EDEN, Australia — Thousands of people fled their homes and helicopters dropped supplies to towns at risk of nearby wildfires as hot, windy conditions Friday threatened already fire-ravaged southeastern Australian communities. The danger is centered on New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s most populous states, where temperatures and winds spiked...
Technology to Keep Lights on Could Help Prevent Wildfires
LOS ANGELES — B. Don Russell wasn’t thinking about preventing a wildfire when he developed a tool to detect power line problems before blackouts and bigger disasters. The electrical engineering professor at Texas A&M University figured he might save a life if his creation could prevent someone from being electrocuted...
US Travelers Brace for Snowy Thanksgiving, ‘Bomb Cyclone’
MINNEAPOLIS — A storm packing heavy, blinding snow and fierce winds that wreaked havoc as it whipped through Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska marched into the upper Midwest on Wednesday as anxious Thanksgiving travelers buckled up and barreled headlong into a busy, if not perilous, holiday week. The wintry storm that left at...
Wintry Weather Threatens to Snarl US Holiday Travel
DENVER — A storm that dumped heavy snow in Colorado and Wyoming forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights in Denver on Tuesday and has made driving impossible in some parts of the two states just as the busy Thanksgiving week travel period went into high gear. About 7 inches...
PG&E Begins New Mass Power Shutoff Over Fire Danger
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was set to begin shutting off power Wednesday to some 375,000 people in 18 Northern and central California counties as the region faces extreme fire weather that’s lasted since October. A virtually rainless fall has left brush bone-dry and forecasts called for...
Flames, Gear and Risks of Photographing California Wildfires
By Marcio Sanchez Associated Press SANTA PAULA — It's ironic, but momentarily forgetting some of my safety gear ended up saving my life. It happened as I drove late Thursday into the heart of a wildfire that had erupted near the city of Santa Paula, a two-hour drive west of...
Not out of Woods yet, but Winds Driving California Fires Die
LOS ANGELES — Calmer weather allowed crews to increase containment on wildfires after a three-week siege of gusts fanned blazes across California and led utilities to cut power to prevent winds from blowing branches into electric lines and igniting an inferno. Winds subsided in virtually all parts of the state,...
More California Fires Erupt, Burning Homes, Sending Residents Fleeing
SIMI VALLEY — Strong winds fanned new Southern California wildfires on Thursday, burning homes and forcing residents to flee their homes in a repeat of the frightening scenario already faced by tens of thousands across the state. The latest blazes erupted in the heavily populated inland region east of Los...
Anger Rises as PG&E Imposes More Blackouts
SANTA ROSA — Frustration and anger mounted across Northern California as Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. began another round of fire-prevention blackouts Tuesday that could leave millions of people without electricity, some for five days or longer. The shut-offs, aimed at keeping windblown electrical equipment from sparking wildfires, came as...
PG&E Faces Gripes Over Deliberate Blackouts
LOS ANGELES — Even as the winds gusted dangerously as forecast, California's biggest utility faced hostility and second-guessing Thursday for shutting off electricity to millions of people to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires. Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized Pacific Gas & Electric and ordinary customers complained about the inconveniences caused by the...