Latest news with #U.S.ForestService
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Southern Utah fire destroys 12 homes; hundreds remain evacuated
PINE VALLEY, Washington County — A fast-growing wildfire burning near Pine Valley has now destroyed at least a dozen structures, while hundreds more remain threatened. Firefighters said all 12 structures in the Forsyth Fire were primary or secondary homes. The Washington County Sheriff's Office is recommending that anyone who has not yet evacuated the Pine Valley area leave as soon as possible, as crews continue to battle a wildfire that has grown due to strong winds and other 'critical' fire weather conditions. 'If you have family up in Pine Valley, please tell them to evacuate,' the agency said in a post to Facebook Friday afternoon. About 400 to 500 people were evacuated from Pine Valley, as well as the Pine Valley Campground, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jenny Plecki said in an earlier update. She estimated that 450 homes were evacuated, half of which were occupied by full-time residents. The evacuation was ordered as flames started moving downslope toward the community, Chad Walker, incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, told KSL-TV. Kelly Cannon, one of the residents forced to evacuate, said she saw the fire get very close to homes on her way out. 'I think the scariest thing was not knowing ... if it was going to come down on our street,' she said. 'We didn't know how far the fire had spread, but we could definitely see — I think the flames were like 3 feet high.' About 150 firefighters have been dispatched to battle the fire, Plecki added. The fire was last listed as about 1,500 acres in size, according to Utah Fire Info, an information source operated by state and federal fire agencies. It remained 0% contained as of 5 p.m. Friday. Police have also closed off Pine Valley Road several miles from where the fire is burning as a safety precaution. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but authorities say it appears that the fire was caused by lightning. The fire was reported not long after a strike Thursday evening. Strong wind gusts in the area helped fan the fire closer to the Pine Valley community. The update comes as heat, wind and low relative humidity remain in the forecast Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to list most of the state in a red flag warning. 'Critical' fire weather conditions may remain across most of the state through Saturday evening. 'With the red flag conditions that we've had over these last few days, it made engaging the fire extremely difficult,' Walker said. The agency also issued a wind advisory for parts of western Utah, where gusts of up to 45-55 mph were forecasted for Friday ahead of a cold front that is forecast to lower temperatures this weekend. Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah's largest power provider, says it is monitoring the conditions and may temporarily cut power in parts of central and southern Utah until fire weather conditions improve. While the Forsyth Fire began Thursday evening, a large fire burning near Bryce Canyon National Park also grew as wind and other factors 'significantly' increased fire activity in the area. The France Canyon Fire, Utah's largest wildfire so far this season, has now scorched 9,575 acres, doubling in size over the last few days, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph fanned flames and forced firefighters to take a 'tactical pause,' the agency reported on Friday. Red flag conditions forecast for Friday and Saturday could pose additional problems. Over 500 personnel are assigned to battle the wildfire, which remains 5% contained, but a complex incident management team has now been called in to bring more resources. The lightning-caused fire was first reported within Dixie National Forest on June 11. All Forest Service land south of state Route 12 within the Powell Ranger District remains closed. The Bridge Creek Fire, which is burning near the Utah-Arizona border east of Lake Powell, hasn't grown quite as much. It's now listed at 1,413 acres in size after experiencing 'minimal growth' on Thursday, the Northern Arizona Type 3 Incident Management Team reported on Friday. State and federal firefighters reported over a dozen new wildfires have started since Thursday; most were contained quickly. A fire that sparked in Salt Lake County late Friday also led to an I-80 closure. With strong wind gusts in the forecast through Saturday, Rocky Mountain Power says it may shut off power in some areas to prevent sparking new wildfires. It issued a 'Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch' for parts of southern and central Utah, extending up toward the southern end of the Wasatch Front. Communities like Dixie, Enterprise Valley, Cedar City, Milford, Panguitch, Richfield and Santaquin are mentioned in the advisory. Rocky Mountain Power officials say the outages are most likely to take place in those areas between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. 'Community safety and reducing wildfire risk are our top priorities,' said Pete Singh, the company's incident commander, in a statement. 'We take the decision to turn off power very seriously. Public Safety Power Shutoffs will be targeted, precise and guided by real-time data from conditions on the ground.' While the U.S. Drought Monitor no longer lists any part of Utah in extreme drought for the first time in months, all parts of the state are now listed as 'abnormally dry' or in some level of drought, highlighting the potential fire danger. Contributing: Alex Cabrero
