Month: April 2019

SPOKANE, Wash. With an increasing number of forest fires scorching portions of Washington each year, the Legislature is considering a proposal to create a fund dedicated to preventing and battling wildfires. In March, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and state Senate Democrats proposed to increase the tax on premiums for property and casualty insurance in order to raise $62.5 million annually to pay for wildfire suppression and prevention. “Never before have we faced a…

ADVANCE FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 11, AT 3:01 A.M. PT AND THEREAFTER – In this July 28, 2018, photo, a Cal Fire firefighter creates a back burn on Cloverdale Road near Redding, Calif., during the Carr Fire. With nearly 40 million people living in California and development spreading into once-wild regions, some of the state’s best tools toward preventing wildfires can’t be widely used. Still, there is growing agreement that the state must step up its…

In this March 24, 2019, photo, Gene Mapa collects metal and ceramic objects that didn’t burn in the Camp Fire at his house in Paradise, Calif. Mapa now lives in Colfax, which as a similar level of fire risk. A former supply hub for gold mining camps, Colfax sits a few miles from the edge of the Tahoe National Forest in the lower-elevation Sierra. It straddles Interstate 80 and serves as the last major stop…

FILE – In this Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, file photo, residences leveled by the wildfire line a neighborhood in Paradise, Calif. More than 2.7 million Californians live in areas that are at very high risk for wildfires. One in 12 homes in California are at high risk of burning in a wildfire. The more information we can share about where and how we’re falling short, the quicker we can come together on potential solutions. Noah…

SPRING, Texas Officials say a worker has fallen to his death from a structure at a Houston-area water park amid preparations to open next month for the season. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened Friday afternoon at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring. Deputies say the man died after apparently falling from an unspecified structure. Investigators say the death appears to have been an accident. Officials with Six Flags Hurricane Harbor…

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. Nearly four years ago, Heather McDowell couldn’t walk in Cypress Gardens. She had to use a row boat. The park director recalled being heartbroken after seeing the historic flooding in October 2015 that closed the 170-acre garden and swamp, just south of Moncks Corner. She says there was anywhere from 1 (.30 meters) to 4 feet (1.21 meters) of water in most of the buildings. The Post and Courier reports after years…

Showers and heavy downpour will continue today but the risk for severe weather, isolated tornadoes and storms increase heading into Sunday. There is a marginal risk for severe weather on Saturday, a category 1 out of 5 for severe weather. The main risk for Saturday is straight-line winds and penny-sized hail. RELATED: What are straight-line winds and how do they form Severe risk increases for tomorrow with strong winds, hail and isolated tornadoes possible. Timing…