In California and across the drought-parched West, programs are springing up to help goats, sheep, and cattle eat down the plants that would otherwise become fuel for wildfires.
Seventy wildfires are charring parts of a half-dozen states from coastal California to the Rocky Mountains as smoke turns the sky red and dread dominates.
In fire-prone parts of California, insurance companies are using new AI-powered tools to better estimate the likelihood of a devastating wildfire disaster.
The drinking water in Paradise, where 85 people died in the worst wildfire in state history, is contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzene, water officials said.
Fires like the one that razed Paradise in November burn thousands of pounds of wiring, plastic pipes and building materials, leaving dangerous chemicals in the air, soil and water.
“The only good thing... is the neighborhood coming together and being more of a family,” one resident said. “We’re stronger together now than we were a year ago."
