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"slug": "smoke-chasers-help-predict-wildfire-behavior",
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"content": "\u003cp>One thing that stands out in this already-staggering fire season is the repeated accounts of bizarre fire behavior that seem to defy conventional wisdom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, scientists are looking for new clues to that behavior. It turns out that the smoke plume from a wildfire tells its own complex story that contains some of those clues, and in California, there’s a new breed of “smoke chaser” looking to decode them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928405\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928405\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: smoke plume from Carr Fire, near Redding, CA\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-800x493.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-1020x628.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-1200x739.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-1180x726.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-960x591.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-240x148.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-375x231.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-520x320.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scientists are probing smoke plumes from the Carr Fire and other wildfires to better predict fire behavior. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When I arrive at the Carr Fire’s incident command post in Anderson, just south of Redding, Craig Clements had just come out of a briefing with the incident meteorologist. Every big fire has one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re having issues with the smoke and they want to know how deep it is,” explains Clements. “We’re gonna map the smoke layer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clements runs the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fireweather.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fire Weather Research Lab\u003c/a> at San Jose State State University — and he’s taken it on the road. The lab’s mobile unit is a white, heavy-duty pickup, outfitted with a cluster of weather instruments and a LIDAR unit. \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lidar.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LIDAR is kind of like radar\u003c/a>, but instead of using radio waves, shoots a beam of light skyward, in this case to make a vertical map of the smoke column.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928403\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928403\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: mobile unit on site\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">SJSU’s mobile fire weather unit is the only one of its kind operated by a U.S. university. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We can track the smoke,” says Clements, “but we can also measure the wind circulation patterns in the smoke plume.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meteorology student Jackson Yip pulls the rig off of Highway 299 onto an open field, about 5 miles from the fire line, and gets to work inflating a small weather balloon — about four feet across. It carries a transmitter the size of an eyeglass case, called \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/upperair/factsheet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a radiosonde\u003c/a>, that will send data back to the truck. He lets it go and it shoots into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a good sight. Come on, keep goin’, keep goin’!,” urges Clements.\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will keep going, sampling and transmitting data back once every second, until it reaches 40,000 feet or more above the earth. The fire lab crew will transmit their data to the meteorologist on duty at the command post, where it can help form a better picture of conditions aloft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”DtKkbwvPmAseBAsYXj8h5MqEwXQxwCdC”]Launch sites for weather balloons are “few and far between,” according to Clements, so the team’s ability to launch on site was a boon to the “i-met,” the incident meteorologist who asked them to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wow–look at that,” Clements exclaims, as the information starts to form a picture. The first thing they notice is a strong inversion: a layer of air about 9,000 feet up that’s warmer than the air below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The air’s really, really warm above,” he observes.\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That warm air acts as a lid on the lower atmosphere, which helps explain why the entire Sacramento Valley seems to be enshrouded in a yellow, smokey haze. But what the team is really looking for, are signs that the fire’s behavior might be changing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928402\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928402\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: smoke haze near Redding\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-800x603.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-768x579.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1020x769.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1200x904.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1920x1447.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1180x889.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-960x723.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-240x181.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-375x283.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-520x392.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A yellow pall of smoke haze hangs over Interstate 5 south of Redding, during the Carr Fire. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If you have a very convective day, let’s say, in the atmosphere, where a lot of vertical motion is occurring,” Clements explains, “that can impact the fire behavior.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing they can spot is something called a “velocity couplet,” where winds above the fire are moving in opposite directions, just meters apart. That indicates rotation, and the possible formation of fire “tornadoes,” like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1928143/reddings-firenado-was-not-your-garden-variety-fire-whirl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one that added to the devastation\u003c/a> near Redding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re not seeing that on this day — but as the information comes in, it reveals something else that’s potentially dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[emailsignup newslettername='science' align='right']“The air is really, really dry aloft,” notes Clements, “so if that really dry air mixes down to the surface, it could really impact fire behavior, because it’ll dry out the fuels.”\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, it’s something to keep an eye on — no need to sound an alarm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As air descends, it’ll only warm more and get drier,” explains grad student Matthew Brewer. “If the sun’s able to warm the surface, and you start to get surface mixing, and we get convection, and get these big circulations going, and that could bring down some of the dry air; as air comes up, air has to come back down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, San Jose State has the only mobile fire weather lab in the nation, and the immediate goal is research. But Clements hopes they can make the case for units like this to become a staple of wildfire management — especially when current fires seem to be breaking all the conventional rules of fire behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are general rules of thumb,” Clements says, “but it doesn’t always happen. And so the more observations we can get on a wildfire in terms of meteorology, fire behavior, and fuels conditions, the better for predicting the fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But maybe the bottom line of why they’re out here was best expressed by the undergrad student in the crew, 23-year-old Jackson Yip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, the papers that will be coming out of these observations and the knowledge we gain from it will ultimately save property and save lives,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fall, the lab is adding a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_band\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ka-band mobile Doppler radar\u003c/a> unit to its arsenal. Clements says that will give them unprecedented range and power to demystify the forces inside a fire’s smoke plume.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Every big fire has a meteorologist whose job is to help figure out what the fire might do next. So it helps if that meteorologist has a smoke-chaser.",
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"title": "Smoke-Chasers Help Predict Wildfire Behavior | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>One thing that stands out in this already-staggering fire season is the repeated accounts of bizarre fire behavior that seem to defy conventional wisdom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, scientists are looking for new clues to that behavior. It turns out that the smoke plume from a wildfire tells its own complex story that contains some of those clues, and in California, there’s a new breed of “smoke chaser” looking to decode them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928405\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928405\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: smoke plume from Carr Fire, near Redding, CA\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-800x493.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-1020x628.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-1200x739.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-1180x726.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-960x591.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-240x148.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-375x231.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/RS32074_GettyImages-1006951752-qut-520x320.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scientists are probing smoke plumes from the Carr Fire and other wildfires to better predict fire behavior. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When I arrive at the Carr Fire’s incident command post in Anderson, just south of Redding, Craig Clements had just come out of a briefing with the incident meteorologist. Every big fire has one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re having issues with the smoke and they want to know how deep it is,” explains Clements. “We’re gonna map the smoke layer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clements runs the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fireweather.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fire Weather Research Lab\u003c/a> at San Jose State State University — and he’s taken it on the road. The lab’s mobile unit is a white, heavy-duty pickup, outfitted with a cluster of weather instruments and a LIDAR unit. \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lidar.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LIDAR is kind of like radar\u003c/a>, but instead of using radio waves, shoots a beam of light skyward, in this case to make a vertical map of the smoke column.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928403\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928403\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: mobile unit on site\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0621-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">SJSU’s mobile fire weather unit is the only one of its kind operated by a U.S. university. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We can track the smoke,” says Clements, “but we can also measure the wind circulation patterns in the smoke plume.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meteorology student Jackson Yip pulls the rig off of Highway 299 onto an open field, about 5 miles from the fire line, and gets to work inflating a small weather balloon — about four feet across. It carries a transmitter the size of an eyeglass case, called \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/upperair/factsheet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a radiosonde\u003c/a>, that will send data back to the truck. He lets it go and it shoots into the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a good sight. Come on, keep goin’, keep goin’!,” urges Clements.\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will keep going, sampling and transmitting data back once every second, until it reaches 40,000 feet or more above the earth. The fire lab crew will transmit their data to the meteorologist on duty at the command post, where it can help form a better picture of conditions aloft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Launch sites for weather balloons are “few and far between,” according to Clements, so the team’s ability to launch on site was a boon to the “i-met,” the incident meteorologist who asked them to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wow–look at that,” Clements exclaims, as the information starts to form a picture. The first thing they notice is a strong inversion: a layer of air about 9,000 feet up that’s warmer than the air below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The air’s really, really warm above,” he observes.\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That warm air acts as a lid on the lower atmosphere, which helps explain why the entire Sacramento Valley seems to be enshrouded in a yellow, smokey haze. But what the team is really looking for, are signs that the fire’s behavior might be changing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928402\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928402\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: smoke haze near Redding\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-800x603.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-768x579.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1020x769.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1200x904.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1920x1447.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-1180x889.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-960x723.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-240x181.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-375x283.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_0629-520x392.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A yellow pall of smoke haze hangs over Interstate 5 south of Redding, during the Carr Fire. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If you have a very convective day, let’s say, in the atmosphere, where a lot of vertical motion is occurring,” Clements explains, “that can impact the fire behavior.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing they can spot is something called a “velocity couplet,” where winds above the fire are moving in opposite directions, just meters apart. That indicates rotation, and the possible formation of fire “tornadoes,” like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1928143/reddings-firenado-was-not-your-garden-variety-fire-whirl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one that added to the devastation\u003c/a> near Redding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re not seeing that on this day — but as the information comes in, it reveals something else that’s potentially dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The air is really, really dry aloft,” notes Clements, “so if that really dry air mixes down to the surface, it could really impact fire behavior, because it’ll dry out the fuels.”\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, it’s something to keep an eye on — no need to sound an alarm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As air descends, it’ll only warm more and get drier,” explains grad student Matthew Brewer. “If the sun’s able to warm the surface, and you start to get surface mixing, and we get convection, and get these big circulations going, and that could bring down some of the dry air; as air comes up, air has to come back down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, San Jose State has the only mobile fire weather lab in the nation, and the immediate goal is research. But Clements hopes they can make the case for units like this to become a staple of wildfire management — especially when current fires seem to be breaking all the conventional rules of fire behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are general rules of thumb,” Clements says, “but it doesn’t always happen. And so the more observations we can get on a wildfire in terms of meteorology, fire behavior, and fuels conditions, the better for predicting the fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But maybe the bottom line of why they’re out here was best expressed by the undergrad student in the crew, 23-year-old Jackson Yip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, the papers that will be coming out of these observations and the knowledge we gain from it will ultimately save property and save lives,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fall, the lab is adding a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_band\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ka-band mobile Doppler radar\u003c/a> unit to its arsenal. Clements says that will give them unprecedented range and power to demystify the forces inside a fire’s smoke plume.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Hot Weather, Land Abuses Fueling Algal Blooms in Western Waters",
