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Guardian Environmental Network
By Michael Kodas
Death on the Firelines
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August 30, 2012: As more blazes rage across the West this summer and government policy shifts toward aggressive wildfire suppression, firefighters’ lives are increasingly placed at risk.
In Fear of Firebugs
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August 17, 2012: Pine beetle-ravaged Western forests and raging widlfires combine for an uncertain, but scary, threat.
Life on the Edge (of Wildfire)
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August 7, 2012: In Colorado and the West, the most desirable real estate also happens to be the most likely to burn. That’s driving up the cost of firefighting for all of us.
Bombing the Blaze: Fire Stopper or Air Show?
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July 25, 2012: A slurry bomber drops retardant on the 2010 Fourmile Canyon fire in the mountains above Boulder, Colorado. The fire destroyed 169 homes.Nine years ago, I marched onto a mountain set aflame. The blaze was called Bluebird, but... read more >
As the East Sweats, a Growing Fire Threat
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July 18, 2012: Think wildfires are just a Western thing? They’re not. The East used to be threatened by big blazes, too, but 75 years of fire suppression have brought complacency. Now extreme heat and drought are making Eastern forests vulnerable again.
First the Fire, Then the Flood: Why Colorado Can't Catch a Break
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July 12, 2012: Praying for rain is common when your state is beset by record-setting blazes, but as always, be careful what you wish for. Heavy downpours create their own hazards. The irony was highlighted for me two weeks ago when the... read more >
Climate Change Fuels the Perfect Firestorm
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July 9, 2012: Even among once-skeptical firefighters and usually cautious scientists, there’s little doubt anymore: poor forest management and rapid development primed the West for epic fires, but global warming lit the fuse.
Michael Kodas
Michael Kodas is currently working on the book "Megafire," which will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2014, and is the author of the bestselling book "High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed." He was part of a team of journalists at The Hartford Courant... More
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