With a puny snowpack in the Western mountains and a widespread drought, the nation is a tinderbox. A reorganization of federal firefighting efforts and the departure of many staff qualified to join the fight are heightening concern.
Wildfires
Posted inLatest News
Fire in ‘Galapagos of North America’ off California coast risks species found nowhere else
The Channel Islands, off the Santa Barbara coast, are home to hundreds of unique species, and a blaze is tearing through one of the archipelago’s most untouched lands, swallowing nearly a third of Santa Rosa Island.
Posted inLatest News
More than 17,000 under evacuation orders as Southern California wildfire threatens homes
More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.
Posted inLatest News
Two-week-long prescribed burns planned for Henry Cowell area
California State Parks, in partnership with Cal Fire, is planning to conduct prescribed burns in the sandhills area of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park beginning next week.
Posted inLatest News
Sparse snowpack in California fuels concern over fast-approaching fire season
With California’s reservoirs brimming — but snowpack abysmal — experts warn of a potentially early fire season.
Posted inLatest News
This year’s U.S. wildfires have already set records that could foreshadow a smoky, fiery summer
Recently released data show how drought, paltry Western snows and unseasonable heat, all exacerbated by climate change, could be priming the nation for a long wildfire season.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
When home insurance fails, California’s families and communities feel the fallout
After seeing her home insurance policy not renewed because of wildfire risk, Marcella Cranford writes that homes that lose coverage can become un-mortgageable. Property values decline. Communities that stood for decades begin to be hollowed out.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz Fire Department gets a new fire engine
Santa Cruz Fire Station 61 held a “push-in” ceremony Wednesday to celebrate its newest vehicle, a compact and highly maneuverable four-wheel-drive wildland engine designed for responding quickly to fires in rough terrain.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California’s next insurance commissioner will have ‘brutal’ balancing act
Ricardo Lara’s successor will have a full plate. California insurance premiums are rising; fire survivors are struggling; the FAIR Plan is still growing.
Posted inEducation
What California’s planned power outages are costing schools: Darkness, disruption and debt
California schools faced repeated planned power outages in 2024-25 as Southern California Edison cut electricity to prevent wildfires, forcing closures and costly backup power solutions.
