More Than 17,000 Under Evacuation Orders as Southern California Wildfire Threatens Homes
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,” Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was zero containment. The cause is under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders and warnings were still in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 23-square-mile (59-square-kilometer) blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast. The fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Rosa, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "west-sacramentos-indigenous-urban-farms-grow-fresh-food-and-community",
"title": "West Sacramento’s Indigenous Urban Farms Grow Fresh Food and Community",
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"headTitle": "West Sacramento’s Indigenous Urban Farms Grow Fresh Food and Community | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This story is part of \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cb>\u003ci>How We Get By\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">full series here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just across the river from California’s state Capitol, a vacant corner lot in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yolo-county\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West Sacramento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has been turned into something else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cars pass by rows of lettuce, chard and broccoli and nearby, a group of young people moves between beds of soil, snipping stems, stacking crates and checking the day’s harvest. By the end of the day, all of it will be packed into bags and given away for free.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The space is part of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.3sistersgardens.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three Sisters Gardens\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a network of urban farms started by Alfred Melbourne. What began as guerrilla gardening — planting flowers and vegetables in neglected lots — has grown into a nonprofit with four sites across West Sacramento. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its core, the work is about turning unused land into something productive: teaching young people to grow food and getting it into the hands of people who need it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And in this part of Yolo County, that need is significant — nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sacregcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Yolo-Food-Access-Survey-Report.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one in three households \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">experiences food insecurity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073468\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073468\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alfred Melbourne, founder and director of Three Sisters Garden, at the garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How do we still live in a food desert?” Melbourne said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A West Sacramento native, this is a question Melbourne has grappled with his entire life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an attempt to mitigate this, he gives away most of the produce grown on the land, with a goal to distribute 50 thousand lbs of free food this year, and having distributed 42,000 lbs of free food the year before. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He draws on his Indigenous roots to shape the gardens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The hawk, they always seem to fly right above us,” Melbourne said, gesturing toward the sky. He takes it as a good sign.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and named the farms after the native “Three Sisters” method of planting corn, beans and squash together — each crop supporting the others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That approach, he said, reflects a broader way of thinking about community — the heart of the farms he runs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>From incarceration to intervention\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne grew up one street away from the 5th and C Street garden where he stood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For the youth growing up here, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity,” he said. “There was a gang \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://yoloda.org/appellate-court-upholds-gang-injunction/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">injunction \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">in place for almost 10 years, over-criminalizing our youth.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073467\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominitt Henderson waters newly planted lettuce at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At 19, he was arrested for the first time and eventually spent 18 years in prison for assault with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“As a youngster, I kind of just fell in with the bad crowd and made some poor choices, and I ended up incarcerated,” said Melbourne. “Incarceration is not something that I would wish upon my worst enemy.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For much of that time, he said, he resisted the system and his circumstances. But eventually, something shifted.[aside postID=news_12082596 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/KQED_RURALMATERNALHEALTH_HIRES_02-KQED.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I just sat there, and I closed my eyes, and I listened,” he said. “I saw what it was they were doing as a system to try to break us down, to kidnap us off the streets and profit off of us.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne spent time getting educated in prison and learned that it costs California nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lao.ca.gov/policyareas/cj/6_cj_inmatecost\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$128,000 annually\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to incarcerate a person. That realization stayed with him. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I couldn’t allow that to happen,” he said. “Not to me any longer, or to anybody I knew or anybody in my community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Melbourne was released, he returned to West Sacramento with a different sense of purpose — thinking about how to intervene with young people, before they ended up where he had.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We know that if you feed a kid better, they’ll perform better,” he said. “Test scores go up, behavior problems go down.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 2018, he has built the nonprofit Three Sisters Gardens, spanning four farms across West Sacramento. But, not without some challenges.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The model remains susceptible to fluctuations in federal funding priorities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants microgreen onions at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne had set his sights on a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://iratracker.org/actions/epa-pushes-climate-groups-to-close-community-change-grant-program-grants/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$21 million grant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the US Environmental Protection Agency, a program that was discontinued by the Trump administration. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Currently, the organization depends on a mix of local and state funding, with land leased from the city at a subsidized rate of $1 per month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It took a lot of learning to know that I can transform what used to be an illegal business into a legal business,” said Melbourne. “And use our hustle mentality to support our youth and ourselves into a future that’s brighter for everyone.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne sees access to food as one entry point. But the work extends beyond nutrition — into job training, workforce development and life skills.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I want to use the lived experience that I have for all the pain and suffering that I went through to be able to change these youngsters, to divert them,” he said about being a mentor, educator and a resource for the young people in West Sacramento.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cultivating community\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy Long, 18, found the Three Sisters Gardens nearly two years ago, at a time when she felt unmoored. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, between packing produce for distribution and tending the soil, she said she has found a sense of purpose — in both the work itself and in giving food away.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I grew up very poor, and I feel like this is actually helping a lot of people because not a lot of people get food,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Long, who is Cambodian American, now brings produce home for her family, who use it in soups. Before joining the garden, she said she struggled in school and often kept to herself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was really in a bad place in my life,” she said. “When I got this job, I changed a lot, and it also helped me with my mental health issues.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working at the garden, she said, has changed how she sees herself and how she interacts with others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I feel like this garden has made me a better person,” she said. “I really am glad, and I appreciate that I have Alfred in this.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the young people who come through the gardens are looking for stability — a steady job, guidance, a place where they feel seen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne’s role often extends beyond supervision. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He checks in on the young people working with him and, at times, helps them navigate challenges outside of work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants onion microgreens at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For 21-year-old Dominitt Henderson, that meant straightforward advice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He will tell you the truth straight up to your face,” Henderson said. “He won’t hide nothing from you — that’s what I like.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other youth described more tangible forms of support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He helps me a lot,” Amari Sullivan said. “He gives me jackets — whatever I need.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kenny McDowell said that support has made a difference during difficult moments.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’ll be times where I miss a couple of car payments,” McDowell said. “He’ll help me out. Little things like that, it counts.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over time, the work begins to take root in other ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">McDowell said being part of the garden gave him a sense of direction and something to build toward.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interns Damia Zhang and Leilania Tian inspect seed containers at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This was a purpose,” he said. “I want to see a brighter future.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne described the work as reciprocal — something built alongside the young people, not just for them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s them coming to me and us just feeding off of each other,” he said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What I really, truthfully, in the end want to build is community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This story is part of \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cb>\u003ci>How We Get By\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">full series here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just across the river from California’s state Capitol, a vacant corner lot in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yolo-county\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West Sacramento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has been turned into something else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cars pass by rows of lettuce, chard and broccoli and nearby, a group of young people moves between beds of soil, snipping stems, stacking crates and checking the day’s harvest. By the end of the day, all of it will be packed into bags and given away for free.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The space is part of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.3sistersgardens.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three Sisters Gardens\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a network of urban farms started by Alfred Melbourne. What began as guerrilla gardening — planting flowers and vegetables in neglected lots — has grown into a nonprofit with four sites across West Sacramento. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its core, the work is about turning unused land into something productive: teaching young people to grow food and getting it into the hands of people who need it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And in this part of Yolo County, that need is significant — nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sacregcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Yolo-Food-Access-Survey-Report.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one in three households \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">experiences food insecurity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073468\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073468\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alfred Melbourne, founder and director of Three Sisters Garden, at the garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How do we still live in a food desert?” Melbourne said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A West Sacramento native, this is a question Melbourne has grappled with his entire life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an attempt to mitigate this, he gives away most of the produce grown on the land, with a goal to distribute 50 thousand lbs of free food this year, and having distributed 42,000 lbs of free food the year before. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He draws on his Indigenous roots to shape the gardens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The hawk, they always seem to fly right above us,” Melbourne said, gesturing toward the sky. He takes it as a good sign.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and named the farms after the native “Three Sisters” method of planting corn, beans and squash together — each crop supporting the others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That approach, he said, reflects a broader way of thinking about community — the heart of the farms he runs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>From incarceration to intervention\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne grew up one street away from the 5th and C Street garden where he stood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For the youth growing up here, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity,” he said. “There was a gang \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://yoloda.org/appellate-court-upholds-gang-injunction/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">injunction \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">in place for almost 10 years, over-criminalizing our youth.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073467\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominitt Henderson waters newly planted lettuce at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At 19, he was arrested for the first time and eventually spent 18 years in prison for assault with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“As a youngster, I kind of just fell in with the bad crowd and made some poor choices, and I ended up incarcerated,” said Melbourne. “Incarceration is not something that I would wish upon my worst enemy.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For much of that time, he said, he resisted the system and his circumstances. But eventually, something shifted.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I just sat there, and I closed my eyes, and I listened,” he said. “I saw what it was they were doing as a system to try to break us down, to kidnap us off the streets and profit off of us.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne spent time getting educated in prison and learned that it costs California nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lao.ca.gov/policyareas/cj/6_cj_inmatecost\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$128,000 annually\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to incarcerate a person. That realization stayed with him. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I couldn’t allow that to happen,” he said. “Not to me any longer, or to anybody I knew or anybody in my community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Melbourne was released, he returned to West Sacramento with a different sense of purpose — thinking about how to intervene with young people, before they ended up where he had.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We know that if you feed a kid better, they’ll perform better,” he said. “Test scores go up, behavior problems go down.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 2018, he has built the nonprofit Three Sisters Gardens, spanning four farms across West Sacramento. But, not without some challenges.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The model remains susceptible to fluctuations in federal funding priorities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants microgreen onions at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne had set his sights on a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://iratracker.org/actions/epa-pushes-climate-groups-to-close-community-change-grant-program-grants/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$21 million grant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the US Environmental Protection Agency, a program that was discontinued by the Trump administration. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Currently, the organization depends on a mix of local and state funding, with land leased from the city at a subsidized rate of $1 per month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It took a lot of learning to know that I can transform what used to be an illegal business into a legal business,” said Melbourne. “And use our hustle mentality to support our youth and ourselves into a future that’s brighter for everyone.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne sees access to food as one entry point. But the work extends beyond nutrition — into job training, workforce development and life skills.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I want to use the lived experience that I have for all the pain and suffering that I went through to be able to change these youngsters, to divert them,” he said about being a mentor, educator and a resource for the young people in West Sacramento.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cultivating community\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy Long, 18, found the Three Sisters Gardens nearly two years ago, at a time when she felt unmoored. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, between packing produce for distribution and tending the soil, she said she has found a sense of purpose — in both the work itself and in giving food away.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I grew up very poor, and I feel like this is actually helping a lot of people because not a lot of people get food,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Long, who is Cambodian American, now brings produce home for her family, who use it in soups. Before joining the garden, she said she struggled in school and often kept to herself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was really in a bad place in my life,” she said. “When I got this job, I changed a lot, and it also helped me with my mental health issues.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working at the garden, she said, has changed how she sees herself and how she interacts with others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I feel like this garden has made me a better person,” she said. “I really am glad, and I appreciate that I have Alfred in this.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the young people who come through the gardens are looking for stability — a steady job, guidance, a place where they feel seen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne’s role often extends beyond supervision. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He checks in on the young people working with him and, at times, helps them navigate challenges outside of work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants onion microgreens at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For 21-year-old Dominitt Henderson, that meant straightforward advice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He will tell you the truth straight up to your face,” Henderson said. “He won’t hide nothing from you — that’s what I like.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other youth described more tangible forms of support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He helps me a lot,” Amari Sullivan said. “He gives me jackets — whatever I need.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kenny McDowell said that support has made a difference during difficult moments.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’ll be times where I miss a couple of car payments,” McDowell said. “He’ll help me out. Little things like that, it counts.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over time, the work begins to take root in other ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">McDowell said being part of the garden gave him a sense of direction and something to build toward.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interns Damia Zhang and Leilania Tian inspect seed containers at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This was a purpose,” he said. “I want to see a brighter future.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne described the work as reciprocal — something built alongside the young people, not just for them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s them coming to me and us just feeding off of each other,” he said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What I really, truthfully, in the end want to build is community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter",
"title": "An Incoming ‘Super El Niño’ May Bring California a Wet, Hot Winter",
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"headTitle": "An Incoming ‘Super El Niño’ May Bring California a Wet, Hot Winter | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Scientists predict that an upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101913837/a-monster-el-nino-is-brewing-in-the-pacific\">“Super El Niño”\u003c/a> will make 2026 to 2027 the hottest years on record and bring significant sea level rise to the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An update on Thursday from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said that El Niño is likely to emerge as soon as May and persist through the end of winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While El Niño, a warming of the ocean, and La Niña, a cooling of the ocean, are natural patterns that come and go every 2 to 7 years, this year’s El Niño could be one of the strongest on record — and may give Bay Area residents a preview of what life on the coast will be like in just a decade or two if global warming continues at its current pace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the term “Super El Niño” is just a colloquial way to describe a “more extreme than merely strong” climate pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Super El Niño is not something magical, it’s not something new, that’s never happened before,” Swain said this week during his live-streamed “office-hours” series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain said El Niños in 1982, 1997, and 2015 each resulted in “very different global effects” — ranging from record rainfall, which caused some \u003ca href=\"https://www.whoi.edu/science/b/people/kamaral/1982-1983ElNino.html\">Peruvian\u003c/a> rivers to carry 1,000 times their normal flow in 1983, to severe drought in \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2015-state-climate-el-ni%C3%B1o-came-saw-and-conquered\">Ethiopia\u003c/a> in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10898113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10898113 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg\" alt=\"A downed tree in Oakland after last weekend's El Niño-fueled storms.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-400x255.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-800x510.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-1180x752.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-960x612.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A downed tree in Oakland after El Niño-fueled storms in 2016. Scientists warned the climate pattern could be the strongest on record, and result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California. \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year’s “Super El Niño,” Swain said, will result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond sustained sea level rise, scientists expect major storms and flooding starting this winter. They predict that these storms will be particularly strong as the effects of El Niño compound with the effects of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area residents should expect “significant implications for coastal flooding [and] for wind and surf damage along the coast,” Swain said, pointing to the large \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12019798/repair-work-left-santa-cruz-wharf-vulnerable-to-collapse-a-rebuild-is-uncertain\">wave events in Santa Cruz \u003c/a>and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999871/after-king-tides-swamp-marin-san-rafael-weighs-billion-dollar-defenses-against-the-bay\">king tide flooding in Marin\u003c/a> last year as examples of what may be in store.[aside postID=news_12069118 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3.jpg']On KQED’s Forum on Thursday, science writer David Wallace-Wells and climate activist Bill McKibben compared this El Niño to a particularly deadly event in 1877. The main difference between then and now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the 1870s had no idea what was happening to them, whereas in this case, scientists from across the planet have given us timely warning that we should be using to prepare for what’s ahead,” McKibben said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This preparedness, however, will likely be impacted by federal cuts to science and weather programs, he warned: “We’re not doing a great job of heeding the wonderful warning that science has been able to provide us. We’re not doing a great job of heeding the wonderful warning that science has been able to provide us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management said that the possibility of a strong El Niño is part of the city’s preparedness planning. In the coastal city, El Niño can mean a higher potential for heavy rain, localized flooding, and storm-related disruptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our focus is on coordinating closely with partner agencies, preparing our response systems, and encouraging the public to take preparedness steps before severe weather arrives,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKibben reminded listeners that winter is coming: “Don’t let your insurance lapse this year,” he said. “We’re headed into a very, very interesting season, I’m afraid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Scientists predict that an upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101913837/a-monster-el-nino-is-brewing-in-the-pacific\">“Super El Niño”\u003c/a> will make 2026 to 2027 the hottest years on record and bring significant sea level rise to the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An update on Thursday from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said that El Niño is likely to emerge as soon as May and persist through the end of winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While El Niño, a warming of the ocean, and La Niña, a cooling of the ocean, are natural patterns that come and go every 2 to 7 years, this year’s El Niño could be one of the strongest on record — and may give Bay Area residents a preview of what life on the coast will be like in just a decade or two if global warming continues at its current pace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the term “Super El Niño” is just a colloquial way to describe a “more extreme than merely strong” climate pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Super El Niño is not something magical, it’s not something new, that’s never happened before,” Swain said this week during his live-streamed “office-hours” series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain said El Niños in 1982, 1997, and 2015 each resulted in “very different global effects” — ranging from record rainfall, which caused some \u003ca href=\"https://www.whoi.edu/science/b/people/kamaral/1982-1983ElNino.html\">Peruvian\u003c/a> rivers to carry 1,000 times their normal flow in 1983, to severe drought in \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2015-state-climate-el-ni%C3%B1o-came-saw-and-conquered\">Ethiopia\u003c/a> in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10898113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10898113 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg\" alt=\"A downed tree in Oakland after last weekend's El Niño-fueled storms.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-400x255.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-800x510.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-1180x752.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-960x612.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A downed tree in Oakland after El Niño-fueled storms in 2016. Scientists warned the climate pattern could be the strongest on record, and result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California. \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year’s “Super El Niño,” Swain said, will result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond sustained sea level rise, scientists expect major storms and flooding starting this winter. They predict that these storms will be particularly strong as the effects of El Niño compound with the effects of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area residents should expect “significant implications for coastal flooding [and] for wind and surf damage along the coast,” Swain said, pointing to the large \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12019798/repair-work-left-santa-cruz-wharf-vulnerable-to-collapse-a-rebuild-is-uncertain\">wave events in Santa Cruz \u003c/a>and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999871/after-king-tides-swamp-marin-san-rafael-weighs-billion-dollar-defenses-against-the-bay\">king tide flooding in Marin\u003c/a> last year as examples of what may be in store.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On KQED’s Forum on Thursday, science writer David Wallace-Wells and climate activist Bill McKibben compared this El Niño to a particularly deadly event in 1877. The main difference between then and now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the 1870s had no idea what was happening to them, whereas in this case, scientists from across the planet have given us timely warning that we should be using to prepare for what’s ahead,” McKibben said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This preparedness, however, will likely be impacted by federal cuts to science and weather programs, he warned: “We’re not doing a great job of heeding the wonderful warning that science has been able to provide us. We’re not doing a great job of heeding the wonderful warning that science has been able to provide us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management said that the possibility of a strong El Niño is part of the city’s preparedness planning. In the coastal city, El Niño can mean a higher potential for heavy rain, localized flooding, and storm-related disruptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our focus is on coordinating closely with partner agencies, preparing our response systems, and encouraging the public to take preparedness steps before severe weather arrives,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKibben reminded listeners that winter is coming: “Don’t let your insurance lapse this year,” he said. “We’re headed into a very, very interesting season, I’m afraid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "californias-new-plastic-recycling-rules-spark-fights-from-all-sides",
