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"content": "\u003cp>Prescribed fire is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985230/stanford-researchers-publish-first-paper-to-quantify-how-much-protection-we-get-from-beneficial-fires\">one of the best tools\u003c/a> California has to prevent forest fires from exploding out of control. While the use of controlled burns to reduce vegetation and wildfire risk has increased in recent years, experts say much more needs to be done across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, KQED reported on the U.S. Forest Service’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1994972/forest-service-halts-prescribed-burns-california-worth-risk\">decision to halt prescribed burns in California\u003c/a>, a directive officials said was meant to preserve staff and equipment to fight wildfires. The pause occurred during the crucial fall window for controlled burns, raising concerns that it could increase long-term fire risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story has been circulating on the internet this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires in Los Angeles have been politicized online as people search for politicians and policies to blame — and for evidence to reinforce personal beliefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the U.S. Forest Service had continued to allow burning, it would not have prevented this week’s devastation from deadly fires that have destroyed thousands of homes. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021203/widespread-scope-southern-california-fires-shown-satellite-images\">fires we’re seeing\u003c/a> are primarily spreading through urban neighborhoods, with the possible exception of the Eaton Fire, which is burning, in part, on federal forest lands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the wind, weather and location of the fires, it’s unlikely a controlled burn would have stopped the disaster. The houses and surrounding vegetation are fuels in communities that were not designed for fire resilience when they were planned decades ago.[aside postID=science_1965575 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/102523-Paradise-Rebuild-AP-CM-02-copy.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s vegetation all around homes and trees overlapping, and [residents] love the beauty and the look of that,” said Michael Gollner, a researcher and fire expert at UC Berkeley. “But when a fire comes through, it has a clear path to just keep propagating through the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what would have helped? Living in communities \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1965575/and-now-fire-season-heres-how-to-prepare\">prepared for fire\u003c/a>. How to prepare isn’t a mystery. It just takes \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887158/in-california-restoring-our-relationship-with-fire-is-possible\">convincing residents\u003c/a> to get their communities involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that emerging from this [disaster] can be a much more serious conversation around fuels and community design,” said Michael Wara, a climate and energy expert at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California and the federal government have poured a lot of money into fire resilience, but there is room for much more, Wara said. For example, the state has taken steps to ramp up prescribed fire, but there have not been many burns next to communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There has been more investment in fuels management crews, but less investment in enforcing tough, defensible space codes, like having a five-foot buffer of non-combustible material around a house, what experts call “Zone 0.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When an area rebuilds after a fire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/building-standards/state-housing-law/wildland-urban-interface/docs/2010-part-2-cbc-ch7a.pdf\">adopting stringent requirements \u003c/a>— such as using fire-resistant materials and requiring 30 feet between buildings — helps neighborhoods prepare for the next fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s needed is community support for fire resilience. Some communities oppose vegetation removal or defensible space inspections or prescribed fire near homes. Some areas that have rebuilt chose to waive certain requirements, including parts of Santa Rosa that burned in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Altadena resident Herb Wilson and his wife, Loyda Wilson, survey their home that was destroyed in the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The couple was on vacation in Hawaii when the fire broke out, so they were not able to retrieve any belongings. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While adopting new fire safety codes can be expensive and inconvenient, according to Gollner, he hopes the impacted Los Angeles communities will embrace them “so that if there’s a future fire in this area, we no longer would see such a destructive event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re going to have available, affordable insurance in California — not just now, but in 10 years as climate change gets worse — we need to do that stuff now,” Wara said, adding that there is only so much politicians can do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t blame the politicians for that at all. It is about the people in communities,” he continued. “It is about community consensus and community solidarity, people taking responsibility for doing the work and for helping their neighbors to do the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fires that ignited in the San Bernardino National Forest last year were successfully fought, in part, because of prescribed burns by the U.S. Forest Service. The Line Fire threatened the Angelus Oaks community in early September 2024, but it slowed, and firefighters were able to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/flame-without-fuel\">control and redirect\u003c/a> it when it entered a burn scar from the previous June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They saved that community using prescribed fire,” Wara said. “We need more of that. And the real barrier there is not the money, it’s not the agency, it’s the community acceptance.”[aside postID=news_11887158 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/RS66829_230626-HousingNevadaCoWildfire-53-BL-KQED.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Los Angeles area, Malibu fires have become notorious. The despair and folly of continually rebuilding what continually gets burned is captured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3984830\">\u003cem>The Case for Letting Malibu Burn\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the provocative 1995 essay by Mike Davis, former writer and professor at UC Riverside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has occurred across this state at different times throughout history and will keep happening if we’re not prepared for it,” Gollner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stringent codes guiding construction and landscaping can prevent the vast majority of ignition spread and give firefighters a much better chance of saving communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we prevent 95% of the ignitions — it doesn’t have to be perfect — then firefighters will do a great job catching the few [ignitions] that slip through,” Gollner said. “But we have to help them. When there’s hundreds or thousands of structures igniting, they cannot handle it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the U.S. Forest Service had continued to allow burning, it would not have prevented this week’s devastation from deadly fires that have destroyed thousands of homes. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021203/widespread-scope-southern-california-fires-shown-satellite-images\">fires we’re seeing\u003c/a> are primarily spreading through urban neighborhoods, with the possible exception of the Eaton Fire, which is burning, in part, on federal forest lands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the wind, weather and location of the fires, it’s unlikely a controlled burn would have stopped the disaster. The houses and surrounding vegetation are fuels in communities that were not designed for fire resilience when they were planned decades ago.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s vegetation all around homes and trees overlapping, and [residents] love the beauty and the look of that,” said Michael Gollner, a researcher and fire expert at UC Berkeley. “But when a fire comes through, it has a clear path to just keep propagating through the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what would have helped? Living in communities \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1965575/and-now-fire-season-heres-how-to-prepare\">prepared for fire\u003c/a>. How to prepare isn’t a mystery. It just takes \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887158/in-california-restoring-our-relationship-with-fire-is-possible\">convincing residents\u003c/a> to get their communities involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that emerging from this [disaster] can be a much more serious conversation around fuels and community design,” said Michael Wara, a climate and energy expert at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California and the federal government have poured a lot of money into fire resilience, but there is room for much more, Wara said. For example, the state has taken steps to ramp up prescribed fire, but there have not been many burns next to communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There has been more investment in fuels management crews, but less investment in enforcing tough, defensible space codes, like having a five-foot buffer of non-combustible material around a house, what experts call “Zone 0.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When an area rebuilds after a fire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/building-standards/state-housing-law/wildland-urban-interface/docs/2010-part-2-cbc-ch7a.pdf\">adopting stringent requirements \u003c/a>— such as using fire-resistant materials and requiring 30 feet between buildings — helps neighborhoods prepare for the next fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s needed is community support for fire resilience. Some communities oppose vegetation removal or defensible space inspections or prescribed fire near homes. Some areas that have rebuilt chose to waive certain requirements, including parts of Santa Rosa that burned in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-030-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Altadena resident Herb Wilson and his wife, Loyda Wilson, survey their home that was destroyed in the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The couple was on vacation in Hawaii when the fire broke out, so they were not able to retrieve any belongings. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While adopting new fire safety codes can be expensive and inconvenient, according to Gollner, he hopes the impacted Los Angeles communities will embrace them “so that if there’s a future fire in this area, we no longer would see such a destructive event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re going to have available, affordable insurance in California — not just now, but in 10 years as climate change gets worse — we need to do that stuff now,” Wara said, adding that there is only so much politicians can do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t blame the politicians for that at all. It is about the people in communities,” he continued. “It is about community consensus and community solidarity, people taking responsibility for doing the work and for helping their neighbors to do the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fires that ignited in the San Bernardino National Forest last year were successfully fought, in part, because of prescribed burns by the U.S. Forest Service. The Line Fire threatened the Angelus Oaks community in early September 2024, but it slowed, and firefighters were able to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/flame-without-fuel\">control and redirect\u003c/a> it when it entered a burn scar from the previous June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They saved that community using prescribed fire,” Wara said. “We need more of that. And the real barrier there is not the money, it’s not the agency, it’s the community acceptance.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Los Angeles area, Malibu fires have become notorious. The despair and folly of continually rebuilding what continually gets burned is captured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3984830\">\u003cem>The Case for Letting Malibu Burn\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the provocative 1995 essay by Mike Davis, former writer and professor at UC Riverside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has occurred across this state at different times throughout history and will keep happening if we’re not prepared for it,” Gollner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stringent codes guiding construction and landscaping can prevent the vast majority of ignition spread and give firefighters a much better chance of saving communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we prevent 95% of the ignitions — it doesn’t have to be perfect — then firefighters will do a great job catching the few [ignitions] that slip through,” Gollner said. “But we have to help them. When there’s hundreds or thousands of structures igniting, they cannot handle it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Is Quick to Get Federal Aid for LA Fires. But Soon, Trump Will Make Such Calls",
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"headTitle": "California Is Quick to Get Federal Aid for LA Fires. But Soon, Trump Will Make Such Calls | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>As devastating fires continue to burn in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/los-angeles-county\">Los Angeles County\u003c/a>, state lawmakers have moved quickly to secure federal aid — help that some fear could be delayed or cut off in a future disaster under the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Palisades and Eaton fires, which began Tuesday and spread rapidly during strong winds, have destroyed thousands of homes and forced over 100,000 residents to evacuate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration on Wednesday after several California representatives and Gov. Gavin Newsom urged the president to swiftly respond to the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It didn’t take more than a text message to get [Fire Management Assistance Grants] approved, which means we’re reimbursed for the vast majority of these costs. No politics, no hand wringing, no kissing of the feet,” Newsom said during a press conference on Tuesday. “Emergency proclamations are being drafted as we speak, and I just want to thank the president because that’s something I don’t take for granted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, Biden pledged that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-09/biden-to-address-the-nation-about-la-fires\">federal government\u003c/a> would cover 100% of the costs associated with the wildfires. He also noted that all possible resources are being sent to California to help with firefighting and rescue efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12021339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Joe Biden delivers remarks regarding the ongoing wildfires impacting Southern California alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom at Santa Monica Fire Department Station 5 in Santa Monica, California, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D–San José), who signed the letter to Biden, said his quick response “will accelerate the assistance that is so desperately needed.” But she also acknowledged that Biden only has a few more days left in office. Once his term ends this month, it will be President-elect Donald Trump who is in charge of approving emergency aid distribution on the federal level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his first term as president and throughout his most recent campaign, Trump frequently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12014403/can-trump-really-withhold-fire-relief-from-california-hes-tried-it-before\">threatened\u003c/a> to limit and even cut the amount of financial aid going to California for disaster recovery, decisions that would be well within his authority as president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a natural disaster occurs, states can seek federal assistance through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-stafford.pdf\">Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act\u003c/a>, a law that designed the process by which states can request financial aid in times of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, state officials proclaim a state of emergency. Then, the governor can look to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a disaster declaration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upon determining that a declaration is warranted, FEMA’s recommendation is brought to the Secretary of Homeland Security, who then brings it to the president for final approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021323\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal aid can help with cash assistance for people who have been evacuated or lost their homes, as well as expedite the process of debris removal and other assistive measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the catastrophic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/camp-fire\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> in 2018 and the major wildfires in 2020, Trump resisted providing aid before eventually capitulating. When eastern Washington also experienced a massive wildfire in 2020, Trump refused to approve any federal assistance, allegedly due to his conflicts with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, according to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/997690599/a-destroyed-town-denied-aid-by-trump-braces-for-more-wildfires\">NPR report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden also faced criticism in 2021 for his denial of individual assistance to those affected by the Caldor Fire in Northern California after FEMA found that enough victims were covered by insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Collier, a professor of regional and city planning at UC Berkeley, said the issue goes beyond just the president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021263\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021263\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Buildings are destroyed along Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s complicated how this stuff is going to exactly play out,” Collier said. “There are moments when the Republicans in Congress have resisted more federal aid, but the moment there are disasters in their own states, which happens every year, they ultimately get on board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several Republicans, including Trump, have already vocalized their criticisms of Democratic politicians and policies since the fires began, according to a report by \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/trump-musk-california-democrats-wildfires-00197080\">\u003cem>Politico\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The president-elect criticized Newsom in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, calling the fires “virtually apocalyptic” and blaming the governor for not signing a water restoration declaration that he said would have prevented the disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12021203 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-019-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Trump’s second term approaches, some lawmakers and experts are concerned about how his attitudes toward California may affect future federal response to such disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matt Sedlar, a climate analyst at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the distribution of federal emergency aid can sometimes become a matter of politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the very few positive things you can get out of what’s happening right now in Southern California is that Biden is still technically president. The White House did declare a disaster yesterday and they’re starting the process of determining whether funding can go to specific areas,” Sedlar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued: “If this was happening in February, we would be having a very different conversation because there’s a lot of unpredictability around Trump. But because Biden is still in office, California is likely to get that federal aid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sedlar and Collier urged state officials and residents to begin thinking about mitigation and risk management when it comes to addressing natural disasters and wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re playing defense, and we need to start playing offense. We need to start building better homes. We need to start building better communities,” Sedlar said. “More money needs to go into mitigating these disasters rather than thinking of this after the fact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/mlagos\">\u003cem>Marisa Lagos\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration and said the federal government would cover 100% of costs, but President-elect Trump has floated withholding aid from California.