Latest Wildfire Stories

[ Watch the Video ] NASA's latest Earth-observing satellite, the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Oct. 28 to extend key environmental data records established by an earlier generation of NASA satellites. To mark the launch, we are looking back at one of the scientific legacies NPP will build upon: the global fire data record. An instrument on NPP called the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will extend this...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has released a series of new satellite data visualizations that show tens of millions of fires detected worldwide from space since 2002. The visualizations show fire observations made by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, instruments onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) NASA maintains a comprehensive research program using satellites, aircraft...

Ever looked out the windshield on the way to work wondering, “Where the heck did THOSE storm clouds from?” Don’t be the last guy on your block still doing that. FireWhat Inc. has your weather woes covered. Dunsmuir, CA (PRWEB) October 15, 2011 21st century satellite imagery and constantly updated local weather in one place? How come no one has done this before?! FireWhat Inc., a Dunsmuir, CA start-up, has created the definitive weather app for the iPhone. Combining...

According to a new study, Yellowstone National Park's wildlife and landscape is suffering from climate change. The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and Greater Yellowstone Coalition released a report on Tuesday that shows temperatures in the past decade in the Yellowstone area have exceeded the rate of warming worldwide compared to the 20th Century average. The report said that climate change is likely to transform the greater Yellowstone area, which includes parts of Wyoming, Idaho...

A Texas forecaster said on Thursday that the drought in the state could continue for another nine years, according to a recent Reuters report. The Texas drought has already cost over $5 billion in damages to farmers and ranchers in the state. "It is possible that we could be looking at another of these multiyear droughts like we saw in the 1950s, and like the tree rings have shown that the state has experienced over the last several centuries," State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon...

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will unleash its Dragon—a NIST invention that bellows showers of glowing embers, or firebrands—at a unique wind tunnel test facility in Japan, where researchers will evaluate the vulnerability of outdoor deck assemblies and materials to ignition during wildfires, a growing peril that accounts for half of the nation's 10 most costly fires. In a new report, NIST researchers summarize suggestions for test designs and objectives...

With over 25,000 injured in fires each year and an estimated $8.6 billion annually in property damage, wildfire safety and preparedness can save residents located in vulnerable areas not only their homes, but very possibly their lives. The following safety tips are a must-read for those residing in wildfire prone areas. Neptune, NJ (PRWEB) September 22, 2011 According to FEMA over 4,000 Americans die and over 25,000 are injured in fires each year. Property loss as a result of wildfires...

  Mankind's relationship with fire, and the ways people have historically used and managed these flames, are among the topics covered by a team of international researchers in a new study, published in Wednesday's edition of the Journal of Biogeography. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), "Fires have continuously occurred on Earth for at least the last 400 million years. But since the 1970s, the frequency of wildfires has increased at least four-fold, and the total size...

Mobile users are asked to text the keyword 'WILDFIRE' to 85944 to aid victims of the wildfires in Central Texas LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MobileCause (www.mobilecause.com), the leading U.S. web service for mobile communication, CRM and fundraising to non-profit sector, has partnered with United Way Capital Area to raise funds for the victims of the wildfires in Central Texas. MobileCause has enabled donors to support the relief fund through their mobile...

Mobile users are asked to text the keyword 'WILDFIRE' to 85944 to aid victims of the wildfires in Central Texas LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MobileCause (www.mobilecause.com), the leading U.S. web service for mobile communication, CRM and fundraising to non-profit sector, has partnered with United Way of Texas to raise funds for the victims of the wildfires in Central Texas. MobileCause has enabled donors to support the relief fund through their mobile device....