Hot and windy weather could cause wildfires to blaze out of control this week
CBSN
As crews continue to battle flames in California and Oregon, officials are warning that increased temperatures and fast winds could create dangerous conditions for firefighters this week.
"I think we definitely have a few hard days ahead of us," Shannon Prather, of the U.S. Forest Service, told the Associated Press. The Dixie fire, California's biggest blaze, has continued to grow in recent weeks, destroying 67 homes and structures and threatening 12,000 more. Located near California's Feather River Canyon, the flames cover 274,139 acres and are only 35% contained.
The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:

We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.

At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In:










