparked California blaze

Oct. 27, 2020 1:44 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California Edison said its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuation orders for some 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters on Monday as powerful winds across the state prompted power to be cut to hundreds of thousands to prevent...

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, file photo, Thomas Henney, left, and Charles Chavira watch a plume spread over Healdsburg, Calif., as the LNU Lightning Complex fires burn. Deadly wildfires in California have burned more than 4 million acres (6,250 square miles) this year — more than double the previous record for the most land burned in a single year in the state. California fire officials said the state hit the astonishing milestone Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 with about two months remaining in the fire season. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Californians see power shutoffs as winds, fire danger rise

Oct. 25, 2020 11:17 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Californians lost power as utilities sought to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires and the fire-weary state braced for a new bout of dry, windy weather. More than 1 million people were expected be in the dark Monday during what officials...

FILE - In this April 16, 2020, file photo, a Pacific Gas & Electric sign is displayed on the exterior of a PG&E building in San Francisco. Pacific Gas & Electric will cut power to over 1 million people on Sunday to prevent the chance of sparking wildfires as extreme fire weather returns to the region, the utility announced Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

California girds for most dangerous fire weather of year

Oct. 24, 2020 11:00 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California, which has endured its worst wildfire season in history, is bracing for the most dangerous winds of the year, a forecast that prompted the largest utility to announce plans to cut power Sunday to nearly 1 million people to guard against its equipment sparking new blazes....

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020 file photo, A Pacific Gas and Electric worker looks up at the advancing Creek Fire along Highway 168 near Alder Springs, Calif. Pacific Gas & Electric will cut power to over 1 million people on Sunday to prevent the chance of sparking wildfires as extreme fire weather returns to the region, the utility announced Friday. Oct. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

PG&E may cut power to over 1 million people in California

Oct. 24, 2020 3:15 AM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric may cut power to over 1 million people on Sunday to prevent the chance of sparking wildfires as extreme fire weather returns to the region, the utility announced Friday. The nation's largest utility said it could black out customers in 38 counties —...

Smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire fills the sky Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020 in Masonville, Colo. Strong winds fanned two Rocky Mountain wildfires Wednesday, prompting new evacuation orders as one of them spread toward communities that lie outside Rocky Mountain National Park (Bethany Baker/Fort Collins Coloradoan via AP)

Strong winds fan Colorado's largest recorded wildfire

Oct. 17, 2020 6:18 PM EDT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The largest wildfire in Colorado history grew overnight as high winds pushed the blaze through rural communities and the forecast predicts more “extreme fire behavior” on Saturday. Gusts of up to 70 mph (112 kph) overnight created “very significant" fire...

Bikers ride through the Montclair district of Oakland, Calif., where power is turned off, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Pacific Gas & Electric has cut power to portions of Northern California hoping to prevent wildfires during hot, windy weather throughout the region. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Power cut to thousands in California to prevent wildfires

Oct. 15, 2020 9:53 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thousands of people in wine country were without power Thursday amid a fall heat wave that brought another round of extreme wildfire danger to large portions of already battered Northern California. Pacific Gas and Electric cut power starting Wednesday evening to more than 45,000...

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2020, file photo, taken at 11:18 a.m., is a dark orange sky above Crissy Field and the city caused by heavy smoke from wildfires in San Francisco. Wildfires that scorched huge swaths of the West Coast churned out massive plumes of choking smoke that blanketed millions of people with hazardous pollution that spiked emergency room visits and that experts say could continue generating health problems for years. An Associated Press analysis of air quality data shows 5.2 million people in five states were hit with hazardous levels of pollution for at least a day. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Wildfire smoke in US exposes millions to hazardous pollution

Oct. 15, 2020 11:33 AM EDT

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch huge swaths of the U.S. West Coast have exposed millions of people to hazardous pollution levels, causing emergency room visits to spike and potentially thousands of deaths among the elderly and infirm, according to an...

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