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
New Mexico wildfire map: Track Trout Fire as responders work to contain blaze
Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect the new total acreage impacted by the Trout Fire. For those heading to the mountains of New Mexico during the summer months, it could mean dealing with fires stemming from particularly dry conditions. The New Mexico Wildfire Map currently shows an active fire east of Gila, New Mexico. The Trout Fire is burning an estimated 38,708 acres. Currently, 755 personnel are assigned to the incident. The fire is burning through timber, grass, and dense six-foot brush, according to MAPO. The fire is 0% contained. N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared a state of emergency and secured federal Fire Management Assistance Grants in response to the Trout Fire. The declaration allocates $750,000 to the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for firefighting efforts, including the deployment of the New Mexico National Guard, according to a news release from the office of the governor. The fire tracker provides a map with pinpoint locations of each fire and shows where red flag warnings are in effect, among other information. You can also click on each point to see detailed information on the fire in that area. The U.S. Forest Service noted the fire was reported Thursday, June 12, in the Trout Creek area of the Gila National Forest. The Gila National Forest has implemented a closure order as the fire is not contained. Another adjacent fire over eight acres east of the Gila Forest. That, too, is not contained and was reported five days ago, according to the U.S. Forest Service. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: New Mexico wildfire map: Track Trout Fire in real-time
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Here's the latest as the Trout Fire continues to burn in Gila, New Mexico
It has been one week since the Trout Fire was reported four miles southeast of Gila, New Mexico with the U.S. Forest Service noting it is 11% contained. That latest figure cited by the National Interagency Fire Center now reports the blaze has grown to a staggering 44,569 acres. "Yesterday's gusty winds have diminished. Light winds are expected today, shifting south-southwest by this evening," the U.S. Forest Service outlook said. "Relative humidity remains low, ranging from 6-9%, and fuels continue to be extremely dry. Looking ahead, there is an increasing chance of thunderstorm development in the coming days, which may bring erratic winds and lightning." The most recent evacuation orders from five hours ago have included Lake Roberts, Mimbres, San Lorenzo, Santa Rita Mine, Thunderbird, Lampbright, Sapillo Creek, Bear Dam, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Bear Canyon, Cherry Creek Ranch, Indian Springs Ranch and Cooney Place. The total personnel enlisted to contain the fire has also grown to 1,306 firefighters. The report by the U.S. Forest Service also confirmed crews are actively scouting for "control features to help limit fire movement" toward the Mimbres Valley. With increased fire activity, additional resources continue to arrive to help with suppression efforts. More: on tracking the Trout Fire New Mexico wildfire map: Track Trout Fire as responders work to contain blaze Currently, crews continue to hold and secure a completed line against the main fire. Plans are also underway to prepare HWY 15 for potential burnout operations on the northwest portion of the fire. Crews are also preparing to "implement defensive burning operations as needed and continue to prepare work and structure protection near Trout Valley and Lake Roberts," the forest service said. While air quality in the Borderland has been rated 47, or good, by IQAir as of this morning, New Mexico has seen a busy fire season thus far. The New Mexico Fire Dashboard reports four new fires have started in the last 24 hours burning 83 acres, with 13 starting within the last 14 days impacting 102,000 acres. There have only been three large fires burning 102,000 acres, while 2025 has already seen 567 fires total 138,000 acres. An estimated 64% of the blazes this year have been attributed to human causes. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Here's the latest as the Trout Fire continues to burn in Gila, New Mexico
Axios
17 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Congress could sell off 14 million acres of public land in Colorado
