California's Fire Future

Recommended QUEST Resources

• Discuss "California's Fire Future"

  The Summit Fire serves as a warning that California's fire season is likely to be longer and more devastating than in previous years. Discuss Reporter Stephanie Martin's talk with Malcolm North, a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station.

• Into the Inferno: The Science of Fire

  In dry years, fires in California cost billions of dollars and often result in lost lives. As fire crews rest from a rough year and prepare for this one, QUEST looks at how the history of forest management could be feeding today's flames.

Additional Links

• California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

  The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection protects the people of California from fires, responds to emergencies, and protects and enhances forest, range, and watershed values providing social, economic, and environmental benefits to rural and urban citizens.

• PBS' NOVA: Fire Wars

  Learn about the science of wildfires and how plants use fire as PBS NOVA accompanies the men and women of a wild land firefighting crew known as the Arrowhead Hotshots.

• U.S. Forest Service: Pacific Southwest Research Station

  The Pacific Southwest Research Station represents the research and development branch of the USDA Forest Service in the states of California and Hawaii and the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands. Their primary work occurs in California (the most populous state with the fifth largest economy in the world) and Hawaii (a strategic location in the Pacific Rim economies and tourism). They develop and deliver science-based information, technologies, understanding, and applications to help people make well-informed decisions about natural resource management, conservation, and environmental protection.