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"title": "Flat Tires and Toilet Paper: Bizarre Human Flubs Are at the Root of Most Big Wildfires in California",
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"content": "\u003cp>Of all the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletter/park-fire-california-wildfires/\">insidious threats faced by wildland firefighters\u003c/a> — extreme heat, desiccated forests, unpredictable fire behavior and a nearly year-round fire season — what might be the most fearsome?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People do dangerous things, things that start \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/category/environment/wildfires/\">wildfires.\u003c/a> Pushing a burning car into a gully. Mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. Mis-wiring a hot tub. Driving cars with flat tires. Burning toilet paper rather than packing it out of a campsite. Setting off smoke bombs at gender reveal parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In hot, dry conditions already primed for fire, people’s actions can quickly escalate from a harmless mistake — such as hammering a metal stake into the parched ground — to igniting a blaze that kills a firefighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People — whether purposeful, reckless or simply careless — are responsible for about 95% of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-wildfire-map-tracker/\">California’s wildfires\u003c/a>. Last year alone, people caused \u003ca href=\"https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/human-caused\">more than 7,000 wildfires\u003c/a> in California; nationally, it was more than 50,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Humans are incredibly predictable,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief David Acuna said. “They drag chains, and they leave campfires to burn or they have a flat tire but think they can \u003cem>juuust \u003c/em>make it to the next exit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s people not using appropriate judgment,” he added. “They are not looking at what they are doing and whether or not it’s going to start a fire. I believe in the ability of humans to recognize what is not in their best interest, but people constantly prove me wrong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add to the list the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/24/park-fire\">Park Fire\u003c/a>, a fierce fire raging across 600 square miles in four Sacramento Valley counties that is already the fifth \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-largest-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=396e3fe5db424fc39487bfa4d219cf81&hash=8529C4E1F1BC3073E31AD0337E875199\">largest in California history (PDF)\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.buttecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/13770/July-25-2024---CHICO-MAN-ARRESTED-FOR-PARK-FIRE-ARSON---UPDATE\">Butte County authorities (PDF) \u003c/a>arrested a 42-year-old Chico man suspected of pushing a burning vehicle into a ravine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human action, tragically, also may have caused the 57,300-acre \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.fs2c.usda.gov/incident-information/casqf-borel-fire\">Borel Fire in Kern County\u003c/a>, which began last week on the side of Highway 178, possibly sparked when a vehicle crashed, killing the driver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a summer of severe fires, with dangerous lightning storms possible in the coming weeks, authorities wish people would stop doing stupid stuff. Nature doesn’t need any help starting fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would include the man accused of driving his truck for more than four miles, minus a front tire, in Sonoma County last week. The metal scraping on the road sparked the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/24/flora-fire\">Flora Fire\u003c/a>, a small blaze east of Healdsburg. The fire was contained last Sunday and a suspect is in custody. Cal Fire lists the cause as “vehicle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar maneuver started the 2018 \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2018/7/23/carr-fire\">Carr Fire\u003c/a> near Redding. The fire, which killed three people fighting the fire and five civilians and burned nearly 230,000 acres, was ignited by a spark caused by someone driving a trailer with a flat tire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another major human cause is related to institutions — the power utilities — rather than reckless individuals. “Since 2015, \u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2021-117.pdf\">power lines (PDF)\u003c/a> have caused six of the state’s 20 most destructive wildfires,” according to a 2022 report from the State Auditor’s office. \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-destructive-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=9e4974c273274858880c2dd28292a96f&hash=29E21CBFCE8D9885F606246607D21CEB\">California’s most deadly fire (PDF)\u003c/a>, the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, was started by arcing transmission lines whipped by high winds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natural causes still play a significant role, especially \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/09/california-fires-lightning/\">lightning, which could become an even bigger threat due to climate change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-intentional-arson-is-rare-in-wildfires\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Intentional arson is rare in wildfires\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Arsonists purposefully setting fires is not common, accounting for about 10% of California fires, depending on the year. Last year \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/our-impact\">111 people were arrested for arson-caused fires\u003c/a> in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thousands of human-caused fires fall into the unofficial category of people being knuckleheads: Folks doing something they think is safe or, absent any thinking, something they come to regret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few examples:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A smoke bomb at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/21/couple-gender-reveal-party-wildfire-charged\">gender-reveal party\u003c/a> sparked the deadly 2020 El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, which killed a firefighter and cost $42 million to suppress.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A person using a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/4/french-fire\">lawnmower\u003c/a> in Mariposa County caused the French Fire on July 4.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiego.gov/fire/about/majorfires/2003cedar\">Starting a fire to signal for help\u003c/a>, a hunter inadvertently started the 2003 Cedar Fire near San Diego, which burned 280,278 acres, destroyed 2,820 buildings and killed 15 people.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2015/9/12/valley-fire\">Faulty wiring on a hot tub\u003c/a> in 2015 ignited a fire that burned for longer than a month in Lake County.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/7/16/detwiler-fire\">Weapons fired in the backcountry\u003c/a> started the 2017 Detwiler Fire, destroying 134 structures and threatening Yosemite National Park. \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2008/7/25/telegraph-fire/\">The same cause in the same area\u003c/a> sparked the Telegraph Fire nine years earlier.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A homeowner attempting to install a shade cloth on his property \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2018/7/27/ranch-fire-mendocino-complex\">used a hammer to drive a metal stake into the ground\u003c/a>. The sparks set off the Ranch Fire, which killed a firefighter and burned more than 410,000 acres in Colusa, Glenn, Lake and Mendocino counties in 2018.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Throw into the mix: escaped Mylar balloons sparking utility lines, unattended campfires, Weedwackers, cigarette butts tossed out of car windows, trains, backyard fireworks. It’s a wonder that the state doesn’t burn down every year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dispatching crews to human-caused fires takes resources away from the fires that nature creates, said Adrienne Freeman, a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The answer is to use common sense,” she said. “It’s important not to place blame, but if you have a flat tire and you are 500 feet from the gas station, you may want to push (the car instead.) Think about it in the bigger picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Freeman said a particular numbskull decision she’s seen is, evidently, common: backcountry campers setting fire to used toilet paper so they don’t have to pack it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-vehicles-lawn-equipment-are-leading-causes-of-wildfires\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vehicles, lawn equipment are leading causes of wildfires\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The unsung reason is parking on dry grass. It’s common,” she said. “People pull up to a river access and see all these cars parked on the same strip you are parked on. What do you do? You park there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California firefighters respond to countless brush fires every summer that were started by a hot tailpipe making contact with high and dry grasses next to a road. The flammability of grasses is so well known that even those in the fire service are on guard not to spark fires when they use or move equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can actually start fires while fighting fires,” Freeman said, noting that heavy-duty fire engines and other fire vehicles can kick up rocks and cause sparks. “You are moving your dozers to respond to a fire, you have to be very careful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dave Winnacker, fire chief of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mofd.org/our-district/district-overview/fire-chief\">Moraga-Orinda Fire District\u003c/a> east of Berkeley, said human-caused fires commonly involve using equipment outdoors unsafely and vehicle accidents. His department operates a rigorous fire awareness program but sometimes education and warnings are not enough. In June, the fire district instituted a near-total \u003ca href=\"https://www.mofd.org/our-district/fuels-mitigation-fire-prevention/burn-ban-status#:~:text=What%20is%20banned%3F,or%20NG)%20outdoor%20flame%20devices.\">outdoor fire ban\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many California counties suggest mowing grass early in the day or late afternoon, but it’s not mandatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We rely on our education and spreading the word. At the end of the day, some people are going to get it and some are not,” said Andy VanSciver, public information officer for the \u003ca href=\"https://vcfd.org/fire-hazard-reduction-program-fhrp/\">Ventura County Fire Department.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Californians trigger thousands of wildfires every year with poor choices and reckless behavior. The Park Fire, ignited by a man pushing a burning car, was one.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Of all the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletter/park-fire-california-wildfires/\">insidious threats faced by wildland firefighters\u003c/a> — extreme heat, desiccated forests, unpredictable fire behavior and a nearly year-round fire season — what might be the most fearsome?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People do dangerous things, things that start \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/category/environment/wildfires/\">wildfires.\u003c/a> Pushing a burning car into a gully. Mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. Mis-wiring a hot tub. Driving cars with flat tires. Burning toilet paper rather than packing it out of a campsite. Setting off smoke bombs at gender reveal parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In hot, dry conditions already primed for fire, people’s actions can quickly escalate from a harmless mistake — such as hammering a metal stake into the parched ground — to igniting a blaze that kills a firefighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People — whether purposeful, reckless or simply careless — are responsible for about 95% of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-wildfire-map-tracker/\">California’s wildfires\u003c/a>. Last year alone, people caused \u003ca href=\"https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/human-caused\">more than 7,000 wildfires\u003c/a> in California; nationally, it was more than 50,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Humans are incredibly predictable,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief David Acuna said. “They drag chains, and they leave campfires to burn or they have a flat tire but think they can \u003cem>juuust \u003c/em>make it to the next exit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s people not using appropriate judgment,” he added. “They are not looking at what they are doing and whether or not it’s going to start a fire. I believe in the ability of humans to recognize what is not in their best interest, but people constantly prove me wrong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add to the list the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/24/park-fire\">Park Fire\u003c/a>, a fierce fire raging across 600 square miles in four Sacramento Valley counties that is already the fifth \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-largest-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=396e3fe5db424fc39487bfa4d219cf81&hash=8529C4E1F1BC3073E31AD0337E875199\">largest in California history (PDF)\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.buttecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/13770/July-25-2024---CHICO-MAN-ARRESTED-FOR-PARK-FIRE-ARSON---UPDATE\">Butte County authorities (PDF) \u003c/a>arrested a 42-year-old Chico man suspected of pushing a burning vehicle into a ravine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human action, tragically, also may have caused the 57,300-acre \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.fs2c.usda.gov/incident-information/casqf-borel-fire\">Borel Fire in Kern County\u003c/a>, which began last week on the side of Highway 178, possibly sparked when a vehicle crashed, killing the driver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a summer of severe fires, with dangerous lightning storms possible in the coming weeks, authorities wish people would stop doing stupid stuff. Nature doesn’t need any help starting fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would include the man accused of driving his truck for more than four miles, minus a front tire, in Sonoma County last week. The metal scraping on the road sparked the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/24/flora-fire\">Flora Fire\u003c/a>, a small blaze east of Healdsburg. The fire was contained last Sunday and a suspect is in custody. Cal Fire lists the cause as “vehicle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar maneuver started the 2018 \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2018/7/23/carr-fire\">Carr Fire\u003c/a> near Redding. The fire, which killed three people fighting the fire and five civilians and burned nearly 230,000 acres, was ignited by a spark caused by someone driving a trailer with a flat tire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another major human cause is related to institutions — the power utilities — rather than reckless individuals. “Since 2015, \u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2021-117.pdf\">power lines (PDF)\u003c/a> have caused six of the state’s 20 most destructive wildfires,” according to a 2022 report from the State Auditor’s office. \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-destructive-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=9e4974c273274858880c2dd28292a96f&hash=29E21CBFCE8D9885F606246607D21CEB\">California’s most deadly fire (PDF)\u003c/a>, the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, was started by arcing transmission lines whipped by high winds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natural causes still play a significant role, especially \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/09/california-fires-lightning/\">lightning, which could become an even bigger threat due to climate change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-intentional-arson-is-rare-in-wildfires\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Intentional arson is rare in wildfires\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Arsonists purposefully setting fires is not common, accounting for about 10% of California fires, depending on the year. Last year \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/our-impact\">111 people were arrested for arson-caused fires\u003c/a> in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thousands of human-caused fires fall into the unofficial category of people being knuckleheads: Folks doing something they think is safe or, absent any thinking, something they come to regret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few examples:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A smoke bomb at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/21/couple-gender-reveal-party-wildfire-charged\">gender-reveal party\u003c/a> sparked the deadly 2020 El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, which killed a firefighter and cost $42 million to suppress.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A person using a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/4/french-fire\">lawnmower\u003c/a> in Mariposa County caused the French Fire on July 4.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiego.gov/fire/about/majorfires/2003cedar\">Starting a fire to signal for help\u003c/a>, a hunter inadvertently started the 2003 Cedar Fire near San Diego, which burned 280,278 acres, destroyed 2,820 buildings and killed 15 people.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2015/9/12/valley-fire\">Faulty wiring on a hot tub\u003c/a> in 2015 ignited a fire that burned for longer than a month in Lake County.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/7/16/detwiler-fire\">Weapons fired in the backcountry\u003c/a> started the 2017 Detwiler Fire, destroying 134 structures and threatening Yosemite National Park. \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2008/7/25/telegraph-fire/\">The same cause in the same area\u003c/a> sparked the Telegraph Fire nine years earlier.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A homeowner attempting to install a shade cloth on his property \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2018/7/27/ranch-fire-mendocino-complex\">used a hammer to drive a metal stake into the ground\u003c/a>. The sparks set off the Ranch Fire, which killed a firefighter and burned more than 410,000 acres in Colusa, Glenn, Lake and Mendocino counties in 2018.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Throw into the mix: escaped Mylar balloons sparking utility lines, unattended campfires, Weedwackers, cigarette butts tossed out of car windows, trains, backyard fireworks. It’s a wonder that the state doesn’t burn down every year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dispatching crews to human-caused fires takes resources away from the fires that nature creates, said Adrienne Freeman, a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The answer is to use common sense,” she said. “It’s important not to place blame, but if you have a flat tire and you are 500 feet from the gas station, you may want to push (the car instead.) Think about it in the bigger picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Freeman said a particular numbskull decision she’s seen is, evidently, common: backcountry campers setting fire to used toilet paper so they don’t have to pack it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-vehicles-lawn-equipment-are-leading-causes-of-wildfires\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vehicles, lawn equipment are leading causes of wildfires\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The unsung reason is parking on dry grass. It’s common,” she said. “People pull up to a river access and see all these cars parked on the same strip you are parked on. What do you do? You park there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California firefighters respond to countless brush fires every summer that were started by a hot tailpipe making contact with high and dry grasses next to a road. The flammability of grasses is so well known that even those in the fire service are on guard not to spark fires when they use or move equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can actually start fires while fighting fires,” Freeman said, noting that heavy-duty fire engines and other fire vehicles can kick up rocks and cause sparks. “You are moving your dozers to respond to a fire, you have to be very careful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dave Winnacker, fire chief of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mofd.org/our-district/district-overview/fire-chief\">Moraga-Orinda Fire District\u003c/a> east of Berkeley, said human-caused fires commonly involve using equipment outdoors unsafely and vehicle accidents. His department operates a rigorous fire awareness program but sometimes education and warnings are not enough. In June, the fire district instituted a near-total \u003ca href=\"https://www.mofd.org/our-district/fuels-mitigation-fire-prevention/burn-ban-status#:~:text=What%20is%20banned%3F,or%20NG)%20outdoor%20flame%20devices.\">outdoor fire ban\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many California counties suggest mowing grass early in the day or late afternoon, but it’s not mandatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We rely on our education and spreading the word. At the end of the day, some people are going to get it and some are not,” said Andy VanSciver, public information officer for the \u003ca href=\"https://vcfd.org/fire-hazard-reduction-program-fhrp/\">Ventura County Fire Department.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the small forest community of Cohasset, Ron Ward watched as flames hundreds of feet high from California’s deadly Park Fire approached his family ranch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He had lost insurance coverage on it just a month earlier as companies increasingly \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/video/wildfires-california-allstate-corp-personal-insurance-national-bdc47d6ccbe64c27bf1674d468c609eb\">drop California homeowners\u003c/a> due to the growing risk of wildfires in the state, in part due to hotter weather and arid conditions caused by climate change. So he and his son Ethan went to work installing a fire protection system involving a water line to a pond and sprinklers. The system’s pump was delivered right when the fire started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flames reached within 70 feet of his house. Then they stopped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It hit our sprinklers and kind of died down and then went around our property and missed, missed all of our structures,” Ward said. His 100-year-old ranch was saved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohasset exhibited charred remnants of the devastation on Sunday, a scene that Ward described as a “moonscape.” Mailboxes and vehicles were covered with pink fire retardant dropped by aircraft. The husks of a washer and dryer set were surrounded by burned debris and a blackened motorcycle was propped upright, balancing on rims after its tires apparently melted away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters made progress and were helped by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997641\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997641\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A charred vehicle sits along Cohasset Road in Cohasset, outside of Chico, on July 26, 2024, after the Park Fire swept through the area the evening before. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ward, who stayed behind with a few friends, had to be the one to call his bookkeeper and neighbors to tell them their homes were gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They haven’t even been able to get back to look at their homes,” he said, tearing up as he recounted last week’s experience to \u003cem>The Associated Press\u003c/em> in an interview on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California this year and the sixth largest in the state’s recorded history was one of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/wildfires\">more than 100 large active wildfires\u003c/a> burning in the U.S. on Monday. The man arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully made his first appearance in court on Monday and was charged with felony arson of an inhabited structure or property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ronnie Dean Stout was arrested at his home in Chico a day after the fire started. Prosecutors said Stout has a previous criminal record and would face life in prison if convicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was no reply to an email to the district attorney asking whether Stout had legal representation or someone who could comment on his behalf. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey told reporters after the hearing that Stout said the incident was an accident, \u003cem>The Sacramento Bee\u003c/em> reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire scorched more than 575 square miles, an area greater than the city of Los Angeles, as of Monday, according to CAL Fire. It has destroyed more than 100 structures and is threatening 4,200 more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997508\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997508\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The CalFire Gabilan Conservation Camp inmate hand crew holds the fire line on Route 32 northeast of Chico in the early morning of July 26, 2024. The crew drove from Monterrey to assist with the Park Fire. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Firefighters reached 12% of containment after being aided by cooler temperatures and more humidity over the weekend, and it remained at that figure on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders were in effect Monday on 25 wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 27,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to wildfires that have burned more than 3,200 square miles nationwide, the center said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some blazes were sparked by the weather, with \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/chile-wildfires-forest-drought-climate-south-america-78cb1fac1ae2be487e1ba41d027f4b21\">climate change increasing\u003c/a> the frequency of lightning strikes as the western U.S. endures blistering heat and bone-dry conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ward said that even though he and his friends “survived the onslaught,” he remains vigilant, waking up at 5 a.m. and patrolling the area for fires until nightfall in his all-terrain vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just cruising around and putting out fires,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service issued “red flag” warnings on Monday for wide swaths of Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, in addition to parts of California, meaning dry fuels and stronger winds were increasing the fire danger. Air quality alerts were also issued for Monday in the northwestern U.S. and western Canada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 4,800 firefighters were battling the fire on Monday, aided by numerous helicopters and air tankers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11998002\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11998002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An air tanker drops fire retardant along Route 34 to keep the Park Fire from jumping the road northeast of Chico on July 26, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire has drawn comparisons to the 2018 \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/video/paradise-wildfires-california-fires-judy-clemens-ebeb26340a67481cb8a2aa3463a4b921\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> that tore through Paradise, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California, about 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate because of a fire sweeping through the Sequoia National Forest. The wind-driven blaze ate up more than 60 square miles in four days, Andrew Freeborn of the Kern County Fire Department said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said one-third of U.S. residents live in an area where human activities and wildland vegetation intersect, creating a higher potential for wildfires, according to a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We question living here for sure,” Ward said of his ranch in Cohasset. But generations have remained since his wife’s great-grandfather settled there in 1905, and he isn’t the one to leave, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of history here,” Ward said. “So we live on this ranch, and we’re committed to this ranch and preserving the ranch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the small forest community of Cohasset, Ron Ward watched as flames hundreds of feet high from California’s deadly Park Fire approached his family ranch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He had lost insurance coverage on it just a month earlier as companies increasingly \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/video/wildfires-california-allstate-corp-personal-insurance-national-bdc47d6ccbe64c27bf1674d468c609eb\">drop California homeowners\u003c/a> due to the growing risk of wildfires in the state, in part due to hotter weather and arid conditions caused by climate change. So he and his son Ethan went to work installing a fire protection system involving a water line to a pond and sprinklers. The system’s pump was delivered right when the fire started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flames reached within 70 feet of his house. Then they stopped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It hit our sprinklers and kind of died down and then went around our property and missed, missed all of our structures,” Ward said. His 100-year-old ranch was saved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohasset exhibited charred remnants of the devastation on Sunday, a scene that Ward described as a “moonscape.” Mailboxes and vehicles were covered with pink fire retardant dropped by aircraft. The husks of a washer and dryer set were surrounded by burned debris and a blackened motorcycle was propped upright, balancing on rims after its tires apparently melted away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters made progress and were helped by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997641\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997641\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-PARKFIRE-105-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A charred vehicle sits along Cohasset Road in Cohasset, outside of Chico, on July 26, 2024, after the Park Fire swept through the area the evening before. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ward, who stayed behind with a few friends, had to be the one to call his bookkeeper and neighbors to tell them their homes were gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They haven’t even been able to get back to look at their homes,” he said, tearing up as he recounted last week’s experience to \u003cem>The Associated Press\u003c/em> in an interview on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California this year and the sixth largest in the state’s recorded history was one of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/wildfires\">more than 100 large active wildfires\u003c/a> burning in the U.S. on Monday. The man arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully made his first appearance in court on Monday and was charged with felony arson of an inhabited structure or property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ronnie Dean Stout was arrested at his home in Chico a day after the fire started. Prosecutors said Stout has a previous criminal record and would face life in prison if convicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was no reply to an email to the district attorney asking whether Stout had legal representation or someone who could comment on his behalf. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey told reporters after the hearing that Stout said the incident was an accident, \u003cem>The Sacramento Bee\u003c/em> reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire scorched more than 575 square miles, an area greater than the city of Los Angeles, as of Monday, according to CAL Fire. It has destroyed more than 100 structures and is threatening 4,200 more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997508\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997508\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-17-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The CalFire Gabilan Conservation Camp inmate hand crew holds the fire line on Route 32 northeast of Chico in the early morning of July 26, 2024. The crew drove from Monterrey to assist with the Park Fire. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Firefighters reached 12% of containment after being aided by cooler temperatures and more humidity over the weekend, and it remained at that figure on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders were in effect Monday on 25 wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 27,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to wildfires that have burned more than 3,200 square miles nationwide, the center said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some blazes were sparked by the weather, with \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/chile-wildfires-forest-drought-climate-south-america-78cb1fac1ae2be487e1ba41d027f4b21\">climate change increasing\u003c/a> the frequency of lightning strikes as the western U.S. endures blistering heat and bone-dry conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ward said that even though he and his friends “survived the onslaught,” he remains vigilant, waking up at 5 a.m. and patrolling the area for fires until nightfall in his all-terrain vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just cruising around and putting out fires,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service issued “red flag” warnings on Monday for wide swaths of Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, in addition to parts of California, meaning dry fuels and stronger winds were increasing the fire danger. Air quality alerts were also issued for Monday in the northwestern U.S. and western Canada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 4,800 firefighters were battling the fire on Monday, aided by numerous helicopters and air tankers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11998002\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11998002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-139-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An air tanker drops fire retardant along Route 34 to keep the Park Fire from jumping the road northeast of Chico on July 26, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire has drawn comparisons to the 2018 \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/video/paradise-wildfires-california-fires-judy-clemens-ebeb26340a67481cb8a2aa3463a4b921\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> that tore through Paradise, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California, about 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate because of a fire sweeping through the Sequoia National Forest. The wind-driven blaze ate up more than 60 square miles in four days, Andrew Freeborn of the Kern County Fire Department said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said one-third of U.S. residents live in an area where human activities and wildland vegetation intersect, creating a higher potential for wildfires, according to a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We question living here for sure,” Ward said of his ranch in Cohasset. But generations have remained since his wife’s great-grandfather settled there in 1905, and he isn’t the one to leave, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of history here,” Ward said. “So we live on this ranch, and we’re committed to this ranch and preserving the ranch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "firefighting-is-the-most-popular-new-career-path-in-newsoms-california-apprenticeship-program",
"title": "Firefighting Is the Most Popular New Career Path in Newsom's California Apprenticeship Program",