More than 14 million acres of federal public land in Colorado could be eligible for sale if Congress passes the Trump administration's budget bill, per a new analysis by a conservation nonprofit. Why it matters: This includes some of the state's most popular hiking, skiing and camping areas across the Western Slope. The big picture: The Republican-led proposal would require the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to put up to 3.3 million acres on the market for housing development. The bill's focus is on parcels outside of protected lands (like national parks, monuments or wilderness areas, which are exempt) but near roads and other development deemed suitable by local and state lawmakers. The Wilderness Society estimates more than 250 million acres across 11 Western states could be eligible for sale. Zoom in: In Colorado, that means some of its most prized public lands could be up for grabs, including sweeping sections of the Arapaho, San Juan and Rio Grande national forests. Also on the line are iconic stretches of the Million Dollar Highway and beloved hiking spots near Kenosha and Guanella passes, especially popular during fall leaf-peeping season. Follow the money: Most of the revenue — projected between $5 billion and $10 billion over the next decade — would go to the U.S. Treasury. Just 5% would trickle down to local governments. It's unclear how much the sale of public lands would negatively impact the outdoor recreation economy, which generated $1.2 trillion in economic output and supported 5 million jobs nationwide in 2023. Reality check: A recent Headwaters Economics report found less than 2% of public lands in the West near housing-hungry towns are actually suitable for development, and could be complicated due to high wildfire risk. The fine print: For the first decade, the land could only be sold for housing or related infrastructure — but after 10 years, that restriction vanishes, opening the door to virtually any kind of development, from strip malls to oil rigs. What they're saying: Colorado Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, who sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, told CPR no Democrats on the committee were given advance notice or could offer input, despite their states being on the list.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
California's 2025 wildfire season was already going to be dangerous. Trump has made it worse
As California continues to reel from the historic firestorm that decimated portions of Los Angeles in January, the state is now facing the prospect of an exceptionally active wildfire season fueled by hot, dry conditions. It may not be ready: Experts say sweeping changes at federal agencies that play key roles in California's wildfire preparation and response could make a challenging season even worse. The latest forecast from the National Interagency Fire Center calls for above-normal fire activity across much of California and the Northwest through September. The government outlook warns of 'significant fire potential' in Northern California, the Sierra Nevada and several of the state's coastal areas due largely to a pronounced warm and dry trend. The forecast arrives as the Trump administration is enacting budget cuts, layoffs, office closures and restructuring at the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump has said the changes will help eliminate federal waste and save Americans' tax dollars. However, these three agencies are critical components of California's wildfire response capabilities, from forecasting and forest management to firefighting and disaster relief. Weakening them at the start of fire season — and at a moment when human-caused climate change is driving larger and more destructive blazes — puts California at a dangerous disadvantage, multiple experts said. 'The level of anxiety is so extreme among people who understand the consequences of converging crises,' said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. The combination of a bone-dry winter, an early and rapid spring snowmelt, and a forecasted anomalously hot summer raises the risk of intense fire activity across the region, he said. When coupled with new federal policies that decrease the state's ability to foresee, prepare for and respond to wildfires, it could spell disaster. 'It isn't just NOAA, it isn't just the Forest Service, it isn't just FEMA,' Swain said. 'It's every single one of these agencies, departments and entities that would be helping us either preemptively prepare or emergently respond to wildfire events and other kinds of disasters — all of which are dysfunctional at exactly the same moment.' The U.S. Forest Service oversees more than half of the forestland in California and represents the largest federal firefighting entity. The Trump administration has called for a 63% budget cut at the agency and a reduction of as many as 10,000 employees, or roughly 30% of its workforce. Agency officials say firefighters are exempt from layoffs and buyouts. 'The Forest Service continues to ensure it has the strongest and most prepared wildland firefighting force in the world,' said Larry Moore, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, in an email. There are nearly 11,000 wildland firefighters on board for the season, including about 3,500 in the Pacific Southwest region that includes California, agency data show. However, the Forest Service's ranks also include scientists that study landscape and fire conditions, crews that help clear flammable vegetation through mechanical thinning and prescribed burns, and other employees that manage machinery, technology and operational necessities — categories that were not protected from the staff reductions. What's more, approximately 1,400 workers known as 'red card' employees were also among those who left or were fired this year. The red card holders are not full-time firefighters, but are certified to deploy to blazes and assist with firefighting operations and response. Officials are now scrambling to call them back. 