Firefighting

Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety

Lithium-ion battery fires move fast, blaze hot and are tough to extinguish.

  • By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline

6G Promises Immersive Communications for Public Safety

The next-generation cellular network is poised to massively upgrade situational awareness for public safety agencies, experts say.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Controlled Burns Help Prevent Wildfires. Regulations Have Made It Nearly Impossible to Do Them.

Even though the 2021 Marshall Fire made it clear that the fire threat posed by Colorado’s grasslands endangers large urban areas, federal, state and local rules continue to make it difficult to address the risk.

  • By Jennifer Oldham, ProPublica

Spring Wildfires in the Eastern US Got Off to a Roaring Start This Year

It may not be as dramatic as when the West burns, but an unseasonably warm, dry winter could make fire season longer and more intense.

  • By Katie Myers, Grist

With Fire Departments Struggling for Volunteers, States Respond to the Alarm

More than 80% of U.S. fire departments are composed mostly of volunteers.

  • By Alex Brown, Stateline

The Biden Team Announces Pay Raises of Up to $20,000 Annually for Federal Firefighters

The pay increases, authorized as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, will be retroactive to October 2021.

  • By Erich Wagner

Wildfire Burn Scars, Raising Risk of Mudslides—This Is What Cascading Climate Disasters Look Like

Studies show climate change is raising the risk of cascading hazards that alone might not be extreme but add up to human disasters. Communities and government agencies aren’t prepared.

  • By Amir AghaKouchak, The Conversation

Lack of Federal Firefighters Hurts California Wildfire Response

Roughly a third of all federal firefighters work in California, where more than 142,447 acres have burned this year.

  • By Sophie Quinton, Stateline

Over 100 Fire Scientists Urge the US West: Skip the Fireworks This Record-Dry 4th of July

COMMENTARY | In heat and drought like the western U.S. and Canada are experiencing in 2021, all it takes is a spark to start a wildfire.

  • By Philip Higuera, Alexander L. Metcalf, Dave McWethy and Jennifer Balch

Western States Prepare for Battle in Historic Wildfire Season

States are poised to spend hundreds of millions, even billions, in state funding while U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to provide additional relief money quickly.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Rocky Mountain Forests Burning More Now Than Any Time in the Past 2,000 Years

COMMENTARY | Colorado’s East Troublesome Fire jumped the Continental Divide on Oct. 22, 2020, and eventually became Colorado’s second-largest fire on record.

  • By Philip Higuera, Bryan Shuman and Kyra Wolf, The Conversation

California Lacks Federal Firefighters as Dangerous Season Looms

A third of Forest Service fire engines in California likely can’t run every day.

  • By Sophie Quinton, Stateline
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Wildfires Can Poison Drinking Water – Here’s How Communities Can be Better Prepared

COMMENTARY | Communities need to upgrade building codes to keep wildfires from causing this kind of widespread contamination of drinking water systems.

  • By Andrew J. Whelton and Caitlin R. Proctor, The Conversation

Local Police Departments Investigate Whether Their Officers Took Part in Capitol Riot

Police officers, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters attended the pro-Trump rally held before the riot began. Many are now on administrative leave while agencies probe their actions.

  • By Andrea Noble

Fire Official Urges Governors to Be Proactive on Hardening Homes Against Wildfire

Failing to do so, the official said, means “we're just building tomorrow’s problems.”

  • By Bill Lucia

Firefighters Push for Inclusion in First Phase of Covid-19 Vaccines

States are finalizing their vaccine distribution plans, which will determine which critical workers and high-risk people are first in line for a coronavirus vaccination.

  • By Andrea Noble

Land Managers Can’t Burn the West Fast Enough

Prescribed burns, which create buffers against larger fires, can do only so much.

  • By Amanda Monthei, The Atlantic

Tough Fire Season Takes Toll on Firefighters’ Mental Health

Wildland firefighters deploy for weeks or months, working nearly nonstop.

  • By Sophie Quinton, Stateline

Fast Moving Colorado Wildfire Still Raging in State

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Michigan prohibits voters from carrying guns to the polls … Virginia home health workers to get one-time bonus pay … Rhode Island cracks down on break rooms.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

As Wildfires Burn, Assigning Blame Is Complicated

COMMENTARY | Climate change has made environmental catastrophes more frequent and severe. But government missteps are also at fault.

  • By Eve Driver, Undark

California May Need More Fire to Fix its Wildfire Problem

The longstanding default position of suppressing every fire has created problems throughout the West.

  • By Sophie Quinton and Alex Brown, Stateline