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"headTitle": "Firefighting Is the Most Popular New Career Path in Newsom’s California Apprenticeship Program | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Flames curled around a white 1997 Buick as the airbags exploded, sounding like gunshots. The tires popped next, sending metal pieces flying. Four men battled the blaze, shooting water through a firehose while Captain Michael Chapman looked on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the day, he said, this training academy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department will torch 10 cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only is the training free for these firefighters-in-training — they also get paid. They’re in an apprenticeship program, which means \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/college-beat/2023/06/california-apprenticeships/\">they learn on the job\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a model that’s gaining \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2024/06/california-workers-apprenticeships-ideas-festival/\">new attention\u003c/a>. During his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@GavinNewsom/heres-how-we-grow-california-s-economy-for-everyone-b1b06c7b49c9#:~:text=Second%2C%20we%20will%20establish%20500%2C000%20earn%2Dand%2Dlearn%20apprenticeships%20by%202029%2C%20creating%20a%20new%20vocational%20pipeline%20of%20high%2Dskill%20workers.%20In%20an%20increasingly%20global%20world%2C%20apprenticeships%20provide%20the%20education%20and%20training%20necessary%20to%20prepare%20Californians%20for%20the%20jobs%20of%20today%20and%20tomorrow.\">500,000 new apprenticeships\u003c/a> in the decade after taking office. Firefighting is the most popular so far, with nearly 18,000 apprentices joining programs since Newsom’s inauguration in January 2019, according to Adele Burnes, the deputy chief of the state’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards. As of this month, she said the state has registered more than 180,000 apprentices across all industries in the last five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee helps create these firefighter apprenticeships by bringing together local fire departments and their union leaders, who jointly set the terms for apprentice pay and training. The state subsidizes apprenticeship training just like it subsidizes public colleges and universities.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Learning without getting burned\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, the majority of professional firefighters in California are trained through apprenticeship programs, said Yvonne de la Peña, who oversees the joint committee. She said getting to that point took more than 30 years of incremental work, negotiating apprenticeship agreements department by department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 36 Los Angeles County apprentices, all men, each with the same buzz cut. After every lesson in their 18-week training program, they split into small groups and lined up in rows, where their instructors shouted commands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to be militaristic,” Chapman said. “Someone has to take charge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pay varies, but in large fire departments, apprentices can make more than $40 an hour, according to de la Peña. Once they finish apprenticeship training, they get a raise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997537\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2150px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2150\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED.jpg 2150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-800x496.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1020x632.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1536x952.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-2048x1270.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1920x1190.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2150px) 100vw, 2150px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A car burns during firefighter training. Right: An apprentice carries a saw. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997538\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997538\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices work to extinguish the flames on a burning car. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The state reimburses the departments for some training costs, typically about $10 an hour for each hour of training. In the 2022–23 budget year, which ended last June, the state gave fire departments a total of more than $24 million for apprenticeship training, according to Melissa Villarin, a spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. The money passes through education agencies because it comes from Proposition 98, the same source used to fund K–12 education and community colleges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to its hourly reimbursement, which is provided to almost any registered apprenticeship program, California allocated around $130 million for apprenticeships in the last budget year. Most of that money went to programs that help diversify apprenticeships or to industries that are interested in launching an apprenticeship model for the first time. It’s part of an \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/08/500000-californians-stand-to-benefit-from-new-apprenticeship-plan/#:~:text=The%20recently%20enacted%20budget%20includes%20an%20unprecedented%20%24480%20million%20over%20the%20next%20three%20years%20to%20support%20this%20expansion.\">unprecedented state investment\u003c/a> in apprenticeships in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles County, the fire department didn’t qualify for many of those grants, but it received over $4 million from the state for training reimbursement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few hours after quenching the car fire, the apprentices rotate to other lessons, including the most dangerous one: a burning building. For that section, instructors outnumber students. “The last thing we want is to burn one of them,” said Chapman, pointing to the apprentices. “Or burn one of the staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To simulate a burning building, the instructors use shipping containers, lining sections of the interior walls with wooden pallets and sound boards, then lighting them on fire. Four apprentices run from a fire truck in the parking lot toward the shipping containers, carrying a firehouse between them, and crawl inside, one by one, escorted by their instructors at the front and the rear of the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, while inside, the firehose snags a corner, but the apprentices struggle to communicate with one another to ask for more slack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997539\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997539\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-2048x683.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1920x641.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices, in yellow helmets, run a hose over to the entrance of a shipping container during training. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997540\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997540\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several instructors take off their gear and cool off between training sessions. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They lose about 30 seconds but put out the fire nonetheless. They exit the shipping container slowly, too exhausted to run, then they strip off their uniforms and dunk their heads into a trash bin filled with ice water. Both apprentices and instructors are dripping in water and sweat as they sit down to debrief the lesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did they not hear you, or did you not understand?” said instructor Zack Balderrama, referring to the moment when the firehose got stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Both,” said a group of four apprentices in unison.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Parallels’ to education\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On-the-job training has long been a part of firefighting, said de la Peña, with the joint apprenticeship committee. “The apprenticeship model hasn’t changed how someone becomes a firefighter.” The difference, she said, is that now fire departments are reimbursed directly by the state for some of their training costs. Their training is more standardized and union leaders play a larger part in determining it, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some industries, such as carpentry, have also created robust apprenticeship programs. Since 2019, the state has registered roughly 14,000 carpenter apprentices, said Burnes, with the state standards division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industries such as firefighting and carpentry will continue to add apprentices, but not at the scale needed to meet the governor’s goal of 500,000. “If we do nothing and maintain the status quo, we will serve approximately 330,000 apprentices by 2029,” wrote state agency leaders in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/e-News/2022/Five-Point-Action-Plan.pdf#page=11\">2022 report (PDF)\u003c/a>. One of the solutions, they wrote, is to “expand new and innovative apprenticeships” in fields such as education, health care, and technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers and firefighters have few skills in common, but when it comes to forming apprenticeship programs, Burnes said there are “parallels.” Both industries are primarily composed of unionized, public sector employees who are spread out across hundreds of independently governed districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997535\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices turn to walk to their next lesson. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California — population 39 million — currently has two teacher apprentices, according to the organization, and they’re registered with the federal government, not the state. California has yet to certify an apprenticeship program for K–12 teachers, Burnes said. “There’s a whole system of teacher credentialing in California. That’s a different nut to crack.” The goal, she said, is to create a pathway for students to earn while they learn without diminishing the quality of the state’s teaching credentials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In health care, Burnes pointed to one promising program, which trains licensed vocational nurses to become registered nurses. She said it has enrolled 84 apprentices since 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Making room for women in firefighting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To train in Los Angeles County, the 36 apprentices needed to pass physical agility, medical and written tests, and to be certified Emergency Medical Technicians or paramedics before starting training. Many took over 20 different written exams, in multiple counties and states, waiting years just to get hired with a department. This particular class of apprentices took its written exam in 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The greatest challenge is often physical. During training, apprentices must prove they can carry ladders, chainsaws, and hoses while wearing heavy uniforms, helmets, and oxygen tanks — in over 100° heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, the fire department accepted 56 people, but in the first few weeks of class, 20 apprentices either got injured or failed to meet the performance requirements. Among those who failed was the sole woman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody is held to the same standard,” said Chapman, adding that both men and women struggle with the physical agility exam and apprenticeship training. “Size or gender has nothing to do with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the governor’s goal focuses on the volume of apprentices in California, state agencies and fire departments are also concerned about diversity. Apprenticeships help\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2024/03/youth-apprenticeships-california/#:~:text=Those%20who%20complete%20apprenticeships%20can%20earn%20starting%20salaries%20of%20%2477%2C000%2C%20and%20their%20average%20lifetime%20earnings%20could%20outpace%20their%20peers%E2%80%99%20by%20more%20than%20%24300%2C000%2C%20according%20to%20research%20by%20Jobs%20for%20the%20Future%2C%20a%20national%20organization%20that%20promotes%20workforce%20development.\"> train people for high-paying jobs,\u003c/a> but historically, the industries that offer apprenticeships have been male-dominated. In firefighting and construction, for example, just 4% of apprentices are women, according to the state’s 2022 report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diversifying those industries and creating new apprenticeship programs in female-dominated industries, such as education, can help close the pay gap between men and women, Burnes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_201720180ab579\">a 2017 bill\u003c/a>, the state Legislature required the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee to create programs that prepare applicants, especially women and people of color, for firefighter jobs. Last year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called on its fire department to \u003ca href=\"https://hahn.lacounty.gov/supervisors-move-to-improve-diversity-in-la-county-fire-department/#:~:text=To%20ensure%20a%20more%20inclusive,of%20color%2C%20and%20LGBTQ%20individuals.\">do the same\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, de la Peña said the joint committee offers classes in San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles, where students can get certified as a paramedic and practice for the other components of the firefighter apprenticeship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997541\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2135px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997541\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2135\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED.jpg 2135w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-800x499.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-1020x637.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-1536x959.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-2048x1279.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-1920x1199.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2135px) 100vw, 2135px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices’ gear and a helmet are laid out on a bench. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Michaela Levell, a student in Los Angeles, the greatest benefit is the cost. “It’s free,” she said, referring to her paramedic class, and she’s able to continue working as an EMT since school is only three days a week. The UCLA paramedic program nearby is four days a week and costs \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.mednet.ucla.edu/paramedic-planningforcosts\">about $13,000.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Indiana, Levell said she didn’t see any other women in the fire service, so she decided to go to college and study social work instead. “It’s a daunting thing to know how few females there are in the fire department,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After getting her bachelor’s degree, she has around $50,000 in debt and said she wishes she had pursued a firefighter apprenticeship earlier. Once she moved to Los Angeles, she came across female firefighters through her EMT work. She said they’re some of “the most badass women I’ve ever met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adam Echelman covers California’s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. \u003c/em>\u003cem>Financial support for this story was provided by the Smidt and Irvine foundations.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships, many of them firefighters.",
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"title": "Firefighting Is the Most Popular New Career Path in Newsom's California Apprenticeship Program | KQED",
"description": "In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships, many of them firefighters.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Flames curled around a white 1997 Buick as the airbags exploded, sounding like gunshots. The tires popped next, sending metal pieces flying. Four men battled the blaze, shooting water through a firehose while Captain Michael Chapman looked on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the day, he said, this training academy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department will torch 10 cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only is the training free for these firefighters-in-training — they also get paid. They’re in an apprenticeship program, which means \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/college-beat/2023/06/california-apprenticeships/\">they learn on the job\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a model that’s gaining \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2024/06/california-workers-apprenticeships-ideas-festival/\">new attention\u003c/a>. During his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@GavinNewsom/heres-how-we-grow-california-s-economy-for-everyone-b1b06c7b49c9#:~:text=Second%2C%20we%20will%20establish%20500%2C000%20earn%2Dand%2Dlearn%20apprenticeships%20by%202029%2C%20creating%20a%20new%20vocational%20pipeline%20of%20high%2Dskill%20workers.%20In%20an%20increasingly%20global%20world%2C%20apprenticeships%20provide%20the%20education%20and%20training%20necessary%20to%20prepare%20Californians%20for%20the%20jobs%20of%20today%20and%20tomorrow.\">500,000 new apprenticeships\u003c/a> in the decade after taking office. Firefighting is the most popular so far, with nearly 18,000 apprentices joining programs since Newsom’s inauguration in January 2019, according to Adele Burnes, the deputy chief of the state’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards. As of this month, she said the state has registered more than 180,000 apprentices across all industries in the last five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee helps create these firefighter apprenticeships by bringing together local fire departments and their union leaders, who jointly set the terms for apprentice pay and training. The state subsidizes apprenticeship training just like it subsidizes public colleges and universities.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Learning without getting burned\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, the majority of professional firefighters in California are trained through apprenticeship programs, said Yvonne de la Peña, who oversees the joint committee. She said getting to that point took more than 30 years of incremental work, negotiating apprenticeship agreements department by department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 36 Los Angeles County apprentices, all men, each with the same buzz cut. After every lesson in their 18-week training program, they split into small groups and lined up in rows, where their instructors shouted commands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to be militaristic,” Chapman said. “Someone has to take charge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pay varies, but in large fire departments, apprentices can make more than $40 an hour, according to de la Peña. Once they finish apprenticeship training, they get a raise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997537\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2150px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2150\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED.jpg 2150w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-800x496.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1020x632.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1536x952.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-2048x1270.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1920x1190.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2150px) 100vw, 2150px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A car burns during firefighter training. Right: An apprentice carries a saw. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997538\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997538\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-10-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices work to extinguish the flames on a burning car. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The state reimburses the departments for some training costs, typically about $10 an hour for each hour of training. In the 2022–23 budget year, which ended last June, the state gave fire departments a total of more than $24 million for apprenticeship training, according to Melissa Villarin, a spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. The money passes through education agencies because it comes from Proposition 98, the same source used to fund K–12 education and community colleges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to its hourly reimbursement, which is provided to almost any registered apprenticeship program, California allocated around $130 million for apprenticeships in the last budget year. Most of that money went to programs that help diversify apprenticeships or to industries that are interested in launching an apprenticeship model for the first time. It’s part of an \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/08/500000-californians-stand-to-benefit-from-new-apprenticeship-plan/#:~:text=The%20recently%20enacted%20budget%20includes%20an%20unprecedented%20%24480%20million%20over%20the%20next%20three%20years%20to%20support%20this%20expansion.\">unprecedented state investment\u003c/a> in apprenticeships in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles County, the fire department didn’t qualify for many of those grants, but it received over $4 million from the state for training reimbursement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few hours after quenching the car fire, the apprentices rotate to other lessons, including the most dangerous one: a burning building. For that section, instructors outnumber students. “The last thing we want is to burn one of them,” said Chapman, pointing to the apprentices. “Or burn one of the staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To simulate a burning building, the instructors use shipping containers, lining sections of the interior walls with wooden pallets and sound boards, then lighting them on fire. Four apprentices run from a fire truck in the parking lot toward the shipping containers, carrying a firehouse between them, and crawl inside, one by one, escorted by their instructors at the front and the rear of the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, while inside, the firehose snags a corner, but the apprentices struggle to communicate with one another to ask for more slack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997539\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997539\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-2048x683.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1920x641.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices, in yellow helmets, run a hose over to the entrance of a shipping container during training. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997540\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997540\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-35-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several instructors take off their gear and cool off between training sessions. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They lose about 30 seconds but put out the fire nonetheless. They exit the shipping container slowly, too exhausted to run, then they strip off their uniforms and dunk their heads into a trash bin filled with ice water. Both apprentices and instructors are dripping in water and sweat as they sit down to debrief the lesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did they not hear you, or did you not understand?” said instructor Zack Balderrama, referring to the moment when the firehose got stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Both,” said a group of four apprentices in unison.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Parallels’ to education\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On-the-job training has long been a part of firefighting, said de la Peña, with the joint apprenticeship committee. “The apprenticeship model hasn’t changed how someone becomes a firefighter.” The difference, she said, is that now fire departments are reimbursed directly by the state for some of their training costs. Their training is more standardized and union leaders play a larger part in determining it, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some industries, such as carpentry, have also created robust apprenticeship programs. Since 2019, the state has registered roughly 14,000 carpenter apprentices, said Burnes, with the state standards division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industries such as firefighting and carpentry will continue to add apprentices, but not at the scale needed to meet the governor’s goal of 500,000. “If we do nothing and maintain the status quo, we will serve approximately 330,000 apprentices by 2029,” wrote state agency leaders in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/e-News/2022/Five-Point-Action-Plan.pdf#page=11\">2022 report (PDF)\u003c/a>. One of the solutions, they wrote, is to “expand new and innovative apprenticeships” in fields such as education, health care, and technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers and firefighters have few skills in common, but when it comes to forming apprenticeship programs, Burnes said there are “parallels.” Both industries are primarily composed of unionized, public sector employees who are spread out across hundreds of independently governed districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997535\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices turn to walk to their next lesson. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California — population 39 million — currently has two teacher apprentices, according to the organization, and they’re registered with the federal government, not the state. California has yet to certify an apprenticeship program for K–12 teachers, Burnes said. “There’s a whole system of teacher credentialing in California. That’s a different nut to crack.” The goal, she said, is to create a pathway for students to earn while they learn without diminishing the quality of the state’s teaching credentials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In health care, Burnes pointed to one promising program, which trains licensed vocational nurses to become registered nurses. She said it has enrolled 84 apprentices since 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Making room for women in firefighting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To train in Los Angeles County, the 36 apprentices needed to pass physical agility, medical and written tests, and to be certified Emergency Medical Technicians or paramedics before starting training. Many took over 20 different written exams, in multiple counties and states, waiting years just to get hired with a department. This particular class of apprentices took its written exam in 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The greatest challenge is often physical. During training, apprentices must prove they can carry ladders, chainsaws, and hoses while wearing heavy uniforms, helmets, and oxygen tanks — in over 100° heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, the fire department accepted 56 people, but in the first few weeks of class, 20 apprentices either got injured or failed to meet the performance requirements. Among those who failed was the sole woman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody is held to the same standard,” said Chapman, adding that both men and women struggle with the physical agility exam and apprenticeship training. “Size or gender has nothing to do with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the governor’s goal focuses on the volume of apprentices in California, state agencies and fire departments are also concerned about diversity. Apprenticeships help\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2024/03/youth-apprenticeships-california/#:~:text=Those%20who%20complete%20apprenticeships%20can%20earn%20starting%20salaries%20of%20%2477%2C000%2C%20and%20their%20average%20lifetime%20earnings%20could%20outpace%20their%20peers%E2%80%99%20by%20more%20than%20%24300%2C000%2C%20according%20to%20research%20by%20Jobs%20for%20the%20Future%2C%20a%20national%20organization%20that%20promotes%20workforce%20development.\"> train people for high-paying jobs,\u003c/a> but historically, the industries that offer apprenticeships have been male-dominated. In firefighting and construction, for example, just 4% of apprentices are women, according to the state’s 2022 report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diversifying those industries and creating new apprenticeship programs in female-dominated industries, such as education, can help close the pay gap between men and women, Burnes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_201720180ab579\">a 2017 bill\u003c/a>, the state Legislature required the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee to create programs that prepare applicants, especially women and people of color, for firefighter jobs. Last year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called on its fire department to \u003ca href=\"https://hahn.lacounty.gov/supervisors-move-to-improve-diversity-in-la-county-fire-department/#:~:text=To%20ensure%20a%20more%20inclusive,of%20color%2C%20and%20LGBTQ%20individuals.\">do the same\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, de la Peña said the joint committee offers classes in San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles, where students can get certified as a paramedic and practice for the other components of the firefighter apprenticeship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997541\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2135px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997541\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2135\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED.jpg 2135w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-800x499.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-1020x637.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-1536x959.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-2048x1279.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-FireFight-Training-JAH-CM-29-DIPTYCH-3-KQED-1920x1199.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2135px) 100vw, 2135px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apprentices’ gear and a helmet are laid out on a bench. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Michaela Levell, a student in Los Angeles, the greatest benefit is the cost. “It’s free,” she said, referring to her paramedic class, and she’s able to continue working as an EMT since school is only three days a week. The UCLA paramedic program nearby is four days a week and costs \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.mednet.ucla.edu/paramedic-planningforcosts\">about $13,000.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Indiana, Levell said she didn’t see any other women in the fire service, so she decided to go to college and study social work instead. “It’s a daunting thing to know how few females there are in the fire department,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After getting her bachelor’s degree, she has around $50,000 in debt and said she wishes she had pursued a firefighter apprenticeship earlier. Once she moved to Los Angeles, she came across female firefighters through her EMT work. She said they’re some of “the most badass women I’ve ever met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adam Echelman covers California’s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. \u003c/em>\u003cem>Financial support for this story was provided by the Smidt and Irvine foundations.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "As Massive Park Fire Rages, Crews Fight to Save Rural Communities Near Chico",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 12:30 a.m. Saturday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 2,500 firefighters battled California’s largest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire\u003c/a> of the year in dangerous conditions on Friday as they tried to protect rural woodland communities north of Chico from the rapidly spreading blaze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire has already destroyed at least 134 structures, pushed some 4,000 people from their homes and charred more than 307,000 acres since it ignited Wednesday afternoon. It grew Friday amid hot, dry conditions and gusty winds, becoming the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-largest-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=037e566cdfd540b9a9fe607b809b855c&hash=D7AC28D89B9F8FE36F3C7E5958CEE016\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">eighth-largest fire\u003c/a> on record, according to Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the day Friday, the fire more than doubled in size, tearing through grass, brush, timber and dead vegetation in difficult terrain for firefighters. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s burning in inaccessible areas, in areas with little to no fire history, and into the Ishi Wilderness,” Cal Fire Capt. Dan Collins, a public information officer on the Park Fire, said Friday. “So couple that with heavy fuel loads, both dead and live … that’s why the fire grew exponentially overnight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rural communities of Cohasset and Forest Ranch along Highway 32, which have been ordered to evacuate, are under threat. Immediate evacuations were ordered in Forest Ranch on Friday “due to the extreme danger of being overtaken by the fire,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/ButteSheriff/status/1816882983540035870\">on social media\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire was burning above Forest Ranch as numerous spot fires broke out along Highway 32, forcing Cal Fire to roll out a significant deployment in an effort to protect the community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Friday evening, it had made a major run to the north and crossed Highway 36, the route between Red Bluff and the Mount Lassen area, according to Cal Fire units in the area. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11997526 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-67-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weather conditions were expected to improve over the weekend, but not before getting worse Friday night, according to Cal Fire’s fire behavior unit. Strong southeasterly winds of up to 30 mph could sweep across the area between 10 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday; although that could help keep the fire out of Forest Ranch, it could also aid the blaze’s strong push into more remote, sparsely populated terrain to the north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters were focused Friday on trying to prevent the blaze from sweeping into Cohasset, where several hundred homes are dispersed along a ridge about 10 miles northeast of Chico. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohasset Road, the only paved road in or out of the woodland community, was overrun by the fire on Wednesday evening, but evacuees were guided to safety by firefighters and Sierra Pacific lumber workers who drove over remote logging roads to get them to Highway 32.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>George Sikorski, 81, was one of those evacuees. He has lived in Cohasset for more than 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There have been a number of fires in this particular area. Most of them have been relatively small, and they got on them really quickly,” he said. “This one, they got on quickly, but it was just too much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/CALFIRE_CHIEF/status/1816851417287762394\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he’s been on edge all summer amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1993130/california-forests-saturated-but-grass-fires-pose-immediate-risk-in-bay-area\">high fire danger conditions\u003c/a> as vegetation that flourished during excessive rain this past winter dries out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything is drier this year, and the fire spread rapidly,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Eleazer, 63, lives in the tree line above where the fire started to spread Wednesday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The power went out. Cell phone went out. Everything went out. I was up there all night with no information. So I just started packing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he left Thursday morning, he couldn’t find his Rottweilers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “They got confused and took off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Julie Phillips, 55, said the fire moved quickly on Cohasset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was real. It was very, very fast. We had no chance really to get anything, so we got our dogs, which meant everything to us,” she said Friday at an evacuation center set up at Neighborhood Church of Chico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997585\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997585\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cohasset resident Julie Phillips waits for wildfire updates outside of the Neighborhood Church Evacuation Center in Chico on July 26, 2024, after evacuating her home due to the Park Fire. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As she was evacuating, she said, her car ran out of gas, forcing her to roll down the mountain road until she got to a flat, where a friend passed by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He literally turned around and chained us up and brought us to Eaton Avenue gas station so that we would make it, you know, so people come together during things like this,” Phillips said. “I’m just thankful to be here and have a place to go because I have nowhere now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire is burning just a few miles from the town of Paradise, which is under evacuation warnings. Much of the town was destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11785247/a-year-after-the-camp-fire-locals-are-rebuilding-paradise\">deadliest wildfire in California history\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1965575 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/07/230809-SOLDOUTPARADISE-45-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two people with minor injuries have been treated and released by firefighters, authorities said in a press conference on Thursday night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crews faced difficult conditions as they battled the fire on Friday. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Friday night, as temperatures were expected to exceed 100 degrees in some areas, and relative humidity was quite low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As heat built throughout the day, the fire’s smoke column grew due to the lifting of the inversion layer, or a band of warm air that keeps cooler air trapped underneath, said Collins, the Cal Fire captain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That column and header is a clear indicator of what the fire is doing. So if you see a very angry smoke column that’s growing and then also perhaps swirling, that’s a big indicator of extreme fire behavior on the ground,” Collins said. “We expect a very active day and a challenging firefight for our air and ground resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conditions raised the likelihood of “rapid spread of any fires,” NWS Sacramento meteorologist Sara Purdue said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conditions are expected to improve into the weekend, Purdue said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arson investigators believe the blaze was started by a man who pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico’s upper Bidwell Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1993684/arson-suspect-arrested-park-fire-near-chico-californias-largest-this-year\">arrested Thursday morning\u003c/a> on suspicion of arson and is being held without bail in Butte County Jail. He has two prior felony convictions for child molestation in 2001 and robbery with great bodily injury in 2002, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/eromero\">Ezra David Romero\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/blaberge\">Beth LaBerge\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Park Fire, California’s largest wildfire of the year, has destroyed 134 structures and scorched more than 239,150 acres with no containment, fire officials said.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 12:30 a.m. Saturday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 2,500 firefighters battled California’s largest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire\u003c/a> of the year in dangerous conditions on Friday as they tried to protect rural woodland communities north of Chico from the rapidly spreading blaze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire has already destroyed at least 134 structures, pushed some 4,000 people from their homes and charred more than 307,000 acres since it ignited Wednesday afternoon. It grew Friday amid hot, dry conditions and gusty winds, becoming the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-largest-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=037e566cdfd540b9a9fe607b809b855c&hash=D7AC28D89B9F8FE36F3C7E5958CEE016\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">eighth-largest fire\u003c/a> on record, according to Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the day Friday, the fire more than doubled in size, tearing through grass, brush, timber and dead vegetation in difficult terrain for firefighters. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s burning in inaccessible areas, in areas with little to no fire history, and into the Ishi Wilderness,” Cal Fire Capt. Dan Collins, a public information officer on the Park Fire, said Friday. “So couple that with heavy fuel loads, both dead and live … that’s why the fire grew exponentially overnight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rural communities of Cohasset and Forest Ranch along Highway 32, which have been ordered to evacuate, are under threat. Immediate evacuations were ordered in Forest Ranch on Friday “due to the extreme danger of being overtaken by the fire,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/ButteSheriff/status/1816882983540035870\">on social media\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire was burning above Forest Ranch as numerous spot fires broke out along Highway 32, forcing Cal Fire to roll out a significant deployment in an effort to protect the community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Friday evening, it had made a major run to the north and crossed Highway 36, the route between Red Bluff and the Mount Lassen area, according to Cal Fire units in the area. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weather conditions were expected to improve over the weekend, but not before getting worse Friday night, according to Cal Fire’s fire behavior unit. Strong southeasterly winds of up to 30 mph could sweep across the area between 10 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday; although that could help keep the fire out of Forest Ranch, it could also aid the blaze’s strong push into more remote, sparsely populated terrain to the north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters were focused Friday on trying to prevent the blaze from sweeping into Cohasset, where several hundred homes are dispersed along a ridge about 10 miles northeast of Chico. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohasset Road, the only paved road in or out of the woodland community, was overrun by the fire on Wednesday evening, but evacuees were guided to safety by firefighters and Sierra Pacific lumber workers who drove over remote logging roads to get them to Highway 32.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>George Sikorski, 81, was one of those evacuees. He has lived in Cohasset for more than 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There have been a number of fires in this particular area. Most of them have been relatively small, and they got on them really quickly,” he said. “This one, they got on quickly, but it was just too much.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>He said he’s been on edge all summer amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1993130/california-forests-saturated-but-grass-fires-pose-immediate-risk-in-bay-area\">high fire danger conditions\u003c/a> as vegetation that flourished during excessive rain this past winter dries out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything is drier this year, and the fire spread rapidly,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Eleazer, 63, lives in the tree line above where the fire started to spread Wednesday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The power went out. Cell phone went out. Everything went out. I was up there all night with no information. So I just started packing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he left Thursday morning, he couldn’t find his Rottweilers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “They got confused and took off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Julie Phillips, 55, said the fire moved quickly on Cohasset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was real. It was very, very fast. We had no chance really to get anything, so we got our dogs, which meant everything to us,” she said Friday at an evacuation center set up at Neighborhood Church of Chico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997585\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997585\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/240726-ParkFire-50-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cohasset resident Julie Phillips waits for wildfire updates outside of the Neighborhood Church Evacuation Center in Chico on July 26, 2024, after evacuating her home due to the Park Fire. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As she was evacuating, she said, her car ran out of gas, forcing her to roll down the mountain road until she got to a flat, where a friend passed by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He literally turned around and chained us up and brought us to Eaton Avenue gas station so that we would make it, you know, so people come together during things like this,” Phillips said. “I’m just thankful to be here and have a place to go because I have nowhere now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire is burning just a few miles from the town of Paradise, which is under evacuation warnings. Much of the town was destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11785247/a-year-after-the-camp-fire-locals-are-rebuilding-paradise\">deadliest wildfire in California history\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two people with minor injuries have been treated and released by firefighters, authorities said in a press conference on Thursday night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crews faced difficult conditions as they battled the fire on Friday. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Friday night, as temperatures were expected to exceed 100 degrees in some areas, and relative humidity was quite low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As heat built throughout the day, the fire’s smoke column grew due to the lifting of the inversion layer, or a band of warm air that keeps cooler air trapped underneath, said Collins, the Cal Fire captain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That column and header is a clear indicator of what the fire is doing. So if you see a very angry smoke column that’s growing and then also perhaps swirling, that’s a big indicator of extreme fire behavior on the ground,” Collins said. “We expect a very active day and a challenging firefight for our air and ground resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conditions raised the likelihood of “rapid spread of any fires,” NWS Sacramento meteorologist Sara Purdue said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conditions are expected to improve into the weekend, Purdue said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arson investigators believe the blaze was started by a man who pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico’s upper Bidwell Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1993684/arson-suspect-arrested-park-fire-near-chico-californias-largest-this-year\">arrested Thursday morning\u003c/a> on suspicion of arson and is being held without bail in Butte County Jail. He has two prior felony convictions for child molestation in 2001 and robbery with great bodily injury in 2002, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/eromero\">Ezra David Romero\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/blaberge\">Beth LaBerge\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "step-into-the-past-at-californias-newest-state-park",