"headTitle": "Hot Weather, Land Abuses Fueling Algal Blooms in Western Waters | KQED",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"content\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"moz-reader-content line-height4\">\n\u003cdiv id=\"readability-page-1\" class=\"page\">\n\u003cp>The West is known for summer wildfires. Now it seems Western summers will be distinguished by another kind of flare-up: algae blooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cp>This summer has witnessed an explosion of algae problems in Western water bodies. Usually marked by a bright green mat of floating scum, the blooms are unsightly and unpleasant for water lovers. More concerning are potentially toxic cyanobacteria often produced by the algae, which can be deadly to pets and livestock and cause illnesses in people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These harmful algal blooms have popped up in freshwater lakes and streams for years. But in recent years they seem bigger and more widespread than ever, resulting in closed beaches, public health warnings and risks to drinking water in a few locations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blooms are even popping up in unlikely places, such as high-elevation mountain lakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is currently no federal drinking water standard for algal toxins and in many places, data monitoring of blooms is still scarce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is really a devilish problem,” said Craig Cox, a senior vice-president for agriculture and natural resources at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ewg.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Environmental Working Group\u003c/a> who is tracking the issue. “The more I look into it, the more stunning the state of play seems to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the cause of each incident is not always known, two of the main known drivers of algal blooms are excess nutrients in the water and extreme heat. As a result, algae-coated lakes could become one of the most visible consequences of rising global temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Understanding the Problem\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most serious incident recently occurred in May in Salem, Oregon, where a health advisory was issued to more than 200,000 customers of the city water department following the detection of algal toxins in the drinking water supply. Young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with certain medical conditions were warned not to drink tap water for most of the month of June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_134297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180727081904/USACE_Detroit_Dam_Oregon1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"521\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detroit Lake and Dam on the North Santiam River, a source of drinking water for Salem, Oregon, the state capital. A toxic algal bloom at the lake in May and June resulted in a weeks-long public health advisory in which children, the elderly and other sensitive groups were urged not to consume Salem’s drinking water. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Salem officials still don’t know what caused the toxic bloom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the million-dollar question that everybody wants to know,” said Lacey Goeres-Priest, water quality supervisor at the Salem Public Works Department. “There’s a lot of different factors that play into this type of event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The algae and the bacteria involved in harmful blooms are all naturally occurring and are important building blocks of all life on Earth. But the two main causes of the blooms are not natural.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erosion and excessive fertilizer are to blame for the high levels of nutrients. For the second factor, warm temperatures cause algae to bloom more aggressively and climate change seems a likely culprit. Scientists at Tufts University in Massachusetts published a \u003ca href=\"https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/climate-change-projected-significantly-increase-harmful-algal-blooms-us-freshwaters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study\u003c/a> in 2017 predicting toxic algal blooms would increase as the climate warms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They like it hot, and this helps them outcompete beneficial phytoplankton,” said Ali Dunn, an environmental scientist at the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) who studies blooms in that state. “It’s definitely been a catalyst for their growth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Closing the Data Gaps\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Algal blooms are unpredictable, typically resulting from a suite of biological and environmental conditions. Most algal toxins come from a class of cyanobacteria present with some – but not all – algae. So the mere presence of algae does not mean a toxin is present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only way to detect algal toxins is through laboratory testing of water samples. This can take days, adding significant delay to any public health response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each lake, river, water body kind of has its own story to tell,” said Dunn. “The drivers are going to be different and unique to that system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one knows precisely how often blooms occur because there is no monitoring of the problem on a national scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cox, based in Ames, Iowa, and his team at EWG decided to gather their own data by recording how often algal blooms were mentioned in the news media. He admits this was a crude method, but no other data was available. In their resulting \u003ca href=\"https://www.ewg.org/toxicalgalblooms/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report\u003c/a>, released in May, they documented 169 blooms in 2017 – up from 51 the year before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is certainly a low estimate, because many blooms probably don’t get reported in the media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case in point: in 2016, the SWRCB launched its own \u003ca href=\"https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">algal bloom reporting program\u003c/a>. It is based entirely on volunteer reports. Even so, in \u003ca href=\"https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/monitoring_council/collaboration_network/docs/2018/dunn-vandyke-022118.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">2017\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/monitoring_council/collaboration_network/docs/2018/dunn-vandyke-022118.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">it recorded\u003c/a> 181 algal blooms just in California, an increase from 91 the year before. Of the 2017 blooms, 141 were serious enough to prompt health advisories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the 2017 reports illustrates how algal blooms are popping up where they once didn’t seem possible. On Sept. 8, a bright green lake-wide algal bloom was reported at Rim Rock Lake, a natural water body at the 7,000-feet (2,130 meters) elevation deep inside Lassen National Forest in Northern California. Water samples revealed four species of cyanobacteria, but none was producing toxins at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/national-lakes-assessment-2012-key-findings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Lakes Assessment\u003c/a> every five years that sheds a little more light on the issue. The most recent assessment now dates back to 2012. It found cyanobacteria and \u003ca href=\"https://iaspub.epa.gov/tdb/pages/contaminant/contaminantOverview.do?contaminantId=-1336577584\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">microcystin\u003c/a>, a key algal toxin, had increased 8.3 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, in the nation’s lakes compared with 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, the presence of phosphorus – a main nutrient from fertilizers that feeds algal blooms – also grew significantly worse. Eighteen percent of lakes showed increasing phosphorus concentrations compared with 2007. And 40 percent were recorded as having excess phosphorus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been able to show, with our occurrence data, that toxins are present across the country in all surface water types,” said Keith Loftin, a research chemist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas. “But in terms of an exact count year to year, we do not have that data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To close this gap, Loftin is helping develop a new national \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/water-research/cyanobacteria-assessment-network-cyan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cyanobacteria Assessment Network\u003c/a>. He’s part of a team that includes the EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. They plan to use satellite sensors to detect and monitor harmful algal blooms nationwide. It will include a smartphone app to make the data widely available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_134298\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 880px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180727082028/DiamondValleyCyanotracker1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"880\" height=\"538\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This satellite image shows the state of an algal bloom in July at Diamond Valley Lake near Riverside, California, a critical storage reservoir for the Metropolitan Water District. In June, the district closed the lake to recreating as a result of the bloom. (Image Courtesy Cyanotracker/University of Georgia)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>The system is being tested now and Loftin hopes it will be publicly available within a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data produced by the system could help develop new algae management techniques and regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Drinking Water Crisis\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA, the nation’s water-quality police, has only issued recommendations and has yet to impose federal drinking water standards for algal toxins. As a result, many utilities are forced to improvise when an algal bloom strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such was the case during Salem’s recent crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first indicator came on May 8, when an algal bloom appeared at Detroit Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the North Santiam River. Salem draws its drinking water from the reservoir, which is also popular for boating, swimming and fishing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it had experienced blooms before, Salem already had a weekly testing program for algal toxins. Now it increased testing to twice weekly, sending samples to a laboratory in Ohio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until May 25, just before Memorial Day weekend, that test results from a sample of the city’s water confirmed the presence of a type of cyanotoxin. Consulting with the Oregon Health Authority, the city took a wait-and-see approach to the problem over the long holiday weekend, Goeres-Priest said. It tweaked the water treatment process to try to control the toxin, and tapped a backup supply from the neighboring city of Keizer to help dilute the water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the bloom continued. So on Tuesday, May 29, the city issued a health advisory urging sensitive groups not to drink the tap water. It affected not just Salem, but three neighboring communities that draw water from the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With help from the state, Salem began distributing bottled water and the National Guard mobilized tankers to dispense clean water at two dozen sites for residents who brought their own containers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city lifted the health advisory five days later, on June 2, after two consecutive days of clean water samples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then the bloom roared back, and on June 6 Salem was forced to impose the advisory again, adding to public confusion. It was finally lifted on July 3, only after 12 consecutive days of clean water tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Algal blooms had struck Detroit Lake before, but none had ever lasted that long or required health warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is different about this year than previous years? At this point, I don’t know the answer to that,” Goeres-Priest said. “We’re still learning a lot about the toxins themselves, and trying to understand what triggers that toxin release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A forest fire may be one new contributor. The Whitewater Fire, which started in July 2017, burned 14,000 acres of forest in the Santiam River watershed east of Salem. Fire ash contains phosphorus, a nutrient that could have fed this year’s algal bloom. Goeres-Priest doesn’t know to what extent that was a factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The algal bloom episode was costly for Salem, she said, although a full tally is not yet available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, the city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on water sample testing. Later, to avoid the delay of sending samples to Ohio, the city bought its own testing machine at a cost of $35,000. It also bought a cryofreezer because laboratory protocol requires samples to be flash-frozen and thawed three times before testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salem also had to upgrade its water treatment plant, adding a process involving powdered activated carbon to remove algal toxins from the source water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_134299\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180727082114/lab-technician-at-willow-lake-prepares-water-samples-next-to-caas-equipment_web_1600x1067_color-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Salem, Oregon, city employee prepares water samples for testing to determine the presence of algal toxins. The city purchased new testing machines during a recent toxic algal bloom to avoid delays in sending water samples to a lab in Ohio. (Photo Courtesy city of Salem)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>In response to Salem’s travails, the Oregon Health Authority imposed its own \u003ca href=\"https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2018/06/29/salem-water-alert-oregon-algal-toxins-test-oha/746671002/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interim water quality standards\u003c/a> for algal toxins. It now requires all water agencies to test for them regularly while it develops permanent standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Solving the Problem\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing that’s clear about toxic algal blooms is that treating the outbreak doesn’t solve the problem. They are likely to recur until the root cause is corrected. Watsonville, California, provides an example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pinto Lake, a Watsonville city recreation site, began experiencing algal blooms as early as the 1980s, said Jackie McCloud, the city’s environmental projects manager. The lake drains into the Pajaro River, then into Monterey Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The