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As devastating fires continue to burn in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/los-angeles-county\">Los Angeles County\u003c/a>, state lawmakers have moved quickly to secure federal aid — help that some fear could be delayed or cut off in a future disaster under the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Palisades and Eaton fires, which began Tuesday and spread rapidly during strong winds, have destroyed thousands of homes and forced over 100,000 residents to evacuate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration on Wednesday after several California representatives and Gov. Gavin Newsom urged the president to swiftly respond to the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It didn’t take more than a text message to get [Fire Management Assistance Grants] approved, which means we’re reimbursed for the vast majority of these costs. No politics, no hand wringing, no kissing of the feet,” Newsom said during a press conference on Tuesday. “Emergency proclamations are being drafted as we speak, and I just want to thank the president because that’s something I don’t take for granted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, Biden pledged that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-09/biden-to-address-the-nation-about-la-fires\">federal government\u003c/a> would cover 100% of the costs associated with the wildfires. He also noted that all possible resources are being sent to California to help with firefighting and rescue efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12021339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfiresJoeBidenAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Joe Biden delivers remarks regarding the ongoing wildfires impacting Southern California alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom at Santa Monica Fire Department Station 5 in Santa Monica, California, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D–San José), who signed the letter to Biden, said his quick response “will accelerate the assistance that is so desperately needed.” But she also acknowledged that Biden only has a few more days left in office. Once his term ends this month, it will be President-elect Donald Trump who is in charge of approving emergency aid distribution on the federal level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his first term as president and throughout his most recent campaign, Trump frequently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12014403/can-trump-really-withhold-fire-relief-from-california-hes-tried-it-before\">threatened\u003c/a> to limit and even cut the amount of financial aid going to California for disaster recovery, decisions that would be well within his authority as president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a natural disaster occurs, states can seek federal assistance through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-stafford.pdf\">Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act\u003c/a>, a law that designed the process by which states can request financial aid in times of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, state officials proclaim a state of emergency. Then, the governor can look to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a disaster declaration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upon determining that a declaration is warranted, FEMA’s recommendation is brought to the Secretary of Homeland Security, who then brings it to the president for final approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021323\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-056-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal aid can help with cash assistance for people who have been evacuated or lost their homes, as well as expedite the process of debris removal and other assistive measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the catastrophic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/camp-fire\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> in 2018 and the major wildfires in 2020, Trump resisted providing aid before eventually capitulating. When eastern Washington also experienced a massive wildfire in 2020, Trump refused to approve any federal assistance, allegedly due to his conflicts with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, according to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/997690599/a-destroyed-town-denied-aid-by-trump-braces-for-more-wildfires\">NPR report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden also faced criticism in 2021 for his denial of individual assistance to those affected by the Caldor Fire in Northern California after FEMA found that enough victims were covered by insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Collier, a professor of regional and city planning at UC Berkeley, said the issue goes beyond just the president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021263\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021263\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Buildings are destroyed along Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s complicated how this stuff is going to exactly play out,” Collier said. “There are moments when the Republicans in Congress have resisted more federal aid, but the moment there are disasters in their own states, which happens every year, they ultimately get on board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several Republicans, including Trump, have already vocalized their criticisms of Democratic politicians and policies since the fires began, according to a report by \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/trump-musk-california-democrats-wildfires-00197080\">\u003cem>Politico\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The president-elect criticized Newsom in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, calling the fires “virtually apocalyptic” and blaming the governor for not signing a water restoration declaration that he said would have prevented the disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Trump’s second term approaches, some lawmakers and experts are concerned about how his attitudes toward California may affect future federal response to such disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matt Sedlar, a climate analyst at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the distribution of federal emergency aid can sometimes become a matter of politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the very few positive things you can get out of what’s happening right now in Southern California is that Biden is still technically president. The White House did declare a disaster yesterday and they’re starting the process of determining whether funding can go to specific areas,” Sedlar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued: “If this was happening in February, we would be having a very different conversation because there’s a lot of unpredictability around Trump. But because Biden is still in office, California is likely to get that federal aid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sedlar and Collier urged state officials and residents to begin thinking about mitigation and risk management when it comes to addressing natural disasters and wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re playing defense, and we need to start playing offense. We need to start building better homes. We need to start building better communities,” Sedlar said. “More money needs to go into mitigating these disasters rather than thinking of this after the fact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/mlagos\">\u003cem>Marisa Lagos\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Widespread Scope of Southern California Fires Is Shown in Satellite Images",
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"content": "\u003cp>The deadly fires ravaging Los Angeles this week have destroyed thousands of homes from the Pacific Coast to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, and by the time the firestorm finally subsides, it is likely to be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">costliest wildfire disaster in U.S. history\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two largest blazes — the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire — have burned more than 27,000 acres combined and remain completely uncontained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although that’s far from the scale of the largest wildfires in California history, the flames barreled \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020808/as-la-fires-rage-harrowing-evacuations-play-out-on-traffic-choked-roads\">directly into populated areas\u003c/a> on the fringes of a sprawling metropolis, fueled by hurricane-force winds and drought-parched brush.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will be days, if not weeks, before the extent of the damage is clear. But satellite imagery from San Francisco-based Planet Labs provides a glimpse at how much has burned already.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These photos may look strange. That’s because they are what’s known as \u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/FalseColor\">false-color images\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021214\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1430px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12021214 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1430\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1.jpg 1430w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-800x1074.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-1020x1370.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-160x215.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-1144x1536.jpg 1144w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1430px) 100vw, 1430px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A false-color satellite image taken on Jan. 8, 2025, by Planet Labs, which displays healthy vegetation in red, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through the Santa Monica Mountains and the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, stretching to the ocean. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The NRG false-color images here display near-infrared light — which is invisible to the human eye — in red. Because plants reflect infrared light strongly, land that is covered in vegetation shows up as deep red. Denser plant growth appears darker red, making such images helpful for showing the health of vegetation — or where it has been wiped out completely by wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The photo above, taken Wednesday, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through the Santa Monica Mountains and the coastal Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember, healthy vegetation shows up as red, so all the land that isn’t red — partially obscured by a thick plume of smoke in the center of the image — is burned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12021215 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-1020x1275.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-1229x1536.jpg 1229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed-in detail of Planet Labs’ false-color satellite image from Jan. 8, 2025, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through the heart of Pacific Palisades. The glow of flames can be seen near Palisades Charter High School in the center-left of the image. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Here, a zoomed-in detail of the image shows more closely the fire’s path through the heart of Pacific Palisades, stretching all the way to Will Rogers State Beach at the bottom of the image.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The glow of flames can be seen near Palisades Charter High School, which was reportedly all but destroyed, in the center-left of the image.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another detailed section of the Palisades Fire satellite image shows where the blaze burned through a Santa Monica Mountains community known as the Summit at Palisades Highlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021216\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021216\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed-in detail of Planet Labs’ false-color satellite image from Jan. 8, 2025, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through a community known as the Summit at Palisades Highlands in the Santa Monica Mountains. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Preliminary reports suggest that the Palisades Fire alone has damaged or destroyed thousands of structures, officials said in a news conference on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 30 miles inland, northeast of the city of Los Angeles, the Eaton Fire has torn through neighborhoods in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interactive slider below overlays two false-color satellite images from Planet Labs. On the left is an image taken Monday, the day before the fires broke out, and on the right is an image taken Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/21102556/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It shows a wide swath of the San Gabriels along with foothill communities below. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is on the left edge of the images, and the city of Sierra Madre is on the right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just north of Pasadena, the fire destroyed entire blocks in the unincorporated community of Altadena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The image below shows a zoomed-in section of Wednesday’s satellite photo from the interactive slider. All of the non-red land in the center is burned vegetation in the foothills of the San Gabriels, and at the bottom is Altadena, obscured by smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021218\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021218\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed-in detail of a satellite image taken on Jan. 8, 2025, by Planet Labs, which displays healthy vegetation in red, shows where the Eaton Fire burned through the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and into the community of Altadena, seen at the bottom of the image obscured by smoke. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For information on how to support people affected by the L.A. County firestorm and resources for fire victims, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021150/where-to-donate-help-los-angeles-wildfire-eaton-fire-palisades-pasadena\">this guide by KQED’s Nisa Khan\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters are continuing to battle the fires and had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021107/firefighters-begin-to-slow-spread-of-ferocious-blazes-ravaging-los-angeles\">begun to slow their spread\u003c/a> on Thursday, but wind gusts are expected to strengthen again Thursday evening into Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interactive map below shows the latest on the fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=c7285ba9ce524bbba6c689e96d013112\" width=\"1200\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px\">\u003ci>Map by Matthew Green/KQED\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wildfire locations are sourced from \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/\">\u003cem>Cal Fire\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and perimeters from the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/\">\u003cem>National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Click on each fire icon for more incident-specific details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The deadly fires ravaging Los Angeles this week have destroyed thousands of homes from the Pacific Coast to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, and by the time the firestorm finally subsides, it is likely to be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">costliest wildfire disaster in U.S. history\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two largest blazes — the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire — have burned more than 27,000 acres combined and remain completely uncontained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although that’s far from the scale of the largest wildfires in California history, the flames barreled \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020808/as-la-fires-rage-harrowing-evacuations-play-out-on-traffic-choked-roads\">directly into populated areas\u003c/a> on the fringes of a sprawling metropolis, fueled by hurricane-force winds and drought-parched brush.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will be days, if not weeks, before the extent of the damage is clear. But satellite imagery from San Francisco-based Planet Labs provides a glimpse at how much has burned already.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These photos may look strange. That’s because they are what’s known as \u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/FalseColor\">false-color images\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021214\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1430px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12021214 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1430\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1.jpg 1430w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-800x1074.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-1020x1370.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-160x215.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images1-1144x1536.jpg 1144w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1430px) 100vw, 1430px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A false-color satellite image taken on Jan. 8, 2025, by Planet Labs, which displays healthy vegetation in red, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through the Santa Monica Mountains and the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, stretching to the ocean. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The NRG false-color images here display near-infrared light — which is invisible to the human eye — in red. Because plants reflect infrared light strongly, land that is covered in vegetation shows up as deep red. Denser plant growth appears darker red, making such images helpful for showing the health of vegetation — or where it has been wiped out completely by wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The photo above, taken Wednesday, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through the Santa Monica Mountains and the coastal Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember, healthy vegetation shows up as red, so all the land that isn’t red — partially obscured by a thick plume of smoke in the center of the image — is burned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12021215 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-1020x1275.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images2-1229x1536.jpg 1229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed-in detail of Planet Labs’ false-color satellite image from Jan. 8, 2025, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through the heart of Pacific Palisades. The glow of flames can be seen near Palisades Charter High School in the center-left of the image. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Here, a zoomed-in detail of the image shows more closely the fire’s path through the heart of Pacific Palisades, stretching all the way to Will Rogers State Beach at the bottom of the image.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The glow of flames can be seen near Palisades Charter High School, which was reportedly all but destroyed, in the center-left of the image.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another detailed section of the Palisades Fire satellite image shows where the blaze burned through a Santa Monica Mountains community known as the Summit at Palisades Highlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021216\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021216\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed-in detail of Planet Labs’ false-color satellite image from Jan. 8, 2025, shows where the Palisades Fire burned through a community known as the Summit at Palisades Highlands in the Santa Monica Mountains. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Preliminary reports suggest that the Palisades Fire alone has damaged or destroyed thousands of structures, officials said in a news conference on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 30 miles inland, northeast of the city of Los Angeles, the Eaton Fire has torn through neighborhoods in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interactive slider below overlays two false-color satellite images from Planet Labs. On the left is an image taken Monday, the day before the fires broke out, and on the right is an image taken Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/21102556/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It shows a wide swath of the San Gabriels along with foothill communities below. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is on the left edge of the images, and the city of Sierra Madre is on the right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just north of Pasadena, the fire destroyed entire blocks in the unincorporated community of Altadena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The image below shows a zoomed-in section of Wednesday’s satellite photo from the interactive slider. All of the non-red land in the center is burned vegetation in the foothills of the San Gabriels, and at the bottom is Altadena, obscured by smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021218\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021218\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Fire-Satellite-Images4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed-in detail of a satellite image taken on Jan. 8, 2025, by Planet Labs, which displays healthy vegetation in red, shows where the Eaton Fire burned through the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and into the community of Altadena, seen at the bottom of the image obscured by smoke. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Planet Labs PBC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For information on how to support people affected by the L.A. County firestorm and resources for fire victims, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021150/where-to-donate-help-los-angeles-wildfire-eaton-fire-palisades-pasadena\">this guide by KQED’s Nisa Khan\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters are continuing to battle the fires and had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021107/firefighters-begin-to-slow-spread-of-ferocious-blazes-ravaging-los-angeles\">begun to slow their spread\u003c/a> on Thursday, but wind gusts are expected to strengthen again Thursday evening into Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interactive map below shows the latest on the fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=c7285ba9ce524bbba6c689e96d013112\" width=\"1200\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px\">\u003ci>Map by Matthew Green/KQED\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wildfire locations are sourced from \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/\">\u003cem>Cal Fire\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and perimeters from the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/\">\u003cem>National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Click on each fire icon for more incident-specific details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sf-mayor-daniel-lurie-celebrates-new-administration-chinatown-party",
"title": "At SF Mayor Lurie’s Chinatown Party, Dancing, Fireworks and a Promise of Unity",