"title": "Step Into the Past at California's Newest State Park",
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"headTitle": "Step Into the Past at California’s Newest State Park | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>At the crack of dawn in California’s Central Valley, birds sing their morning songs and critters chirp unabashedly. In a shady grove next to a river, an owl swoops down from the spindling branches of an oak tree that has stood its ground for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few feet above the tree’s base, its massive trunk is lined with a white ring, indicating how high the San Joaquin River rose during a flood last year. Dos Rios is \u003cem>supposed\u003c/em> to flood — it’s a floodplain, recently transformed into California’s newest state park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The park opened this summer, emerging among the never-ending rows of agriculture the valley is known for. It’s a lush 2.5 square miles now bursting with hundreds of thousands of native trees, bushes and animals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dos Rios, named for the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers that meet at the edge of the park, is the first new California state park in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it isn’t like most state parks. In addition to bringing much-needed green space to an underserved area, its unusual design uses nature-based climate solutions that reinvigorate native wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By restoring the natural floodplain, the park will also help mitigate flooding that threatens residents in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1742px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997401\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Sunflowers in an oak grove.\" width=\"1742\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM.png 1742w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-800x598.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-1020x762.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-1536x1148.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1742px) 100vw, 1742px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sunflowers flourish near a Dos Rios oak grove. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Transforming farm fields back to a floodplain\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dos Rios is like a time machine. Just 15 years ago, this plot of land looked much like its surroundings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These floodplains were once laser-leveled fields that grew alfalfa, or a rotation of corn and winter wheat, which would be harvested and moved over to where the dairies are to feed the cows,” conservationist Julie Rentner says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the land looks more like it did hundreds of years ago before farms and towns cropped up before the Central Valley became an agricultural hub of America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997402\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1290px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997402\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt='A woman stands outside wearing a vest that says \"River Partners.\"' width=\"1290\" height=\"1558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM.png 1290w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-800x966.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-1020x1232.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-160x193.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-1272x1536.png 1272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julie Rentner has had a hand in the formation of Dos Rios since its conception. She’s thrilled to see the park finally open to the public. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rentner is president of the nonprofit organization River Partners, which began the process of purchasing the plot from a farming family back in 2008. Since then, her team has been transforming the land to return it to some semblance of the floodplain it naturally was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of the critters here, the willows, the cottonwoods, the mugwort and the gum plants are actually stimulated by occasional flooding,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the summer months, the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers flow lazily around the edges of this park, but in the spring and early summer, when snow melts in the Sierras, the rivers take on a forceful character, rampaging through this land, swelling above their banks and flooding this area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the rivers rose about 20 feet higher than they are now. At the time, River Partners was giving boat tours through the area as floodwaters brought back animals like river otters, beavers and waterfowl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-scaled.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A view from an oak grove.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-800x1067.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-1020x1360.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view from the Oak Tree Grove, photographed on June 28, 2024, in Dos Rios, located in Modesto. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Working with nature to tame floodwater risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While flooding is now welcome at Dos Rios, for Central Valley farmers and residents, it has long been a demon. It destroys crops and homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Portals/12/documents/civil_works/lower_sj_river/final_eis-eir/01_San%20Joaquin%20River%20Basin%20Lower%20San%20Joaquin%20River_CA%20FINAL%20IIFR_EIS_EIR.pdf?ver=2018-02-01-184425-453\">2018 report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers\u003c/a> and its state partners says that Stockton, a large metropolitan city about 30 miles north of Dos Rios, faced an “unacceptably high risk of flooding from levee failure.” Dos Rios is meant to be an escape valve before torrents of water threaten levees in nearby places like Stockton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This place is reducing flood risk for downstream communities by absorbing floodwaters as they pour out of the Sierra Nevadas,” Rentner says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reengineering Dos Rios involved cutting holes into berms and levees and allowing the rivers to flood instead of attempting to constrain them. The floodwaters then soak into the ground, sparing nearby communities and recharging groundwater. Rentner says these solutions are designed to work \u003cem>with\u003c/em> nature instead of against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997405\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1288px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997405\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"A woman wearing glasses looks out a window.\" width=\"1288\" height=\"1582\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM.png 1288w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-800x983.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-1020x1253.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-160x197.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-1251x1536.png 1251w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1288px) 100vw, 1288px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lilia Lomeli-Gil has lived in Grayson for most of her life. She runs the community center there but wants more recreational spaces for the people of Grayson. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another community that could benefit from Dos Rios is Grayson, a small, unincorporated area just a few miles west of the park. Lilia Lomeli-Gil, a community leader there, remembers suffering from the devastating floods of 1997. At the time, she lived in Modesto, just east of Dos Rios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It still brings tears to my eyes,” she says, recalling her house swamped with 3 to 4 feet of water. “We had to start over, we were homeless.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Lomeli-Gil and her husband were able to relocate back to Grayson, where she had spent most of her life. Now she says she is relieved that Dos Rios is in Grayson’s backyard — not only because of flood-risk mitigation but also because it’s a new place to recreate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A place to go barbecue, join other family members,” and it’s a place to appreciate nature for local community members, she says. “I think that emotionally, it’s going to be very good for their mental health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grayson is a tiny, 4-by-5-block farming community. Most of the residents are agricultural workers. The community center Lomeli-Gil runs is the only gathering place in town for residents, other than the gas station market next door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more; we need a variety, not just one place,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997406\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1738px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997406\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt='Two people look at sign and image of a river that says \"Dos Rios.\"' width=\"1738\" height=\"1150\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM.png 1738w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-800x529.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-1020x675.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-1536x1016.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1738px) 100vw, 1738px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grayson muralist Jose Muñóz hand-painted this sign welcoming visitors to Dos Rios. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A new place to enjoy nature\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At 8:30 on a recent Friday morning, Lomeli-Gil had gathered a group of parents, teenagers and young children from Grayson around picnic benches on the edge of an old riverbank at Dos Rios. Like most of the surrounding community, everyone in the group speaks Spanish, so their tour guides, Eduardo Gonzalez and Julian Morin, led the group through a portion of the park in English and Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to continue to increase accessibility to parks; they’re out here for everybody,” Morin says. “Language barriers shouldn’t be why people can’t get out and enjoy state parks and experience everything they have to offer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez leads the group on a walking path that, in a way, divides the past and future of this park: An old almond orchard is on one side, and a lush landscape of bushes, trees, birds and animals on the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997407\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1734px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997407\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Several people walk outside near a river.\" width=\"1734\" height=\"1158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM.png 1734w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-800x534.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-1020x681.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-1536x1026.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1734px) 100vw, 1734px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eduardo Gonzalez and Julian Morin lead Grayson community members on a tour of Dos Rios in late June. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Spanish, Gonzalez says, “Twelve years ago, this was \u003cem>all \u003c/em>pure orchard, and [River Partners] removed them.” Pointing to the other side of the path, where birds are chirping loudly, he says, “And they began to plant more native plants that were here before agriculture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He tells the group that, like the rest of the park, that almond orchard will eventually become a campground or a place for families to gather. The park will also offer family events like group campfires and stargazing nights. When school is in session, the park plans to organize educational visits for students.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Opening up the land to Indigenous people as a place to gather plants\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Dos Rios team has also consulted with Indigenous tribes about how this new park can benefit their communities. Austin Stevenot, the San Joaquin field manager for River Partners, first came across the organization a few years ago when they invited his extended family to visit the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stevenot and his family are members of the Northern Sierra Miwok tribe. Stevenot consulted his mother and aunts, founding members of the California Indian Basketweavers’ Association. They put together planting palettes of native plants — like a mood board for plants — that would be beneficial to the habitat but also for Indigenous medicinal and cultural practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the things we were like, ‘It would be great to gather this here!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997408\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1282px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997408\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"A headshot of a man wearing a dark colored hat and shirt.\" width=\"1282\" height=\"1608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM.png 1282w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-800x1003.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-1020x1279.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-1225x1536.png 1225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Austin Stevenot helped design the Native Use Garden at Dos Rios. He hopes the entire park will one day be a place where tribal members can go to gather plants for cultural practices. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stevenot brought members of local tribes to plant native shrubs like Valley Sedge, which is used for basket weaving or mugwort, used as a natural bug repellent. Now, a 3-acre Native Use Garden is blooming at Dos Rios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A century ago, he says, his people were forcibly removed from their ancestral village, about 60 miles from here. So it means a lot to him to have a piece of this land his family and other Indigenous people can use as their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like a big weed patch right now. But there’s a lot here. There’s a lot of meaning here,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though removing plants from public lands is typically illegal, \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/2.6\">a 2016 rule\u003c/a> permits parks to enter into plant-gathering agreements with Native American tribes. Stevenot says tribal members can reach out to the park to inquire about accessing the Native Use Garden now. Still, their goal is for the park to eventually implement a formal permitting process for tribal members to gather anywhere in Dos Rios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need thousands more acres just like this,” he says. “Not just not for just water, not for habitat, but for the people of the land, for the people that were here long before anybody else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997409\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1736px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997409\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Plants in a field.\" width=\"1736\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM.png 1736w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-800x600.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-1020x765.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-1536x1152.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1736px) 100vw, 1736px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Native Use Garden is a place where tribal members can gather native plants for ceremonial use and other cultural practices with permission from Dos Rios staff. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>’10 more Dos Rioses’ in the next 10 years\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dos Rios holds great promise for the Central Valley — it provides new recreational space, restores native habitat, protects against flood damage and recharges dwindling groundwater in the Central Valley. But it’s only about 2 1/2 square miles in a vast region dominated by agricultural farms, and even restoring that much land has been no easy task.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here in the Central Valley, we have a history of fighting over water, really being at odds with the environmental movement,” Julie Rentner says. But she adds that over the years, the community surrounding Dos Rios has shown great excitement about its multiple benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997411\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1736px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997411\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"A man holds a plant outside.\" width=\"1736\" height=\"1292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM.png 1736w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-800x595.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-1020x759.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-160x119.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-1536x1143.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1736px) 100vw, 1736px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stevenot rubs the leaves of a mugwort plant, which he explains has ceremonial uses and also works as a mosquito repellant. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You talk to anybody in this neighborhood, and you realize, oh my gosh, we all want the same things,” she says. “We want clean, healthy communities to live in. We want beautiful places to be able to take our kids and grandkids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she says California’s state government is on board with more projects like Dos Rios, as evidenced by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020 executive order, which has been dubbed the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.californianature.ca.gov/\">30 x 30\u003c/a>” initiative because it aims to conserve 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by the year 2030. “And that encouraged us to think, how do you scale all of this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rentner is optimistic. “We’ve done the planning, we’ve done the mapping,” she says, “We’re thinking about doing 10 more Dos Rioses just in the next decade. Maybe more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997412\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1286px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997412\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"An oak tree.\" width=\"1286\" height=\"1614\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM.png 1286w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-800x1004.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-1020x1280.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-1224x1536.png 1224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1286px) 100vw, 1286px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A centuries-old oak tree bears white rings that indicate how high floodwaters rose last spring. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "California's newest state park, Dos Rios (Central Valley), just opened this summer — and a visit is like stepping into a time machine as its creators reimagine what a state park can be.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At the crack of dawn in California’s Central Valley, birds sing their morning songs and critters chirp unabashedly. In a shady grove next to a river, an owl swoops down from the spindling branches of an oak tree that has stood its ground for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few feet above the tree’s base, its massive trunk is lined with a white ring, indicating how high the San Joaquin River rose during a flood last year. Dos Rios is \u003cem>supposed\u003c/em> to flood — it’s a floodplain, recently transformed into California’s newest state park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The park opened this summer, emerging among the never-ending rows of agriculture the valley is known for. It’s a lush 2.5 square miles now bursting with hundreds of thousands of native trees, bushes and animals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dos Rios, named for the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers that meet at the edge of the park, is the first new California state park in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it isn’t like most state parks. In addition to bringing much-needed green space to an underserved area, its unusual design uses nature-based climate solutions that reinvigorate native wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By restoring the natural floodplain, the park will also help mitigate flooding that threatens residents in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1742px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997401\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Sunflowers in an oak grove.\" width=\"1742\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM.png 1742w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-800x598.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-1020x762.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.15 AM-1536x1148.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1742px) 100vw, 1742px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sunflowers flourish near a Dos Rios oak grove. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Transforming farm fields back to a floodplain\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dos Rios is like a time machine. Just 15 years ago, this plot of land looked much like its surroundings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These floodplains were once laser-leveled fields that grew alfalfa, or a rotation of corn and winter wheat, which would be harvested and moved over to where the dairies are to feed the cows,” conservationist Julie Rentner says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the land looks more like it did hundreds of years ago before farms and towns cropped up before the Central Valley became an agricultural hub of America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997402\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1290px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997402\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt='A woman stands outside wearing a vest that says \"River Partners.\"' width=\"1290\" height=\"1558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM.png 1290w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-800x966.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-1020x1232.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-160x193.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.33 AM-1272x1536.png 1272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julie Rentner has had a hand in the formation of Dos Rios since its conception. She’s thrilled to see the park finally open to the public. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rentner is president of the nonprofit organization River Partners, which began the process of purchasing the plot from a farming family back in 2008. Since then, her team has been transforming the land to return it to some semblance of the floodplain it naturally was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of the critters here, the willows, the cottonwoods, the mugwort and the gum plants are actually stimulated by occasional flooding,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the summer months, the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers flow lazily around the edges of this park, but in the spring and early summer, when snow melts in the Sierras, the rivers take on a forceful character, rampaging through this land, swelling above their banks and flooding this area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the rivers rose about 20 feet higher than they are now. At the time, River Partners was giving boat tours through the area as floodwaters brought back animals like river otters, beavers and waterfowl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-scaled.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A view from an oak grove.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-800x1067.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-1020x1360.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/dosrios-gconcepcion-23-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view from the Oak Tree Grove, photographed on June 28, 2024, in Dos Rios, located in Modesto. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Working with nature to tame floodwater risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While flooding is now welcome at Dos Rios, for Central Valley farmers and residents, it has long been a demon. It destroys crops and homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Portals/12/documents/civil_works/lower_sj_river/final_eis-eir/01_San%20Joaquin%20River%20Basin%20Lower%20San%20Joaquin%20River_CA%20FINAL%20IIFR_EIS_EIR.pdf?ver=2018-02-01-184425-453\">2018 report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers\u003c/a> and its state partners says that Stockton, a large metropolitan city about 30 miles north of Dos Rios, faced an “unacceptably high risk of flooding from levee failure.” Dos Rios is meant to be an escape valve before torrents of water threaten levees in nearby places like Stockton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This place is reducing flood risk for downstream communities by absorbing floodwaters as they pour out of the Sierra Nevadas,” Rentner says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reengineering Dos Rios involved cutting holes into berms and levees and allowing the rivers to flood instead of attempting to constrain them. The floodwaters then soak into the ground, sparing nearby communities and recharging groundwater. Rentner says these solutions are designed to work \u003cem>with\u003c/em> nature instead of against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997405\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1288px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997405\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"A woman wearing glasses looks out a window.\" width=\"1288\" height=\"1582\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM.png 1288w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-800x983.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-1020x1253.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-160x197.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.13.58 AM-1251x1536.png 1251w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1288px) 100vw, 1288px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lilia Lomeli-Gil has lived in Grayson for most of her life. She runs the community center there but wants more recreational spaces for the people of Grayson. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another community that could benefit from Dos Rios is Grayson, a small, unincorporated area just a few miles west of the park. Lilia Lomeli-Gil, a community leader there, remembers suffering from the devastating floods of 1997. At the time, she lived in Modesto, just east of Dos Rios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It still brings tears to my eyes,” she says, recalling her house swamped with 3 to 4 feet of water. “We had to start over, we were homeless.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Lomeli-Gil and her husband were able to relocate back to Grayson, where she had spent most of her life. Now she says she is relieved that Dos Rios is in Grayson’s backyard — not only because of flood-risk mitigation but also because it’s a new place to recreate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A place to go barbecue, join other family members,” and it’s a place to appreciate nature for local community members, she says. “I think that emotionally, it’s going to be very good for their mental health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grayson is a tiny, 4-by-5-block farming community. Most of the residents are agricultural workers. The community center Lomeli-Gil runs is the only gathering place in town for residents, other than the gas station market next door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more; we need a variety, not just one place,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997406\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1738px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997406\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt='Two people look at sign and image of a river that says \"Dos Rios.\"' width=\"1738\" height=\"1150\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM.png 1738w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-800x529.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-1020x675.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.07 AM-1536x1016.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1738px) 100vw, 1738px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grayson muralist Jose Muñóz hand-painted this sign welcoming visitors to Dos Rios. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A new place to enjoy nature\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At 8:30 on a recent Friday morning, Lomeli-Gil had gathered a group of parents, teenagers and young children from Grayson around picnic benches on the edge of an old riverbank at Dos Rios. Like most of the surrounding community, everyone in the group speaks Spanish, so their tour guides, Eduardo Gonzalez and Julian Morin, led the group through a portion of the park in English and Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to continue to increase accessibility to parks; they’re out here for everybody,” Morin says. “Language barriers shouldn’t be why people can’t get out and enjoy state parks and experience everything they have to offer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez leads the group on a walking path that, in a way, divides the past and future of this park: An old almond orchard is on one side, and a lush landscape of bushes, trees, birds and animals on the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997407\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1734px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997407\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Several people walk outside near a river.\" width=\"1734\" height=\"1158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM.png 1734w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-800x534.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-1020x681.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.18 AM-1536x1026.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1734px) 100vw, 1734px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eduardo Gonzalez and Julian Morin lead Grayson community members on a tour of Dos Rios in late June. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Spanish, Gonzalez says, “Twelve years ago, this was \u003cem>all \u003c/em>pure orchard, and [River Partners] removed them.” Pointing to the other side of the path, where birds are chirping loudly, he says, “And they began to plant more native plants that were here before agriculture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He tells the group that, like the rest of the park, that almond orchard will eventually become a campground or a place for families to gather. The park will also offer family events like group campfires and stargazing nights. When school is in session, the park plans to organize educational visits for students.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Opening up the land to Indigenous people as a place to gather plants\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Dos Rios team has also consulted with Indigenous tribes about how this new park can benefit their communities. Austin Stevenot, the San Joaquin field manager for River Partners, first came across the organization a few years ago when they invited his extended family to visit the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stevenot and his family are members of the Northern Sierra Miwok tribe. Stevenot consulted his mother and aunts, founding members of the California Indian Basketweavers’ Association. They put together planting palettes of native plants — like a mood board for plants — that would be beneficial to the habitat but also for Indigenous medicinal and cultural practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the things we were like, ‘It would be great to gather this here!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997408\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1282px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997408\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"A headshot of a man wearing a dark colored hat and shirt.\" width=\"1282\" height=\"1608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM.png 1282w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-800x1003.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-1020x1279.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.30 AM-1225x1536.png 1225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Austin Stevenot helped design the Native Use Garden at Dos Rios. He hopes the entire park will one day be a place where tribal members can go to gather plants for cultural practices. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stevenot brought members of local tribes to plant native shrubs like Valley Sedge, which is used for basket weaving or mugwort, used as a natural bug repellent. Now, a 3-acre Native Use Garden is blooming at Dos Rios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A century ago, he says, his people were forcibly removed from their ancestral village, about 60 miles from here. So it means a lot to him to have a piece of this land his family and other Indigenous people can use as their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like a big weed patch right now. But there’s a lot here. There’s a lot of meaning here,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though removing plants from public lands is typically illegal, \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/2.6\">a 2016 rule\u003c/a> permits parks to enter into plant-gathering agreements with Native American tribes. Stevenot says tribal members can reach out to the park to inquire about accessing the Native Use Garden now. Still, their goal is for the park to eventually implement a formal permitting process for tribal members to gather anywhere in Dos Rios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need thousands more acres just like this,” he says. “Not just not for just water, not for habitat, but for the people of the land, for the people that were here long before anybody else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997409\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1736px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997409\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Plants in a field.\" width=\"1736\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM.png 1736w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-800x600.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-1020x765.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.37 AM-1536x1152.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1736px) 100vw, 1736px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Native Use Garden is a place where tribal members can gather native plants for ceremonial use and other cultural practices with permission from Dos Rios staff. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>’10 more Dos Rioses’ in the next 10 years\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dos Rios holds great promise for the Central Valley — it provides new recreational space, restores native habitat, protects against flood damage and recharges dwindling groundwater in the Central Valley. But it’s only about 2 1/2 square miles in a vast region dominated by agricultural farms, and even restoring that much land has been no easy task.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here in the Central Valley, we have a history of fighting over water, really being at odds with the environmental movement,” Julie Rentner says. But she adds that over the years, the community surrounding Dos Rios has shown great excitement about its multiple benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997411\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1736px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997411\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"A man holds a plant outside.\" width=\"1736\" height=\"1292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM.png 1736w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-800x595.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-1020x759.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-160x119.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.14.48 AM-1536x1143.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1736px) 100vw, 1736px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stevenot rubs the leaves of a mugwort plant, which he explains has ceremonial uses and also works as a mosquito repellant. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You talk to anybody in this neighborhood, and you realize, oh my gosh, we all want the same things,” she says. “We want clean, healthy communities to live in. We want beautiful places to be able to take our kids and grandkids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she says California’s state government is on board with more projects like Dos Rios, as evidenced by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020 executive order, which has been dubbed the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.californianature.ca.gov/\">30 x 30\u003c/a>” initiative because it aims to conserve 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by the year 2030. “And that encouraged us to think, how do you scale all of this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rentner is optimistic. “We’ve done the planning, we’ve done the mapping,” she says, “We’re thinking about doing 10 more Dos Rioses just in the next decade. Maybe more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997412\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1286px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08%E2%80%AFAM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997412\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"An oak tree.\" width=\"1286\" height=\"1614\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM.png 1286w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-800x1004.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-1020x1280.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-11.15.08 AM-1224x1536.png 1224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1286px) 100vw, 1286px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A centuries-old oak tree bears white rings that indicate how high floodwaters rose last spring. \u003ccite>(Geloy Concepcion/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "2-drownings-in-russian-river-spur-warnings-after-busy-holiday-week",
"title": "2 Drownings in Russian River Spur Warnings After Busy Holiday Week",
