Jet Fuel Shortage Impacts Air Travel Around the West
A shortage of jet fuel, coupled with supply chain issues and an urgent demand from firefighting aircraft, continues to cause problems at airports around the West.
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A shortage of jet fuel, coupled with supply chain issues and an urgent demand from firefighting aircraft, continues to cause problems at airports around the West.
Taking advantage of easing weather conditions, fire crews aggressively attacked the Tamarack Fire along Highway 395 Saturday using backfires, air support and an intensive ground effort to keep the flames from advancing any further eastward.
Cal Fire is using new technology and better positioning of resources in a bid to keep small blazes from erupting into mega-fires like the ones that torched a record 4 percent of the state last year.
The wind-whipped flames of the Dixie Fire forced firefighters to retreat to safety Saturday afternoon as the towering blaze jumped among the tree tops, roaring into Indian Valley, burning homes and forcing residents living near Taylorsville to flee to safety.
As scientists examine how much of this summer's wildfire behavior can be attributed to human-caused climate change, they say extreme fire events seen recently may only be a preview of what's to come in the coming decades.
While fire crews battled flames advancing toward Jonesville on the northeastern edge of the massive Dixie Fire early Saturday, their counterparts along the eastern edge were confronted with "borderline extreme fire behavior" as the blaze grew to 181,289 acres.
The Dixie Fire that raged through bone-dry timber and brush in Plumas and Butte counties grew to 167,430 acres by Friday night, according to Cal Fire officials.
Bay Area skies have remained largely free of wildfire smoke so far this fire season, but that could all change starting Sunday evening.
The National Weather Service is closely monitoring current monsoon conditions over the Southwest that are expected to drift north into California's Central Coast and the Bay Area early next week and could lead to a slight chance of dangerous dry lightning storms.
Several new mandatory evacuation orders were issued in Plumas County Thursday as the Dixie Fire continued its explosive growth.
There was a new challenge Thursday for the small army of firefighters battling the massive Bootleg Fire burning in a remote southern Oregon wilderness just north of the California border -- a COVID-19 outbreak among the crews.
A brief video clip taken from inside the cab of a UC Davis Fire Department truck while driving through the Tamarack Fire provided a harrowing glimpse of the danger fire crews are facing as they battle the still growing blaze.
Two members of Congress based in the Bay Area sponsored legislation Thursday that authorizes $20 million for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the health impacts of wildfire smoke and what can be done to mitigate its effects.
A vegetation fire that broke out in Antioch Wednesday afternoon spread to a nearby apartment complex and burned vehicles, officials said.
Pacific Gas and Electric officials on Wednesday announced a multi-year effort to bury power lines in areas of California where the wildfire risk is the highest.
The advancing flames of the Tamarack Fire crossed over into Nevada early Wednesday, forcing voluntary evacuation warnings for several small communities to the west of the Highway 395 corridor.
A judge ruled last week that California's insurance commissioner can order the "insurer of last resort" to offer more options for homeowners who can't buy traditional coverage because they live in areas threatened by wildfires.
As firefighters battled a wall of flames burning through miles of tinder-dry trees and brush in the Sierra near Lake Tahoe early Tuesday, local residents were questioning the initial U.S. Forest Service response to the blaze that began smoldering after a July Fourth weekend lightning strike.
A wall of flames fueled by erratic winds and clouds of embers raced up the Feather River overnight through the Plumas County communities of Belden and Rich Bar as the Dixie Fire grew to over 61,000 acres and was just 15 percent contained.
The smoke from numerous wildfires burning in California and the West Coast are leading to hazy skies and prompting air quality concerns nearly 3,000 miles away in New York City.
As infernos including the massive Bootleg Fire continue to rage across Oregon, officials say that the state will need "every firefighter on deck" this wildfire season."
Firefighters have contained a brush fire that threatened structures and briefly prompted evacuations north of Vacaville Tuesday morning.
Blown fuses on a Pacific Gas and Electric power line are being looked at a possible cause of the Dixie Fire burning in Butte and Plumas counties that has exploded in size to 40,500 acres as of Monday evening.
Additional mandatory evacuations were ordered in areas around the Tamarack Fire Monday as authorities warned of possible mudslides or debris flows because of rain forecast for the region.
Winds gusting up to 30 mph whipped through the Bootleg Fire burn zone Monday, forcing firefighters to retreat to safety as they battled a massive blaze that has grown to more than 343,755 acres in the Fremont-Winema National Forest.
