wildfires

Tech News

Conspiracy Theorists Think Mark Zuckerberg Started Myrtle Beach Wildfires

The dumbest people online believe the Meta CEO is using directed energy weapons to start fires from space.

By Matt Novak Published March 3, 2025

Tech NewsPolitics

Trump’s Executive Order Is Making It Harder to Hire Firefighters

Federal firefighters are not exempt from the hiring freeze.

By AJ Dellinger Published February 7, 2025

Tech NewsCrime

Video Game Exec Pleads Guilty to Crashing Drone Into Firefighting Plane During LA Wildfires

He'll pay almost $70,000 to repair the plane and do 150 hours of community service.

By Matthew Gault Published February 4, 2025

A map of LA County showing areas of vegetative buildup.

EartherEarth Science

NASA Satellites Show How California’s Wildfire Crisis Was Years in the Making

A perfect storm of atmospheric rivers and drought since 2022 gave way to a sea of flammable brush.

By Isaac Schultz Published January 31, 2025

Jpl Space Flight Operations Center Side Angle

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

NASA’s Deep Space Mission Control Is Empty for the First Time in 6 Decades as L.A. Wildfires Rage

"It was a very emotional thing, the first time in the 60 years that nobody was actually in the mission control office there at JPL."

By Margherita Bassi Published January 14, 2025

EartherEarth Science

More Winds on the Horizon: What’s Next for L.A.’s Wildfire Crisis

More gusty Santa Ana winds are expected early this week, a stark reminder that there will likely be more destruction before the fires are brought under control.

By Isaac Schultz Published January 13, 2025

ScienceHealth

What You Should Know About Wildfire Smoke in Homes

Wildfire smoke inside homes can create health risks that linger for months. Here are some tips.

Colleen E. Reid, University of Colorado Boulder Published January 11, 2025

The Superscooper Quebec 1 in a file photo at the Van Nuys Airport on September 3, 2014.

EartherClimate Change

Firefighting Aircraft Collides With Some Idiot’s Drone Over Palisades Fire

The SuperScooper Quebec 1 has been grounded from the damage.

By Matt Novak Published January 10, 2025

A stand of dead trees in Yellowstone National Park.

EartherEarth Science

Yellowstone’s Standing Dead Trees Are a Wildfire Disaster Waiting to Happen, Scientists Warn

A spatial analysis of the park's trees revealed its vulnerability to wildfires, especially near infrastructure.

By Isaac Schultz Published January 9, 2025

Dozens of beachfront homes in Malibu, CA were destroyed overnight in the Palisades Fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.

Tech News

Watch Duty App Creator Says He’ll Never Pull an OpenAI

Gizmodo spoke with the creator of the app that provides vital alerts about evacuations.

By Matt Novak Published January 9, 2025

Tech News

Airbnb Offers Free Housing to LA Wildfire Victims

Los Angeles residents forced to evacuate can call 211 to be connected with a free place to stay.

By Thomas Maxwell Published January 8, 2025

People enter an evacuation zone to take selfie photos and videos near burning homes at the Eaton Fire on January 7, 2025 in Pasadena, California.

Earther

Fire Hydrants in L.A. Stop Working as Firefighters Battle Historic Blazes

Two people have died and over 1,000 structures have been destroyed.

By Matt Novak Published January 8, 2025

Wildfire smoke northwest of Santa Monica.

EartherEarth Science

How Supercharged Santa Ana Winds Are Fueling California’s Wildfire Crisis

Parched vegetation and Santa Ana winds are catalyzing extremely hazardous firestorms across L.A. and beyond.

By Isaac Schultz Published January 8, 2025

EartherEarth Science

Landowners in the U.S. Southeast Turn to Ancient Fire Practices as Wildfire Threat Increases

No other part of the country has seen such a sharp rise in the number of big fires. The bigger challenge, though, is getting people to embrace the prescribed burns that can prevent them.

Kate Morgan, Grist Published October 16, 2024

EartherClimate Change

Plagues, Famines, and Fires: How the Jet Stream Shaped History and Threatens Our Future

New research shows that the patterns of Earth’s high winds have led to serious problems on the ground.

Kate Yoder, Grist Published October 4, 2024

ScienceBiology

Electrocuted Birds Are Bursting Into Flames and Starting Wildfires

Power wires normally pose no threat to birds, but that can change if they start trying to find snacks in the wrong places.

By Adam Kovac Published September 5, 2024

Colorado state representative Kyle Brown

EartherEnvironmental Justice

How Marshall Fire Victims in Colorado Turned Tragedy Into Political Change

After the fire destroyed his town in 2021, a state rep took on insurance companies, mortgage lenders, and landlords—and beat them all.

Jake Bittle, Grist Published August 13, 2024

EartherEarth Science

California’s Park Fire Is Creating Smoke Thunderclouds

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds might offer a terrifying peek at the future of wildfires.

Matt Simon, Grist Published July 31, 2024

Earther

‘Wood Vaulting’ Explained: The Climate Solution You’ve Never Heard Of

Forests throughout the West are overgrown and full of flammable vegetation, fueling wildfires and carbon emissions. Could burying it help solve the problem?

Kylie Mohr, Grist Published July 23, 2024