SAN FRANCISCO — In the history of California wildfires, there has never been anything like it: A churning tornado filled with fire, the size of three football fields. An official report describes in chilling detail the intensity of the rare fire phenomenon and how quickly it took the life of...
Survival and Optimism Rise from Ashes of California Fires
The blue skies ended in southern Oregon. As my family drove back to Fresno on a cross-country RV trip, we headed down I-5. Initially, I thought the white plumes were coastal fog. The campfire smell proved otherwise. Upon my return to Fresno, I realized the thing I will miss the...
Wildfires Scorching Homes, Land and California's Budget
Just a month into the budget year, California has already spent more than one-quarter of its annual fire budget, at least $125 million, state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Mike Mohler said Wednesday. Following years of drought and a summer of record-breaking heat, immense tracts of forests, chaparral...
Gov. Brown Pledges Any Resources Needed for Fires
UPPER LAKE, Calif. — A massive wildfire in Northern California has torched more than 1,000 homes in and around the city of Redding, authorities said Wednesday as some evacuees were allowed to return home and new blazes exploded in what has become an endless summer of flame in the Golden...
A Perfect Storm Makes Wildfires Bigger, More Costly To Control
Hopes for fewer large wildfires in 2018, after last year’s disastrous fire season, are rapidly disappearing across the West. Six deaths have been reported in Northern California’s Carr Fire, including two firefighters. Fires have scorched Yosemite, Yellowstone, Crater Lake, Sequoia and Grand Canyon national parks. A blaze in June forced...
Terrifying Tornadoes of Flame Burn Redding, Kill Two
REDDING — An explosive wildfire tore through two small Northern California communities before reaching the city of Redding, killing a bulldozer operator on the fire lines, killing a city of Redding firefighter, burning three firefighters, destroying 65 homes and forcing thousands of terrified residents to flee. Flames swept through the...