The Gwen Fire has burned nearly 30,000 acres in the Clearwater Canyon near Juliaetta so far. In this photo taken July 31, 2024, the Rivaura Estate Vineyard and Winery can […]Read More
Supporters of the bill, including lawmakers who are firefighters, gathered this week in Olympia to highlight the success of the bill’s passage. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB) Listen (Runtime :55) […]Read More
Workers remove trees impacted by the Gray Fire near Interstate 90. (Courtesy: Washington State Department of Transportation) Read By: Rebecca White / Spokane Public Radio Update: Interstate 90 has re-opened. Washington […]Read More
The Newell Road Fire in south-central Washington has burned more than 50,000 acres. (Credit: Newell Road Fire Information, Facebook.) Read A fire in south-central Washington has threatened renewable energy projects, […]Read More
Debby Carscallen, emergency medical service division chief for the Moscow Fire Department, says over the past five years it’s gotten harder to recruit volunteer EMTs and firefighters. At the same […]Read More
Listen (Runtime 1:21) Read The fire danger forecast for all of Benton County was raised to the level of VERY HIGH this week. This means restrictions for residents and farmers. […]Read More
Firefighters say toxic chemicals in their protective equipment are a big concern and need to be replaced with safer alternatives.Read More
The National Interagency Fire Center said Tuesday that it’s the second earliest it reached what it calls preparedness level 4 on the 1-5 scale since 1990. It’s also only the fourth time in the last 20 years that it has reached the level 4 in June.Read More
Severe drought has turned forests and grasslands into dry fuels, ready to ignite from a careless camper or a lightning strike. More people are building in areas bordering wildlands, expanding the so-called wildland-urban interface, an area where wildfires impact people the most. Invasive, highly flammable vegetation is spreading uncontrolled across the West.Read More
A Facebook page called “Baby Yoda fights fires” has been documenting his journey and spreading joy far beyond the fire lines. More than 30,000 people and counting are following the page as he travels from crew to crew.Read More
As wildfire season heats up, Washington fire managers are working out new ways for incarcerated people to help on the fire lines and stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Correctional crews have helped put out fires and work in fire camp kitchens for decades. And things are a little different this year.Read More
Coronavirus risk and ongoing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) are leading fire departments around the region to rediscover the enduring truth of the idiom, "Necessity is the mother of invention." Read More
More than 500 firefighters and EMTs in the Pacific Northwest have been temporarily quarantined after suspected exposure to the coronavirus over the past two months. The Washington State Council of Fire Fighters and the Oregon Fire Service Coronavirus Response Team have been monitoring the number of first responders taken out of service. Read More
This year, fire camp could be as dangerous as the wildfires, and top Western managers are deep in planning how to make fire camps COVID-19 ready for fire crews. Hilary Franz is Washington’s commissioner of public lands. She says state, federal, tribal and local officials are trying to make fighting wildfires safe during a pandemic. Read More
Each year, state, federal and local officials train around 1,000 firefighters. Trainings start in April and last through May. Now, that's all on hold.Read More
The number of workers getting less than seven hours of sleep a night is rising. Stress and our culture of constant connection may be to blame.Read More
Christian Johnson, 55, had been flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after suffering burns over more than half of his body fighting the Spring Coulee Fire on Sept. 1. Read More
Christian Johnson was severely burned while helping put out a Labor Day weekend brush is still in critical condition. Doctors said the recovery process will take several months.Read More
A Washington firefighter was badly burned over the Labor Day weekend while fighting a small brush fire in Okanogan County. He’s currently in a medically induced coma at a Seattle hospital.Read More
No figures on wildland firefighter suicides are available because federal agencies often track only fatalities that occur during work hours, and families don’t always release a cause of death. But lang management agencies are concerned about an increasing number of suicides, and seeking to address ways to help.Read More
Over the past few years, Northwest communities have been getting better acquainted with wildfire smoke. But even in the most affected places, people can get some relief by limiting time outside and using air filters and inexpensive masks. These aren’t options for wildland firefighters. Read More
A look at the importance of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's annual stair climb to Pullman firefighters as they prepare to make the climb.Read More