"title": "California’s New Plastic Recycling Rules Spark Fights From All Sides",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> just gave plastic producers until 2032 to make all their packaging recyclable or compostable — the most ambitious deadline in the country. Advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Producers say it goes too far. At least one of them is threatening to sue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sweeping regulations, finalized at the start of the month, put producers in a bind that has no obvious solution. Plastic clamshell containers, for instance, protect berries from being crushed and keep them fresher, longer until they reach a refrigerator. Plastic producers say there’s simply no substitute — yet under the new rules, they’ll have to find one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, two environmental groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians Against Waste — said they plan to take California to court. Their argument: the state’s rules actually break the law by allowing recycling methods that create a lot of toxic waste, and by letting some plastics slip through the rules entirely. On the other side, plastic manufacturers say the rules go too far and will make products more expensive for shoppers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from coastal Los Angeles County who authored the plastic waste law, said the program still “massively moves the needle on this really major problem” — even if the process was messy. “This was the product of a compromise, and it was not perfect, and everybody walked away from the table, you know, unhappy about various aspects,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is the United States, but 30 years in the future,” said Joe Árvai, director of the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. “What’s happening now is emblematic of trends that we are seeing worldwide … and the U.S. needs to adapt in the way that those countries are adapting in order to remain globally competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Less plastic, more recycling \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, the burden of reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste has fallen on consumers. Once a consumer buys a product, they decide what happens to it — whether it ends up in the garbage can or the recycling blue bin — and their tax dollars fund recycling systems we have today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, California’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/06/california-recycling-plastic-trash/\">Senate Bill 54,\u003c/a> the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, shifted that responsibility to businesses. The regulations outline what materials are covered by the law and who counts as a “producer” of plastic waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11745391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11745391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/Recolgy-1-e1778783682683.jpg\" alt=\"An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Chloe Veltman/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new regulations are a huge milestone, said Anja Brandon, director of U.S. plastics policy for the Ocean Conservancy. “There’s plenty more steps on this journey, but I’m just really excited that we are going to start making real progress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law applies to plastic food service ware and almost all single-use packaging — from the plastic wrap around large pallets of products shipped to retailers to a tube of toothpaste and the cardboard box around it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Our broken recycling system\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of the plastic packaging Californians throw away isn’t recycled — and that’s not your fault as a consumer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the revolving green arrows symbol has urged consumers to do a better job of reducing, reusing and recycling. But the system itself started out broken, and got worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people toss items into recycling bins, workers at recycling centers sort through them. Contaminated items — like a peanut butter tub with residue still inside — go straight to the landfill. Manufacturers buy clean, valuable materials like water bottles and detergent tubs and turn them into new products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a slew of other trash isn’t valuable enough to sell. It ends up in landfills, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, the plastic recycling rate was only \u003ca href=\"https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/us-plastics-recycling-rate\">6% nationwide,\u003c/a> according to a report by the advocacy group Beyond Plastics. That’s down from 8% in 2018, partly because \u003ca href=\"https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling\">China\u003c/a> and other countries that used to buy our trash have stopped doing so. In California, most plastic packaging types are recycled at strikingly low rates, according to a 2025 CalRecycle report: Even milk jugs and detergent bottles, among the most commonly recycled plastics, reached only 19%, while most others came in at single digits or below.[aside postID=news_12027788 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250131_RIDWELL_DB_00363-KQED-1020x680.jpg']To carry out the law, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery appointed the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit that helps states carry out extended producer responsibility mandates, as the organizing body for producers. The alliance is responsible for coming up with a plan to meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Producers — defined as companies that make more than $1 million in sales and produce products packaged in plastic or own brands under which those products are sold — must join the organization and pay fees to fund waste management. They can meet the law’s requirements by using less plastic, finding alternative materials, or investing in recycling infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest challenge is the scale and coordination required to modernize a complex recycling system across a state as large and diverse as California,” said Sheila Estaniel, a spokesperson for the Circular Action Alliance, in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s requirement that businesses reduce single-use plastic altogether makes it one of the strongest plastic waste laws in the country. It also goes further than other similar laws because it requires plastic producers to pay $5 billion over a decade to address the environmental damage their products have caused to communities — though the state doesn’t expect to start distributing those funds until 2027 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Watered down rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The plastic waste rules have had a rocky road to implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, CalRecycle developed a first draft of regulations detailing what plastic the law covers and what producers must do. The draft expired before CalRecycle finalized it. In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed regulators to rewrite the rules — a move that some advocates say say food and agriculture lobbyists pushed for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result was a second draft that carved out a broad exclusion for plastics used for food and agriculture purposes, covering products under the jurisdiction of the FDA and USDA, such as packaging for fresh produce and supplements. Advocates said the exclusion gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom was clear when he asked CalRecycle to restart these regulations that they should work to minimize costs for small businesses and families — while ensuring California’s bold recycling law can achieve the critical goal of cutting plastic pollution,” said Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor. “That’s exactly what these draft regulations do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalRecycle submitted that draft to the Office of Administrative Law in August 2025, but withdrew it to make changes that narrowed that exclusion. Regulators ultimately excluded only plastic that federal law requires for food safety — walking back a broader carve-out that advocates said would have gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Advocates gear up to sue \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Not all plastics follow the same rules — and advocates object to the state’s two-track system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some materials with unique technical challenges can apply for exemptions, but must meet specific criteria to qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, like plastic that federal law requires for food safety, escape the rules entirely once producers complete an application to CalRecycle — no timeline, no obligations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083638\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083638\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirna Hernandez shops at Superior Groceries in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ted Soqui/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“In practice, this allows exclusions to remain in effect … even for notices that ultimately fail — creating strong incentives to submit weak or legally unsupported claims simply to delay (and effectively filibuster) compliance,” wrote Tony Hackett, a policy associate for Californians Against Waste in a public comment letter to the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates raise a second concern: the regulations allow certain waste polluting technologies — ones the law specifically excluded because they generate significant quantities of hazardous waste — to count as recycling, as long as they have a hazardous waste permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These technologies include chemical recycling processes that the oil industry has long promoted as a solution to plastic pollution — a claim California’s attorney general says is deliberately misleading. Rob Bonta has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/climate/exxon-california-plastics-defamation-lawsuit.html\">sued ExxonMobil\u003c/a> alleging the company misled the public about recycling’s potential to address the plastic crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These regulations ignore explicit limits on recycling technologies and create permanent escape hatches the law never authorized,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rhonalyn Cabello, a CalRecycle spokesperson, said the agency does not comment on pending or potential litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Allen agreed the regulations fall short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel that the regulations as presented don’t maintain some of the core agreements that were made in the passage of the bill,” he said. When there’s too many exclusions, he said, companies are “basically forcing everybody else to pay and getting away scot free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Set up to fail?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Businesses claim they want to reduce plastic waste but feel trapped by conflicting state regulations and a lack of viable packaging alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension starts with labeling. The state’s accurate recycling labels law, Senate Bill 343, prohibits businesses from using the chasing arrows symbol to indicate recyclability unless certain criteria are met. Advocates say the restriction is necessary to avoid confusion. But businesses say it means consumers are less likely to recycle products that could be recyclable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we lose the right to use (recycling labels on) dairy cartons, our members are going to have to expand their plastic use, because that is the only other packaging type that can take a shelf stable product,” said Katie Davey, executive director of the Dairy Institute of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As investments from producers flow to cities and counties under the law, Cabello said, more materials may eventually meet the labeling criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond labeling, businesses say workable alternatives to plastic simply don’t exist yet — and that getting there will be costly. Investments needed to meet the law’s first goal alone — a 25% reduction in single-use plastic by 2032 — could cost up to $15.4 billion, according to CalRecycle estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin Kelly, the chief executive of Emerald Packaging, sells film plastic packaging to farmers, who use the plastic to bag items like salads and baby carrots. Paper packaging that could replicate plastic’s ability to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels — keeping produce fresh — is still in early development, he said, and mass production is decades away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to build tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure to actually produce something at the level that would be needed to replace plastics,” Kelly said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dairy illustrates the same problem. Alternatives to plastic milk packaging include refrigerated gable-top cartons, shelf-stable cartons, and glass. Each comes with tradeoffs. Glass is heavier — meaning fewer units per shipment — and clear glass exposes fresh milk to light that can degrade it. Switching packaging lines entirely would cost producers about $40 million for a single mid-size line, according to the Dairy Institute — a cost they would pass on to consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re deeply concerned because we know that food costs are going to increase and products are going to come off the market because there literally is not a packaging solution within the required timeframe,” Davey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But USC’s Joe Árvai said producer complaints are really about the pace of change, not whether compliant packaging is possible at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether they like it or not, these changes are coming,” he said. “In the end, there are going to be players in the industry that are going to be better able to respond, and they will be better indemnified against the shocks than their partners and competitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What happens next\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The next major test comes in June, when the Circular Action Alliance must submit its plan to CalRecycle outlining how producers will meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oregon, which passed a similar law and is also facing an industry legal challenge, offers a possible model. There, grant funding is already flowing to expand reuse and refill infrastructure — helping businesses and schools replace single-use plastic products and improve recycling access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11901452\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11901452 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg\" alt=\"scientists sample bay water\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two environmental scientists strain water collected from the San Francisco Bay through two sieves to sample for microplastics. \u003ccite>(Monica Lam/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Despite the fact that there’s a lawsuit in Oregon, money is moving out the door,” said the Ocean Conservancy’s Anja Brandon. She said groups like hers will closely watch the June plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll all be waiting with bated breath” to see how producers are interpreting this and what pathways they’re laying out, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, advocates will be watching closely as CalRecycle begins to make decisions about who qualifies for exclusions and exemptions. The Natural Resources Defense Council is waiting for CalRecycle to post additional documents before filing its lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we let this thing get derailed and turned into a Swiss cheese of exemptions and non‑compliance, it will really harm our global progress on this issue,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/05/plastic-recycling-california-sb54-waste/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "California’s New Plastic Recycling Rules Spark Fights From All Sides | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> just gave plastic producers until 2032 to make all their packaging recyclable or compostable — the most ambitious deadline in the country. Advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Producers say it goes too far. At least one of them is threatening to sue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sweeping regulations, finalized at the start of the month, put producers in a bind that has no obvious solution. Plastic clamshell containers, for instance, protect berries from being crushed and keep them fresher, longer until they reach a refrigerator. Plastic producers say there’s simply no substitute — yet under the new rules, they’ll have to find one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, two environmental groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians Against Waste — said they plan to take California to court. Their argument: the state’s rules actually break the law by allowing recycling methods that create a lot of toxic waste, and by letting some plastics slip through the rules entirely. On the other side, plastic manufacturers say the rules go too far and will make products more expensive for shoppers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from coastal Los Angeles County who authored the plastic waste law, said the program still “massively moves the needle on this really major problem” — even if the process was messy. “This was the product of a compromise, and it was not perfect, and everybody walked away from the table, you know, unhappy about various aspects,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is the United States, but 30 years in the future,” said Joe Árvai, director of the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. “What’s happening now is emblematic of trends that we are seeing worldwide … and the U.S. needs to adapt in the way that those countries are adapting in order to remain globally competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Less plastic, more recycling \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, the burden of reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste has fallen on consumers. Once a consumer buys a product, they decide what happens to it — whether it ends up in the garbage can or the recycling blue bin — and their tax dollars fund recycling systems we have today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, California’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/06/california-recycling-plastic-trash/\">Senate Bill 54,\u003c/a> the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, shifted that responsibility to businesses. The regulations outline what materials are covered by the law and who counts as a “producer” of plastic waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11745391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11745391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/Recolgy-1-e1778783682683.jpg\" alt=\"An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Chloe Veltman/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new regulations are a huge milestone, said Anja Brandon, director of U.S. plastics policy for the Ocean Conservancy. “There’s plenty more steps on this journey, but I’m just really excited that we are going to start making real progress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law applies to plastic food service ware and almost all single-use packaging — from the plastic wrap around large pallets of products shipped to retailers to a tube of toothpaste and the cardboard box around it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Our broken recycling system\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of the plastic packaging Californians throw away isn’t recycled — and that’s not your fault as a consumer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the revolving green arrows symbol has urged consumers to do a better job of reducing, reusing and recycling. But the system itself started out broken, and got worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people toss items into recycling bins, workers at recycling centers sort through them. Contaminated items — like a peanut butter tub with residue still inside — go straight to the landfill. Manufacturers buy clean, valuable materials like water bottles and detergent tubs and turn them into new products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a slew of other trash isn’t valuable enough to sell. It ends up in landfills, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, the plastic recycling rate was only \u003ca href=\"https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/us-plastics-recycling-rate\">6% nationwide,\u003c/a> according to a report by the advocacy group Beyond Plastics. That’s down from 8% in 2018, partly because \u003ca href=\"https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling\">China\u003c/a> and other countries that used to buy our trash have stopped doing so. In California, most plastic packaging types are recycled at strikingly low rates, according to a 2025 CalRecycle report: Even milk jugs and detergent bottles, among the most commonly recycled plastics, reached only 19%, while most others came in at single digits or below.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To carry out the law, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery appointed the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit that helps states carry out extended producer responsibility mandates, as the organizing body for producers. The alliance is responsible for coming up with a plan to meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Producers — defined as companies that make more than $1 million in sales and produce products packaged in plastic or own brands under which those products are sold — must join the organization and pay fees to fund waste management. They can meet the law’s requirements by using less plastic, finding alternative materials, or investing in recycling infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest challenge is the scale and coordination required to modernize a complex recycling system across a state as large and diverse as California,” said Sheila Estaniel, a spokesperson for the Circular Action Alliance, in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s requirement that businesses reduce single-use plastic altogether makes it one of the strongest plastic waste laws in the country. It also goes further than other similar laws because it requires plastic producers to pay $5 billion over a decade to address the environmental damage their products have caused to communities — though the state doesn’t expect to start distributing those funds until 2027 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Watered down rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The plastic waste rules have had a rocky road to implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, CalRecycle developed a first draft of regulations detailing what plastic the law covers and what producers must do. The draft expired before CalRecycle finalized it. In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed regulators to rewrite the rules — a move that some advocates say say food and agriculture lobbyists pushed for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result was a second draft that carved out a broad exclusion for plastics used for food and agriculture purposes, covering products under the jurisdiction of the FDA and USDA, such as packaging for fresh produce and supplements. Advocates said the exclusion gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom was clear when he asked CalRecycle to restart these regulations that they should work to minimize costs for small businesses and families — while ensuring California’s bold recycling law can achieve the critical goal of cutting plastic pollution,” said Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor. “That’s exactly what these draft regulations do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalRecycle submitted that draft to the Office of Administrative Law in August 2025, but withdrew it to make changes that narrowed that exclusion. Regulators ultimately excluded only plastic that federal law requires for food safety — walking back a broader carve-out that advocates said would have gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Advocates gear up to sue \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Not all plastics follow the same rules — and advocates object to the state’s two-track system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some materials with unique technical challenges can apply for exemptions, but must meet specific criteria to qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, like plastic that federal law requires for food safety, escape the rules entirely once producers complete an application to CalRecycle — no timeline, no obligations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083638\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083638\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirna Hernandez shops at Superior Groceries in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ted Soqui/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“In practice, this allows exclusions to remain in effect … even for notices that ultimately fail — creating strong incentives to submit weak or legally unsupported claims simply to delay (and effectively filibuster) compliance,” wrote Tony Hackett, a policy associate for Californians Against Waste in a public comment letter to the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates raise a second concern: the regulations allow certain waste polluting technologies — ones the law specifically excluded because they generate significant quantities of hazardous waste — to count as recycling, as long as they have a hazardous waste permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These technologies include chemical recycling processes that the oil industry has long promoted as a solution to plastic pollution — a claim California’s attorney general says is deliberately misleading. Rob Bonta has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/climate/exxon-california-plastics-defamation-lawsuit.html\">sued ExxonMobil\u003c/a> alleging the company misled the public about recycling’s potential to address the plastic crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These regulations ignore explicit limits on recycling technologies and create permanent escape hatches the law never authorized,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rhonalyn Cabello, a CalRecycle spokesperson, said the agency does not comment on pending or potential litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Allen agreed the regulations fall short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel that the regulations as presented don’t maintain some of the core agreements that were made in the passage of the bill,” he said. When there’s too many exclusions, he said, companies are “basically forcing everybody else to pay and getting away scot free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Set up to fail?