In wildfire-ravaged Santa Rosa, to stay or go? – “My biggest fear is that we will lose the amazing community that we have because people can’t afford to live here”

By Mike McPhate 25 October 2017 (The New York Times) – With a vacancy rate of around 1 percent, Santa Rosa was a tough place to find a home before its recent disaster. Then the Tubbs fire wiped out about 5 percent of city’s housing stock — roughly 3,000 homes. For some of the displaced, […]

Brazil’s Chapada dos Veadeiros park ravaged by largest fire in its history

By Angela Boldrini 27 October 2017 (Folha de São Paulo) – More than a quarter of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has been consumed by the largest fire in its history. According to the latest report, on Tuesday (24th), 64,000 hectares (about 158,000 acres) of the Park’s 240,000 hectares (593,000 acres), were hit by the […]

Record-melting fall heat wave bakes Southern California

By Bob Henson  24 October 2017 (Weather Underground) – It’s not every October 23 or 24 that millions of Americans are swathed in temperatures above 100°F. This week has done just that, bringing some of the toastiest weather ever observed in the United States during late October, and more pre-Halloween heat is on the way. […]

Wildfires scorched marijuana crops, possibly complicating California’s rollout of legal sales

By Katie Zezima 20 October 2017 (The Washington Post) – The deadly wildfires that ravaged communities and wineries in Northern California also severely damaged numerous marijuana farms, just before the state is expected to fully legalize the drug, in a disaster that could have far-reaching implications for a nascent industry.At least 34 marijuana farms suffered […]

In the “Smoke Belt” of the U.S. West, climate change making it harder to breathe – “Over the past two days we’ve experienced unprecedented levels of air pollution”

By Megan Molteni 12 October 2017(Wired) – No one knows what sparked the violent fires ablaze in the hills of California wine country. In the last five days, the flames have torched more than 160,000 acres across Napa and Sonoma counties, reducing parts of Santa Rosa to piles of cinder and ash and leaving more […]

Tropical thunderstorms are set to grow stronger as the world warms

By Martin Singh 16 October 2017 (The Conversation) – Thunderstorms are set to become more intense throughout the tropics and subtropics this century as a result of climate change, according to new research.Thunderstorms are among nature’s most spectacular phenomena, producing lightning, heavy rainfall, and sometimes awe-inspiring cloud formations. But they also have a range of […]

New fire danger threatens to worsen most disastrous wildfire season in California history

Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson 20 October 2017 (Weather Underground) – A record-breaking heat wave will build over Southern California over the weekend and peak on Tuesday, bringing triple-digit temperatures that could set marks for the hottest temperatures ever recorded so late in the year in the Los Angeles area. Accompanying the heat will […]

Video: Deadly forest fires sweep across Portugal and northern Spain

16 October 2017 (Protect Mother Earth) – Hurricane Ophelia’s strong winds are blamed for fanning flames of deadly forest fires in Portugal and Spain At least six people have been killed and around 25 others injured – mainly firefighters – during Portugal’s worst day of the year for forest fires. Around 500 blazes were reported […]

California’s wildfires aren’t “natural” – Humans made them worse at every step – “Personally, I think it will be one of the worst disasters in California history”

By Umair Irfan  15 October 2017 (Vox) – Raging infernos in California are burning through shrub land and neighborhoods while inching perilously close to San Francisco and Los Angeles.This year is shaping up to be one of the state’s worst fire seasons ever, as windswept flames have scorched more than 214,000 acres and caused at […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of Santa Rosa scarred by wildfire

By Mike Carlowicz 11 October 2017 (NASA) – Devastating wildfires have burned through California’s wine country since October 8, 2017, taking dozens of lives and leaving thousands of people homeless. Even communities distant from the fires have been plagued by poor air quality, as the smoke plumes have darkened skies and canceled school and other […]

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