Looking up toward redwoods’ crowns in Redwood Regional Park, Oakland, Calif. Gado/Getty Images Coast redwood trees are enduring, adaptable marvels in a warming world Daniel Lewis, California Institute of Technology Coast redwoods – enormous, spectacular trees, some reaching nearly 400 feet, the tallest plants on the planet – thrive mostly in a narrow strip of land … Continue reading Coast Redwood Trees
Rocky Mountain fires leave telltale ash layers in nearby lakes like this one. Philip Higuera What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – tell us about the future of wildfires in the West Kyra Clark-Wolf, University of Colorado Boulder and Philip Higuera, University of Montana Strong winds … Continue reading 2,500 Years of Forest History
Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river. Bella Biondini/High Country News High winds tore at Gothic Mountain as the sleeping giant watched over the cabins nestled in Gothic, Colorado, a remote outpost accessible only by skis during the valley’s harsh alpine winters. The plumes … Continue reading The Case of the Colorado River’s Missing Water
A day fighting wildfires can require as much endurance as riding the Tour de France Ruby Mountain hotshots construct a fire line during the Dixie Fire in 2021. Joe Bradshaw/BLM Brent C. Ruby, University of Montana For three weeks in July, the world’s most elite bike racers climb steep mountains and sprint along historic cobblestones to … Continue reading Yellow Jerseys of the Fireline:
What happened when two experienced hikers got caught in the Bolt Creek Fire. Kylie Mohr/High Country News Matt Bishop and Steve Cooper grabbed exposed roots and mossy rocks for balance as they climbed up a steep hillside. It was just after 7 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2022, and the two friends were headed up Baring Mountain, … Continue reading ‘We have fire all around us and we can’t get out’
Fires are increasing in high mountain areas that rarely burned in the past. John McColgan, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Mojtaba Sadegh, Boise State University As wildfire risk rises in the West, wildland firefighters and officials are keeping a closer eye on the high … Continue reading Fire danger in the high mountains is intensifying: That’s bad news for humans, treacherous for the environment
California’s snowpack was more than twice the average in much of the state in early March 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images Dan McEvoy, Desert Research Institute After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up … Continue reading Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look