Articles about Wildfires

Severe wildfires are difficult to control – but one research model shows ‘a better way forward’

by Lisa Stiffler on August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 at 4:12 pm

As swaths of wildlands are being scorched and communities smoked out by another unusually hot, dry summer, researchers in Washington state say there could be a less miserable, environmentally beneficial… Read More

Microsoft AI tool reveals swath of devastation from Maui wildfire

by Lisa Stiffler on August 11, 2023August 14, 2023 at 8:39 am

In Maui’s historic town of Lahaina, more than half of the community’s 2,810 buildings have been damaged by a wildfire that this week obliterated the landscape. More than 1,200 of… Read More

Wildfire startup puts AI-powered eyes in the forest to watch for new blazes and provide rapid alerts

by Lisa Stiffler on August 9, 2023August 14, 2023 at 4:17 pm

You don’t put out a wildfire with water and flame retardants like you do a burning house. You contain it and wait for it to burn itself out. So spotting… Read More

Bill Gates-backed startup aims to fight wildfires, drawing on expertise of ex-Amazon drone leader and aviation execs

by Lisa Stiffler on August 3, 2023August 4, 2023 at 4:07 pm

Data Blanket is a new startup out of the Seattle area developing small fleets of AI-powered drones that can perform self-guided missions to assess wildfires and automatically share that information… Read More

Wildfire restoration startup DroneSeed creates parent brand, acquires California’s largest tree seed supplier

by Lisa Stiffler on March 7, 2023July 27, 2023 at 2:33 pm

DroneSeed, a Seattle startup using technology to help restore forests scorched by wildfire, announced Tuesday that it is now operating under a new parent brand called Mast Reforestation and has… Read More

A modern Johnny Appleseed: Meet the Seattle drone startup replanting forests after wildfires

by Lisa Stiffler on September 18, 2022September 16, 2022 at 3:58 pm

A swarm of giant drones navigates a scorched moonscape, tracing the rugged topography. The scene has a desolate, sci-fi vibe — but its reality is rooted in the terra firma.… Read More

New interactive tool using satellites and AI creates more precise wildfire maps for public, firefighters

by Lisa Stiffler on July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 at 9:57 am

Anxiety-inducing images of skies hazy from wildfires and hillsides set ablaze are increasingly popping up on my Twitter feed and Instagram feed. The photos are posted by friends and colleagues… Read More

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Wildfire forecast: How to stay safe and what to expect this summer in the Pacific Northwest

by Lisa Stiffler on July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 at 8:41 am

If you were in the Pacific Northwest during last September’s super smoky wildfires, it was a miserable, apocalyptic-hued experience that isn’t soon forgotten. This year, the region is in the… Read More

Why smoke, why? What happened to the promise of clearer skies in Seattle come Monday

by Lisa Stiffler on September 14, 2020September 16, 2020 at 12:11 pm

Waking up Saturday morning, my window blinds glowed with a ghoulish yellow thanks to the blanket of wildfire smoke that was smothering Washington, Oregon and California. I rolled over and… Read More

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White House issues grim Black Friday outlook for wildfires and more climate woe

by Alan Boyle on November 23, 2018November 24, 2018 at 10:37 am

If current climate trends continue, the Pacific Northwest will have more summer wildfires, less winter snowpack and smaller numbers of the salmon for which our region is famous. The skiing… Read More

As Seattle’s smoke clears, experts weigh what’s ahead for Pacific Northwest skies

by Alan Boyle on August 22, 2018August 27, 2018 at 8:46 pm

After enduring days of record-setting, eye-watering levels of smoke in the air, the Seattle area is in for relief, thanks to a shift in wind patterns. But the debate over… Read More

Across Seattle, social media looks more like smoke signals as users share images of hazy skies

by Kurt Schlosser on August 21, 2018August 21, 2018 at 10:24 am

That’s not another blurry sunset photo or video from your friend on Facebook or Instagram, that’s August, again, in Seattle and the surrounding areas of Western Washington. Little orange circles… Read More

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Policymakers tout high-tech tools for addressing Northwest’s wildfire crisis

by Alan Boyle on August 16, 2018August 19, 2018 at 12:12 am

The smoky skies over Seattle have cleared up somewhat, but the Pacific Northwest’s wildfires continue to burn — prompting pledges from Republicans as well as Democrats to beef up the region’s… Read More

A ‘perfect storm’ of wildfires puts Seattle’s terrible air quality in the record books

by Alan Boyle on August 15, 2018August 16, 2018 at 10:51 am

If this week’s smoky skies seem unprecedented, that’s not far wrong: Thanks to an unusually unfortunate weather pattern, Seattle just recorded its worst 24-hour air quality in almost two decades… Read More

California officials warn against use of navigation apps steering drivers to empty (burning) streets

by Kurt Schlosser on December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 at 3:01 pm

Navigating the Los Angeles area and avoiding traffic is a difficult enough proposition, but it must be especially scary this week for people fleeing or trying to steer clear of… Read More

Even weather gurus are gobsmacked by Northwest’s wildfires and ash fall

by Alan Boyle on September 5, 2017September 5, 2017 at 12:02 pm

Texas has its floods, Florida has a potentially catastrophic hurricane coming its way, but the Pacific Northwest has its own sign of the apocalypse: wildfires that are turning the sun… Read More

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Boeing drone subsidiary Insitu joins new partnership to track wildfires day and night

by Alan Boyle on August 10, 2017August 10, 2017 at 6:44 pm

There’s new cause for hope in the fight against wildfires, and it involves Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary that’s headquartered in Bingen, Wash., and specializes in unmanned aerial vehicles. Today Insitu announced… Read More

High-tech aerial photos reveal neighborhoods decimated by Alberta wildfires

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 18, 2016May 18, 2016 at 9:00 am

Wildfire is spreading aggressively through Alberta, Canada, damaging hundreds of thousands of hectares along its path. Emergency management officials in Alberta have enlisted EagleView Technology Corporation, a Bothell, Wash.-based aerial imagery… Read More

Satellites reveal just how bad the wildfires are in Alberta’s oil-sand country

by Alan Boyle on May 6, 2016May 6, 2016 at 11:07 am

Canadian firefighters are still struggling to get a handle on wide-ranging wildfires in Alberta’s oil-sand country, and satellite images are helping them see the big picture. Among the space assets… Read More

Boeing drone helps fight Washington state wildfires in latest demonstration of UAV technology

by Jacob Demmitt on September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 at 9:39 am

Insitu, the Boeing subsidiary that makes unmanned aircraft systems, is helping emergency responders in Washington State as they work to tame wildfires that have spread across the Pacific Northwest, destroying and threatening… Read More