wildfire

The University of Nebraska is developing a fire-starting drone, adapting a flaming ping pong ball technique already used in wildfire management. They hope to help teams conduct safer prescribed burns.

Climate change is affecting what visitors see in Mesa Verde National Park. Over the past decade, scorching wildfires have destroyed archaeological artifacts — and have also revealed new ones.

The Okanogan fire burning in central Washington is the largest wildfire in the state's history. Some area homeowners have cleared brush to keep the fire away. One built a nonflammable concrete home.

The California fire is unusually intense and unpredictable. But between climate change and the impact of decades of poor management, such wildfires may be the new normal.

Exceptionally dry conditions are fueling major blazes across the Pacific Northwest. A drought and rapid development in Washington mean the state may not be prepared to deal with a long, hot summer.