Forests

"Heads up: There's an unwelcome visitor in Pennsylvania and officials are urging residents to take caution. The spotted lanternfly has been moving in and threatening agriculture and trees, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture."

"As climate change brings longer, more destructive fire seasons, the wine industry scrambles to protect vineyards from the dreaded taint of smoke."

"Conservation groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service over its plans to log along hundreds of roads in the Willamette National Forest that burned in last year’s wildfires."

"It’s been a hectic few days for Clare Shirley, who owns Sawbill Canoe Outfitters north of Tofte, Minn. Her business is on Sawbill Lake — a popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry point about four miles from the Whelp and John Ek fires burning inside the BWCA."

"GRIZZLY FLATS, Calif. — A wildfire raged through a small Northern California forest town Tuesday, burning dozens of homes as dangerously dry and windy weather also continued to fuel other massive blazes and prompted the nation’s largest utility to begin shutting off power to 51,000 customers."

"A year ago, in the middle of the night, crashes of thunderbolts shook millions of people in the San Francisco Bay Area out of their sleep. They didn’t know history was about to happen."

"Firefighters battling flames in Northern California forests girded Monday for new bouts of windy weather, and a utility warned thousands of customers it might cut their electricity to prevent new fires from igniting if gusts damage power lines."

"More than a month after it ignited near a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power station in Feather River Canyon, the relentless Dixie fire shows no signs of slowing down as it continues to threaten homes and strain firefighting resources."

"Conservationists are accusing federal land managers of illegally withholding information about environmental assessments used to justify plans to create fuel breaks to slow wildfires by clearing forests and shrubs across six western states with little if any public oversight."

"California’s largest single wildfire in recorded history continued to grow Wednesday after destroying more than 1,000 buildings, nearly half of them homes, while authorities in Montana ordered evacuations as a wind-driven blaze roared toward several remote communities. The dangerous fires were among some 100 large blazes burning across 15 states, mostly in the West, where historic drought conditions have left lands parched and ripe for ignition."