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Businesses claim they want to reduce plastic waste but feel trapped by conflicting state regulations and a lack of viable packaging alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension starts with labeling. The state’s accurate recycling labels law, Senate Bill 343, prohibits businesses from using the chasing arrows symbol to indicate recyclability unless certain criteria are met. Advocates say the restriction is necessary to avoid confusion. But businesses say it means consumers are less likely to recycle products that could be recyclable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we lose the right to use (recycling labels on) dairy cartons, our members are going to have to expand their plastic use, because that is the only other packaging type that can take a shelf stable product,” said Katie Davey, executive director of the Dairy Institute of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As investments from producers flow to cities and counties under the law, Cabello said, more materials may eventually meet the labeling criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond labeling, businesses say workable alternatives to plastic simply don’t exist yet — and that getting there will be costly. Investments needed to meet the law’s first goal alone — a 25% reduction in single-use plastic by 2032 — could cost up to $15.4 billion, according to CalRecycle estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin Kelly, the chief executive of Emerald Packaging, sells film plastic packaging to farmers, who use the plastic to bag items like salads and baby carrots. Paper packaging that could replicate plastic’s ability to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels — keeping produce fresh — is still in early development, he said, and mass production is decades away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to build tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure to actually produce something at the level that would be needed to replace plastics,” Kelly said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dairy illustrates the same problem. Alternatives to plastic milk packaging include refrigerated gable-top cartons, shelf-stable cartons, and glass. Each comes with tradeoffs. Glass is heavier — meaning fewer units per shipment — and clear glass exposes fresh milk to light that can degrade it. Switching packaging lines entirely would cost producers about $40 million for a single mid-size line, according to the Dairy Institute — a cost they would pass on to consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re deeply concerned because we know that food costs are going to increase and products are going to come off the market because there literally is not a packaging solution within the required timeframe,” Davey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But USC’s Joe Árvai said producer complaints are really about the pace of change, not whether compliant packaging is possible at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether they like it or not, these changes are coming,” he said. “In the end, there are going to be players in the industry that are going to be better able to respond, and they will be better indemnified against the shocks than their partners and competitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What happens next\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The next major test comes in June, when the Circular Action Alliance must submit its plan to CalRecycle outlining how producers will meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oregon, which passed a similar law and is also facing an industry legal challenge, offers a possible model. There, grant funding is already flowing to expand reuse and refill infrastructure — helping businesses and schools replace single-use plastic products and improve recycling access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11901452\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11901452 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg\" alt=\"scientists sample bay water\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two environmental scientists strain water collected from the San Francisco Bay through two sieves to sample for microplastics. \u003ccite>(Monica Lam/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Despite the fact that there’s a lawsuit in Oregon, money is moving out the door,” said the Ocean Conservancy’s Anja Brandon. She said groups like hers will closely watch the June plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll all be waiting with bated breath” to see how producers are interpreting this and what pathways they’re laying out, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, advocates will be watching closely as CalRecycle begins to make decisions about who qualifies for exclusions and exemptions. The Natural Resources Defense Council is waiting for CalRecycle to post additional documents before filing its lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we let this thing get derailed and turned into a Swiss cheese of exemptions and non‑compliance, it will really harm our global progress on this issue,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/05/plastic-recycling-california-sb54-waste/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "these-yosemite-alternatives-are-just-as-beautiful-and-much-less-crowded",
"title": "These Yosemite Alternatives Are Just as Beautiful — and Much Less Crowded",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It might only be May, but Yosemite National Park’s summertime crowds are \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/yosemite-valley-parking-full-22238123.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">already back in full force\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And with \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074364\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the park’s vehicle reservation system to enter the park officially scrapped for 2026\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, visitors are reporting that finding parking and a peaceful place to soak in the iconic views on peak weekends is \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/Yosemite/s/WgwigquZ01\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">already proving challenging.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In March of this year, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=ARCH\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yosemite reported a 45% increase in visitation from 2025\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, rivaling 2016 numbers. And last year, when a reservation system was still limiting daily visitation, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/yosemite-visitation-2025/?scope=initial\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">4.2 million people still visited the park:\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> its fourth-busiest year on record. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So whether it’s the traffic, the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996404/yosemite-camping-national-park-reservations-delay-2025\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">huge popularity\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/gateways/2991\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yosemite’s campgrounds\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the $100 fee for visitors from abroad\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or the widespread uncertainty caused by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066741/a-morale-bomb-national-park-workers-face-wage-cuts-and-dubiously-legal-review-system\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Trump administration’s attacks\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on National Parks Service staffing last year, there are several reasons some people might be looking to other corners of California for a wilderness getaway this summer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And if that’s you, depending\u003c/span> on what attracted you to the High Sierra park in the first place — like iconic waterfalls, clear, swimmable rivers, scenic drives or wildlife — you may still find what you’re looking for at these six more underrated spots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read more below for some “alternatives to Yosemite” recreation areas within driving distance of the Bay Area that could bring you that same remote mountain feeling — without the stress of reservations or crowds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#A\">Sweeping landscapes at Sunol\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#B\">The clear, swimmable Smith River\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#C\">The rustic mountain town of Etna\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#D\">Scenic mountain drive Sonora Pass\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#E\">Castle Crags’ granite peaks\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#F\">Picturesque June Lake\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047200\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047200\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The road leading to June Lake Loop takes visitors on a 14-mile drive underneath Carson Peak with access to several small towns and campgrounds, as well as lots of lake and mountain recreation. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>Looking for Valley-like views? Soak up sweeping landscapes at Sunol\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Did you know we have our very own “\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol\">Little Yosemite\u003c/a>” right here in the Bay Area? At Sunol Wilderness Regional Park, \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/poi/us/california/sunol/alameda-creek-overlook--formerly-little-yosemite-\">a 4.5-mile round-trip hike\u003c/a> will take you through a gorge that’s not unlike a miniature Yosemite Valley, and up close to stunning cliff sides, over babbling creeks and under gushing waterfalls. And you’re more than likely to spot native birds, wildflowers in the spring and cows all year round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re up for even more adventure, snag a reservation at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/recreation/camping/backpack-camping-faqs#sunol\">Sunol Backpack Campground\u003c/a>, just a few miles from the Visitor Center and parking lot, up to a remarkably remote-feeling cluster of campsites. \u003ca href=\"https://www.redwoodhikes.com/EastBay/SunolCG.html\">Each site is unique\u003c/a>, hidden around rock formations, nestled in giant oak trees or with sweeping vistas of the valley below. Running water is available but needs to be treated, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040242#backpacking-gear\">so don’t forget your filter.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Reservations: \u003c/em>Make sure to call at least two days in advance — or more if you’re aiming for a weekend — \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/recreation/camping/backpack-camping-faqs\">to reserve a backcountry camping spot\u003c/a>. You’ll also need a trail permit, which you can purchase online, in person or over the phone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047203\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2121px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047203\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2121\" height=\"1414\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245.jpg 2121w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2121px) 100vw, 2121px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alameda Creek winds through the Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve. \u003ccite>(Yiming Chen/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"B\">\u003c/a>Love Yosemite’s Merced River? Take a plunge in the clear, swimmable Smith River\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>No trip to Yosemite is complete without a dip in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/things-to-do/adventure-activities/merced-river/\">Merced River\u003c/a>. But if a visit to the national park isn’t in the cards for you this year, consider heading up north — like, way north — to the 140-mile-long \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sixrivers\">Six Rivers National Forest\u003c/a> that runs from the Oregon border to Mendocino County, to get a more remote river experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12044161 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/inntown-3-2000x1333.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Betsy Totten, forest staff officer for the national forest, particularly recommends the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sixrivers/recreation/smith-river-national-recreation-area-0\">Smith River National Recreation Area\u003c/a> — \u003ca href=\"https://rivers.gov/river/smith\">the only major undammed river in California\u003c/a> — for its crystal-clear emerald waters, which are “ideal for swimming, kayaking, canoeing and rafting.” She pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://redwood-edventures.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quest-grayfalls.pdf\">Gray Falls Day Use Picnic Area\u003c/a> for the best fishing and \u003ca href=\"https://www.redwoodhikes.com/JedSmith/SandCG.html\">Sand Camp\u003c/a> for its sandy beaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, head to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/klamath-river-trip-dam-removal\">Klamath \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://rivers.gov/river/trinity\">Trinity rivers\u003c/a>, which are fast-flowing and best for anyone looking for a whitewater rafting or kayak adventure down rapids, Totten said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And “keep an eye out for black bears, ospreys, and a variety of fish, including salmon, steelhead, and trout,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally,\u003ca href=\"https://smithriveralliance.org/goose-creek/\"> the South Fork of the Smith River at Goose Creek\u003c/a> could be the best bet for families, where clear pools make for a leisurely afternoon float or swim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>While the area is generally less crowded than others across the state, Totten said campgrounds at popular lakes and river spots can fill up on the weekends, so securing \u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/gateways/1075\">reservations in advance\u003c/a> may be necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047209\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047209\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0074309.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0074309.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0074309-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Mount Shasta emerges through trees in Castle Crags State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California State Parks, 2025)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047210\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047210\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-2000x666.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-2048x682.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Horsetail Falls is the largest waterfall in the June Lake Loop in the Eastern Sierra and a popular hiking destination in the summer. Right: Kayakers float on Silver Lake, one of the more remote lakes that make up the June Lake area in the Eastern Sierra. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"C\">\u003c/a>Want that Curry Village vibe? Relax in the rustic mountain town of Etna\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Caleb Agron first went backpacking near the Siskiyou County town of Etna in Northern California, “it reminded me of what I saw in \u003ca href=\"https://articles.anseladams.com/ansel-adams-wilderness/?doing_wp_cron=1751578829.4512479305267333984375\">Ansel Adams Wilderness\u003c/a>,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An iconic stop along the \u003ca href=\"https://northerncaliforniahikingtrails.com/blog/2020/09/16/etna-summit-pct-russian-wilderness/\">Pacific Crest Trail\u003c/a>, the tiny Scott Valley community is the ideal mountain town and jumping-off spot for adventures up north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Situated between the Marble Mountain Wilderness, the Trinity Alps and the Russian Wilderness, there is a wealth of trails and lakes to explore within minutes of town, \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/taylor-lake-trail\">ranging from short jaunts\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/paynes-lake-trail--2\">moderate outings\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/cliff-lake-via-shackelford-creek-trail\">extended weekend trips.\u003c/a> Etna is also a popular spot to begin any fishing, rafting, mountain biking or horseback riding outing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with a population of just under 700 people, the quaint streets of Etna come alive during its \u003ca href=\"https://www.trailsendmusicfest.org/\">annual Trails End Music Festival\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.etnarodeo.com/\">The Etna Rodeo\u003c/a>, two events that bring in crowds from far and wide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything is better than you expect it to be,” Agron said — especially the people, who take pride in their friendliness to visitors. Agron and his cousin Stephen Daniel are the outgoing and incoming managers, respectively, of \u003ca href=\"https://etnabluebird.com/\">The Bluebird Inn\u003c/a>, a relatively new bed and breakfast in an old Victorian house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://etnafarmersmarket.org/\">Etna Farmers Market\u003c/a> is on Saturdays all summer, and its downtown area features artisanal eateries beloved by locals and visitors alike, like general store-turned-restaurant and distillery \u003ca href=\"https://www.dennybarcompany.com/\">Denny Bar Company\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.farmhousebakery.org/\">Farmhouse Bakery\u003c/a>, whose fresh loaves are known far and wide — plus a hardware and sporting goods store for all your adventure needs. And if you’re ready to relax after a long day on the trails, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/mountain-healing-spa-etna\">there’s even a spa right downtown. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>If you’re planning on going backpacking, the wilderness areas around Etna generally only require \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/wilderness\">self-issued overnight and fire permits\u003c/a>, which are easy to come by. During the rodeo and music festivals, hotels can fill up quickly in the area, but the town of Etna also allows \u003ca href=\"https://discoversiskiyou.com/activities/johnson-joss-memorial-park-etna-city-park/\">free tent camping at its city park. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"D\">\u003c/a>Craving a Tioga Pass alternative? Take a scenic mountain drive up and over Sonora Pass\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047201\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1707px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047201\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-2000x3000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At 9,600 feet, Sonora Pass features sweeping views of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, including waterfalls, wildflowers and high alpine lakes. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead of waiting in hourslong traffic on Highway 120 into Yosemite, consider a leisurely drive over \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/sonora-pass-scenic-drive-sonora-to-us-395\">Sonora Pass\u003c/a> instead — and soak in dramatic High Sierra views from the comfort of your car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not Yosemite, but it’s still pretty freaking spectacular,” said Liz Grans, economic development director for Mono County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amanda Carlson, the county’s economic development coordinator, recommended checking out \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/listing/leavitt-falls-vista/1432/\">Leavitt Falls,\u003c/a> which is \u003ca href=\"https://yosemiteparkphotos.com/high-sierra/sonora-pass-photos/sonora-pass-waterfalls/\">one of many waterfalls flowing near the highway\u003c/a> and is viewable from a parking lot and picnic area just off Highway 108.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the apex of the pass, you can spot various peaks, or keep going for a sweeping view of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/west-walker-river/\">West Walker River\u003c/a> and Yosemite to the south.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047202\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047202\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-2000x666.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-2048x682.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A small waterfall flows near Sonora Pass, a scenic drive over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, on Oct. 10, 2024. Right: Road sign at Sonora Pass. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11640709/how-this-ghost-towns-curse-backfired-on-park-rangers\">Bodie State Historic Park\u003c/a> is a hidden gem of the Eastern Sierra, where nearly 200 buildings of a historic gold and silver mining town — now a ghost town — still stand, including a stamp mill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can walk the streets, and it is just how it was left,” Grans said. “When the gold ran out and people started to leave, and they didn’t have cars, many of them didn’t have horses or carts or anything, so the furniture — their clothing — is all still there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>The drive over Sonora Pass from the Bay Area takes a full day, so make sure to plan to stay overnight on the eastern side of the Sierra. Bridgeport is the closest major town to the pass, but Mono City and Lee Vining — which offer easy access to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046670/mono-lake-could-be-losing-its-california-gulls\">biodiverse Mono Lake\u003c/a> — aren’t far away, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"E\">\u003c/a>Want Half Dome without the long hike? Scale Castle Crags’ granite peaks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047196\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047196\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064419A.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064419A.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064419A-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The famous granite ‘crags,’ formed around 160 million years ago, rise up over Castle Crags State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California State Parks, 2025)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/permits/234652\">Permits to scale Yosemite’s Half Dome\u003c/a> are notoriously hard to come by — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1941829/the-half-dome-lottery-system-was-supposed-to-make-the-hike-safer-this-study-says-it-hasnt\">and the 14-mile round-trip hike is no walk in the park, either. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking for a similar granite landscape with a more achievable goal, consider \u003ca href=\"https://mountshastatrailassociation.org/trails/castle-crags/castle-dome-and-indian-springs/\">Castle Dome\u003c/a> in Shasta County’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=454\">Castle Crags State Park.\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://castlecragspark.org/the-park\">Formed around 160 million years ago\u003c/a>, the rocks that give the park its iconic “crags” not only feel ancient but are also home to a wide biodiversity of wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 5.4-mile round trip is much more manageable than Half Dome, but it’s still quite a trek, climbing 2,000 feet of elevation that brings hikers up and around steep granite cliffs, revealing a full view of Mount Shasta ahead. Most hikers choose to turn around at the base of the dome, but \u003ca href=\"https://californiathroughmylens.com/castle-dome-hike-in-castle-crags-state-park/\">if you’re an experienced climber, you can even attempt the summit itself. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Don’t forget to check out nearby \u003ca href=\"https://www.visitcalifornia.com/places-to-visit/dunsmuir/\">Dunsmuir\u003c/a> along a calm portion of the Sacramento River, with swimming holes and lunch spots aplenty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>The state park has 76 campsites that are available on a first-come, first-served basis for $25. It costs $8 to enter the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047197\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047197\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064423A.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064423A.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064423A-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The granite crags at Castle Crags State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California State Parks, 2025)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"F\">\u003c/a>Seeking refuge at a high-altitude alpine lake? Visit picturesque June Lake\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re still hoping to head to the High Sierra but don’t want to fight Yosemite’s crowds, try the \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/june-lake/\">June Lake Loop\u003c/a>, a 15-mile detour off Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With four lakes, numerous resorts and tons of trails, you can escape deep into the wilderness or enjoy a luxurious visit to the town of June Lake, often dubbed “the Switzerland of California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/grant-lake/\">Grant Lake,\u003c/a> the biggest of the four, is open to recreational speedboats after 10 a.m., while \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/june-lake/\">June\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/gull-lake/\">Gull\u003c/a> lakes are more suited to fishing and paddling. The most remote is\u003ca href=\"https://www.silverlakeresort.net/\"> Silver Lake,\u003c/a> where visitors can grab lunch and go out on a kayak to explore the picturesque alpine environment. Hikers and backpackers start their journeys from the loop to access the Inyo National Forest and Ansel Adams Wilderness areas, \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/parker-lake-trail\">including the scenic 3.5-mile hike to Parker Lake.