Wildfires News

April 24, 2024

Top Headlines

Unique Field Study Shows How Climate Change Affects Fire-Impacted Forests

Apr. 17, 2024 — During the unusually dry year of 2018, Sweden was hit by numerous forest fires. A research team has investigated how climate change affects recently burnt boreal forests and their ability to absorb carbon ...

Researchers Shine Light on Rapid Changes in Arctic and Boreal Ecosystems

Apr. 16, 2024 — Arctic and boreal latitudes are warming faster than any other region on ...

CO2 Worsens Wildfires by Helping Plants Grow

Apr. 16, 2024 — By fueling the growth of plants that become kindling, carbon dioxide is driving an increase in the severity and frequency of wildfires, according to a new ...

Unintended Consequences of Fire Suppression

Mar. 25, 2024 — A new study reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:54am EDT

Fires Pose Growing Worldwide Threat to Wildland-Urban Interface

Apr. 16, 2024 — Fires that devastate wildland-urban interface areas are becoming more common around the globe, a trend that is likely to continue for at least the next two decades, new research finds. Such fires are ...

2020 Extreme Weather Event That Brought Fires and Snow to Western US

Mar. 2, 2024 — The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research ...

Study Finds Drought Fuels Invasive Species After Wildfires

Feb. 28, 2024 — Scientists uncover the intricate dance between drought, wildfires and invasive species in Southern California's coastal sage scrub ...

Cooler, Wetter Parts of Pacific Northwest Likely to See More Fires, New Simulations Predict

Feb. 22, 2024 — Forests in the coolest, wettest parts of the western Pacific Northwest are likely to see the biggest increases in burn probability, fire size and ...

Wildfires Linked to Surge in Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits

Feb. 20, 2024 — A new studyshows wildfires lead to an increase of anxiety-related emergency department visits in the western United States, amplifying the concerning ...

Discovering the Physics Behind 300-Year-Old Firefighting Methods

Jan. 23, 2024 — Inspired by a 1725 fire engine that pumped water at larger distances and higher speeds than previously possible, authors analyzed the pressure chamber's Windkessel effect to capture the physics ...

Office Air Conditioning Can Reduce the Risk of Harm from Wildfire Smoke

Jan. 22, 2024 — Air conditioning doesn't just cool the air -- it can also reduce the risk of harm from wildfire smoke, new research ...

Targeted Household Cleaning Can Reduce Toxic Chemicals Post-Wildfire

Jan. 2, 2024 — Wildfires create compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are formed in the combustion process at high temperatures. These compounds are highly toxic. New research examined how ...

Western Cascades Landscapes in Oregon Historically Burned More Often Than Previously Thought

Dec. 28, 2023 — Forests on the west slope of Oregon's Cascade Range experienced fire much more often between 1500 and 1895 than had been previously ...

Wildfires Increasing Across Eastern U.S.

Dec. 18, 2023 — Researchers examined 36 years of wildfire data in the eastern United States, focusing on fires that burned large areas. The overall trend for the region showed an increase in fire size, frequency, ...

Spike in Dermatology Visits for Skin Problems Seen During Summer of Wildfires

Dec. 18, 2023 — New research suggests that air pollution may contribute to the development or worsening of skin conditions. The work points to the need to improve air quality to lower the burden of skin disease, ...

Wildfires Also Impact Aquatic Ecosystems

Dec. 13, 2023 — Researchers have shown that the effects of wildfires are not limited to terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems are also undergoing rapid changes. The study found that fire debris transforms lakes ...

Twenty-Year Study Confirms California Forests Are Healthier When Burned -- Or Thinned

Dec. 12, 2023 — A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques -- prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both -- are effective at reducing the ...

Climate Change Will Increase Wildfire Risk and Lengthen Fire Seasons

Dec. 8, 2023 — Wildfires are some of the most destructive natural disasters in the country, threatening lives, destroying homes and infrastructure, and creating air pollution. In order to properly forecast and ...