blooms were not a drinking water concern, because the lake isn’t used for that purpose. But the algae problem became unavoidable when sea otters, protected by the state and federal Endangered Species Act, began turning up dead on the bay shore in 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Necropsies cited liver failure as cause of death in 33 sea otters. That, in turn was caused by exposure to microcystin, an algal toxin that accumulated in the tissues of sea urchins and shellfish eaten by the otters. It was the first time the freshwater toxin had been documented to survive in seawater and cause the death of marine mammals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin was traced upstream to Pinto Lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McCloud said the lake’s algae problem dates back to the earliest days of settlement in the area. Vast redwood forests in the coastal mountains draining into the watershed were cut down for building materials, and the resulting erosion coated the bottom of the lake with nutrients – specifically phosphorus. Farming, road building and housing development sent more phosphorus-laden runoff into the lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were just seeing massive amounts of erosion from the watershed coming into the lake,” McCloud said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city took a two-pronged approach: stop the algal blooms and stop the erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To control the blooms, the city hired a consultant who applied alum, a chemical compound meant to neutralize and isolate phosphorus in the lakebed. McCloud called this a “Band-Aid” measure because the real solution lies in the watershed upstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the city has no land use authority in the watershed, so it began working with Santa Cruz County and the local Resource Conservation District, an organization that helps farmers improve land use practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Landowners were encouraged to adopt erosion control measures, such as water bars on dirt roads to manage runoff and buffer strips of vegetation to capture it. The county adopted similar measures on its public lands in the watershed, including Mt. Madonna County Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All this work, including the alum treatment, was funded by $900,000 in EPA grants administered by the SWRCB. McCloud called it a success: there have been no algal blooms since the work began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she knows the job isn’t done. The alum treatment will eventually wear off, and erosion controls require ongoing maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to see more of these hot, intense weather events where we don’t have a lot of water coming into the system anymore and we’re concentrating this phosphorus,” McCloud said. “We knew the lake was the biggest problem, but we realized we’re not going to solve anything by just looking at that one spot. You have to look bigger than just your lake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article originally appeared on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://mail.kqed.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9e4bb0e1a7d74f24ba4684ef2533053d&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.newsdeeply.com%2fwater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water Deeply\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and you can find it \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2018/07/30/hot-weather-land-abuses-fueling-algal-blooms-in-western-waters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For important news about the California drought, you can \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://waterdeeply.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8b78e9a34ff7443ec1e8c62c6&id=2947becb78\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sign up\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the Water Deeply email list.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Toxic bacteria produced by some algae are a threat to public health. Climate change may be one reason algal blooms have become a growing concern for many water agencies.",
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"description": "Toxic bacteria produced by some algae are a threat to public health. Climate change may be one reason algal blooms have become a growing concern for many water agencies.",
"title": "Hot Weather, Land Abuses Fueling Algal Blooms in Western Waters | KQED",
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"headline": "Hot Weather, Land Abuses Fueling Algal Blooms in Western Waters",
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"slug": "hot-weather-land-abuses-fueling-algal-blooms-in-western-waters",
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"nprByline": "Matt Weiser\u003cbr />Water Deeply",
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"source": "Environment",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"content\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"moz-reader-content line-height4\">\n\u003cdiv id=\"readability-page-1\" class=\"page\">\n\u003cp>The West is known for summer wildfires. Now it seems Western summers will be distinguished by another kind of flare-up: algae blooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cp>This summer has witnessed an explosion of algae problems in Western water bodies. Usually marked by a bright green mat of floating scum, the blooms are unsightly and unpleasant for water lovers. More concerning are potentially toxic cyanobacteria often produced by the algae, which can be deadly to pets and livestock and cause illnesses in people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These harmful algal blooms have popped up in freshwater lakes and streams for years. But in recent years they seem bigger and more widespread than ever, resulting in closed beaches, public health warnings and risks to drinking water in a few locations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blooms are even popping up in unlikely places, such as high-elevation mountain lakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is currently no federal drinking water standard for algal toxins and in many places, data monitoring of blooms is still scarce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is really a devilish problem,” said Craig Cox, a senior vice-president for agriculture and natural resources at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ewg.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Environmental Working Group\u003c/a> who is tracking the issue. “The more I look into it, the more stunning the state of play seems to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the cause of each incident is not always known, two of the main known drivers of algal blooms are excess nutrients in the water and extreme heat. As a result, algae-coated lakes could become one of the most visible consequences of rising global temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Understanding the Problem\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most serious incident recently occurred in May in Salem, Oregon, where a health advisory was issued to more than 200,000 customers of the city water department following the detection of algal toxins in the drinking water supply. Young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with certain medical conditions were warned not to drink tap water for most of the month of June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_134297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180727081904/USACE_Detroit_Dam_Oregon1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"521\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detroit Lake and Dam on the North Santiam River, a source of drinking water for Salem, Oregon, the state capital. A toxic algal bloom at the lake in May and June resulted in a weeks-long public health advisory in which children, the elderly and other sensitive groups were urged not to consume Salem’s drinking water. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Salem officials still don’t know what caused the toxic bloom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the million-dollar question that everybody wants to know,” said Lacey Goeres-Priest, water quality supervisor at the Salem Public Works Department. “There’s a lot of different factors that play into this type of event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The algae and the bacteria involved in harmful blooms are all naturally occurring and are important building blocks of all life on Earth. But the two main causes of the blooms are not natural.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erosion and excessive fertilizer are to blame for the high levels of nutrients. For the second factor, warm temperatures cause algae to bloom more aggressively and climate change seems a likely culprit. Scientists at Tufts University in Massachusetts published a \u003ca href=\"https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/climate-change-projected-significantly-increase-harmful-algal-blooms-us-freshwaters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study\u003c/a> in 2017 predicting toxic algal blooms would increase as the climate warms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They like it hot, and this helps them outcompete beneficial phytoplankton,” said Ali Dunn, an environmental scientist at the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) who studies blooms in that state. “It’s definitely been a catalyst for their growth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Closing the Data Gaps\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Algal blooms are unpredictable, typically resulting from a suite of biological and environmental conditions. Most algal toxins come from a class of cyanobacteria present with some – but not all – algae. So the mere presence of algae does not mean a toxin is present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only way to detect algal toxins is through laboratory testing of water samples. This can take days, adding significant delay to any public health response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each lake, river, water body kind of has its own story to tell,” said Dunn. “The drivers are going to be different and unique to that system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one knows precisely how often blooms occur because there is no monitoring of the problem on a national scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cox, based in Ames, Iowa, and his team at EWG decided to gather their own data by recording how often algal blooms were mentioned in the news media. He admits this was a crude method, but no other data was available. In their resulting \u003ca href=\"https://www.ewg.org/toxicalgalblooms/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report\u003c/a>, released in May, they documented 169 blooms in 2017 – up from 51 the year before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is certainly a low estimate, because many blooms probably don’t get reported in the media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case in point: in 2016, the SWRCB launched its own \u003ca href=\"https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">algal bloom reporting program\u003c/a>. It is based entirely on volunteer reports. Even so, in \u003ca href=\"https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/monitoring_council/collaboration_network/docs/2018/dunn-vandyke-022118.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">2017\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/monitoring_council/collaboration_network/docs/2018/dunn-vandyke-022118.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">it recorded\u003c/a> 181 algal blooms just in California, an increase from 91 the year before. Of the 2017 blooms, 141 were serious enough to prompt health advisories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the 2017 reports illustrates how algal blooms are popping up where they once didn’t seem possible. On Sept. 8, a bright green lake-wide algal bloom was reported at Rim Rock Lake, a natural water body at the 7,000-feet (2,130 meters) elevation deep inside Lassen National Forest in Northern California. Water samples revealed four species of cyanobacteria, but none was producing toxins at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/national-lakes-assessment-2012-key-findings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Lakes Assessment\u003c/a> every five years that sheds a little more light on the issue. The most recent assessment now dates back to 2012. It found cyanobacteria and \u003ca href=\"https://iaspub.epa.gov/tdb/pages/contaminant/contaminantOverview.do?contaminantId=-1336577584\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">microcystin\u003c/a>, a key algal toxin, had increased 8.3 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, in the nation’s lakes compared with 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, the presence of phosphorus – a main nutrient from fertilizers that feeds algal blooms – also grew significantly worse. Eighteen percent of lakes showed increasing phosphorus concentrations compared with 2007. And 40 percent were recorded as having excess phosphorus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been able to show, with our occurrence data, that toxins are present across the country in all surface water types,” said Keith Loftin, a research chemist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas. “But in terms of an exact count year to year, we do not have that data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To close this gap, Loftin is helping develop a new national \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/water-research/cyanobacteria-assessment-network-cyan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cyanobacteria Assessment Network\u003c/a>. He’s part of a team that includes the EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. They plan to use satellite sensors to detect and monitor harmful algal blooms nationwide. It will include a smartphone app to make the data widely available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_134298\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 880px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180727082028/DiamondValleyCyanotracker1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"880\" height=\"538\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This satellite image shows the state of an algal bloom in July at Diamond Valley Lake near Riverside, California, a critical storage reservoir for the Metropolitan Water District. In June, the district closed the lake to recreating as a result of the bloom. (Image Courtesy Cyanotracker/University of Georgia)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>The system is being tested now and Loftin hopes it will be publicly available within a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data produced by the system could help develop new algae management techniques and regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Drinking Water Crisis\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA, the nation’s water-quality police, has only issued recommendations and has yet to impose federal drinking water standards for algal toxins. As a result, many utilities are forced to improvise when an algal bloom strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such was the case during Salem’s recent crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first indicator came on May 8, when an algal bloom appeared at Detroit Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the North Santiam River. Salem draws its drinking water from the reservoir, which is also popular for boating, swimming and fishing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it had experienced blooms before, Salem already had a weekly testing program for algal toxins. Now it increased testing to twice weekly, sending samples to a laboratory in Ohio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until May 25, just before Memorial Day weekend, that test results from a sample of the city’s water confirmed the presence of a type of cyanotoxin. Consulting with the Oregon Health Authority, the city took a wait-and-see approach to the problem over the long holiday weekend, Goeres-Priest said. It tweaked the water treatment process to try to control the toxin, and tapped a backup supply from the neighboring city of Keizer to help dilute the water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the bloom continued. So on Tuesday, May 29, the city issued a health advisory urging sensitive groups not to drink the tap water. It affected not just Salem, but three neighboring communities that draw water