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047198\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047198\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view from above Gull Lake, one of the four lakes that make up the June Lake Loop, where visitors can paddle, fish and swim in the summer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Silver Lake is my favorite,” Carlson said. “We rented kayaks and went out on that very same day; there were only two other human beings on the lake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down closer to town, popular activities include trout fishing, biking and boating, \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/event/june-lake-autumn-beer-festival/7324/\">plus the annual beer festival every fall, hosted at Gull Lake Park.\u003c/a> As far as accommodations go, visitors can find everything from upscale resorts to more rustic spots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>June Lake is not nearly as crowded as nearby Yosemite — or even Mammoth Lakes, which can get extremely busy, especially in the wintertime. Still, be sure to book early for long weekends or peak summer times. If you strike out on finding something in your price range on the loop itself, try Lee Vining or Bridgeport to the north, with even more options to choose from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047205\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047205\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Silver-Lake-August-2017-AV-2-Mono-County-Tourism-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boats are docked at Silver Lake, a remote lake near June Lake, California, in the Eastern Sierra. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Looking for a mountain escape minus the chaos of a national park? Here are some ideas.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It might only be May, but Yosemite National Park’s summertime crowds are \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/yosemite-valley-parking-full-22238123.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">already back in full force\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And with \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074364\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the park’s vehicle reservation system to enter the park officially scrapped for 2026\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, visitors are reporting that finding parking and a peaceful place to soak in the iconic views on peak weekends is \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/Yosemite/s/WgwigquZ01\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">already proving challenging.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In March of this year, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=ARCH\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yosemite reported a 45% increase in visitation from 2025\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, rivaling 2016 numbers. And last year, when a reservation system was still limiting daily visitation, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/yosemite-visitation-2025/?scope=initial\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">4.2 million people still visited the park:\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> its fourth-busiest year on record. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So whether it’s the traffic, the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996404/yosemite-camping-national-park-reservations-delay-2025\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">huge popularity\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/gateways/2991\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yosemite’s campgrounds\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the $100 fee for visitors from abroad\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or the widespread uncertainty caused by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066741/a-morale-bomb-national-park-workers-face-wage-cuts-and-dubiously-legal-review-system\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Trump administration’s attacks\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on National Parks Service staffing last year, there are several reasons some people might be looking to other corners of California for a wilderness getaway this summer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And if that’s you, depending\u003c/span> on what attracted you to the High Sierra park in the first place — like iconic waterfalls, clear, swimmable rivers, scenic drives or wildlife — you may still find what you’re looking for at these six more underrated spots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read more below for some “alternatives to Yosemite” recreation areas within driving distance of the Bay Area that could bring you that same remote mountain feeling — without the stress of reservations or crowds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#A\">Sweeping landscapes at Sunol\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#B\">The clear, swimmable Smith River\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#C\">The rustic mountain town of Etna\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#D\">Scenic mountain drive Sonora Pass\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#E\">Castle Crags’ granite peaks\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#F\">Picturesque June Lake\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047200\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047200\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-entrance-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The road leading to June Lake Loop takes visitors on a 14-mile drive underneath Carson Peak with access to several small towns and campgrounds, as well as lots of lake and mountain recreation. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>Looking for Valley-like views? Soak up sweeping landscapes at Sunol\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Did you know we have our very own “\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol\">Little Yosemite\u003c/a>” right here in the Bay Area? At Sunol Wilderness Regional Park, \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/poi/us/california/sunol/alameda-creek-overlook--formerly-little-yosemite-\">a 4.5-mile round-trip hike\u003c/a> will take you through a gorge that’s not unlike a miniature Yosemite Valley, and up close to stunning cliff sides, over babbling creeks and under gushing waterfalls. And you’re more than likely to spot native birds, wildflowers in the spring and cows all year round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re up for even more adventure, snag a reservation at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/recreation/camping/backpack-camping-faqs#sunol\">Sunol Backpack Campground\u003c/a>, just a few miles from the Visitor Center and parking lot, up to a remarkably remote-feeling cluster of campsites. \u003ca href=\"https://www.redwoodhikes.com/EastBay/SunolCG.html\">Each site is unique\u003c/a>, hidden around rock formations, nestled in giant oak trees or with sweeping vistas of the valley below. Running water is available but needs to be treated, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040242#backpacking-gear\">so don’t forget your filter.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Reservations: \u003c/em>Make sure to call at least two days in advance — or more if you’re aiming for a weekend — \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/recreation/camping/backpack-camping-faqs\">to reserve a backcountry camping spot\u003c/a>. You’ll also need a trail permit, which you can purchase online, in person or over the phone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047203\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2121px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047203\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2121\" height=\"1414\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245.jpg 2121w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2024341245-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2121px) 100vw, 2121px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alameda Creek winds through the Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve. \u003ccite>(Yiming Chen/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"B\">\u003c/a>Love Yosemite’s Merced River? Take a plunge in the clear, swimmable Smith River\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>No trip to Yosemite is complete without a dip in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/things-to-do/adventure-activities/merced-river/\">Merced River\u003c/a>. But if a visit to the national park isn’t in the cards for you this year, consider heading up north — like, way north — to the 140-mile-long \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sixrivers\">Six Rivers National Forest\u003c/a> that runs from the Oregon border to Mendocino County, to get a more remote river experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Betsy Totten, forest staff officer for the national forest, particularly recommends the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sixrivers/recreation/smith-river-national-recreation-area-0\">Smith River National Recreation Area\u003c/a> — \u003ca href=\"https://rivers.gov/river/smith\">the only major undammed river in California\u003c/a> — for its crystal-clear emerald waters, which are “ideal for swimming, kayaking, canoeing and rafting.” She pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://redwood-edventures.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quest-grayfalls.pdf\">Gray Falls Day Use Picnic Area\u003c/a> for the best fishing and \u003ca href=\"https://www.redwoodhikes.com/JedSmith/SandCG.html\">Sand Camp\u003c/a> for its sandy beaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, head to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/klamath-river-trip-dam-removal\">Klamath \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://rivers.gov/river/trinity\">Trinity rivers\u003c/a>, which are fast-flowing and best for anyone looking for a whitewater rafting or kayak adventure down rapids, Totten said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And “keep an eye out for black bears, ospreys, and a variety of fish, including salmon, steelhead, and trout,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally,\u003ca href=\"https://smithriveralliance.org/goose-creek/\"> the South Fork of the Smith River at Goose Creek\u003c/a> could be the best bet for families, where clear pools make for a leisurely afternoon float or swim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>While the area is generally less crowded than others across the state, Totten said campgrounds at popular lakes and river spots can fill up on the weekends, so securing \u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/gateways/1075\">reservations in advance\u003c/a> may be necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047209\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047209\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0074309.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0074309.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0074309-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Mount Shasta emerges through trees in Castle Crags State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California State Parks, 2025)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047210\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047210\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-2000x666.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-2-2048x682.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Horsetail Falls is the largest waterfall in the June Lake Loop in the Eastern Sierra and a popular hiking destination in the summer. Right: Kayakers float on Silver Lake, one of the more remote lakes that make up the June Lake area in the Eastern Sierra. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"C\">\u003c/a>Want that Curry Village vibe? Relax in the rustic mountain town of Etna\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Caleb Agron first went backpacking near the Siskiyou County town of Etna in Northern California, “it reminded me of what I saw in \u003ca href=\"https://articles.anseladams.com/ansel-adams-wilderness/?doing_wp_cron=1751578829.4512479305267333984375\">Ansel Adams Wilderness\u003c/a>,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An iconic stop along the \u003ca href=\"https://northerncaliforniahikingtrails.com/blog/2020/09/16/etna-summit-pct-russian-wilderness/\">Pacific Crest Trail\u003c/a>, the tiny Scott Valley community is the ideal mountain town and jumping-off spot for adventures up north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Situated between the Marble Mountain Wilderness, the Trinity Alps and the Russian Wilderness, there is a wealth of trails and lakes to explore within minutes of town, \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/taylor-lake-trail\">ranging from short jaunts\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/paynes-lake-trail--2\">moderate outings\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/cliff-lake-via-shackelford-creek-trail\">extended weekend trips.\u003c/a> Etna is also a popular spot to begin any fishing, rafting, mountain biking or horseback riding outing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with a population of just under 700 people, the quaint streets of Etna come alive during its \u003ca href=\"https://www.trailsendmusicfest.org/\">annual Trails End Music Festival\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.etnarodeo.com/\">The Etna Rodeo\u003c/a>, two events that bring in crowds from far and wide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything is better than you expect it to be,” Agron said — especially the people, who take pride in their friendliness to visitors. Agron and his cousin Stephen Daniel are the outgoing and incoming managers, respectively, of \u003ca href=\"https://etnabluebird.com/\">The Bluebird Inn\u003c/a>, a relatively new bed and breakfast in an old Victorian house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://etnafarmersmarket.org/\">Etna Farmers Market\u003c/a> is on Saturdays all summer, and its downtown area features artisanal eateries beloved by locals and visitors alike, like general store-turned-restaurant and distillery \u003ca href=\"https://www.dennybarcompany.com/\">Denny Bar Company\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.farmhousebakery.org/\">Farmhouse Bakery\u003c/a>, whose fresh loaves are known far and wide — plus a hardware and sporting goods store for all your adventure needs. And if you’re ready to relax after a long day on the trails, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/mountain-healing-spa-etna\">there’s even a spa right downtown. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>If you’re planning on going backpacking, the wilderness areas around Etna generally only require \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/wilderness\">self-issued overnight and fire permits\u003c/a>, which are easy to come by. During the rodeo and music festivals, hotels can fill up quickly in the area, but the town of Etna also allows \u003ca href=\"https://discoversiskiyou.com/activities/johnson-joss-memorial-park-etna-city-park/\">free tent camping at its city park. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"D\">\u003c/a>Craving a Tioga Pass alternative? Take a scenic mountain drive up and over Sonora Pass\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047201\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1707px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047201\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-2000x3000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Sonora-Pass-6-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At 9,600 feet, Sonora Pass features sweeping views of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, including waterfalls, wildflowers and high alpine lakes. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead of waiting in hourslong traffic on Highway 120 into Yosemite, consider a leisurely drive over \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/sonora-pass-scenic-drive-sonora-to-us-395\">Sonora Pass\u003c/a> instead — and soak in dramatic High Sierra views from the comfort of your car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not Yosemite, but it’s still pretty freaking spectacular,” said Liz Grans, economic development director for Mono County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amanda Carlson, the county’s economic development coordinator, recommended checking out \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/listing/leavitt-falls-vista/1432/\">Leavitt Falls,\u003c/a> which is \u003ca href=\"https://yosemiteparkphotos.com/high-sierra/sonora-pass-photos/sonora-pass-waterfalls/\">one of many waterfalls flowing near the highway\u003c/a> and is viewable from a parking lot and picnic area just off Highway 108.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the apex of the pass, you can spot various peaks, or keep going for a sweeping view of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/west-walker-river/\">West Walker River\u003c/a> and Yosemite to the south.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047202\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047202\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-2000x666.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Side-by-side-Downpage-1-2048x682.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A small waterfall flows near Sonora Pass, a scenic drive over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, on Oct. 10, 2024. Right: Road sign at Sonora Pass. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11640709/how-this-ghost-towns-curse-backfired-on-park-rangers\">Bodie State Historic Park\u003c/a> is a hidden gem of the Eastern Sierra, where nearly 200 buildings of a historic gold and silver mining town — now a ghost town — still stand, including a stamp mill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can walk the streets, and it is just how it was left,” Grans said. “When the gold ran out and people started to leave, and they didn’t have cars, many of them didn’t have horses or carts or anything, so the furniture — their clothing — is all still there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>The drive over Sonora Pass from the Bay Area takes a full day, so make sure to plan to stay overnight on the eastern side of the Sierra. Bridgeport is the closest major town to the pass, but Mono City and Lee Vining — which offer easy access to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046670/mono-lake-could-be-losing-its-california-gulls\">biodiverse Mono Lake\u003c/a> — aren’t far away, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"E\">\u003c/a>Want Half Dome without the long hike? Scale Castle Crags’ granite peaks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047196\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047196\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064419A.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064419A.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064419A-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The famous granite ‘crags,’ formed around 160 million years ago, rise up over Castle Crags State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California State Parks, 2025)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/permits/234652\">Permits to scale Yosemite’s Half Dome\u003c/a> are notoriously hard to come by — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1941829/the-half-dome-lottery-system-was-supposed-to-make-the-hike-safer-this-study-says-it-hasnt\">and the 14-mile round-trip hike is no walk in the park, either. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking for a similar granite landscape with a more achievable goal, consider \u003ca href=\"https://mountshastatrailassociation.org/trails/castle-crags/castle-dome-and-indian-springs/\">Castle Dome\u003c/a> in Shasta County’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=454\">Castle Crags State Park.\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://castlecragspark.org/the-park\">Formed around 160 million years ago\u003c/a>, the rocks that give the park its iconic “crags” not only feel ancient but are also home to a wide biodiversity of wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 5.4-mile round trip is much more manageable than Half Dome, but it’s still quite a trek, climbing 2,000 feet of elevation that brings hikers up and around steep granite cliffs, revealing a full view of Mount Shasta ahead. Most hikers choose to turn around at the base of the dome, but \u003ca href=\"https://californiathroughmylens.com/castle-dome-hike-in-castle-crags-state-park/\">if you’re an experienced climber, you can even attempt the summit itself. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Don’t forget to check out nearby \u003ca href=\"https://www.visitcalifornia.com/places-to-visit/dunsmuir/\">Dunsmuir\u003c/a> along a calm portion of the Sacramento River, with swimming holes and lunch spots aplenty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>The state park has 76 campsites that are available on a first-come, first-served basis for $25. It costs $8 to enter the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047197\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047197\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064423A.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064423A.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/P0064423A-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The granite crags at Castle Crags State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California State Parks, 2025)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"F\">\u003c/a>Seeking refuge at a high-altitude alpine lake? Visit picturesque June Lake\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re still hoping to head to the High Sierra but don’t want to fight Yosemite’s crowds, try the \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/june-lake/\">June Lake Loop\u003c/a>, a 15-mile detour off Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With four lakes, numerous resorts and tons of trails, you can escape deep into the wilderness or enjoy a luxurious visit to the town of June Lake, often dubbed “the Switzerland of California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/grant-lake/\">Grant Lake,\u003c/a> the biggest of the four, is open to recreational speedboats after 10 a.m., while \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/june-lake/\">June\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/lakes-rivers-creeks/gull-lake/\">Gull\u003c/a> lakes are more suited to fishing and paddling. The most remote is\u003ca href=\"https://www.silverlakeresort.net/\"> Silver Lake,\u003c/a> where visitors can grab lunch and go out on a kayak to explore the picturesque alpine environment. Hikers and backpackers start their journeys from the loop to access the Inyo National Forest and Ansel Adams Wilderness areas, \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/parker-lake-trail\">including the scenic 3.5-mile hike to Parker Lake.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047198\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047198\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/June-Lake-Gull-lake-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view from above Gull Lake, one of the four lakes that make up the June Lake Loop, where visitors can paddle, fish and swim in the summer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Silver Lake is my favorite,” Carlson said. “We rented kayaks and went out on that very same day; there were only two other human beings on the lake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down closer to town, popular activities include trout fishing, biking and boating, \u003ca href=\"https://www.monocounty.org/event/june-lake-autumn-beer-festival/7324/\">plus the annual beer festival every fall, hosted at Gull Lake Park.\u003c/a> As far as accommodations go, visitors can find everything from upscale resorts to more rustic spots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Accommodations: \u003c/em>June Lake is not nearly as crowded as nearby Yosemite — or even Mammoth Lakes, which can get extremely busy, especially in the wintertime. Still, be sure to book early for long weekends or peak summer times. If you strike out on finding something in your price range on the loop itself, try Lee Vining or Bridgeport to the north, with even more options to choose from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047205\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047205\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Silver-Lake-August-2017-AV-2-Mono-County-Tourism-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boats are docked at Silver Lake, a remote lake near June Lake, California, in the Eastern Sierra. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Amanda Carlson/Mono County Tourism)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "its-the-most-beautiful-taco-bell-in-the-world-heres-why-it-could-never-be-built-today",
"title": "It’s the Most Beautiful Taco Bell in the World. Here’s Why It Could Never Be Built Today",