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"headTitle": "At SF Mayor Lurie’s Chinatown Party, Dancing, Fireworks and a Promise of Unity | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>After a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020422/san-francisco-mayor-elect-daniel-lurie-launches-political-career-cable-cars-chinatown-market-prayer\">day of inaugural celebrations\u003c/a>, San Francisco’s newly sworn-in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/daniel-lurie\">Mayor Daniel Lurie\u003c/a> spent Wednesday night dining with Chinatown community leaders while residents celebrated on Grant Avenue with music, fireworks and dragon dances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s decision to spend his first official night in office with Chinatown residents and community leaders reflected his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003096/public-safety-takes-center-stage-as-sf-mayoral-hopefuls-court-chinese-american-voters\">promises on the campaign trail\u003c/a> to the city’s Asian American voters. He pledged to increase public safety, boost police department staffing following upticks in anti-Asian violence and bring more staffers with Asian backgrounds to City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s task will be to prove he can stay in touch with the diverse needs of Asian San Franciscans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As we speak, the San Francisco Police Department and sheriff’s department are rapidly shifting resources and personnel to bring drug dealers to justice and clean up our streets,” Lurie said in his inaugural address on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chinese Americans have long played a critical role in San Francisco politics and the city’s identity as a bastion of progress and compassion, advocating for integrated schools, affordable housing and public safety, especially after the pandemic when anti-Asian hate crimes spiked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021091\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021091\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A banner hangs over Grant Avenue welcoming Mayor Lurie at the Chinatown Night Market on Inauguration Day in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s also a fast-growing electorate. The Asian population had the highest growth rate of any ethnicity in San Francisco from 2010 to 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Chinese residents account for nearly 22% of the city’s population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie has already hired several staffers to help him bridge cultural divides, including Han Zhao, a political strategist for Lurie’s campaign who will be the director of public affairs; Paul Yep, a former San Francisco police commander who will be the director of public safety; and Kit Lam, who was the Asian American and Pacific Islander political director for Lurie’s campaign and who was previously an organizer of the school board recall in 2022. He will serve as a press liaison between the mayor’s office and AAPI communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie, founder of the nonprofit Tipping Point and heir to the Levis Strauss clothing fortune, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020420/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie-sworn-in-today-heres-what-to-know\">campaigned as a political outsider\u003c/a> fed up with dysfunction and corruption in City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He had never held elected office before but convinced voters that his background in nonprofit work would \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12001601/city-hall-outsider-daniel-lurie-wants-to-clean-up-local-government\">position him well to bring new ideas to City Hall\u003c/a>. Campaign contributions \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017551/is-san-francisco-a-bellwether-for-cryptocurrency-influence-on-local-elections\">soared past $62 million\u003c/a>, topped by Lurie, who raised roughly $16 million — about half of which was self-funded — making his run the most expensive in the city’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021095\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021095\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Daniel Lurie addresses supporters inside Far East Cafe, a Cantonese restaurant, during a visit to Chinatown’s Night Market on his Inauguration Day in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At Wednesday’s night market, hundreds of residents packed the streets of Chinatown to eat and dance to electronic music by San Francisco-born electronic music producer, Zhu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just got off of work over at Equinox and came because Zhu was performing, but I also came here to support our new Mayor Daniel Lurie,” said Mason Maes, who lives in Noe Valley. “It’s great to see all these residents get together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Wang, a Marina resident, came because she was hoping to learn more about Lurie and to have fun with friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just here for the vibes. I can’t say I know much about [Lurie] since he’s new to government,” Wang said. “But having a party here in Chinatown means a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021092\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crowds fill Grant Avenue for the Chinatown Night Market on Inauguration Day in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Others at the event, who didn’t vote for Lurie and had skepticism about his wealthy background, said they’re waiting to see what type of change his administration will bring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We weren’t Daniel Lurie fans, but we love this city and hope it gets better,” said Tiny Harris, who was chasing her toddler around the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she voted for Aaron Peskin partly because he opposed sweeps of homeless encampments and supported housing and behavioral health solutions over law enforcement to address street homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But out of all the mayoral candidates, we could have done worse, so I’m thankful for that,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12020848 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInaugurationDay_GC_00196-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the festivities in Chinatown, Lurie spent the day flanked by family and friends as he walked through the Tenderloin, rode a cable car to Ghirardelli Square and took his oath of office from City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his inaugural address, the new mayor was blunt about the challenges facing the city — from a nearly $900 million budget deficit to homelessness and clean streets — and implored residents to respond with hope and action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A problem of this magnitude requires us to make some painful decisions and rethink the way we operate. We need to stop spending more than we can afford,” Lurie said on Wednesday during his address. “We need to prioritize essential services and make the investments that are critical to getting San Francisco up and running again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020848/now-sf-mayor-lurie-unveils-emergency-plans-drug-homelessness-crises\">unveiled emergency plans to tackle drugs and homelessness\u003c/a>, among other policy announcements. He said that the package of emergency ordinances will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and with an expedited approval process, certain plans could go into effect in about a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s emergency plans would also increase nighttime operations for law enforcement targeting outdoor drug use and sales, particularly around United Nations Plaza and Market Street, according to a policy brief from Lurie’s communications team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie is also asking the supervisors to ease restrictions around procurement and grant-making and to authorize the use of private funding to help finance his plans to build over 1,000 emergency shelter beds and open up a new 24/7 crisis drop-in center during his first six months in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is truly a new era of cooperation and mutual respect between City Hall, the Board of Supervisors, law enforcement and the thousands of city employees working on the front lines,” Lurie said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After campaigning to win over San Francisco’s Chinese American voters, Daniel Lurie will next have to stay in touch with the diverse needs of Asian San Franciscans.",
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"title": "At SF Mayor Lurie’s Chinatown Party, Dancing, Fireworks and a Promise of Unity | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020422/san-francisco-mayor-elect-daniel-lurie-launches-political-career-cable-cars-chinatown-market-prayer\">day of inaugural celebrations\u003c/a>, San Francisco’s newly sworn-in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/daniel-lurie\">Mayor Daniel Lurie\u003c/a> spent Wednesday night dining with Chinatown community leaders while residents celebrated on Grant Avenue with music, fireworks and dragon dances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s decision to spend his first official night in office with Chinatown residents and community leaders reflected his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003096/public-safety-takes-center-stage-as-sf-mayoral-hopefuls-court-chinese-american-voters\">promises on the campaign trail\u003c/a> to the city’s Asian American voters. He pledged to increase public safety, boost police department staffing following upticks in anti-Asian violence and bring more staffers with Asian backgrounds to City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s task will be to prove he can stay in touch with the diverse needs of Asian San Franciscans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As we speak, the San Francisco Police Department and sheriff’s department are rapidly shifting resources and personnel to bring drug dealers to justice and clean up our streets,” Lurie said in his inaugural address on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chinese Americans have long played a critical role in San Francisco politics and the city’s identity as a bastion of progress and compassion, advocating for integrated schools, affordable housing and public safety, especially after the pandemic when anti-Asian hate crimes spiked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021091\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021091\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00553-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A banner hangs over Grant Avenue welcoming Mayor Lurie at the Chinatown Night Market on Inauguration Day in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s also a fast-growing electorate. The Asian population had the highest growth rate of any ethnicity in San Francisco from 2010 to 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Chinese residents account for nearly 22% of the city’s population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie has already hired several staffers to help him bridge cultural divides, including Han Zhao, a political strategist for Lurie’s campaign who will be the director of public affairs; Paul Yep, a former San Francisco police commander who will be the director of public safety; and Kit Lam, who was the Asian American and Pacific Islander political director for Lurie’s campaign and who was previously an organizer of the school board recall in 2022. He will serve as a press liaison between the mayor’s office and AAPI communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie, founder of the nonprofit Tipping Point and heir to the Levis Strauss clothing fortune, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020420/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie-sworn-in-today-heres-what-to-know\">campaigned as a political outsider\u003c/a> fed up with dysfunction and corruption in City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He had never held elected office before but convinced voters that his background in nonprofit work would \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12001601/city-hall-outsider-daniel-lurie-wants-to-clean-up-local-government\">position him well to bring new ideas to City Hall\u003c/a>. Campaign contributions \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017551/is-san-francisco-a-bellwether-for-cryptocurrency-influence-on-local-elections\">soared past $62 million\u003c/a>, topped by Lurie, who raised roughly $16 million — about half of which was self-funded — making his run the most expensive in the city’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021095\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021095\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieInauguration_GC-49-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Daniel Lurie addresses supporters inside Far East Cafe, a Cantonese restaurant, during a visit to Chinatown’s Night Market on his Inauguration Day in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At Wednesday’s night market, hundreds of residents packed the streets of Chinatown to eat and dance to electronic music by San Francisco-born electronic music producer, Zhu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just got off of work over at Equinox and came because Zhu was performing, but I also came here to support our new Mayor Daniel Lurie,” said Mason Maes, who lives in Noe Valley. “It’s great to see all these residents get together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Wang, a Marina resident, came because she was hoping to learn more about Lurie and to have fun with friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just here for the vibes. I can’t say I know much about [Lurie] since he’s new to government,” Wang said. “But having a party here in Chinatown means a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021092\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250108_LurieChinatownMarket_DMB_00645-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crowds fill Grant Avenue for the Chinatown Night Market on Inauguration Day in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Others at the event, who didn’t vote for Lurie and had skepticism about his wealthy background, said they’re waiting to see what type of change his administration will bring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We weren’t Daniel Lurie fans, but we love this city and hope it gets better,” said Tiny Harris, who was chasing her toddler around the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she voted for Aaron Peskin partly because he opposed sweeps of homeless encampments and supported housing and behavioral health solutions over law enforcement to address street homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But out of all the mayoral candidates, we could have done worse, so I’m thankful for that,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the festivities in Chinatown, Lurie spent the day flanked by family and friends as he walked through the Tenderloin, rode a cable car to Ghirardelli Square and took his oath of office from City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his inaugural address, the new mayor was blunt about the challenges facing the city — from a nearly $900 million budget deficit to homelessness and clean streets — and implored residents to respond with hope and action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A problem of this magnitude requires us to make some painful decisions and rethink the way we operate. We need to stop spending more than we can afford,” Lurie said on Wednesday during his address. “We need to prioritize essential services and make the investments that are critical to getting San Francisco up and running again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020848/now-sf-mayor-lurie-unveils-emergency-plans-drug-homelessness-crises\">unveiled emergency plans to tackle drugs and homelessness\u003c/a>, among other policy announcements. He said that the package of emergency ordinances will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and with an expedited approval process, certain plans could go into effect in about a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s emergency plans would also increase nighttime operations for law enforcement targeting outdoor drug use and sales, particularly around United Nations Plaza and Market Street, according to a policy brief from Lurie’s communications team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie is also asking the supervisors to ease restrictions around procurement and grant-making and to authorize the use of private funding to help finance his plans to build over 1,000 emergency shelter beds and open up a new 24/7 crisis drop-in center during his first six months in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is truly a new era of cooperation and mutual respect between City Hall, the Board of Supervisors, law enforcement and the thousands of city employees working on the front lines,” Lurie said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/scott-wiener\">Scott Wiener (\u003c/a>D-San Francisco) unveiled his plans on Wednesday for\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB53\"> a bill\u003c/a> that would create safety guardrails around the development of artificial intelligence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This bill would establish safeguards for the development of AI frontier models, and that would build state capacity for the use of AI,” the draft language now in place declares. Wiener plans to deliver a more detailed bill in about a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 53 is the latest salvo from the senate budget chair, whose\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906887/californias-controversial-bill-to-regulate-ai\"> first bill\u003c/a> threatening to regulate large language model developers was\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12007087/california-blinks-governor-newsom-vetoes-ai-bill-aimed-at-catastrophic-harms\"> vetoed\u003c/a> by Gov. Gavin Newsom last fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We immediately got to work talking to both supporters and critics of that bill, trying to figure out if there’s a path forward, if we can build more support,” Wiener told KQED. “The goal here is to produce good policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener’s previous AI safety bill,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12000892/ai-safety-testing-bill-heads-for-a-floor-vote-in-sacramento-taking-heavy-fire-from-silicon-valley\"> SB-1947\u003c/a>, drew international attention and controversy because it proposed establishing the toughest safety-testing standards in the United States for the largest generative AI models.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12007087 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/GettyImages-2171266139-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of Newsom’s veto message, his office announced the establishment of an AI working group, which includes experts at Stanford and UC Berkeley. Wiener said his legislation could incorporate the work of Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://hai.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/20241211_Joint_CA_AI_Update.pdf\">AI group\u003c/a>, although its first policy recommendations are not expected until this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t wait until the summer to introduce a bill,” Wiener said. “But once those recommendations come out, we’re going to be taking a close look at them, and we could potentially include some or all of those recommendations in our bill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said he still has the support of Amazon’s Anthropic, based in San Francisco, which helped to redraft SB 1047 to allay concerns from some in Silicon Valley that regulating AI could chill innovation in the still-nascent field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthropic declined to comment for this story. Wiener said his office is talking to other tech companies as well but declined to name them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Legislature is on record that it is able and willing to grapple with catastrophic AI risks,” said Wiener, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee. “The governor disagreed, and I respect his decision, even though I disagree with him. But the governor also made very clear in his detailed veto message that he recognizes this is an issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/scott-wiener\">Scott Wiener (\u003c/a>D-San Francisco) unveiled his plans on Wednesday for\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB53\"> a bill\u003c/a> that would create safety guardrails around the development of artificial intelligence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This bill would establish safeguards for the development of AI frontier models, and that would build state capacity for the use of AI,” the draft language now in place declares. Wiener plans to deliver a more detailed bill in about a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 53 is the latest salvo from the senate budget chair, whose\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906887/californias-controversial-bill-to-regulate-ai\"> first bill\u003c/a> threatening to regulate large language model developers was\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12007087/california-blinks-governor-newsom-vetoes-ai-bill-aimed-at-catastrophic-harms\"> vetoed\u003c/a> by Gov. Gavin Newsom last fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of Newsom’s veto message, his office announced the establishment of an AI working group, which includes experts at Stanford and UC Berkeley. Wiener said his legislation could incorporate the work of Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://hai.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/20241211_Joint_CA_AI_Update.pdf\">AI group\u003c/a>, although its first policy recommendations are not expected until this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t wait until the summer to introduce a bill,” Wiener said. “But once those recommendations come out, we’re going to be taking a close look at them, and we could potentially include some or all of those recommendations in our bill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said he still has the support of Amazon’s Anthropic, based in San Francisco, which helped to redraft SB 1047 to allay concerns from some in Silicon Valley that regulating AI could chill innovation in the still-nascent field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthropic declined to comment for this story. Wiener said his office is talking to other tech companies as well but declined to name them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Legislature is on record that it is able and willing to grapple with catastrophic AI risks,” said Wiener, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee. “The governor disagreed, and I respect his decision, even though I disagree with him. But the governor also made very clear in his detailed veto message that he recognizes this is an issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "LA Fires Threaten California Insurance Market Stability, Housing Costs",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Read our story on the harrowing evacuations in Pacific Palisades \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020808/as-la-fires-rage-harrowing-evacuations-play-out-on-traffic-choked-roads\">\u003cem>\u003cstrong>here\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Los Angeles County firestorm continues to rage, taking at least five lives, causing injuries and destroying thousands of buildings. Many homes in some of the most affected areas are covered by the California FAIR plan, the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992401/homeowners-insurance-market-stretched-even-thinner-as-2-more-companies-leave-california\">insurer of last resort\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires could further destabilize an already \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985175/insurance-in-california-is-changing-heres-how-it-may-affect-you\">rickety insurance market\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing of the disaster threatens to undermine the fledgling progress state officials have made in attracting insurance companies back to the California market. In the past year, officials have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906641/california-regulators-roll-out-plan-to-stabilize-home-insurance-market\">overhauled insurance regulations\u003c/a>, working to increase coverage availability to consumers in high-risk areas while responding to long-standing industry requests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just going to be in a challenging situation. I think it’s not clear yet how challenging it will be,” said Michael Wara, energy and climate expert at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s too early to assess the extent of the destruction, but the fires are likely to be one of the most damaging events in state history. JP Morgan issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.investors.com/news/top-california-property-insurer-earns-double-upgrade-from-goldman/\">preliminary estimate of $10 billion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever the final tally, the fires are sure to be a major hit to large insurers like State Farm, Allstate and Farmers, and to the California FAIR Plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fires have hit one of the highest value areas,” said Ben Collier, professor of risk management and insurance at Temple University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan lists Pacific Palisades as one of the areas where it is \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/\">most financially exposed\u003c/a>, responsible for up to $5.9 billion. Last year, Victoria Roach, the FAIR Plan president, said the plan has about $200 million in surplus and $2.5 billion in reinsurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0300-insurers/0200-bulletins/bulletin-notices-commiss-opinion/upload/BULLETIN_2024-8__RE_INSURER_RECOUPMENT_PROCEDURES_IN_THE_HIGHLY_UNLIKELY_EVENT_OF_ASSESSMENT_BY_THE_FAIR_PLAN.pdf\">clarified\u003c/a> what would happen if the FAIR Plan does not have enough money to pay out claims. Other insurance companies will have to pick up the bill — and will be allowed to pass some of the costs onto customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020929\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020929\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People fleeing among cars with a tree and orange smoky haze and flames in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Etienne Laurent/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The state protects consumers from any changes to their insurance policy for one year following a disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement that his department is committed to ensuring consumers “receive the services you contracted for with your insurance company,” adding that companies are pledging their commitment to the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will hold them accountable for the promises they have made,” Lara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s too early to tell if the fires will eclipse the available FAIR Plan funds, if they did, “then the next round of claims would be paid by a combination of insurance companies and from other policyholders of private insurance companies,” Collier said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can already be hard to get insurance in the state, he said, “and this is likely to make the situation notably worse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within hours of these fires breaking out, internet rumors began to circulate that these fires would bankrupt insurance companies, including the FAIR Plan. That is unlikely to happen, experts said, because insurance carriers have planned for this contingency.