As the Earth warms and the drought deepens, a network of biologists and conservationists are racing to rescue California’s most threatened species. “I can’t think of a single terrestrial ecosystem that’s not being stressed to the limits of its physiological tolerance right now,” one biologist says.
Environment
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‘How much more of this can we take?’ Wildfires prompt air quality advisories in Northern California
Officials from Lake Tahoe to San Francisco have issued air quality alerts warning of hazardous conditions that could last into the weekend. The Santa Cruz area has seen its share of haze in recent days, but some clearing is expected Friday and into the weekend.
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7-year-old California boy dies after being infected with brain-eating amoeba
The child was infected after swimming in a freshwater lake in Tehama County, although public health officials have not disclosed which lake.
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PG&E threatens power shutoffs as Dixie fire rages in Northern California
Strong winds are expected to plague the Dixie fire burn area, which has exploded to nearly 570,000 acres in Northern California. PG&E has said its equipment might have sparked the Dixie blaze, which is the second-largest fire in state history.
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Storms threaten to grow monstrous Dixie fire: ‘Everything is ready to burn’
Gusts of up to 40 mph could carry burning embers, while lightning strikes could further ignite parched wildlands, swelling the already massive Dixie fire. Firefighters could get a break overnight, forecasters said, but adverse weather conditions are likely to return Friday.
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More than 550 homes destroyed by Dixie fire as it surges past half a million acres
More than half of the 1,000 structures destroyed by the massive Dixie fire were single-family homes, the latest incident report shows. Containment improved to 30%, but the fire still grew in several directions Wednesday.
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Former Santa Clara University instructor arrested in connection with ‘arson-setting spree’ near Dixie fire
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47 and a former instructor at Santa Clara University and Sonoma State, has been charged with willfully starting the Ranch fire and has been linked to at least six other blazes.
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More extreme behavior: Dixie blaze generates fire whirl, pyrocumulonimbus cloud at 40,000 feet
A massive storm cloud formed Monday night above the Dixie fire, generating a spinning vortex of flames and ash that soared into the sky. Containment improved to 25% on Tuesday, but the unusual activity was a reminder that “this fire still has a lot of potential.”
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A new Indigenous-led student movement in Northern California is protecting sacred waters
In the midst of the state’s water crisis, Native-led school curricula in Northern California are empowering youth to fight for the future of their waterways.