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"headTitle": "It’s the Most Beautiful Taco Bell in the World. Here’s Why It Could Never Be Built Today | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve ever driven south from\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\"> San Francisco\u003c/a> on California Highway 1 towards Pacifica, you know that moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You round a curve, and there it is all of a sudden: the glorious Pacific Ocean. Five minutes ago, you could have been on any highway in America. But now, it’s clear. You’re in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re seeing the ocean to your right, and all these little hamlets located in these small, little valleys on your left,” said Henry Lie, who was born and raised in Pacifica. “And that’s all Pacifica, just a stringlet of various neighborhoods [tucked] into smaller valleys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon enough, you’ll see Pacifica State Beach stretching out before you. Locals call it Linda Mar beach, but back in the day, it was San Pedro Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very picturesque, and it just so happens, at the very center is a Taco Bell,” Lie said. “But it’s not a standard Taco Bell. It’s different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079611\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079611\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People enter the Taco Bell Cantina in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sitting in a prime location nearly touching the sand, this Taco Bell is a little more stately than the average fast-food restaurant. It’s got dark brown wood siding, a deck looking out over the Pacific Ocean and a lot of history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lie has always wondered how this Taco Bell ended up with such an incredible spot on the beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A restaurant on the beach\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The town we now know as Pacifica was incorporated in 1957, but back in the day, it used to be a collection of distinct coastal communities — places like Sharp Park, Rockaway Beach, and Vallemar. After World War II, the new city served as a bedroom community for San Francisco, home to families and a slower pace of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local historian Deb Wong said that baby boomers in Pacifica were craving something more than what the sleepy town had to offer. So, in the 1960s, a real estate agent named Bud Wiechers offered up a possible solution: a beachside restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11983182 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Crowds-flee.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, Linda Mar beach was a quiet, sandy strip. “Just a really nice beach with a few structures on it,” Wong said. To Pacifica locals, the Wander Inn was the mainstay — its motto says it all: “Wander Inn, Stagger Out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiechers planned to turn a small lot he owned nearby on Linda Mar beach into an A&W franchise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone was excited by the prospect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The A&W attracted a lot of attention,” Wong said. “And it gave people ideas about businesses that they could build on the beach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That made the Pacifica planning commission wary of the idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were uneasy about private property on the beach and too much building on the beach,” Wong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite their reservations, the city did eventually grant Wiechers permission to build his restaurant, on the condition that he deed some land to the public to ensure access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The beachside establishment \u003ca href=\"https://www.newspapers.com/image/744727110/?match=1&terms=A%26W\">opened\u003c/a> in the spring of 1972. And late in April, the restaurant held an official grand opening celebration. Miss Pacifica even made an appearance to help cut the ribbon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former A&W employee Nancy Cook Long said the building had a “rustic-looking kind of design.” The exterior was covered in wood siding. A local paper described the intention: “blend with its marine location.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the restaurant, though, \u003cem>different\u003c/em> aesthetic choices had been made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was totally 70s; it was orange and brown,” Pacifica local Kelly Rose said. As a teen, Rose worked at the A&W.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It had a brown shag carpet, dark wood paneling; it had a fireplace. The tables were dark wood, and they had a very thick layer of varithane on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1913px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1913\" height=\"1275\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed.jpg 1913w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1913px) 100vw, 1913px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers walk out of Taco Bell Cantina with their orders in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rose remembered a long counter — typical of a fast food restaurant — and then two sets of doors. One leads to the parking lot, the other to the beach. The back patio was built on stilts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told us it was built on stilts, because twice a year the water would come up and go under it,” Cook Long said. ”And that was absolutely unbelievable to a lot of us, like, are you kidding?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even back then — before Taco Bell and internet fame — the restaurant managed to achieve its own version of virality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It received recognition in a surfing magazine as the best located fast food restaurant in California,” Wong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the A&W wouldn’t last forever. In 1985, it closed its doors. The reasons for the closure, as reported in a local newspaper at the time, included the owner-operator’s scheduling constraints and plans for the opening of Wendy’s restaurant nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What’s next for the primo locale?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, locals had lined up at the beachside A&W — but a new chapter was about to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The owner of the San Pedro Beach land on which the A&W Restaurant has stood for many years has bought out the lease and is completing negotiations with another firm which contemplates replacing it with a Taco Bell restaurant,” the \u003cem>Pacifica Tribune\u003c/em> said on July 31, 1985.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12079104 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040726Bay-Curious_Cambrian-Plaza_GH_019_qed.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That year, the restaurant transitioned to a Taco Bell. For locals who grew up with the A&W, the change was bittersweet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really sad about it,” Long said. “Because A&W [was] unique. It was just not like every other fast food place. It was an institution for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the past 40 years, the Taco Bell here has thrived. Dubbed by news outlets and influencers alike as “‘the world’s most beautiful Taco Bell,”’ it has attracted visitors from around the globe. Taco Bell even lists it on their \u003ca href=\"https://www.tacobell.com/stories/Coolesttacobells\">website\u003c/a> as the number one most beautiful Taco Bell you never knew existed. American surfer Kai Lenny said that every time he surfs at nearby Mavericks, he stops by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hl2M9BpEdg\">Taco Bell for a burrito.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, in 2019, the Taco Bell became a Cantina, an establishment that can legally sell alcohol. The change has only helped make it more popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lie, our question-asker, said it’s one of his go-to spots when friends visit the Bay Area. “I feel like it’s a Bay Area landmark that really only locals know,” Lie said. “It is fun because it’s an interesting quirk of our hometown, and it’s something that makes Pacifica unique.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the day, it’s the location that does the heavy lifting. You can get a spicy potato soft taco anywhere — but how often can you eat it while watching surfers take on the rolling waves of the Pacific?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not very often. The reason? California’s Coastal Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The Coastal Act and the Taco Bell\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Charles Lester is a coastal policy expert. And when he looks at the Taco Bell, he sees evidence of a very different time in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I see it, I go, oh, that must be from the ‘60s or the ‘70s, without knowing for sure,” Lester said. “It looks like a lot of other developments in different places in California that were some of the reasons why we have a Coastal Act and why we decided to protect the coasts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079609\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079609\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Informational signs at Pacifica State Beach in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Around the same time Pacifica locals were raising their concerns about private businesses on public beaches, similar battles were playing out up and down California’s coast. Reactions to the Sea Ranch development and a proposed nuclear plant at Bodega Head, both in Sonoma County, are just two examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Places like Malibu were already starting to see this cheek-to-jowl residential development along the beach,” Lester said. “People were getting concerned about not being able to get to the beach or see it from Highway 1 the way they used to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citizens took their concerns to local and state officials, but Sacramento was slow to respond. The growing unease spurred a grassroots movement that would come to impact California forever. In 1972 — the same year the A&W opened its doors — California voters passed Proposition 20. It established the California Coastal Commission, a body whose mandate is to regulate development and protect public access along the coastline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California now has one of the most protected coastlines in the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The A&W — and by extension the Taco Bell — snuck in before regulations went into effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A future hanging in balance\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For Lester, the bigger question now is of the building’s future. When I met up with him at his home, he’d come prepared. His 40-inch television screen turned monitor showed an aerial view of Linda Mar beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to look at this 2023 photo because it shows you where the wave run-up was at the time,” Lester points to a line in the sand. “You can see that at some point, right before this photo was taken, the waves were coming up right to the toe of that structure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079612\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079612\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Families and individuals enjoy a day at Pacifica State Beach in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With just two meters of sea level rise, he said, the ocean could push right up against the restaurant regularly. Throw in a storm, and the waves could inundate it. \u003cem>When\u003c/em> that will happen is still unclear — some extreme estimates say in\u003ca href=\"https://scripps.ucsd.edu/research/climate-change-resources/faq-sea-level-rise-and-california\"> 75 years, \u003c/a>but most projections put it 100 to 200 years away, depending on emissions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my mind, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll be spending so much time responding to the wave attack and the wave damage and the storms that it won’t make any more sense economically,” Lester said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Taco Bell might qualify as an ‘existing structure’ under the Coastal Act, Lester said, potentially entitling it to some form of protection. If he could, though, he’d pick it up and move it inland. This form of managed retreat, he said, is our best option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of people are thinking, given the inevitability of sea level rise and the immense energy we’re talking about in the ocean, that it’s going to be retreat, planned or unplanned, in a lot of places,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, the Pacifica Taco Bell exists as an anomaly. It was built before modern rules, giving it a prime spot on the sand and very little competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever you put there is going to be popular,” Wong said. “But the thing is, you can’t put anything else there, and Taco Bell isn’t giving it up, and they are famous now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in tape: \u003c/strong>We are on Highway One, officially coming off 280 onto Highway One. And oh my gosh, there she is, the mighty Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Henry Lie in tape: \u003c/strong>And you’re seeing, like the ocean to your right, and all these little like hamlets on your left and and that whole that’s all Pacifica, just a stringlet of various neighborhoods nooked into smaller valleys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in studio:\u003c/strong> Bay Curious reporter Gabriela Glueck and I are following directions from question asker Henry Lie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>We pass neighborhoods like Sharp Park and Rockaway Beach on our way to an iconic Pacifica landmark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in tape:\u003c/strong> I love this drive in…. I mean, right now, it’s like, sun soaked, which is actually rare. Usually, I feel like, as you come to Pacifica, you’re like stepping into the fog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Henry Lie in tape:\u003c/strong> And so you get further south, and you come across this crest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in tape: \u003c/strong>Wow! Okay, so we’re passing over where the pier juts out into the ocean, seeing some jagged rocks on the horizon as we make our way toward the beach. Which beach are we going to?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Henry Lie in tape:\u003c/strong> I think it’s technically called Pacifica State Beach, but everyone calls it Linda Mar. And then you notice this one big brown building…and all of a sudden you see that it’s a Taco Bell, on the beach!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>This Taco Bell is legendary. Tiktokers can’t resist it, and Bay Area locals are no different. It’s a fast food restaurant like any other… but the views! The weathered wood exterior has an organic feel, blending in with the natural beauty around it. There’s a palm tree right next to the parking lot and the back porch of the restaurant is built on stilts right on the sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in studio: \u003c/strong>Henry wanted to know more about this Taco Bell. How did it end up on the beach like this? And what’s gonna happen to it in the future? It’s a story that goes beyond Pacifica and asks who are California beaches for? Who gets to use them and how.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Even though the Taco Bell parking lot is packed today, back in the 1960s and 70s Pacifica was pretty quiet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>I’d say it was mostly middle-class families who were just starting out post war.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Nancy Cook Long grew up here back when it was not a place on most people’s radar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>Everybody knew everybody. You played outside, kick the can and freeze tag, and you rode cardboard boxes down the sides of hills. …it was just a little hometown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The beach at Linda Mar, known back in the day as San Pedro beach – was pretty bare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>Certainly in high school, people would go hang out at the beach. But before that, it was just, I’m going to say, almost something we took for granted and I don’t think it had anywhere near the popularity for surfing that it does now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>There were a few small buildings, but all in all, mostly a stretch of sand. Until that is, a man by the name of “Bud” Wikers got an idea to turn a small oceanside lot he owned into a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong: \u003c/strong>He knew that with the baby boomers out there who were demanding something more than what we had in Pacifica at the time, he thought it would be a great idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>As local historian Deb Wong tells it, Bud got in touch with A&W, the root beer company, to set up a franchise. Back in the day their restaurants were really popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A&W Advertising Song\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>But not everyone in Pacifica was totally into the idea of a restaurant on the beach. Weicher’s plan to build so close to the water sparked a big debate in the community. Who are the beaches for?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong:\u003c/strong> The restaurant was like an open invitation for others who wish to park their businesses on the beach. So you know, let one build there, and others will follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The Pacifica planning commission wasn’t that jazzed about people building commercial structures on the beach at all, Deb says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong:\u003c/strong> The A&W on the beach was the main example of what could happen if beach property were privately owned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Despite concerns, the commission approved the plan, but required Weichers to deed some strips of land near the building to the public to ensure access and public use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The beachside establishment opened in the spring of 1972. And late in April, the restaurant held an official grand opening celebration. Miss Pacifica even made an appearance to help cut the ribbon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The outside may have been meant to blend in with the dunes, but the inside made no such concessions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Rose: \u003c/strong>It was totally 70s. It was orange and brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Pacifica local Kelly Rose worked at the restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Rose: \u003c/strong>Oh my gosh, I can remember it so well. The image of it is burned into my memory banks. It had a shag a brown shag carpet., dark wood paneling. It had a fireplace. The tables were dark wood and they had a very thick layer of varathane on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Kelly remembers a long counter and two sets of glass doors. One led to the parking lot, the other, to the beach. She says the counter was staffed mostly by high school girls, also donning the orange and brown. Slip over aprons paired with triangular head scarves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Rose: \u003c/strong>When the weather was nice, which wasn’t often, there would be times when every cashier would be working, taking orders. So I imagine it was probably grossing a lot for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The beachside location was a big draw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>They told us it was built on stilts, because twice a year the water would come up and go under it. And I worked there one night and you could see it come out onto the parking lot, out in front. It was crazy. We just couldn’t believe it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Even in those pre-internet days, the A&W achieved its own version of virality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong: \u003c/strong>It received recognition in a surfing magazine as the best located fast food restaurant in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>But the A&W didn’t last forever…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voiceover: \u003c/strong>Pacifica Tribune, July 1985 – Beachfront A&W to be replaced by a Taco Bell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong: \u003c/strong>Well, you know what it is, location, location, location, and that’s it. Whatever you put there is going to be popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>For locals like Nancy who grew up with the burger joint, the shift to a Taco Bell was bittersweet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long:\u003c/strong> I was really sad about it, because A&W is unique. It was just not like every other fast food place. It was there for a long time. It was an institution for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>In 2019, the Taco Bell became a “cantina” and now serves alcohol. When Olivia and I visit, we put that part of the menu to the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in scene: \u003c/strong>OK, so we went with the frozen margarita with premium tequila, because that’s how we roll on Bay Curious. We have two potato …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck in scene: \u003c/strong>spicy potato soft tacos…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Even on a weekday afternoon, the Taco Bell is packed. There are people waiting to place their orders on the self-service tablets, kids munching tacos and groups hanging out on the back deck enjoying 32 ounce slushy margaritas out of novelty cups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in scene:\u003c/strong> A yard, 32 ounces? Oh my god, no. Thank you. Regular! (laughs)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in studio:\u003c/strong> We’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back we’ll learn why you don’t see many other restaurants on beaches in California. And what sea level rise could mean for this beachside spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, and while we’re on break, maybe take a moment to donate to KQED? It takes just a few minutes and helps keep shows ours running. \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/donate\">KQED.org/donate\u003c/a> is the place to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor Message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We’re talking about *THAT* Taco Bell in Pacifica – a cantina that’s literally right on the beach. Some people love it, but others have fought hard to prevent places like it from popping up along the California coast. Reporter Gabriela Glueck takes it from here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Around the same time Pacificans were raising concerns about the A&W, similar battles were playing out up and down the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>People were getting concerned about not being able to get to the beach or see it from Highway One, the way they used to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>This is Charles Lester. He worked for the State of California and the California Coastal Commission for twenty years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>And places like Malibu were already starting to see kind of this cheek to jowl residential development along the beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Efforts to rein in coastal developments were slow going. But out of these local fights, a broader grassroots response was taking shape: the “save our coast” movement. Californians put an initiative on the ballot, and it passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newsclip: \u003c/strong>The passage of Proposition 20 on November the 8th has signaled the beginning of the most ambitious and comprehensive effort ever mounted in this nation and perhaps the world. For the purpose of developing a process for managing coastal zone resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>The reason why we have an initiative is because there was failed efforts in the legislature to do anything about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Proposition 20 established the California Coastal Commission to regulate development and protect public access along the coastline. California now has one of the most protected coastlines in the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newsclip:\u003c/strong> It has taken many hard lessons for us here in California to begin to understand the need for land and marine resource conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Approved by voters in 1972, the proposition didn’t go into effect until 1973. That’s a year after the A&W opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>When I see it I go, oh, that must be from the 60s or the 70s, it looks like a lot of other developments in different places in California that were some of the reasons why we have a Coastal Act and why we decided to protect the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>That old A&W made it onto the beach in the nick of time. The building that would later become the Taco Bell, was grandfathered in. And thanks to prop 20, competition in the beachside fast food scene is scarce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>For Charles, the bigger question now is of the building’s future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>It’s a challenging location when you’re that close to the surf zone and you get big storms, the waves are going to come up, and eventually, with sea level rise, you’re going to have some serious issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>With just two meters of sea level rise, he says, the ocean would push right up against the restaurant. \u003cem>When\u003c/em> that will happen is still unclear—but some estimates put that at 75 years from now, but most projections put it 100 to 200 years away, depending on emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>In my mind, yeah, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll be spending so much time, you know, responding to the wave attack and the wave damage and the storms that it won’t make any more sense economically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Charles says the Taco Bell would likely qualify as an ‘existing structure’ under the Coastal Act. That could make it eligible for a protective structure. Think sea wall or some other form of shoreline protection. But…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester:\u003c/strong> …. a lot of people are thinking given the inevitability of sea level rise and the immense energy we’re talking about in the ocean, that it’s going to be retreat, planned or unplanned in a lot of places.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ambi of inside the Taco Bell\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price and Gabriela Glueck in scene: \u003c/strong>Mmm. It’s like a lighter churro. It tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nGabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Back at the Taco Bell, on this gloriously sunny day, it’s hard to imagine this place not being here. For now though, for as long as it lasts, it’s safe to say it will remain iconic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was Bay Curious reporter Gabriela Glueck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Maha Sanad, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey, Katie Sprenger, and everyone on Team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Pacifica Taco Bell, just outside of San Francisco, is legendary for its beachfront views and retro architecture. How did a fast food chain end up with such prime real estate? ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve ever driven south from\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\"> San Francisco\u003c/a> on California Highway 1 towards Pacifica, you know that moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You round a curve, and there it is all of a sudden: the glorious Pacific Ocean. Five minutes ago, you could have been on any highway in America. But now, it’s clear. You’re in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re seeing the ocean to your right, and all these little hamlets located in these small, little valleys on your left,” said Henry Lie, who was born and raised in Pacifica. “And that’s all Pacifica, just a stringlet of various neighborhoods [tucked] into smaller valleys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon enough, you’ll see Pacifica State Beach stretching out before you. Locals call it Linda Mar beach, but back in the day, it was San Pedro Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very picturesque, and it just so happens, at the very center is a Taco Bell,” Lie said. “But it’s not a standard Taco Bell. It’s different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079611\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079611\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02363_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People enter the Taco Bell Cantina in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sitting in a prime location nearly touching the sand, this Taco Bell is a little more stately than the average fast-food restaurant. It’s got dark brown wood siding, a deck looking out over the Pacific Ocean and a lot of history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lie has always wondered how this Taco Bell ended up with such an incredible spot on the beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A restaurant on the beach\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The town we now know as Pacifica was incorporated in 1957, but back in the day, it used to be a collection of distinct coastal communities — places like Sharp Park, Rockaway Beach, and Vallemar. After World War II, the new city served as a bedroom community for San Francisco, home to families and a slower pace of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local historian Deb Wong said that baby boomers in Pacifica were craving something more than what the sleepy town had to offer. So, in the 1960s, a real estate agent named Bud Wiechers offered up a possible solution: a beachside restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, Linda Mar beach was a quiet, sandy strip. “Just a really nice beach with a few structures on it,” Wong said. To Pacifica locals, the Wander Inn was the mainstay — its motto says it all: “Wander Inn, Stagger Out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiechers planned to turn a small lot he owned nearby on Linda Mar beach into an A&W franchise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone was excited by the prospect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The A&W attracted a lot of attention,” Wong said. “And it gave people ideas about businesses that they could build on the beach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That made the Pacifica planning commission wary of the idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were uneasy about private property on the beach and too much building on the beach,” Wong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite their reservations, the city did eventually grant Wiechers permission to build his restaurant, on the condition that he deed some land to the public to ensure access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The beachside establishment \u003ca href=\"https://www.newspapers.com/image/744727110/?match=1&terms=A%26W\">opened\u003c/a> in the spring of 1972. And late in April, the restaurant held an official grand opening celebration. Miss Pacifica even made an appearance to help cut the ribbon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former A&W employee Nancy Cook Long said the building had a “rustic-looking kind of design.” The exterior was covered in wood siding. A local paper described the intention: “blend with its marine location.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the restaurant, though, \u003cem>different\u003c/em> aesthetic choices had been made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was totally 70s; it was orange and brown,” Pacifica local Kelly Rose said. As a teen, Rose worked at the A&W.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It had a brown shag carpet, dark wood paneling; it had a fireplace. The tables were dark wood, and they had a very thick layer of varithane on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1913px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1913\" height=\"1275\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed.jpg 1913w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01610_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1913px) 100vw, 1913px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers walk out of Taco Bell Cantina with their orders in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rose remembered a long counter — typical of a fast food restaurant — and then two sets of doors. One leads to the parking lot, the other to the beach. The back patio was built on stilts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told us it was built on stilts, because twice a year the water would come up and go under it,” Cook Long said. ”And that was absolutely unbelievable to a lot of us, like, are you kidding?