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"headTitle": "2 Drownings in Russian River Spur Warnings After Busy Holiday Week | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Two people drowned in the Russian River last week amid Fourth of July celebrations and a record-breaking heat wave, prompting authorities to warn that the popular waterway spanning portions of Sonoma and Mendocino counties can still pose a danger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first swimmer, identified as Santa Rosa resident Nasoni Tuitoga, 28, was reported missing Wednesday evening after swimming near Villa Grande in Monte Rio, according to a statement from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. The man is thought to have suffered a medical emergency before disappearing under the water, said Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuitoga was found dead Friday afternoon in the same area he went missing after a days-long search by Sonoma County sheriff’s units, the Monte Rio Fire Department, and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office marine team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday evening, Sonoma County deputies responded to reports that a second man, identified Monday as Pedro Ramirez Lopez, was drowning near Monte Rio Beach. The sheriff’s office reported that a bystander administered CPR to the victim, a 50-year-old Richmond resident, on the shore until first responders arrived. They continued with lifesaving efforts upon arrival, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baxman said that the number of people who die in the Russian River each year varies, but the number this year — at least four suspected drownings — is significant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some years we don’t have any, other years we have two or more, it just depends. This is getting to be more drownings than normal,” Baxman told KQED. He did not know how many people drowned in the river in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We won’t have a drowning for a year or two and then we’ll have a couple,” he said. “You never know what the year is going to bring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popular swimming spot has been busier than usual this year, he said — especially amid a record heat wave in California that began last week, during which Monte Rio saw temperatures in the mid 90s and low 100s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are safety measures in place to help keep visitors safe, including the Sonoma Parks Department’s Russian River Patrol lifeguards, who roam popular beaches along the river during summer weekends. There are also signs in English and Spanish with information about the river and life jackets available to borrow, according to Baxman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the river doesn’t have much of a current right now, Baxman said, it can still be dangerous, especially for non-swimmers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While it looks calm on the surface, the river can have strong currents, deep spots and drop-offs, and underwater debris. We urge everyone to practice water safety when they visit our beautiful river,” the sheriff’s office statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baxman said that people should still feel comfortable swimming in the river, but take necessary precautions based on their swimming skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want people to come up and enjoy the river. Please do that, but please be safe,” he said. “If you can’t swim, don’t go in the water. And if you do go in, please make sure you have some sort of flotation device.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Samantha Lim contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Last week’s drownings in Sonoma County bring this year’s total to at least four suspected drowning deaths on the Russian River, a popular summer tubing destination.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Two people drowned in the Russian River last week amid Fourth of July celebrations and a record-breaking heat wave, prompting authorities to warn that the popular waterway spanning portions of Sonoma and Mendocino counties can still pose a danger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first swimmer, identified as Santa Rosa resident Nasoni Tuitoga, 28, was reported missing Wednesday evening after swimming near Villa Grande in Monte Rio, according to a statement from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. The man is thought to have suffered a medical emergency before disappearing under the water, said Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuitoga was found dead Friday afternoon in the same area he went missing after a days-long search by Sonoma County sheriff’s units, the Monte Rio Fire Department, and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office marine team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday evening, Sonoma County deputies responded to reports that a second man, identified Monday as Pedro Ramirez Lopez, was drowning near Monte Rio Beach. The sheriff’s office reported that a bystander administered CPR to the victim, a 50-year-old Richmond resident, on the shore until first responders arrived. They continued with lifesaving efforts upon arrival, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baxman said that the number of people who die in the Russian River each year varies, but the number this year — at least four suspected drownings — is significant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some years we don’t have any, other years we have two or more, it just depends. This is getting to be more drownings than normal,” Baxman told KQED. He did not know how many people drowned in the river in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We won’t have a drowning for a year or two and then we’ll have a couple,” he said. “You never know what the year is going to bring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popular swimming spot has been busier than usual this year, he said — especially amid a record heat wave in California that began last week, during which Monte Rio saw temperatures in the mid 90s and low 100s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are safety measures in place to help keep visitors safe, including the Sonoma Parks Department’s Russian River Patrol lifeguards, who roam popular beaches along the river during summer weekends. There are also signs in English and Spanish with information about the river and life jackets available to borrow, according to Baxman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the river doesn’t have much of a current right now, Baxman said, it can still be dangerous, especially for non-swimmers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While it looks calm on the surface, the river can have strong currents, deep spots and drop-offs, and underwater debris. We urge everyone to practice water safety when they visit our beautiful river,” the sheriff’s office statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baxman said that people should still feel comfortable swimming in the river, but take necessary precautions based on their swimming skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want people to come up and enjoy the river. Please do that, but please be safe,” he said. “If you can’t swim, don’t go in the water. And if you do go in, please make sure you have some sort of flotation device.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Samantha Lim contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-now-has-mandatory-water-conservation-in-urban-areas-how-will-the-new-rules-affect-your-supplier",
"title": "California Now Has Mandatory Water Conservation in Urban Areas: How Will the New Rules Affect Your Supplier?",
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"content": "\u003cp>Despite California’s perpetual struggles with water shortages, state regulators adopted mandatory conservation measures this week that are substantially weaker and save less water than they originally planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules, years in the making, were mandated by a package of laws that tasked state agencies with making “\u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/Make-Water-Conservation-A-California-Way-of-Life/Files/PDFs/Final-WCL-Primer.pdf?la=en&hash=B442FD7A34349FA91DA5CDEFC47134EA38ABF209\">water conservation a California way of life (PDF)\u003c/a>.” They force 405 cities and other urban water suppliers serving about 95% of Californians to meet individualized water budgets that decline over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations, adopted unanimously by the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday, usher in a new phase of mandatory conservation for California. They set long-term targets for water use that aim to account for myriad regional differences, from climate to ownership of llamas and other livestock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water board’s initial proposal — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">unveiled last year\u003c/a> and estimated to cost $13.5 billion at the time — faced an onslaught of criticism from water suppliers and state analysts who called the rules \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">too costly and difficult to achieve\u003c/a>. In March, the state water agency \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/03/california-water-conservation-rules-relaxed/\">revised its proposal\u003c/a> to delay enforcement of the conservation targets and extend the timeline for tightening the water budgets based on outdoor residential use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individual residents won’t be regulated — only suppliers, who must meet their conservation targets or face fines or other penalties. The costs of complying through 2050 are now estimated at $4.7 billion — which is largely expected to be passed onto ratepayers — but water agencies and their customers will also save about $6.2 billion, in large part from buying less water, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">according to the agency’s analysis (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board staff estimate that through 2040, the measures will save 1.7 million acre-feet — enough to supply almost half the state’s population for a year. That’s about 73% less than the earlier proposal, which would have saved 6.3 million acre-feet through 2040, staff told CalMatters. Through 2050, the savings could reach about 3.9 million acre-feet — more than a year’s supply for the state’s entire population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local water providers told the board that the targets would still be difficult to meet and warned that the costs could hit lower- and fixed-income members of their communities especially hard. They urged the board to provide more technical assistance and funding. Still, many applauded the changes, which they said will soften impacts to customers and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Water suppliers will need to develop and implement new programs that require long-term customer behavior change and significant investments,” Chelsea Haines of the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents more than 450 public agencies, told CalMatters. “It’s an unprecedented approach that will require a level of commitment that we’ve never seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, environmental groups and lawmakers say the weakened rules reduce and delay the water conservation that the drought-plagued state needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” said Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a global water think-tank. “While surface reservoirs are full now, I think there’s a tendency to forget about water scarcity and drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authors of the bills that required mandatory conservation rules — former state Sen. Bob Hertzberg and Assemblymember Laura Friedman from Burbank — \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-03-28/california-water-conservation-state-law-drought\">said in a March opinion piece that the water board’s changes\u003c/a> “trample on the hard-won work that’s been done so far by allowing water utilities until 2035 or later to implement meaningful reductions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The State Water Resources Control Board has decided to kick the can of California’s water future down the road at a time when we can least afford such inaction,” Friedman told CalMatters after the vote, adding that California must invest more in water efficiency or be forced to spend billions on wastewater recycling and desalination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board Chairman \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/about_us/board_members/\">Joaquin Esquivel\u003c/a> said, “This is not a perfect regulation. We can never have a perfect regulation. But it is a significant one and moves us into a direction here into the future that we can all be proud of — and that is nation-leading.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The arc of conservation in this state has been an incredible one. Californians know that conservation is critical,” he said during the meeting. “What this creates is really a floor. And importantly, it’s not a policy in isolation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the rules were changed multiple times before they came up for a vote on Wednesday, the fundamental concept remains the same. Each local agency’s water budget is calculated from a combination of standards for indoor and outdoor water use at residences, certain commercial landscapes and losses like leaks. Other factors, such as livestock and recycled water, are also taken into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suppliers must meet targets through a combination of rebates encouraging thriftier landscapes and appliances and rate changes penalizing thirstier water users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A previous, more stringent version of the rule carried the hefty price tag of around \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">$13.5 billion\u003c/a> from lost revenues and the costs of funding rebates, infrastructure improvements and other conservation measures. The benefits of having to buy less water or scrounge for expensive new supplies were tallied at around $15.6 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11928042,news_11923873,news_11918450\"]At the time, the state’s Legislative Analyst questioned \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">whether the costs were truly worth the benefits\u003c/a>. “These doubts are particularly worrisome given we find that suppliers will face notable challenges complying with these requirements,” a January report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the water board staff told CalMatters that the staggering costs and elevated benefits were partly due to an accounting error. Combined with policy changes and new data, the latest cost estimate is about $4.7 billion, while the benefits will drop to about $6.2 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water regulators revised the proposal to delay enforcement of the conservation targets by two years until 2027 and extend the deadline for ramping down outdoor water use by five years, starting in 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules also provide alternatives for the water suppliers that must make substantial cuts. Those required to reduce use by more than 20%, and who serve communities with household incomes below the state median, could cut use by only 1% per year and still comply, provided they meet other requirements. Those facing cuts of more than 30% could cut use by only 2% per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a third of suppliers serving about 42% of the state’s population will not need to change their water use to meet the 2035 standards — up from 18% under a previous version, according to state data. And 31%, serving about 12.5 million people, will be able to continue their current practices through 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for Californians in cities and towns to cut water use by about 500,000 acre-feet a year starting by 2030. Under the new rules, Californians are expected to save about \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">235,000 acre-feet of water a year (PDF)\u003c/a> 20 years later, in 2050.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a water board analysis reported, that combined with current conservation levels and other efforts, the new rules are “estimated to save levels of water consistent with (Newsom’s) goal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The measures are substantially weaker than a previous proposal after an onslaught of criticism, but they will still save enough water through 2050 to supply the state’s entire population for a year, at a cost of $4.7 billion.",
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"title": "California Now Has Mandatory Water Conservation in Urban Areas: How Will the New Rules Affect Your Supplier? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Despite California’s perpetual struggles with water shortages, state regulators adopted mandatory conservation measures this week that are substantially weaker and save less water than they originally planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules, years in the making, were mandated by a package of laws that tasked state agencies with making “\u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/Make-Water-Conservation-A-California-Way-of-Life/Files/PDFs/Final-WCL-Primer.pdf?la=en&hash=B442FD7A34349FA91DA5CDEFC47134EA38ABF209\">water conservation a California way of life (PDF)\u003c/a>.” They force 405 cities and other urban water suppliers serving about 95% of Californians to meet individualized water budgets that decline over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations, adopted unanimously by the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday, usher in a new phase of mandatory conservation for California. They set long-term targets for water use that aim to account for myriad regional differences, from climate to ownership of llamas and other livestock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water board’s initial proposal — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">unveiled last year\u003c/a> and estimated to cost $13.5 billion at the time — faced an onslaught of criticism from water suppliers and state analysts who called the rules \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">too costly and difficult to achieve\u003c/a>. In March, the state water agency \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/03/california-water-conservation-rules-relaxed/\">revised its proposal\u003c/a> to delay enforcement of the conservation targets and extend the timeline for tightening the water budgets based on outdoor residential use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individual residents won’t be regulated — only suppliers, who must meet their conservation targets or face fines or other penalties. The costs of complying through 2050 are now estimated at $4.7 billion — which is largely expected to be passed onto ratepayers — but water agencies and their customers will also save about $6.2 billion, in large part from buying less water, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">according to the agency’s analysis (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board staff estimate that through 2040, the measures will save 1.7 million acre-feet — enough to supply almost half the state’s population for a year. That’s about 73% less than the earlier proposal, which would have saved 6.3 million acre-feet through 2040, staff told CalMatters. Through 2050, the savings could reach about 3.9 million acre-feet — more than a year’s supply for the state’s entire population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local water providers told the board that the targets would still be difficult to meet and warned that the costs could hit lower- and fixed-income members of their communities especially hard. They urged the board to provide more technical assistance and funding. Still, many applauded the changes, which they said will soften impacts to customers and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Water suppliers will need to develop and implement new programs that require long-term customer behavior change and significant investments,” Chelsea Haines of the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents more than 450 public agencies, told CalMatters. “It’s an unprecedented approach that will require a level of commitment that we’ve never seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, environmental groups and lawmakers say the weakened rules reduce and delay the water conservation that the drought-plagued state needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” said Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a global water think-tank. “While surface reservoirs are full now, I think there’s a tendency to forget about water scarcity and drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authors of the bills that required mandatory conservation rules — former state Sen. Bob Hertzberg and Assemblymember Laura Friedman from Burbank — \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-03-28/california-water-conservation-state-law-drought\">said in a March opinion piece that the water board’s changes\u003c/a> “trample on the hard-won work that’s been done so far by allowing water utilities until 2035 or later to implement meaningful reductions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The State Water Resources Control Board has decided to kick the can of California’s water future down the road at a time when we can least afford such inaction,” Friedman told CalMatters after the vote, adding that California must invest more in water efficiency or be forced to spend billions on wastewater recycling and desalination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board Chairman \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/about_us/board_members/\">Joaquin Esquivel\u003c/a> said, “This is not a perfect regulation. We can never have a perfect regulation. But it is a significant one and moves us into a direction here into the future that we can all be proud of — and that is nation-leading.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The arc of conservation in this state has been an incredible one. Californians know that conservation is critical,” he said during the meeting. “What this creates is really a floor. And importantly, it’s not a policy in isolation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the rules were changed multiple times before they came up for a vote on Wednesday, the fundamental concept remains the same. Each local agency’s water budget is calculated from a combination of standards for indoor and outdoor water use at residences, certain commercial landscapes and losses like leaks. Other factors, such as livestock and recycled water, are also taken into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suppliers must meet targets through a combination of rebates encouraging thriftier landscapes and appliances and rate changes penalizing thirstier water users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A previous, more stringent version of the rule carried the hefty price tag of around \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">$13.5 billion\u003c/a> from lost revenues and the costs of funding rebates, infrastructure improvements and other conservation measures. The benefits of having to buy less water or scrounge for expensive new supplies were tallied at around $15.6 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the time, the state’s Legislative Analyst questioned \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">whether the costs were truly worth the benefits\u003c/a>. “These doubts are particularly worrisome given we find that suppliers will face notable challenges complying with these requirements,” a January report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the water board staff told CalMatters that the staggering costs and elevated benefits were partly due to an accounting error. Combined with policy changes and new data, the latest cost estimate is about $4.7 billion, while the benefits will drop to about $6.2 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water regulators revised the proposal to delay enforcement of the conservation targets by two years until 2027 and extend the deadline for ramping down outdoor water use by five years, starting in 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules also provide alternatives for the water suppliers that must make substantial cuts. Those required to reduce use by more than 20%, and who serve communities with household incomes below the state median, could cut use by only 1% per year and still comply, provided they meet other requirements. Those facing cuts of more than 30% could cut use by only 2% per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a third of suppliers serving about 42% of the state’s population will not need to change their water use to meet the 2035 standards — up from 18% under a previous version, according to state data. And 31%, serving about 12.5 million people, will be able to continue their current practices through 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for Californians in cities and towns to cut water use by about 500,000 acre-feet a year starting by 2030. Under the new rules, Californians are expected to save about \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">235,000 acre-feet of water a year (PDF)\u003c/a> 20 years later, in 2050.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a water board analysis reported, that combined with current conservation levels and other efforts, the new rules are “estimated to save levels of water consistent with (Newsom’s) goal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "firefighters-make-progress-against-oroville-thompson-fire-but-heat-and-fire-risks-grow",
"title": "Firefighters Make Progress Against Oroville Thompson Fire, but Heat and Fire Risks Grow",
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"content": "\u003cp>Firefighters made progress on Friday against the Thompson Fire, which triggered extensive evacuation orders. However, damage assessments raised the number of destroyed structures to 25, and forecasters said \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/heat-wave-california-kansas-missouri-gulf-coast-78d043f305799deb83860b09e65096ef\">heat and fire risks\u003c/a> were expanding on the West Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Containment of the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-july-fourth-28f3f1641cd63a926c9a88cf357385ad\">wildfire\u003c/a> near the Butte County city of Oroville rose overnight from 29% to 46%, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire was measured at just under 6 square miles after only slight growth overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most evacuation orders covering about 17,000 people were lifted Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters “did a really good job yesterday” enforcing containment lines, and wind hasn’t been a factor, said Capt. Alejandro Cholico, a Cal Fire spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new blaze, dubbed the French Fire, erupted Thursday evening and triggered evacuations in the small Gold Rush town of Mariposa, which is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills along a highway leading to Yosemite National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bulldozers and crews built a line across the entire eastern side of Mariposa as flames spread over 1.3 square miles before fire activity moderated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Winds have calmed, which has helped firefighters make progress overnight,” a Cal Fire status report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993092\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993092\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165-800x527.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165-1020x671.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165-160x105.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Burned-out cars sit next to a home that was destroyed by the Thompson Fire on July 3, 2024, in Oroville, Butte County. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to structures destroyed by the Thompson Fire, six others were damaged. There was no immediate information on the types of structures, but several homes were seen ablaze after the fire broke out Tuesday morning about 70 miles north of Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of reported firefighter injuries was lowered from four to two, Cholico said. The cause of the blaze remained under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Oroville region is familiar with catastrophic events. The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history nearly wiped out the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/paradise-wildfire-california-anniversary-five-years-b4434481c38e6a02e9f2d376ac172b04\">town of Paradise\u003c/a> in Butte County in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters, meanwhile, warned California’s blistering heat wave will continue and spread into the Pacific Northwest and adjacent western states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11624317,news_11992911,science_1993411\"]“The duration of this heat is also concerning as scorching above average temperatures are forecast to linger into next week,” the National Weather Service wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among extremes, the forecast for Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park calls for daytime highs of 129 degrees on Sunday and then around 130 through Wednesday. The \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/death-valley-heat-wave-california-hottest-record-c1b2d83dc384e46f133d460893787c52\">official world record for the hottest temperature\u003c/a> recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in Death Valley in July 1913, but some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 recorded there in July 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numerous wildfires have erupted across California since the late spring, largely feeding on abundant grasses that grew during \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-flooding-016af2dde316f0ac978a4f606f2a4f44\">back-to-back wet winters\u003c/a> and have since dried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most have been kept small, but some have grown large. The biggest active fire is the Basin Fire in the Sierra National Forest, which has burned nearly 22 square miles since late June. It was 46% contained on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Firefighters made progress on Friday against the Thompson Fire, which triggered extensive evacuation orders. However, damage assessments raised the number of destroyed structures to 25, and forecasters said \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/heat-wave-california-kansas-missouri-gulf-coast-78d043f305799deb83860b09e65096ef\">heat and fire risks\u003c/a> were expanding on the West Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Containment of the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-july-fourth-28f3f1641cd63a926c9a88cf357385ad\">wildfire\u003c/a> near the Butte County city of Oroville rose overnight from 29% to 46%, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire was measured at just under 6 square miles after only slight growth overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most evacuation orders covering about 17,000 people were lifted Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters “did a really good job yesterday” enforcing containment lines, and wind hasn’t been a factor, said Capt. Alejandro Cholico, a Cal Fire spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new blaze, dubbed the French Fire, erupted Thursday evening and triggered evacuations in the small Gold Rush town of Mariposa, which is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills along a highway leading to Yosemite National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bulldozers and crews built a line across the entire eastern side of Mariposa as flames spread over 1.3 square miles before fire activity moderated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Winds have calmed, which has helped firefighters make progress overnight,” a Cal Fire status report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993092\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993092\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165-800x527.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165-1020x671.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2160456165-160x105.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Burned-out cars sit next to a home that was destroyed by the Thompson Fire on July 3, 2024, in Oroville, Butte County. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to structures destroyed by the Thompson Fire, six others were damaged. There was no immediate information on the types of structures, but several homes were seen ablaze after the fire broke out Tuesday morning about 70 miles north of Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of reported firefighter injuries was lowered from four to two, Cholico said. The cause of the blaze remained under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Oroville region is familiar with catastrophic events. The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history nearly wiped out the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/paradise-wildfire-california-anniversary-five-years-b4434481c38e6a02e9f2d376ac172b04\">town of Paradise\u003c/a> in Butte County in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters, meanwhile, warned California’s blistering heat wave will continue and spread into the Pacific Northwest and adjacent western states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The duration of this heat is also concerning as scorching above average temperatures are forecast to linger into next week,” the National Weather Service wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among extremes, the forecast for Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park calls for daytime highs of 129 degrees on Sunday and then around 130 through Wednesday. The \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/death-valley-heat-wave-california-hottest-record-c1b2d83dc384e46f133d460893787c52\">official world record for the hottest temperature\u003c/a> recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in Death Valley in July 1913, but some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 recorded there in July 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numerous wildfires have erupted across California since the late spring, largely feeding on abundant grasses that grew during \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-flooding-016af2dde316f0ac978a4f606f2a4f44\">back-to-back wet winters\u003c/a> and have since dried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most have been kept small, but some have grown large. The biggest active fire is the Basin Fire in the Sierra National Forest, which has burned nearly 22 square miles since late June. It was 46% contained on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "despite-searing-heat-and-wildfires-americans-celebrate-fourth-of-july-with-parades-cookouts-and-fireworks",
"title": "Despite Searing Heat and Wildfires, Fireworks Light Up the Skies as Americans Celebrate Fourth of July",
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"headTitle": "Despite Searing Heat and Wildfires, Fireworks Light Up the Skies as Americans Celebrate Fourth of July | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 8 a.m. Friday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Millions of people in the U.S. celebrated and suffered under heat warnings Thursday as they flocked to beaches and traveled in droves to toast their nation’s birth with July Fourth parades, cookouts and the always anticipated fiery splashes of color in the evening sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Washington, neon bursts of light illuminated the night above the National Mall. The Boston Pops performed a musical fireworks spectacular at that city’s Hatch Memorial Shell. And at parades all across the country, from Brattleboro, Vermont, to Waco, Texas, to Alameda, California, revelers dressed up in red, white and blue and waved the Stars and Stripes in commemoration of Independence Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/off-charts-summer-travel-holiday-a16bd3b45aa6733a758fff030f2ff4d2#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Travel,for%20airfares%2C%20gasoline%20and%20hotels.\">Travel records were projected to fall\u003c/a> with people jamming airports and crowding highways to reach Fourth of July celebrations that will stretch into a long weekend for many.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the East Coast, some would-be beachgoers in Connecticut were turned away as parking at state parks filled to capacity, including a 2-mile stretch at Hammonasset Beach State Park, the state’s largest shoreline beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11992781 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1409046890-scaled.jpg']Across the West, meanwhile, residents \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/heat-wave-california-kansas-missouri-gulf-coast-78d043f305799deb83860b09e65096ef\">dealt with stifling heat\u003c/a> as the National Weather Service warned of a “significant and extremely dangerous” heat wave across much of the region. Some spots in the desert Southwest were expecting temperatures topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and hot, muggy conditions also permeated the Deep South and Middle Atlantic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A heat advisory in Philadelphia that came with temperatures tipping into the 90s didn’t stop crowds from gathering at historic sites in the city where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside the National Constitution Center, volunteer actors dressed in Revolutionary War-era costume made of heavy wool, despite the heat. Participants said it was worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It keeps you connected to your neighborhood and where you live,” said Adrian Mercado, who donned a 6th Pennsylvania Regiment uniform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evening fireworks were scheduled over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, after a concert by Ne-Yo and Kesha.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In New York City, Macy’s annual fireworks show fired off thousands of projectiles from the Hudson River, lighting up the skylines of Manhattan, Hoboken, and Jersey City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From Queens, bright golden and orange exploding orbs could be seen silhouetting the Empire State Building, itself lit up in red, white and blue. Mild weather brought residents to their rooftops, where many lit their own fireworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is how we celebrate. It’s the bombs bursting in air. It’s the rockets’ red glare. That’s how people show their pride and patriotism,” said Julie Heckman of the American Pyrotechnics Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All signs pointed to big celebrations: The Transportation Security Administration reported that a record of nearly 3 million people traveled through airports in a single day last week, a figure expected to be broken this week. AAA projected that 60.6 million people will travel by car during the holiday period. Part of the boost was attributed to easing inflation, though many Americans remain \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/consumer-confidence-conference-board-economy-inflation-59ddb80cf0828329e0cf98fb6321f040\">concerned about the economy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In suburban Chicago, Highland Park resumed its annual parade on the second anniversary of a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/shootings-chicago-4b266791802b8d5154efb1bacff3fb38\">mass shooting that took seven lives\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/july-4th-parade-shooting-chicago-fdaaeaa48097af0a709b34ca75a8c486\">injured dozens at the 2022 event\u003c/a>. Residents gathered at a middle school for a remembrance before the parade, which followed a different route than in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\",news_11992779,news_11992832,news_11992737\"]“July Fourth is always going to be a day of mixed emotion,” Mayor Nancy Rotering said. “We come forth today hoping we as a community can remember and honor the lives lost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The holiday celebrating the establishment of a new country free from British rule is traditionally marked by barbecue, cold drinks and the Stars and Stripes on flagpoles and on clothing, in addition to the parades. But some were also celebrating in other ways unique to their communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course there was the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joey-chestnut-nathans-hotdog-eating-contest-2024-c1d4ac988ca44ffc1bd5ea691dc161ac\">annual hot dog eating contest\u003c/a> on New York’s Coney Island, where a new champion chomper emerged: Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago gobbled down 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title. In the women’s competition, Miki Sudo of Florida downed 51 links to notch her 10th title and set a new record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Alaska, the city of Seward got a head start with a fireworks display at midnight, as thousands of people gathered on a rocky beach during the brief window when the sky dims this time of year in the land of the midnight sun. The shells burst over Resurrection Bay as people watched in silence. “It was absolutely magical,” resident Iris Woolfolk said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Northern California city of Oroville’s annual \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-8091a7f73b1765b440f9923d76f8e664\">fireworks were canceled\u003c/a> due to the Thompson Fire. Thousands of people who were evacuated were allowed to return home Thursday afternoon as crews continued battling flames amid scorching heat, officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Containment of the Thompson Fire near the city of Oroville in Butte County also increased to 29% from 7%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993043\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11993043 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A firefighting C-130 Hercules tanker releases fire retardant on a ridge while battling the Thompson Fire in Oroville, Butte County, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. \u003ccite>(Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The July Fourth holiday generally unites Americans in their shared love of country, but the 2024 version comes against a backdrop of deep \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ap-poll-democracy-rights-freedoms-election-b1047da72551e13554a3959487e5181a\">political polarization\u003c/a> and a divisive \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024\">presidential race\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Boston, where tens of thousands were expected to enjoy the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, conductor Keith Lockhart said it’s inspiring to see people of different political stripes gather on Charles River Esplanade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he noted, “one would have to have one’s head pretty deeply stuck in the sand to not notice the deep divisions in our country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Associated Press writers John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois; Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; and Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "There were big celebrations across the US on the Fourth of July despite the heat wave, but annual fireworks were canceled in Oroville due to the ongoing Thompson Fire.",
