Latest Wildfire Headlines

All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.

PG&E Doesn’t Agree That Maintenance Played Role in Deadly Camp Fire

Aug 1 2019 // PG&E Corp. said in court papers on Wednesday that it “strongly disagrees” with a suggestion in a Wall Street Journal article that the company knowingly deferred maintenance on equipment that caused...

Oregon Lagging on Disaster Preparedness, Scientists Warn

Jul 29 2019 // Oregon state lawmakers abandoned a multimillion-dollar project to develop early warning systems for earthquakes and wildfires, and scientists warn that the funding shake-up could endanger public safety and put Oregon...

Climate Change Blamed for Europe’s Latest Heatwave

Jul 26 2019 // Europe’s latest summer heatwave broke heat records just weeks after the continent had its hottest ever June, fueling concern that a shifting climate is triggering more extreme weather.Germany probably set a new...

Utilities Want in on California Wildfire Insurance Fund, But Others Will Decide

Jul 26 2019 // All three of California’s investor-owned utilities have now signed off on the creation of a $21 billion wildfire fund that any one of them could tap the next time a power line sparks a catastrophic blaze.PG&E...

Crews Aided by Light Rain in Battle Against Arizona Wildfire

Jul 25 2019 // Light rain falling Wednesday helped crews battle a wildfire near Flagstaff, Arizona, that has raged for days in a mountain pass recreation area overlooking the city, officials said.Up to 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain...

Insurers Owed $20 Billion Offer Own Rescue Plan for PG&E in Bankruptcy Court

Jul 25 2019 // Insurance companies that say Pacific Gas & Electric owes them more than $20 billion from wildfire claims wants to take over the California utility and pull it out of bankruptcy.The group of insurers filed court...

Wildfire Prompted Evacuations from Idaho Nuclear Energy Lab

Jul 24 2019 // Some employees were evacuated from the Idaho National Laboratory in southeastern Idaho while crews fight a wildfire burning near the nuclear energy research site. INL officials say non-essential employees were evacuated...

Clearing Large Swaths of Land Part of Plan to Slow Western Wildfires

Jul 23 2019 // The Trump administration is proposing an ambitious plan to slow Western wildfires by bulldozing, mowing or revegetating large swaths of land along 11,000 miles of terrain in the West. The plan announced this summer would...

Europe Faces Heatwave with London and Paris Expected to Break July Records

Jul 23 2019 // Europe is facing a second heatwave this summer, just weeks after the hottest June on record, intensifying concern over climate change and the rise in extreme weather events.Swathes of northwest Europe will struggle to...

Town Leveled by California Wildfire Reopens Its Public Pool

Jul 22 2019 // The public swimming pool in Paradise, California, is reopening for the first time since a catastrophic wildfire destroyed much of the town.CBS13 in Sacramento reports state firefighters used their hoses last week to refill...

Utility Customers Sue Over California Wildfire Law

Jul 22 2019 // Two Pacific Gas & Electric customers want the federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy to strike down a new California law that Gov. Gavin Newsom has championed as a way of shoring up the state’s...

California Safety Board Oks Regulation to Protect Workers from Wildfire Smoke

Jul 19 2019 // The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has adopted an emergency regulation designed to protect workers from hazards associated with wildfire smoke.The regulation is expected to go into effect in...

Report: California Wildfires Will Get Worse, Blame Climate Change

Jul 18 2019 // Hot, dry weather in California has resulted in a dramatic increase in wildfires. It will get worse – and you can blame climate change, according to a new report out.The report, Observed impacts of anthropogenic climate...

California Legislators Approve $21 Billion Liability Fund for Utilities

Jul 12 2019 // California lawmakers approved legislation on Thursday to create a $21 billion fund to help utilities in the state pay for claims arising from future wildfires sparked by their equipment, tackling a top issue for the...

PG&E Pushes for Tax-Exempt Bond Bill for Fire Claims

Jul 12 2019 // PG&E Corp. is lobbying California legislators to allow it to issue tax-exempt bonds to help pay for past and future wildfire claims, according to people familiar with the matter.The bankrupt utility is pushing...

Judge Wants PG&E to Respond to Report It Knew Faulty Lines Could Cause Wildfires

Jul 10 2019 // PG&E Corp. was ordered by a federal judge overseeing its probation to respond to a Wall Street Journal story claiming the utility knew its power lines could cause wildfires and failed to perform upgrades.PG&E...

California Wildfire ‘Bailout’ for PG&E, Edison Clears Hurdle

Jul 10 2019 // Utility giants PG&E Corp. and Edison International are one step closer to getting California’s help in covering the costs of increasingly catastrophic wildfires that their equipment keeps igniting.The state...

Wildfire Help for PG&E, Edison May Not Be Ready When California Lawmakers Adjourn July 12

Jul 8 2019 // California’s biggest utilities, PG&E Corp., Edison International and Sempra Energy, may not get the help they need to deal with multi-billion dollar wildfire liabilities before lawmakers adjourn July 12 for...

Officials Say 4 Wildfires in North-Central Nevada Were All Human Caused

Jul 3 2019 // The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says four separate wildfires that broke out in north-central Nevada this week all were caused by humans.The fires that began on Tuesday near Interstate 80 between Lovelock and Winnemucca...

Hot Weather May Fuel South-Central Alaska Wildfire, Some Residents Evacuate

Jul 2 2019 // Meteorologists say a new wave of hot, dry weather is expected to fuel a wildfire burning on the Kenai Peninsula, and continued smoke and record-breaking temperatures are predicted for the Fourth of July holiday week across...