Tag: Wildfires

Despite White House Rhetoric, U.S. Wildfires Are Burning Less Land This Year

Minnesota Sun Staff

U.S. wildfires have burned nearly 75% less land so far this year compared to the same date in recent years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), despite White House rhetoric alleging that wildfires have intensified.

Just 777,732 acres of land have been burned as of Friday, roughly 2.3 million acres less than the average of around 3.1 million acres burned by the same date between 2013-2022, according to the NIFC, which helps coordinate the U.S. government’s response to wildfires. The White House has repeatedly referenced the “growing wildfire threat” driven by climate change in various press releases and other statements issued in the past several months.

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Nonprofits Urge More Controlled Burning to Prevent Wildfires in 11 Western States

The Center Square

A new report by two nonprofit organizations is advocating 11 western states change local and state policies to increase controlled burning on private lands to stem wildfires.

“Modern wildfires are not only burning larger areas but are also more harmful for people, forests, and the environment,” according to the publication “Burn Back Better,” produced by the Property and Environment Research Center and Tall Timbers. The 38-page report, subtitled “How Western States Can Encourage Prescribed Fire on Private Lands,” recommends immediate policy changes to address the wildfire crisis in the western U.S.

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Republican Shakes Up Race for California Fiscal Watchdog

RealClearWire
Lanhee Chen

Lanhee Chen, an educator and GOP policy adviser to presidential candidates, could have reconsidered his plans to run for state controller in California after the recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom flopped so badly in September.

Despite false poll-driven drama over the summer, Newsom easily sailed to victory in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two to one and Republican registrations have continued to dwindle in recent years.

Chen, 43, certainly doesn’t need the unglamorous and usually thankless job. In recent years, the statewide-elected controller post, California’s top bean-counter and auditor, has mainly operated outside the media spotlight even though the office holder is considered the state’s chief financial officer. That could change if the next controller is willing to shake up business as usual in Sacramento— exactly what Chen is pledging to do.

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California Professor Who Started Wildfires and Tried to Trap Firefighters Predicted Trump Would ‘Get Violent’ If He Lost 2020 Election

Minnesota Sun Staff

Dr. Gary Maynard, the California professor allegedly behind a number of wildfires raging in Northern California, who is accused of intentionally trying to trap fire crews with his fires, is an anti-Trumper who said in an interview last November that President Trump suffered from Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and could become violent and destructive in response to defeat.

“Donald Trump’s lack of or unwillingness to self-reflect in order to self-improve, and his lack of empathy while being threatened with his first major, public, political and personal defeat, might activate a sense of the need for the use of violence, violent protests by his supporters or outright sabotage of the nation by locking down the economy or some other major act to damage the nation before he is forced to leave office, if he loses,” Maynard told left-wing journalist Charles Krause, who writes for The Globalist.

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California Utility May Cut Power to One Million People

The Associated Press

Pacific Gas & Electric may cut power to over 1 million people on Sunday to prevent the chance of sparking wildfires as extreme fire weather returns to the region, the utility announced Friday.

The nation’s largest utility said it could black out customers in 38 counties — including most of the San Francisco Bay Area — as weather forecasts called for a return of bone-dry, gusty weather that carries the threat of downing or fouling power lines or other equipment that in recent years have been blamed for igniting massive and deadly blazes in central and Northern California.

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California Braces for Power Shutoffs and Warm, Windy Weekend

The Associated Press

Firefighters and officials at California’s largest utility company braced for hot, dry and windy weather in northern and central areas of the state this weekend that may fan the flames of several major wildfires or ignite new ones.

Pacific Gas & Electric warned Friday it may cut power from Sunday morning to Monday, potentially affecting 97,000 customers in 16 counties, during which forecasters said a ridge of high pressure will raise temperatures and generate gusts flowing from the interior to the coast.

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‘Nothing Left in the Bucket’: Wildfire Resources Run Thin

The Associated Press

Justin Silvera came off the fire lines in Northern California after a grueling 36 straight days battling wildfires and evacuating residents ahead of the flames. Before that, he and his crew had worked for 20 days, followed by a three-day break.

Silvera, a 43-year-old battalion chief with Cal Fire, California’s state firefighting agency, said he’s lost track of the blazes he’s fought this year. He and his crew have sometimes been on duty for 64 hours at a stretch, their only rest coming in 20-minute catnaps.

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Left-Wing Agitator Arrested for Starting Fire in Washington, Suspected of Starting Two Other Wildfires

Minnesota Sun Staff

A Washington man with a history of left-wing agitation was arrested Wednesday evening after he allegedly started a fire in the brush along a highway near Tacoma.

Jeffrey Acord, 36, was charged for reckless burning in the second degree. He is now reportedly also a suspect in two other Washington wildfires.

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Report: Years of Bad Land Management Led to One of California’s Most Devastating Wildfires

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   An in-depth investigation found that federal, state and local governments were aware of California’s vulnerability to wildfires, but failed to take the necessary steps to prevent its devastation. California residents have recently been forced to deal with some of the worst wildfires in the state’s history.…

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Insurance Claims at $9 Billion From California Wildfires

Minnesota Sun Staff

Insurance claims from last month’s California wildfires already are at $9 billion and expected to increase, the state’s insurance commissioner announced Wednesday. About $7 billion in claims are from the Camp Fire that destroyed the Northern California city of Paradise and killed at least 86 people, making it the deadliest…

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‘This Is Not Science:’ Scientist Rips Into The Latest Attempt To Blame Wildfires On Global Warming

Admin
Cliff Mass

by Michael Bastasch    – The Associated Press claims that “science says” global warming increases the area of western U.S. land scorched by wildfires every year.  – Climate scientist Cliff Mass noted AP’s simple correlation is not “science” and misses other key drivers of fires.  – It’s similar to another report…

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