Congress considers legislation to improve forest management in wake of recent wildfires

In response to the catastrophic wildfires in 2017 thus far, and the escalating costs of battling fire-related damages, Congress is fielding legislation to promote forest management techniques that would return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands.

Register now for National Academies workshop on wildland fire research

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Earth Sciences and Resources is hosting a one-day workshop on March 27. No charge for registration, which includes the option for virtual attendance. For information and registration, click here. Information is also copied below.

Burning Grass Releases More Nitrogen Pollution Than Burning Wood

Where there's smoke, there's fire - but what's in the smoke? A recent air quality study from the University of Colorado Boulder has confirmed earlier laboratory experiments that show that grass and crop fire smoke carries greater amounts of nitrogen-containing volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) than wood fire smoke. Read the full story in EARTH Magazine.

EARTH: Flames Fan Lasting Fallout from Chernobyl

In the years following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, forest fires billowed plumes of contaminated smoke, carrying radioactive particles throughout Europe on the wind. Now, researchers fear that a shift to a hotter, drier climate in Eastern Europe could increase the frequency of these fires.

EARTH: Fire-driven Clouds and Swirling Winds Whipped Up Record-Setting New Mexico Blaze

he massive 2011 Las Conchas Fire near Los Alamos, N.M., defied conventional fire science wisdom by racing downhill instead of uphill, and increasing intensity overnight. Now, EARTH Magazine brings you recent scientific analysis of the fire from a research team at Los Alamos National Lab.

NASA to test unmanned aerial systems for wildfire detection

NASA’s Langley Research Center and the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have entered into a one-year agreement to test small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for detecting brush and forest fires in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, VA.

EARTH Reports on Fighting or Fleeing Forest Fires

While homes are being lost and firefighters go about the dangerous work of fighting the Santa Barbara wildfires in California, EARTH magazine is reporting on new research that highlights a different approach: When fires near in, consider staying and defending your home instead of evacuating.