Wildfire

A University of Utah study used data from wildfires in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California to look at how private forests for industrial timber harvest were impacted by severe fire weather, brought about by climate change.

Historically dry fuels and long stretches of fire weather have led to the conditions driving one of Colorado's biggest wildfires. Some experts are saying that climate change, which creates these conditions, could make these kinds of fire the new normal.

The Blue Ridge Fire started Friday afternoon. Find the latest information on it and other fires in the region.

Hot, dry weather and abundant fuels created the perfect storm for lightning-caused fires on the Western Slope and in southeastern Utah. Drought forecasters are predicting little relief later this summer.

The 4th of July, statistically, is one of the heaviest days of the year for wildfire starts. And this year the holiday comes amid heightened risk for major blazes.

Farrell Hayes represents something that veteran firefighters say is harder to come by these days: a young person who wants to get involved in firefighting.

President Trump has signed an executive order on wildfire policy, which seeks to speed responses to wildfires and address what it calls “reckless mismanagement.”

It would be called the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, according to budget documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior. The agency would consolidate the wildland fire programs of the USDA and Interior within the latter.

Tom Schultz, the head of the U.S. Forest Service, is calling for wildfires to be extinguished “as swiftly as possible this season.” But aggressive suppression policies are widely believed to be one of the key culprits in the current wildfire crisis.

In recent years, there have been a number of fast-moving, destructive wildfires in which residents had little or no warning to evacuate. Federal officials have new recommendations for how communities should prepare for such disasters.