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even back then — before Taco Bell and internet fame — the restaurant managed to achieve its own version of virality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It received recognition in a surfing magazine as the best located fast food restaurant in California,” Wong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the A&W wouldn’t last forever. In 1985, it closed its doors. The reasons for the closure, as reported in a local newspaper at the time, included the owner-operator’s scheduling constraints and plans for the opening of Wendy’s restaurant nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What’s next for the primo locale?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, locals had lined up at the beachside A&W — but a new chapter was about to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The owner of the San Pedro Beach land on which the A&W Restaurant has stood for many years has bought out the lease and is completing negotiations with another firm which contemplates replacing it with a Taco Bell restaurant,” the \u003cem>Pacifica Tribune\u003c/em> said on July 31, 1985.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That year, the restaurant transitioned to a Taco Bell. For locals who grew up with the A&W, the change was bittersweet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really sad about it,” Long said. “Because A&W [was] unique. It was just not like every other fast food place. It was an institution for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the past 40 years, the Taco Bell here has thrived. Dubbed by news outlets and influencers alike as “‘the world’s most beautiful Taco Bell,”’ it has attracted visitors from around the globe. Taco Bell even lists it on their \u003ca href=\"https://www.tacobell.com/stories/Coolesttacobells\">website\u003c/a> as the number one most beautiful Taco Bell you never knew existed. American surfer Kai Lenny said that every time he surfs at nearby Mavericks, he stops by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hl2M9BpEdg\">Taco Bell for a burrito.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, in 2019, the Taco Bell became a Cantina, an establishment that can legally sell alcohol. The change has only helped make it more popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lie, our question-asker, said it’s one of his go-to spots when friends visit the Bay Area. “I feel like it’s a Bay Area landmark that really only locals know,” Lie said. “It is fun because it’s an interesting quirk of our hometown, and it’s something that makes Pacifica unique.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the day, it’s the location that does the heavy lifting. You can get a spicy potato soft taco anywhere — but how often can you eat it while watching surfers take on the rolling waves of the Pacific?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not very often. The reason? California’s Coastal Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The Coastal Act and the Taco Bell\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Charles Lester is a coastal policy expert. And when he looks at the Taco Bell, he sees evidence of a very different time in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I see it, I go, oh, that must be from the ‘60s or the ‘70s, without knowing for sure,” Lester said. “It looks like a lot of other developments in different places in California that were some of the reasons why we have a Coastal Act and why we decided to protect the coasts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079609\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079609\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02215_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Informational signs at Pacifica State Beach in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Around the same time Pacifica locals were raising their concerns about private businesses on public beaches, similar battles were playing out up and down California’s coast. Reactions to the Sea Ranch development and a proposed nuclear plant at Bodega Head, both in Sonoma County, are just two examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Places like Malibu were already starting to see this cheek-to-jowl residential development along the beach,” Lester said. “People were getting concerned about not being able to get to the beach or see it from Highway 1 the way they used to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citizens took their concerns to local and state officials, but Sacramento was slow to respond. The growing unease spurred a grassroots movement that would come to impact California forever. In 1972 — the same year the A&W opened its doors — California voters passed Proposition 20. It established the California Coastal Commission, a body whose mandate is to regulate development and protect public access along the coastline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California now has one of the most protected coastlines in the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The A&W — and by extension the Taco Bell — snuck in before regulations went into effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A future hanging in balance\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For Lester, the bigger question now is of the building’s future. When I met up with him at his home, he’d come prepared. His 40-inch television screen turned monitor showed an aerial view of Linda Mar beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to look at this 2023 photo because it shows you where the wave run-up was at the time,” Lester points to a line in the sand. “You can see that at some point, right before this photo was taken, the waves were coming up right to the toe of that structure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079612\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079612\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell02401_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Families and individuals enjoy a day at Pacifica State Beach in Pacifica, California, on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With just two meters of sea level rise, he said, the ocean could push right up against the restaurant regularly. Throw in a storm, and the waves could inundate it. \u003cem>When\u003c/em> that will happen is still unclear — some extreme estimates say in\u003ca href=\"https://scripps.ucsd.edu/research/climate-change-resources/faq-sea-level-rise-and-california\"> 75 years, \u003c/a>but most projections put it 100 to 200 years away, depending on emissions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my mind, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll be spending so much time responding to the wave attack and the wave damage and the storms that it won’t make any more sense economically,” Lester said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Taco Bell might qualify as an ‘existing structure’ under the Coastal Act, Lester said, potentially entitling it to some form of protection. If he could, though, he’d pick it up and move it inland. This form of managed retreat, he said, is our best option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of people are thinking, given the inevitability of sea level rise and the immense energy we’re talking about in the ocean, that it’s going to be retreat, planned or unplanned, in a lot of places,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, the Pacifica Taco Bell exists as an anomaly. It was built before modern rules, giving it a prime spot on the sand and very little competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever you put there is going to be popular,” Wong said. “But the thing is, you can’t put anything else there, and Taco Bell isn’t giving it up, and they are famous now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in tape: \u003c/strong>We are on Highway One, officially coming off 280 onto Highway One. And oh my gosh, there she is, the mighty Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Henry Lie in tape: \u003c/strong>And you’re seeing, like the ocean to your right, and all these little like hamlets on your left and and that whole that’s all Pacifica, just a stringlet of various neighborhoods nooked into smaller valleys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in studio:\u003c/strong> Bay Curious reporter Gabriela Glueck and I are following directions from question asker Henry Lie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>We pass neighborhoods like Sharp Park and Rockaway Beach on our way to an iconic Pacifica landmark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in tape:\u003c/strong> I love this drive in…. I mean, right now, it’s like, sun soaked, which is actually rare. Usually, I feel like, as you come to Pacifica, you’re like stepping into the fog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Henry Lie in tape:\u003c/strong> And so you get further south, and you come across this crest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in tape: \u003c/strong>Wow! Okay, so we’re passing over where the pier juts out into the ocean, seeing some jagged rocks on the horizon as we make our way toward the beach. Which beach are we going to?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Henry Lie in tape:\u003c/strong> I think it’s technically called Pacifica State Beach, but everyone calls it Linda Mar. And then you notice this one big brown building…and all of a sudden you see that it’s a Taco Bell, on the beach!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>This Taco Bell is legendary. Tiktokers can’t resist it, and Bay Area locals are no different. It’s a fast food restaurant like any other… but the views! The weathered wood exterior has an organic feel, blending in with the natural beauty around it. There’s a palm tree right next to the parking lot and the back porch of the restaurant is built on stilts right on the sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in studio: \u003c/strong>Henry wanted to know more about this Taco Bell. How did it end up on the beach like this? And what’s gonna happen to it in the future? It’s a story that goes beyond Pacifica and asks who are California beaches for? Who gets to use them and how.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Even though the Taco Bell parking lot is packed today, back in the 1960s and 70s Pacifica was pretty quiet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>I’d say it was mostly middle-class families who were just starting out post war.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Nancy Cook Long grew up here back when it was not a place on most people’s radar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>Everybody knew everybody. You played outside, kick the can and freeze tag, and you rode cardboard boxes down the sides of hills. …it was just a little hometown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The beach at Linda Mar, known back in the day as San Pedro beach – was pretty bare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>Certainly in high school, people would go hang out at the beach. But before that, it was just, I’m going to say, almost something we took for granted and I don’t think it had anywhere near the popularity for surfing that it does now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>There were a few small buildings, but all in all, mostly a stretch of sand. Until that is, a man by the name of “Bud” Wikers got an idea to turn a small oceanside lot he owned into a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong: \u003c/strong>He knew that with the baby boomers out there who were demanding something more than what we had in Pacifica at the time, he thought it would be a great idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>As local historian Deb Wong tells it, Bud got in touch with A&W, the root beer company, to set up a franchise. Back in the day their restaurants were really popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A&W Advertising Song\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>But not everyone in Pacifica was totally into the idea of a restaurant on the beach. Weicher’s plan to build so close to the water sparked a big debate in the community. Who are the beaches for?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong:\u003c/strong> The restaurant was like an open invitation for others who wish to park their businesses on the beach. So you know, let one build there, and others will follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The Pacifica planning commission wasn’t that jazzed about people building commercial structures on the beach at all, Deb says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong:\u003c/strong> The A&W on the beach was the main example of what could happen if beach property were privately owned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Despite concerns, the commission approved the plan, but required Weichers to deed some strips of land near the building to the public to ensure access and public use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The beachside establishment opened in the spring of 1972. And late in April, the restaurant held an official grand opening celebration. Miss Pacifica even made an appearance to help cut the ribbon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The outside may have been meant to blend in with the dunes, but the inside made no such concessions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Rose: \u003c/strong>It was totally 70s. It was orange and brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Pacifica local Kelly Rose worked at the restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Rose: \u003c/strong>Oh my gosh, I can remember it so well. The image of it is burned into my memory banks. It had a shag a brown shag carpet., dark wood paneling. It had a fireplace. The tables were dark wood and they had a very thick layer of varathane on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Kelly remembers a long counter and two sets of glass doors. One led to the parking lot, the other, to the beach. She says the counter was staffed mostly by high school girls, also donning the orange and brown. Slip over aprons paired with triangular head scarves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Rose: \u003c/strong>When the weather was nice, which wasn’t often, there would be times when every cashier would be working, taking orders. So I imagine it was probably grossing a lot for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>The beachside location was a big draw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long: \u003c/strong>They told us it was built on stilts, because twice a year the water would come up and go under it. And I worked there one night and you could see it come out onto the parking lot, out in front. It was crazy. We just couldn’t believe it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Even in those pre-internet days, the A&W achieved its own version of virality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong: \u003c/strong>It received recognition in a surfing magazine as the best located fast food restaurant in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>But the A&W didn’t last forever…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voiceover: \u003c/strong>Pacifica Tribune, July 1985 – Beachfront A&W to be replaced by a Taco Bell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Deb Wong: \u003c/strong>Well, you know what it is, location, location, location, and that’s it. Whatever you put there is going to be popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>For locals like Nancy who grew up with the burger joint, the shift to a Taco Bell was bittersweet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nancy Cook Long:\u003c/strong> I was really sad about it, because A&W is unique. It was just not like every other fast food place. It was there for a long time. It was an institution for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>In 2019, the Taco Bell became a “cantina” and now serves alcohol. When Olivia and I visit, we put that part of the menu to the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in scene: \u003c/strong>OK, so we went with the frozen margarita with premium tequila, because that’s how we roll on Bay Curious. We have two potato …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck in scene: \u003c/strong>spicy potato soft tacos…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Even on a weekday afternoon, the Taco Bell is packed. There are people waiting to place their orders on the self-service tablets, kids munching tacos and groups hanging out on the back deck enjoying 32 ounce slushy margaritas out of novelty cups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in scene:\u003c/strong> A yard, 32 ounces? Oh my god, no. Thank you. Regular! (laughs)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price in studio:\u003c/strong> We’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back we’ll learn why you don’t see many other restaurants on beaches in California. And what sea level rise could mean for this beachside spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, and while we’re on break, maybe take a moment to donate to KQED? It takes just a few minutes and helps keep shows ours running. \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/donate\">KQED.org/donate\u003c/a> is the place to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor Message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We’re talking about *THAT* Taco Bell in Pacifica – a cantina that’s literally right on the beach. Some people love it, but others have fought hard to prevent places like it from popping up along the California coast. Reporter Gabriela Glueck takes it from here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Around the same time Pacificans were raising concerns about the A&W, similar battles were playing out up and down the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>People were getting concerned about not being able to get to the beach or see it from Highway One, the way they used to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>This is Charles Lester. He worked for the State of California and the California Coastal Commission for twenty years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>And places like Malibu were already starting to see kind of this cheek to jowl residential development along the beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Efforts to rein in coastal developments were slow going. But out of these local fights, a broader grassroots response was taking shape: the “save our coast” movement. Californians put an initiative on the ballot, and it passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newsclip: \u003c/strong>The passage of Proposition 20 on November the 8th has signaled the beginning of the most ambitious and comprehensive effort ever mounted in this nation and perhaps the world. For the purpose of developing a process for managing coastal zone resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>The reason why we have an initiative is because there was failed efforts in the legislature to do anything about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Proposition 20 established the California Coastal Commission to regulate development and protect public access along the coastline. California now has one of the most protected coastlines in the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newsclip:\u003c/strong> It has taken many hard lessons for us here in California to begin to understand the need for land and marine resource conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Approved by voters in 1972, the proposition didn’t go into effect until 1973. That’s a year after the A&W opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>When I see it I go, oh, that must be from the 60s or the 70s, it looks like a lot of other developments in different places in California that were some of the reasons why we have a Coastal Act and why we decided to protect the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>That old A&W made it onto the beach in the nick of time. The building that would later become the Taco Bell, was grandfathered in. And thanks to prop 20, competition in the beachside fast food scene is scarce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>For Charles, the bigger question now is of the building’s future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>It’s a challenging location when you’re that close to the surf zone and you get big storms, the waves are going to come up, and eventually, with sea level rise, you’re going to have some serious issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>With just two meters of sea level rise, he says, the ocean would push right up against the restaurant. \u003cem>When\u003c/em> that will happen is still unclear—but some estimates put that at 75 years from now, but most projections put it 100 to 200 years away, depending on emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester: \u003c/strong>In my mind, yeah, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll be spending so much time, you know, responding to the wave attack and the wave damage and the storms that it won’t make any more sense economically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Charles says the Taco Bell would likely qualify as an ‘existing structure’ under the Coastal Act. That could make it eligible for a protective structure. Think sea wall or some other form of shoreline protection. But…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Charles Lester:\u003c/strong> …. a lot of people are thinking given the inevitability of sea level rise and the immense energy we’re talking about in the ocean, that it’s going to be retreat, planned or unplanned in a lot of places.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ambi of inside the Taco Bell\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price and Gabriela Glueck in scene: \u003c/strong>Mmm. It’s like a lighter churro. It tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nGabriela Glueck: \u003c/strong>Back at the Taco Bell, on this gloriously sunny day, it’s hard to imagine this place not being here. For now though, for as long as it lasts, it’s safe to say it will remain iconic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was Bay Curious reporter Gabriela Glueck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Maha Sanad, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey, Katie Sprenger, and everyone on Team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "San Francisco’s Skyline Shines, but Earthquake Risk Remains 120 Years After 1906",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069967/mayor-lurie-on-san-francisco-we-are-on-our-way-back-but-we-still-have-work-to-do\">San Franciscans\u003c/a> love to gather at Dolores Park to watch the skyline glow at sunset. The hard edges of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11934056/the-transamerica-pyramid-at-50-from-architectural-butchery-to-icon\">Transamerica Pyramid\u003c/a> catch the light. Then the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, with its Art Deco-inspired windows, and finally, the spiraling silvery-grey of the Salesforce Tower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when Mary Ellen Carroll looks out at the skyline and rows of Victorian homes with soft-story ground floors, she’s filled with anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see all these people, all these buildings, and the extent of the need that could occur after a big earthquake,” said Carroll, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. “How many people are ready for that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That “heavy responsibility” for Carroll shakes up every April 18, the anniversary of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10930485/see-how-san-francisco-rebuilt-110-years-after-the-1906-quake\">1906 earthquake\u003c/a>. This year marks 120 years since the magnitude 7.9 rupture along the San Andreas fault roughly two miles offshore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quake and the fires that followed killed 3,000 people, leveled much of San Francisco and left more than half the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13898345/the-1906-earthquake-survivor-who-fought-for-san-franciscos-homeless-population\">city’s residents unhoused\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, at her office in San Francisco City Hall on April 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The anniversary reminds Carroll that the Bay Area remains extremely vulnerable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a 72% chance that a magnitude 6.7 earthquake or stronger will occur here in the next three decades, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-probability-earthquake-will-occur-los-angeles-area-san-francisco-bay-area#:~:text=San%20Francisco%20Bay%20area%3A,an%20earthquake%20measuring%20magnitude%207.5\">a 2014 analysis\u003c/a> from the United States Geological Survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the earth shakes wildly again, it will do so in a Bay Area transformed from 1906, now home to a population more than 10 times larger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080264\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1973px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1973\" height=\"1424\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED.jpg 1973w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED-1536x1109.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1973px) 100vw, 1973px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This photograph, taken by George Lawrence from a series of kites five weeks after the great earthquake of April 18, 1906, shows the devastation brought on the city of San Francisco by the quake and subsequent fire. The view is looking over Nob Hill toward the business district, South of the Slot, and the distant Mission. The Fairmont Hotel, far left. dwarfs the Call Building. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Harry Myers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>San Francisco spent more than $20 billion on seismic upgrades over the past several decades. The money went to \u003ca href=\"https://data.sfgov.org/Housing-and-Buildings/Map-of-Soft-Story-Properties/jwdp-cqyc\">retrofitting older brick and wood buildings\u003c/a>, seismic improvements to infrastructure, constructing new, safe hospitals, police and fire stations and strengthening emergency response systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/publications/policy-brief/2026-04-09/120-years-after-1906\">new policy brief from the Bay Area think tank SPUR\u003c/a> warns that more than 3,700 pre-1995 concrete buildings — concentrated downtown — could face significant risk, and some fire hazards have gone unaddressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There would definitely be buildings that could collapse,” said Sarah Atkinson, author of the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080162\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080162\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Atkinson, a hazard resilience senior policy manager at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), at the organization’s offices in San Francisco on April 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The state has significantly improved its early warning system, too. While phone applications and alerts give people an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000568/after-4-6-earthquake-jolts-santa-cruz-seismologists-double-down-on-myshake-alerts\">extra moment to drop and hold on\u003c/a>, they do little to improve a building’s seismic safety. Some researchers point to evidence that a much larger earthquake than the 1906 quake could shake the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll said most San Franciscans cannot grasp what a colossal rattling will feel like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to take an earthquake for us to take an earthquake seriously,” Carroll said. “There will be catastrophic damage. It will interrupt the economy, likely take lives, and we’ll take considerable time to recover.