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☆ Opinion: ‘Dear Canada…’ an American firefighter’s heartfelt letter to north of the border
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Opinion Clare Frank | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This means agencies creating the wildland-urban interface or WUI — where human settlements meet the natural environment — are not ultimately responsible for protecting it. By my fifth year in firefighting, I’d seen plenty of wildfires and structure fires, and wildfires threatening structures. As we convoyed in, a battalion chief instructed each engine company, “If it’s not savable, leapfrog to the next house. Smoke rises from the Texas Creek wildfire south of Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada, on July 9. In this banner year, some are crying for Canada to form a national fire department.

Persons: Clare Frank, Read, Cynthia Smalley, nature’s, partiers, leapfrog, Luis Ascui, they’d, ember, Smokey Bear, “, it’s, Canada’s Organizations: CNN, CNN —, Del, Getty, Australia, Service, Reuters, Twitter, Facebook Locations: California’s, United States, Pebble Beach , California, Del Monte Forest, Kinglake, Victoria, Australia, Canada, Texas, Lillooet, British Columbia, California, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France

☆ Smoke will keep pouring into the US as long as fires are burning in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Alaa Elassar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Massive fires burning in remote areas – like some of those currently burning in northwestern Quebec – are often too out of control to do anything about. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds the view of the Statue of Liberty on Friday in New York. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Smoke and haze is seen from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, June 27. Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images Smoke from Canadian wildfires obscures the visibility in Pittsburgh on June 8. Another issue is the increase in the wildfires are caused by climate change, and are simultaneously making climate change worse.

Persons: ” Robert Gray, you’ve, they’re, “ There’s, don’t, ”, Daniel Perrakis, ” Gray, Shiraaz Mohamed, Gray, “, ” Perrakis, Ed Jones, David Dee Delgado, Gary Hershorn, Haze, Gene J, Jim Watson, Megan Smith, Kamil Krzaczynski, Cpl Marc, Andre Leclerc, Drew Angerer, Shannon Stapleton, Ronald Reagan, Saul Loeb, Matt McClain, Emmalee Reed, Hannah Beier, Mandel Ngan, New York City, Timothy A, Clary, Mike Segar, John Minchillo, Shanita Hancle, Seth Wenig, Matt Rourke, Ting Shen, Matt Slocum, Amr Alfiky, John Meore, Leah Millis, George Washington, Peter Carr, Yuki Iwamura, Kareem Elgazzar, Carlos Osorio, Frank Franklin II, Merrily Cassidy, Spencer Colby, Jason Rock, BJ Fuchs, Anne, Sophie Thill, we’ve, it’s Organizations: CNN, Canadian Forest Service, Firefighters, Getty, ” “, Nature Conservancy, Rockefeller Center, North, Corbis, PNC Park, Major League Baseball, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Traffic, Chesapeake, Lincoln Memorial, USA, People, Canadian Forces, Reuters, BC, Service, Xinhua, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Capitol, Trade, AP Transit, T, Alberta Wildfire, New, New York City, Getty Images Workers, Citizens Bank, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Empire, George Washington Bridge, New York State Thruway, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cape Cod Times, Anadolu Agency, Canadian Press, AP, Wildfire Service, Communications, Space, NASA, Reuters Firefighters, Kamloops Fire Rescue, Shining Bank Locations: Wisconsin, Vermont, North Carolina, Canada, Quebec, Canadian, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, France, AFP, New Jersey, Manhattan, New York, North America, New, Pittsburgh, Stevensville , Maryland, Washington ,, Chicago, Lake Michigan, Mistissini, Ronald Reagan Washington, Arlington , Virginia, Washington, Philadelphia, Elmont , New York, Baltimore, Evansburg , Alberta, Brooklyn , New York, Piermont , New York, Fort Lee , New Jersey, George, West Nyack, New York's, New York City, Cincinnati, Rock Harbor, Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Ottawa, Fort Nelson, Shelburne County , Nova Scotia, Communications Nova Scotia, Shelburne , Nova Scotia, Fort St, John, Kamloops, Shining Bank , Alberta, Lytton

