Fireworks to be prohibited in unincorporated Pierce County starting in 2023

Starting in 2023, Pierce County residents will not be allowed to use fireworks in unincorporated areas for all but two days out of the year.

Wet weather helps wildfire containment in Washington
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The recent cooler, wetter weather has helped firefighters work to contain the Twenty-Five Mile fire burning in Chelan County.

DNR lands east of Cascades to reopen Thursday

Washington Department of Natural Resources lands east of the Cascades will reopen to public access on Thursday, after closing in July due to extreme heat, drought and wildfire risk.

Fires shut Sequoia National Park, could threaten huge trees

The massive sequoias grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. The General Sherman Tree stands 275 feet and is over 36 feet in diameter at the base, according to the U.S. National Park Service.

Biden: Western wildfires ‘supercharged by climate change’

“Scientists have been warning us for years that extreme weather is going to get more extreme,” President Joe Biden said after touring wildfires in northern California.

South Lake Tahoe is OK for now, but Caldor Fire not yet out

Better weather on Thursday helped the battle against a huge California wildfire threatening communities around Lake Tahoe, but fire commanders warned firefighters to be prepared for ongoing dangers.

Thick smoke from Caldor Fire envelops South Lake Tahoe

Thick smoke from the Caldor Fire enveloped the city of South Lake Tahoe, which was all but deserted during a summer week usually bustling with tourists.

High winds threaten to whip up flames approaching Lake Tahoe

A day after an explosive wildfire emptied a resort city at the southern tip of Lake Tahoe, a huge firefighting force braced for strong winds Tuesday as some residents in neighboring Nevada were ordered to evacuate.

JBLM soldiers train to help battle California’s historic wildfires

The soldiers based in the Puget Sound region are poised to deploy anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice, and now, they're getting ready to fight the historic wildfires in California. 

Gaps in US wildfire smoke warning network leave many exposed

Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions of people exposed to the pollution.

Pierce Co. worries about firefighter exodus over vaccine mandate

Fire chiefs and union leaders in Pierce County, Washington, say about 30 percent of their departments or membership have yet to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and they worry that a vaccinate mandate will prompt people to quit.

Hilary Franz announces new temporary airbase to help battle wildfires
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Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz, announced a new airbase that will be a staging area for large aircrafts to carry and drop fire retardant.

EXPLAINER: Why it takes months to subdue some wildfires

At nearly every community meeting on firefighting efforts in the U.S. West, residents want to know why crews don’t simply put out the flames to save their homes and the valuable forests surrounding them.

A look at 3 California wildfires: Dixie, Caldor, Cache

Firefighters are battling 15 blazes in California right now, and here's a look at three of them: The Cache Fire, the Caldor Fire and the Dixie Fire.