[aside postID=news_12020835 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/CAWildfireSoCal3AP.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement emailed to KQED, a FAIR Plan spokesperson said they are aware of what they called “misinformation being posted online” but added that it is “too early to provide loss estimates as claims are just beginning to be submitted and processed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The FAIR Plan has payment mechanisms in place, including reinsurance, to ensure all covered claims are paid,” the statement said. “The FAIR Plan remains vigilant in working with its customers in these challenging times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State’s insurance regulators have been implementing a massive overhaul of insurance rules designed to ease the crisis in the insurance markets and to allow companies to charge what they think aligns with the risk exposure. In response, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017886/farmers-insurance-to-step-up-coverage-in-california-a-sign-tide-is-turning\">some companies are loosening up\u003c/a>, offering more coverage to attract customers. The fires could backtrack that progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The past year has been accompanied by eye-popping rate increases, particularly in areas with wildfire risk. But Wara said the worst is likely ahead of us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rate increases we’ve had, which have been extreme, especially for the people in the high-risk areas, such as the Sierra or Pacific Palisades, but that is a preview at this point of what is to come,” Wara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Customers and insurance companies are likely to feel the pain. Companies often use reinsurance — insurance for insurers — to guarantee they’ll have enough money to pay out claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insurance companies in a catastrophe are like a bank during a bank run,” Wara said. “And as long as you have enough money in the vault to survive the bank run, you’re OK. But reinsurance means you can keep less money in your own vault because someone else’s vault is available to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020947\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020947\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A firefighter jumps over a low wall and toward a burning house.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, seeing this destruction could prompt reinsurance companies to pull back further from California, meaning insurance companies either have to raise that capital themselves or further reduce their exposure in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the state regulates insurance companies, it does not get to exert the same level of control over reinsurers. Nor does the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance is already pricey in California. Make it much worse, and it could become too expensive for many people to own a home here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are places in Florida where insurance costs $50,000 a year,” Wara said. “If that were to happen in California in the wildland-urban interface, we would be in a very different kind of challenge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What has been, until now, an insurance problem could balloon into a homeownership problem, where middle- and working-class people can’t own homes because mortgage, insurance and property taxes simply become too much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And [then] you have to sell your house,” Wara said. “And you find that your home value has gone down a lot because the cost of owning your home, including taxes and insurance, is a lot higher than it used to be. And that’s where we might be heading. I hope not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the chances that we are moving in that direction went up as soon as the fires broke out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Read our story on the harrowing evacuations in Pacific Palisades \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020808/as-la-fires-rage-harrowing-evacuations-play-out-on-traffic-choked-roads\">\u003cem>\u003cstrong>here\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Los Angeles County firestorm continues to rage, taking at least five lives, causing injuries and destroying thousands of buildings. Many homes in some of the most affected areas are covered by the California FAIR plan, the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992401/homeowners-insurance-market-stretched-even-thinner-as-2-more-companies-leave-california\">insurer of last resort\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires could further destabilize an already \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985175/insurance-in-california-is-changing-heres-how-it-may-affect-you\">rickety insurance market\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing of the disaster threatens to undermine the fledgling progress state officials have made in attracting insurance companies back to the California market. In the past year, officials have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906641/california-regulators-roll-out-plan-to-stabilize-home-insurance-market\">overhauled insurance regulations\u003c/a>, working to increase coverage availability to consumers in high-risk areas while responding to long-standing industry requests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just going to be in a challenging situation. I think it’s not clear yet how challenging it will be,” said Michael Wara, energy and climate expert at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s too early to assess the extent of the destruction, but the fires are likely to be one of the most damaging events in state history. JP Morgan issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.investors.com/news/top-california-property-insurer-earns-double-upgrade-from-goldman/\">preliminary estimate of $10 billion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever the final tally, the fires are sure to be a major hit to large insurers like State Farm, Allstate and Farmers, and to the California FAIR Plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fires have hit one of the highest value areas,” said Ben Collier, professor of risk management and insurance at Temple University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan lists Pacific Palisades as one of the areas where it is \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/\">most financially exposed\u003c/a>, responsible for up to $5.9 billion. Last year, Victoria Roach, the FAIR Plan president, said the plan has about $200 million in surplus and $2.5 billion in reinsurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0300-insurers/0200-bulletins/bulletin-notices-commiss-opinion/upload/BULLETIN_2024-8__RE_INSURER_RECOUPMENT_PROCEDURES_IN_THE_HIGHLY_UNLIKELY_EVENT_OF_ASSESSMENT_BY_THE_FAIR_PLAN.pdf\">clarified\u003c/a> what would happen if the FAIR Plan does not have enough money to pay out claims. Other insurance companies will have to pick up the bill — and will be allowed to pass some of the costs onto customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020929\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020929\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People fleeing among cars with a tree and orange smoky haze and flames in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-7-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Etienne Laurent/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The state protects consumers from any changes to their insurance policy for one year following a disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement that his department is committed to ensuring consumers “receive the services you contracted for with your insurance company,” adding that companies are pledging their commitment to the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will hold them accountable for the promises they have made,” Lara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s too early to tell if the fires will eclipse the available FAIR Plan funds, if they did, “then the next round of claims would be paid by a combination of insurance companies and from other policyholders of private insurance companies,” Collier said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can already be hard to get insurance in the state, he said, “and this is likely to make the situation notably worse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within hours of these fires breaking out, internet rumors began to circulate that these fires would bankrupt insurance companies, including the FAIR Plan. That is unlikely to happen, experts said, because insurance carriers have planned for this contingency.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement emailed to KQED, a FAIR Plan spokesperson said they are aware of what they called “misinformation being posted online” but added that it is “too early to provide loss estimates as claims are just beginning to be submitted and processed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The FAIR Plan has payment mechanisms in place, including reinsurance, to ensure all covered claims are paid,” the statement said. “The FAIR Plan remains vigilant in working with its customers in these challenging times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State’s insurance regulators have been implementing a massive overhaul of insurance rules designed to ease the crisis in the insurance markets and to allow companies to charge what they think aligns with the risk exposure. In response, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017886/farmers-insurance-to-step-up-coverage-in-california-a-sign-tide-is-turning\">some companies are loosening up\u003c/a>, offering more coverage to attract customers. The fires could backtrack that progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The past year has been accompanied by eye-popping rate increases, particularly in areas with wildfire risk. But Wara said the worst is likely ahead of us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rate increases we’ve had, which have been extreme, especially for the people in the high-risk areas, such as the Sierra or Pacific Palisades, but that is a preview at this point of what is to come,” Wara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Customers and insurance companies are likely to feel the pain. Companies often use reinsurance — insurance for insurers — to guarantee they’ll have enough money to pay out claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insurance companies in a catastrophe are like a bank during a bank run,” Wara said. “And as long as you have enough money in the vault to survive the bank run, you’re OK. But reinsurance means you can keep less money in your own vault because someone else’s vault is available to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020947\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020947\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A firefighter jumps over a low wall and toward a burning house.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-14-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, seeing this destruction could prompt reinsurance companies to pull back further from California, meaning insurance companies either have to raise that capital themselves or further reduce their exposure in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the state regulates insurance companies, it does not get to exert the same level of control over reinsurers. Nor does the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance is already pricey in California. Make it much worse, and it could become too expensive for many people to own a home here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are places in Florida where insurance costs $50,000 a year,” Wara said. “If that were to happen in California in the wildland-urban interface, we would be in a very different kind of challenge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What has been, until now, an insurance problem could balloon into a homeownership problem, where middle- and working-class people can’t own homes because mortgage, insurance and property taxes simply become too much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And [then] you have to sell your house,” Wara said. “And you find that your home value has gone down a lot because the cost of owning your home, including taxes and insurance, is a lot higher than it used to be. And that’s where we might be heading. I hope not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the chances that we are moving in that direction went up as soon as the fires broke out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "As LA Fires Rage, Harrowing Evacuations Play Out on Traffic-Choked Roads",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Californians pay hefty fees for electricity in large part because of wildfires. Read KQED’s coverage \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020600/californians-pay-hefty-fee-electricity-rates-likely-keep-increasing\">here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday morning, Vidda Brough heard a large crash outside of her home. Hurricane-force winds swept through her street in Pacific Palisades, an affluent residential neighborhood with sweeping views of Los Angeles. Spanish tiles flew off of Brough’s roof, crashing to the driveway below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she stepped outside to investigate, she smelled smoke. When she went back inside, she looked out a window facing the hillside behind her house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orange flames roared in her backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brough built her dream home, one that she and her husband had designed together, more than 40 years ago. During the Old Topanga Fire in 1993, her husband stayed behind to protect the property with a garden hose. Brough, a retired public school teacher, had never seen anything like the blaze that threatened her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized I needed to get out,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020750/wildfires-ravage-los-angeles-thousands-evacuated\">80,000 residents of Los Angeles County\u003c/a> were under orders to evacuate as of Wednesday afternoon, including 30,000 Pacific Palisades residents, after a destructive series of fires broke out Tuesday and exploded in intensity Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, at least five people have been killed, and more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been scorched, making this one of the most destructive firestorms in recent history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brough said she was shaking as she got in her car. She managed to drive down a winding road to scenic Sunset Boulevard. As she drove, she stayed on the phone with her son, Branden, whose presence helped keep her calm, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Police officers routed her west, towards the Pacific Palisades Highlands neighborhood. But after about a half mile, she said first responders rerouted her east. Eventually, she made it to her brother’s house in South Pasadena, where she reunited with her husband. The trip took eight hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020979\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Eaton Fire burns a vehicle Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the foothills northeast of Los Angeles, the deadly Eaton Fire has grown to more than 10,000 acres, burning through Altadena and Pasadena, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Evacuation orders expanded to include communities in eastern Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge and northern Monrovia. In the San Fernando Valley, the Hurst Fire has burned nearly 1,000 acres near the suburban community of Sylmar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the Pacific Palisades, the Palisades fire has consumed over 11,000 acres, moving westward along the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of cars were abandoned along Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard as people fled on foot because of the traffic jam. Responders with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were seen pushing cars aside with a bulldozer in order to create a path for emergency vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenichi Haskett, a section chief of L.A. County Fire in Palisades, described navigating the Palisades as similar to some of the hillier neighborhoods in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a foothills community where we had to evacuate 25,000 people who all jammed into the road together and created a bottleneck,” Haskett said. “Many left their cars and ran or walked away, which is not a bad idea, but it left a traffic jam and was difficult for our firefighters to get out.”[aside postID=news_12020835 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-20-scaled.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, encountering \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11743347/california-towns-at-risk-from-fires-often-have-few-ways-out\">gridlocked roads\u003c/a> is not uncommon during emergency evacuations in California, especially in cities with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1946668/data-pinpoints-14-california-communities-with-most-limited-emergency-escape-routes\">limited evacuation points\u003c/a>. During the catastrophic Camp Fire in 2019, over 25,000 Paradise residents attempted to evacuate the area only to get caught in a massive traffic jam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to wildfire evacuations expert Tom Cova, many towns only have one or two evacuation routes that residents can use to leave during an emergency. The problem occurs when thousands of people attempt to evacuate at the same time, leading to road congestion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like being at a concert, the density of these communities, and if you leave early, you just stand up and walk out,” Cova, a professor of geography at the University of Utah, said. “But if you delay your departure, if you’re spending a lot of time gathering things and maybe hesitating whether or not you’re at risk, then you’ll find yourself in the midst of the main travel pull.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cova said many of the cities and towns being impacted by these fires grow organically with little consideration for how roads would need to operate during emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, gridlock is not new to Los Angeles,” said Paul Friedman, chief technical officer of Streetlight Data, a San Francisco-based traffic analytics company. “Due to urban sprawl, poor urban planning, poor zoning laws, houses are very spread out and people need more road capacity per person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued: “If you just have one hour to get everybody out, you’re going to have problems. These roads are not designed to empty a community in one hour.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1946668/data-pinpoints-14-california-communities-with-most-limited-emergency-escape-routes\">2019 study published\u003c/a> by Streetlight Data identified 100 communities in the country that have the fewest evacuation routes, and California had 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are only a few things city officials can do to avoid issues of gridlock and congestion during emergencies, Friedman said. The first would be to issue evacuation and emergency warnings earlier in order to give residents more time to leave. The second would be to transition more two-way roads into one-way roads. The California Highway Patrol did a similar thing in Santa Cruz after the CZU Lightning Complex fires in 2020, Friedman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation might be the gravest danger associated with wildfires, according to Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at UC Berkeley. Stephens said that while evacuating an area may sometimes be necessary, doing so can leave people exposed to smoke and fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All it takes is one accident, a smoky road or maybe a power line down, and essentially, you’ve just blocked that evacuation route,” Stephens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020989\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020989\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, who only gave his first, return to Mantia’s fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, for people in L.A. County who are currently facing evacuation notices and imminent fire warnings, the experts interviewed by KQED urged residents to listen to law enforcement and city officials and to follow all warnings and instructions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re in a warning area, you need to be ready to go. An order means you need to go,” Haskett said. “We want people to heed the evacuation orders and be ready to go once that evacuation order has been issued.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brough is waiting to see whether she will have to evacuate again — and when she will be able to return home. Although she always has a bag packed for emergencies, when she fled, she left without her purse and her wedding rings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her son went online to find evidence of whether or not the home his parents built was still intact. