Robert W. Gray
@firebobbc.bsky.social
Wildland fire ecologist working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in western North America to build a healthy, resilient environment for future generations.
NEW THIS MORNING: Firefighters say the number of structure damaged or destroyed in the Spokane area fires has risen to more than 900.
Number of structures burned in Spokane area fires rises to more than 900
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Firefighters updated the number of homes and other buildings that have been damaged or destroyed by three major wildfires burning in Spokane County.
kxly.com
The state has surpassed it's acreage record just two months into wildfire season.
More than 2 million acres burned as Oregon sets new wildfire record
The state has surpassed it's acreage record just two months into wildfire season.
oregonlive.com
Wildfires, drought and heatwaves make it abundantly clear: climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Denying it is both dangerous and ridiculous https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/climate-crisis-daily-telegraph-wild-fires-b3025464.html
Climate change sceptics have lost the plot as Europe burns
Reading The Telegraph, it’s hard to work out whether their climate columns are a work of satire, writes Alan Rusbridger.
independent.co.uk
This video was shot by a good friend of mine. She’s standing in her front yard. #Spokane #SpokaneFire The VA in Spokane is being evacuated.
Breaking News: Wildfires in Spokane County, Washington forced thousands of people to evacuate as wind gusts powered rapidly spreading flames.
Wildfires in Spokane, Wash., Force Thousands to Evacuate
The Old Trails fire had grown to about 2,500 acres by Saturday afternoon, propelled by strong wind gusts and high temperatures.
nyti.ms
Hickenlooper calls for federal investigation into Knowles Fire firefighter deaths www.kkco11news.com/2026/07/31/h...
Hickenlooper calls for federal investigation into Knowles Fire firefighter deaths
Senator urges Department of Interior to examine deaths of four firefighters and role of recent Wildland Fire Service changes
kkco11news.com
Ukraine has joined the EU's wildfire response for the first time, sending firefighters to help battle devastating blazes in France. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the deployment as a symbol of European solidarity.
Ukraine sends firefighters to battle EU wildfires in historic first
Spain, Italy, France and Greece are all battling large wildfires this summer.
tvpworld.com
Heat domes now, fires to follow. For historical background to Europe's fire scene, Undying Fire is published! 40% the length of Vestal Fire; half of it abridged and updated from VF, and half new and reconceptualized. Univ. of Washington Press even offers a 40% discount (code WAUT).
Human-induced climate change made the extreme fire weather that fuelled the recent destructive wildfires at least twice as likely in France and at least 20 times more likely in Spain, according to our new study.
Wildland firefighters experience a range of stressors, which can lead to short and long-term health effects. The impacts of these health concerns are receiving increased attention from government agencies, researchers, health professionals, and the wildland firefighter community. buff.ly/SX2Es8Y
'Officials warn that wildfires could still be burning in November'. The financial damage from these fires will also be enormous, more than in previous years. www.climatechangepost.com/news/economi... www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Europe live: Officials warn that wildfires could still be burning in November
Firefighters in France and Spain face another day battling wildfires, as another heatwave set to hit this week
theguardian.com
Nearly a week into devastating wildfires in France, officials said that firefighters had encountered a pyrocumulonimbus — a “fire cloud,” or a thundercloud created by intense heat. The phenomenon can spark new blazes and is “unprecedented in France,” officials said. Here's what to know.
Heat From France’s Wildfires Creates a ‘Fire Cloud,’ or Pyrocumulonimbus
A pyrocumulonimbus — a thundercloud created by intense heat — is a phenomenon that can spark new blazes and is “unprecedented in France,” officials said.
nyti.ms
When wildfires, floods or heatwaves strike, the question isn’t “Did climate change cause this?” It’s “How much worse did climate change make it?” theconversation.com/how-do-scien...
New climate models are good and show that, the planet continues warming at the current pace, a snow drought as severe and widespread as last winter’s could occur every third year by 2050, and nine out of 10 years by the end of the century in the western U.S. insideclimatenews.org/news/2207202...
