Celebs donate millions to help Australia wildfire efforts
LOS ANGELES — Elton John and Chris Hemsworth are among the celebrities donating big bucks for relief efforts as wildfires engulf Australia.
Australian crews race to contain blazes as damage bill soars
SYDNEY — Bolstered by cooler weather and desperately needed rain, exhausted firefighters in Australia raced to shore up defenses against deadly wildfi...
Australia to pay ‘whatever it takes’ to fight wildfires
SYDNEY — Australia's government said Monday it was willing to pay “whatever it takes” to help communities recover from deadly wildfires that have rava...
California eyes climate bond to prepare for disasters
SACRAMENTO, CAlif. — In a state burdened by billions of dollars in wildfire damage, California lawmakers are hoping for an advance loan before the nex...
Aussie PM defends response to fires; weather brings respite
SYDNEY — Cooling temperatures and calmer winds brought some relief Sunday to Australian communities raked by wildfires, but the heat stayed on Prime M...
Wildfires threaten unique critters on Australian ‘Galapagos’
SYDNEY — It has been described as Australia's Galapagos Islands and has long been a refuge for some of the country's most endangered creatures. But de...
Australian PM calls up reservists as fire threats escalate
SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called up about 3,000 reservists as the threat of wildfires escalated Saturday in at least three...
Australian prime minister is jeered in wildfire-ravaged zone
PERTH, Australia — Prime Minister Scott Morrison was confronted by angry residents who cursed and insulted him Thursday as he visited a wildfire-ravag...
Financial tug-of-war emerges over fire victims’ settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — A financial tug-of-war is emerging over the $13.5 billion that the nation's largest utility has agreed to pay to victims of recent Cal...
Cheers, tears, prayers for 2020: A new decade is ushered in
Revelers around the globe are bidding farewell to a decade that will be remembered for the rise of social media, the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement ...
California’s Gov. Newsom had ‘baptism by fire’ in 1st year
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — During his inaugural address last January, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made only a passing reference to wildfires and never ment...
New Year’s fireworks OK’d in Sydney as wildfire risk worsens
PERTH, Australia — Sydney will set off its iconic New Year's fireworks display after being granted an exemption to a total fire ban Monday as other Au...
Sydney New Year’s fireworks to go ahead despite wildfires
PERTH, Australia — Sydney's iconic New Year's Eve fireworks will go ahead despite the wildfire crisis to show the world Australia’s resiliency, the pr...
Thousands of koalas feared dead in Australia wildfires
PERTH, Australia — Thousands of koalas are feared to have died in a wildfire-ravaged area north of Sydney, further diminishing Australia's iconic mars...
Australia firefighters brace for extreme heatwave at weekend
PERTH, Australia — Firefighters battling wildfires in Australia’s most populous state attempted to make headway Thursday amid favorable conditions, be...
Wildfire-ravaged areas of Australia get holiday relief
PERTH, Australia — Areas of Australia that have been ravaged by deadly wildfires experienced temporary relief on Wednesday, but oppressive conditions ...
Wildfires cause turmoil in CA property insurance market
NEW YORK — Kent Michitsch seemed to be running out of traditional options to insure the home he’s lived in for more than 30 years northeast of San Die...
Australia’s PM defends climate stance amid wildfire disaster
PERTH, Australia — Australia's embattled Prime Minister defended his government’s climate policy Monday, as authorities warned the wildfires crisis ra...
Australia’s leader apologizes for vacation amid wildfires
SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologized Sunday for taking a family vacation in Hawaii as deadly bushfires raged across several st...
Australia battles ‘catastrophic’ wildfires as PM rushes home
PERTH, Australia — Australia’s most populous state was paralyzed by “catastrophic” fire conditions Saturday amid souring temperatures, while one perso...
AP Exclusive: PG&E’s history with blackouts signaled trouble
SAN FRANCISCO — The state senators grilling the CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. were upset — like millions of other Californians, some spent d...
2 firefighters die, 3 hurt as wildfires ravage Australia
PERTH, Australia — Two volunteer firefighters died Thursday while battling wildfires ravaging Australia’s most populous state, forcing Prime Minister ...
California expands insurance protections in wildfire areas
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than a million California homes are now protected under a new law that temporarily bans insurance companies from dropping cu...
PG&E, California wildfire victims rework $13.5B settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric reworked a $13.5 billion settlement with victims of deadly wildfires blamed on the utility to try to preven...
PG&E, California governor face off in bankruptcy dispute
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will have to quickly overhaul a complex plan addressing more than $50 billion in wildfire claims to gai...
California to protect insurance policies in wildfire areas
Sacramento, Calif — California on Thursday temporarily banned insurance companies from dropping customers in areas affected by more than a dozen recen...
Tech aims to predict problems on power lines before disaster
LOS ANGELES — B. Don Russell wasn’t thinking about preventing a wildfire when he developed a tool to detect power line problems before they cause equi...
Paradise’s dream football season ends 1 year after fire
YUBA CITY, Calif. — Lukas Hartley stood in the endzone on Saturday night as raindrops mingled with his tears after his high school football team lost ...
California high school competes for title after deadly fire
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Northern California high school football team will play for a championship Saturday one year after most of the players and coac...
Judge keeps California law on utilities paying fire damages
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday rejected Pacific Gas & Electric’s latest attempt to change a California law requirin...