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/carterevans/?hl=en\">Carter Evans\u003c/a>, a CBS journalist who lives in their neighborhood, went live on Instagram in a video where first responders handed him a garden hose to help fight flames. In the video, Brough’s son could see his parents’ home still standing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone has been so lucky. Ed Stark, who lives less than a mile from Brough, received a fateful email on Wednesday afternoon from his neighbor: Stark’s house had burned to ashes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were no fire trucks around,” Stark, 75, told KQED. “We were unable to get back and remove anything. We have nothing from the house but the clothes on our backs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stark, a trial attorney and an adjunct law professor, said he and his wife had just started fixing up their house. He had 25 years of articles and course materials saved on his laptop and iPad that were incinerated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that we are alive and that our children are alive. And God forbid, had we lost a loved one, it would be much worse,” Stark said. “But it’s like getting hit in the head with a hammer. It’s just a shock to the entire system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Californians pay hefty fees for electricity in large part because of wildfires. Read KQED’s coverage \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020600/californians-pay-hefty-fee-electricity-rates-likely-keep-increasing\">here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday morning, Vidda Brough heard a large crash outside of her home. Hurricane-force winds swept through her street in Pacific Palisades, an affluent residential neighborhood with sweeping views of Los Angeles. Spanish tiles flew off of Brough’s roof, crashing to the driveway below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she stepped outside to investigate, she smelled smoke. When she went back inside, she looked out a window facing the hillside behind her house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orange flames roared in her backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brough built her dream home, one that she and her husband had designed together, more than 40 years ago. During the Old Topanga Fire in 1993, her husband stayed behind to protect the property with a garden hose. Brough, a retired public school teacher, had never seen anything like the blaze that threatened her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized I needed to get out,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020750/wildfires-ravage-los-angeles-thousands-evacuated\">80,000 residents of Los Angeles County\u003c/a> were under orders to evacuate as of Wednesday afternoon, including 30,000 Pacific Palisades residents, after a destructive series of fires broke out Tuesday and exploded in intensity Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, at least five people have been killed, and more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been scorched, making this one of the most destructive firestorms in recent history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brough said she was shaking as she got in her car. She managed to drive down a winding road to scenic Sunset Boulevard. As she drove, she stayed on the phone with her son, Branden, whose presence helped keep her calm, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Police officers routed her west, towards the Pacific Palisades Highlands neighborhood. But after about a half mile, she said first responders rerouted her east. Eventually, she made it to her brother’s house in South Pasadena, where she reunited with her husband. The trip took eight hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020979\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008811327495-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Eaton Fire burns a vehicle Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the foothills northeast of Los Angeles, the deadly Eaton Fire has grown to more than 10,000 acres, burning through Altadena and Pasadena, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Evacuation orders expanded to include communities in eastern Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge and northern Monrovia. In the San Fernando Valley, the Hurst Fire has burned nearly 1,000 acres near the suburban community of Sylmar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the Pacific Palisades, the Palisades fire has consumed over 11,000 acres, moving westward along the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of cars were abandoned along Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard as people fled on foot because of the traffic jam. Responders with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were seen pushing cars aside with a bulldozer in order to create a path for emergency vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenichi Haskett, a section chief of L.A. County Fire in Palisades, described navigating the Palisades as similar to some of the hillier neighborhoods in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a foothills community where we had to evacuate 25,000 people who all jammed into the road together and created a bottleneck,” Haskett said. “Many left their cars and ran or walked away, which is not a bad idea, but it left a traffic jam and was difficult for our firefighters to get out.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, encountering \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11743347/california-towns-at-risk-from-fires-often-have-few-ways-out\">gridlocked roads\u003c/a> is not uncommon during emergency evacuations in California, especially in cities with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1946668/data-pinpoints-14-california-communities-with-most-limited-emergency-escape-routes\">limited evacuation points\u003c/a>. During the catastrophic Camp Fire in 2019, over 25,000 Paradise residents attempted to evacuate the area only to get caught in a massive traffic jam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to wildfire evacuations expert Tom Cova, many towns only have one or two evacuation routes that residents can use to leave during an emergency. The problem occurs when thousands of people attempt to evacuate at the same time, leading to road congestion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like being at a concert, the density of these communities, and if you leave early, you just stand up and walk out,” Cova, a professor of geography at the University of Utah, said. “But if you delay your departure, if you’re spending a lot of time gathering things and maybe hesitating whether or not you’re at risk, then you’ll find yourself in the midst of the main travel pull.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cova said many of the cities and towns being impacted by these fires grow organically with little consideration for how roads would need to operate during emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, gridlock is not new to Los Angeles,” said Paul Friedman, chief technical officer of Streetlight Data, a San Francisco-based traffic analytics company. “Due to urban sprawl, poor urban planning, poor zoning laws, houses are very spread out and people need more road capacity per person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued: “If you just have one hour to get everybody out, you’re going to have problems. These roads are not designed to empty a community in one hour.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1946668/data-pinpoints-14-california-communities-with-most-limited-emergency-escape-routes\">2019 study published\u003c/a> by Streetlight Data identified 100 communities in the country that have the fewest evacuation routes, and California had 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are only a few things city officials can do to avoid issues of gridlock and congestion during emergencies, Friedman said. The first would be to issue evacuation and emergency warnings earlier in order to give residents more time to leave. The second would be to transition more two-way roads into one-way roads. The California Highway Patrol did a similar thing in Santa Cruz after the CZU Lightning Complex fires in 2020, Friedman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation might be the gravest danger associated with wildfires, according to Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at UC Berkeley. Stephens said that while evacuating an area may sometimes be necessary, doing so can leave people exposed to smoke and fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All it takes is one accident, a smoky road or maybe a power line down, and essentially, you’ve just blocked that evacuation route,” Stephens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020989\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020989\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25008788861309-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, who only gave his first, return to Mantia’s fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, for people in L.A. County who are currently facing evacuation notices and imminent fire warnings, the experts interviewed by KQED urged residents to listen to law enforcement and city officials and to follow all warnings and instructions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re in a warning area, you need to be ready to go. An order means you need to go,” Haskett said. “We want people to heed the evacuation orders and be ready to go once that evacuation order has been issued.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brough is waiting to see whether she will have to evacuate again — and when she will be able to return home. Although she always has a bag packed for emergencies, when she fled, she left without her purse and her wedding rings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her son went online to find evidence of whether or not the home his parents built was still intact. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/carterevans/?hl=en\">Carter Evans\u003c/a>, a CBS journalist who lives in their neighborhood, went live on Instagram in a video where first responders handed him a garden hose to help fight flames. In the video, Brough’s son could see his parents’ home still standing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone has been so lucky. Ed Stark, who lives less than a mile from Brough, received a fateful email on Wednesday afternoon from his neighbor: Stark’s house had burned to ashes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were no fire trucks around,” Stark, 75, told KQED. “We were unable to get back and remove anything. We have nothing from the house but the clothes on our backs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stark, a trial attorney and an adjunct law professor, said he and his wife had just started fixing up their house. He had 25 years of articles and course materials saved on his laptop and iPad that were incinerated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that we are alive and that our children are alive. And God forbid, had we lost a loved one, it would be much worse,” Stark said. “But it’s like getting hit in the head with a hammer. It’s just a shock to the entire system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "What Are the Santa Ana Winds Fueling LA's Ferocious Wildfires?",
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"content": "\u003cp>The intense and fast-moving fires that have cut a path of destruction through the suburbs of Los Angeles, killing at least two people, are being driven by \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/shows/take-two/the-santa-ana-winds-a-cultural-and-destructive-force-in-southern-california\">the region’s powerful Santa Ana winds\u003c/a>, with gusts that in some cases surpass hurricane-strength.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two largest blazes — \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/fires-southern-california-gusty-winds\">the Palisades \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/eaton-fire-altadena\">Eaton Fires\u003c/a> — have consumed more than 10,000 acres each and prompted mandatory evacuations for almost 70,000 people as of Wednesday. Another 58,000 people have been warned to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the Santa Anas are \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/shows/take-two/the-santa-ana-winds-a-cultural-and-destructive-force-in-southern-california\">a routine part of life\u003c/a> for people living in southern California, the winds are particularly violent and destructive this time around, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferocious winds are likely to make it difficult or impossible for firefighters to contain the blazes until conditions improve. For now, however, the National Weather Service is warning of sustained winds up to 40 mph in the region, with gusts up to 80 mph in the area of the wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Wofford, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service’s office in Oxnard, Calif., says \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/santa-ana-winds-come-back-bringing-the-potential-of-more-fire-weather-this-week\">the Santa Ana winds are most common during the cooler months\u003c/a> from September through May. They are caused by high pressure over the desert of the southwestern U.S. that pushes through the mountain passages in Southern California toward an area of lower pressure off the Pacific coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The high pressure that develops over that region, coupled with lower pressure down over southern California, creates this strong flow of air that comes out of Nevada and hits our coastal mountain range, the San Gabriel Mountains, and out to the Inland Empire area,” Wofford says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The key characteristic is that the winds are what’s known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/news/earthword-katabatic-winds\">katabatic\u003c/a>, meaning they flow downhill, says Mingfang Ting, a professor at Columbia University’s Climate School.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the air mass drops in altitude, it compresses and heats up — by about 10 degrees Celsius per kilometer (18 degrees Fahrenheit per 0.6 of a mile). It’s a “very effective way of warming up the air,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the air warms up, it also decreases its humidity,” she says. Funneling through narrow mountain passes, it also speeds up in much the same way that air moving through a tunnel or the wind between buildings is stronger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, that makes for warm, dry Santa Anas that can be reach 40–60 mph, with gusts exceeding 70 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But “this one is not typical,” Wofford says. This time, the Santa Anas are coupled with “very strong winds in the upper atmosphere. In addition to funneling through the mountains, they went up and over the mountains and then they descended down into the basin area,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result is wind gusts as high as 100 mph in some places, he says, adding that the current dry conditions mean, “everything is just primed and ready to go” for wildfires.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_12020988,news_12020835,news_12020918\"]“Obviously, we’ve got a zillion cars in the area. If one breaks down, overheats, and someone pulls over next to an area where there’s some dry brush, that can kick it off,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park Williams, a professor of geography who heads the HyFiVeS Research Group (Hydroclimate, Fire, Vegetation, and Society) at UCLA describes the current scenario as a “highly improbable sequence of extreme climate and weather events over the past two years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not just the dry weather this year, he says, but “from winter 2023 through spring 2024, the Los Angeles area experienced an exceptionally wet climate and this led to the growth of an extraordinary amount of new vegetation biomass in the hills and mountains surrounding the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What role might climate change play? As \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/30/1196637141/climate-change-makes-wildfires-in-california-more-explosive\">NPR has reported previously\u003c/a>, a hotter atmosphere due to climate change can lead to the rapid spread of wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for having an impact on the frequency and intensity of Santa Ana winds, Ting is circumspect. “I’m not sure,” she says. “I think more importantly in this case, if you wanted to say anything about the role [that] global climate change plays, is the dryness in the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The California Newsroom is following the extreme weather from across the region. Click through to \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/\">\u003cem>LAist’s coverage\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> for the latest.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The intense and fast-moving fires that have cut a path of destruction through the suburbs of Los Angeles, killing at least two people, are being driven by \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/shows/take-two/the-santa-ana-winds-a-cultural-and-destructive-force-in-southern-california\">the region’s powerful Santa Ana winds\u003c/a>, with gusts that in some cases surpass hurricane-strength.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two largest blazes — \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/fires-southern-california-gusty-winds\">the Palisades \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/eaton-fire-altadena\">Eaton Fires\u003c/a> — have consumed more than 10,000 acres each and prompted mandatory evacuations for almost 70,000 people as of Wednesday. Another 58,000 people have been warned to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the Santa Anas are \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/shows/take-two/the-santa-ana-winds-a-cultural-and-destructive-force-in-southern-california\">a routine part of life\u003c/a> for people living in southern California, the winds are particularly violent and destructive this time around, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferocious winds are likely to make it difficult or impossible for firefighters to contain the blazes until conditions improve. For now, however, the National Weather Service is warning of sustained winds up to 40 mph in the region, with gusts up to 80 mph in the area of the wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Wofford, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service’s office in Oxnard, Calif., says \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/santa-ana-winds-come-back-bringing-the-potential-of-more-fire-weather-this-week\">the Santa Ana winds are most common during the cooler months\u003c/a> from September through May. They are caused by high pressure over the desert of the southwestern U.S. that pushes through the mountain passages in Southern California toward an area of lower pressure off the Pacific coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The high pressure that develops over that region, coupled with lower pressure down over southern California, creates this strong flow of air that comes out of Nevada and hits our coastal mountain range, the San Gabriel Mountains, and out to the Inland Empire area,” Wofford says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The key characteristic is that the winds are what’s known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/news/earthword-katabatic-winds\">katabatic\u003c/a>, meaning they flow downhill, says Mingfang Ting, a professor at Columbia University’s Climate School.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the air mass drops in altitude, it compresses and heats up — by about 10 degrees Celsius per kilometer (18 degrees Fahrenheit per 0.6 of a mile). It’s a “very effective way of warming up the air,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the air warms up, it also decreases its humidity,” she says. Funneling through narrow mountain passes, it also speeds up in much the same way that air moving through a tunnel or the wind between buildings is stronger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, that makes for warm, dry Santa Anas that can be reach 40–60 mph, with gusts exceeding 70 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But “this one is not typical,” Wofford says. This time, the Santa Anas are coupled with “very strong winds in the upper atmosphere. In addition to funneling through the mountains, they went up and over the mountains and then they descended down into the basin area,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result is wind gusts as high as 100 mph in some places, he says, adding that the current dry conditions mean, “everything is just primed and ready to go” for wildfires.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Obviously, we’ve got a zillion cars in the area. If one breaks down, overheats, and someone pulls over next to an area where there’s some dry brush, that can kick it off,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park Williams, a professor of geography who heads the HyFiVeS Research Group (Hydroclimate, Fire, Vegetation, and Society) at UCLA describes the current scenario as a “highly improbable sequence of extreme climate and weather events over the past two years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not just the dry weather this year, he says, but “from winter 2023 through spring 2024, the Los Angeles area experienced an exceptionally wet climate and this led to the growth of an extraordinary amount of new vegetation biomass in the hills and mountains surrounding the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What role might climate change play? As \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/30/1196637141/climate-change-makes-wildfires-in-california-more-explosive\">NPR has reported previously\u003c/a>, a hotter atmosphere due to climate change can lead to the rapid spread of wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for having an impact on the frequency and intensity of Santa Ana winds, Ting is circumspect. “I’m not sure,” she says. “I think more importantly in this case, if you wanted to say anything about the role [that] global climate change plays, is the dryness in the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The California Newsroom is following the extreme weather from across the region. Click through to \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/\">\u003cem>LAist’s coverage\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> for the latest.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Winds, Drought, Climate Change: the Factors Fueling LA's Historic Wildfires",