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"title": "Despite Searing Heat and Wildfires, Fireworks Light Up the Skies as Americans Celebrate Fourth of July | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 8 a.m. Friday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Millions of people in the U.S. celebrated and suffered under heat warnings Thursday as they flocked to beaches and traveled in droves to toast their nation’s birth with July Fourth parades, cookouts and the always anticipated fiery splashes of color in the evening sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Washington, neon bursts of light illuminated the night above the National Mall. The Boston Pops performed a musical fireworks spectacular at that city’s Hatch Memorial Shell. And at parades all across the country, from Brattleboro, Vermont, to Waco, Texas, to Alameda, California, revelers dressed up in red, white and blue and waved the Stars and Stripes in commemoration of Independence Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/off-charts-summer-travel-holiday-a16bd3b45aa6733a758fff030f2ff4d2#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Travel,for%20airfares%2C%20gasoline%20and%20hotels.\">Travel records were projected to fall\u003c/a> with people jamming airports and crowding highways to reach Fourth of July celebrations that will stretch into a long weekend for many.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the East Coast, some would-be beachgoers in Connecticut were turned away as parking at state parks filled to capacity, including a 2-mile stretch at Hammonasset Beach State Park, the state’s largest shoreline beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Across the West, meanwhile, residents \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/heat-wave-california-kansas-missouri-gulf-coast-78d043f305799deb83860b09e65096ef\">dealt with stifling heat\u003c/a> as the National Weather Service warned of a “significant and extremely dangerous” heat wave across much of the region. Some spots in the desert Southwest were expecting temperatures topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and hot, muggy conditions also permeated the Deep South and Middle Atlantic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A heat advisory in Philadelphia that came with temperatures tipping into the 90s didn’t stop crowds from gathering at historic sites in the city where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside the National Constitution Center, volunteer actors dressed in Revolutionary War-era costume made of heavy wool, despite the heat. Participants said it was worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It keeps you connected to your neighborhood and where you live,” said Adrian Mercado, who donned a 6th Pennsylvania Regiment uniform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evening fireworks were scheduled over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, after a concert by Ne-Yo and Kesha.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In New York City, Macy’s annual fireworks show fired off thousands of projectiles from the Hudson River, lighting up the skylines of Manhattan, Hoboken, and Jersey City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From Queens, bright golden and orange exploding orbs could be seen silhouetting the Empire State Building, itself lit up in red, white and blue. Mild weather brought residents to their rooftops, where many lit their own fireworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is how we celebrate. It’s the bombs bursting in air. It’s the rockets’ red glare. That’s how people show their pride and patriotism,” said Julie Heckman of the American Pyrotechnics Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All signs pointed to big celebrations: The Transportation Security Administration reported that a record of nearly 3 million people traveled through airports in a single day last week, a figure expected to be broken this week. AAA projected that 60.6 million people will travel by car during the holiday period. Part of the boost was attributed to easing inflation, though many Americans remain \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/consumer-confidence-conference-board-economy-inflation-59ddb80cf0828329e0cf98fb6321f040\">concerned about the economy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In suburban Chicago, Highland Park resumed its annual parade on the second anniversary of a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/shootings-chicago-4b266791802b8d5154efb1bacff3fb38\">mass shooting that took seven lives\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/july-4th-parade-shooting-chicago-fdaaeaa48097af0a709b34ca75a8c486\">injured dozens at the 2022 event\u003c/a>. Residents gathered at a middle school for a remembrance before the parade, which followed a different route than in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“July Fourth is always going to be a day of mixed emotion,” Mayor Nancy Rotering said. “We come forth today hoping we as a community can remember and honor the lives lost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The holiday celebrating the establishment of a new country free from British rule is traditionally marked by barbecue, cold drinks and the Stars and Stripes on flagpoles and on clothing, in addition to the parades. But some were also celebrating in other ways unique to their communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course there was the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joey-chestnut-nathans-hotdog-eating-contest-2024-c1d4ac988ca44ffc1bd5ea691dc161ac\">annual hot dog eating contest\u003c/a> on New York’s Coney Island, where a new champion chomper emerged: Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago gobbled down 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title. In the women’s competition, Miki Sudo of Florida downed 51 links to notch her 10th title and set a new record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Alaska, the city of Seward got a head start with a fireworks display at midnight, as thousands of people gathered on a rocky beach during the brief window when the sky dims this time of year in the land of the midnight sun. The shells burst over Resurrection Bay as people watched in silence. “It was absolutely magical,” resident Iris Woolfolk said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Northern California city of Oroville’s annual \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-8091a7f73b1765b440f9923d76f8e664\">fireworks were canceled\u003c/a> due to the Thompson Fire. Thousands of people who were evacuated were allowed to return home Thursday afternoon as crews continued battling flames amid scorching heat, officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Containment of the Thompson Fire near the city of Oroville in Butte County also increased to 29% from 7%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993043\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11993043 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2159884707-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A firefighting C-130 Hercules tanker releases fire retardant on a ridge while battling the Thompson Fire in Oroville, Butte County, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. \u003ccite>(Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The July Fourth holiday generally unites Americans in their shared love of country, but the 2024 version comes against a backdrop of deep \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ap-poll-democracy-rights-freedoms-election-b1047da72551e13554a3959487e5181a\">political polarization\u003c/a> and a divisive \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024\">presidential race\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Boston, where tens of thousands were expected to enjoy the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, conductor Keith Lockhart said it’s inspiring to see people of different political stripes gather on Charles River Esplanade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he noted, “one would have to have one’s head pretty deeply stuck in the sand to not notice the deep divisions in our country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Associated Press writers John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois; Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; and Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "total-system-breakdown-california-firefighters-with-ptsd-face-a-workers-comp-nightmare",
"title": "PTSD Is Common Among Firefighters — but Workers’ Comp for Treatment Is Hard to Get",
"publishDate": 1719522016,
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"headTitle": "PTSD Is Common Among Firefighters — but Workers’ Comp for Treatment Is Hard to Get | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Todd Nelson could feel it coming on. And he began to run. He was going dark again, retreating to a place where he would curl into a fetal position with his thumb in his mouth, watching from behind closed eyes as his personal reel of horror unspooled. Sights and sounds from three decades of firefighting cued up — shrieks from behind an impenetrable wall of flame, limbs severed in car accidents and the eyes of the terrified and the dead he was meant to save.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson was running on the Foresthill Bridge, \u003ca href=\"https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/foresthill-bridge/4123fc95-8a25-4827-baba-fca9c8e4485a\">the highest in California\u003c/a>, fleeing cops and firefighters after his wife reported that he was suicidal. He hurdled a concrete barrier and straddled the railing of the bridge in the Sierra Nevada foothills, staring down at a large rock 730 feet below. As the rescuers closed in, Nelson leaned precariously over the chasm. His strategy — making the fatal plunge appear accidental, allowing his family to collect his life insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was not Nelson’s first suicide attempt — the former Cal Fire captain had tried to take his life many times before. But after that 2021 ordeal, which led to an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold, something in him shifted. He was ready to admit that he had a problem and seek medical help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident began the firefighter’s arduous, years-long journey toward wellness, threaded through a bureaucratic labyrinth strewn with more obstacles than he’d ever encountered on a California wildfire: finding qualified medical help, battling an insurance company to pay for it and navigating the tangled morass of California’s workers’ comp. All without going broke or returning to his dark place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one tracks how many of Cal Fire’s 12,000 firefighters and other employees suffer from mental health problems, but department leaders say post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/06/california-firefighter-trauma-ptsd/?series=california-firefighters-trauma-wildfires\">have become a silent epidemic\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>at the agency responsible for fighting \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-wildfire-map-tracker/\">California’s increasingly erratic and destructive wildfires\u003c/a>. In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352466544_Wildland_Firefighter_Psychological_and_Behavioral_Health_Preliminary_Data_from_a_National_Sample_of_Current_and_Former_Wildland_Firefighters_in_the_United_States_Conference_session\">online survey\u003c/a> of wildland firefighters nationwide, about a third reported considering suicide and nearly 40% said they had colleagues who had committed suicide; many also reported depression and anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s workers’ comp — which is supposed to help people get medical treatment for workplace illnesses and injuries — can be a nightmare for firefighters and other first responders with PTSD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claims filed by firefighters and law enforcement officers are more likely to involve PTSD than claims by the average worker in California — and they have been \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/RAND-PTSD-REPORT.pdf\">denied more often than claims for other medical conditions (PDF)\u003c/a>, according to the research institute RAND.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 2008 to 2019 in California, workers’ comp officials denied PTSD claims filed by firefighters and other first responders at more than twice the rate of their other work-related conditions, such as back injuries and pneumonia, RAND reported. About a quarter of firefighters’ 1,000 PTSD claims were denied, a higher rate than for PTSD claims from other California workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a fail-first system. You have to get a broken leg to show you are in need of support. With mental illness, we are constantly having to prove to everybody why we were ill. You have to get to the point of suicide,” said Jessica Cruz, the California chief executive officer of the \u003ca href=\"https://namica.org/\">National Alliance on Mental Illness\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLvG2Yy34QM&t=1s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennifer Alexander, Nelson’s therapist, said patients in acute crisis simply don’t have the mental capacity to ride herd on stubborn workers’ comp claims. Alexander said she was once on hold for more than six hours with Cal Fire’s mental health provider attempting to get one of her bills paid, and she has waited years to get paid for treating firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People give up. It’s a battle … They are not fully functional,” said Alexander, who for 21 years has specialized in treating first responders with trauma and PTSD and has spent an estimated 25,000 hours treating them. “You are not talking about healthy individuals who can sit on the phone for hours.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire firefighters and other workers also have trouble finding qualified therapists, especially outside major cities in rural areas, where many are based. In 2021, less than \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2023/may/understanding-us-behavioral-health-workforce-shortage\">half of people with a mental illness\u003c/a> in the U.S. were able to access timely care. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/06/california-workers-comp-firefighters-therapists/\">Therapists are reluctant to take workers’ comp\u003c/a>, or sometimes any type of insurance, because they often have to wait months or years to be reimbursed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992261\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992261\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Therapist Jennifer Alexander listens to Nelson during a treatment session. She called workers’ comp a ‘total system breakdown.’ \u003ccite>(Cristian Gonzalez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Michael Dworsky, a senior economist at the research institute RAND and one of the study’s project leaders, called workers’ comp “challenging and bureaucratic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if the claim is accepted, there can be disputes about the medical necessity of individual bills. Just because your claim is accepted, doesn’t mean you are done fighting with the insurance company,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A presumption of pain but still a tangled web\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Employers in California must provide workers’ comp insurance that will pay for medical costs when a worker is injured on the job. However, in reality, workers’ comp, which serves 16 million Californians, can be ungainly, confusing and, sometimes, no help at all. The system, administered by the state Department of Industrial Relations, is massive: In 2022, almost \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/CHSWC/Reports/2023/CHSWC_AnnualReport2023.pdf\">750,000 workers’ comp claims (PDF)\u003c/a> were filed statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a firefighter requests coverage for medical treatment, insurance adjusters review the case to determine if it’s medically necessary. If the claim is denied, delayed or modified, a patient may request an independent medical review by so-called “ghost doctors” who review the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Systemwide in California, patients who appeal their denied workers’ comp claims, don’t fare well: Last year 3,238 appeals for mental health claims were filed, but workers’ comp officials rejected three-quarters of them, about the same as the 10-year average, according to data from the Department of Industrial Relations requested by CalMatters. (Agency officials said they could not provide data on claims from first responders.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9hnJM/4/\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the California Legislature has wrestled with how to fix workers’ comp — in one year alone, lawmakers proposed nearly two dozen bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020 lawmakers took a major step, adding a \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/hearings/256803?t=1347&f=e8036f39579fee812f324253b5cb224b\">legal \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb623\">shortcut or “presumption”\u003c/a> to the\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>state\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>labor code, stipulating that firefighters and other first responders are considered at high risk for PTSD in the course of doing their job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means first responders no longer carry the burden of proving their illness is work-related. However, a claims adjuster can still question the diagnosis or assert that the trauma was caused by other factors, such as military service or family events. A law enacted last year \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb623\">extended the presumption to 2029\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In practice, experts say that, despite the law, proving a mental health claim is still almost as difficult to overcome as the psychological injury itself. Break an arm while fighting a wildfire, and, backed up by x-rays, claims are approved. But break your mind after decades of exposure to on-the-job trauma? Prepare for battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before enacting the law, state officials asked RAND researchers to report on the scope of the problem. They analyzed nearly 6 million claims filed between 2008 through 2019 and interviewed dozens of experts, including a representative sample of 13 first responders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers found a consistent and troubling trend among the 13: “Nearly all workers said that they had filed a workers’ compensation claim for their mental health conditions — yet almost none received PTSD care paid for by workers’ compensation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paying out of pocket “caused severe financial strain in some cases. Some were eventually reimbursed by workers’ compensation, but only after litigation and substantial delay. Some who pursued care through workers’ compensation also noted that claim denials led to delays in the start of mental health treatment,” the RAND researchers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 13 first responders they surveyed stressed “over and over again about self-pay and barriers,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.rand.org/about/people/q/quigley_denise_d.html\">Denise D. Quigley, a RAND senior policy researcher\u003c/a> who was a project leader on the study. “It’s not like we heard it once or twice, we heard it over and over again. It’s highly unlikely that we talked to the (only) people in California that had this happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters told of borrowing money from family members and taking out home equity loans to pay for care, Quigley said. The litany of their struggle weighed on her team. “It’s difficult to hear people break down crying while talking to us because of all the things they’ve seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the RAND research, for the 12-year period from 2008 through 2019, before the new law took effect:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Firefighters and other first responders were about twice as likely to file PTSD claims as the general workforce — but the numbers are small, under 1% of all workers’ comp claims.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Firefighters’ PTSD claims were denied more often than claims of other workers: About 24% were denied, compared to about 19% of PTSD claims for all workers, including those in high-stress occupations. About a quarter of firefighter claims for all mental health conditions were denied.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Their PTSD claims were denied at more than twice the rate of their other presumptive medical conditions related to their jobs, such as hernias and back injuries. Even their cancer and heart disease claims were accepted at a higher rate than PTSD.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>These denial rates were calculated using a sample of only 258 PTSD claims filed by firefighters. But researcher Dworsky said the total number of claims is far higher, about 1,000, with about 230 claims denied, during those 12 years. And countless other firefighters who suffer from PTSD didn’t seek care through workers’ comp.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The RAND report was the most detailed look at the inequities between how physical and mental health are treated among firefighters and how first responders’ claims were handled compared to other workers. However, the researchers struggled with incomplete data and difficulty identifying which claims were from firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quigley said she is frustrated that no one since has tracked whether the 4-year-old presumption law — known as the Trauma Treatment Act — has helped patients and improved the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many therapists say they haven’t seen much, if any, improvement. Nelson’s therapist, Alexander, called workers’ comp a “total system breakdown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations refused to grant interview requests from CalMatters or answer questions or provide data about firefighters’ mental health claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Navigating the system\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During his 28 years with Cal Fire fighting wildfires in combustible regions, such as the Napa Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, and responding to other emergencies, Nelson never reported any mental health issues to anyone. Not once. Even as he would regularly pull his truck off the side of the road during wildfires and weep. Even after responding to the scene of traffic accidents, extricating children from crushed cars as their parents fought to get to them. Even after answering a call to a suicide to find a man hanging from the rafters in his barn. Even after the unbidden images began to intrude with greater frequency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, his mantra became “I’m good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That stoicism, common among first responders, short circuits the insurance system designed to help them — a system that works best with prompt reporting and meticulous documentation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11991959,science_1993253,science_1991079\"]Claims adjusters usually handle clear-cut cases where the date of injury can be pinpointed. More common among PTSD claims, though, is Nelson’s experience with cumulative trauma, with no paper trail of injuries or complaints. He can’t offer a single event as the origin of his trauma and no coherent chronology. Cal Fire folks tend to wait until their dam bursts before asking for the water to be turned off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One Southern California mental health provider told the RAND researchers that firefighters and police officers typically have severe cases of trauma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On the clinical side, as a mental health provider, it is not realistic to expect a firefighter or a police officer to come in and have had a little trauma or some minor stress condition … Most departments have people with a lot of stress and trauma,” the therapist said. “Just because you had something happen recently, the straw that broke the camel’s back, it is really the cumulative stress that is the issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now retired, Nelson, 54, has been fighting for workers’ compensation for almost three years, since his suicide attempt on the Placer County bridge. He and his wife already have spent more than $10,000 out of pocket for medical care and could face thousands more in legal bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson’s case is unusually severe and complex, requiring two extended stays in a facility that specifically treats firefighters to diagnose his conditions and finally set him on a treatment path of therapy and multiple medications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brad Niven said he has more than a dozen firefighter friends who have had similar experiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Talk to anybody that tries to do anything through workers’ comp — it is an absolute nightmare,” he said. “Everybody knows you file your first workers’ comp claim and they will deny it. One guy I worked with went through the works with them. He had to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have problems. You have to relive everything you’ve gone through. It does not make for a friendly system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992262\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992262\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brad Niven, shown at his home in Sonora, said he and more than a dozen firefighter friends have had trouble getting workers’ comp to pay their claims for mental health treatment. \u003ccite>(Julie Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Niven considered suicide before Cal Fire’s employee support personnel helped him find a therapist, streamlining what had been a hit-and-miss process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They blasted away the stumbling blocks,” he said. But the fire agency does not make the decision to approve or deny a claim or handle the bureaucratic thicket that is workers’ comp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott O’Mara, a \u003ca href=\"https://law1199.com/\">San Diego-based lawyer\u003c/a> whose firm represents first responders, said adjusters’ training is to look for what they can develop to deny the case. “Their goal is to contain and control cost,” he said. “We do a lot of cases where the compensation is nickels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although California law now considers PTSD for first responders a presumption, it is a “disputable presumption.” That means claims administrators can consider other traumatic events in a firefighter’s life that may play a role in a PTSD case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With cumulative trauma, or stress over the course of their entire employment, we need to request more information from the doctor so that we can see it isn’t because they were in the military or they are going through a divorce, etc.,” one claims adjuster told RAND researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The complexity of the system wears down the resistance of injured workers, who need a jungle guide to find their way at a time of profound pain and disorientation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can’t navigate this on their own, they really can’t. They’ve got professional litigators opposing them,” said Richard Elder, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.elderandberg.com/attorney/richard-e-elder-jr/\">workers’ comp lawyer\u003c/a> in Concord who regularly represents state firefighters. “The average claims adjuster on the job for more than a month knows more about the system than the average firefighter. They’ve got lawyers on speed dial. The injured worker is adrift. It’s like a do-it-yourself heart transplant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elder, who has been in practice for 54 years, used to work as an insurance company claims adjuster. The system, he said, has always been adversarial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s against the law for employers to discriminate against a worker who files a psyche claim. But they do discriminate,” said Elder, who said in the past five decades he has pursued about 500 psychiatric claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just filed a psychiatric claim and the response was ‘give us a list of every medical facility that treated the claimant in the last 10 years,’” he said. “The workers’ comp medical treatments system is a stain upon the soul of the politicians and officials of California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Diagnosing PTSD is ‘a complicated process’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One day in March, Nelson sat next to his wife, Leticia, in a quiet room in a Nevada City library near their rental home. He was in the grips of a seizure, brought on by retelling his firefighting nightmares to a CalMatters reporter. His hands were clenched and his torso taut. He stuttered, his eyelids fluttering. The episode lasted a few minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the interview, Nelson was fidgety, his thick fingers constantly worrying about the items he had put on the table in front of him. One was a tiny aluminum cylinder containing medication for his seizures, another was a brass medallion, the iconic firefighter symbols of an ax and firehose nozzle stamped on one side and the serenity prayer on the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coin was a kind of talisman given to him after graduating from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.iaffrecoverycenter.com/\">specialized rehab clinic \u003c/a>for firefighters, where he was given his daunting medical diagnosi\u003cem>s: \u003c/em>He suffers from complex PTSD, \u003ca href=\"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24517-psychogenic-nonepileptic-seizure-pnes\">psychogenic non-epileptic seizures\u003c/a> and dissociative identity disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such anxiety-induced seizures are unusual but not rare, his therapist said, and the totality of Nelson’s mental health issues makes his case unusually severe. Weekly therapy sessions and multiple medications have tempered, but not extinguished, his struggle with crippling anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson wears a medical alert wrist bracelet intended to give first responders a bare-bones outline of his conditions and which medications to avoid when he is experiencing an anxiety-induced seizure. In his back pocket, he carries, always, a medical card with his list of red flags, so extensive that it unspools like an accordion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His seizures may occur several times a day. Some last for hours. Nelson’s usually benign aspect changes: His eyes cross, his hands clench into what he calls “spidey fingers.” He stumbles and stutters through sentences and repeats words, often losing his ability to speak at all. At times he drags his head and face along walls. Leticia Nelson describes the seizures as his body undergoing earthquakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992264\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The emergency medical ID card that Nelson carries with him. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992266\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992266\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nelson alongside his wife, Leticia Nelson, near their Nevada City home. She said it’s been agonizing to see him suffer mental health problems related to his job and have to fight the system to get his treatment paid for. ‘We sacrificed our time with him so that he could help the whole state. And nothing has been there for the family since this happened. Nothing.’ \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nelson’s unusual body movements during a seizure, his inability to respond to questions and his propensity to run away when confronted puts Nelson in a precarious place in airport lines or with law enforcement, where his non-response has been misconstrued as defiance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even doctors can misunderstand. Diagnosing and treating PTSD and acute trauma like Nelson’s is notoriously difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Diagnosing PTSD is a complicated process. Diagnostic criteria are complicated,” said Sidra Goldman-Mellor, a \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.ucmerced.edu/content/sidra-goldman-mellor\">UC Merced psychiatric epidemiologist\u003c/a> who studies depression and suicidal behavior. “Your average primary care clinician is probably not willing to go down that road.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For patients like Nelson, any number of stress-related disorders present themselves and muddy a specific diagnosis that would satisfy a claims adjuster or a workers’ comp review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the thing with psychiatric disorders, we don’t have a lot of objective measures for a mental health diagnosis. We don’t have blood tests and we don’t have MRIs,” Goldman-Mellor said. “They (mental health issues) are harder to recognize, harder to test for and easier to ignore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, firefighters cannot move easily through the workers’ comp or medical insurance system if they don’t have a diagnosis. Constantly proving your pain becomes its own trauma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He has to prove his world is falling apart,” Leticia Nelson said. “It’s hard to explain to someone that you are broken. They look at you, they think that you look fine. They can’t see in your brain. They can’t see in your mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took four years for Nelson to find the right medical care. One physician’s therapeutic approach was to ask the former firefighter to pray with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem was much more fundamental than finding a compatible therapist: He could not \u003cem>find\u003c/em> one to take his case. Many Cal Fire employees are stationed in rural or remote areas of the state, in communities underserved by health care specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Living in rural Nevada County, Nelson faces a barren mental health desert where it’s difficult to find a competent therapist who might have worked with other first responders and understands the specific challenges of the high-stress job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an absolute specialization. There’s not near enough of us,” said Alexander, Nelson’s therapist. (Nelson granted her permission to speak about his case.) “In the larger Sacramento area, there are less than a dozen competent providers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992268\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992268\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nelson recalls memories of his time as a firefighter during a treatment session. \u003ccite>(Cristian Gonzalez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire is self-insured and offers medical coverage through private companies. The agency does not manage medical claims or workers’ comp but does have programs to assist employees in finding care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rob Wheatley, staff chief of Cal Fire’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, told CalMatters in an email that the agency has expanded support for employees who seek help for mental health issues with peer counseling or referrals for treatment. The agency has a staff of 28 assisting about 12,000 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Wheatley and other Cal Fire officials refused to grant an interview and did not answer CalMatters’ questions about the problems that their employees face with workers’ comp and mental health issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any denial of a mental health claim is concerning,” Wheatley said in the email.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2> Can the system be repaired?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Nelsons have seen the insurance and workers’ comp system from the inside, been batted around by it and, they would say, abandoned by it. Still, they have few suggestions for fixing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are not alone. Lawyers say that the system is based on how to save money, is too often adversarial and deeply entrenched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the employers who participate in the workers’ comp system say it’s not working well. In a recent survey, more than half of the respondents said the system performs poorly, while 42% described the system as challenged but adequate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody believes it’s ideal,” said Jerry Azevedo, a spokesman for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.workcompaction.org/\">Workers’ Compensation Action Network,\u003c/a> a coalition of California insurers, employers and agents advocating to improve the system. “Every constituency has complaints.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Azevedo said California’s workers’ comp system, which has been in place since 1913, is plagued by \u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2019-106.pdf\">persistent problems\u003c/a>: high costs to operate, huge claim volume, frequent litigation, slow claim resolution and fraud and abusive practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fundamental challenge we all contend with is complexity. California’s system is arguably the most complex in the nation,” Azevedo said. The good news, he said, is that 86% of workers’ comp claims overall are accepted, according to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s easy to get the sense of a general throwing up of hands. The state Commission on Health & Safety & Workers’ Comp dedicates a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/WCReformsPage1.htm\">webpage to tracking workers’ comp reforms\u003c/a>, but the last entry was in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sean Cooper, executive vice president and chief actuary of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.wcirb.com/\">Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California\u003c/a>, said the system is groaning under its own weight — there are a lot of people filing claims and a lot of lawyers on all sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administrative costs are high in California: The cost to deliver $1 of medical benefit from California’s workers’ comp system is 46 cents, compared to two cents for Medicare, 19 cents for private group health insurance and 25 cents for the national state median for workers’ comp according to the group’s 2023 report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One way to fix the inequity is to turn the system on its head, said Cruz of the \u003ca href=\"https://namica.org/\">National Alliance on Mental Illness\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a disparity about how we treat, respond and react to behavioral health versus physical health,” she said. “Maybe we need to start talking about that disparity in workers’ comp. When you have (a claims) approval rating that is flipped on its backside, that’s an obvious parity issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators, when they turn their gaze to the massive program, chip away at the edges. The law extending the PTSD presumption will be revisited when the state Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation presents its report on claims and denials to the Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement and the Assembly Committee on Insurance, by the end of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cruz said there is more legislative focus on behavioral health than ever, but there are limits, beginning with which groups carry the most influence. Managed health care companies are powerful advocates of the status quo, she said. “We are David and Goliath when we come up against these folks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many great people want to do wonderful things and they have big ideas, but it gets chopped down to a Band-Aid once everyone gets what they want,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A slap in the face to all of us’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Leticia Nelson refers to herself, with only slight exaggeration, as her husband’s “service dog.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s the keeper of the couple’s appointment schedule; she’s the chauffeur; and the manager of the financial spreadsheet. And it falls to Leticia to devote untold hours on the phone with insurers and medical providers, bird-dogging bills, late payments and coverage lapses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has watched her husband humiliated, scared and angry. Their two adult daughters, also have been treated for PTSD, after witnessing their father’s anxiety and mania, and knowing about his suicide attempts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At times, Leticia Nelson said, “I’m mad at God.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992269\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992269\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired Cal Fire firefighter Todd Nelson walks with his wife in Nevada City. Nelson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the trauma experienced during his firefighting career. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Nelsons, lifelong Californians, want to leave the state and its frightening tableau of wildfires. They sold their house, changed their mind about moving and now are financially shut out of the real estate market, especially because of the high cost of fire insurance in the foothills where they live. They are nomads, shuttling between Airbnbs with two large dogs and three cats in tow and their possessions in storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money is tight. Leticia would like to go back to work, but she can’t leave Todd alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson gave up fighting the state over a disability claim after his attorney told him that an appeal would cost $50,000 — and he would lose because he didn’t claim a disability when he retired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a slap in the face to all of us because we sacrificed as a family,” Leticia Nelson said of Todd’s long career with Cal Fire. “We sacrificed our time with him so that he could help the whole state. And nothing has been there for the family since this happened. Nothing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish that there’s things in place that would guide us that wouldn’t be so hard. But it just seems like we hit every, every obstacle possible. We’re struggling. We need help. We need to be seen. We need to be treated like humans and not criminals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For his part, Nelson is coming to terms with the devastation his career wrought. Yet, years after retirement, he still listens to an emergency scanner and shows up at fires in his area, wearing his T-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks. The pull to serve remains strong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The crazy thing is I miss my job. I miss it every day. I would do it all over again,” he said wistfully. “I loved the job but I didn’t realize the damage being done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can get help from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 988 or visiting \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/\">\u003cem>https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story also was made possible in part by a grant from the \u003ca href=\"https://amarkfoundation.org/\">A-Mark Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Even when suicidal, California firefighters struggle to find medical help and navigate the workers’ comp morass to pay for it. A 2021 analysis showed their claims were more likely to involve PTSD — and were denied more often.",
