California

"Firefighters in California gained ground on Monday against a massive wildfire burning part of Yosemite National Park, although complete containment may be weeks away, officials said."

"The largest wildfire in the United States continued its destructive march through the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday, pushing further into Yosemite National Park and for the first time burning nearly to the edge of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the linchpin of the water supply for 2.6 million Bay Area residents from San Francisco to Silicon Valley."

"TUOLUMNE CITY, Calif. -- Crews were finally gaining ground by late Monday on a massive wildfire burning near Yosemite National Park as officials also expressed optimism that no water or power disruptions would come from the blaze burning along the shores of the main reservoir that supplies San Francisco."

"The blaze, now 134,000 acres, pushes into Yosemite National Park. Each day, what it does depends on the wind."

"California public health officials suggest limiting hexavalent chromium in drinking water to 10 parts per billion. Environmentalists say that's not nearly strict enough."

"California, whose green ambitions helped the solar and wind industries take root, is taking an essential next step by proposing a sharp rise in energy storage to better integrate renewable power with the rest of the grid."

"When the Silver fire ignited about 2 p.m. Wednesday, officials say the stage was set for explosive growth that initially overwhelmed residents and the emergency crews sent to get them out of harm’s way."

"'An immediate and growing threat.' That’s how California’s lead environmental agency — and the Governor’s office — describe climate change in the latest in a series of periodic reports on the subject."

Research biologists are studying the elusive Cascades frog, which lives in alpine meltwater ponds in Washington's Olympic Mountains, to understand how warming climate might affect the ecosystems they depend on.