PLANET IN PERIL

theguardian It came without warning, and without equivalent. Now a flash drought is fuelling fires and hurting the lives of those who work the land. Story here.

Common Dreams From major hurricanes and flooding to droughts and fires, the refusal to accept the science of global warming is getting very expensive. Story here. Ashcroft Reserve wildfire in BC, Canada, seen across Loon Lake. Shawn Cahill

CBC news Fire prompted evacuation of Wasagamack First Nation, partial evacuations of Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point. Story here.

Sierra Club of BC A wildfire in the Okanagan region of BC a few years ago, from space. NASA. Record-breaking wildfires and heat waves are a reminder that we have little time to save nature, phase out fossil fuels and leap to a low-carbon economy, all at the same time. Story here.

Environmental Research Letters Control fire -- NWT, Canada. (USDA Forest Service photo.)  As summer weather becomes increasingly drier and warmer, the risks of forest fires increase and their manageability decreases. A new study has modelled the key forest fire factors in boreal forests within the framework of changing climate models, and the results aren't hopeful: future forest fires will likely rage stronger and be much more difficult to contain than ever before. Researchers looked at three main predicting factors in forest fires: forest fuel types (in other words, what burns up in a forest fire: species of trees in the forests, type of forest and shrub cover, presence of lichens, wood chips or mosses on the ground surface); weather scenarios for the next 80 years; and fire behaviour (how the fire will spread, how fast it will travel, how intense it is, etc.) Their findings showed that the proportion of days in fire seasons with the potential for unmanageable fire w

CBC news Smoke could cause issue for people living with asthma, irritate eyes. Story here.

by Larry Powell Did you hear them interview Walt Cobb on CBC Radio this week about the BC wildfires?  They asked him if he thought, as the world's leading climate scientists do, that wildfires have become "the new normal." Here's his response. “I don’t necessarily agree with that. There’s always been changes…Like my wife said the other morning…this is in somebody else’s hands… God has lined up what’s going to happen. And we’ll have to live with that." So who is Walt Cobb, you ask? Some ordinary guy off the street? Not exactly. He is the Mayor of Williams Lake, B.C. (l.) That's a city of 10 thousand - now almost a ghost town. It was ordered evacuated due to unprecedented fires burning in the region. Does he strike you as a guy who has a clue about the science? I can't really see him being on the front lines of efforts to wean ourselves off fossil fuels toward more sustainable, renewable energy sources. Can you? If that is the most h

CLIMATE CENTRAL Siberian wildfire season is off and running with multiple blazes searing the boreal forest and tundra. It’s the latest example of the vast shifts happening to the forests that cover Siberia and the rest of the northern tier of the world as climate change alters the landscape. Details here. RELATED Arctic’s Boreal Forests Burning At ‘Unprecedented’ Rate Alaska Entering New Era for Wildfires Alberta Wildfires Costliest Disaster in Canadian History

                                                        The Washington Post     West Texas - 2011.  Staff Sgt. Eric Harris The grasslands of Great Plains have seen one of the sharpest increases in large and dangerous wildfires in the past three decades, with their numbers more than tripling between 1985 and 2014, according to new research.  Story here .

CBCnews Heat from fires so intense, crews having trouble approaching flames. Details here.

High Country News New research finds illegal campfires, cigarette butts and other accidental ignitions have nearly tripled the (US) wildfire season. Story here. Coconino National Forest, Arizona.  Jonathan Horn photo.

EcoWatch Records tumble in infernos in Chile. Details here.

 inside   climate  news Huge, destructive fires are more common with climate change, and the loss of regeneration threatens to exacerbate global warming. Story here.

Chicago Tribune A ferocious wildfire had swallowed up many homes as it spread across 40 square miles of mountain and desert east of Los Angeles. Exactly how many, however, and to whom they belonged, remained uncertain. Story here.

CBC News The health toll of the wildfire remains unknown. Story here.

CBC News The challenge is to extinguish fire before it moves underground. Story here. RELATED: "These Fires Are Huge, Hidden and Harmful. What Can We Do?"

ensia Smouldering peat gives off massive quantities of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, but the search for solutions is on. Story here. RELATED: "One of North America' Biggest Peat Bogs Burns Near Vancouver." "Only Heroic Efforts Will Spare Earth's Mighty Boreal Forest From the Worst Ravages of Climate Change."

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Forest fires are not an unusual thing in the Northwest Territories, but the summer of 2014 went beyond anything Yellowknife residents had seen before. The air quality index was at 10 or worse – the worst it can be – for much of the summer because of all the smoke. Story here. RELATED: " B.C. remains quiet over polluted Hullcar aquifer"

CBC news 'Megafires' result from severe drying, says McMaster researcher. Story here. RELATED: "Only Heroic Efforts Will Spare Earth's Mighty Boreal Forest From the Worst Ravages of Climate Change."