SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — High winds drove a wildfire into an eastern Washington neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of about 1,500 people and destroying some homes, fire officials said Wednesday. It’s unclear how many homes were lost in Spokane. Fire officials were working Wednesday to determine the number and the full extent of the damage, said Matthew Vinci, fire chief for Spokane County Fire District 9. He confirmed Tuesday that some homes were engulfed in flames. The evacuation order for the 1,500 residents remained in effect Wednesday, said Chandra Fox, deputy director for Spokane County Emergency Management. “Our concern is for increased winds Wednesday afternoon,” Fox said. The blaze started just after noon on Tuesday and quickly moved up a hill, said fire district spokesman Robert Gray. Winds then shifted, sending flames into a neighborhood, Gray said. Fire crews from Washington state and Idaho attacked the fire from the ground and air, but it quickly grew to 225 acres (.35 square miles). It was 10% contained Wednesday morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 32,000 fires have burned more than 3,900 square miles (10,100 square kilometers) so far this year in the United States, according to the fire center, which coordinates the mobilization of large-scale firefighting efforts. That’s significantly higher than the 10-year average of just under 24,000 fires burning about 2,200 square miles (5,700 square kilometers) by early June, according to the fire center, even though fire activity has been relatively light in recent weeks. Weather and…This article was originally published on Mongabay

SEATTLE (AP) — Lawmakers are demanding the National Science Foundation stop dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $386 million ocean monitoring network being wound down under President Donald Trump’s administration. House Democrats on two committees call the action illegal. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley says he’s drafting legislation to freeze the removal of instruments until a full scientific review is completed. The National Science Foundation directed the removal of most of the system’s instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland by 2027. Monday’s pushback against the Republican administration’s actions comes as scientists are set to remove instruments from the Pacific and as an El Niño event is predicted to arrive this summer. By Annika Hammerschlag, Associated Press Banner image: In this 2021 image provided by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, workers walk near buoys used to gather data at Pioneer New England shelf off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Image courtesy of Véronique LaCapra/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution via Associated Press. This article was originally published on Mongabay

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. meteorologists say an El Nino has formed. That’s the natural warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather around the globe. It is likely to a major factor in extreme and deadly weather across the planet for the next year or so. The one announced Thursday is expected to rival the record and costly 1997-1998 El Nino. It is usually strongest in the wintertime, and it makes it incredibly likely that 2027 will set a record for the hottest year globally. The United Nations secretary-general says El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press  Banner image: Joe Chyuwei, right, Addison Black, front center, James Black, front left, and back row from left, Helen Chyuwei, Jameson Black, Grace Chyuwei and Grayson Black watch the sunset in the heat at Zabriskie Point, Aug. 3, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Image courtesy of John Locher via Associated Press. This article was originally published on Mongabay

Even as President Donald Trump boosts coal over clean energy, solar power is hitting new milestones in the U.S. and remains the leading source of new power. New reports released Wednesday by global energy think tank Ember and the Solar Energy Industries Association show the continued growth of solar and decline of coal in the United States despite federal policy. Ember says in May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%. Coal supplied 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever. The Republican president has been helping the struggling U.S. coal industry while curtailing solar and wind. A Democratic California congressman says the coal industry is dying. By Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press Banner image: Solar panels operate on a farm with cattle Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Christiana, Tenn. Image by Joshua A. Bickel via Associated PressThis article was originally published on Mongabay

From human-elephant coexistence to an alternative conservation model from the Democratic Republic of Congo, from teen innovators in Kenya to Guinea’s complicated experience with mining, the stories that attracted the most readers in the first five months of 2026 reflect the richness of Mongabay’s Africa coverage on World Environment Day, June 5, 2026. They also showcase the talents of a diverse reporting team and a strong and growing network of resident contributors. Electric fences help farmers and elephants coexist in Zambian borderlands: Contributor Ryan Truscott reports from eastern Zambia on an initiative aimed at protecting farmland from elephants, even as the pachyderms are forced into narrower corridors as habitats shrink. A unique clearing in Central Africa draws elephants from the dense forests: Mongabay Africa’s program director David Akana takes readers to the forest clearing of Dzanga Bai in the Central African Republic. A place where the naturally elusive forest elephants gather, sometimes in the hundreds, forming a “village of elephants.” Descendants of people pushed out for DRC national park lead forest conservation efforts:  Contributor Jérémie Kyaswekera brings a story of hope from the DRC, where descendants of  families that had to leave the forests of what is today an area in and around Maiko National Park are leading efforts to protect biodiversity through local conservation efforts. Teen innovators in Kenya turn farm waste into award-winning vehicle exhaust filter: Kenya-based contributor Mary Mwendwa teamed up with Mongabay Africa editor Malavika Vyawahare to profile young innovators who developed an exhaust filtration system…This article was originally published on Mongabay

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration’s push to expand oil and gas development in Alaska faces a new test Friday. That’s when the latest lease sale is set for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A coalition of conservation groups sent a letter to oil company leaders ahead of the sale, urging them to stay away and citing risks such as ongoing litigation around the leasing program. Opponents of drilling in the refuge have pointed to a lack of major industry interest in prior lease sales. But supporters of drilling see the refuge’s coastal plain as a potential untapped resource that could boost oil production and generate new revenue. Banner image: FILE – The Kaktovik Lagoon and the Brooks Range mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are seen in Kaktovik, Alaska, Oct. 15, 2024. Image by Lindsey Wasson via Associated Press.This article was originally published on Mongabay

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s government endorsed a plan Wednesday to move the last remaining captive whales from a shuttered theme park in Ontario to aquariums in the United States and Spain — a plan that could save them from mass euthanasia if the deal goes through. There are 30 belugas and four dolphins left in the Marineland park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which announced in early 2023 that it was for sale and closed to the public in late summer 2024. No sale has yet been announced. The former tourist attraction has since worked to move the park’s remaining animals and sell the sprawling property near Horseshoe Falls. In 2024, Marineland was found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws in a case related to its care of three black bears. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has issued the first batch of permits to move the whales and is set to issue different permits closer to the move, expected to take place in the next few months. It recently issued permits for the whales and dolphins under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, otherwise known as CITES permits. “I think this is a positive step forward,” Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said. “There’s still more work to be done, but it’s a step forward.” Twenty whales — 19 belugas and one killer whale — have died at Marineland since 2019, according to provincial government data obtained through freedom-of-information laws and official statements. Thompson’s office said…This article was originally published on Mongabay