A Rocky Fire Notebook: Flames, Evacuations and a Woman Who Wouldn't Flee
Signs of normalcy are returning slowly in and around Lake County, a spot about two hours north of San Francisco where a ferocious wildfire has incinerated more than 70,000 acres. Friday morning, two main highways reopened and many people who evacuated the Rocky Fire are now returning home -- or what's left of it. KQED's Dan Brekke has been up in Lake County talking with firefighters, evacuees and some who refused to leave.
Fearing Fire, Mountain Residents Try Desperately to Get Rid of Dead Trees
Living in dry areas with lots of trees means you have to stay on top defending your property from wildfires. That's definitely true for folks living in remote, mountainous areas in the central and southern parts of California, where a wildfire catastrophe is always a threat. Making matters worse is a mix of beetle infestation and drought that's killed millions of ponderosa pine trees, creating a fire tinderbox.
The L.A. Rebellion: How the '65 Watts Riots Helped Spark a Cinematic Revolution
This weekend marks the first anniversary of the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, an event that sparked anger, unrest and lots of questions about policing in communities of color. Those same issues were at play 50 years ago this month in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The story is familiar: a young black man pulled over by police for suspected drunk driving, an argument, a shoving match and within hours a full-blown riot. A few years later, a group of young black filmmakers from UCLA would use Watts as the backdrop and inspiration for a short-lived but influential film movement that came to be known as the "L.A. Rebellion." Its story is chronicled in a forthcoming book and expansive DVD collection.
A Hollywood Costume Designer's Tips for Dressing on a Budget
As a Hollywood costume designer, Alison Freer once turned a man into a bush. She made another guy into a jalapeno, and yet another into a taco. For 15 years, Freer worked in the show biz trenches, nipping, ripping and tucking on desperate deadlines in a job based more on big imagination than big budgets. Now she's written "How to Get Dressed," a book using her wildly creative insider knowledge on making the most of what you wear.
California Songs: Dave Alvin's 'California's Burning'
We reach back into the California Report archives for a 2010 story that fits in with today's headlines. Grammy-winning musician Dave Alvin is a bit of a California historian who's used the Golden State as the inspiration for many of his songs, including one called "California's Burning."