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"content": "\u003cp>Southern California is experiencing it’s \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-pacific-palisades-wildfires-los-angeles-4b67b7f29d0d6eb7321a52ef60c17d60\">most devastating winter fires\u003c/a> in more than four decades. Fires don’t usually blaze at this time of year, but specific ingredients have come together to defy the calendar in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-southern-california-santa-ana-winds-b565a3bd043d6444820f1571b2307bf1\">fast and deadly manner\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start with supersized \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/santa-ana-winds-california-0b2c68cdc29a7c354238c6ccc09c830c\">Santa Ana winds\u003c/a> whipping flames and embers at 100 mph — much faster than normal — and cross that with the return of extreme drought. Add on weather whiplash that grew tons of plants in downpours then record high temperatures that dried them out to make easy-to-burn fuel. Then there’s a plunging and unusual jet stream, and lots of power lines flapping in those powerful gusts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say that’s what is turning wildfires into a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-fires-things-to-know-winds-f93d41dc901e352b63e86ab67ef7790e\">deadly urban conflagration\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Speed is the killer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Tiny, mighty and fast” fires have blazed through America’s west in the last couple of decades as the world warms, said University of Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch. She published a \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk5737\">study in the journal Science\u003c/a> last October that looked at 60,000 fires since 2001 and found that the fastest-growing ones have more than doubled in frequency since 2001 and caused far more destruction that slower, larger blazes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fires have gotten faster,” Balch said Wednesday. “The big culprit we’re suspecting is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment\">a warming climate\u003c/a> that’s making it \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/farmworkers-latinos-wildfires-smoke-climate-change-28f4f7f3cb43cdc2f3b079eb44540f3d\">easier to burn fuels\u003c/a> when conditions are just right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Summer fires are bigger usually, but they don’t burn nearly as fast. Winter fires “are much more destructive because they happen much more quickly” said U.S. Geological Survey fire scientist Jon Keeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AccuWeather estimated damage from the latest fires could reach $57 billion, with the private firm’s chief meteorologist, Jonathan Porter, saying “it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Conditions are ideal\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“It’s really just the perfect alignment of everything in the atmosphere to give you this pattern and strong wind,” said Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wind speed and the speed of spreading flames are clearly linked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The impact increases exponentially as wind speed increases,” said fire scientist Mike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University in Canada. If firefighters can get to the flames within 10 minutes or so, it’s spread can be contained, but “15 minutes, it’s too late and it’s gone. The horse has left the barn.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no sure link between Santa Ana winds — gusts from the east that come down the mountains, gain speed and hit the coast — to human-caused climate change, said Daniel Swain, climate scientist for the California Institute for Water Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a condition that led to those winds is a big plunge in the temperature of the jet stream — the river of air that moves weather systems across the globe — which helped bring cold air to the eastern two-thirds of the nation, said University of California Merced climate and fire scientist John Abatzoglou. Other scientists have \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/polar-vortex-chilly-cold-climate-change-frigid-5dd0dcb49a7ead488e221e8c5d9edc8f\">preliminarily linked\u003c/a> those jet stream plunges to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Ana winds are happening later and later in the year, moving more from the drier fall to the wetter winter, Keeley said. Normally, that would reduce fire threats, but this isn’t a normal time.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dry fuel makes it worse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After two soaking winters, when \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-atmospheric-rivers-severe-weather-1030866eebf969c49c71e9453b5a7184\">atmospheric rivers\u003c/a> dumped huge amounts of water on the region causing lots of plants to grow, a \u003ca href=\"https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA\">fast onset of drought\u003c/a> dried them out, providing perfect tinder, according to Swain and Abatzoglou.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain says this \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/summer-weather-whiplash-6d6858c5b0b90e8ce7fd61d85d7610f4\">weather whiplash\u003c/a> is happening more often.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a clear link between climate change and the more frequent dry falls and winters that provide fuel for fires, Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These devastating fires couldn’t happen without the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfire-risk-winds-143f37204f2db129444818a9adb1ce0f\">dry and hot conditions\u003c/a>, nor would they be blazing without the extreme wind speed, Abatzoglou and others said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>It’s also a people problem\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The human factor in this can’t be ignored, said Keeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag='climate-change' label='More Climate Change News']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that we need to look at it from the perspective of global changes. And climate is just one global change. And certainly one of the other important global changes is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-population-growth-pandemic-decline-0d2bfc2c0a4ced0c3c2ad934207818bc#:~:text=(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20The%20nation's%20most,the%20state%20Department%20of%20Finance.\">population growth\u003c/a>. And California has been growing at a phenomenal rate in the last 20 years,” Keeley said. “You add more people and that means you add more power lines and more potential for failure to occur.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the ignition sources for these fires have yet to be determined, Flannigan bets they’ll end up being power lines blown down by high winds. That’s what started California’s devastating fires in \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/general-news-4b3d4cd742634d3490c522cc82852ec5\">2016 and 2017\u003c/a>, leading to utility Pacific Gas & Electric \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/5e70c4c99a044c4192d7ee52e38330f2\">declaring bankruptcy\u003c/a> after facing $30 billion in lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The calendar seems wrong\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>An analysis of 423 California wildfires that have grown to at least 15 square miles since 1984 shows only four of those burned during the winter. About two-thirds of those larger fires sparked in June, July or August.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal data shows just six wildfires have burned more than 2 square miles in any January in California since 1984. Until the Palisades and Eaton fires this year, the largest had been the \u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/1073/viejas-wildfire\">Viejas Fire\u003c/a>, which burned 17.1 square miles in 2001 in the mountains east of San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Winter wildfires should be an oxymoron,” University of Colorado’s Balch said. “Well, because, you know, temperatures drop and we get precipitation. We’re supposed to get precipitation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire officials used to talk about fire seasons, said David Acuña, a battalion chief for Cal Fire: “Now we talk about fire years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Associated Press writers Peter Prengaman in New York; Mary Katherine Wildeman in Hartford, Connecticut; and Christopher Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Southern California's deadly wildfires are fueled by mix of conditions, including supersized Santa Ana winds, extreme drought, and record high temperatures that dried out vegetation.",
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"title": "Winds, Drought, Climate Change: the Factors Fueling LA's Historic Wildfires | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Southern California is experiencing it’s \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-pacific-palisades-wildfires-los-angeles-4b67b7f29d0d6eb7321a52ef60c17d60\">most devastating winter fires\u003c/a> in more than four decades. Fires don’t usually blaze at this time of year, but specific ingredients have come together to defy the calendar in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-southern-california-santa-ana-winds-b565a3bd043d6444820f1571b2307bf1\">fast and deadly manner\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start with supersized \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/santa-ana-winds-california-0b2c68cdc29a7c354238c6ccc09c830c\">Santa Ana winds\u003c/a> whipping flames and embers at 100 mph — much faster than normal — and cross that with the return of extreme drought. Add on weather whiplash that grew tons of plants in downpours then record high temperatures that dried them out to make easy-to-burn fuel. Then there’s a plunging and unusual jet stream, and lots of power lines flapping in those powerful gusts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say that’s what is turning wildfires into a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-fires-things-to-know-winds-f93d41dc901e352b63e86ab67ef7790e\">deadly urban conflagration\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Speed is the killer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Tiny, mighty and fast” fires have blazed through America’s west in the last couple of decades as the world warms, said University of Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch. She published a \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk5737\">study in the journal Science\u003c/a> last October that looked at 60,000 fires since 2001 and found that the fastest-growing ones have more than doubled in frequency since 2001 and caused far more destruction that slower, larger blazes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fires have gotten faster,” Balch said Wednesday. “The big culprit we’re suspecting is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment\">a warming climate\u003c/a> that’s making it \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/farmworkers-latinos-wildfires-smoke-climate-change-28f4f7f3cb43cdc2f3b079eb44540f3d\">easier to burn fuels\u003c/a> when conditions are just right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Summer fires are bigger usually, but they don’t burn nearly as fast. Winter fires “are much more destructive because they happen much more quickly” said U.S. Geological Survey fire scientist Jon Keeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AccuWeather estimated damage from the latest fires could reach $57 billion, with the private firm’s chief meteorologist, Jonathan Porter, saying “it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Conditions are ideal\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“It’s really just the perfect alignment of everything in the atmosphere to give you this pattern and strong wind,” said Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wind speed and the speed of spreading flames are clearly linked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The impact increases exponentially as wind speed increases,” said fire scientist Mike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University in Canada. If firefighters can get to the flames within 10 minutes or so, it’s spread can be contained, but “15 minutes, it’s too late and it’s gone. The horse has left the barn.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no sure link between Santa Ana winds — gusts from the east that come down the mountains, gain speed and hit the coast — to human-caused climate change, said Daniel Swain, climate scientist for the California Institute for Water Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a condition that led to those winds is a big plunge in the temperature of the jet stream — the river of air that moves weather systems across the globe — which helped bring cold air to the eastern two-thirds of the nation, said University of California Merced climate and fire scientist John Abatzoglou. Other scientists have \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/polar-vortex-chilly-cold-climate-change-frigid-5dd0dcb49a7ead488e221e8c5d9edc8f\">preliminarily linked\u003c/a> those jet stream plunges to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Ana winds are happening later and later in the year, moving more from the drier fall to the wetter winter, Keeley said. Normally, that would reduce fire threats, but this isn’t a normal time.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dry fuel makes it worse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After two soaking winters, when \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-atmospheric-rivers-severe-weather-1030866eebf969c49c71e9453b5a7184\">atmospheric rivers\u003c/a> dumped huge amounts of water on the region causing lots of plants to grow, a \u003ca href=\"https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA\">fast onset of drought\u003c/a> dried them out, providing perfect tinder, according to Swain and Abatzoglou.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain says this \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/summer-weather-whiplash-6d6858c5b0b90e8ce7fd61d85d7610f4\">weather whiplash\u003c/a> is happening more often.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a clear link between climate change and the more frequent dry falls and winters that provide fuel for fires, Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These devastating fires couldn’t happen without the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfire-risk-winds-143f37204f2db129444818a9adb1ce0f\">dry and hot conditions\u003c/a>, nor would they be blazing without the extreme wind speed, Abatzoglou and others said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>It’s also a people problem\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The human factor in this can’t be ignored, said Keeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that we need to look at it from the perspective of global changes. And climate is just one global change. And certainly one of the other important global changes is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-population-growth-pandemic-decline-0d2bfc2c0a4ced0c3c2ad934207818bc#:~:text=(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20The%20nation's%20most,the%20state%20Department%20of%20Finance.\">population growth\u003c/a>. And California has been growing at a phenomenal rate in the last 20 years,” Keeley said. “You add more people and that means you add more power lines and more potential for failure to occur.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the ignition sources for these fires have yet to be determined, Flannigan bets they’ll end up being power lines blown down by high winds. That’s what started California’s devastating fires in \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/general-news-4b3d4cd742634d3490c522cc82852ec5\">2016 and 2017\u003c/a>, leading to utility Pacific Gas & Electric \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/5e70c4c99a044c4192d7ee52e38330f2\">declaring bankruptcy\u003c/a> after facing $30 billion in lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The calendar seems wrong\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>An analysis of 423 California wildfires that have grown to at least 15 square miles since 1984 shows only four of those burned during the winter. About two-thirds of those larger fires sparked in June, July or August.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal data shows just six wildfires have burned more than 2 square miles in any January in California since 1984. Until the Palisades and Eaton fires this year, the largest had been the \u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/1073/viejas-wildfire\">Viejas Fire\u003c/a>, which burned 17.1 square miles in 2001 in the mountains east of San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Winter wildfires should be an oxymoron,” University of Colorado’s Balch said. “Well, because, you know, temperatures drop and we get precipitation. We’re supposed to get precipitation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire officials used to talk about fire seasons, said David Acuña, a battalion chief for Cal Fire: “Now we talk about fire years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Associated Press writers Peter Prengaman in New York; Mary Katherine Wildeman in Hartford, Connecticut; and Christopher Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "what-is-watch-duty-and-how-does-the-app-track-wildfires",
"title": "What Is 'Watch Duty' and How Does the App Track Wildfires?",
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"headTitle": "What Is ‘Watch Duty’ and How Does the App Track Wildfires? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by NPR on Sept. 25, 2024.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As climate change contributes to longer wildfire seasons and increases the likelihood of destructive fires, more people in Western states find themselves searching for local wildfire information. But finding accurate, specific and timely information can be challenging, especially in the middle of an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The world has now expected twitters and TikToks and push notifications, and the world of technology has passed over this community of first responders and firefighters and emergency managers,” says John Mills, co-founder and CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://app.watchduty.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch Duty\u003c/a>, an app launched in 2021 that has taken off in popularity as more and more people look to their phones for wildfires information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really starting to blow up as the fires explode,” says Mills, whose app saw a \u003ca href=\"https://app.sensortower.com/overview/org.watchduty.app?country=US&tab=category_rankings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spike in downloads\u003c/a> in early September while three major fires raged in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. “The sad part is it means that things are really getting extraordinarily bad when this happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12020872 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2193000280-1020x653.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">A firehose of information\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During a wildfire, this information can come from many sources: emergency push notifications from county emergency managers, texts and emails from the sheriff’s department, social media posts from local, state, and federal firefighting agencies, and websites like \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inciweb\u003c/a>, which map firelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills, a Silicon Valley tech guy who lives off-the-grid in the woods of Sonoma County, experienced this jumble of information after a close brush with 2020’s Wallbridge Fire — part of a particularly bad wildfire summer across the West Coast, in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/californias-2020-wildfire-season-numbers#:~:text=Key%202020%20wildfire%20statistics&text=The%20fires%20killed%2033%20people,firefighting%20costs%20approaching%20%242.1%20billion.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">33 people\u003c/a> were killed just in California. Mills realized, “You know, it’s only a matter of time before it comes back for me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He realized he could do something about it—by building an app that would integrate all these sources of wildfire information and make it easily accessible on smartphones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hey, I live in the woods, I’m gonna die, this has to get launched tomorrow,” Mills remembers thinking during that wildfire. “So we built Watch Duty in 80 days and got it live and had 50,000 users in a week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The app started relatively small, tracking fires across just three Northern California counties, but in four years, it has grown to include the whole American West, Texas and Oklahoma.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">New technology, old techniques\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Watch Duty doesn’t collect or sell user data. The basic version is free to download, and the non-profit that makes it is funded through donations and subscriptions to advanced and pro versions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The app draws from various official sources of wildfire information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020985\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020985\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22.jpg\" alt=\"A smartphone that shows an app with a map and a persons hands operating it inside a house.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1157\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-800x579.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-1020x738.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-1536x1111.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watch Duty organizes information on a map of the US, which is dotted with flame icons representing active wildfires. Click a flame, and details like evacuation zones, fire lines, containment percentage, and acres burned pop up. Choose to track a fire, and you’ll get push notifications for the most urgent updates, like new evacuation orders. \u003ccite>(Mhari Shaw/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, its strength comes from a small army of volunteer contributors and staff reporters with firefighting, emergency dispatch, and journalism experience who watch wilderness camera live streams and listen in on firefighter radio communications in the field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Silvester is one of these contributors — a staff reporter who started out as a volunteer. He often takes the Watch Duty night shift, posting live updates on active fires from his home across the Pacific, where he got his start as a radio scanner at a young age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My dad was a volunteer firefighter here in New Zealand,” he says. “I used that as a way of keeping track of him on calls and stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silvester says one day, he became curious to see how much he could learn about wildfires in California, an entire hemisphere away, just by listening to live-streamed firefighter radio channels online. It turns out a lot — and his Twitter handle \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/cafirescanner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@CAFireScanner\u003c/a> was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Someone said I saved their life one day,” Silvester quietly recounts. “They didn’t know a fire was coming over the hill until they saw the message on Twitter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, he performs the same service on Watch Duty, which he says is a better platform to get the right information into the right hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you follow people like me on Twitter, you kind of have to get everything that I post. Will it be a fire in Southern California? Will it be a fire in Siskiyou County all the way at the other end of the state?” he describes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With Watch Duty, you can subscribe by county. It’s targeted information — it’s delivered to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a real-time operation, 24 hours a day,” says CEO Mills. “We talk to you through an app; we talk to you through your phones. But really we listen to radios, a 100-year-old technology,” he explains. “That’s really where you find out the most up-to-date, real-time intelligence. Because it actually is the firefighters doing the job in that moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">An ‘amazing tool,’ as part of a toolbox\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Watch Duty has definitely filled a gap,” says Karen Hancock, Public Information Officer and Community Outreach Specialist for the Sonoma County Fire District, one of the first counties covered by the app when it launched in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020986\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23.jpg\" alt=\"A firefighter talks into a wireless with flames and other firefighters in the background.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1079\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-1020x688.