Environment

Experts warn that Western states and the federal government need to radically increase the number and size of controlled burns to help reduce the ongoing risks of more catastrophic wildfire seasons.

The fires are burning across more than 400,000 acres and have reached Rocky Mountain National Park.

The fire forces the park to close and a nearby town to evacuate.

The Bears Ears Monument Advisory Committee met today for a third time to discuss the management of the monument. But the plans they're making could be moot if Joe Biden wins the presidential election or a federal judge rules against the Trump Administration's reduction of Bears Ears.

Scientists know that tiny particles from smoke can be inhaled deep into a person's lungs and even enter the bloodstream. But the long-term health effects of this are not fully understood.

The White House says it will appeal a federal court ruling ousting William Perry Pendley, who led the Bureau of Land Management for more than 400 days without Senate confirmation.

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks with Emily Fischer, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, about the health effects of the smoke from the fires in Oregon and California.

Thousands of firefighters are deployed to dangerous megafires in the West, the first big tests to the added safety protocols fire managers scrambled to get in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves and disease outbreaks are all a preview of our hotter future. Dramatically cutting greenhouse gas emissions would help.

Native American tribes are restoring traditional burning in California, which could help the state reduce the risk of extreme wildfires.