Global Warming Unmakes Winter in the US West - Inside Climate News
A new climate attribution study shows that heating from greenhouse gases could drive extreme snow droughts in the region every third year by 2050.
insideclimatenews.org
Wise words from the North. I would add that an insistence on a history of infrequent, stand-replacing fires is as colonial in Southern California as it is in the boreal forest. It’s insisting the land was empty when, in fact, people lived and burned throughout a varied, abundant cultural landscape.
Fire Stewardship: Upholding Indigenous Sovereignty - International Association of Wildland Fire
In recent years there has been a steep rise in Arctic fire activity, including the unprecedented 2023 Arctic wildfire season that captured worldwide attention. Due to a warmer climate and extended spr...
iawfonline.org
WILDFIRE SMOKE INSIDE CALIFORNIA’S CLASSROOMS A CASE STUDY AND POLICY ROADMAP FOR SCHOOLS TO BETTER PROTECT CHILDREN FROM WILDFIRE SMOKE Jessica Yu et al., Stanford CEPP White Paper, 2026. drive.google.com/file/d/1yupC...
Stanford CEPP_Wildfire Smoke in CA Schools_July 2026.pdf
drive.google.com
Read "Piñon pine and juniper seedling regeneration persists at burned edges but remains limited two decades after large wildfires" by Jamie Woolet and Camille Stevens-Rumann in the #FireEcology Journal #SNFECO https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42408-026-00535-y
Climate change does not cause wildfires, but hot and dry conditions make them much more likely to spread. In Canada, 9 of the 10 worst wildfire years were both dryer and hotter than normal. And these fires are burning in areas that were historically not managed or suppressed.
I always tell folks you don't need to understand or be part of the fire culture, but you should respect it. These days, that respect includes looking clearly at the climate reality. Until we all do that, wildland firefighters and those they serve are destined to see more bad outcomes. 14/14
Not the kind of climate change column I’ve normally written, or want to write, but I felt I had to. www.thestar.com/business/opi...
I've covered climate policy for years. The haze over Toronto finally shattered my optimism
The wildfire smoke has choked my faith in Canada's climate future, writes Adam Radwanski. We used to at least be trying. Now we're betting against energy transition.
thestar.com
The U.S.’s top scientific advisory body issued a report on Thursday backing a growing field of science called extreme event attribution that could help governments hold oil, gas and coal companies responsible for the damage caused by extreme weather.
National Academies Report Backs Climate Change Attribution Science
Attribution science is advancing quickly, researchers said. That could support lawsuits seeking damages for severe events worsened by global warming.
nyti.ms
Well, here's something related to wildland fire that I've not thought about before today. Yet another bad outcome of climate change as manifested in fire. I hope to one day see a study that positively surprises me, because these last couple of decades have been a beating.
Physics Today@physicstoday.aip.org · 4w agoIncreased emissions from wildfires in the past decade have reversed earlier progress made in decreasing US surface-level ozone pollution, a new analysis finds.
Hard to describe the sorrow I feel watching the boreal forest burn, summer after summer. I was paddling on a lake yesterday when the smoke came in, and knew what was happening despite not having cell reception. Climate change is a heartbreaker.
Luke LeBrun@lukelebrun.ca · 4w agoThese images of First Nations community members evacuating Collins, Ontario on motorboats are absolutely surreal www.facebook.com/reel/1548244...
🔴 ⚠️ 🔥 ♨️ Almost 4000Ha burnt, 1400 evacuations, 12 deaths:it's one of the worst wildfires of this century for #Spain . Strong winds and dry weather make very hard to fight #IFLosGallardos, ⬇️ latest 12hrs of Meteosat-12 #MTGI1 #Andalucia #ClimateEmergency #IncendioForestal
At least 11 dead in Spain wildfire as crews battle to contain blaze
At least 11 dead in Spain wildfire as crews battle to contain blaze
A local official says early indications suggest four of the victims of the fire in Los Gallardos, Almería, are British.
buff.ly
