Anthony Wexler, the director of the Air Quality Research Center at the University of California, Davis, packed his bags and drove his family out to the coast.
They’re escaping the smoke.
Davis, California, sits amid a layer of wildfire smoke in…
Category: Wildfires
California’s Mendocino Complex fire just became the largest wildfire in state history
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For the second time in less than eight months, California broke its record for the largest fire in the state’s history.
Tuesday morning, the Golden State’s fire protection agency, Cal Fire, reported that the Mendocino Complex fire had now burned over 290,000 acres — over nine times the size of San Francisco — surpassing the previous record of 281,893 set in December by the destructive Thomas Fire.
The Mendocino Complex, which is comprised of two massive fires whose edges are as close as three miles apart, is not nearly finished. The larger of the two fires, at some 240,000 acres, is just 20 percent contained. Read more…
More about Science, California, Global Warming, Climate Change, and Wildfires
A fire tornado hit California. Here’s how it happened.
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At around 7:00 p.m. PT on July 26, a towering vortex of smoke and flame spun into the California sky.
The tornado-like column rose over 16,000 feet into the air. It was a violent night for the Carr Fire, which after preying on profoundly dry forests, breached the Sacramento River and headed into the City of Redding, home to over 90,000 people.
There’s no official name for the dramatic phenomena, though “firenado” has become popular.
“I’m not particularly fond of the term,” Brenda Belongie, lead meteorologist of the U.S. Forest Service’s Predictive Services in Northern California, who works and lives in Redding, said in an interview. “But it works because of the strength of the fire whirl, the size — and the destructiveness is not unlike the power of a tornado.” Read more…
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View More A fire tornado hit California. Here’s how it happened.Violent wildfire jumps a major river, enters California city home to over 90,000
After leaping over California’s Sacramento River, the swiftly-moving Carr Fire entered the City of Redding, home to more than 90,000 people, on Thursday night.
The firestorm melted transmission lines, sent a towering, mushroom-like cloud into the sky…
Photos show Yosemite National Park choked by wildfire smoke
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The burning forest just outside of Yosemite National Park in California has choked the air inside the park’s iconic valley marked by imposing granite walls that stretch hundreds of feet into the polluted sky.
The West’s fire season is now well underway, and it has been further stoked by heat waves and especially parched land. As a result of the now over 36,000-acre Ferguson fire, Yosemite — one of the most heavily-visited national parks in the country — has been inundated with tiny bits of particulate pollution, covering the park in a thick haze.
SEE ALSO: California hit with two heat waves in less than a month. Here’s why it matters. Read more…
More about Science, Extreme Weather, National Park Service, Air Pollution, and Wildfires
View More Photos show Yosemite National Park choked by wildfire smokeIt’s finally raining in Southern California, but there’s a big problem
The rains have finally come to Southern California after months of bone dry weather and multiple wildfires, but they’re not helping the previously parched state.
In fact, the deluge has created treacherous conditions in several regions, sparking evac…
How to help victims of the Southern California wildfires
The fires consuming parts of Southern California have moved rapidly since breaking out a few days ago. The Thomas Fire, a blaze in Ventura County, has already claimed 90,000 acres. The fires have collectively led to the evacuation of more than 200,00…
View More How to help victims of the Southern California wildfiresEveryone’s sharing this video of a man saving a rabbit from the California wildfires
Destructive wildfires have torn across thousands of acres in Southern California since Monday night, destroying homes, forcing evacuations, and displacing thousands of residents as a result.
In the days since, nightmarish photos and videos of t…
LAPD warns that navigation apps are steering people to neighborhoods on fire
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There are currently multiple fires raging across Southern California, one of which forced the notoriously clogged 405 Freeway in Los Angeles to shut down.
Big fires force people to find new routes — including people using apps like Waze and Google Maps.
The problem? Those apps look for roads without many cars on them, and try to route you there. Which is great when you’re trying to avoid run-of-the-mill traffic. But not when the roads are clear because of nearby fires.
“The Los Angeles Police Department asked drivers to avoid navigation apps, which are steering users onto more open routes — in this case, streets in the neighborhoods that are on fire,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Read more…
More about Los Angeles, Google Maps, Wildfire, Wildfires, and Waze
View More LAPD warns that navigation apps are steering people to neighborhoods on fire