from the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With help from the state, Salem began distributing bottled water and the National Guard mobilized tankers to dispense clean water at two dozen sites for residents who brought their own containers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city lifted the health advisory five days later, on June 2, after two consecutive days of clean water samples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then the bloom roared back, and on June 6 Salem was forced to impose the advisory again, adding to public confusion. It was finally lifted on July 3, only after 12 consecutive days of clean water tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Algal blooms had struck Detroit Lake before, but none had ever lasted that long or required health warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is different about this year than previous years? At this point, I don’t know the answer to that,” Goeres-Priest said. “We’re still learning a lot about the toxins themselves, and trying to understand what triggers that toxin release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A forest fire may be one new contributor. The Whitewater Fire, which started in July 2017, burned 14,000 acres of forest in the Santiam River watershed east of Salem. Fire ash contains phosphorus, a nutrient that could have fed this year’s algal bloom. Goeres-Priest doesn’t know to what extent that was a factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The algal bloom episode was costly for Salem, she said, although a full tally is not yet available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, the city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on water sample testing. Later, to avoid the delay of sending samples to Ohio, the city bought its own testing machine at a cost of $35,000. It also bought a cryofreezer because laboratory protocol requires samples to be flash-frozen and thawed three times before testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salem also had to upgrade its water treatment plant, adding a process involving powdered activated carbon to remove algal toxins from the source water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_134299\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180727082114/lab-technician-at-willow-lake-prepares-water-samples-next-to-caas-equipment_web_1600x1067_color-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Salem, Oregon, city employee prepares water samples for testing to determine the presence of algal toxins. The city purchased new testing machines during a recent toxic algal bloom to avoid delays in sending water samples to a lab in Ohio. (Photo Courtesy city of Salem)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>In response to Salem’s travails, the Oregon Health Authority imposed its own \u003ca href=\"https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2018/06/29/salem-water-alert-oregon-algal-toxins-test-oha/746671002/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interim water quality standards\u003c/a> for algal toxins. It now requires all water agencies to test for them regularly while it develops permanent standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Solving the Problem\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing that’s clear about toxic algal blooms is that treating the outbreak doesn’t solve the problem. They are likely to recur until the root cause is corrected. Watsonville, California, provides an example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pinto Lake, a Watsonville city recreation site, began experiencing algal blooms as early as the 1980s, said Jackie McCloud, the city’s environmental projects manager. The lake drains into the Pajaro River, then into Monterey Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The blooms were not a drinking water concern, because the lake isn’t used for that purpose. But the algae problem became unavoidable when sea otters, protected by the state and federal Endangered Species Act, began turning up dead on the bay shore in 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Necropsies cited liver failure as cause of death in 33 sea otters. That, in turn was caused by exposure to microcystin, an algal toxin that accumulated in the tissues of sea urchins and shellfish eaten by the otters. It was the first time the freshwater toxin had been documented to survive in seawater and cause the death of marine mammals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin was traced upstream to Pinto Lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McCloud said the lake’s algae problem dates back to the earliest days of settlement in the area. Vast redwood forests in the coastal mountains draining into the watershed were cut down for building materials, and the resulting erosion coated the bottom of the lake with nutrients – specifically phosphorus. Farming, road building and housing development sent more phosphorus-laden runoff into the lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were just seeing massive amounts of erosion from the watershed coming into the lake,” McCloud said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city took a two-pronged approach: stop the algal blooms and stop the erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To control the blooms, the city hired a consultant who applied alum, a chemical compound meant to neutralize and isolate phosphorus in the lakebed. McCloud called this a “Band-Aid” measure because the real solution lies in the watershed upstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the city has no land use authority in the watershed, so it began working with Santa Cruz County and the local Resource Conservation District, an organization that helps farmers improve land use practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Landowners were encouraged to adopt erosion control measures, such as water bars on dirt roads to manage runoff and buffer strips of vegetation to capture it. The county adopted similar measures on its public lands in the watershed, including Mt. Madonna County Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All this work, including the alum treatment, was funded by $900,000 in EPA grants administered by the SWRCB. McCloud called it a success: there have been no algal blooms since the work began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she knows the job isn’t done. The alum treatment will eventually wear off, and erosion controls require ongoing maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to see more of these hot, intense weather events where we don’t have a lot of water coming into the system anymore and we’re concentrating this phosphorus,” McCloud said. “We knew the lake was the biggest problem, but we realized we’re not going to solve anything by just looking at that one spot. You have to look bigger than just your lake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article originally appeared on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://mail.kqed.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9e4bb0e1a7d74f24ba4684ef2533053d&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.newsdeeply.com%2fwater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water Deeply\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and you can find it \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2018/07/30/hot-weather-land-abuses-fueling-algal-blooms-in-western-waters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For important news about the California drought, you can \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://waterdeeply.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8b78e9a34ff7443ec1e8c62c6&id=2947becb78\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sign up\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the Water Deeply email list.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "From Space, Large Swaths of West Covered in Smoke",
"headTitle": "From Space, Large Swaths of West Covered in Smoke | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>NASA satellites captured striking images showing the scale of multiple devastating wildfires raging throughout Northern California and the West Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Altogether, the California wildfires have killed at least eight people and scorched more than 200,000 acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928254\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/20180730-westernfires.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1928254\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-1020x665.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-1020x665.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-800x522.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-768x501.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-960x626.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-240x157.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-375x245.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-520x339.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Aqua satellite on July 29, 2018. Actively burning areas, detected by thermal bands, are outlined in red. Click on the image to see a larger version from NASA. \u003ccite>(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Shasta Counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the weekend, President Donald Trump\u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-approves-california-emergency-declaration-2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> ordered federal\u003c/a> assistance “to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts,” according to the White House statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NASA’s Aqua satellite on Sunday captured wildfire smoke billowing throughout California, seen in the image above, and drifting eastward toward Utah and beyond. Actively burning areas are outlined in red.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole of the western coast looks like it is on fire,” the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/nasa-satellite-sees-fires-up-and-down-us-west-coast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement\u003c/a> issued by NASA said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928280\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/20170727-calif2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1928280 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-800x701.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"701\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-800x701.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-160x140.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-768x673.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-1020x894.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-960x841.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-240x210.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-375x329.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-520x456.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This image was captured by NASA’s Terra satellite on July 26, 2018. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. Click on the image to see a larger version from NASA.(Photo courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Similarly, NASA’s Terra satellite on Thursday captured the breadth of multiple wildfires that have swept through the West Coast, from Oregon and Northern California to south of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> largest of the California blazes\u003c/a>, Carr Fire in Shasta County, doubled in size over the weekend to 98,724 acres and was 20 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire has so far destroyed about 1,000 structures and claimed six lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Guard has been deployed to assist firefighters battling the blaze, whose ferocity produced a huge column of whirling smoke and fire, dubbed a “firenado.”[contextly_sidebar id=”OqWF9VNdDcmZDbyyqyj3wDRGCjhgQzmj”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Mendocino County, two blazes scorched almost 56,000 acres. Firefighters \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">battled the blaze\u003c/a> overnight but “weather conditions will continue to challenge firefighters as hot, dry and windy conditions persist,” according to the Cal Fire incident report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Monday morning, the fire\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was 10 percent\u003c/a> contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ferguson fire, which led to a partial closure of Yosemite National Park, is 30 percent contained as of Monday morning. Two firefighters died battling the blaze, which has scorched 56,659 acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several mandatory evacuations are in place and more information can be found on the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cal Fire info page\u003c/a>.[contextly_sidebar id=”rJ7t8usz6Y2fVMC4PmliMWsnRiazYkmY”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far this year, California wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wildfires/firefighters-gain-on-sprawling-california-wildfire-six-dead-idUSKBN1KK1KE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have scorched nearly\u003c/a> 410,000 acres, the highest year-to-date level in a decade, reports Reuters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An unrelenting bout of hot and dry weather in Northern California has contributed to unfavorable conditions for firefighters battling to contain the fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hot, dry weather that contributed to the deadly California firestorm shows no sign of letting up into the first part of August,” said the\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/nasa-satellite-shows-california-shrouded-in-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> NASA statement\u003c/a> accompanying the images.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>NASA satellites captured striking images showing the scale of multiple devastating wildfires raging throughout Northern California and the West Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Altogether, the California wildfires have killed at least eight people and scorched more than 200,000 acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928254\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/20180730-westernfires.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1928254\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-1020x665.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-1020x665.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-800x522.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-768x501.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-960x626.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-240x157.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-375x245.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires-520x339.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20180730-westernfires.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Aqua satellite on July 29, 2018. Actively burning areas, detected by thermal bands, are outlined in red. Click on the image to see a larger version from NASA. \u003ccite>(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Shasta Counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the weekend, President Donald Trump\u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-approves-california-emergency-declaration-2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> ordered federal\u003c/a> assistance “to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts,” according to the White House statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NASA’s Aqua satellite on Sunday captured wildfire smoke billowing throughout California, seen in the image above, and drifting eastward toward Utah and beyond. Actively burning areas are outlined in red.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole of the western coast looks like it is on fire,” the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/nasa-satellite-sees-fires-up-and-down-us-west-coast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement\u003c/a> issued by NASA said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928280\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/20170727-calif2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1928280 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-800x701.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"701\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-800x701.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-160x140.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-768x673.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-1020x894.