EartherEarth Science

Southern California Is Losing Its Clouds and That’s Bad News For Fire Season

June Gloom season is upon Southern California. For as long as anyone can remember, that’s meant clouds wrapping the landscape in a milky white cocoon as cool, moist ocean air known as the marine layer moves inland. But as with everything in our world, this is now changing. June—and summer as a whole, it turns out—is … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Enormous Wildfires Are Spreading in Siberia

Dry, warm weather has primed Siberia for wildfires this spring. After a moderate outbreak in April, the countryside has lit up in a major way in May. The fires are the latest in a litany of changes taking place in the northern part of the world. Wildfires lit up last week in Russia’s Far East … Continued

EartherEarth Science

A Massive Wildfire Is Spiraling Out of Control in Oklahoma

It’s been a rough start to wildfire season on the Southern Plains. Oklahoma’s third megafire in three years is currently raging across the state, fueled by a spate of hot, dry weather. Neighboring states have been on high alert as hot, dry conditions and strong winds lock in serious fire danger across the region. On … Continued

EartherConservation

Fires in the Amazon Are a Problem For the Entire Planet

The Amazon Rainforest is known to emit a whopping 255 million metric tons of carbon a year. The reality is that this number could be much, much higher due to forest fires that South American governments don’t typically quantify, according to a study out in Nature Communications Tuesday. This study involved a regional assessment of the … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Natural Disaster Victims Are Banking on the Budget Deal

Disaster aid appears to finally be coming for survivors of hurricanes in the Southeast and wildfires in the West. The Senate agreed on a $90 billion aid package Wednesday to help communities still reeling from natural disasters in Texas, Florida, California, and, of course, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. If the Senate votes … Continued

EartherConservation

LA Wants a Climate Emergency Department, Because, Yeah [Updated]

Life has not been idyllic in Southern California as of late. Drought, wildfires, and most recently mudslides have upset the balance of a region renowned for its warm, sunny vibe. Climate change has played at least some role in these disturbances, and models predict its influence will only grow in coming decades. Los Angeles’ lawmakers … Continued

EartherClimate Change

California’s Thomas Fire Is Now the Largest Wildfire in Official State History

Southern California’s Thomas fire is now officially the largest in modern state history, Cal Fire announced late Friday night, after surpassing the 273,000-plus acre Cedar fire from 2003. Per CNN, Cal Fire says the blaze has now burned through some 1,063 buildings and is just 65 percent contained weeks after starting on December 4th. It … Continued

Earther

The Massive Thomas Fire Reminds Us We Need to Get Our Shit Together

The Thomas Fire on its way to being the largest wildfire in California history. It started just two months after the Wine Country fires, the state’s most destructive ever. Both events are odd conflagrations, with the Thomas Fire being particularly out of character for this time of year. But in a world where climate change … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Large Swaths of Southern California Are in Ruins Thanks to the Catastrophic Thomas Fire

Wildfires in California have continued to ravage large portions of the state, with the Thomas fire in southern California now entering its 13th day and claiming over 267,500 acres of land, CNN reported. The wildfire is now the third-largest in California history and is just 40 percent contained, with over 8,400 firefighters and $110 million … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Wildfires Might Shorten Californians’ Lifespans

In 10 days since igniting, the Thomas Fire in Southern California has burned through over 242,000 acres, cost more than $55 million, and destroyed nearly 1,000 structures. At only 30 percent contained, it recently became the state’s fourth-largest wildfire on record. Some think it could become the largest ever by the end of the month. … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

The GOP Tax Bill Eliminates Critical Deductions for Disaster Victims

If devastating wildfires sweep across California again next year—not unlikely considering even Governor Jerry Brown has called it the “new normal”—the hardest hit may not be eligible for the same support as they are this year, thanks to the GOP’s fast-moving tax bill. As Congress pushes full steam ahead with its controversial plan to cut … Continued

Tech News

Apple’s Donation to Wildfire Relief Is Great, But It’s Just a Drop in the Bucket

Hundreds of thousands of people had to evacuate their homes in Southern California over the span of a week due to wildfires sweeping the region. In response to the ongoing devastation, Apple announced on Monday that it is donating $1 million to aid in relief efforts. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the … Continued

Earther

Blanketing California in Fire Retardant Is Potentially Very Harmful

As a firestorm rages across Southern California near the end of one of the state’s worst wildfire seasons, much attention has been drawn to the bright red foam that’s dropped from planes in an effort to slow the fire’s spread. Chemical fire retardant can be an important firefighting tool. But it can also have some … Continued

Tech News

Devastating Wildfires Continue to Wreak Havoc Across Southern California

With powerful Santa Ana winds gusting as high as 80 miles per hour, firefighters are bracing themselves for another challenging day in Southern California. Over the course of the week, destructive wildfires in the state have forced the evacuation of more than 230,000 people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and torched over 80,000 acres of land. … Continued

Tech News

Thousands Forced to Evacuate as Catastrophic Wildfires Continue to Ravage California

In what’s already been a particularly cruel wildfire season for California, a series of fast-moving blazes have torched more than 65,000 acres since Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands to flee. Alarmingly, winds are expected to pick up in the coming days, making a bad situation potentially worse. The latest California wildfire started … Continued

Tech News

Doomsday Prepper’s Sketchy, Ammo-Filled Bunker Destroyed by Regular Old Wildfire

A Utah man reportedly spent 30 years building a series of underground bunkers that he hoped would outlive the apocalypse, but half of them couldn’t even survive a wildfire. The system comprised four dugouts and cabins built of concrete and corrugated metal, and a few other spots where he stashed his provisions and arsenal of … Continued

Earther

This NASA Animation Is Like a Van Gogh Painting of Our Recent Hellish Weather

For a while, it felt like the weather disasters were never going to stop. A terrible hurricane season spawned storms that wrecked entire islands and cities while racking up hundreds of billions in damages. It even saw a storm sail away to Ireland. The most destructive wildfires in California history devastated Wine Country. British Columbia … Continued

Tech News

The California Wildfires Burned Down Irreplaceable Documents on Silicon Valley History [Updated]

2017 has been a brutal year in northern California, where a series of wildfires have burned through hundreds of thousands of acres of land and left dozens dead or missing. The deadly Tubbs fire in northern California, which is estimated to have burned roughly 5,300 buildings across 36,807 acres and killed at least 22 people, … Continued

Earther

Satellite Images Show the Horror That the Wine Country Fires Wrought on the Landscape

The wildfires have been mostly squelched in Northern California but the long road to recovery still stands ahead. New satellite imagery reveals just how far the damage extends from the destructive firestorm that rocked the region earlier this month. As of Wednesday, the fires were 93% contained according to CALFIRE, but they’ve left a heartbreaking … Continued

Earther

Wildfires Have Burned More Than 5 Percent of Portugal in One of the Most Severe Fire Years on Record

We’re still a few months from finally closing the books on a year wracked by natural disasters, but it seems safe to say 2017 will go down as the year of hellfire on Earth. Wildfires have lit up seemingly everywhere from California to British Columbia to Greenland (!). And then there’s Portugal. The country already … Continued