'It takes resources and capacity to manage our forests, and right now this administration is choking off the agency,' said Josh Hicks, conservation campaigns director with the national nonprofit the Wilderness Society. 'There's not going to be the staff, whether it's the on-the-ground staff or staff that might be more behind the scenes, to address all the needs that our forests have.' The changes at the Forest Service aren't limited to staffing. President Trump has ordered the expansion of resource mining and oil and gas drilling in the nation's forests and public lands. In April, the administration opened 112.5 million acres of federal forestland to industrial logging in an effort to increase domestic timber supplies. The order includes all 18 of California national forests. Hicks said directing the agency to extract more resources from the landscape while simultaneously reducing its staff and budget will further hamper its ability to prepare for and respond to fires this year. 'I think we'll find out soon enough if … diverting and reprioritizing what the agency ought to be working on is going to be a major distraction,' he said. The president has also proposed a drastic restructuring that would transfer much of the Forest Service's wildfire personnel to a new department located within the Department of the Interior, according to his 2026 budget plan. The change would reallocate the Forest Service's firefighting budget to the new agency and fundamentally reorient its mission to one of extraction and recreation. 'We are getting back to the basics of managing our national forests for their intended purposes of producing timber, clean water, recreation, and other necessities for the American taxpayers,' agency head Tom Schultz said in a statement ahead of a budget review hearing with the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee last week. Schultz, a Trump appointee, is a former timber industry executive. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D–Ore.) said during the hearing he was concerned about the implications of such changes for fire season, noting that his state saw a record 1.93 million acres burn last year. 'What happens if those fires are all happening all at once? And what happens if [a] longer, hotter, drier summer produces more fires than last year?' Merkley said. 'Instead of investing more in wildfire prevention and firefighting, this budget slashes those investments.' FEMA has been plagued by similar upheaval in recent months, also losing about 30% of its workforce through an estimated 2,000 workers who were laid off or took buyouts. President Trump has called for eliminating the agency altogether as part of a larger strategy to shift disaster response responsibilities away from the federal government and onto the states. In a statement to The Times, FEMA officials said the agency is committed to ensuring Americans get the support they need in an emergency, but that 'disasters are best when they're managed at the state and local level.' Last month, FEMA's acting director, Cameron Hamilton, was ousted one day after testifying in Congress that he did not think it was in the best interest of the American people to dissolve the agency. He was replaced by David Richardson, who vowed in a recent staff meeting to 'achieve the president's intent.' As with the Forest Service, experts say the turmoil at FEMA could have considerable ramifications for California. Its Fire Management Assistance Grants are often the first federal lifeline during a fire and have in the past covered up to 75% of the state's costs for equipment, personnel and other immediate firefighting needs. After a fire, FEMA typically operates disaster recovery centers, provides public assistance funds, and helps coordinate infrastructure repair, debris removal, shelters and other forms of aid. That is now likely to change. 'The scope and the capacity of the agency has been very intentionally narrowed,' said Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, an associate professor of practice at Columbia Climate School who specializes in national disaster preparedness. As a result, he said, federal disaster relief is only likely to become more rare in the months ahead. Still, Schlegelmilch said there has been broad bipartisan support for reforming FEMA, and that many experts agree that states should do more to prepare for disasters. But 'where we do need to see states spending more, we don't necessarily need to see the federal government spending less,' he said. Indeed, FEMA's programs are already seeing funding cuts and reduced capabilities across the country, including in Los Angeles, where the agency broke with tradition and declined to fund soil testing following the Palisades and Eaton fires earlier this year. The Trump administration also eliminated FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants, which help states prepare for disaster. Trump's proposed plan would slash an additional estimated $646 million from the agency's overall budget. States don't have much time to prepare for such a potentially rapid loss of federal support. It's not clear whether FEMA will even exist come wildfire season. Trump has said he would like to wind down FEMA after this year's hurricane season, which ends in November — just as California's fire season typically peaks. 