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-960x841.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-240x210.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-375x329.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2-520x456.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/20170727-calif2.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This image was captured by NASA’s Terra satellite on July 26, 2018. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. Click on the image to see a larger version from NASA.(Photo courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Similarly, NASA’s Terra satellite on Thursday captured the breadth of multiple wildfires that have swept through the West Coast, from Oregon and Northern California to south of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> largest of the California blazes\u003c/a>, Carr Fire in Shasta County, doubled in size over the weekend to 98,724 acres and was 20 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire has so far destroyed about 1,000 structures and claimed six lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Guard has been deployed to assist firefighters battling the blaze, whose ferocity produced a huge column of whirling smoke and fire, dubbed a “firenado.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Mendocino County, two blazes scorched almost 56,000 acres. Firefighters \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">battled the blaze\u003c/a> overnight but “weather conditions will continue to challenge firefighters as hot, dry and windy conditions persist,” according to the Cal Fire incident report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Monday morning, the fire\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was 10 percent\u003c/a> contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ferguson fire, which led to a partial closure of Yosemite National Park, is 30 percent contained as of Monday morning. Two firefighters died battling the blaze, which has scorched 56,659 acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several mandatory evacuations are in place and more information can be found on the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cal Fire info page\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far this year, California wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wildfires/firefighters-gain-on-sprawling-california-wildfire-six-dead-idUSKBN1KK1KE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have scorched nearly\u003c/a> 410,000 acres, the highest year-to-date level in a decade, reports Reuters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An unrelenting bout of hot and dry weather in Northern California has contributed to unfavorable conditions for firefighters battling to contain the fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hot, dry weather that contributed to the deadly California firestorm shows no sign of letting up into the first part of August,” said the\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/nasa-satellite-shows-california-shrouded-in-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> NASA statement\u003c/a> accompanying the images.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>National Guard troops, Highway Patrol officers and teams of state prison inmates have joined fire crews struggling to battle the deadly Carr and Ferguson fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Triple-digit temperatures and steep terrain are challenging firefighters’ containment efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘This fire is scary to us. It’s something we haven’t seen before. It changes direction so often. If you receive an alert or see an officer urging you to evacuate, please listen to us and get yourself out.’\u003ccite>Redding Police Chief Roger Moore\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5927/\">Ferguson Fire\u003c/a> is burning in remote areas surrounding Yosemite National Park.The wildfire has scarred more than 56,000 acres and is currently 30 percent contained. CalFire officials say they should have it fully contained in roughly two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\">Carr Fire\u003c/a> continues to threaten homes in Shasta and Trinity counties, as firefighters battle against wind and extreme fire conditions. Fire officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.co.shasta.ca.us/index/sheriff_index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lifted some evacuation orders\u003c/a> today, but thousands of people are still prohibited from returning home. The fire is 20 percent contained, with crews working to \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hold the control lines\u003c/a> they built Sunday night .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Redding Police Chief Roger Moore spoke of the fear many are feeling and the need for prompt evacuations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This fire is scary to us. It’s something we haven’t seen before. It changes direction so often. If you receive an alert on your phone or see an officer urging you to evacuate, please listen to us and get yourself out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Resources Strained\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Carr and Ferguson fires are only 2 of 17 major blazes \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101866493/firefighters-battle-17-major-blazes-across-california\">currently being fought\u003c/a> across the state. Each requires a dedicated team of firefighters, and as resources become strained the state is mobilizing additional sources of manpower across 125 agencies to help with firefighting efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”gZYDcQ9h4mrAu0SMhcBI4IdMuilw7bcs”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Highway Patrol Commissioner Warren Stanley has sent 118 uniformed officers to the Carr Fire to help with evacuations, including officers from the Bay area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Conservation_Camps/\">Conservation Camp Program\u003c/a>, an inmate work project under the direction of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is also sending its teams. The program provides an able-bodied, trained work force of inmates who must be approved to work alongside Cal Fire crews on fire suppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program supports around 3,500 inmates, spread across the state in 43 camps. The men and women of the program live in their assigned camps year-round, working on fire prevention and conservation projects when not actively fighting fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we have large fires like this, we move crews all over the state,” says Bill Sessa, an information officer with CDCR. “We move crews from other areas to provide backup fire protection. Literally, we have all our crews moving all day, every day, when we get into these major firestorms that are spread all over the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conservation Camp teams numbering 1,700 inmates are currently being dispatched across 10 different fires to help cut containment lines and maintain equipment. Most of the effort, Sessa says, is being directed toward the largest fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[emailsignup newslettername='science' align='right']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some have been working on the Ferguson fire since it broke out more than a week ago,” he says, “and many are being redirected to the Carr fire, which seems to have exploded in size.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are currently 450 inmates assigned to the Ferguson fire and 599 to the Carr fire. They frequently work for 24 hours straight, carrying heavy loads of up to 60 pounds. Working in teams of 12 under the direction of Cal Fire captains, they hack away vegetation in an effort to stop the spread of fire or to change its direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you hear news reports of a fire being ‘X-percent contained,’” says Sessa, that is the work of our crews.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928286\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1928286\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-520x346.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters battle the Ferguson fire in Jerseydale, California, on July 22, 2018. \u003ccite>(NOAH BERGER/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Volunteers are evaluated based on their security risk, physical ability and criminal history, Sessa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a great amount of teamwork that is required for these teams to work, so we are looking for those who have a respect for the law, a willingness to work as a team, a willingness to take on the discipline of working on a fire crew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California National Guard has also sent 800 troops to the Carr Fire. Among them are crews to operate six helicopters, two C-130 planes to drop fire retardant, and an MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft for collecting real-time footage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is our home,” Major Todd Morgan wrote in a \u003ca style=\"color: #41a62a\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CAGUARD/\">Facebook\u003c/a> post. Whether it is in Napa, Yosemite, Fresno, or Ventura County, every Californian is affected by the wildfires. When we go out, this isn’t just another mission we are tasked with, this is taking care of and defending our home, our neighbors, friends, and family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ferguson and Carr fires combined are responsible for eight \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11683457/death-toll-up-to-5-as-carr-fire-continues-to-burn-in-redding\">fatalities\u003c/a>, including four firefighters and four civilians. But with more than a dozen people reported missing, authorities warn this number could rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Carr fire encroaches on Redding city limits, the threat of extensive property and structural damage also increases. Several hundred structures have already been destroyed, with a further 5,012 threatened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Governor Brown received a fire management assistance grant to help fund firefighting efforts, and has also received direct federal assistance from the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michelle Wiley contributed to this post.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "California wildfires have gotten so large and unruly that crews from the National Guard and the state prison system's Conservation Camp are helping battle the blazes.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>National Guard troops, Highway Patrol officers and teams of state prison inmates have joined fire crews struggling to battle the deadly Carr and Ferguson fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Triple-digit temperatures and steep terrain are challenging firefighters’ containment efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘This fire is scary to us. It’s something we haven’t seen before. It changes direction so often. If you receive an alert or see an officer urging you to evacuate, please listen to us and get yourself out.’\u003ccite>Redding Police Chief Roger Moore\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5927/\">Ferguson Fire\u003c/a> is burning in remote areas surrounding Yosemite National Park.The wildfire has scarred more than 56,000 acres and is currently 30 percent contained. CalFire officials say they should have it fully contained in roughly two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\">Carr Fire\u003c/a> continues to threaten homes in Shasta and Trinity counties, as firefighters battle against wind and extreme fire conditions. Fire officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.co.shasta.ca.us/index/sheriff_index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lifted some evacuation orders\u003c/a> today, but thousands of people are still prohibited from returning home. The fire is 20 percent contained, with crews working to \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hold the control lines\u003c/a> they built Sunday night .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Redding Police Chief Roger Moore spoke of the fear many are feeling and the need for prompt evacuations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This fire is scary to us. It’s something we haven’t seen before. It changes direction so often. If you receive an alert on your phone or see an officer urging you to evacuate, please listen to us and get yourself out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Resources Strained\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Carr and Ferguson fires are only 2 of 17 major blazes \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101866493/firefighters-battle-17-major-blazes-across-california\">currently being fought\u003c/a> across the state. Each requires a dedicated team of firefighters, and as resources become strained the state is mobilizing additional sources of manpower across 125 agencies to help with firefighting efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Highway Patrol Commissioner Warren Stanley has sent 118 uniformed officers to the Carr Fire to help with evacuations, including officers from the Bay area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Conservation_Camps/\">Conservation Camp Program\u003c/a>, an inmate work project under the direction of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is also sending its teams. The program provides an able-bodied, trained work force of inmates who must be approved to work alongside Cal Fire crews on fire suppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program supports around 3,500 inmates, spread across the state in 43 camps. The men and women of the program live in their assigned camps year-round, working on fire prevention and conservation projects when not actively fighting fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we have large fires like this, we move crews all over the state,” says Bill Sessa, an information officer with CDCR. “We move crews from other areas to provide backup fire protection. Literally, we have all our crews moving all day, every day, when we get into these major firestorms that are spread all over the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conservation Camp teams numbering 1,700 inmates are currently being dispatched across 10 different fires to help cut containment lines and maintain equipment. Most of the effort, Sessa says, is being directed toward the largest fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some have been working on the Ferguson fire since it broke out more than a week ago,” he says, “and many are being redirected to the Carr fire, which seems to have exploded in size.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are currently 450 inmates assigned to the Ferguson fire and 599 to the Carr fire. They frequently work for 24 hours straight, carrying heavy loads of up to 60 pounds. Working in teams of 12 under the direction of Cal Fire captains, they hack away vegetation in an effort to stop the spread of fire or to change its direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you hear news reports of a fire being ‘X-percent contained,’” says Sessa, that is the work of our crews.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928286\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1928286\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/ww2.kqed_.orgGettyImages-1004100802-1-de81cdb9c22de8fcd82ae241b76a2289c1eb2671-2-520x346.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters battle the Ferguson fire in Jerseydale, California, on July 22, 2018. \u003ccite>(NOAH BERGER/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Volunteers are evaluated based on their security risk, physical ability and criminal history, Sessa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a great amount of teamwork that is required for these teams to work, so we are looking for those who have a respect for the law, a willingness to work as a team, a willingness to take on the discipline of working on a fire crew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California National Guard has also sent 800 troops to the Carr Fire. Among them are crews to operate six helicopters, two C-130 planes to drop fire retardant, and an MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft for collecting real-time footage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is our home,” Major Todd Morgan wrote in a \u003ca style=\"color: #41a62a\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CAGUARD/\">Facebook\u003c/a> post. Whether it is in Napa, Yosemite, Fresno, or Ventura County, every Californian is affected by the wildfires. When we go out, this isn’t just another mission we are tasked with, this is taking care of and defending our home, our neighbors, friends, and family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ferguson and Carr fires combined are responsible for eight \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11683457/death-toll-up-to-5-as-carr-fire-continues-to-burn-in-redding\">fatalities\u003c/a>, including four firefighters and four civilians. But with more than a dozen people reported missing, authorities warn this number could rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Carr fire encroaches on Redding city limits, the threat of extensive property and structural damage also increases. Several hundred structures have already been destroyed, with a further 5,012 threatened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Governor Brown received a fire management assistance grant to help fund firefighting efforts, and has also received direct federal assistance from the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michelle Wiley contributed to this post.