The three American firefighters who were killed when the aerial water tanker they were in crashed while battling wildfires in Australia have been identified by their employer

Dust storms, hail and flash floods have battered beleaguered Australian cities in recent days, extreme weather that has diminished the threat from scores of wildfires that continue to blaze across the country’s southeast.

Australia’s unprecedented wildfires season has so far charred 40,000 square miles (104,000 square kilometers) of brushland, rainforests, and national parks — killing by one estimate more than a billion wild animals. Scientists fear some of the island continent’s unique and colorful species may not recover. For others, they are trying to throw lifelines....

Where flames have subsided, biologists are starting to...

Thousands of crafters worldwide are churning out swaddling wraps for bats, hanging enclosures for kangaroos, and cozy pouches for wallabies. They hope to help wildlife harmed in the Australian wildfires. But there’s confusion over whether the items are really needed or will be used.

A county in Northern California wine country is exploring plans to sue a utility over a massive wildfire last fall that combined with rolling power shutoffs caused losses of $725 million. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to hire two law firms to pursue legal action against pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility. The 121-square-mile (313-square-kilometer)…

A capacity crowd of more than 15,000 at Rod Laver Arena watched Roger Federer defeat Nick Kyrgios in a one-set finale to the Australian Open’s Rally for Relief to aid wildfire charities on Wednesday.

Don’t be surprised if you see a koala hanging off a lamp post in Manhattan this week. Thanks to Koalas of New York, a group dedicated towards raising funds for habitats and species affected by wild Australian wildfires, the furry friends can now be found all around the city. From hanging around Central Park, gripping onto the Brooklyn Bridge...

Crews battling Australia’s wildfires said Sunday that they have been able to turn from defense to offense for the first time in weeks thanks to a break in the weather.

Amid the horrors of the country’s worst bushfires ever, and amid disputes over their cause and fear of what is yet to come, Australians have organized a series of grassroots disaster-relief networks — many through social media — offering a wide range of help to thousands of people who were displaced in recent weeks, NBC News reports. Doctors, pharmacists, nurses…

Residents in the path of wildfires razing southeast Australia were urged to evacuate on Thursday if they don’t intend to defend their homes as hot and windy conditions are forecast to escalate the danger over the next two days.

When the nation’s largest electric utility preemptively shut off power last fall to prevent wildfires in California, customers lost more than just their lights — some lost their phones, too. Data from the Federal Communications Commission shows 874 cellphone towers were offline during an Oct. 27 power shutoff that affected millions of people. That included more than half of the…

North Bay leaders on Monday are set to meet with the assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development to try to help with wildfire recovery.

The wildfires have so far scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland. They have killed at least two dozen people and destroyed about 2,000 homes.

Two more people are missing in remote parts of New South Wales state as rain and cooler temperatures brought some measure of relief Monday to Australian communities battling wildfires. But the rain was also making it challenging for fire crews to complete strategic burns as they tried to prepare for higher temperatures that have been forecast for later in the…

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 devastating wildfires over recent days have undone decades of careful conservation work on Kangaroo Island and have threatened to wipe out some of the island’s unique fauna altogether.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended his leadership and his government’s record on climate change Sunday as milder temperatures brought hope of a respite from wildfires that have ravaged three states, claiming 24 lives and destroying almost 2,000 homes.

Australia’s prime minister called up about 3,000 reservists as the threat of wildfires escalated Saturday in at least three states with two more deaths, and strong winds and high temperatures were forecast to bring flames to populated areas including the suburbs of Sydney. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 23 deaths have been confirmed so far this summer, including the two...

Navy ships plucked hundreds of people from beaches and tens of thousands were urged to flee before hot weather and strong winds in the forecast worsen Australia’s already-devastating wildfires. More than 200 fires were burning in Australia’s two most-populous states, and warnings of extreme danger to come set in motion one of the largest evacuations in Australia’s history.

A weeklong state of emergency has been called in the Australian state of New South Wales as deadly wildfires continue to ravage communities, forcing thousands from their homes, NBC News reports.

Just months before the Camp Fire, PG&E engineers urged the utility to inspect steel hardware on high voltage transmission towers in high wind areas that could be prone to wind-driven corrosion damage – like the damage found on the tower blamed for the disaster.