California homeowners may find themselves facing insurance headaches even if their houses weren't affected by this year's blazes. The California Department of Insurance had already warned this year that the increasing number and severity of wildfires were making it harder for homeowners in the state to find and hold onto...
Yosemite Valley Will Reopen Tuesday. Fire 80% Contained.
National Parks officials announced Friday that Yosemite Valley will reopen to visitors 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14. In addition, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias will be back open Monday. Yosemite Valley has been shuttered since July 25 because of the Ferguson Fire. "We'd like to express our sincere gratitude...
Ferguson Fire 80% Contained. Crews Protect Yosemite Valley.
Having contained 80% of the Ferguson Fire, the team battling the biggest blaze in Sierra National Forest history is focused on keeping the flames out of iconic Yosemite Valley, officials said Friday morning. "The final piece that must be secured remains between El Portal Road and Wawona Road," states the Ferguson...
14,000 Fight California Fires, Some From Prisons or Overseas
UKIAH — Firefighters said for the first time Wednesday that they have made good progress battling the state's largest-ever wildfire but didn't expect to have it fully under control until September. The blaze north of San Francisco has grown to the size of Los Angeles since it started two weeks...
Battling 18 Blazes, California May Face Worst Fire Season
The largest wildfire ever recorded in California needed just 11 days to blacken an area nearly the size of Los Angeles — and it's only one of many enormous blazes that could make this the worst fire season in state history. Some 14,000 firefighters from as far away as Florida...
Still Raging: Largest Wildfire in California History Grows
LAKEPORT — Wildfires tearing through trees and brush, rampaging up hillsides and incinerating neighborhoods: The places and names change, but the devastation is showing signs of becoming the new normal in California. Twin fires in Northern California being treated as one are the largest wildfire in state history and by...
Trump's Claims on California Wildfires Inaccurate: AP Fact Check
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is claiming that California's water policy is shortchanging firefighters of water to battle the state's raging wildfires. That's not so, according to wildfire and water experts. TRUMP: "California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren't allowing...
Congress OKs Massive Firefighting Planes for California
Thanks to Congress, California has a good chance of getting more aid in fighting its deadly wildfires. Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-California) provision to transfer seven C-130H air tankers to California to help fight deadly wildfires. The provision is included in the National Defense Authorization...
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...
The Rush and Risks of Fighting Fires on a Bulldozer
Not all firefighters carry a hose or shovel. The adrenaline junkies who steer heavy bulldozers across steep ridges face serious hazards, from smoke and flames but also from unsteady dirt and steep terrain that can flip them over. The deaths of two bulldozer operators battling California wildfires in July highlighted...