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Redding's Fire Tornado Was Not Your Garden Variety Fire Whirl (Video)",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Thursday evening, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11683111/wildfire-races-to-outskirts-of-redding-firefighter-dozer-driver-killed\">the Carr Fire exploded\u003c/a> into the outskirts of Redding, blazing through everything in its path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the next morning, through images and video posted online, the world could see the force that had driven the fire’s leap across the Sacramento River and rapid spread into the city: a massive, rotating cloud of smoke and ash and flame. ABC10, which \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ABC10/status/1022862397780852739\">posted one of the most widely shared videos on Twitter\u003c/a>, said it wasn’t a tornado. But it sure looked like one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a fire whirl, also known as a fire devil, fire vortex, fire tornado, or “firenado.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ABC10/status/1022862397780852739\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1928250 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado.png 474w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-160x159.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-240x239.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-375x373.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-32x32.png 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-50x50.png 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-64x64.png 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-96x96.png 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-128x128.png 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_whirl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fire whirl\u003c/a> is any intensely rotating column of heated air that rises from a wildfire, according to Neil Lareau, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It begins to form when air starts to rotate, usually near the surface of the earth. The air is very hot because of the fire, but also due to the hot ambient air temperatures that set the stage for the fire in the first place. Heat rises, so that spinning air at the surface gets stretched high into the atmosphere, forming a rotating column of hot air that pulls ash and flame along with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What causes the rotation in the first place?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the part we don’t really know,” says Lareau.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">Fire tornadoes are just one type of extreme fire behavior that may be exacerbated by climate change.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Rotation can be driven by differences in wind speed or temperature, caused by features of the local environment: the terrain or an obstacle on the ground. But researchers don’t understand this part very well, and it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly started the rotation at the Carr Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happens when the rotation rises into the air is better understood. The rotation becomes concentrated in that column. Lareau likens it to a whirling figure skater who puts their arms up over their head to spin faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=UBAcJ3BP_GM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They kind of concentrate that rotation, and make it stronger. And the fire is doing this huge vertical boost to that rotation that may have been at the surface,” he explains, “It’s starting to look more like a tornado than your garden-variety fire whirl.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Usually, meteorologists take issue with describing fire whirls as “fire tornadoes” because they form differently, and fire whirls are usually made up of much weaker winds than tornadoes. Last Thursday, though, seeing the aftermath with roofs ripped off of homes and large trees completely uprooted just outside the burn zone, even the weather experts were tempted to describe the Carr Fire whirl as a tornado.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Always see confusion about calling firewhirls tornados, yet this damage from the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarrFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CarrFire\u003c/a> is very compelling. Not sure what it takes to knock over light posts, but these photos suggest severe mesoscale tornadic-like winds in unburned neighborhoods. Incredible. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAfire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAfire\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/1aoxkbTT5D\">https://t.co/1aoxkbTT5D\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Matt Roberts (@WxMattt) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/WxMattt/status/1022914361797439489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 27, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Fire whirls are not an uncommon sight at a wildfire. But they’re usually small, up to 1,000 feet high, and last only minutes or even seconds. On Thursday night, the fire whirl outside of Redding stretched to about 18,000 feet into the air and lasted for nearly an hour, and winds were clocked near the lower end of tornado-strength wind speeds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very rare as well to have these really persistent long-lived events like that, ” says Lareau, “To get a big one like this is really scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire whirls are dangerous not only because of the strength of the winds involved but because they lift embers high into the air, where higher-altitude winds can carry them far from the flaming front. That’s one way that fires get past what should be major barriers — like the Sacramento River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928160\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1928160\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-800x677.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"677\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-800x677.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-160x135.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-768x650.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-1020x864.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-1200x1016.png 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-1180x999.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-960x813.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-240x203.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-375x318.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-520x440.png 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX.png 1324w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 3D visualization of the ‘fire tornado’ at the Carr Fire on the evening of July 26. \u003ccite>(Neil Lareau)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lareau says that other fire whirls on this scale have occurred in Northern California in the recent past, but not in densely populated areas like Redding. Big fire whirls may have played a role in the spread of last year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/02/us/thomas-fire-officially-out/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Fire\u003c/a> and North Bay Fires — counted as the state’s largest and most destructive on record, respectively — but the fire whirls were not on the same scale, and those fires were mostly driven by regional Santa Ana and Diablo winds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are really just starting to learn about fire whirls, and are a long way from being able to predict the occurrence of major fire whirl events — but they can identify the ingredients that make such an event more likely. The topography of the area is part of it. And the heat, which reached 113 degrees in Redding last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you get a big temperature differential you get a big pressure differential. And when you get a big pressure differential you accelerate the winds,” explains Lareau, “You’re kind of off to the races once you get something like this going.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s difficult to tie any one event to climate change, Lareau says that “it’s not a coincidence the that this is the record-[hottest] July for the northern Sacramento Valley, embedded in a broader trend, and we’re going to keep seeing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire tornadoes are just one type of extreme fire behavior that may be exacerbated by climate change. And as UC Merced fire scientist Anthony Westerling argued on Twitter, the “new normal” of fire might not really be “normal” at all, but a permanent state of unpredictability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We are not, and will not, experience a “new normal” of wildland fire behavior. A “normal” is a long term average that provides a useful guide to the future, but wildfire is responding to accelerating climate change: no one alive today will ever see a stable climate again. \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/wyqnMz7AFP\">https://t.co/wyqnMz7AFP\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— A. LeRoy Westerling (@LeroyWesterling) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LeroyWesterling/status/1023767908080467973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 30, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But whether it’s fires \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926996/something-else-adding-fuel-to-californias-fire-season-warmer-nights\">burning intensely at night\u003c/a>, or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1927988/how-wildfires-are-breaking-the-rules-in-california-by-racing-downhill\">rapidly downhill\u003c/a>, or forming fire whirls with tornado strength winds, or all three at the same time — as has been the case at the Carr Fire — firefighters and communities will need to adjust. Soon.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "'Fire whirls' are not unusual, but the tornado-like scale and ferocity of the whirl in Redding stunned even the experts.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Thursday evening, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11683111/wildfire-races-to-outskirts-of-redding-firefighter-dozer-driver-killed\">the Carr Fire exploded\u003c/a> into the outskirts of Redding, blazing through everything in its path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the next morning, through images and video posted online, the world could see the force that had driven the fire’s leap across the Sacramento River and rapid spread into the city: a massive, rotating cloud of smoke and ash and flame. ABC10, which \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ABC10/status/1022862397780852739\">posted one of the most widely shared videos on Twitter\u003c/a>, said it wasn’t a tornado. But it sure looked like one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a fire whirl, also known as a fire devil, fire vortex, fire tornado, or “firenado.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ABC10/status/1022862397780852739\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1928250 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado.png 474w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-160x159.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-240x239.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-375x373.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-32x32.png 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-50x50.png 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-64x64.png 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-96x96.png 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-128x128.png 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/firenado-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_whirl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fire whirl\u003c/a> is any intensely rotating column of heated air that rises from a wildfire, according to Neil Lareau, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It begins to form when air starts to rotate, usually near the surface of the earth. The air is very hot because of the fire, but also due to the hot ambient air temperatures that set the stage for the fire in the first place. Heat rises, so that spinning air at the surface gets stretched high into the atmosphere, forming a rotating column of hot air that pulls ash and flame along with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What causes the rotation in the first place?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the part we don’t really know,” says Lareau.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">Fire tornadoes are just one type of extreme fire behavior that may be exacerbated by climate change.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Rotation can be driven by differences in wind speed or temperature, caused by features of the local environment: the terrain or an obstacle on the ground. But researchers don’t understand this part very well, and it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly started the rotation at the Carr Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happens when the rotation rises into the air is better understood. The rotation becomes concentrated in that column. Lareau likens it to a whirling figure skater who puts their arms up over their head to spin faster.\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/UBAcJ3BP_GM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/UBAcJ3BP_GM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“They kind of concentrate that rotation, and make it stronger. And the fire is doing this huge vertical boost to that rotation that may have been at the surface,” he explains, “It’s starting to look more like a tornado than your garden-variety fire whirl.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Usually, meteorologists take issue with describing fire whirls as “fire tornadoes” because they form differently, and fire whirls are usually made up of much weaker winds than tornadoes. Last Thursday, though, seeing the aftermath with roofs ripped off of homes and large trees completely uprooted just outside the burn zone, even the weather experts were tempted to describe the Carr Fire whirl as a tornado.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Always see confusion about calling firewhirls tornados, yet this damage from the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarrFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CarrFire\u003c/a> is very compelling. Not sure what it takes to knock over light posts, but these photos suggest severe mesoscale tornadic-like winds in unburned neighborhoods. Incredible. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAfire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAfire\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/1aoxkbTT5D\">https://t.co/1aoxkbTT5D\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Matt Roberts (@WxMattt) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/WxMattt/status/1022914361797439489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 27, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Fire whirls are not an uncommon sight at a wildfire. But they’re usually small, up to 1,000 feet high, and last only minutes or even seconds. On Thursday night, the fire whirl outside of Redding stretched to about 18,000 feet into the air and lasted for nearly an hour, and winds were clocked near the lower end of tornado-strength wind speeds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very rare as well to have these really persistent long-lived events like that, ” says Lareau, “To get a big one like this is really scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire whirls are dangerous not only because of the strength of the winds involved but because they lift embers high into the air, where higher-altitude winds can carry them far from the flaming front. That’s one way that fires get past what should be major barriers — like the Sacramento River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928160\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1928160\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-800x677.