☆ Canada’s Ability to Prevent Forest Fires Lags Behind the Need
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Vjosa Isai | Ian Austen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Canada’s capacity to prevent wildfires has been shrinking for decades because of budget cuts, a loss of some of the country’s forest service staff, and onerous rules for fire prevention, turning some of its forests into a tinderbox. As residents braced for what could be the worst wildfire season on record, and one that is far from over, the air slowly cleared over the Northeastern United States on Friday, but hundreds of wildfires continued to burn across Canada. Thanks to some rain and cloud cover near wildfire areas, with scattered rains expected in parts of southern Ontario on Sunday, Steven Flisfeder, a warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, predicted that the weekend could bring better air quality in Toronto, the country’s largest city. “That’s going to help flush out the contaminants from the air a little bit,” he said. More than 1,100 firefighters from around the world have been dispatched across Canada to help combat the country’s raging fire season, officials said, including groups from France, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Persons: Steven Flisfeder, “ That’s Organizations: Northeastern Locations: Northeastern United States, Canada, Ontario, Toronto, France, Chile, Costa Rica, United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

Rey Steve Mabiala and his wife, Liz Gouari, taking refuge at the Roberval emergency center after being ordered to evacuate Chibougamau, Quebec, as a fire approached. Of the more than 400 fires now burning in Canada, more than one-third are in Quebec, which has already registered its worst wildfire season on record. Credit... Carlos Osorio/Reuters“We are facing some unprecedented events, including droughts, accelerated fires and heat waves, and there will be more over time, especially forest fires,” Ms. Mohsin said. But perhaps most surprised were newcomers to Chibougamau, like Mr. Mabiala, from the Republic of Congo, who came to work in logging. “They were asking, “Oh, is there such a thing in Canada?’ ’’ Ms. Cabrera said.

Persons: Rey Steve Mabiala, Liz Gouari, Gouari, Mabiala, Prince Edward Island, ” Mr, “ It’s, ”, Josée Poitras, Tanzina Mohsin, Carlos Osorio, Ms, Mohsin, Poitras, “ I’ve, I’ve, Francis Côté, “, Chibougamau, Renaud Philippe, Côté, Guy Boisvert, Winters, Boisvert, Shirley, Jonathan Mattson, Mr, Mattson, Ruth Cabrera, Anna Huerte, —, Cabrera, Huerte Organizations: Wildfire, University of Toronto, ., Reuters, The New York Times, “, Credit Locations: Chibougamau, Quebec, Africa, Canada, North America, Republic of Congo, Prince, Nunavut, Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Toronto, Val, Montreal, Roberval, East Coast, United States, Philippines

☆ Canada sends military to help battle blazes in Nova Scotia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Smoke from the Tantallon wildfire rises over houses in nearby Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 28, 2023. Nova Scotia is battling two large fires that are threatening communities on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Halifax. The armed forces would provide equipment and personnel to relieve firefighters "who have been working tirelessly around the clock to protect communities right across Nova Scotia", Blair said. The federal government sent the military to Alberta last month to help battle blazes there and Canada is also getting help from other countries. Some 800 U.S. firefighters have come to battle the blazes, mostly in Alberta, with another 100 are scheduled to arrive in Nova Scotia over coming days, officials said.

Persons: Eric Martyn, Bill Blair, Blair, Justin Trudeau, Steve Scherer, Anirudh Saligrama, Sharon Singleton, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, OTTAWA, CBC News, CBC, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bedford , Nova Scotia, Canada, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Alberta, Quebec, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

☆ Charm gets $53 million to turn corn leftovers into oil and inject it into abandoned oil and gas wells
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The 112,000 tons of carbon dioxide that Charm will remove is more than ten times the total quantity of carbon dioxide that has been removed so far with human techniques. "It's sort of a brilliant, but accidental, discovery," Reinhardt told CNBC. "It's a little it's a little odd or unusual, but uniquely American, in that we're basically pumping barbecue sauce into old oil and gas wells," Reinhardt told CNBC. There are about 2 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S., and owner-operators are eager to find another use for them, Reinhardt told CNBC. We will run out of waste biomass long before we before we exhaust the subsurface capacity," Reinhardt told CNBC.