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"title": "PTSD Is Common Among Firefighters — but Workers’ Comp for Treatment Is Hard to Get | KQED",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/julie-cart/\">Julie Cart\u003c/a>, CalMatters",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Todd Nelson could feel it coming on. And he began to run. He was going dark again, retreating to a place where he would curl into a fetal position with his thumb in his mouth, watching from behind closed eyes as his personal reel of horror unspooled. Sights and sounds from three decades of firefighting cued up — shrieks from behind an impenetrable wall of flame, limbs severed in car accidents and the eyes of the terrified and the dead he was meant to save.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson was running on the Foresthill Bridge, \u003ca href=\"https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/foresthill-bridge/4123fc95-8a25-4827-baba-fca9c8e4485a\">the highest in California\u003c/a>, fleeing cops and firefighters after his wife reported that he was suicidal. He hurdled a concrete barrier and straddled the railing of the bridge in the Sierra Nevada foothills, staring down at a large rock 730 feet below. As the rescuers closed in, Nelson leaned precariously over the chasm. His strategy — making the fatal plunge appear accidental, allowing his family to collect his life insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was not Nelson’s first suicide attempt — the former Cal Fire captain had tried to take his life many times before. But after that 2021 ordeal, which led to an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold, something in him shifted. He was ready to admit that he had a problem and seek medical help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident began the firefighter’s arduous, years-long journey toward wellness, threaded through a bureaucratic labyrinth strewn with more obstacles than he’d ever encountered on a California wildfire: finding qualified medical help, battling an insurance company to pay for it and navigating the tangled morass of California’s workers’ comp. All without going broke or returning to his dark place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one tracks how many of Cal Fire’s 12,000 firefighters and other employees suffer from mental health problems, but department leaders say post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/06/california-firefighter-trauma-ptsd/?series=california-firefighters-trauma-wildfires\">have become a silent epidemic\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>at the agency responsible for fighting \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-wildfire-map-tracker/\">California’s increasingly erratic and destructive wildfires\u003c/a>. In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352466544_Wildland_Firefighter_Psychological_and_Behavioral_Health_Preliminary_Data_from_a_National_Sample_of_Current_and_Former_Wildland_Firefighters_in_the_United_States_Conference_session\">online survey\u003c/a> of wildland firefighters nationwide, about a third reported considering suicide and nearly 40% said they had colleagues who had committed suicide; many also reported depression and anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s workers’ comp — which is supposed to help people get medical treatment for workplace illnesses and injuries — can be a nightmare for firefighters and other first responders with PTSD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claims filed by firefighters and law enforcement officers are more likely to involve PTSD than claims by the average worker in California — and they have been \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/RAND-PTSD-REPORT.pdf\">denied more often than claims for other medical conditions (PDF)\u003c/a>, according to the research institute RAND.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 2008 to 2019 in California, workers’ comp officials denied PTSD claims filed by firefighters and other first responders at more than twice the rate of their other work-related conditions, such as back injuries and pneumonia, RAND reported. About a quarter of firefighters’ 1,000 PTSD claims were denied, a higher rate than for PTSD claims from other California workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a fail-first system. You have to get a broken leg to show you are in need of support. With mental illness, we are constantly having to prove to everybody why we were ill. You have to get to the point of suicide,” said Jessica Cruz, the California chief executive officer of the \u003ca href=\"https://namica.org/\">National Alliance on Mental Illness\u003c/a>.\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/DLvG2Yy34QM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/DLvG2Yy34QM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Jennifer Alexander, Nelson’s therapist, said patients in acute crisis simply don’t have the mental capacity to ride herd on stubborn workers’ comp claims. Alexander said she was once on hold for more than six hours with Cal Fire’s mental health provider attempting to get one of her bills paid, and she has waited years to get paid for treating firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People give up. It’s a battle … They are not fully functional,” said Alexander, who for 21 years has specialized in treating first responders with trauma and PTSD and has spent an estimated 25,000 hours treating them. “You are not talking about healthy individuals who can sit on the phone for hours.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire firefighters and other workers also have trouble finding qualified therapists, especially outside major cities in rural areas, where many are based. In 2021, less than \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2023/may/understanding-us-behavioral-health-workforce-shortage\">half of people with a mental illness\u003c/a> in the U.S. were able to access timely care. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/06/california-workers-comp-firefighters-therapists/\">Therapists are reluctant to take workers’ comp\u003c/a>, or sometimes any type of insurance, because they often have to wait months or years to be reimbursed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992261\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992261\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-14-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Therapist Jennifer Alexander listens to Nelson during a treatment session. She called workers’ comp a ‘total system breakdown.’ \u003ccite>(Cristian Gonzalez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Michael Dworsky, a senior economist at the research institute RAND and one of the study’s project leaders, called workers’ comp “challenging and bureaucratic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if the claim is accepted, there can be disputes about the medical necessity of individual bills. Just because your claim is accepted, doesn’t mean you are done fighting with the insurance company,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A presumption of pain but still a tangled web\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Employers in California must provide workers’ comp insurance that will pay for medical costs when a worker is injured on the job. However, in reality, workers’ comp, which serves 16 million Californians, can be ungainly, confusing and, sometimes, no help at all. The system, administered by the state Department of Industrial Relations, is massive: In 2022, almost \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/CHSWC/Reports/2023/CHSWC_AnnualReport2023.pdf\">750,000 workers’ comp claims (PDF)\u003c/a> were filed statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a firefighter requests coverage for medical treatment, insurance adjusters review the case to determine if it’s medically necessary. If the claim is denied, delayed or modified, a patient may request an independent medical review by so-called “ghost doctors” who review the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Systemwide in California, patients who appeal their denied workers’ comp claims, don’t fare well: Last year 3,238 appeals for mental health claims were filed, but workers’ comp officials rejected three-quarters of them, about the same as the 10-year average, according to data from the Department of Industrial Relations requested by CalMatters. (Agency officials said they could not provide data on claims from first responders.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9hnJM/4/\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the California Legislature has wrestled with how to fix workers’ comp — in one year alone, lawmakers proposed nearly two dozen bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020 lawmakers took a major step, adding a \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/hearings/256803?t=1347&f=e8036f39579fee812f324253b5cb224b\">legal \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb623\">shortcut or “presumption”\u003c/a> to the\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>state\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>labor code, stipulating that firefighters and other first responders are considered at high risk for PTSD in the course of doing their job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means first responders no longer carry the burden of proving their illness is work-related. However, a claims adjuster can still question the diagnosis or assert that the trauma was caused by other factors, such as military service or family events. A law enacted last year \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb623\">extended the presumption to 2029\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In practice, experts say that, despite the law, proving a mental health claim is still almost as difficult to overcome as the psychological injury itself. Break an arm while fighting a wildfire, and, backed up by x-rays, claims are approved. But break your mind after decades of exposure to on-the-job trauma? Prepare for battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before enacting the law, state officials asked RAND researchers to report on the scope of the problem. They analyzed nearly 6 million claims filed between 2008 through 2019 and interviewed dozens of experts, including a representative sample of 13 first responders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers found a consistent and troubling trend among the 13: “Nearly all workers said that they had filed a workers’ compensation claim for their mental health conditions — yet almost none received PTSD care paid for by workers’ compensation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paying out of pocket “caused severe financial strain in some cases. Some were eventually reimbursed by workers’ compensation, but only after litigation and substantial delay. Some who pursued care through workers’ compensation also noted that claim denials led to delays in the start of mental health treatment,” the RAND researchers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 13 first responders they surveyed stressed “over and over again about self-pay and barriers,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.rand.org/about/people/q/quigley_denise_d.html\">Denise D. Quigley, a RAND senior policy researcher\u003c/a> who was a project leader on the study. “It’s not like we heard it once or twice, we heard it over and over again. It’s highly unlikely that we talked to the (only) people in California that had this happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters told of borrowing money from family members and taking out home equity loans to pay for care, Quigley said. The litany of their struggle weighed on her team. “It’s difficult to hear people break down crying while talking to us because of all the things they’ve seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the RAND research, for the 12-year period from 2008 through 2019, before the new law took effect:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Firefighters and other first responders were about twice as likely to file PTSD claims as the general workforce — but the numbers are small, under 1% of all workers’ comp claims.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Firefighters’ PTSD claims were denied more often than claims of other workers: About 24% were denied, compared to about 19% of PTSD claims for all workers, including those in high-stress occupations. About a quarter of firefighter claims for all mental health conditions were denied.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Their PTSD claims were denied at more than twice the rate of their other presumptive medical conditions related to their jobs, such as hernias and back injuries. Even their cancer and heart disease claims were accepted at a higher rate than PTSD.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>These denial rates were calculated using a sample of only 258 PTSD claims filed by firefighters. But researcher Dworsky said the total number of claims is far higher, about 1,000, with about 230 claims denied, during those 12 years. And countless other firefighters who suffer from PTSD didn’t seek care through workers’ comp.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The RAND report was the most detailed look at the inequities between how physical and mental health are treated among firefighters and how first responders’ claims were handled compared to other workers. However, the researchers struggled with incomplete data and difficulty identifying which claims were from firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quigley said she is frustrated that no one since has tracked whether the 4-year-old presumption law — known as the Trauma Treatment Act — has helped patients and improved the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many therapists say they haven’t seen much, if any, improvement. Nelson’s therapist, Alexander, called workers’ comp a “total system breakdown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations refused to grant interview requests from CalMatters or answer questions or provide data about firefighters’ mental health claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Navigating the system\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During his 28 years with Cal Fire fighting wildfires in combustible regions, such as the Napa Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, and responding to other emergencies, Nelson never reported any mental health issues to anyone. Not once. Even as he would regularly pull his truck off the side of the road during wildfires and weep. Even after responding to the scene of traffic accidents, extricating children from crushed cars as their parents fought to get to them. Even after answering a call to a suicide to find a man hanging from the rafters in his barn. Even after the unbidden images began to intrude with greater frequency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, his mantra became “I’m good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That stoicism, common among first responders, short circuits the insurance system designed to help them — a system that works best with prompt reporting and meticulous documentation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Claims adjusters usually handle clear-cut cases where the date of injury can be pinpointed. More common among PTSD claims, though, is Nelson’s experience with cumulative trauma, with no paper trail of injuries or complaints. He can’t offer a single event as the origin of his trauma and no coherent chronology. Cal Fire folks tend to wait until their dam bursts before asking for the water to be turned off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One Southern California mental health provider told the RAND researchers that firefighters and police officers typically have severe cases of trauma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On the clinical side, as a mental health provider, it is not realistic to expect a firefighter or a police officer to come in and have had a little trauma or some minor stress condition … Most departments have people with a lot of stress and trauma,” the therapist said. “Just because you had something happen recently, the straw that broke the camel’s back, it is really the cumulative stress that is the issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now retired, Nelson, 54, has been fighting for workers’ compensation for almost three years, since his suicide attempt on the Placer County bridge. He and his wife already have spent more than $10,000 out of pocket for medical care and could face thousands more in legal bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson’s case is unusually severe and complex, requiring two extended stays in a facility that specifically treats firefighters to diagnose his conditions and finally set him on a treatment path of therapy and multiple medications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brad Niven said he has more than a dozen firefighter friends who have had similar experiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Talk to anybody that tries to do anything through workers’ comp — it is an absolute nightmare,” he said. “Everybody knows you file your first workers’ comp claim and they will deny it. One guy I worked with went through the works with them. He had to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have problems. You have to relive everything you’ve gone through. It does not make for a friendly system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992262\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992262\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/060822_BRAD_NIVEN_CALFIRE_JH_CM_37-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brad Niven, shown at his home in Sonora, said he and more than a dozen firefighter friends have had trouble getting workers’ comp to pay their claims for mental health treatment. \u003ccite>(Julie Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Niven considered suicide before Cal Fire’s employee support personnel helped him find a therapist, streamlining what had been a hit-and-miss process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They blasted away the stumbling blocks,” he said. But the fire agency does not make the decision to approve or deny a claim or handle the bureaucratic thicket that is workers’ comp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott O’Mara, a \u003ca href=\"https://law1199.com/\">San Diego-based lawyer\u003c/a> whose firm represents first responders, said adjusters’ training is to look for what they can develop to deny the case. “Their goal is to contain and control cost,” he said. “We do a lot of cases where the compensation is nickels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although California law now considers PTSD for first responders a presumption, it is a “disputable presumption.” That means claims administrators can consider other traumatic events in a firefighter’s life that may play a role in a PTSD case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With cumulative trauma, or stress over the course of their entire employment, we need to request more information from the doctor so that we can see it isn’t because they were in the military or they are going through a divorce, etc.,” one claims adjuster told RAND researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The complexity of the system wears down the resistance of injured workers, who need a jungle guide to find their way at a time of profound pain and disorientation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can’t navigate this on their own, they really can’t. They’ve got professional litigators opposing them,” said Richard Elder, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.elderandberg.com/attorney/richard-e-elder-jr/\">workers’ comp lawyer\u003c/a> in Concord who regularly represents state firefighters. “The average claims adjuster on the job for more than a month knows more about the system than the average firefighter. They’ve got lawyers on speed dial. The injured worker is adrift. It’s like a do-it-yourself heart transplant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elder, who has been in practice for 54 years, used to work as an insurance company claims adjuster. The system, he said, has always been adversarial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s against the law for employers to discriminate against a worker who files a psyche claim. But they do discriminate,” said Elder, who said in the past five decades he has pursued about 500 psychiatric claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just filed a psychiatric claim and the response was ‘give us a list of every medical facility that treated the claimant in the last 10 years,’” he said. “The workers’ comp medical treatments system is a stain upon the soul of the politicians and officials of California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Diagnosing PTSD is ‘a complicated process’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One day in March, Nelson sat next to his wife, Leticia, in a quiet room in a Nevada City library near their rental home. He was in the grips of a seizure, brought on by retelling his firefighting nightmares to a CalMatters reporter. His hands were clenched and his torso taut. He stuttered, his eyelids fluttering. The episode lasted a few minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the interview, Nelson was fidgety, his thick fingers constantly worrying about the items he had put on the table in front of him. One was a tiny aluminum cylinder containing medication for his seizures, another was a brass medallion, the iconic firefighter symbols of an ax and firehose nozzle stamped on one side and the serenity prayer on the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coin was a kind of talisman given to him after graduating from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.iaffrecoverycenter.com/\">specialized rehab clinic \u003c/a>for firefighters, where he was given his daunting medical diagnosi\u003cem>s: \u003c/em>He suffers from complex PTSD, \u003ca href=\"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24517-psychogenic-nonepileptic-seizure-pnes\">psychogenic non-epileptic seizures\u003c/a> and dissociative identity disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such anxiety-induced seizures are unusual but not rare, his therapist said, and the totality of Nelson’s mental health issues makes his case unusually severe. Weekly therapy sessions and multiple medications have tempered, but not extinguished, his struggle with crippling anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson wears a medical alert wrist bracelet intended to give first responders a bare-bones outline of his conditions and which medications to avoid when he is experiencing an anxiety-induced seizure. In his back pocket, he carries, always, a medical card with his list of red flags, so extensive that it unspools like an accordion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His seizures may occur several times a day. Some last for hours. Nelson’s usually benign aspect changes: His eyes cross, his hands clench into what he calls “spidey fingers.” He stumbles and stutters through sentences and repeats words, often losing his ability to speak at all. At times he drags his head and face along walls. Leticia Nelson describes the seizures as his body undergoing earthquakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992264\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-25-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The emergency medical ID card that Nelson carries with him. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992266\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992266\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM-14-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nelson alongside his wife, Leticia Nelson, near their Nevada City home. She said it’s been agonizing to see him suffer mental health problems related to his job and have to fight the system to get his treatment paid for. ‘We sacrificed our time with him so that he could help the whole state. And nothing has been there for the family since this happened. Nothing.’ \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nelson’s unusual body movements during a seizure, his inability to respond to questions and his propensity to run away when confronted puts Nelson in a precarious place in airport lines or with law enforcement, where his non-response has been misconstrued as defiance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even doctors can misunderstand. Diagnosing and treating PTSD and acute trauma like Nelson’s is notoriously difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Diagnosing PTSD is a complicated process. Diagnostic criteria are complicated,” said Sidra Goldman-Mellor, a \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.ucmerced.edu/content/sidra-goldman-mellor\">UC Merced psychiatric epidemiologist\u003c/a> who studies depression and suicidal behavior. “Your average primary care clinician is probably not willing to go down that road.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For patients like Nelson, any number of stress-related disorders present themselves and muddy a specific diagnosis that would satisfy a claims adjuster or a workers’ comp review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the thing with psychiatric disorders, we don’t have a lot of objective measures for a mental health diagnosis. We don’t have blood tests and we don’t have MRIs,” Goldman-Mellor said. “They (mental health issues) are harder to recognize, harder to test for and easier to ignore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, firefighters cannot move easily through the workers’ comp or medical insurance system if they don’t have a diagnosis. Constantly proving your pain becomes its own trauma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He has to prove his world is falling apart,” Leticia Nelson said. “It’s hard to explain to someone that you are broken. They look at you, they think that you look fine. They can’t see in your brain. They can’t see in your mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took four years for Nelson to find the right medical care. One physician’s therapeutic approach was to ask the former firefighter to pray with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem was much more fundamental than finding a compatible therapist: He could not \u003cem>find\u003c/em> one to take his case. Many Cal Fire employees are stationed in rural or remote areas of the state, in communities underserved by health care specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Living in rural Nevada County, Nelson faces a barren mental health desert where it’s difficult to find a competent therapist who might have worked with other first responders and understands the specific challenges of the high-stress job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an absolute specialization. There’s not near enough of us,” said Alexander, Nelson’s therapist. (Nelson granted her permission to speak about his case.) “In the larger Sacramento area, there are less than a dozen competent providers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992268\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992268\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/042424_Therapy_CG-CM-09-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nelson recalls memories of his time as a firefighter during a treatment session. \u003ccite>(Cristian Gonzalez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire is self-insured and offers medical coverage through private companies. The agency does not manage medical claims or workers’ comp but does have programs to assist employees in finding care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rob Wheatley, staff chief of Cal Fire’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, told CalMatters in an email that the agency has expanded support for employees who seek help for mental health issues with peer counseling or referrals for treatment. The agency has a staff of 28 assisting about 12,000 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Wheatley and other Cal Fire officials refused to grant an interview and did not answer CalMatters’ questions about the problems that their employees face with workers’ comp and mental health issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any denial of a mental health claim is concerning,” Wheatley said in the email.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2> Can the system be repaired?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Nelsons have seen the insurance and workers’ comp system from the inside, been batted around by it and, they would say, abandoned by it. Still, they have few suggestions for fixing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are not alone. Lawyers say that the system is based on how to save money, is too often adversarial and deeply entrenched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the employers who participate in the workers’ comp system say it’s not working well. In a recent survey, more than half of the respondents said the system performs poorly, while 42% described the system as challenged but adequate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody believes it’s ideal,” said Jerry Azevedo, a spokesman for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.workcompaction.org/\">Workers’ Compensation Action Network,\u003c/a> a coalition of California insurers, employers and agents advocating to improve the system. “Every constituency has complaints.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Azevedo said California’s workers’ comp system, which has been in place since 1913, is plagued by \u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2019-106.pdf\">persistent problems\u003c/a>: high costs to operate, huge claim volume, frequent litigation, slow claim resolution and fraud and abusive practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fundamental challenge we all contend with is complexity. California’s system is arguably the most complex in the nation,” Azevedo said. The good news, he said, is that 86% of workers’ comp claims overall are accepted, according to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s easy to get the sense of a general throwing up of hands. The state Commission on Health & Safety & Workers’ Comp dedicates a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/WCReformsPage1.htm\">webpage to tracking workers’ comp reforms\u003c/a>, but the last entry was in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sean Cooper, executive vice president and chief actuary of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.wcirb.com/\">Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California\u003c/a>, said the system is groaning under its own weight — there are a lot of people filing claims and a lot of lawyers on all sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administrative costs are high in California: The cost to deliver $1 of medical benefit from California’s workers’ comp system is 46 cents, compared to two cents for Medicare, 19 cents for private group health insurance and 25 cents for the national state median for workers’ comp according to the group’s 2023 report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One way to fix the inequity is to turn the system on its head, said Cruz of the \u003ca href=\"https://namica.org/\">National Alliance on Mental Illness\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a disparity about how we treat, respond and react to behavioral health versus physical health,” she said. “Maybe we need to start talking about that disparity in workers’ comp. When you have (a claims) approval rating that is flipped on its backside, that’s an obvious parity issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators, when they turn their gaze to the massive program, chip away at the edges. The law extending the PTSD presumption will be revisited when the state Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation presents its report on claims and denials to the Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement and the Assembly Committee on Insurance, by the end of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cruz said there is more legislative focus on behavioral health than ever, but there are limits, beginning with which groups carry the most influence. Managed health care companies are powerful advocates of the status quo, she said. “We are David and Goliath when we come up against these folks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many great people want to do wonderful things and they have big ideas, but it gets chopped down to a Band-Aid once everyone gets what they want,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A slap in the face to all of us’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Leticia Nelson refers to herself, with only slight exaggeration, as her husband’s “service dog.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s the keeper of the couple’s appointment schedule; she’s the chauffeur; and the manager of the financial spreadsheet. And it falls to Leticia to devote untold hours on the phone with insurers and medical providers, bird-dogging bills, late payments and coverage lapses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has watched her husband humiliated, scared and angry. Their two adult daughters, also have been treated for PTSD, after witnessing their father’s anxiety and mania, and knowing about his suicide attempts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At times, Leticia Nelson said, “I’m mad at God.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992269\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11992269\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/031924_Todd-Nelson_LE_CM_21-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired Cal Fire firefighter Todd Nelson walks with his wife in Nevada City. Nelson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the trauma experienced during his firefighting career. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Nelsons, lifelong Californians, want to leave the state and its frightening tableau of wildfires. They sold their house, changed their mind about moving and now are financially shut out of the real estate market, especially because of the high cost of fire insurance in the foothills where they live. They are nomads, shuttling between Airbnbs with two large dogs and three cats in tow and their possessions in storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money is tight. Leticia would like to go back to work, but she can’t leave Todd alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson gave up fighting the state over a disability claim after his attorney told him that an appeal would cost $50,000 — and he would lose because he didn’t claim a disability when he retired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a slap in the face to all of us because we sacrificed as a family,” Leticia Nelson said of Todd’s long career with Cal Fire. “We sacrificed our time with him so that he could help the whole state. And nothing has been there for the family since this happened. Nothing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish that there’s things in place that would guide us that wouldn’t be so hard. But it just seems like we hit every, every obstacle possible. We’re struggling. We need help. We need to be seen. We need to be treated like humans and not criminals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For his part, Nelson is coming to terms with the devastation his career wrought. Yet, years after retirement, he still listens to an emergency scanner and shows up at fires in his area, wearing his T-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks. The pull to serve remains strong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The crazy thing is I miss my job. I miss it every day. I would do it all over again,” he said wistfully. “I loved the job but I didn’t realize the damage being done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can get help from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 988 or visiting \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/\">\u003cem>https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story also was made possible in part by a grant from the \u003ca href=\"https://amarkfoundation.org/\">A-Mark Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Is There Treasure At the Bottom Of San Francisco Bay?",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every winter, Brian Teaff takes a chartered trip from the Berkeley Marina to go fishing for a culinary treasure: Dungeness crab. This winter, as the boat motored through the bay, Teaff wondered what other riches sat down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is at the bottom of the bay?” Teaff asked Bay Curious. And then, “I wonder if there’s any treasure down there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the treasure front, the simple and tragic answer is: No.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking for precious metals, gems or valuable keepsakes, you probably won’t find them at the bottom of the bay. According to bay researchers and maritime experts, while there may be specks of gold mixed in with sediment that flowed into the bay during the Gold Rush, it’s not really worth salvaging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Literally no treasure to be found in the bay at all,” maritime archeologist, historian and author James Delgado said. “Other than history — that either can be studied or left to slowly sit there and…rust in peace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ok, so no treasure. But let’s take a closer look at what is down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>‘The Titanic of San Francisco Bay’\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To Delgado, and maybe to many of us, history \u003ci>is\u003c/i> the treasure. What the bay lacks in pirate booty, it makes up for in historical artifacts — like shipwrecks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a decade ago, Delgado mapped shipwrecks using sonar as the Director of the Maritime Heritage Program for NOAA, the U.S. agency tasked with monitoring our weather and oceans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s probably several dozen [shipwrecks] that sit in and around the entrance to the bay and in the bay itself,” Delgado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, Delgado’s research team and collaborators used underwater robots to relocate one of the bay’s deadliest wrecks: a steamship named the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. It’s around five semi-trucks long and lies at the bottom of a deep channel \u003ca href=\"https://farallones.noaa.gov/heritage/shipwreck-storymap.html\">west of the Golden Gate Bridge\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was literally the Titanic of San Francisco Bay,” Delgado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991926\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/shipwrecks/city-of-rio-de-janeiro/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_j07-18337_gl.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991926\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white drawing of four masted ship on rough seas.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-800x473.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-1020x604.