'It's going to be a very, very rough road for many states under this new paradigm,' said Schlegelmilch. When it comes to California's increasing battle against wildfires, those new challenges begin well ahead of disaster response. The Trump administration has also targeted NOAA and its subsidiary, the National Weather Service, for cutbacks. NOAA provides the foundation for much of California's wildfire preparedness, as its forecasts and warnings are often the first indication of trouble ahead and a signal for government agencies to begin positioning resources. The president's recent directives have roiled NOAA, which is facing a potential budget cut of roughly $1.5 billion following recent layoffs of more than 1,000 employees, including many meteorologists and other scientists, and the gutting of research programs. Officials this year have already suspended the launch of weather balloons at several locations across the country. At least two NWS offices in California no longer have enough staff to operate overnight: Sacramento and Hanford, which together cover the Central Valley and the Sierra, among the state's most fire-prone regions. When asked whether the agency can assure the public that recent changes will not affect its ability to forecast fire conditions and alert the public to danger, NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said only that officials are taking steps to refill roles at key locations through short-term temporary duty assignments and reassignments. 'Additionally, a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the department-wide hiring freeze,' she said. Swain, of the University of California, said the loss of personnel, expertise and redundancies at NOAA and the NWS put the state's residents and firefighters at a considerable disadvantage as fire season ramps up. While cracks may not show on an ordinary weather day, 'the problem is when there is an extreme event or a disaster or an emergency,' he said. 'That's where people are going to mess up and make mistakes — not on purpose, not due to lack of training or lack of professionalism, but because they're being asked to do 200 things simultaneously, and all of them are life-and-death critical.' Compounding all of these challenges is the fiery forecast for this summer and fall. The wet winters of 2022 and 2023 prompted new vegetation growth across California, which subsequently baked under recent dry conditions. The NIFC outlook notes that precipitation in Central and Southern California has been about 70% below average since October. All that dry brush will meet with a remarkably hot summer across California and the West, which could lead to explosive fires, Swain said. He is particularly concerned about the national picture between August and October, when there is an overlap between peak fire season and peak hurricane season. 'This year is ringing a lot of alarm bells, and would be ringing alarm bells even if we had fully functional, fully funded federal agencies,' Swain said. At the state level, officials say they are doing what they can to prepare for an active fire year. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has been steadily adding more personnel in recent years and now employs more than 12,500 people with a goal to increase staffing to 14,500 over the next few years, according to David Acuña, battalion chief of communications at the agency's headquarters in Sacramento. Acuña acknowledged that conditions are ripe for a dangerous summer and fall. 'It's a haystack of dry fuels that are just waiting to burn,' he said. However, when asked about changes at the federal level, he demurred. 'There's a lot yet to be known,' he said. 'We don't really know. What we do know, though, is that when there is a fire, if Cal Fire is called upon, we will be ready and able to respond immediately.' Indeed, Cal Fire isn't only adding staff but is also expanding its firefighting capabilities through partnerships with other nonfederal entities, he said. Among them is Earth Fire Alliance, a nonprofit coalition launching satellites that analyze the landscape and search the state for wildfire activity. Another project known as ALERT California, which is operated by Cal Fire and UC San Diego, uses artificial intelligence to scan more than 1,000 remote mountaintop cameras for the first signs of sparks. While such efforts may help reduce California's reliance on the federal government, they can't fully replace its assets yet. For example, Acuña said Cal Fire depends on red flag warnings and other data from the NWS to position crews, and it often fights side-by-side with firefighters from the Forest Service. 'We rely on our local partners, tribal partners, federal partners,' he said. 'Even as large as we are, we still can't do it alone.'