☆ Chile's firefighting goats protect a native forest from deadly blazes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Juan Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The goats have already saved the native forest of the Bosques de Chacay once, preventing the park from being consumed by February forest fires - fueled by heatwaves and a punishing drought - that left dozens dead, thousands injured and almost 440,000 hectares destroyed in south-central Chile. The technique, also used in Portugal and Spain, relies on grazing goats to control dry pastures and other vegetation that fuel forest fires in the summer. Cruces started the project after deadly wildfires in 2017. Her flock has since grown from 16 goats to 150 and she hopes to inspire others to follow suit. "These animals can help us a lot," Di Napoli said, adding that other organizations should "evaluate where it can be applied, find where there's fuel and have the goats eat it."

These projects add to $440 million in wildfire mitigation efforts that launched last year using funds from Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law. Together, these resources will help protect up to 45 million acres in the western U.S., said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. This includes 134 high-risk areas of land where a wildfire could pose a serious risk to communities and infrastructure. The USDA’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy, published in January 2022, identified 250 of these high-risk “firesheds” across the western states. The USDA’s work will focus on 11 landscapes, areas that were selected based on wildfire risks to nearby communities and buildings.

☆ PG&E Needs to Find Billions of Dollars for Wildfire Prevention
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Katherine Blunt | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PG&E is burying its lines in Paradise, Calif., a step it also decided to take more broadly to reduce fire risk. PG&E Corp.’s ambitious plan to reduce wildfire risk will cost tens of billions of dollars. It isn’t exactly clear how it is going to pay for it. The utility company, which provides electricity and natural gas to about 16 million people in Northern California, is limited in its ability to raise debt and equity following a complex bankruptcy restructuring that required it to issue record amounts of each. Now, it is seeking alternative ways to fund its capital-spending plan, which proposes roughly $50 billion in investments between 2022 and 2026.

☆ Americans are flocking to wildfire country
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Our main finding is that people seem to be moving to counties with the highest wildfire risks, and cities and suburbs with relatively hot summers. This is concerning because wildfire and heat are only expected to become more dangerous with climate change," Mahalia Clark, the lead author of the study, told CNBC. "People tend to think of wildfire as something that affects the West, but it also affects large areas of the South and even Midwest." On the other hand, sometimes high risk areas are more affordable, creating an unfortunate incentive for people to move there." But homebuyers also need to be doing their due diligence on the climate risks associated with the location where they are considering buying a new home.

Drone Amplified, a Nebraska-based startup, is using unmanned aerial technology to improve one of the oldest and most-effective methods of preventing wildfires: prescribed burns. “Then you have helicopters with a whole crew on board, flying really low and slow over the fire,” he added of other methods for prescribed burns. The drones allow firefighters to work at a distance from flames, according to Detweiler, and in areas that are difficult to reach due to terrain or visibility. Precision is a critical element when conducting prescribed burns, because it is crucial for preventing fire escapes. Two recent controlled burns in New Mexico escaped and led to the state’s largest wildfire on record.

☆ A plan to tax the rich to fund electric cars is on the ballot in California
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —California has long been a leader among states, and even countries, in promoting a shift to electric cars, including with its plans to ban the sale of purely gas-powered cars by 2035. Opponents of the ballot initiative claim it’s really just an attempt by one tech company to benefit itself at the expense of other priorities. Opponents of the ballot initiative claim Lyft’s support is self-serving. But a rule like Prop 30, which would make it easier for just about anyone in California to buy an electric car, including Lyft drivers. And electric cars are too expensive for lower income residents to afford, so the financial support is needed, especially with sales of gas cars being banned in the future.

☆ Lyft Battles Gavin Newsom Over California Measure to Fund EVs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Preetika Rana | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lyft Inc. is leading the fight for a new green tax in California, pitting the ride-sharing company against the governor over who should pay for the shift to electric vehicles. San Francisco-based Lyft is the biggest financier of efforts to pass a November ballot measure that seeks to make the wealthiest Californians pay some of the costs of transitioning to greener forms of transportation and fund wildfire prevention. Lyft and other supporters are proposing an additional 1.75% tax on income earned over $2 million for the next 20 years, arguing that more money is needed to engineer the state’s shift to cleaner energy.

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