| Climate reporter Sarah Kaplan was hiking around Oregon's Mount Hood a few weeks ago, enjoying the view near the summit, when she spotted a small column of smoke. It didn't look like much, but she took note. As Kaplan descended the mountain the next day, she realized that the light peeking through the trees was changing. It was daylight, but there was a yellow haze — and immediately she knew that the column of smoke she'd seen had grown into something bigger. By the time she reached a clearing and was able to see open sky, smoke was obscuring half of it. When the reporter was able to get a cellphone signal, she searched for details and discovered that firefighters were battling a 7,000-acre fire on the Warm Springs reservation. They were eventually able to contain it before it threatened any communities. Kaplan said her smoky hike was a "visceral" experience that reinforced her decision to temporarily relocate from Washington, D.C., to Portland so that she could cover wildfire season — a period that historically begins in August, but, thanks to climate change, has blurred into a perpetual risk. She explored that issue in this week's top story about federal firefighting resources: The nation employs thousands of "wildland" firefighters, but low pay and the demands of staffing a longer, more grueling wildfire season are challenging the country's ability to protect lives and buildings. The reporter, who was in Portland when temperatures hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit this week, said all signs (including her own hiking experience) point to a dangerous and potentially historic wildfire season that we might not be prepared to fight. "There were not enough firefighters to go around last year," Kaplan said. "Firefighters had to come from other countries to help fight the worst fire season that California has ever seen." In California, someone working at a fast food restaurant can earn a higher hourly wage ($15) than federal firefighters, who risk their lives to do some of the most "intense, traumatic, bone-crushing" work for $13.45. Read Kaplan's reporting about the state of the nation's firefighting forces and what it means to be prepared in this era of climate extremes. Fire experts say the escalation of wildfires, fueled by climate change, demands an equally dramatic transformation in the nation's response. By Sarah Kaplan ● Read more » | | | | The president of the board of the condominium building that collapsed last week resigned partly in frustration over what she saw as the sluggish response to an engineer's report from the previous year. By Beth Reinhard, Tik Root, Brady Dennis and Jon Swaine ● Read more » |    | | | Even if the Trump Organization avoids a conviction, experts say the overall picture for the former president's company is bleak. By Jonathan O'Connell, David A. Fahrenthold and Josh Dawsey ● Read more » | | | | An investigation by The Washington Post has found that agricultural company Archer-Daniels-Midland sold a grain storage plant worth millions for a fraction of its value to Sonny Perdue shortly before he became secretary of agriculture. By Desmond Butler ● Read more » | | | | | | A racial divide persists in the nation's vaccination campaign, with federal figures showing counties with higher percentages of Black residents having some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. By Akilah Johnson and Dan Keating ● Read more » | | | | | Judge strikes down CDC order in Western Tenn., a preview of what 's to come in U.S. By Annie Gowen ● Read more » | | | | NFL investigation happened in the wake of multiple Washington Post reports detailing allegations of sexual harassment by female former employees. By Will Hobson, Mark Maske, Liz Clarke and Beth Reinhard ● Read more » | | | | | The huge disruption to the outside world prompted many people to look inward and examine who they really are. By Lisa Bonos ● Read more » | | | | Lawns are ecological "dead space." Experts explain how ditching grass can make your backyard thrive. By Tik Root ● Read more » | | | | | After 26 years, the longtime bro bar closes with one last week of ragers. By Maura Judkis ● Read more » | | | |
Photo of the week  (Susan Walsh/AP) | President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the Surfside Wall of Hope & Memorial in Surfside, Fla., on Thursday during a visit to meet with Florida officials and families of people missing after last week's condo collapse. Biden said the visit "brought back so many, so many memories" of the anguish of the hours after a car crash that killed his first wife and infant daughter. "It's bad enough to lose somebody. But the hard part, the really hard part, is to not know whether they're surviving or not, just not having any idea," Biden said. Read more about the president's visit and our latest reporting on the condo collapse, then check out more of the week's most striking images. |
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