Wildfires News

January 23, 2025

Top Headlines

Research Shows PTSD, Anxiety May Affect Reproductive Health of Women Firefighters

Jan. 22, 2025 — Investigators found negative mental health conditions among women firefighters may reduce levels of key hormone associated with ovarian ...

To Mitigate Impact of Wildfires on Communities' Water, Report Fills Gaps in Guidance to Public Drinking Water System Staff

Jan. 13, 2025 — Wildfires increasingly threaten public drinking water systems, but guidance on how to address damage to these systems from a wildfire has been insufficient, conflicting or inaccurate. A new ...

Residents of Unburned Homes Reported Health Symptoms Months After Marshall Fire

Jan. 14, 2025 — Wildfires that burn homes and vehicles could expose people to dangerous airborne compounds through ash and smoke. Research has shown that people returning to their unburned homes may also experience ...

Lower Access to Air Conditioning May Increase Need for Emergency Care for Wildfire Smoke Exposure

Jan. 11, 2025 — People who have limited access to air conditioning may be at higher risk of seeking emergency care for health problems following exposure to wildfire smoke, according to a new study. The study found ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:22pm EST

Increased Wildfire Activity May Be a Feature of Past Periods of Abrupt Climate Change

Jan. 2, 2025 — A new study investigating ancient methane trapped in Antarctic ice suggests that global increases in wildfire activity likely occurred during periods ...

Months After Colorado's Marshall Fire, Residents of Surviving Homes Reported Health Symptoms, Poor Air Quality

Dec. 23, 2024 — Three years after the Dec. 30, 2021, Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County, two new studies offer insight into what happens ...

Researchers Find Compromised Indoor Air in Homes Following Marshall Fire

Dec. 23, 2024 — A new study finds gases harmful to human health lingered for weeks following the ...

Wildfire Surges in East, Southeast US Fueled by New Trees and Shrubs

Dec. 17, 2024 — The eastern U.S. has more trees and shrubs than three decades ago. This growth, driven by processes such as tree and understory infilling in unmanaged forests, is helping fuel wildfires, contributing ...

Shrubs Can Help or Hinder a Forest's Recovery After Wildfire

Dec. 16, 2024 — When and where to plant tree seedlings to restore forests after wildfires has a lot to do with shrubs, finds a new ...

Exposure to Remote Wildfire Smoke Drifting Across the US Linked to Increased Medical Visits for Heart and Lung Problems

Dec. 13, 2024 — Wildfire smoke has long been known to exacerbate health problems like heart disease, lung conditions, and asthma, but now a new study finds that ...

Water and Forests in Southern US

Dec. 12, 2024 — Climate and land use change have and will continue to alter streamflow regimes and water quality through the 21st century, with consequences for drinking water treatment costs, flood protection, and ...

Overlooked Emissions in California's Salton Sea Air Basin

Dec. 3, 2024 — Nitrogen oxide emissions from soil in California's Salton Sea air basin are 10 times larger than state estimates, finds a new study of rural Imperial and Coachella ...

As Wildfires Intensify, Prolonged Exposure to Pollution Linked to Premature Death

Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers have found evidence that living in areas prone to wildfire smoke may negatively impact an individual's life ...

These Are Now the Smokiest Cities in America

Dec. 10, 2024 — Normally, America's smokiest cities lie out west. But Canada's unusually intense 2023 wildfire season smothered American cities in smoke farther east than is usual, according to new ...

Research Links Wildfire Smoke Exposure With Increased Dementia Risk

Nov. 25, 2024 — Research found that wildfire smoke is especially hazardous to people's memory health. An analysis of the health care records of 1.2 million Southern California residents found that higher ...

Building a Diverse Wildland Fire Workforce to Meet Future Challenges

Nov. 12, 2024 — Wildland firefighters are under significant strain, often overworked and underpaid despite the growing need to respond to larger, more destructive fires. Building a more resilient and effective ...