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watch Duty gets close-to-real-time information by listening in to the radio communications of firefighters on the front lines. In remote areas where radio signals are weak, Watch Duty has started setting up its own transmission towers to help with firefighting efforts and to give its staff reporters a way of listening for updates. \u003ccite>(J. Emilio Flores/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It has been an amazing tool for not only our public but for our firefighters and crews as well,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hancock’s community is no stranger to wildfires. In 2017, the fast-moving Tubbs Fire swept through the Coffey Park neighborhood in the middle of the night with no warning, killing 22 people and burning over 5,000 structures. At the time, it was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/656532029/getting-back-what-you-lost-rebuilding-in-a-wildfire-zone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most destructive fire\u003c/a> in California history, but it soon became the second-most destructive after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/667315613/californias-camp-fire-becomes-the-deadliest-in-state-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> raged through the town of Paradise one year later.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_12020988,news_12020918,news_12020835\"]“We’ve learned that redundancy is really important,” says Hancock., whose job is to help community members stay prepared with the latest information. “But a lot of times we’re in the field, and we just can’t get it out fast enough because our hands are just so busy in that moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalFire, the California state wildfire agency, cautions that there are “potential risks associated with sharing inaccurate information inadvertently.” In a statement to NPR, CalFire said that they prefer people \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit their website\u003c/a> for information and that platforms like Watch Duty “should not be regarded as official sources of information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hancock says she always recommends Watch Duty alongside more traditional information sources like local emergency notifications.”It’s just another tool, another way to get the information out,” she points out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s not that many of us first responders, and even a smaller handful of us that have the ability to put out those communications, you know, through social media or just those critical alerts that go out,” Hancock explains. “Having another resource that is reaching so many in the community — it’s lifesaving.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Since launching in 2021, Watch Duty has taken off in popularity as more and more people look to their phones for wildfire information. The app is also used by firefighters and crews.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by NPR on Sept. 25, 2024.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As climate change contributes to longer wildfire seasons and increases the likelihood of destructive fires, more people in Western states find themselves searching for local wildfire information. But finding accurate, specific and timely information can be challenging, especially in the middle of an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The world has now expected twitters and TikToks and push notifications, and the world of technology has passed over this community of first responders and firefighters and emergency managers,” says John Mills, co-founder and CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://app.watchduty.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch Duty\u003c/a>, an app launched in 2021 that has taken off in popularity as more and more people look to their phones for wildfires information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really starting to blow up as the fires explode,” says Mills, whose app saw a \u003ca href=\"https://app.sensortower.com/overview/org.watchduty.app?country=US&tab=category_rankings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spike in downloads\u003c/a> in early September while three major fires raged in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. “The sad part is it means that things are really getting extraordinarily bad when this happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">A firehose of information\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During a wildfire, this information can come from many sources: emergency push notifications from county emergency managers, texts and emails from the sheriff’s department, social media posts from local, state, and federal firefighting agencies, and websites like \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inciweb\u003c/a>, which map firelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills, a Silicon Valley tech guy who lives off-the-grid in the woods of Sonoma County, experienced this jumble of information after a close brush with 2020’s Wallbridge Fire — part of a particularly bad wildfire summer across the West Coast, in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/californias-2020-wildfire-season-numbers#:~:text=Key%202020%20wildfire%20statistics&text=The%20fires%20killed%2033%20people,firefighting%20costs%20approaching%20%242.1%20billion.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">33 people\u003c/a> were killed just in California. Mills realized, “You know, it’s only a matter of time before it comes back for me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He realized he could do something about it—by building an app that would integrate all these sources of wildfire information and make it easily accessible on smartphones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hey, I live in the woods, I’m gonna die, this has to get launched tomorrow,” Mills remembers thinking during that wildfire. “So we built Watch Duty in 80 days and got it live and had 50,000 users in a week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The app started relatively small, tracking fires across just three Northern California counties, but in four years, it has grown to include the whole American West, Texas and Oklahoma.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">New technology, old techniques\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Watch Duty doesn’t collect or sell user data. The basic version is free to download, and the non-profit that makes it is funded through donations and subscriptions to advanced and pro versions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The app draws from various official sources of wildfire information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020985\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020985\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22.jpg\" alt=\"A smartphone that shows an app with a map and a persons hands operating it inside a house.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1157\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-800x579.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-1020x738.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-22-1536x1111.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watch Duty organizes information on a map of the US, which is dotted with flame icons representing active wildfires. Click a flame, and details like evacuation zones, fire lines, containment percentage, and acres burned pop up. Choose to track a fire, and you’ll get push notifications for the most urgent updates, like new evacuation orders. \u003ccite>(Mhari Shaw/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, its strength comes from a small army of volunteer contributors and staff reporters with firefighting, emergency dispatch, and journalism experience who watch wilderness camera live streams and listen in on firefighter radio communications in the field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Silvester is one of these contributors — a staff reporter who started out as a volunteer. He often takes the Watch Duty night shift, posting live updates on active fires from his home across the Pacific, where he got his start as a radio scanner at a young age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My dad was a volunteer firefighter here in New Zealand,” he says. “I used that as a way of keeping track of him on calls and stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silvester says one day, he became curious to see how much he could learn about wildfires in California, an entire hemisphere away, just by listening to live-streamed firefighter radio channels online. It turns out a lot — and his Twitter handle \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/cafirescanner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@CAFireScanner\u003c/a> was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Someone said I saved their life one day,” Silvester quietly recounts. “They didn’t know a fire was coming over the hill until they saw the message on Twitter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, he performs the same service on Watch Duty, which he says is a better platform to get the right information into the right hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you follow people like me on Twitter, you kind of have to get everything that I post. Will it be a fire in Southern California? Will it be a fire in Siskiyou County all the way at the other end of the state?” he describes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With Watch Duty, you can subscribe by county. It’s targeted information — it’s delivered to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a real-time operation, 24 hours a day,” says CEO Mills. “We talk to you through an app; we talk to you through your phones. But really we listen to radios, a 100-year-old technology,” he explains. “That’s really where you find out the most up-to-date, real-time intelligence. Because it actually is the firefighters doing the job in that moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">An ‘amazing tool,’ as part of a toolbox\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Watch Duty has definitely filled a gap,” says Karen Hancock, Public Information Officer and Community Outreach Specialist for the Sonoma County Fire District, one of the first counties covered by the app when it launched in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020986\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23.jpg\" alt=\"A firefighter talks into a wireless with flames and other firefighters in the background.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1079\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-1020x688.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-23-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watch Duty gets close-to-real-time information by listening in to the radio communications of firefighters on the front lines. In remote areas where radio signals are weak, Watch Duty has started setting up its own transmission towers to help with firefighting efforts and to give its staff reporters a way of listening for updates. \u003ccite>(J. Emilio Flores/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It has been an amazing tool for not only our public but for our firefighters and crews as well,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hancock’s community is no stranger to wildfires. In 2017, the fast-moving Tubbs Fire swept through the Coffey Park neighborhood in the middle of the night with no warning, killing 22 people and burning over 5,000 structures. At the time, it was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/656532029/getting-back-what-you-lost-rebuilding-in-a-wildfire-zone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most destructive fire\u003c/a> in California history, but it soon became the second-most destructive after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/667315613/californias-camp-fire-becomes-the-deadliest-in-state-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> raged through the town of Paradise one year later.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We’ve learned that redundancy is really important,” says Hancock., whose job is to help community members stay prepared with the latest information. “But a lot of times we’re in the field, and we just can’t get it out fast enough because our hands are just so busy in that moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalFire, the California state wildfire agency, cautions that there are “potential risks associated with sharing inaccurate information inadvertently.” In a statement to NPR, CalFire said that they prefer people \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit their website\u003c/a> for information and that platforms like Watch Duty “should not be regarded as official sources of information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hancock says she always recommends Watch Duty alongside more traditional information sources like local emergency notifications.”It’s just another tool, another way to get the information out,” she points out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s not that many of us first responders, and even a smaller handful of us that have the ability to put out those communications, you know, through social media or just those critical alerts that go out,” Hancock explains. “Having another resource that is reaching so many in the community — it’s lifesaving.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "californians-pay-hefty-fee-electricity-rates-likely-keep-increasing",
"title": "Californians Pay Hefty Fee for Electricity, and Rates are Likely to Keep Increasing",
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"headTitle": "Californians Pay Hefty Fee for Electricity, and Rates are Likely to Keep Increasing | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Read KQED’s coverage of the devastating Southern California fires \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians pay nearly double the average residential electricity rates of people living elsewhere in the country, according to a state report out this week. And electricity rates in the state are growing rapidly, outpacing inflation and increasing faster than in other states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trends are likely to continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/4950/Residential-Electricity-Rates-010725.pdf\">report\u003c/a>, written by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, cited a variety of reasons for the high costs that the majority of Californians pay, but the leading one was the expense of wildfire, both to mitigate future risk as well as address damages from past fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires burning in Southern California presently could be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">most expensive in U.S. history\u003c/a>, although it is not clear what started them yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high rates are mostly driven by the state’s largest investor-owned utilities: PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. Average rates charged by California’s publicly owned utilities are closer to national averages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been very striking to Californians how much electricity rates have increased and how high they are in the state,” said lead author Helen Kerstein, a principal fiscal and policy analyst for the LAO. “This report is really intended to provide the basic information to folks in the Legislature, as well as the general public, to help understand what’s going on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11751033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11751033 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/GettyImages-76412182-e1559198784751.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The high rates are mostly driven by the state’s largest investor-owned utilities: PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other costs come from state programs and policies to slash greenhouse gas pollution and what the report referred to as differences in utility operational structures and service territories. Large, investor-owned utilities have goals to make profits for shareholders, for example, whereas publicly owned utilities may have a board that is elected by customers and might, therefore, be more cost-conscious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investor-owned utilities also serve larger areas, with poles and wires zig-zagging across dense cities, climbing through suburbs and into forests across the state’s remote foothills and mountain communities. Covering such diverse terrain leads to higher costs overall. Smaller, publicly owned utilities tend to be in more concentrated, urban areas, which have lower fire risks and might be less costly for these reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some customers pay high prices to offset expenses for others on the same system, including cost-reduction programs for low-income earners and rooftop solar customers, according to the LAO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paying huge sums each month for electricity not only hurts the average consumer but squeezes low-income people who live in areas where they may need additional cooling or heating as climate change leads to striking swings in temperatures and worsening heat waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12017635 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/trucks-I880-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major costs associated with electricity have impeded state efforts to promote electric cars and appliances to slash greenhouse gas emissions. Historically, high electricity rates encouraged conserving energy, Kerstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now we understand that, yes, conservation is good, but also we need to get folks to electrify and move towards electricity rather than fossil-fuel powered cars and natural gas,” she said. “That means that addressing affordability in electricity is so critical for the state, and thinking about those issues is going to be increasingly important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the report did not recommend ways lawmakers could address electricity costs, it highlighted the trade-offs of various policy solutions, “including balancing the desires to both mitigate and adapt to climate change as well as preserve affordability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And lawmakers are already jumping into the ring to tackle the hot-button issue. State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, who was recently appointed chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, declared his commitment to affordability in a statement earlier this week. And Bay Area Democrats told the \u003cem>San Jose Mercury News\u003c/em> that they plan to take on \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/06/we-get-it-democrats-aim-to-cut-californias-cost-of-living-in-2025/\">electricity bills\u003c/a> this session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andrew Campbell, executive director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, said one way to address rising consumer bills is to shift the costs of mitigating wildfires and climate change programs from utility bills to the state budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wildfire risk is not primarily a utility issue, and it relates to forest management and climate change and other things which are state problems, state challenges,” he said. “Some of those costs to address that could be moved from bills onto the state budget.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similarly, Campbell said that programs assisting low-income households and other environmental programs could be paid for through the state budget, which Gov. Gavin Newsom announced may see a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020389/newsom-projects-slight-budget-surplus-with-focus-on-saving-accountability\">slight surplus this year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until this recent affordability crisis, the Legislature has looked at utility bills as an alternative way to pay for things that they want to happen,” Campbell said. “That’s something that’s not going to work going forward and probably needs to be reversed for some of the past decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A new state report cites wildfire costs and the state’s ambitious climate programs as main contributors to skyrocketing energy bills, warning Californians will need to make trade-offs to make electricity bills affordable.",
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"title": "Californians Pay Hefty Fee for Electricity, and Rates are Likely to Keep Increasing | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Read KQED’s coverage of the devastating Southern California fires \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians pay nearly double the average residential electricity rates of people living elsewhere in the country, according to a state report out this week. And electricity rates in the state are growing rapidly, outpacing inflation and increasing faster than in other states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trends are likely to continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/4950/Residential-Electricity-Rates-010725.pdf\">report\u003c/a>, written by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, cited a variety of reasons for the high costs that the majority of Californians pay, but the leading one was the expense of wildfire, both to mitigate future risk as well as address damages from past fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires burning in Southern California presently could be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">most expensive in U.S. history\u003c/a>, although it is not clear what started them yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high rates are mostly driven by the state’s largest investor-owned utilities: PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. Average rates charged by California’s publicly owned utilities are closer to national averages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been very striking to Californians how much electricity rates have increased and how high they are in the state,” said lead author Helen Kerstein, a principal fiscal and policy analyst for the LAO. “This report is really intended to provide the basic information to folks in the Legislature, as well as the general public, to help understand what’s going on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11751033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11751033 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/GettyImages-76412182-e1559198784751.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The high rates are mostly driven by the state’s largest investor-owned utilities: PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other costs come from state programs and policies to slash greenhouse gas pollution and what the report referred to as differences in utility operational structures and service territories. Large, investor-owned utilities have goals to make profits for shareholders, for example, whereas publicly owned utilities may have a board that is elected by customers and might, therefore, be more cost-conscious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investor-owned utilities also serve larger areas, with poles and wires zig-zagging across dense cities, climbing through suburbs and into forests across the state’s remote foothills and mountain communities. Covering such diverse terrain leads to higher costs overall. Smaller, publicly owned utilities tend to be in more concentrated, urban areas, which have lower fire risks and might be less costly for these reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some customers pay high prices to offset expenses for others on the same system, including cost-reduction programs for low-income earners and rooftop solar customers, according to the LAO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paying huge sums each month for electricity not only hurts the average consumer but squeezes low-income people who live in areas where they may need additional cooling or heating as climate change leads to striking swings in temperatures and worsening heat waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major costs associated with electricity have impeded state efforts to promote electric cars and appliances to slash greenhouse gas emissions. Historically, high electricity rates encouraged conserving energy, Kerstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now we understand that, yes, conservation is good, but also we need to get folks to electrify and move towards electricity rather than fossil-fuel powered cars and natural gas,” she said. “That means that addressing affordability in electricity is so critical for the state, and thinking about those issues is going to be increasingly important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the report did not recommend ways lawmakers could address electricity costs, it highlighted the trade-offs of various policy solutions, “including balancing the desires to both mitigate and adapt to climate change as well as preserve affordability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And lawmakers are already jumping into the ring to tackle the hot-button issue. State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, who was recently appointed chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, declared his commitment to affordability in a statement earlier this week. And Bay Area Democrats told the \u003cem>San Jose Mercury News\u003c/em> that they plan to take on \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/06/we-get-it-democrats-aim-to-cut-californias-cost-of-living-in-2025/\">electricity bills\u003c/a> this session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andrew Campbell, executive director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, said one way to address rising consumer bills is to shift the costs of mitigating wildfires and climate change programs from utility bills to the state budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wildfire risk is not primarily a utility issue, and it relates to forest management and climate change and other things which are state problems, state challenges,” he said. “Some of those costs to address that could be moved from bills onto the state budget.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similarly, Campbell said that programs assisting low-income households and other environmental programs could be paid for through the state budget, which Gov. Gavin Newsom announced may see a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020389/newsom-projects-slight-budget-surplus-with-focus-on-saving-accountability\">slight surplus this year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until this recent affordability crisis, the Legislature has looked at utility bills as an alternative way to pay for things that they want to happen,” Campbell said. “That’s something that’s not going to work going forward and probably needs to be reversed for some of the past decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "la-fires-eaton-fire-palisades-pasadena-wildfire-resources-air-quality",
