Forests

"BANNING, Calif. — A wildfire that broke out in the inland mountains of Southern California has expanded exponentially, burning homes, forcing the evacuation of several small mountain communities and leaving three people injured.

About 1,500 people had evacuated as the wildfire of more than 9 square miles raged out of control Thursday in the San Jacinto Mountains near Banning, said Lucas Spelman, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"As an extended drought bakes the West, nowhere are ravages of changes in the climate worse than in New Mexico."

"Terrifying blazes are the new normal in the West, where a mix of climate change and Tea Party politics has put an entire region at risk."

"Firefighters in Washington state and Oregon were grappling on Wednesday with blazes that have blackened more than 200 square miles of terrain across the Pacific Northwest, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes."

"On any given day, there's a wildfire burning somewhere in the U.S. — and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Many western forests have evolved with fire, and actually benefit from the occasional wildfire."

"Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is at work on a documentary on climate change and how it impacts the fire season. Mr. Schwarzenegger was in western Montana, profiling the Snake River Hotshots as they work on the lines of the 9.6-square-mile West Mullan Fire burning north of the town of Superior."

"Climate change is making poison ivy grow faster, bigger and meaner."

"Government starts cracking down on illegal loggers to save capital's rich flora and fauna."

"If you doubt that climate change is transforming the American landscape, go to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sweltering temperatures there have broken records this summer, and a seemingly permanent orange haze of smoke hangs in the air from multiple wildfires."

"In high summer, it should be possible to wander freely through a stand of mature ash trees."