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-1536x909.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A painting of the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park safr_21374_j07-18337_gl)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1901, the ship arrived at San Francisco Bay in thick fog after a more than two-month voyage to China, Japan and Hawaii. It carried 210 people — many of them Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Around 5 a.m., the steamer headed through the fog into Fort Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It hit the rocks and backed off and sank so rapidly that many people who were still asleep in their cabins never had a chance to get out,” Delgado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In total, 128 people died in the wreck. Many of the survivors were saved by early morning fishermen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991928\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/shipwrecks/city-of-rio-de-janeiro/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991928\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of desolate looking people surrounded by their belongings.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-800x483.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-1020x615.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-1536x926.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors from the City of Rio de Janeiro shipwreck gathered at Baker Beach. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The large iron-hulled boat was swallowed by the bay. About a year and a half later, its pilot house floated to the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In it was the skeleton of the captain who was identified by his gold watch,” Delgado said. “Its chain had tangled in his ribcage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s it for gold in the Rio. The only metal of value left now is tin, and that’s not worth salvaging, Delgado said. The ship is covered in mud and located near dangerous currents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This turns out to be true for many of the wrecks in the bay. The cost of reaching them could be greater than anything you might recover.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>The bay’s sunken ghost towns\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Why do ghost towns [fascinate] so many people?” asked Christopher Edwards, a park ranger at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm\">San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park\u003c/a>. “For me, a shipwreck site has that same fascination because it was where people existed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One wreck that stands out to Edwards is that of the Frank H. Buck, which now lies \u003ca href=\"https://farallones.noaa.gov/heritage/shipwreck-storymap.html\">off Lands End\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On March 6, 1937, the oil tanker was making its way to San Francisco Bay from down the coast, in Ventura. It was a foggy day as the Frank H. Buck entered the Golden Gate. Nowadays, ships use \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/marine-radar\">radar\u003c/a> to detect each other in bad weather. But back then, the Buck just had its foghorn, Edwards said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SS President Coolidge, a luxury liner carrying about 700 passengers, headed West towards Hawaii, then Japan, which was nearby. Its foghorn was also blaring. But sound can bounce off the terrain near the Golden Gate and make it difficult to know precisely where you are, Edwards said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until the last minute, they didn’t realize they were going directly at each other,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both ships reached the Western side of the Golden Gate Bridge. There, they collided, nose to nose. The luxury Coolidge punctured the Buck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 695px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991932\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-2.jpeg\" alt=\"Black and white photo from above looking down on a large ship beginning to take on water and sink.\" width=\"695\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-2.jpeg 695w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-2-160x175.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Frank H. Buck’s front decks awash after the collision. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime NHP Collections)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Coolidge captain shouted a plan over to the Buck captain. The \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> quoted him saying: “When we collided I megaphoned Captain Kelly of the Frank H. Buck to hold her where she was. ‘I’ll keep my bow in you,’ I said, ‘so you’ll stay afloat.’ Or words to that effect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Coolidge captain held his position until rescue boats and the Coast Guard could get everyone off the Buck. Then, the Coolidge backed away. The body of the Frank H. Buck, which was more than 400 feet long, began sinking and was carried to the rocks off Lands End.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991933\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 985px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991933\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4.jpeg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of a half sunk ship just off shore.\" width=\"985\" height=\"770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4.jpeg 985w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4-800x625.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4-160x125.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 985px) 100vw, 985px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Buck sank, nose down, near Mile Rock Lighthouse. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime NHP Collections)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park’s Visitor Center has a life ring from the Buck on display. Edwards hopes such artifacts will help visitors picture a seafaring life that, centuries ago, could have been theirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Mud as treasure? \u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Beyond shipwrecks, environmentalists say the bay floor is home to an even more unlikely treasure: mud. For a long time, mud was seen as a problem for the bay, said Julie Beagle, an estuarine geomorphologist. It had flowed into the bay from \u003ca href=\"https://ca.water.usgs.gov/pubs/2013/BarnardEtAl2013.pdf\">urban development, watersheds and mining\u003c/a> from the mid-1800s through the 1900’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of keeping sediment out of the bay was really the guiding principle for a long time, as it should be,” Beagle said. “Macroinvertebrates couldn’t live, and there wasn’t enough food for the fish, and [it] really clogged important spawning habitat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12237-011-9382-x\">Research around 2011 showed\u003c/a> that their plan was working. Between development regulations and some natural fluctuations, less sediment was floating in the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was a new problem. With less sediment being deposited onto the bay’s marshes, sea-level rise was threatening to erode them away. The bay’s marshes don’t just provide good views and habitat for endangered species, they also protect bay neighborhoods and highways from flooding by blocking \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/stormsurge-stormtide.html\">storm surges\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/saltmarsh.html\">absorbing floodwaters\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, mud didn’t seem so bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sediment is this treasure that we need to keep,” Beagle said. “We need to maintain it in the system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To build the marshes back up and fortify them against sea-level rise, scientists would need a lot of mud — approximately \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfei.org/sites/default/files/biblio_files/Sediment-for-Survival-factsheet_1.pdf\">450 million cubic yards\u003c/a>, by some estimates. Beagle started working for the local district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who regularly dredge mud in ports so ships can navigate the bay. There, she helps lead their “Engineering with Nature” team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They recently launched a pilot project to try building up Bay marshlands with routine doses of mud from the bottom of the bay, along with collaborators from the U.S. Geological Survey and other local and government partners. It’s the first time this method is being tested in the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is such a place-based thing to me,” said Beagle, who was born and raised in Oakland. “It really requires understanding of the watersheds, of the landscape, of the people, of the values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December, the team moved 90,000 cubic yards of dredged sediment from the Port of Redwood City to the shores of Eden Landing, an eroding marsh near Hayward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/3644567/shallow-water-strategic-placement-pilot-project-kicks-off-in-san-francisco-bay/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized.jpg\" alt=\"A square, blue modern looking boat chugs out into the bay.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1356\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-800x565.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-1020x720.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-1536x1085.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A dredge loads a boat with sediment, destined for eroding marshlands at Eden Landing. \u003ccite>(Brandon Beach/US Army Corps of Engineers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If the pilot study achieves its goal, the marshes will stay healthy and fortified against sea-level rise. Next, Beagle hopes to test the method at other bay marshlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really this move, nationally and internationally toward nature-based adaptation to all the climate risks that we face,” Beagle said. “Because we know that the way we’ve done business for the last 150 years is not going to solve the problems of the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, there you have it. There is treasure at the bottom of the bay, just maybe not the type you expected. But if the artifacts down there tie us to our past, and the mud helps us ensure our future, maybe that’s more valuable than gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although, some gold would have been nice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\nOlivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Every winter, Brian Teaff takes a chartered fishing trip from the Berkeley Marina to go fishing for Dungeness crab. They leave before dawn and motor out through the Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Music starts\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>There’s crazy stuff going on. I mean, there’s all kinds of water and it’s moving in all directions, and you can just tell the bay is just deep there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> This winter, Brian stood on the boat and looked into the swirling abyss below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>Riding on the Bay going, there’s a lot of water that moves through here. And what’s underneath? I know there’s fish, what else is there? So it was just what’s underneath the water?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Are there maybe … shipwrecks down there?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>And then of course, you know, the next question is, oh, boy, I wonder if there’s any treasure down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Treasure like precious metals, gems, valuable keepsakes. If you ask Brian to answer his own question, he says:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>I think that it’s probably just full of mud down there. But boy, I’d like to know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Bay Curious theme song starts playing]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Brian wrote to Bay Curious, to learn more about what’s at the bottom of the Bay. Today on the show, we’ll hear about two shipwrecks that haunt Bay Area lore. Plus, we’ll go searching for treasure and find it in something … unexpected. I’m Olivia Allen-Price. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Sponsor message\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>Like many of us, KQED Reporter Anna Marie Yanny lives a short walk from the Bay. Like our question-asker Brian, she was eager to find out what’s down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> The first thing that came to my mind was the beginning of the \u003ci>Little Mermaid\u003c/i> movie. Mermaid Ariel and her fish friend, Flounder, are diving in a shipwreck looking for treasures. Could there be any wrecks at the bottom of the bay?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[The Little Mermaid movie clip starts]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Flounder:\u003c/b> Ariel, wait for me!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ariel:\u003c/b> Wow, have you seen anything so incredible in your entire life?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>I had to talk to James Delgado. He’s a renowned maritime archeologist and has worn many hats in the field. And back in the 70s, he was the first historian for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>Those early years at the park were magic because we were literally just new as a national park, and everything needed to be done. So, we conducted wide-sweeping inventories and explorations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>He dove in the muddy waters of the bay in search of shipwrecks. And decades later, he mapped them with federal researchers, using sonar. I asked him just how many wrecks are in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>There’s probably several dozen that sit in and around the entrance to the Bay and in the Bay itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>A few wrecks stand out to him and other historians. He tells me about one of the deadliest, a steamship called the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. Named for the city in Brazil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James and a team of researchers and underwater robots used sonar to relocate this wreck in 2014. It’s around five semi-trucks long and lies at the bottom of a deep channel west of Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was literally the Titanic of San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Music starts playing]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>It was February 1901. The Rio was sailing to San Francisco from Asia \u003ci>[sounds of waves and wind] \u003c/i>after an over two-month voyage to China, Japan, Hawaii. It was a big iron-hulled ship and had three masts, with sails billowing off them. Around 5 a.m., shrouded in fog, it headed towards Fort Point carrying more than 200 people — many of them Chinese and Japanese immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sounds of a collision]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>It hit the rocks and backed off and sank so rapidly that many people who were still asleep in their cabins never had a chance to get out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Less than half the passengers survived. Many who did were saved by early morning fishermen. There’s photos of them gathered at Baker Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>The wreck itself disappeared. Though it remained intact enough that months later, the pilot house tore free, and in it was the skeleton of the captain, who was identified by his gold watch, which its chain had tangled in his ribcage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>But no, he says there’s no more gold down there — maybe tin, but nothing salvageable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, I was told, many of those few dozen shipwrecks in and around the Bay are hard to reach. They’re covered in mud that ran down from the Sierras during the Gold Rush or near currents rushing in and out of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wanted to know what other shipwrecks sat in the fathoms below, so I went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sounds of waves, seagulls]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The park sits on the water across from Ghirardelli Square. It has a ship-shaped museum and a visitor and research center dedicated to West Coast maritime history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m here on a foggy morning. It’s cold. Brave open-water swimmers glide past these pirate-ship-looking boats docked at Hyde Street Pier. Each of the ships have narrowly avoided becoming wrecks themselves, and are instead retired in the park, and open to visitors on the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape:\u003c/b> Wow, this is awesome. I can’t believe I haven’t been yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards:\u003c/b> We can certainly sort of get a feel for the place, take a walk through. We could also…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Park Ranger Christopher Edwards lets me into the Visitor Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There, he tells me about another wreck. An oil tanker called the Frank H. Buck. He brings me back to the day of the wreck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>It was like a worse version of today. You know, today we’ve got sort of the classic morning San Francisco fog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[Sounds of foghorns, water lapping, creaking boat]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>It was March 6, 1937. The Frank H Buck tanker was coming into San Francisco Bay with oil from just down the coast, in Ventura.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher says it was a working ship, and the 30 to 40 person crew were probably dressed in modest work clothes. And nearby, the SS President Coolidge was a luxury liner carrying about 700 passengers headed outbound…west towards Hawaii, then Japan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There, Christopher says the few-hundred-person crew were dressed in uniform, and the ship was organized by class — with the low-ranking crew traveling through below-deck passages to avoid disturbing the passengers. On that foggy day, both ship’s crews were using foghorns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>But the Golden Gate, which is the entrance into the bay, you know, it’s steep sided. And so those foghorns help, but the sound bounces around off the terrain. And it just makes it really difficult to know precisely where you are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>They both reached the Western side of the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>And until the last minute, they didn’t realize they were going directly at each other. And everything happens in slow motion with a ship. You can tell that a disaster is about to happen. But as soon as you realize that that disaster is happening, it might be too late to do anything about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The ships collided. Nose to nose. The lookout at Lands End \u003ca href=\"https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/farallones-shipwrecks/FRANK_H_BUCK_LYMAN_STEWART-Fact_Sheet.pdf\">said\u003c/a> it sounded like a booming Presidio gun through the fog. The luxury Coolidge punctured the Buck. And it’s Captain thought fast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>He didn’t want to pull his ship back immediately and realized deliberately that if he did that, the Buck could sink very quickly.\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The Coolidge captain shouted to the Buck captain. They were that close. They got everyone off the Buck. The crew was loaded into lifeboats and paddled away from the ship before the Coolidge backed away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>The photographs, what they seem to capture is just the crew knowing what they needed to do and ensuring that nobody got hurt, nobody was left behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>What was left behind was the massive body of the Frank H Buck, which began sinking, nose down. It was carried by currents to the rocks off Lands End. Oil pooled out of it, like blood, from the once hearty vessel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The body of an oil tanker likely didn’t have any treasure. And honestly, Christopher says, the bottom of the bay probably doesn’t have the type of treasure our question asker Brian was asking about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>What’s underneath? Is there gold? Is there other precious valuables down there? To the best of my knowledge. The short answer is no. But there’s a treasure down there. I’d say absolutely.\u003cbr>\n\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Christopher says, despite there being no gold, we have a lot to learn from wrecks like these.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>There’s archeological treasures down there. There’s stuff that tells you that somebody just like you existed there, that was their home, that was their community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>I thought back to Ariel in \u003ci>The Little Mermaid\u003c/i>. To her, treasures were relics of the human world. Candlesticks, wine stoppers…a fork. Hints of a world that wasn’t hers, but could have been.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Ariel — and to Christopher — and maybe to many of us — history is its own kind of treasure. Not the type our question asker hoped for, but something of value nonetheless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On our way out, Christopher shows me a model of the entrance to San Francisco Bay, complete with a hand-sized Golden Gate bridge. Along the entrance to the bay, the names of about 50 wrecks are written in red. All their graveyards. All little ghost towns. All ships that needed to move between the big, open ocean and the thin ship channel that enters San Francisco Bay. All ships that didn’t quite make it. But still have a story to tell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Music playing]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Wow! I had no idea about those shipwrecks. But I do wish there had been some gold, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> Yeah, I asked around and seriously, no. Maybe flecks of gold mixed in with the sediment.. leftover from the Gold Rush, but nothing worth trying to collect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it could be dangerous trying to reach some of these shipwrecks — James says the first team that tried to reach the Rio wreck lost their robot because of the strong currents down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> That also sounds super costly!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> But to James and Christoper, it sounds like the treasure really is the history, and how it can help you picture the life that someone else had. Also….there’s another treasure learned about that I wanted to tell you about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> What’s that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> The other treasure is….Mud\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Mud?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> Mud. Go with me here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until about 15 years ago, environmentalists thought of mud as a nuisance in the bay. It flowed in from urban development, watersheds and mining through the mid-18 and 1900s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>Macroinvertebrates couldn’t live, and there wasn’t enough food for the fish and really clogged important spawning habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>That’s Julie Beagle. She’s an estuarine geomorphologist. Meaning she studies how water and sediment move to shape estuaries like the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>The idea of keeping sediment, keeping development out of the Bay was really the guiding principle for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>But around 2011 Julie and her colleagues began to change how they think about mud. They’d been successful at keeping it out. But, between that and some natural fluctuations, there was a new problem. With less sediment being deposited onto the bay’s marshes, sea-level rise was threatening to erode them away. Suddenly, mud didn’t seem so bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>Sediment is this treasure that we need to keep. We need to maintain it in the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Not pirate treasure like our question asker wanted, but certainly treasure to scientists. The bay’s marshes don’t just provide good views and habitat for endangered species, they also protect bay neighborhoods and highways from flooding by blocking storm surges and absorbing floodwaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>As we adapt to sea-level rise, I think the world has this choice. Are we going to adapt with walls, with rock, with riprap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Or do we adapt with natural infrastructure, like marshes? To rebuild marshes that are at risk of drowning from sea-level rise, Julie and her colleagues would need a lot of this — now treasured mud — from the bottom of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They turned to the local district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who regularly dredge the mud in ports so ships can navigate the Bay. Julie applied to work for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>Part of the reason I switched to the Army Corps is I said, who has the sediment, and how can we get that sediment to the places that it needs to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Now, she helps lead their “Engineering with Nature” team. Along with the Corps and collaborators at the USGS and other local and government partners, Julie is using mud in pilot studies. They’re hoping bay marshlands can be built back up with routine doses of mud from the bottom of the bay. They tried this method for the first time in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle:\u003c/b> We placed 90,000 cubic yards in 169 trips. So the boats were going back and forth 24 hours a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Down at the Port of Redwood City, a dredge with a clamshell mouth loaded a flat bottom boat over and over until it was full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sound of a crane dumping mud into a boat]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Then a tugboat pushed that boat just across the Bay\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sound of boat motor]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>To the shores of Eden Landing, near Hayward. There, Julie says, the marshes have been eroding. Ponds behind it have been breached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sound of boat moving]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The boats reached about a mile offshore. It was a spot strategically chosen so the sediment will be carried towards the marshes by waves and tides naturally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>And then the bottom just opens up and the sediment just comes down. And it happened so fast. It’s like 13 seconds. It was just like a “juh–zoupp!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>So. the bottom of the boat just opens?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>The bottom of the boat just opens\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>No way\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>It places the material, and then the boat would go back and get another scow and come do it over and over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>One hundred and…?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>169 times. 24 hours a day. They took Christmas off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>Wow, that’s incredible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>And I’ve never been so excited to move dirt from one place to another in the Bay, you know?…\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The boats went back and forth nearly the whole month of December. Julie says if the pilot achieves its goal, and the marshes stay healthy and fortified against sea-level rise, she hopes to someday give them regular boosts of mud every few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, there you have it. There is treasure at the bottom of the Bay, just maybe not the type you expected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if the history down there ties us to our past, and the mud helps us ensure our future, maybe that’s more valuable than gold. Although, some gold would have been nice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> That was KQED’s Anna Marie Yanny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to Brian Teaff for asking this week’s question. And thanks to Peter Pearsall from the USGS for the boat sounds from Julie’s mud pilot project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve got a question you’d like to hear answered on Bay Curious, head to \u003ca href=\"http://baycurious.org\">BayCurious.org\u003c/a> and ask! While you’re there, sign up for our monthly newsletter, where we often answer even more listener questions than we can get to on the podcast. Again, it’s all at \u003ca href=\"http://baycurious.org\">BayCurious.org\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We are off next week for the July 4 holiday — back in your podcast feeds on July 11.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>This episode was edited by Kevin Stark and me, Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>Produced by Katrina Schwartz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Beale:\u003c/b> And me, Christopher Beale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>Special shout-out this week to Chris Egusa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Paul Lancour:\u003c/b> Additional support from Paul Lancour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Everyone saying their own name:\u003c/b> Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldana, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> And the whole KQED family. I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every winter, Brian Teaff takes a chartered trip from the Berkeley Marina to go fishing for a culinary treasure: Dungeness crab. This winter, as the boat motored through the bay, Teaff wondered what other riches sat down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is at the bottom of the bay?” Teaff asked Bay Curious. And then, “I wonder if there’s any treasure down there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the treasure front, the simple and tragic answer is: No.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking for precious metals, gems or valuable keepsakes, you probably won’t find them at the bottom of the bay. According to bay researchers and maritime experts, while there may be specks of gold mixed in with sediment that flowed into the bay during the Gold Rush, it’s not really worth salvaging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Literally no treasure to be found in the bay at all,” maritime archeologist, historian and author James Delgado said. “Other than history — that either can be studied or left to slowly sit there and…rust in peace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ok, so no treasure. But let’s take a closer look at what is down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>‘The Titanic of San Francisco Bay’\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To Delgado, and maybe to many of us, history \u003ci>is\u003c/i> the treasure. What the bay lacks in pirate booty, it makes up for in historical artifacts — like shipwrecks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a decade ago, Delgado mapped shipwrecks using sonar as the Director of the Maritime Heritage Program for NOAA, the U.S. agency tasked with monitoring our weather and oceans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s probably several dozen [shipwrecks] that sit in and around the entrance to the bay and in the bay itself,” Delgado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, Delgado’s research team and collaborators used underwater robots to relocate one of the bay’s deadliest wrecks: a steamship named the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. It’s around five semi-trucks long and lies at the bottom of a deep channel \u003ca href=\"https://farallones.noaa.gov/heritage/shipwreck-storymap.html\">west of the Golden Gate Bridge\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was literally the Titanic of San Francisco Bay,” Delgado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991926\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/shipwrecks/city-of-rio-de-janeiro/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_j07-18337_gl.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991926\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white drawing of four masted ship on rough seas.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-800x473.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-1020x604.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/city-of-rio-janeiro_san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-sized-1536x909.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A painting of the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park safr_21374_j07-18337_gl)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1901, the ship arrived at San Francisco Bay in thick fog after a more than two-month voyage to China, Japan and Hawaii. It carried 210 people — many of them Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Around 5 a.m., the steamer headed through the fog into Fort Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It hit the rocks and backed off and sank so rapidly that many people who were still asleep in their cabins never had a chance to get out,” Delgado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In total, 128 people died in the wreck. Many of the survivors were saved by early morning fishermen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991928\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/shipwrecks/city-of-rio-de-janeiro/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991928\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of desolate looking people surrounded by their belongings.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-800x483.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-1020x615.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/survivors-san-francisco-maritime-national-historical-park-_safr_21374_a11-14617_p-sized-1536x926.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors from the City of Rio de Janeiro shipwreck gathered at Baker Beach. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The large iron-hulled boat was swallowed by the bay. About a year and a half later, its pilot house floated to the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In it was the skeleton of the captain who was identified by his gold watch,” Delgado said. “Its chain had tangled in his ribcage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s it for gold in the Rio. The only metal of value left now is tin, and that’s not worth salvaging, Delgado said. The ship is covered in mud and located near dangerous currents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This turns out to be true for many of the wrecks in the bay. The cost of reaching them could be greater than anything you might recover.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>The bay’s sunken ghost towns\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Why do ghost towns [fascinate] so many people?” asked Christopher Edwards, a park ranger at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm\">San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park\u003c/a>. “For me, a shipwreck site has that same fascination because it was where people existed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One wreck that stands out to Edwards is that of the Frank H. Buck, which now lies \u003ca href=\"https://farallones.noaa.gov/heritage/shipwreck-storymap.html\">off Lands End\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On March 6, 1937, the oil tanker was making its way to San Francisco Bay from down the coast, in Ventura. It was a foggy day as the Frank H. Buck entered the Golden Gate. Nowadays, ships use \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/marine-radar\">radar\u003c/a> to detect each other in bad weather. But back then, the Buck just had its foghorn, Edwards said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SS President Coolidge, a luxury liner carrying about 700 passengers, headed West towards Hawaii, then Japan, which was nearby. Its foghorn was also blaring. But sound can bounce off the terrain near the Golden Gate and make it difficult to know precisely where you are, Edwards said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until the last minute, they didn’t realize they were going directly at each other,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both ships reached the Western side of the Golden Gate Bridge. There, they collided, nose to nose. The luxury Coolidge punctured the Buck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 695px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991932\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-2.jpeg\" alt=\"Black and white photo from above looking down on a large ship beginning to take on water and sink.\" width=\"695\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-2.jpeg 695w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-2-160x175.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Frank H. Buck’s front decks awash after the collision. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime NHP Collections)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Coolidge captain shouted a plan over to the Buck captain. The \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> quoted him saying: “When we collided I megaphoned Captain Kelly of the Frank H. Buck to hold her where she was. ‘I’ll keep my bow in you,’ I said, ‘so you’ll stay afloat.’ Or words to that effect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Coolidge captain held his position until rescue boats and the Coast Guard could get everyone off the Buck. Then, the Coolidge backed away. The body of the Frank H. Buck, which was more than 400 feet long, began sinking and was carried to the rocks off Lands End.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991933\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 985px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991933\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4.jpeg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of a half sunk ship just off shore.\" width=\"985\" height=\"770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4.jpeg 985w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4-800x625.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/Buck-sinks_photo-4-160x125.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 985px) 100vw, 985px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Buck sank, nose down, near Mile Rock Lighthouse. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Maritime NHP Collections)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park’s Visitor Center has a life ring from the Buck on display. Edwards hopes such artifacts will help visitors picture a seafaring life that, centuries ago, could have been theirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Mud as treasure? \u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Beyond shipwrecks, environmentalists say the bay floor is home to an even more unlikely treasure: mud. For a long time, mud was seen as a problem for the bay, said Julie Beagle, an estuarine geomorphologist. It had flowed into the bay from \u003ca href=\"https://ca.water.usgs.gov/pubs/2013/BarnardEtAl2013.pdf\">urban development, watersheds and mining\u003c/a> from the mid-1800s through the 1900’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of keeping sediment out of the bay was really the guiding principle for a long time, as it should be,” Beagle said. “Macroinvertebrates couldn’t live, and there wasn’t enough food for the fish, and [it] really clogged important spawning habitat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12237-011-9382-x\">Research around 2011 showed\u003c/a> that their plan was working. Between development regulations and some natural fluctuations, less sediment was floating in the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was a new problem. With less sediment being deposited onto the bay’s marshes, sea-level rise was threatening to erode them away. The bay’s marshes don’t just provide good views and habitat for endangered species, they also protect bay neighborhoods and highways from flooding by blocking \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/stormsurge-stormtide.html\">storm surges\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/saltmarsh.html\">absorbing floodwaters\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, mud didn’t seem so bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sediment is this treasure that we need to keep,” Beagle said. “We need to maintain it in the system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To build the marshes back up and fortify them against sea-level rise, scientists would need a lot of mud — approximately \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfei.org/sites/default/files/biblio_files/Sediment-for-Survival-factsheet_1.pdf\">450 million cubic yards\u003c/a>, by some estimates. Beagle started working for the local district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who regularly dredge mud in ports so ships can navigate the bay. There, she helps lead their “Engineering with Nature” team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They recently launched a pilot project to try building up Bay marshlands with routine doses of mud from the bottom of the bay, along with collaborators from the U.S. Geological Survey and other local and government partners. It’s the first time this method is being tested in the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is such a place-based thing to me,” said Beagle, who was born and raised in Oakland. “It really requires understanding of the watersheds, of the landscape, of the people, of the values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December, the team moved 90,000 cubic yards of dredged sediment from the Port of Redwood City to the shores of Eden Landing, an eroding marsh near Hayward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11991934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/3644567/shallow-water-strategic-placement-pilot-project-kicks-off-in-san-francisco-bay/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11991934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized.jpg\" alt=\"A square, blue modern looking boat chugs out into the bay.