"title": "Got Loved Ones Affected by LA Fires? These Wildfire Resources May Help",
"publishDate": 1736373098,
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"headTitle": "Got Loved Ones Affected by LA Fires? These Wildfire Resources May Help | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>For many of us with family or friends in the Los Angeles area, it’s a scary time right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020765/thousands-flee-los-angeles-area-as-wildfires-burn-out-of-control-destroying-homes\">The major wildfires devastating L.A. County communities\u003c/a> have already claimed at least two lives, destroyed more than a thousand homes and buildings and forced at least 70,000 people to evacuate. As the largest fires — the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst — continue to grow, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, a fourth fire began on Wednesday morning, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s easy to feel helpless when disaster hits the people you care about — especially if you’re far away. But if you’ve got loved ones in the L.A. area who have already been impacted by these fires or who you’re worried could be affected soon, we’ve collected these guides below to coping in a wildfire situation that you can send your family and friends in Southern California. You can also use these guides to familiarize yourself with what happens during an active wildfire situation so you can advise your loved ones if they’re in a tough spot right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing you can do: Make sure your loved ones are signed up for their county’s emergency alerts right now. Our friends at LAist have a \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/evacuation-orders-warnings-what-they-mean-emergency-wildfire-earthquake\">comprehensive list of emergency alert sign-up links\u003c/a> in their guide to the wildfires raging in Los Angeles County right now. They can also \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/09/25/g-s1-24534/wildfire-app-watch-duty-firefighting\">download the free Watch Duty app\u003c/a> to monitor where fires are burning near them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#emergency-bag-la-fires\">What to pack in an emergency bag\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#air-quality-la-fires\">How to protect yourself from toxic wildfire smoke\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#why-does-my-phone-not-work\">Why our phones can stop working during wildfires\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834901/fire-evacuation-what-actually-happens-and-how-can-you-plan\">GUIDE: How does fire evacuation work — and how can you plan for it?\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Having to evacuate your home due to the threat of wildfire is a scary prospect — especially if you’ve never had to do it before. Tens of thousands have already evacuated their homes in L.A. County, but fire can travel in highly unpredictable ways, affecting communities that would never have suspected themselves to be under threat of wildfires or evacuation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if your loved ones in L.A. haven’t yet had to evacuate or think they’re too far away to be affected, it’s really important that they still know the best procedures for safely leaving their home and to be prepared ahead of time to actually do it. According to L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, there have already been “a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the takeaways:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>An evacuation warning comes before an evacuation order and is a warning that you might need to evacuate soon — that’s the time to prep your emergency bags. The evacuation order is mandatory, i.e., “go time.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cal Fire recommends that you dress to cover your skin to protect against heat and flying embers while evacuation and says 100% cotton is preferable: long pants, a long sleeve shirt, heavy shoes/boots, a cap, a dry bandana for a face cover and goggles or glasses.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you’re anticipating evacuation, put your emergency bag and supplies in your car, if you have one, then back your car into your driveway with all doors and windows closed — and then carry your car keys with you at all times.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834901/fire-evacuation-what-actually-happens-and-how-can-you-plan\">Read the full guide to how to evacuate from a wildfire\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=c7285ba9ce524bbba6c689e96d013112\" width=\"1000\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A map of wildfires currently burning in the Los Angeles area\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"emergency-bag-la-fires\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11833686/what-to-pack-in-your-emergency-bag-with-covid-19-in-mind\">GUIDE: What to pack in your emergency bag to prepare for a wildfire\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A crucial part of being ready to evacuate is having a “go bag” ready. Experts advise keeping such a bag by the front door — or inside a car — so a person can easily grab it and go. If your L.A.-based loved ones do wind up evacuating, they may have to walk to safety and should so choose a bag that’s durable and easy to carry, such as a backpack or duffle bag. For heavier items, such as food and water, using a tub or chest on wheels may make it easier to transport — but they should make sure it’s still light enough to lift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We have comprehensive checklists for an emergency bag — including medications, food and items for pets — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11833686/what-to-pack-in-your-emergency-bag-with-covid-19-in-mind\">in this story\u003c/a>, but the personal safety essential items include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>An extra set of keys to the home\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Eyeglasses or contact lenses\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Flashlight\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A copy of ID and other important documents (birth certificates, passports, etc.)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A change of clothes\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cash, ideally in small bills\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A map marked with at least two evacuation routes from your home\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11833686/what-to-pack-in-your-emergency-bag-with-covid-19-in-mind\">Read the full guide to preparing an emergency evacuation bag.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020902\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020902\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents evacuate their home as a brush fire, pushed by gusting Santa Ana winds, burns on Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California. A fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles has forced some residents to evacuate amid “life-threatening and destructive” winds.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"air-quality-la-fires\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\">GUIDE: Why protecting yourself from toxic wildfire smoke is so important — and how to do it\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even brief exposure to wildfire smoke can cause potentially serious health problems for everyone. What we call “wildfire smoke” is actually an ever-changing mix of particles and gasses and many of these compounds are toxic. But the most dangerous thing for your health in wildfire smoke is the fine particulate matter: that is, the tiny pieces of soot and ash that are invisible to the naked eye. These particles — also known as PM 2.5 — are so small and light that they can travel huge distances from a raging wildfire and then cause damage to your body just by entering it, setting off inflammatory reactions that can make breathing difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In serious cases, these reactions can even trigger a heart attack or stroke in people already at risk of those events. The particles can travel deep into your lungs, and within a few days, the damage they cause can result in bronchitis or pneumonia. So it’s crucial for your loved ones in L.A. to protect themselves against smoke right now, even if they’re not super close to the fire areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the takeaways:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>N95 or KN95 masks — the kind you may have stocked up on due to COVID-19 — are still the best option for protecting you against smoke\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The least effective options are cloth masks and one‐strap paper dust masks or surgical masks that hook around your ears — they don’t protect against inhaling fine particles\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>When it’s smoky from fires, run a portable air purifier indoors if you have one, ideally in a “clean air room” you create. The link to a guide to making your own DIY air purifier is below.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\">Read the full guide to protecting yourself against wildfire smoke\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"why-does-my-phone-not-work\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11840047/during-a-disaster-your-phone-might-stop-working-how-can-you-communicate\">GUIDE: Why our phones can stop working during wildfires — and how to communicate when they do\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Phone service can be reduced or vanish altogether during emergencies, as cell towers go down amid power shutoffs or when overhead fiber lines on utility poles are damaged by fire itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You may have already encountered these kinds of phone blackouts with your loved ones in L.A., and it’s scary when that happens. Service interruptions like these stop people from being able to get in touch with family and friends to confirm their safety and also prevent them from receiving \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/evacuation-orders-warnings-what-they-mean-emergency-wildfire-earthquake\">the very emergency alerts they’re relying on for evacuation updates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the takeaways:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>In wildfire situations, damaged phone lines will mean calls won’t go through, but texts (which place less demand on cell towers) might\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Conversely, outages because of power shutoffs mean that smaller cell towers might not get power from the system’s battery backup, meaning cellphone data clogs up and texts can’t get through\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If neither calls nor texts are working, seek Wi-Fi at places like large stores (think Walmart) or coffee shops, where you’ll be able to pick up the signal outside in the parking lot — or evacuation centers\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Change your cellphone settings to allow voice calls over Wi-Fi (we have a guide in this link) or make calls using social media apps like Instagram\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Change your voicemail welcome recording when you get cell or Wi-Fi service, and use it to let anyone who calls know your safety status — even when their calls can’t get through to you.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you spot a payphone, give it a try, as buried landlines are typically more resilient to natural disasters than cell phone towers.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11840047/during-a-disaster-your-phone-might-stop-working-how-can-you-communicate\">Read the full guide to how to make your phone work during a wildfire\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "From the Eaton fire in Pasadena to the Palisades Fire, devastating wildfires in L.A. have many preparing to evacuate. What you need to know about air quality, evacuation protocol and more.",
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"title": "Got Loved Ones Affected by LA Fires? These Wildfire Resources May Help | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For many of us with family or friends in the Los Angeles area, it’s a scary time right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020765/thousands-flee-los-angeles-area-as-wildfires-burn-out-of-control-destroying-homes\">The major wildfires devastating L.A. County communities\u003c/a> have already claimed at least two lives, destroyed more than a thousand homes and buildings and forced at least 70,000 people to evacuate. As the largest fires — the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst — continue to grow, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, a fourth fire began on Wednesday morning, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s easy to feel helpless when disaster hits the people you care about — especially if you’re far away. But if you’ve got loved ones in the L.A. area who have already been impacted by these fires or who you’re worried could be affected soon, we’ve collected these guides below to coping in a wildfire situation that you can send your family and friends in Southern California. You can also use these guides to familiarize yourself with what happens during an active wildfire situation so you can advise your loved ones if they’re in a tough spot right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing you can do: Make sure your loved ones are signed up for their county’s emergency alerts right now. Our friends at LAist have a \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/evacuation-orders-warnings-what-they-mean-emergency-wildfire-earthquake\">comprehensive list of emergency alert sign-up links\u003c/a> in their guide to the wildfires raging in Los Angeles County right now. They can also \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/09/25/g-s1-24534/wildfire-app-watch-duty-firefighting\">download the free Watch Duty app\u003c/a> to monitor where fires are burning near them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#emergency-bag-la-fires\">What to pack in an emergency bag\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#air-quality-la-fires\">How to protect yourself from toxic wildfire smoke\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#why-does-my-phone-not-work\">Why our phones can stop working during wildfires\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834901/fire-evacuation-what-actually-happens-and-how-can-you-plan\">GUIDE: How does fire evacuation work — and how can you plan for it?\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Having to evacuate your home due to the threat of wildfire is a scary prospect — especially if you’ve never had to do it before. Tens of thousands have already evacuated their homes in L.A. County, but fire can travel in highly unpredictable ways, affecting communities that would never have suspected themselves to be under threat of wildfires or evacuation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if your loved ones in L.A. haven’t yet had to evacuate or think they’re too far away to be affected, it’s really important that they still know the best procedures for safely leaving their home and to be prepared ahead of time to actually do it. According to L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, there have already been “a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the takeaways:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>An evacuation warning comes before an evacuation order and is a warning that you might need to evacuate soon — that’s the time to prep your emergency bags. The evacuation order is mandatory, i.e., “go time.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cal Fire recommends that you dress to cover your skin to protect against heat and flying embers while evacuation and says 100% cotton is preferable: long pants, a long sleeve shirt, heavy shoes/boots, a cap, a dry bandana for a face cover and goggles or glasses.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you’re anticipating evacuation, put your emergency bag and supplies in your car, if you have one, then back your car into your driveway with all doors and windows closed — and then carry your car keys with you at all times.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834901/fire-evacuation-what-actually-happens-and-how-can-you-plan\">Read the full guide to how to evacuate from a wildfire\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=c7285ba9ce524bbba6c689e96d013112\" width=\"1000\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A map of wildfires currently burning in the Los Angeles area\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"emergency-bag-la-fires\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11833686/what-to-pack-in-your-emergency-bag-with-covid-19-in-mind\">GUIDE: What to pack in your emergency bag to prepare for a wildfire\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A crucial part of being ready to evacuate is having a “go bag” ready. Experts advise keeping such a bag by the front door — or inside a car — so a person can easily grab it and go. If your L.A.-based loved ones do wind up evacuating, they may have to walk to safety and should so choose a bag that’s durable and easy to carry, such as a backpack or duffle bag. For heavier items, such as food and water, using a tub or chest on wheels may make it easier to transport — but they should make sure it’s still light enough to lift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We have comprehensive checklists for an emergency bag — including medications, food and items for pets — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11833686/what-to-pack-in-your-emergency-bag-with-covid-19-in-mind\">in this story\u003c/a>, but the personal safety essential items include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>An extra set of keys to the home\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Eyeglasses or contact lenses\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Flashlight\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A copy of ID and other important documents (birth certificates, passports, etc.)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A change of clothes\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cash, ideally in small bills\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A map marked with at least two evacuation routes from your home\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11833686/what-to-pack-in-your-emergency-bag-with-covid-19-in-mind\">Read the full guide to preparing an emergency evacuation bag.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12020902\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12020902\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GettyImages-2192874110_resize-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents evacuate their home as a brush fire, pushed by gusting Santa Ana winds, burns on Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California. A fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles has forced some residents to evacuate amid “life-threatening and destructive” winds.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"air-quality-la-fires\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\">GUIDE: Why protecting yourself from toxic wildfire smoke is so important — and how to do it\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even brief exposure to wildfire smoke can cause potentially serious health problems for everyone. What we call “wildfire smoke” is actually an ever-changing mix of particles and gasses and many of these compounds are toxic. But the most dangerous thing for your health in wildfire smoke is the fine particulate matter: that is, the tiny pieces of soot and ash that are invisible to the naked eye. These particles — also known as PM 2.5 — are so small and light that they can travel huge distances from a raging wildfire and then cause damage to your body just by entering it, setting off inflammatory reactions that can make breathing difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In serious cases, these reactions can even trigger a heart attack or stroke in people already at risk of those events. The particles can travel deep into your lungs, and within a few days, the damage they cause can result in bronchitis or pneumonia. So it’s crucial for your loved ones in L.A. to protect themselves against smoke right now, even if they’re not super close to the fire areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the takeaways:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>N95 or KN95 masks — the kind you may have stocked up on due to COVID-19 — are still the best option for protecting you against smoke\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The least effective options are cloth masks and one‐strap paper dust masks or surgical masks that hook around your ears — they don’t protect against inhaling fine particles\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>When it’s smoky from fires, run a portable air purifier indoors if you have one, ideally in a “clean air room” you create. The link to a guide to making your own DIY air purifier is below.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\">Read the full guide to protecting yourself against wildfire smoke\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
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