Wildfires Have Erased Two Decades' Worth of Air Quality Gains in Western United States

Dec. 4, 2023 — A new study concludes that wildfires originating in the western United States and Canada have erased air quality gains over the past two decades and caused an increase of premature deaths in ...

Strange Burn: New Research Identifies Unique Patterns in Utah Wildfires

Dec. 4, 2023 — Utah's variable topography produces a tremendous range of wildfire behavior, according to new ...

Ash Can Fertilize the Oceans

Nov. 30, 2023 — Flames roared through Santa Barbara County in late 2017. UC Santa Barbara canceled classes, and the administration recommended donning an N95, long before the COVID pandemic made the mask a household ...

First Comprehensive Look at Effects of 2020-2021 California Megafires on Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat

Nov. 21, 2023 — In 2020 and 2021, California experienced fire activity unlike anything recorded in the modern record. When the smoke cleared, the amount of burned forest totaled ten times more than the annual ...

Reforms Needed to Expand Prescribed Burns

Nov. 16, 2023 — A new paper pinpoints obstacles and suggests strategies for getting more prescribed fire on the ground in the wildfire-prone U.S. ...

Wildfire, Drought Cause $11.2 Billion in Damage to Private Timberland in Three Pacific States, Study Finds

Nov. 13, 2023 — Wildfires and drought have led to $11.2 billion in damages to privately held timberland in California, Oregon and Washington over the past two decades, a new Oregon State University study ...

Low-Intensity Fires Reduce Wildfire Risk by 60%

Nov. 10, 2023 — High-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S. Researchers quantified the value of managed low-intensity burning to dramatically reduce the ...

Lightning Identified as the Leading Cause of Wildfires in Boreal Forests, Threatening Carbon Storage

Nov. 9, 2023 — Most wildfires in boreal forests, such as those in Canada, are caused by lightning strikes, according to a study aimed at attributing fire ignition sources ...

Southern Alaska's National Forests Key to Meeting Climate, Conservation Goals

Nov. 8, 2023 — Analyses of U.S. national forests shows that increased protections for two Alaskan forests is a key to meeting climate and biodiversity ...

The Kids Aren't Alright: Saplings Reveal How Changing Climate May Undermine Forests

Nov. 3, 2023 — Researchers studied how young trees respond to a hotter, drier climate. Their findings can help shape forest management policy and our understanding of how landscapes will ...

New Study Shows Surprising Effects of Fire in North America's Boreal Forests

Oct. 23, 2023 — Using satellite images, researchers found that fires in North America's boreal forest may be changing the environment in ways that researchers didn't previously ...

Subalpine Forests in the Northern Rockies Are Fire Resilient--for Now

Oct. 17, 2023 — Using lake sediment cores, scientists determined how these subalpine ecosystems recovered after 4,800 years of ...

Wildfires Threaten Environmental Gains in Climate-Crucial Amazon

Oct. 16, 2023 — Despite steps toward decreasing deforestation, uncontrolled wildfires are threatening environmental gains in Brazilian Amazonia, one of the world's most critical carbon sinks and a region of ...

Research Shows Wildfire Smoke May Linger in Homes Long After Initial Blaze

Oct. 13, 2023 — Newly published research on indoor air quality shows wildfire smoke may linger in homes long after the initial blaze has been put out or winds have shifted. The findings show that wildfire smoke ...

Epiphytes, Amazing Plants Like Moss and Bromeliads Found in Trees, Face Growing Threats

Oct. 11, 2023 — Epiphytes, plants such as orchids and mosses that grow in trees, draw nutrients from the air and create refuge for all sorts of other life forms. They are the foundation of forest canopy ...

New Study Offers Improved Strategy for Social Media Communications During Wildfires

Oct. 10, 2023 — New research offers an improved strategy for social media communications during wildfires and contradicting existing crisis communication ...