Moscow blanketed with thick smog

ITN reports that Moscow is enveloped in thick smog due to fires, high heat and pervasive air pollution.

The Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters said 21 fires across 42 acres were burning in the region.

As a result, the Russian capital has been shrouded in a fog, causing breathing difficulties for many residents.

In Moscow's outskirts, crops have been destroyed by the fires, causing huge financial losses to farmers. Wildlife has also been affected.

Read the full story: Moscow shrouded by smog due to forest fires

Photo from ITN

Don't log those burned trees

The Sacramento Bee reports on environmentalists' concerns over removal of burned logs in South Tahoe.

Environmental groups are crying foul over a U.S. Forest Service project to remove burned trees along roads and trails in the 3,100-acre fire area.

The Forest Service says the trees were a threat because they could topple on unwary hikers. Backers of the logging say the former burn zone will be better for all the work.

Critics fear the project bodes ill for a bigger plan to thin 68,000 acres of overgrown forest surrounding Lake Tahoe in order to avoid future severe fires.

Read the full story: Environmentalists fear for Tahoe amid logging in burned Angora area

Fires close Smoky Mts National Park trails

National Parks Traveler reports that wildfires are burning through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and several trails are closed.

As of 12:30 p.m. [today], the closed trails included the Laurel Falls Trail, Roundtop Trail, Little Greenbrier Trail at Wear Cove Road, Little Brier Gap Trail, and Cove Mountain Trail. If you are familiar with the park, you know that several of these trails intersect within relatively short distances in a very scenic area west of the Sugarland Visitor Center on the park's northern margin.

Read the full story: Some popular trails are closed