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A big earthquake can happen again’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Predicting where the next damaging Bay Area earthquake isn’t an exact science. Seismologists know a lot about faults: their general size, stress and history. But scientists can’t tell exactly when or where a rupture will occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beneath the region, there lie many medium- to large-faults, including the San Andreas and Hayward faults, as well as many smaller fissures. Evan Hirakawa, a USGS research geophysicist, said seismologists are watching the Hayward Fault, which runs beneath the East Bay Hills, because it has the highest likelihood of a major earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Andreas has a lower probability because it experienced an intense quake a little more than a century ago, which is “recently” in geologic time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of high-rises in downtown San Francisco from Salesforce Park on April 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But an impressive quake could also happen on a separate fracture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see these old black and white pictures of people in 1906, dealing with the rubble, but in some ways [the next big quake] might not be that different,” Hirakawa said. “People should know that a big earthquake can happen again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Sherman Wade was 8 years old and living in Southern California when the 1994 Northridge earthquake shook his family’s home for more than 20 seconds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Beds shuddered against the wall,” Wade said. “It was terrifying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After moving to San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood in 2020, he made it a priority to find a home that was seismically safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No building is ever going to be 100% structurally sound against an earthquake,” Wade said, “but you can build pretty well for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘We still have a lot of work to do’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s earthquake dilemma is long-standing. The SPUR brief states that 60% of the city’s buildings were constructed prior to 1940, “without consideration for modern earthquake codes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many are made of concrete, and in previous quakes elsewhere, similar buildings “pancaked on themselves,” causing “a lot of deaths,” Atkinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1992, San Francisco developed a seismic hazard rating system to assess more than 200 city-owned buildings, using a 1-to-4 scale (best to worst). The city is still \u003ca href=\"https://onesanfrancisco.org/the-plan-2018/building-our-future-earthquakes#:~:text=Seismic%20Hazard%20Ratings%20(SHRs)%20were,prioritization%20of%20seismically%20vulnerable%20structures.\">working to address\u003c/a> many at-risk buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080328\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1212px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080328\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260416-SPUR-Map-KQED.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1212\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260416-SPUR-Map-KQED.png 1212w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260416-SPUR-Map-KQED-160x108.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1212px) 100vw, 1212px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A new policy brief from the Bay Area think tank SPUR warns that more than 3,700 pre-1995 concrete buildings could face significant risk if a large earthquake were to occur near San Francisco. The map highlighted in the SPUR reporter is sourced from the City and County of San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SPUR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Officials are now turning to concrete buildings and requiring owners to self-report to staff by June 2027. The thousands of commercial, government, industrial and multi-family buildings are scattered throughout the city, but a concentrated block is in downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the emergency services side, Carroll’s team is modernizing the city’s earthquake plan, transforming a big binder of scenarios into actionable lists that staff can also pull up on their phones during a disaster. The update is due by the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simultaneously, the city is asking voters to approve a \u003ca href=\"https://sfpublicworks.org/eser-2026#:~:text=The%20previous%20three%20ESER%20bonds,progress%20to%20protect%20San%20Francisco.\">$535 million bond\u003c/a> in June. The measure would fund seismic upgrades to fire stations, police stations, the 911 center, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060130/san-francisco-reveals-new-earthquake-firefighting-system-36-years-after-loma-prieta\">emergency firefighting water system\u003c/a>, and improvements to the bus system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve touched every neighborhood in the city, and we still have a lot of work to do, which is why another bond is coming up,” said Brian Strong, the city’s chief resilience officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s a new complication, he said. The city cannot rely on federal disaster aid under the Trump administration, and city budget constraints are limiting its office’s capacity to focus on seismic issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to start making investments upfront so that when an earthquake happens, we don’t need to have that sort of high level of support from the federal government,” Strong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s a known limitation of earthquake warning’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Robert Olshansky remembers when there was no early earthquake warning system. Phones didn’t blare in the middle of the night, agencies didn’t text warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olshansky was rocked by a moderate-sized tremor in Southern California in 1971 and lived in North Berkeley during the Loma Prieta quake in 1989. By contrast, the 1906 quake released about 16 times as much energy as the Loma Prieta quake, according \u003ca href=\"https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1906calif/18april/got_seismogram_lp.php\">to the USGS\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080163\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080163\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) offices in San Francisco on April 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the time, Olshansky was about to put his home on the market that weekend so he and his family could move out of state. When he got home early from work, the house began to shake. His impulse was to run out, but he froze and endured the shaking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I turned on the news to try and find out what happened, but it wasn’t clear at first,” Olshansky said. “There was the Bay Bridge, there was a fire in the Mission District. We were seeing all these bits of news.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, systems like the MyShake app developed by UC Berkeley’s Seismology Lab can send alerts within seven seconds of a magnitude 4.5 earthquake or larger. But in the case of a “1906-type earthquake,” communities closest to the epicenter will likely get no warning, said Angie Lux, a project scientist for earthquake warning with the lab.[aside postID=news_11999982 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/MyShakeUCBerkeley-1020x679.jpg']“It’s a known limitation of earthquake warning, but I don’t think that it makes the system not useful,” Lux said. “Just having that warning means that people take action faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there might be another signal for some large quakes in Northern California. Chris Goldfinger, a marine geologist at Oregon State University, published a study last fall that found \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geosphere/article/21/6/1132/661517/Unravelling-the-dance-of-earthquakes-Evidence-of?searchresult=1\">large earthquakes likely occurred in\u003c/a> sync along the West Coast’s two major faults — the San Andreas and the Cascadia Subduction Zone — over the past 3,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The faults rupturing together may produce “shaking that could actually be stronger than 1906,” and after the Cascadia moves, the San Andreas could follow within “minutes to hours to days” and up to 50 years, Goldfinger said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That would give you more than the few seconds that you’d get now from the early warning system we have,” Goldfinger said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the Bay Area will eventually jolt harder than people have experienced in modern history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely going to happen,” Goldfinger said. “It is just really a question of when and a question of how prepared we will be for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069967/mayor-lurie-on-san-francisco-we-are-on-our-way-back-but-we-still-have-work-to-do\">San Franciscans\u003c/a> love to gather at Dolores Park to watch the skyline glow at sunset. The hard edges of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11934056/the-transamerica-pyramid-at-50-from-architectural-butchery-to-icon\">Transamerica Pyramid\u003c/a> catch the light. Then the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, with its Art Deco-inspired windows, and finally, the spiraling silvery-grey of the Salesforce Tower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when Mary Ellen Carroll looks out at the skyline and rows of Victorian homes with soft-story ground floors, she’s filled with anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see all these people, all these buildings, and the extent of the need that could occur after a big earthquake,” said Carroll, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. “How many people are ready for that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That “heavy responsibility” for Carroll shakes up every April 18, the anniversary of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10930485/see-how-san-francisco-rebuilt-110-years-after-the-1906-quake\">1906 earthquake\u003c/a>. This year marks 120 years since the magnitude 7.9 rupture along the San Andreas fault roughly two miles offshore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quake and the fires that followed killed 3,000 people, leveled much of San Francisco and left more than half the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13898345/the-1906-earthquake-survivor-who-fought-for-san-franciscos-homeless-population\">city’s residents unhoused\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, at her office in San Francisco City Hall on April 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The anniversary reminds Carroll that the Bay Area remains extremely vulnerable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a 72% chance that a magnitude 6.7 earthquake or stronger will occur here in the next three decades, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-probability-earthquake-will-occur-los-angeles-area-san-francisco-bay-area#:~:text=San%20Francisco%20Bay%20area%3A,an%20earthquake%20measuring%20magnitude%207.5\">a 2014 analysis\u003c/a> from the United States Geological Survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the earth shakes wildly again, it will do so in a Bay Area transformed from 1906, now home to a population more than 10 times larger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080264\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1973px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1973\" height=\"1424\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED.jpg 1973w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/240416-1906-san-francisco-KQED-1536x1109.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1973px) 100vw, 1973px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This photograph, taken by George Lawrence from a series of kites five weeks after the great earthquake of April 18, 1906, shows the devastation brought on the city of San Francisco by the quake and subsequent fire. The view is looking over Nob Hill toward the business district, South of the Slot, and the distant Mission. The Fairmont Hotel, far left. dwarfs the Call Building. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Harry Myers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>San Francisco spent more than $20 billion on seismic upgrades over the past several decades. The money went to \u003ca href=\"https://data.sfgov.org/Housing-and-Buildings/Map-of-Soft-Story-Properties/jwdp-cqyc\">retrofitting older brick and wood buildings\u003c/a>, seismic improvements to infrastructure, constructing new, safe hospitals, police and fire stations and strengthening emergency response systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/publications/policy-brief/2026-04-09/120-years-after-1906\">new policy brief from the Bay Area think tank SPUR\u003c/a> warns that more than 3,700 pre-1995 concrete buildings — concentrated downtown — could face significant risk, and some fire hazards have gone unaddressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There would definitely be buildings that could collapse,” said Sarah Atkinson, author of the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080162\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080162\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Atkinson, a hazard resilience senior policy manager at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), at the organization’s offices in San Francisco on April 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The state has significantly improved its early warning system, too. While phone applications and alerts give people an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000568/after-4-6-earthquake-jolts-santa-cruz-seismologists-double-down-on-myshake-alerts\">extra moment to drop and hold on\u003c/a>, they do little to improve a building’s seismic safety. Some researchers point to evidence that a much larger earthquake than the 1906 quake could shake the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll said most San Franciscans cannot grasp what a colossal rattling will feel like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to take an earthquake for us to take an earthquake seriously,” Carroll said. “There will be catastrophic damage. It will interrupt the economy, likely take lives, and we’ll take considerable time to recover.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A big earthquake can happen again’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Predicting where the next damaging Bay Area earthquake isn’t an exact science. Seismologists know a lot about faults: their general size, stress and history. But scientists can’t tell exactly when or where a rupture will occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beneath the region, there lie many medium- to large-faults, including the San Andreas and Hayward faults, as well as many smaller fissures. Evan Hirakawa, a USGS research geophysicist, said seismologists are watching the Hayward Fault, which runs beneath the East Bay Hills, because it has the highest likelihood of a major earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Andreas has a lower probability because it experienced an intense quake a little more than a century ago, which is “recently” in geologic time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-02-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of high-rises in downtown San Francisco from Salesforce Park on April 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But an impressive quake could also happen on a separate fracture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see these old black and white pictures of people in 1906, dealing with the rubble, but in some ways [the next big quake] might not be that different,” Hirakawa said. “People should know that a big earthquake can happen again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Sherman Wade was 8 years old and living in Southern California when the 1994 Northridge earthquake shook his family’s home for more than 20 seconds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Beds shuddered against the wall,” Wade said. “It was terrifying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After moving to San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood in 2020, he made it a priority to find a home that was seismically safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No building is ever going to be 100% structurally sound against an earthquake,” Wade said, “but you can build pretty well for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘We still have a lot of work to do’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s earthquake dilemma is long-standing. The SPUR brief states that 60% of the city’s buildings were constructed prior to 1940, “without consideration for modern earthquake codes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many are made of concrete, and in previous quakes elsewhere, similar buildings “pancaked on themselves,” causing “a lot of deaths,” Atkinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1992, San Francisco developed a seismic hazard rating system to assess more than 200 city-owned buildings, using a 1-to-4 scale (best to worst). The city is still \u003ca href=\"https://onesanfrancisco.org/the-plan-2018/building-our-future-earthquakes#:~:text=Seismic%20Hazard%20Ratings%20(SHRs)%20were,prioritization%20of%20seismically%20vulnerable%20structures.\">working to address\u003c/a> many at-risk buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080328\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1212px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080328\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260416-SPUR-Map-KQED.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1212\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260416-SPUR-Map-KQED.png 1212w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260416-SPUR-Map-KQED-160x108.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1212px) 100vw, 1212px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A new policy brief from the Bay Area think tank SPUR warns that more than 3,700 pre-1995 concrete buildings could face significant risk if a large earthquake were to occur near San Francisco. The map highlighted in the SPUR reporter is sourced from the City and County of San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SPUR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Officials are now turning to concrete buildings and requiring owners to self-report to staff by June 2027. The thousands of commercial, government, industrial and multi-family buildings are scattered throughout the city, but a concentrated block is in downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the emergency services side, Carroll’s team is modernizing the city’s earthquake plan, transforming a big binder of scenarios into actionable lists that staff can also pull up on their phones during a disaster. The update is due by the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simultaneously, the city is asking voters to approve a \u003ca href=\"https://sfpublicworks.org/eser-2026#:~:text=The%20previous%20three%20ESER%20bonds,progress%20to%20protect%20San%20Francisco.\">$535 million bond\u003c/a> in June. The measure would fund seismic upgrades to fire stations, police stations, the 911 center, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060130/san-francisco-reveals-new-earthquake-firefighting-system-36-years-after-loma-prieta\">emergency firefighting water system\u003c/a>, and improvements to the bus system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve touched every neighborhood in the city, and we still have a lot of work to do, which is why another bond is coming up,” said Brian Strong, the city’s chief resilience officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s a new complication, he said. The city cannot rely on federal disaster aid under the Trump administration, and city budget constraints are limiting its office’s capacity to focus on seismic issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to start making investments upfront so that when an earthquake happens, we don’t need to have that sort of high level of support from the federal government,” Strong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s a known limitation of earthquake warning’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Robert Olshansky remembers when there was no early earthquake warning system. Phones didn’t blare in the middle of the night, agencies didn’t text warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olshansky was rocked by a moderate-sized tremor in Southern California in 1971 and lived in North Berkeley during the Loma Prieta quake in 1989. By contrast, the 1906 quake released about 16 times as much energy as the Loma Prieta quake, according \u003ca href=\"https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1906calif/18april/got_seismogram_lp.php\">to the USGS\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080163\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080163\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260413-SPUREARTHQUAKE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) offices in San Francisco on April 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the time, Olshansky was about to put his home on the market that weekend so he and his family could move out of state. When he got home early from work, the house began to shake. His impulse was to run out, but he froze and endured the shaking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I turned on the news to try and find out what happened, but it wasn’t clear at first,” Olshansky said. “There was the Bay Bridge, there was a fire in the Mission District. We were seeing all these bits of news.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, systems like the MyShake app developed by UC Berkeley’s Seismology Lab can send alerts within seven seconds of a magnitude 4.5 earthquake or larger. But in the case of a “1906-type earthquake,” communities closest to the epicenter will likely get no warning, said Angie Lux, a project scientist for earthquake warning with the lab.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s a known limitation of earthquake warning, but I don’t think that it makes the system not useful,” Lux said. “Just having that warning means that people take action faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there might be another signal for some large quakes in Northern California. Chris Goldfinger, a marine geologist at Oregon State University, published a study last fall that found \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geosphere/article/21/6/1132/661517/Unravelling-the-dance-of-earthquakes-Evidence-of?searchresult=1\">large earthquakes likely occurred in\u003c/a> sync along the West Coast’s two major faults — the San Andreas and the Cascadia Subduction Zone — over the past 3,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The faults rupturing together may produce “shaking that could actually be stronger than 1906,” and after the Cascadia moves, the San Andreas could follow within “minutes to hours to days” and up to 50 years, Goldfinger said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That would give you more than the few seconds that you’d get now from the early warning system we have,” Goldfinger said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the Bay Area will eventually jolt harder than people have experienced in modern history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely going to happen,” Goldfinger said. “It is just really a question of when and a question of how prepared we will be for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Pollution Release at Chevron’s Richmond Refinery Was Triggered by a Bird",
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"headTitle": "Pollution Release at Chevron’s Richmond Refinery Was Triggered by a Bird | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>One of the largest refineries on the West Coast lost electricity earlier this year and belched out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887837/chevron-pbf-sue-air-district-over-new-bay-area-refinery-pollution-rule\">pollution for hours\u003c/a>, thanks in part to an animal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A power outage at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chevron-refinery\">Chevron’s refinery\u003c/a> in Richmond on Jan. 9 led to a flaring operation that released more than 3,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide into the air, the company has told regulators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacific Gas and Electric provides power to the refinery from two power lines. The day before the outage, the utility removed one of those lines for maintenance. The second line then experienced a “sudden fault,” which meant Chevron lost all of the outside electricity it relies on, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/flares/causal-reports/2026/2026_0109_a0010_s6039_01-pdf.pdf?rev=3152a6f8241b441881ac0325c87c7944&sc_lang=en\">report\u003c/a> the refinery filed with the Bay Area Air District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With no outside power, Chevron sent gases to its flares for the next eight hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It appears a bird contact was what triggered the safety relay on the second source, so we have a cause,” said Tamar Sarkissian, a PG&E spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bird was a raptor, Sarkissian said, that came in contact with “a wire and tower at the same time” and caused, basically, a short circuit that immediately interrupted “the flow of electricity on that line, as a safety measure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079878\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12079878 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke from a refinery flaring operation at Chevron’s Richmond refinery on Jan. 9, 2026. It was triggered by a bird contacting power equipment. \u003ccite>(Tyche Hendricks/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the flaring took place, Chevron issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cchealth.org/health-and-safety-information/hazmat-programs/community-warning-system\">Level One Community Warning System alert\u003c/a> to notify county residents of the incident. The smoke coming from Chevron’s flares in San Francisco Bay could be seen by people on the Bay Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district and the California Public Utilities Commission are investigating the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When inhaled, sulfur dioxide can cause wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other harmful effects on the lungs, \u003ca href=\"https://www.lung.org/clean-air/outdoors/what-makes-air-unhealthy/sulfur-dioxide\">according to the American Lung Association\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Chevron refinery has a power system on site known as a “cogeneration plant” that creates its own electricity, but it does not provide enough to power the entire facility.[aside postID=news_11981762 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-03_qut-1020x680.jpg']“We also need external electricity,” said Caitlin Powell, a Chevron Richmond representative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company emphasized that the refinery’s flare system, a safety technique aimed at preventing the buildup of pressure inside a refinery, successfully averted a bigger facility problem during the January incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss of outside power meant the refinery had to suddenly shut down its units, leaving gases building up pressure in the facility that needed to be vented into the atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our flares and safety systems are designed to protect our workforce, the community and our equipment during operational disruptions, even those externally caused. We are proud of our team’s quick work to keep the refinery operating safely,” Powell said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of flaring incidents at Chevron’s Richmond refinery has dropped significantly in recent years. The refinery logged close to 40 flaring events in 2019, more than any other petroleum processing facility in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron had just 10 such incidents in 2024, according to air district \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/board-of-directors/2026/ssc_presentations_040826_op-pdf.pdf?rev=d82f2f8d99a544688521705d6b1ef253&sc_lang=en\">data\u003c/a> presented to an agency committee last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A raptor came in contact with electricity infrastructure outside Chevron’s Richmond refinery, cutting power to the facility and triggering the release of thousands of pounds of sulfur dioxide. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>One of the largest refineries on the West Coast lost electricity earlier this year and belched out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887837/chevron-pbf-sue-air-district-over-new-bay-area-refinery-pollution-rule\">pollution for hours\u003c/a>, thanks in part to an animal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A power outage at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chevron-refinery\">Chevron’s refinery\u003c/a> in Richmond on Jan. 9 led to a flaring operation that released more than 3,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide into the air, the company has told regulators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacific Gas and Electric provides power to the refinery from two power lines. The day before the outage, the utility removed one of those lines for maintenance. The second line then experienced a “sudden fault,” which meant Chevron lost all of the outside electricity it relies on, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/flares/causal-reports/2026/2026_0109_a0010_s6039_01-pdf.pdf?rev=3152a6f8241b441881ac0325c87c7944&sc_lang=en\">report\u003c/a> the refinery filed with the Bay Area Air District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With no outside power, Chevron sent gases to its flares for the next eight hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It appears a bird contact was what triggered the safety relay on the second source, so we have a cause,” said Tamar Sarkissian, a PG&E spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bird was a raptor, Sarkissian said, that came in contact with “a wire and tower at the same time” and caused, basically, a short circuit that immediately interrupted “the flow of electricity on that line, as a safety measure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079878\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12079878 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260414-CHEVRON-FLARE-TH-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke from a refinery flaring operation at Chevron’s Richmond refinery on Jan. 9, 2026. It was triggered by a bird contacting power equipment. \u003ccite>(Tyche Hendricks/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the flaring took place, Chevron issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cchealth.org/health-and-safety-information/hazmat-programs/community-warning-system\">Level One Community Warning System alert\u003c/a> to notify county residents of the incident. The smoke coming from Chevron’s flares in San Francisco Bay could be seen by people on the Bay Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air district and the California Public Utilities Commission are investigating the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When inhaled, sulfur dioxide can cause wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other harmful effects on the lungs, \u003ca href=\"https://www.lung.org/clean-air/outdoors/what-makes-air-unhealthy/sulfur-dioxide\">according to the American Lung Association\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Chevron refinery has a power system on site known as a “cogeneration plant” that creates its own electricity, but it does not provide enough to power the entire facility.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We also need external electricity,” said Caitlin Powell, a Chevron Richmond representative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company emphasized that the refinery’s flare system, a safety technique aimed at preventing the buildup of pressure inside a refinery, successfully averted a bigger facility problem during the January incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss of outside power meant the refinery had to suddenly shut down its units, leaving gases building up pressure in the facility that needed to be vented into the atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our flares and safety systems are designed to protect our workforce, the community and our equipment during operational disruptions, even those externally caused. We are proud of our team’s quick work to keep the refinery operating safely,” Powell said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of flaring incidents at Chevron’s Richmond refinery has dropped significantly in recent years. The refinery logged close to 40 flaring events in 2019, more than any other petroleum processing facility in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chevron had just 10 such incidents in 2024, according to air district \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/board-of-directors/2026/ssc_presentations_040826_op-pdf.pdf?rev=d82f2f8d99a544688521705d6b1ef253&sc_lang=en\">data\u003c/a> presented to an agency committee last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "rattlesnakes-bay-area-warning-venom-bites-rattlesnake-vs-gophersnake",
