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Indigenous practices reshape wildfire strategy in Brazil's Cerrado

Illustration accompanying article: Indigenous practices reshape wildfire strategy in Brazil's Cerrado
  • The Xerente Indigenous people, living in Brazil's Cerrado savanna, are conducting controlled burns coordinated with federal environmental officials to prevent large-scale wildfires before the peak dry months of August and September.
  • The practice represents a reversal from decades of prejudice, with Indigenous leaders now collaborating with government agencies rather than facing exclusion from fire management decisions.
  • This year's El Niño phenomenon is expected to prolong drought and push regional temperatures higher, increasing wildfire danger across the biome.
 3 MIN READ

California wildfire survivors create bunkers, underground homes and goat herds

Illustration accompanying article: California wildfire survivors create bunkers, underground homes and goat herds
  • Linda Cantey, a survivor of the 2017 Atlas Fire that killed six people and destroyed 783 structures in Napa, helped create the Fort — a shed-like bunker that can withstand flames up to 2,000°F for three hours and provide breathable air for four hours.
  • Other entrepreneurs are offering hydraulically retractable homes from HiberTec Homes — pitched on Shark Tank in April 2026 — with a 1,000-square-foot model estimated to cost $1.2 million and a first unit not expected until 2030.
  • Goat grazing businesses in Colorado and California report rising demand as a low-tech fire mitigation method; one Colorado company said the flames stopped 100 yards from where its goats had cleared undergrowth.
  • None of the solutions are cheap: the Fort starts at $60,000, a herd of goats can cost $3,000 per day, and HiberTec's homes are not yet available.
  • NASA notes that extreme wildfire activity has doubled over the past two decades, and the June 2026 Sandy Fire in Simi Valley burned more than 2,000 acres and forced widespread evacuations.
 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: 'Dallas fire chief: Firefighters were outside apartment building when blast