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"677\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-800x677.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-160x135.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-768x650.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-1020x864.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-1200x1016.png 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-1180x999.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-960x813.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-240x203.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-375x318.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX-520x440.png 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/CARR_PYROCB_VORTEX.png 1324w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 3D visualization of the ‘fire tornado’ at the Carr Fire on the evening of July 26. \u003ccite>(Neil Lareau)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lareau says that other fire whirls on this scale have occurred in Northern California in the recent past, but not in densely populated areas like Redding. Big fire whirls may have played a role in the spread of last year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/02/us/thomas-fire-officially-out/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Fire\u003c/a> and North Bay Fires — counted as the state’s largest and most destructive on record, respectively — but the fire whirls were not on the same scale, and those fires were mostly driven by regional Santa Ana and Diablo winds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are really just starting to learn about fire whirls, and are a long way from being able to predict the occurrence of major fire whirl events — but they can identify the ingredients that make such an event more likely. The topography of the area is part of it. And the heat, which reached 113 degrees in Redding last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you get a big temperature differential you get a big pressure differential. And when you get a big pressure differential you accelerate the winds,” explains Lareau, “You’re kind of off to the races once you get something like this going.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s difficult to tie any one event to climate change, Lareau says that “it’s not a coincidence the that this is the record-[hottest] July for the northern Sacramento Valley, embedded in a broader trend, and we’re going to keep seeing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire tornadoes are just one type of extreme fire behavior that may be exacerbated by climate change. And as UC Merced fire scientist Anthony Westerling argued on Twitter, the “new normal” of fire might not really be “normal” at all, but a permanent state of unpredictability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We are not, and will not, experience a “new normal” of wildland fire behavior. A “normal” is a long term average that provides a useful guide to the future, but wildfire is responding to accelerating climate change: no one alive today will ever see a stable climate again. \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/wyqnMz7AFP\">https://t.co/wyqnMz7AFP\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— A. LeRoy Westerling (@LeroyWesterling) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LeroyWesterling/status/1023767908080467973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 30, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But whether it’s fires \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926996/something-else-adding-fuel-to-californias-fire-season-warmer-nights\">burning intensely at night\u003c/a>, or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1927988/how-wildfires-are-breaking-the-rules-in-california-by-racing-downhill\">rapidly downhill\u003c/a>, or forming fire whirls with tornado strength winds, or all three at the same time — as has been the case at the Carr Fire — firefighters and communities will need to adjust. Soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Record Heat, Fires Worsened By Climate Change",
"headTitle": "Record Heat, Fires Worsened By Climate Change | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Heat waves are setting all-time temperature records across the globe, again. Europe suffered its deadliest wildfire in more than a century, and one of nearly 90 large fires in the U.S. West burned dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of at least 37,000 people near Redding, California. Flood-inducing downpours have pounded the U.S. East this week.[contextly_sidebar id=”230sLAPRzLOXfRsPS4qfMGZHlKYA7p98″]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s all part of summer — but it’s all being made worse by human-caused climate change, scientists say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Weirdness abounds,” said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Japan hit 106 degrees on Monday, its hottest temperature ever. Records fell in parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. And then there’s crazy heat in Europe, where normally chill Norway, Sweden and Finland all saw temperatures they have never seen before on any date, pushing past 90 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far this month, at least 118 of these all-time heat records have been set or tied across the globe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The explanations should sound as familiar as the crash of broken records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We now have very strong evidence that global warming has already put a thumb on the scales, upping the odds of extremes like severe heat and heavy rainfall,” Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said. “We find that global warming has increased the odds of record-setting hot events over more than 80 percent of the planet, and has increased the odds of record-setting wet events at around half of the planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change is making the world warmer because of the build-up of heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil and other human activities. And experts say the jet stream — which dictates weather in the Northern Hemisphere — is again behaving strangely.[contextly_sidebar id=”HFX1bmd78yzB41Sj8w7bvH2k2Jl175K0″]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An unusually sharply kinked jet stream has been stuck in place for weeks now,” said Jeff Masters, director of the private Weather Underground. He says that allows the heat to stay in place over three areas where the kinks are: Europe, Japan and the western United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same jet stream pattern caused the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Russian heat wave and fires, the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma drought and the 2016 Canadian wildfires, Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said, pointing to past studies by him and others. He said in an email that these extremes are “becoming more common because of human-caused climate change and in particular, the amplified warming in the Arctic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientists have long said they can’t directly link single weather events, like a heat wave, to human caused climate change without extensive study. In the past decade they have used observations, statistics and computer simulations to calculate if global warming increases the chances of the events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A study by European scientists Friday found that the ongoing European heat wave is twice as likely because of human-caused global warming, though those conclusions have not yet been confirmed by outside scientists. The World Weather Attribution team said they compared three-day heat measurements and forecasts for the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with historical records going back to the early 1900s.[contextly_sidebar id=”lPZjy9tps81YDBgJDm50rI5BoWOkpmrF”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The world is becoming warmer and so heat waves like this are becoming more common,” said Friederike Otto, a member of the team and deputy director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erich Fischer, an expert on weather extremes at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich who wasn’t part of the analysis said the authors used well-established methods to make their conclusions, adding “their estimates may even be rather conservative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said the link between climate change and fires isn’t as strong as it is with heat waves, but it is becoming clearer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A devastating fire in Greece — with at least 86 fatalities — is the deadliest fire in Europe since 1900, according to the International Disaster Database run by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels, Belgium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the United States on Friday, there were 89 active large fires, consuming nearly 900,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, fires have burned 4.15 million acres, which is nearly 14 percent higher than average over the past 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first major science study to connect greenhouse gases to stronger and longer heat waves was in 2004. It was titled “More intense, more frequent and longer lasting heat waves in the 21st century.” Study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research said Friday that now it “reads like a prediction of what has been happening and will continue to happen as long as average temperatures continue to rise with ever-increasing emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. It’s no mystery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>___\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borenstein reported from Washington, Jordans from Berlin.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Heat waves are setting all-time temperature records across the globe, again. Europe suffered its deadliest wildfire in more than a century, and one of nearly 90 large fires in the U.S. West burned dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of at least 37,000 people near Redding, California. Flood-inducing downpours have pounded the U.S. East this week.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s all part of summer — but it’s all being made worse by human-caused climate change, scientists say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Weirdness abounds,” said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Japan hit 106 degrees on Monday, its hottest temperature ever. Records fell in parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. And then there’s crazy heat in Europe, where normally chill Norway, Sweden and Finland all saw temperatures they have never seen before on any date, pushing past 90 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far this month, at least 118 of these all-time heat records have been set or tied across the globe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The explanations should sound as familiar as the crash of broken records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We now have very strong evidence that global warming has already put a thumb on the scales, upping the odds of extremes like severe heat and heavy rainfall,” Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said. “We find that global warming has increased the odds of record-setting hot events over more than 80 percent of the planet, and has increased the odds of record-setting wet events at around half of the planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change is making the world warmer because of the build-up of heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil and other human activities. And experts say the jet stream — which dictates weather in the Northern Hemisphere — is again behaving strangely.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An unusually sharply kinked jet stream has been stuck in place for weeks now,” said Jeff Masters, director of the private Weather Underground. He says that allows the heat to stay in place over three areas where the kinks are: Europe, Japan and the western United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same jet stream pattern caused the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Russian heat wave and fires, the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma drought and the 2016 Canadian wildfires, Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said, pointing to past studies by him and others. He said in an email that these extremes are “becoming more common because of human-caused climate change and in particular, the amplified warming in the Arctic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientists have long said they can’t directly link single weather events, like a heat wave, to human caused climate change without extensive study. In the past decade they have used observations, statistics and computer simulations to calculate if global warming increases the chances of the events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A study by European scientists Friday found that the ongoing European heat wave is twice as likely because of human-caused global warming, though those conclusions have not yet been confirmed by outside scientists. The World Weather Attribution team said they compared three-day heat measurements and forecasts for the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with historical records going back to the early 1900s.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The world is becoming warmer and so heat waves like this are becoming more common,” said Friederike Otto, a member of the team and deputy director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erich Fischer, an expert on weather extremes at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich who wasn’t part of the analysis said the authors used well-established methods to make their conclusions, adding “their estimates may even be rather conservative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said the link between climate change and fires isn’t as strong as it is with heat waves, but it is becoming clearer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A devastating fire in Greece — with at least 86 fatalities — is the deadliest fire in Europe since 1900, according to the International Disaster Database run by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels, Belgium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the United States on Friday, there were 89 active large fires, consuming nearly 900,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, fires have burned 4.15 million acres, which is nearly 14 percent higher than average over the past 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first major science study to connect greenhouse gases to stronger and longer heat waves was in 2004. It was titled “More intense, more frequent and longer lasting heat waves in the 21st century.” Study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research said Friday that now it “reads like a prediction of what has been happening and will continue to happen as long as average temperatures continue to rise with ever-increasing emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. It’s no mystery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>___\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borenstein reported from Washington, Jordans from Berlin.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Wildfires Are Breaking the Rules by Burning Downhill Fast",
