Environment News

A city in Southern California has become the first in the nation to replace its police patrol cars with electric vehicles, officials announced Monday, unveiling a fleet of 20 new Teslas.

JASPER, ALTA. — Parks Canada officials and politicians angrily denied Monday that forest management policies in Jasper National Park contributed to a catastrophic wildfire that damaged one-third of the townsite.

BARSTOW, Calif. (AP) — An earthquake shook the desert area east of Los Angeles on Monday but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 4.9 quake occurred at about 1 p.m. and was centered 13.

Damaging earthquakes that rocked West Texas in recent days were likely caused by oil and gas activity in an area that has weathered tremors for decades, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

GOLD RIVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — A British Columbia boat owner has been fined $13,500 after failing to remove the partially sunken vessel from a bay along the coast of Vancouver Island.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — One person died and some 200,000 households were left without electricity in Lithuania and neighboring Latvia as strong storm winds and heavy rain pounded the Baltic nations overnight.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — More than 5,000 people isolated by flooding in northwestern North Korea were rescued by airlift and other evacuation work after heavy summer rains caused a river on the Chinese border to swell, state media reported Monday.

POTSDAM, Germany (AP) — The avenues, monuments and gardens in the park surrounding Sanssouci Palace, a sprawling green oasis in the heart of the German city of Potsdam and a UNESCO world heritage site, look as magnificent as ever.

GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador (AP) — Warm morning light reflects from the remains of a natural rock arch near Darwin Island, one of the most remote islands in the Galapagos.

FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames , including the largest wildfire in California this year.