How Prisons Fall Short in Protecting the Incarcerated from Climate Disasters

Nov. 8, 2024 — A new study paints a grim picture of how blistering heat, wildfire smoke and other extreme weather events impact Colorado's jail and prison ...

Could Crowdsourcing Hold the Key to Early Wildfire Detection?

Nov. 7, 2024 — Computer science researchers have developed a new crowdsourcing system that dramatically slashes wildfire mapping time from hours to seconds using a network of low-cost mobile phones mounted on ...

Indigenous Cultural Burning Has Protected Australia's Landscape for Millennia, Study Finds

Nov. 1, 2024 — Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to ...

Some Wildfire Suppressants Contain Heavy Metals and Could Contaminate the Environment

Oct. 30, 2024 — In fire-prone areas, water isn't the only thing used to quell blazes. Wildland firefighters also apply chemical or synthetic suppressants. Researchers explored whether these suppressants could ...

Wildfires Are Becoming Faster and More Dangerous in Western U.S.

Oct. 24, 2024 — Fire speed, not size, drives threat to people and ...

Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Forest Fires Increase by 60 Percent

Oct. 17, 2024 — A major new study reveals that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged by 60 percent globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal ...

Scientists Track and Analyze Lofted Embers That Cause Spot Fires

Oct. 9, 2024 — Civil and environmental engineering researchers conducted unique live fire experiments to study the kinematics of firebrands, burning embers cast off from wildfires that cause spot fires leading to ...

Abrupt Intensification of Northern Wildfires Due to Future Permafrost Thawing

Sep. 24, 2024 — Climate scientists and permafrost experts show that, according to new climate computer model simulations, global warming will accelerate permafrost thawing and as a result lead to an abrupt ...

Wildland Firefighters Hit Their STRIDE

Sep. 16, 2024 — You're a hotshot working to contain a wildfire. The conflagration jumps the fire line, forcing your crew to flee using pre-determined escape routes. At the start of the day, the crew boss ...

Wildfire Smoke Exposure Boost Risk of Mental Illness in Youth, Study Suggests

Sep. 12, 2024 — Each additional day of exposure to wildfire smoke and other extreme forms of dirty air boosts risk of mental illness in youth a little more, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study of ...

Scientists Uncover Hidden Source of Snow Melt: Dark Brown Carbon

Sep. 4, 2024 — Researchers have quantified the effect of dark brown carbon on snow ...

Health Impacts of Repeated Wildfires and Smoke Exposure

Aug. 28, 2024 — Public health researchers have highlighting the compounded effects of frequent wildfires and smoke exposure on physical and mental health, local economies and community resilience in Southern ...

New Gels Could Protect Buildings During Wildfires

Aug. 22, 2024 — Researchers have developed a sprayable gel that creates a shield to protect buildings from wildfire damage. It lasts longer and is more effective than existing commercial ...

Action Plan to Help Patients With Lung Disease Cope With Wildfire Smoke

Aug. 19, 2024 — A multidisciplinary team has developed an action plan to help patients with respiratory diseases mitigate the consequences of poor air quality from ...

Less Severe Forest Fires Can Reduce Intensity of Future Blazes

Aug. 19, 2024 — Low- and moderate-severity forest wildfires can reduce the intensity of future fires, according to new research on ...

Climate Change Raised the Odds of Unprecedented Wildfires in 2023-24

Aug. 13, 2024 — Unprecedented wildfires in Canada and parts of Amazonia last year were at least three times more likely due to climate change and contributed to high levels of CO2 emissions from burning globally, ...

Canadian Wildfires Are Affecting US Air Quality and Raising Health Concerns

Aug. 11, 2024 — Climate-driven wildfire events are rapidly transferring harmful particulate matter containing toxic chemicals over long distances, compromising air quality in the New Jersey and New York City areas, ...

New York City's Fireworks Display Prompts Temporary Surge of Air Pollution

Aug. 6, 2024 — In 2023, roughly 60,000 firework shells exploded above Manhattan's East River as part of Macy's Fourth of July show. The resulting air pollutant levels were many times higher in the hours ...