West
The world's oldest Douglas fir trees have lived over 1,000 years
The Douglas fir, also called a Douglas tree, Oregon pine or Douglas spruce, can grow hundreds of feet high — and the oldest of the species can live for over 1,000 years.
The Douglas fir is the state tree of Oregon.
The species can be found from western British Columbia through central California, according to Portland.gov.
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The Douglas fir was named after Scottish botanist David Douglas, according to Forestry and Land Scotland. In 1827, Douglas sent the first seed of a Douglas fir to Britain from North America.
The scientific name for the Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, is derived from the name of the person who discovered the species.
Douglas firs can grow hundreds of feet tall and live for hundreds of years — sometimes over 1,000 years. (Getty Images)
The Douglas fir was discovered on Vancouver Island in 1791 by Archibald Menzies.
The tree comes in two varieties, according to the National Wildlife Federation: the coast Douglas fir and the Rocky Mountain Douglas fir.
Coast Douglas firs tend to grow into the larger of the two.
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They can grow to be around 250 feet on average, according to the federation, measuring 5-6 feet in diameter.
Rocky Mountain Douglas firs have that same diameter, but they don’t usually grow as tall. They usually reach around 160 feet, the federation notes.
The Douglas fir is the second-tallest tree species in the world, according to the National Park Service. The species holding the No. 1 spot is the coastal redwood.
The seeds of Douglas firs are located inside cones and are eaten by small mammals. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Coastal redwoods usually grow to be between 300 and 350 feet, according to the National Park Service.
The largest of the coast Douglas firs usually live for at least 500 years, but there have been examples of the trees living for over 1,000 years, according to the federation.
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Rocky Mountain Douglas firs usually don’t live as long, typically standing for under 400 years.
Douglas firs provide a habitat for many creatures, and their seeds and sap are a food source.
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Seeds are usually munched on by chipmunks, red squirrels and other mammals of similar size, while bears eat the tree’s sap, according to the National Wildlife Association.
Douglas firs are also valuable timber resources used for construction purposes and are commonly used to make furniture.
Douglas fir trees fill many Christmas tree farms. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Many Douglas fir trees are used as Christmas trees.
Fraser firs, noble firs and balsam firs are other species often used as Christmas trees.
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Alaska
‘Minimal fire activity observed’, Firefighters work to put out fire in area burned in 2014 Funny River Fire
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Firefighters are battling a human caused fire on the Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection (DOF) said.
The Killey River Fire was discovered Friday evening, DOF said. A pilot and a boat operator reported it.
“It is burning along the edge of the waterway in the burned area of the 2014 Funny River Fire,” DOF said. The fire “is about 2.25-miles up the Killey River from its confluence with the Kenai River.”
As of Saturday morning, the fire was about 8.2 acres.
“[Precipitation], helicopter bucket drops, and the air tanker slowed the fire and allowed firefighters to cut saw line and build hose lays around the fire,” DOF said Saturday.
In a note from Saturday on the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Situation Dashboard, it said minimal fire activity was observed after firefighters worked “around snags in the old fire scar. The crew engaged to secure the west side of the fire with anticipation of strong gusts from the east.”
Burn permits have been suspended in the Kenai-Kodiak area, as well as the Fairbanks and Delta prevention areas, DOF said.
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Arizona
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed at Arizona commencement over AI, sex harassment claims from much-younger girlfriend
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was roundly booed by students at the University of Arizona’s graduation Saturday — following backlash over his selection as commencement speaker over sex abuse allegations from his much-younger ex girlfriend.
Tech billionaire Schmidt, 71, was discussing artificial intelligence and automation when students began jeering him, Business Insider reported.
However, he had been expecting a hostile reception regardless of what he said following allegations of rape and sexual harassment made in a lawsuit by ex Michelle Ritter.
Multiple left-wing and feminist student groups handed out flyers at Friday night’s commencement detailing the allegations made against Schmidt by 31-year-old tech entrepreneur Ritter, who was Schmidt’s lover and business partner.
Students were urged to “turn their backs to the stage” when Schmidt came on, “and/or boo to make it clear that the University of Arizona and greater community that we represent, whether from Tucson or beyond, do not support abusers being platformed,” reported the Arizona Daily Star.
Schmidt, who has long been public about having an open marriage, denies the allegations from Ritter.
The boos started for Schmidt when he appeared to admit some of the mistakes he made during his time at Google.
“We thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge that humanity had been constructing for centuries, but the world we built turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated,” said Schmidt, who left Google in 2011.
“The same tools that connect us also isolate us. The same platforms that gave everyone a voice — like you’re using now — degraded the public square,” he added.
The boos for Schmidt grew louder as he discussed AI, which critics warn risks obliterating the jobs market for new graduates.
“I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear,” Schmidt said, as he was briefly drowned out by boos.
“There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create,” he said, describing the fears as “rational” before insisting young people should adapt or else.
“The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will. The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence,” he said.
California
3 people killed, several others injured after driver crashes into crowd in Oakland, California
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed and several others were injured after a driver crashed into multiple cars and pedestrians late Saturday night in Oakland, California, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly after 11 p.m., according to officials.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene and five others were injured, the Oakland Fire Department said. Two of those injured were in critical condition. The driver involved in the crash was also injured, though officials described those injuries as minor.
Authorities did not immediately release additional details about what led to the crash, and the driver’s identity was not made public.
The crash remains under investigation, officials said.
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