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1356\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-800x565.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-1020x720.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/mud-boat-sized-1536x1085.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A dredge loads a boat with sediment, destined for eroding marshlands at Eden Landing. \u003ccite>(Brandon Beach/US Army Corps of Engineers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If the pilot study achieves its goal, the marshes will stay healthy and fortified against sea-level rise. Next, Beagle hopes to test the method at other bay marshlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really this move, nationally and internationally toward nature-based adaptation to all the climate risks that we face,” Beagle said. “Because we know that the way we’ve done business for the last 150 years is not going to solve the problems of the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, there you have it. There is treasure at the bottom of the bay, just maybe not the type you expected. But if the artifacts down there tie us to our past, and the mud helps us ensure our future, maybe that’s more valuable than gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although, some gold would have been nice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\nOlivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Every winter, Brian Teaff takes a chartered fishing trip from the Berkeley Marina to go fishing for Dungeness crab. They leave before dawn and motor out through the Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Music starts\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>There’s crazy stuff going on. I mean, there’s all kinds of water and it’s moving in all directions, and you can just tell the bay is just deep there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> This winter, Brian stood on the boat and looked into the swirling abyss below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>Riding on the Bay going, there’s a lot of water that moves through here. And what’s underneath? I know there’s fish, what else is there? So it was just what’s underneath the water?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Are there maybe … shipwrecks down there?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>And then of course, you know, the next question is, oh, boy, I wonder if there’s any treasure down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Treasure like precious metals, gems, valuable keepsakes. If you ask Brian to answer his own question, he says:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>I think that it’s probably just full of mud down there. But boy, I’d like to know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Bay Curious theme song starts playing]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Brian wrote to Bay Curious, to learn more about what’s at the bottom of the Bay. Today on the show, we’ll hear about two shipwrecks that haunt Bay Area lore. Plus, we’ll go searching for treasure and find it in something … unexpected. I’m Olivia Allen-Price. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Sponsor message\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>Like many of us, KQED Reporter Anna Marie Yanny lives a short walk from the Bay. Like our question-asker Brian, she was eager to find out what’s down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> The first thing that came to my mind was the beginning of the \u003ci>Little Mermaid\u003c/i> movie. Mermaid Ariel and her fish friend, Flounder, are diving in a shipwreck looking for treasures. Could there be any wrecks at the bottom of the bay?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[The Little Mermaid movie clip starts]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Flounder:\u003c/b> Ariel, wait for me!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ariel:\u003c/b> Wow, have you seen anything so incredible in your entire life?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>I had to talk to James Delgado. He’s a renowned maritime archeologist and has worn many hats in the field. And back in the 70s, he was the first historian for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>Those early years at the park were magic because we were literally just new as a national park, and everything needed to be done. So, we conducted wide-sweeping inventories and explorations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>He dove in the muddy waters of the bay in search of shipwrecks. And decades later, he mapped them with federal researchers, using sonar. I asked him just how many wrecks are in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>There’s probably several dozen that sit in and around the entrance to the Bay and in the Bay itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>A few wrecks stand out to him and other historians. He tells me about one of the deadliest, a steamship called the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. Named for the city in Brazil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James and a team of researchers and underwater robots used sonar to relocate this wreck in 2014. It’s around five semi-trucks long and lies at the bottom of a deep channel west of Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was literally the Titanic of San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Music starts playing]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>It was February 1901. The Rio was sailing to San Francisco from Asia \u003ci>[sounds of waves and wind] \u003c/i>after an over two-month voyage to China, Japan, Hawaii. It was a big iron-hulled ship and had three masts, with sails billowing off them. Around 5 a.m., shrouded in fog, it headed towards Fort Point carrying more than 200 people — many of them Chinese and Japanese immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sounds of a collision]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>It hit the rocks and backed off and sank so rapidly that many people who were still asleep in their cabins never had a chance to get out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Less than half the passengers survived. Many who did were saved by early morning fishermen. There’s photos of them gathered at Baker Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>James Delgado: \u003c/b>The wreck itself disappeared. Though it remained intact enough that months later, the pilot house tore free, and in it was the skeleton of the captain, who was identified by his gold watch, which its chain had tangled in his ribcage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>But no, he says there’s no more gold down there — maybe tin, but nothing salvageable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, I was told, many of those few dozen shipwrecks in and around the Bay are hard to reach. They’re covered in mud that ran down from the Sierras during the Gold Rush or near currents rushing in and out of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wanted to know what other shipwrecks sat in the fathoms below, so I went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sounds of waves, seagulls]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The park sits on the water across from Ghirardelli Square. It has a ship-shaped museum and a visitor and research center dedicated to West Coast maritime history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m here on a foggy morning. It’s cold. Brave open-water swimmers glide past these pirate-ship-looking boats docked at Hyde Street Pier. Each of the ships have narrowly avoided becoming wrecks themselves, and are instead retired in the park, and open to visitors on the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape:\u003c/b> Wow, this is awesome. I can’t believe I haven’t been yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards:\u003c/b> We can certainly sort of get a feel for the place, take a walk through. We could also…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Park Ranger Christopher Edwards lets me into the Visitor Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There, he tells me about another wreck. An oil tanker called the Frank H. Buck. He brings me back to the day of the wreck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>It was like a worse version of today. You know, today we’ve got sort of the classic morning San Francisco fog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[Sounds of foghorns, water lapping, creaking boat]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>It was March 6, 1937. The Frank H Buck tanker was coming into San Francisco Bay with oil from just down the coast, in Ventura.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher says it was a working ship, and the 30 to 40 person crew were probably dressed in modest work clothes. And nearby, the SS President Coolidge was a luxury liner carrying about 700 passengers headed outbound…west towards Hawaii, then Japan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There, Christopher says the few-hundred-person crew were dressed in uniform, and the ship was organized by class — with the low-ranking crew traveling through below-deck passages to avoid disturbing the passengers. On that foggy day, both ship’s crews were using foghorns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>But the Golden Gate, which is the entrance into the bay, you know, it’s steep sided. And so those foghorns help, but the sound bounces around off the terrain. And it just makes it really difficult to know precisely where you are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>They both reached the Western side of the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>And until the last minute, they didn’t realize they were going directly at each other. And everything happens in slow motion with a ship. You can tell that a disaster is about to happen. But as soon as you realize that that disaster is happening, it might be too late to do anything about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The ships collided. Nose to nose. The lookout at Lands End \u003ca href=\"https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/farallones-shipwrecks/FRANK_H_BUCK_LYMAN_STEWART-Fact_Sheet.pdf\">said\u003c/a> it sounded like a booming Presidio gun through the fog. The luxury Coolidge punctured the Buck. And it’s Captain thought fast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>He didn’t want to pull his ship back immediately and realized deliberately that if he did that, the Buck could sink very quickly.\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The Coolidge captain shouted to the Buck captain. They were that close. They got everyone off the Buck. The crew was loaded into lifeboats and paddled away from the ship before the Coolidge backed away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>The photographs, what they seem to capture is just the crew knowing what they needed to do and ensuring that nobody got hurt, nobody was left behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>What was left behind was the massive body of the Frank H Buck, which began sinking, nose down. It was carried by currents to the rocks off Lands End. Oil pooled out of it, like blood, from the once hearty vessel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The body of an oil tanker likely didn’t have any treasure. And honestly, Christopher says, the bottom of the bay probably doesn’t have the type of treasure our question asker Brian was asking about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>What’s underneath? Is there gold? Is there other precious valuables down there? To the best of my knowledge. The short answer is no. But there’s a treasure down there. I’d say absolutely.\u003cbr>\n\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Christopher says, despite there being no gold, we have a lot to learn from wrecks like these.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Edwards: \u003c/b>There’s archeological treasures down there. There’s stuff that tells you that somebody just like you existed there, that was their home, that was their community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>I thought back to Ariel in \u003ci>The Little Mermaid\u003c/i>. To her, treasures were relics of the human world. Candlesticks, wine stoppers…a fork. Hints of a world that wasn’t hers, but could have been.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Ariel — and to Christopher — and maybe to many of us — history is its own kind of treasure. Not the type our question asker hoped for, but something of value nonetheless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On our way out, Christopher shows me a model of the entrance to San Francisco Bay, complete with a hand-sized Golden Gate bridge. Along the entrance to the bay, the names of about 50 wrecks are written in red. All their graveyards. All little ghost towns. All ships that needed to move between the big, open ocean and the thin ship channel that enters San Francisco Bay. All ships that didn’t quite make it. But still have a story to tell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Music playing]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Wow! I had no idea about those shipwrecks. But I do wish there had been some gold, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> Yeah, I asked around and seriously, no. Maybe flecks of gold mixed in with the sediment.. leftover from the Gold Rush, but nothing worth trying to collect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it could be dangerous trying to reach some of these shipwrecks — James says the first team that tried to reach the Rio wreck lost their robot because of the strong currents down there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> That also sounds super costly!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> But to James and Christoper, it sounds like the treasure really is the history, and how it can help you picture the life that someone else had. Also….there’s another treasure learned about that I wanted to tell you about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> What’s that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> The other treasure is….Mud\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> Mud?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny:\u003c/b> Mud. Go with me here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until about 15 years ago, environmentalists thought of mud as a nuisance in the bay. It flowed in from urban development, watersheds and mining through the mid-18 and 1900s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>Macroinvertebrates couldn’t live, and there wasn’t enough food for the fish and really clogged important spawning habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>That’s Julie Beagle. She’s an estuarine geomorphologist. Meaning she studies how water and sediment move to shape estuaries like the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>The idea of keeping sediment, keeping development out of the Bay was really the guiding principle for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>But around 2011 Julie and her colleagues began to change how they think about mud. They’d been successful at keeping it out. But, between that and some natural fluctuations, there was a new problem. With less sediment being deposited onto the bay’s marshes, sea-level rise was threatening to erode them away. Suddenly, mud didn’t seem so bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>Sediment is this treasure that we need to keep. We need to maintain it in the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Not pirate treasure like our question asker wanted, but certainly treasure to scientists. The bay’s marshes don’t just provide good views and habitat for endangered species, they also protect bay neighborhoods and highways from flooding by blocking storm surges and absorbing floodwaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>As we adapt to sea-level rise, I think the world has this choice. Are we going to adapt with walls, with rock, with riprap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Or do we adapt with natural infrastructure, like marshes? To rebuild marshes that are at risk of drowning from sea-level rise, Julie and her colleagues would need a lot of this — now treasured mud — from the bottom of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They turned to the local district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who regularly dredge the mud in ports so ships can navigate the Bay. Julie applied to work for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>Part of the reason I switched to the Army Corps is I said, who has the sediment, and how can we get that sediment to the places that it needs to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Now, she helps lead their “Engineering with Nature” team. Along with the Corps and collaborators at the USGS and other local and government partners, Julie is using mud in pilot studies. They’re hoping bay marshlands can be built back up with routine doses of mud from the bottom of the bay. They tried this method for the first time in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle:\u003c/b> We placed 90,000 cubic yards in 169 trips. So the boats were going back and forth 24 hours a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Down at the Port of Redwood City, a dredge with a clamshell mouth loaded a flat bottom boat over and over until it was full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sound of a crane dumping mud into a boat]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>Then a tugboat pushed that boat just across the Bay\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sound of boat motor]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>To the shores of Eden Landing, near Hayward. There, Julie says, the marshes have been eroding. Ponds behind it have been breached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>[Sound of boat moving]\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The boats reached about a mile offshore. It was a spot strategically chosen so the sediment will be carried towards the marshes by waves and tides naturally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>And then the bottom just opens up and the sediment just comes down. And it happened so fast. It’s like 13 seconds. It was just like a “juh–zoupp!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>So. the bottom of the boat just opens?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>The bottom of the boat just opens\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>No way\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>It places the material, and then the boat would go back and get another scow and come do it over and over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>One hundred and…?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>169 times. 24 hours a day. They took Christmas off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny in tape: \u003c/b>Wow, that’s incredible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Beagle: \u003c/b>And I’ve never been so excited to move dirt from one place to another in the Bay, you know?…\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Anna Marie Yanny: \u003c/b>The boats went back and forth nearly the whole month of December. Julie says if the pilot achieves its goal, and the marshes stay healthy and fortified against sea-level rise, she hopes to someday give them regular boosts of mud every few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, there you have it. There is treasure at the bottom of the Bay, just maybe not the type you expected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if the history down there ties us to our past, and the mud helps us ensure our future, maybe that’s more valuable than gold. Although, some gold would have been nice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> That was KQED’s Anna Marie Yanny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to Brian Teaff for asking this week’s question. And thanks to Peter Pearsall from the USGS for the boat sounds from Julie’s mud pilot project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve got a question you’d like to hear answered on Bay Curious, head to \u003ca href=\"http://baycurious.org\">BayCurious.org\u003c/a> and ask! While you’re there, sign up for our monthly newsletter, where we often answer even more listener questions than we can get to on the podcast. Again, it’s all at \u003ca href=\"http://baycurious.org\">BayCurious.org\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We are off next week for the July 4 holiday — back in your podcast feeds on July 11.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Brian Teaff: \u003c/b>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>This episode was edited by Kevin Stark and me, Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>Produced by Katrina Schwartz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christopher Beale:\u003c/b> And me, Christopher Beale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>Special shout-out this week to Chris Egusa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Paul Lancour:\u003c/b> Additional support from Paul Lancour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Everyone saying their own name:\u003c/b> Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldana, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b> And the whole KQED family. I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>"
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"title": "Nearly 1 Million Californians Have No Access to Safe Drinking Water, With Communities of Color Most at Risk",
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"content": "\u003cp>Almost 400 water systems serving nearly a million Californians don’t meet state requirements for safe and reliable drinking water supplies — and fixing them would cost billions of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than two-thirds of these failing water systems serve communities of color, and more than half are in places struggling \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/electrical-energy/infrastructure/disadvantaged-communities#:~:text=Disadvantaged%20communities%20refers%20to%20the,%2C%20health%2C%20and%20environmental%20burdens.\">with poverty and pollution\u003c/a>, according to an annual assessment released on Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These water systems failed to provide water “which is at all times pure, wholesome, and potable,” as required. Some violated drinking water \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/Chemicalcontaminants.html\">standards for chemicals, bacteria, taste or odor\u003c/a>. Others rely on bottled water or have failed to meet treatment, monitoring or other requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Jan. 1, about 913,000 people were served by water systems that didn’t meet the requirements, dropping to about 771,000 as of today. Even more Californians, around 1.54 million,\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>got their drinking water from hundreds of water systems considered at risk of failing, the report said—and it rose to more than 1.8 million as of today.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Nearly 144,000 wells were threatened by encroaching contaminants and shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">Failing water systems span the state\u003c/a> — from tiny Del Norte County on the Oregon state line to San Diego and Imperial counties near the border with Mexico. They cluster densely in the Central Valley and along the Central Coast, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/california-farmers-groundwater-probation-kings-county/\">where groundwater overuse\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/04/california-floods-contaminate-water-nitrate/\">agricultural chemicals\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/california-water-bills-legislature/\">smaller, struggling water systems collide\u003c/a> — particularly in lower-income communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a moral outrage. It’s unconscionable in a state that has so many resources that we can’t ensure that everybody has access to the human right to water,” said Kyle Jones, policy and legal director \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/organizations/-4070\">with the Community Water Center.\u003c/a> “Folks shouldn’t have to suffer health impacts or added cost to have access to something that most of us take for granted and can get daily.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The price tag for ensuring safe, affordable and accessible water supplies for all Californians is staggering — an estimated $16 billion over the next five years — as the state grapples \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/capitol/2024/06/california-budget-deal-4/\">with a multibillion-dollar deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without more state or federal funding, most of the total — around $13.9 billion — may fall on local communities and well owners, according to the report. That means some of the people least able to afford it will end up paying more for water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of failing systems — and the cost of fixing them — is likely to climb as water suppliers must meet new state and federal standards for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/california-water-standard-chromium/\">hexavalent chromium,\u003c/a> the contaminant made infamous by the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/drinking-water-forever-chemicals-new-standards/\">pervasive forever chemicals\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The subtext of this report is pretty clear,” said \u003ca href=\"https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/team/gregory-pierce/\">Greg Pierce\u003c/a>, director of UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, who commended the water board’s transparency and extensive analysis. “The state just needs to put its money where its mouth is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/\">12 years since California became the first state in the country\u003c/a> to recognize clean, safe, affordable and accessible drinking water as a human right.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Today, about 98% of Californians are served by water systems that meet state standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet despite California’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and climate leader, the state has long struggled to ensure safe drinking water for all — especially those in rural, disadvantaged communities. Californians relying on household wells, for instance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/safer/ssws_dw.html\">are beyond the state’s regulatory reach\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The annual assessment comes from the water board’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/grants_loans/sustainable_water_solutions/safer.html\">Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program\u003c/a>, established by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2019/06/california-clean-drinking-water-funding-greenhouse-gas-fund-climate-change/\">state law in 2019\u003c/a>. Nearly a billion dollars has been spent on grants in disadvantaged communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The list of failing water systems typically hovers between 380 and 400, state officials said. And nearly every year, with only a couple of exceptions, more water systems have been added to the “failing” list than removed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, about 283 — or 42% of 715 systems on the list — came off between 2017 through 2023. About 700,000 more people have safe water than in 2019, according to the water board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the pace of ensuring safe drinking water is too slow, the state auditor said in a report \u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2021-118/index.html\">lambasting the water board\u003c/a> two years ago.\u003cem> \u003c/em>It “has funding available to help these failing systems improve the quality of their drinking water. Nonetheless, the board has generally demonstrated a lack of urgency in providing this critical assistance,” the auditor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kristyn Abhold, a senior environmental scientist at the water board who led Tuesday’s report, said infrastructure takes time. “It’s not just the funding side, but it’s the planning. It’s the engineering reports, the community engagement, it’s getting the right permits in place,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost estimates have risen about $1.1 billion, or about 26%, since a 2021 assessment for failing and at-risk public water systems, and $3.6 billion for high-risk private, household wells and small water systems that serve only a handful of customers — a 264% increase, said Jackie Carpenter, a water board spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the increase is due to inflation, Abhold said. Some is because the latest analysis favors long-term, higher-cost fixes, such as merging struggling water systems with more secure ones nearby. Some is because the analysis now includes water systems and household wells at risk for shortages, rather than just ones grappling with poor water quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11982531,news_11981787,news_11986659\"]The water board projects that it can cover about $2 billion of the $15.9 billion estimated cost with grants — leaving $13.9 billion to be shouldered by water suppliers and well owners, including those that are least financially able to weather such a blow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smaller systems already charge about $32 more a month than larger ones, according to the report, and about 13% of community water systems face medium to high affordability burdens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to establish a program to help lower-income Californians pay for water because \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/california-water-bills-legislature/\">the bill had “no sustainable, ongoing funding identified\u003c/a>,” though another \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1255\">water assistance bill\u003c/a> is now winding its way through the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials said drinking water programs have largely escaped the major funding cuts in the latest budget deal: While more than $152 million from the general fund from drinking water and wastewater was cut, nearly $225 million from cap and trade proceeds was included. “In sum, we do not anticipate a net reduction in funding available for drinking water projects,” water board spokesperson Dimitri Stanich said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Safe drinking water advocates say that it is still far too little.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funding gap identified in the report “is huge, particularly given how little the program will receive over the next two years,” said Jennifer Clary, California director of Clean Water Action. Clary advocated for funding for drinking water in a climate bond that is still being negotiated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drinking water infrastructure isn’t a luxury item. Without these projects, thousands of Californians will continue to lack access to safe and clean drinking water.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Almost 400 water systems serving nearly a million Californians don’t meet state requirements for safe and reliable drinking water supplies — and fixing them would cost billions of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than two-thirds of these failing water systems serve communities of color, and more than half are in places struggling \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/electrical-energy/infrastructure/disadvantaged-communities#:~:text=Disadvantaged%20communities%20refers%20to%20the,%2C%20health%2C%20and%20environmental%20burdens.\">with poverty and pollution\u003c/a>, according to an annual assessment released on Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These water systems failed to provide water “which is at all times pure, wholesome, and potable,” as required. Some violated drinking water \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/Chemicalcontaminants.html\">standards for chemicals, bacteria, taste or odor\u003c/a>. Others rely on bottled water or have failed to meet treatment, monitoring or other requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Jan. 1, about 913,000 people were served by water systems that didn’t meet the requirements, dropping to about 771,000 as of today. Even more Californians, around 1.54 million,\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>got their drinking water from hundreds of water systems considered at risk of failing, the report said—and it rose to more than 1.8 million as of today.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Nearly 144,000 wells were threatened by encroaching contaminants and shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">Failing water systems span the state\u003c/a> — from tiny Del Norte County on the Oregon state line to San Diego and Imperial counties near the border with Mexico. They cluster densely in the Central Valley and along the Central Coast, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/california-farmers-groundwater-probation-kings-county/\">where groundwater overuse\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/04/california-floods-contaminate-water-nitrate/\">agricultural chemicals\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/california-water-bills-legislature/\">smaller, struggling water systems collide\u003c/a> — particularly in lower-income communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a moral outrage. It’s unconscionable in a state that has so many resources that we can’t ensure that everybody has access to the human right to water,” said Kyle Jones, policy and legal director \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/organizations/-4070\">with the Community Water Center.\u003c/a> “Folks shouldn’t have to suffer health impacts or added cost to have access to something that most of us take for granted and can get daily.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The price tag for ensuring safe, affordable and accessible water supplies for all Californians is staggering — an estimated $16 billion over the next five years — as the state grapples \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/capitol/2024/06/california-budget-deal-4/\">with a multibillion-dollar deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without more state or federal funding, most of the total — around $13.9 billion — may fall on local communities and well owners, according to the report. That means some of the people least able to afford it will end up paying more for water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of failing systems — and the cost of fixing them — is likely to climb as water suppliers must meet new state and federal standards for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/california-water-standard-chromium/\">hexavalent chromium,\u003c/a> the contaminant made infamous by the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/drinking-water-forever-chemicals-new-standards/\">pervasive forever chemicals\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The subtext of this report is pretty clear,” said \u003ca href=\"https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/team/gregory-pierce/\">Greg Pierce\u003c/a>, director of UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, who commended the water board’s transparency and extensive analysis. “The state just needs to put its money where its mouth is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/\">12 years since California became the first state in the country\u003c/a> to recognize clean, safe, affordable and accessible drinking water as a human right.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Today, about 98% of Californians are served by water systems that meet state standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet despite California’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and climate leader, the state has long struggled to ensure safe drinking water for all — especially those in rural, disadvantaged communities. Californians relying on household wells, for instance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/safer/ssws_dw.html\">are beyond the state’s regulatory reach\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The annual assessment comes from the water board’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/grants_loans/sustainable_water_solutions/safer.html\">Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program\u003c/a>, established by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2019/06/california-clean-drinking-water-funding-greenhouse-gas-fund-climate-change/\">state law in 2019\u003c/a>. Nearly a billion dollars has been spent on grants in disadvantaged communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The list of failing water systems typically hovers between 380 and 400, state officials said. And nearly every year, with only a couple of exceptions, more water systems have been added to the “failing” list than removed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, about 283 — or 42% of 715 systems on the list — came off between 2017 through 2023. About 700,000 more people have safe water than in 2019, according to the water board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the pace of ensuring safe drinking water is too slow, the state auditor said in a report \u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2021-118/index.html\">lambasting the water board\u003c/a> two years ago.\u003cem> \u003c/em>It “has funding available to help these failing systems improve the quality of their drinking water. Nonetheless, the board has generally demonstrated a lack of urgency in providing this critical assistance,” the auditor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kristyn Abhold, a senior environmental scientist at the water board who led Tuesday’s report, said infrastructure takes time. “It’s not just the funding side, but it’s the planning. It’s the engineering reports, the community engagement, it’s getting the right permits in place,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost estimates have risen about $1.1 billion, or about 26%, since a 2021 assessment for failing and at-risk public water systems, and $3.6 billion for high-risk private, household wells and small water systems that serve only a handful of customers — a 264% increase, said Jackie Carpenter, a water board spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the increase is due to inflation, Abhold said. Some is because the latest analysis favors long-term, higher-cost fixes, such as merging struggling water systems with more secure ones nearby. Some is because the analysis now includes water systems and household wells at risk for shortages, rather than just ones grappling with poor water quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The water board projects that it can cover about $2 billion of the $15.9 billion estimated cost with grants — leaving $13.9 billion to be shouldered by water suppliers and well owners, including those that are least financially able to weather such a blow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smaller systems already charge about $32 more a month than larger ones, according to the report, and about 13% of community water systems face medium to high affordability burdens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to establish a program to help lower-income Californians pay for water because \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/california-water-bills-legislature/\">the bill had “no sustainable, ongoing funding identified\u003c/a>,” though another \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1255\">water assistance bill\u003c/a> is now winding its way through the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials said drinking water programs have largely escaped the major funding cuts in the latest budget deal: While more than $152 million from the general fund from drinking water and wastewater was cut, nearly $225 million from cap and trade proceeds was included. “In sum, we do not anticipate a net reduction in funding available for drinking water projects,” water board spokesperson Dimitri Stanich said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Safe drinking water advocates say that it is still far too little.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funding gap identified in the report “is huge, particularly given how little the program will receive over the next two years,” said Jennifer Clary, California director of Clean Water Action. Clary advocated for funding for drinking water in a climate bond that is still being negotiated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drinking water infrastructure isn’t a luxury item. Without these projects, thousands of Californians will continue to lack access to safe and clean drinking water.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"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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"radiolab": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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