UNITED STATES NEWS

Judge to weigh limits for aerial fire retardant in wildfires

Apr 24, 2023, 1:25 PM

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge is weighing whether to severely limit the government’s use of aerial fire retardant to combat wildfires following arguments Monday by environmentalists who are concerned about water pollution.

this year’s fire season inches closer. Aircraft drops the potentially toxic red slurry in a bid to slow the blazes.

At Monday’s hearing in Missoula, Montana — home of the Forest Service’s famous smokejumpers, who parachute into remote fires — U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said he planned to issue his ruling soon. He said he was cognizant of the potential for a blaze erupting while the case winds its way through the legal process.

“I’m envisioning fire season just around the corner somewhere in the western United States,” Christensen said.

Over the last two decades, wildfires across North America have grown bigger and more destructive. Experts say climate change, people moving into fire-prone areas, and overgrown forests are creating more catastrophic megafires that are harder to fight.

But the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, the advocacy group, argued Monday that by continuing to use retardant without taking adequate precautions to protect streams and rivers, the Forest Service is disregarding a federal clean water law.

The group has asked the court to issue an injunction blocking officials from using aerial retardant until they get a pollution permit — which Forest Service officials say could take years.

In the meantime, the agency says the retardant is a necessary firefighting tool and that the environmental damage from fires can exceed the pollution from the aerial retardant.

To limit pollution to streams, officials in recent years have avoided dropping the fire retardant inside buffer zones within 300 feet (92 meters) of waterways. Under a 2011 government decision, fire retardant may only be applied inside the zones, known as “avoidance areas,” when human life or public safety is threatened and retardant could help.

Still, more than 200 loads of retardant got into waterways over the past decade. Federal officials say those situations usually occurred by mistake and in less than 1% of the thousands of loads annually.

United States News

Associated Press

Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles dies after a motorcycle crash in Nashville. He was 29

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles died Saturday after a motorcycle crash in Nashville, according to police. He was 29. The one-time hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks drove his motorcycle through a stop sign early Saturday and hit the driver’s side of an SUV, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. […]

24 minutes ago

Associated Press

Hazing lawsuit filed against University of Alabama fraternity

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A student and his parents have filed a lawsuit against a University of Alabama fraternity, saying he suffered a traumatic brain injury while being hazed as a fraternity pledge earlier this year. The lawsuit filed last week accuses Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and others associated with it of fraud, negligence and […]

36 minutes ago

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at the asteroid Bennu. On Wedn...

Associated Press

NASA recovers asteroid samples in largest haul of material from beyond the moon

NASA’s first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey.

39 minutes ago

Associated Press

Louisiana man who fled attempted murder trial captured after 32 years on the run

ARCADIA, La. (AP) — A Louisiana man who fled his 1991 trial for attempted murder has been arrested more than three decades later after authorities found him hiding in Mexico, authorities said. Greg Lawson, 63, was brought back to the United States on Thursday after being located in Mexico, the FBI said. Lawson was accused […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Former President Jimmy Carter makes appearance at peanut festival ahead of his 99th birthday

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, on Saturday made a surprise appearance at the Plains Peanut Festival in their Georgia hometown, the Carter Center wrote in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The former president and his wife are seen in a reposted video riding […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Evacuees from Afghanistan wait with other evacuees to fly to the United States or another sa...

Associated Press

He spoke no English, had no lawyer. An Afghan man’s case offers a glimpse into US immigration court

The Afghan man speaks only Farsi, but he wasn’t worried about representing himself in U.S. immigration court. He believed the details of his asylum claim spoke for themselves. Mohammad was a university professor, teaching human rights courses in Afghanistan before he fled for the United States. Mohammad is also Hazara, an ethnic minority long persecuted […]

3 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Sanderson Ford...

Sanderson Ford

Sanderson Ford congratulates D-backs’ on drive to great first half of 2023

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed a red-hot first half of the major league season, and Sanderson Ford wants to send its congratulations to the ballclub.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

Judge to weigh limits for aerial fire retardant in wildfires