"Authorities say 2,500 firefighters and other personnel are making progress on containing some of the biggest wildfires in western North Carolina, and rain could help in the coming days."

"Evacuations are now taking place in five North Carolina mountain counties as nearly 20 wildfires totaling more than 10,000 acres continue to spread."

"There's a seductive idea, currently being road-tested, for how to stop the world's forests from disappearing. It relies on big food companies."

"A steady increase in sea levels is pushing saltwater into U.S. wetlands, killing trees from Florida to as far north as New Jersey. But with sea level projected to rise by as much as six feet this century, the destruction of coastal forests is expected to become a worsening problem worldwide."

"A bipartisan group of senators is urging President Obama to encourage Canada to forge an agreement on a new softwood lumber trade deal."

"Wildfires, long considered a problem exclusive to the West, now threaten many other parts of the country as extreme weather becomes more commonplace and more people live in areas at risk for wildfire."

"Forest fires are burning longer and stronger across the western United States, lighting up the landscape with alarming frequency. Residents are forced to flee, homes are incinerated, wildlife habitats are destroyed, lives are lost. Last year, the Forest Service spent more than half its annual budget fighting fires."