"title": "If You Encounter a Rattlesnake in the Bay Area, What Should You Do?",
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"headTitle": "If You Encounter a Rattlesnake in the Bay Area, What Should You Do? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>With summer and warmer temperatures just around the corner, the Bay Area’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985496/best-bay-area-hikes-wildlife-near-me\">parks and trails are starting to bustle even more with wildlife\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are a few critters that hikers should look to avoid — and rattlesnakes are definitely one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/about-us/whats-new/news/rattlesnake-advisory\">East Bay Regional Parks District issued an advisory\u003c/a> warning hikers about the potential dangers of encountering rattlesnakes on local trails, stressing the threat these venomous creatures can pose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump to: \u003ca href=\"#rattlesnake-bite-what-to-do\">What should I do if a rattlesnake bites me?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>And\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/06/california-sixth-person-bitten-rattlesnake\"> two people \u003c/a>have already died in 2026 after being bitten by rattlesnakes in California, both in Ventura County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Native to California and the Bay Area, rattlesnakes are common on local trails in areas like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/maps\">Anthony Chabot, Tilden and Diablo Foothills regional parks\u003c/a> – but you should take them seriously, EBRPD spokesperson Dave Mason told KQED in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely important to be cautious for us humans – and also our pets,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you or your pup stumble across a rattlesnake in the wild, what should you do?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>First off: How can I recognize a rattlesnake?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/common_snakes.pdf\">The rattlesnakes local to the Bay Area\u003c/a> tend to be brown or black, matching the general color of the soil they inhabit. Their skin is dull-colored with large blotches, and their head is flat and triangular with folds of skin at its tail forming a “rattle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, you may be more likely to recognize a rattlesnake by ear. True to their name, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nYnVPba4g\">they make a “rattling” sound\u003c/a> that makes them easy to distinguish from other, less harmful snakes:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nYnVPba4g\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2bBSdxIEjs\">Rattlesnakes are often confused with gopher snakes\u003c/a>, which have similar coloration and length. The key differences to keep are the gopher snake’s glossy skin and more slender head and body. Unlike rattlesnakes, gopher snakes are not venomous.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>When should I most watch out for rattlesnakes — and where? \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>EBRPD’s Mason said that like all reptiles, rattlesnakes become more active in warmer weather — as do humans. This is the reason that \u003ca href=\"https://calpoison.org/about-rattlesnakes\">encounters between the two species tend to happen most between April and October\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While snakes can be found all over these East Bay parks and preserves, many encounters happen out on hiking trails and fire roads, Mason said — often in grassy areas. This is why he advises: “Don’t go off the trails into the grass.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11743401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1335px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11743401\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/image-from-ios-1-_wide-a3f0899f95013c976164e2ee22a7ab7e85f9be71-e1556467826638.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1335\" height=\"751\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photographer Michael Lee Jackson hops out of his Toyota to capture a closer view of a rattlesnake sunning itself on the dirt road. \u003ccite>(Kirk Siegler/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to staying on designated trails, try to scan the ground while walking. When sitting down, examine your chosen spot first and try not to put your hands or feet anywhere you can’t clearly see. Keep your dog on a leash to keep yourself and your pet safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember, hiking alone means it might be harder to find speedy medical attention if you do get bitten — so consider finding a hiking buddy during these warmer months when the risks of rattlesnake encounters are higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What should I do if I see a rattlesnake?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Give the snake plenty of space immediately, Mason advised. Do not try to capture or harm a snake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, you will hear a rattlesnake before you see it — so when that happens, “be wary, look around and get away from it as quickly as possible,” he said. “Go around it. Leave it alone. They are part of nature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re out hiking with your dog and you see a snake, calmly and slowly steer them away from it. \u003ca href=\"https://napahumane.org/rattlesnake-season-safety-tips-and-rattlesnake-avoidance-training-options/\">Some experts even recommend rattlesnake avoidance training\u003c/a> for your dog. If you’re interested, make sure you find a certified training professional using humane science-based methods, which can help teach dogs to respond to scents and cues to avoid bites.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"rattlesnake-bite-what-to-do\">\u003c/a>If a rattlesnake bites me, what should I do?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5393596.pdf\">Around 8,000 people in the U.S. are bitten by rattlesnakes every year\u003c/a>, usually on the hands, feet and ankles. Somewhere between 5 and 15 of those cases are fatal each year, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/outdoor-workers/about/venomous-snakes.html\">the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/a> and the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Usually, rattlesnake bites will leave two puncture marks, and you’ll feel an intense, burning pain. If this happens, “focus on how to get medical attention as soon as possible,” Mason said.[aside postID=news_12035515 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/GettyImages-1366211065_qed-1020x681.jpg']After immediately calling 911, try to sit or lie down, keeping the bite below your heart. Most importantly, keep the area of the bite in a neutral, comfortable position. If possible, you should gently wash the wound with any clean water you have nearby — like from your water bottle or a fast-moving stream — and soap if you have it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/outdoor-workers/about/venomous-snakes.html\">The CDC recommends\u003c/a> taking note of the time the bite occurred by actually writing it on your skin next to the wound and removing any jewelry or watches that might constrict swelling. Around 25% of bites are “dry,” meaning the snake did not use venom, but even those bites still need to be treated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EBRPD advised against using tourniquets or snakebite kits (more on this below) and said \u003cem>not \u003c/em>to try sucking out the venom. You also shouldn’t take any medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re bitten while hiking alone, walk slowly to get help. While this might feel counterintuitive, the CDC warns that running increases your heart rate and could spread the venom more quickly throughout your body, as could driving yourself to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/common_snakes.pdf\">Other types of snake bites\u003c/a> — like a bite from the Pacific gopher snake — can be treated with soap and water, but medical attention is still advised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why shouldn’t I use a snakebite kit?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts \u003ca href=\"https://www.snakebitefoundation.org/blog/the-truth-about-commercial-snakebite-kits-including-the-venom-extractor\">warn against using commercially sold snakebite kits\u003c/a>. While the idea of “sucking out the poison” using a tool seems like a solution, the reality is that snake venom instantly diffuses away from the wound and cannot be extracted this way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some cases, extraction tools can even force the venom further into your body or harm the site of the bite. \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431065/\">The antivenom you receive at the hospital is most effective\u003c/a> the sooner it is administered, so getting help should be your first priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Other potential risks for Bay Area hikers to watch for\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11801419\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11801419\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-1044x783.jpg 1044w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-632x474.jpg 632w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A coyote pair enjoys a relaxed afternoon in a secluded part of a park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Janet Kessler)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Poison oak\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7431.html\">Poison oak,\u003c/a> whose three-sided leaves look oily, will leave a reaction on most peoples’ skin. Staying on trail is your best bet to avoid a rash, but if you do touch any irritating plants, wash your skin immediately and see a doctor if the rash spreads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ticks\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/what-causes-lyme-disease/blacklegged-tick/\">Ticks, which position themselves on long grasses hoping to grab hold as you brush by, can carry Lyme disease\u003c/a>. Wear long-sleeved clothing, use insect repellent and stay on trails to avoid ticks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to staying on designated trails and out of dense foliage, Mason advises checking yourself and your pets for ticks after any outdoor activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Give them a once-over, once you get back to your car or back away from the trail,” Mason said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you do find a tick on your skin, remove it using tweezers or a tissue and scrape the skin (a credit card works great for this) to remove any of its body parts left behind. Then wash your hands and the bite area thoroughly, and seek medical attention if you later recognize \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs-symptoms/index.html\">any symptoms of Lyme disease\u003c/a>, which include a rash, fever, headache and stiffness around the bite area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11880481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11880481\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/ticks_types-jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/ticks_types-jpeg.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/ticks_types-jpeg-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Six common types of adult female ticks. Top row, left to right: Lone star, Black-legged, Asian long-horned. Bottom row, left to right: Gulf coast, American dog, Rocky mountain wood \u003ccite>((Top row, left to right) Public Health Image Library, Wikimedia Commons, James Gathany/CDC (Bottom row, left to right) Public Health Image Library, Patrick Gorring/iNaturalist, Public Health Image Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Roaming animals\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The parks department advises keeping your distance around cattle and avoiding getting between a mother and her calf. Don’t try to touch or pet cows, and keep dogs and kids away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/safety/wildlife-encounters\">That goes for any other wild animals, too\u003c/a>. Coyotes, deer and mountain lions all inhabit local parks but should never be fed, approached or petted. Even though most aren’t dangerous by nature, they can become unpredictable if surprised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The important thing really is knowing that when you’re going out there that you’re in a wild area — and to be cautious of your surroundings,” Mason said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "With another alert for rattlesnake activity issued for the East Bay, here’s how to stay aware while hiking in the Bay Area this spring – and what to do if you’re bitten.",
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"title": "If You Encounter a Rattlesnake in the Bay Area, What Should You Do? | KQED",
"description": "With another alert for rattlesnake activity issued for the East Bay, here’s how to stay aware while hiking in the Bay Area this spring – and what to do if you’re bitten.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With summer and warmer temperatures just around the corner, the Bay Area’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985496/best-bay-area-hikes-wildlife-near-me\">parks and trails are starting to bustle even more with wildlife\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are a few critters that hikers should look to avoid — and rattlesnakes are definitely one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/about-us/whats-new/news/rattlesnake-advisory\">East Bay Regional Parks District issued an advisory\u003c/a> warning hikers about the potential dangers of encountering rattlesnakes on local trails, stressing the threat these venomous creatures can pose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump to: \u003ca href=\"#rattlesnake-bite-what-to-do\">What should I do if a rattlesnake bites me?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>And\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/06/california-sixth-person-bitten-rattlesnake\"> two people \u003c/a>have already died in 2026 after being bitten by rattlesnakes in California, both in Ventura County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Native to California and the Bay Area, rattlesnakes are common on local trails in areas like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/maps\">Anthony Chabot, Tilden and Diablo Foothills regional parks\u003c/a> – but you should take them seriously, EBRPD spokesperson Dave Mason told KQED in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely important to be cautious for us humans – and also our pets,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you or your pup stumble across a rattlesnake in the wild, what should you do?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>First off: How can I recognize a rattlesnake?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/common_snakes.pdf\">The rattlesnakes local to the Bay Area\u003c/a> tend to be brown or black, matching the general color of the soil they inhabit. Their skin is dull-colored with large blotches, and their head is flat and triangular with folds of skin at its tail forming a “rattle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, you may be more likely to recognize a rattlesnake by ear. True to their name, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nYnVPba4g\">they make a “rattling” sound\u003c/a> that makes them easy to distinguish from other, less harmful snakes:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/d0nYnVPba4g'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/d0nYnVPba4g'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2bBSdxIEjs\">Rattlesnakes are often confused with gopher snakes\u003c/a>, which have similar coloration and length. The key differences to keep are the gopher snake’s glossy skin and more slender head and body. Unlike rattlesnakes, gopher snakes are not venomous.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>When should I most watch out for rattlesnakes — and where? \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>EBRPD’s Mason said that like all reptiles, rattlesnakes become more active in warmer weather — as do humans. This is the reason that \u003ca href=\"https://calpoison.org/about-rattlesnakes\">encounters between the two species tend to happen most between April and October\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While snakes can be found all over these East Bay parks and preserves, many encounters happen out on hiking trails and fire roads, Mason said — often in grassy areas. This is why he advises: “Don’t go off the trails into the grass.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11743401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1335px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11743401\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/image-from-ios-1-_wide-a3f0899f95013c976164e2ee22a7ab7e85f9be71-e1556467826638.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1335\" height=\"751\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photographer Michael Lee Jackson hops out of his Toyota to capture a closer view of a rattlesnake sunning itself on the dirt road. \u003ccite>(Kirk Siegler/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to staying on designated trails, try to scan the ground while walking. When sitting down, examine your chosen spot first and try not to put your hands or feet anywhere you can’t clearly see. Keep your dog on a leash to keep yourself and your pet safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember, hiking alone means it might be harder to find speedy medical attention if you do get bitten — so consider finding a hiking buddy during these warmer months when the risks of rattlesnake encounters are higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What should I do if I see a rattlesnake?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Give the snake plenty of space immediately, Mason advised. Do not try to capture or harm a snake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, you will hear a rattlesnake before you see it — so when that happens, “be wary, look around and get away from it as quickly as possible,” he said. “Go around it. Leave it alone. They are part of nature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re out hiking with your dog and you see a snake, calmly and slowly steer them away from it. \u003ca href=\"https://napahumane.org/rattlesnake-season-safety-tips-and-rattlesnake-avoidance-training-options/\">Some experts even recommend rattlesnake avoidance training\u003c/a> for your dog. If you’re interested, make sure you find a certified training professional using humane science-based methods, which can help teach dogs to respond to scents and cues to avoid bites.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"rattlesnake-bite-what-to-do\">\u003c/a>If a rattlesnake bites me, what should I do?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5393596.pdf\">Around 8,000 people in the U.S. are bitten by rattlesnakes every year\u003c/a>, usually on the hands, feet and ankles. Somewhere between 5 and 15 of those cases are fatal each year, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/outdoor-workers/about/venomous-snakes.html\">the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/a> and the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Usually, rattlesnake bites will leave two puncture marks, and you’ll feel an intense, burning pain. If this happens, “focus on how to get medical attention as soon as possible,” Mason said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>After immediately calling 911, try to sit or lie down, keeping the bite below your heart. Most importantly, keep the area of the bite in a neutral, comfortable position. If possible, you should gently wash the wound with any clean water you have nearby — like from your water bottle or a fast-moving stream — and soap if you have it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/outdoor-workers/about/venomous-snakes.html\">The CDC recommends\u003c/a> taking note of the time the bite occurred by actually writing it on your skin next to the wound and removing any jewelry or watches that might constrict swelling. Around 25% of bites are “dry,” meaning the snake did not use venom, but even those bites still need to be treated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EBRPD advised against using tourniquets or snakebite kits (more on this below) and said \u003cem>not \u003c/em>to try sucking out the venom. You also shouldn’t take any medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re bitten while hiking alone, walk slowly to get help. While this might feel counterintuitive, the CDC warns that running increases your heart rate and could spread the venom more quickly throughout your body, as could driving yourself to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/common_snakes.pdf\">Other types of snake bites\u003c/a> — like a bite from the Pacific gopher snake — can be treated with soap and water, but medical attention is still advised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why shouldn’t I use a snakebite kit?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts \u003ca href=\"https://www.snakebitefoundation.org/blog/the-truth-about-commercial-snakebite-kits-including-the-venom-extractor\">warn against using commercially sold snakebite kits\u003c/a>. While the idea of “sucking out the poison” using a tool seems like a solution, the reality is that snake venom instantly diffuses away from the wound and cannot be extracted this way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some cases, extraction tools can even force the venom further into your body or harm the site of the bite. \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431065/\">The antivenom you receive at the hospital is most effective\u003c/a> the sooner it is administered, so getting help should be your first priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Other potential risks for Bay Area hikers to watch for\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11801419\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11801419\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-1044x783.jpg 1044w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-632x474.jpg 632w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/RS41107_Coyote-Pair-qut-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A coyote pair enjoys a relaxed afternoon in a secluded part of a park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Janet Kessler)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Poison oak\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7431.html\">Poison oak,\u003c/a> whose three-sided leaves look oily, will leave a reaction on most peoples’ skin. Staying on trail is your best bet to avoid a rash, but if you do touch any irritating plants, wash your skin immediately and see a doctor if the rash spreads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ticks\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/what-causes-lyme-disease/blacklegged-tick/\">Ticks, which position themselves on long grasses hoping to grab hold as you brush by, can carry Lyme disease\u003c/a>. Wear long-sleeved clothing, use insect repellent and stay on trails to avoid ticks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to staying on designated trails and out of dense foliage, Mason advises checking yourself and your pets for ticks after any outdoor activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Give them a once-over, once you get back to your car or back away from the trail,” Mason said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you do find a tick on your skin, remove it using tweezers or a tissue and scrape the skin (a credit card works great for this) to remove any of its body parts left behind. Then wash your hands and the bite area thoroughly, and seek medical attention if you later recognize \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs-symptoms/index.html\">any symptoms of Lyme disease\u003c/a>, which include a rash, fever, headache and stiffness around the bite area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11880481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11880481\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/ticks_types-jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/ticks_types-jpeg.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/ticks_types-jpeg-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Six common types of adult female ticks. Top row, left to right: Lone star, Black-legged, Asian long-horned. Bottom row, left to right: Gulf coast, American dog, Rocky mountain wood \u003ccite>((Top row, left to right) Public Health Image Library, Wikimedia Commons, James Gathany/CDC (Bottom row, left to right) Public Health Image Library, Patrick Gorring/iNaturalist, Public Health Image Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Roaming animals\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The parks department advises keeping your distance around cattle and avoiding getting between a mother and her calf. Don’t try to touch or pet cows, and keep dogs and kids away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/safety/wildlife-encounters\">That goes for any other wild animals, too\u003c/a>. Coyotes, deer and mountain lions all inhabit local parks but should never be fed, approached or petted. Even though most aren’t dangerous by nature, they can become unpredictable if surprised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The important thing really is knowing that when you’re going out there that you’re in a wild area — and to be cautious of your surroundings,” Mason said.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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