"headTitle": "California Wildfires Are Breaking the Rules by Burning Downhill Fast | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Right now, on the outskirts of Redding, a rampaging wildfire is doing something that was once unusual: It’s burning fast…downhill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fires are burning almost as fast downhill as they burn uphill,” said Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean, from the scene of the Carr Fire, which by midday Friday had torched more than 44,000 acres and was only 3 percent contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not typical. One of the first things wildland firefighters learn is that fires burn much faster uphill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s simple physics: heat rises, so the heat from the fire warms and dries out the upslope fuels fastest. It’s also a case of proximity: if you draw a picture of a flame on a slope, you’ll see that there’s a much shorter distance between flame and ground on the uphill side than downhill, so the fire can jump directly from one blade of grass to another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the wind. During the day, when fires are typically most active, wind tends to blow uphill, carrying heat and embers up the slope. Facing a fire coming up a hill has long been a serious threat to firefighters, and fires moving rapidly uphill have been implicated in many of the deadliest fires for firefighters, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp009.pdf\">South Canyon Fire\u003c/a> of 1994 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr299.pdf\">Mann Gulch Fire\u003c/a> of 1949, which killed 14 and 13 firefighters, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the dangers of fighting a fire burning up a hill, crews working in hilly terrain take advantage of the opposite effect, anchoring firefighting operations on the downhill side of a fire and using the slope as a buffer zone as fire will move more slowly downhill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this trick has become less reliable in recent years. Chris Anthony, a division chief at Cal Fire who has worked on fires for more than 25 years, has observed more examples of fires spreading rapidly downhill. The Carr Fire is just one example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers haven’t measured this trend yet, so nobody knows for sure why this might be happening, but Anthony has an idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things that really contributes to that, right now, is we came out of this very long drought period, and we still have a lot of fuels out there, that are very dry or very dead, even,” says Anthony. “And so they carry fire much more rapidly than prior to the drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wet winter that followed the drought added to the fuel load. The hillsides are now so packed with dry grasses that the slope matters less on a downhill run. When there’s so much ready fuel, combined with hot, dry conditions and strong winds, fires just move faster in all directions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An uptick in downhill fire behavior might also be related to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926996/something-else-adding-fuel-to-californias-fire-season-warmer-nights\">increase in nighttime temperatures\u003c/a>. On a typical day, local winds move uphill during the day and downhill in the evening. In the past, cooler nighttime temperatures could impede fire activity driven by these evening winds. But if fires remain active at night, local evening winds could drive faster downslope fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, the trend toward more intense downhill fires is anecdotal, and some researchers are hesitant to speculate why firefighters might be seeing this behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is that a statistically significant trend?” asks Nick Nauslar, a fire weather forecaster at the National Weather Service’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.spc.noaa.gov/\">Storm Prediction Center\u003c/a> in Oklahoma. “And if so what might be causing that? There would have to be a couple more steps before I try to make assumptions or formulate theories on why that might be happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">Fires that burn quickly downhill are particularly worrisome because communities are often situated at the base of the mountains.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Regardless, there have always been some downslope fires that spread quickly. Santa Ana and Diablo winds typically run downslope, says Nauslar. These winds have long driven most of California’s most destructive fires, including the 2017 Wine Country Fires, which were the state’s deadliest fires, and the Thomas Fire in Southern California, now the state’s largest fire on record. There’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/climate/caifornia-fires-wind.html\">mixed evidence\u003c/a> as to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/climatewatch/2011/12/01/santa-ana-wind-season-may-be-stretched-by-climate-change/\">whether climate change is affecting the strength or frequency of these winds\u003c/a>, but they were especially powerful last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917067/wine-country-fires-were-fanned-by-unprecedented-winds\">some of the strongest winds\u003c/a> in recorded history, especially from that direction, that northerly, northeastern component winds, and that’s downslope,” says Nauslar of the Wine Country fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rapidly spreading downhill fires also played a major role in last winter’s Thomas Fire. It coincided with the longest Santa Ana wind event on record, according to \u003ca href=\"http://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/1/1/18/xml\">a recent analysis\u003c/a> of the 2017 fires led by Nauslar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You would still see very, very active fire behavior on the downslope portion of those fires,” adds Anthony, “because those fuels were so extremely dry and the climatic conditions were such that embers would start new fires ahead of the main fire front.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928127\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Coffey Park house ruins\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Remnants of Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood after the October fires of 2017. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fires that burn quickly downhill are particularly worrisome because communities are often situated at the base of the mountains. Last fall, it was a downslope fire that pushed into Santa Rosa and drove \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1916352/santa-rosa-residents-face-neighborhoods-destroyed-by-fire\">the destruction of Coffey Park\u003c/a> and other local communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters are keeping careful tabs on changes in fire behavior to help prevent tragedies like what happened in Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we get reports that we’re going to have a large downslope or down-canyon wind in the evenings,” notes Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox, “there’s things we can do such as reinforcing the downhill line, putting additional resources below the fire in anticipation, and understanding that when the fire comes downhill what the risks might be as far as communities or hazards or whatnot that we need to protect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tools are there to manage downhill fires, but Cal Fire’s general approach to firefighting may need to readjust to changing times as these difficult conditions become more common. Climate change is expected to continue to increase nighttime temperatures and the types of extreme weather that has primed fuels this year for faster, bigger fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes us really have to reevaluate our strategy,” says Anthony, “and not just expect that fire to just transition to something that is going to burn less intensely.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Right now, on the outskirts of Redding, a rampaging wildfire is doing something that was once unusual: It’s burning fast…downhill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fires are burning almost as fast downhill as they burn uphill,” said Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean, from the scene of the Carr Fire, which by midday Friday had torched more than 44,000 acres and was only 3 percent contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not typical. One of the first things wildland firefighters learn is that fires burn much faster uphill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s simple physics: heat rises, so the heat from the fire warms and dries out the upslope fuels fastest. It’s also a case of proximity: if you draw a picture of a flame on a slope, you’ll see that there’s a much shorter distance between flame and ground on the uphill side than downhill, so the fire can jump directly from one blade of grass to another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the wind. During the day, when fires are typically most active, wind tends to blow uphill, carrying heat and embers up the slope. Facing a fire coming up a hill has long been a serious threat to firefighters, and fires moving rapidly uphill have been implicated in many of the deadliest fires for firefighters, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp009.pdf\">South Canyon Fire\u003c/a> of 1994 and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr299.pdf\">Mann Gulch Fire\u003c/a> of 1949, which killed 14 and 13 firefighters, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the dangers of fighting a fire burning up a hill, crews working in hilly terrain take advantage of the opposite effect, anchoring firefighting operations on the downhill side of a fire and using the slope as a buffer zone as fire will move more slowly downhill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this trick has become less reliable in recent years. Chris Anthony, a division chief at Cal Fire who has worked on fires for more than 25 years, has observed more examples of fires spreading rapidly downhill. The Carr Fire is just one example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers haven’t measured this trend yet, so nobody knows for sure why this might be happening, but Anthony has an idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things that really contributes to that, right now, is we came out of this very long drought period, and we still have a lot of fuels out there, that are very dry or very dead, even,” says Anthony. “And so they carry fire much more rapidly than prior to the drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wet winter that followed the drought added to the fuel load. The hillsides are now so packed with dry grasses that the slope matters less on a downhill run. When there’s so much ready fuel, combined with hot, dry conditions and strong winds, fires just move faster in all directions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An uptick in downhill fire behavior might also be related to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926996/something-else-adding-fuel-to-californias-fire-season-warmer-nights\">increase in nighttime temperatures\u003c/a>. On a typical day, local winds move uphill during the day and downhill in the evening. In the past, cooler nighttime temperatures could impede fire activity driven by these evening winds. But if fires remain active at night, local evening winds could drive faster downslope fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, the trend toward more intense downhill fires is anecdotal, and some researchers are hesitant to speculate why firefighters might be seeing this behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is that a statistically significant trend?” asks Nick Nauslar, a fire weather forecaster at the National Weather Service’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.spc.noaa.gov/\">Storm Prediction Center\u003c/a> in Oklahoma. “And if so what might be causing that? There would have to be a couple more steps before I try to make assumptions or formulate theories on why that might be happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">Fires that burn quickly downhill are particularly worrisome because communities are often situated at the base of the mountains.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Regardless, there have always been some downslope fires that spread quickly. Santa Ana and Diablo winds typically run downslope, says Nauslar. These winds have long driven most of California’s most destructive fires, including the 2017 Wine Country Fires, which were the state’s deadliest fires, and the Thomas Fire in Southern California, now the state’s largest fire on record. There’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/climate/caifornia-fires-wind.html\">mixed evidence\u003c/a> as to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/climatewatch/2011/12/01/santa-ana-wind-season-may-be-stretched-by-climate-change/\">whether climate change is affecting the strength or frequency of these winds\u003c/a>, but they were especially powerful last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917067/wine-country-fires-were-fanned-by-unprecedented-winds\">some of the strongest winds\u003c/a> in recorded history, especially from that direction, that northerly, northeastern component winds, and that’s downslope,” says Nauslar of the Wine Country fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rapidly spreading downhill fires also played a major role in last winter’s Thomas Fire. It coincided with the longest Santa Ana wind event on record, according to \u003ca href=\"http://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/1/1/18/xml\">a recent analysis\u003c/a> of the 2017 fires led by Nauslar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You would still see very, very active fire behavior on the downslope portion of those fires,” adds Anthony, “because those fuels were so extremely dry and the climatic conditions were such that embers would start new fires ahead of the main fire front.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1928127\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1928127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Coffey Park house ruins\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/IMG_9145-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Remnants of Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood after the October fires of 2017. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fires that burn quickly downhill are particularly worrisome because communities are often situated at the base of the mountains. Last fall, it was a downslope fire that pushed into Santa Rosa and drove \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1916352/santa-rosa-residents-face-neighborhoods-destroyed-by-fire\">the destruction of Coffey Park\u003c/a> and other local communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters are keeping careful tabs on changes in fire behavior to help prevent tragedies like what happened in Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we get reports that we’re going to have a large downslope or down-canyon wind in the evenings,” notes Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox, “there’s things we can do such as reinforcing the downhill line, putting additional resources below the fire in anticipation, and understanding that when the fire comes downhill what the risks might be as far as communities or hazards or whatnot that we need to protect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tools are there to manage downhill fires, but Cal Fire’s general approach to firefighting may need to readjust to changing times as these difficult conditions become more common. Climate change is expected to continue to increase nighttime temperatures and the types of extreme weather that has primed fuels this year for faster, bigger fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes us really have to reevaluate our strategy,” says Anthony, “and not just expect that fire to just transition to something that is going to burn less intensely.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "San Francisco Outlaws Plastic Straws, Stirrers",
"headTitle": "San Francisco Outlaws Plastic Straws, Stirrers | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 4:50 p.m. Tuesday: \u003c/strong> San Francisco supervisors have unanimously approved a ban on plastic straws and some takeout containers. The legislation requires a second vote next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post: \u003c/strong>In a bid to further cut down on waste, eco-conscious San Francisco is expected to join Seattle in outlawing plastic straws used to suck down Mai Tais and slurp up bubble tea.[contextly_sidebar id=”1p59EY4ymlpIaZlKFkGYQ9mmHJ28c5My”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal, to be taken up by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, also would make the novel move to ban vendors from using takeout containers made with fluorinated chemicals. Washington’s governor recently signed legislation approving a possible ban to go into effect in 2022, but San Francisco’s January 2020 deadline would be earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation prohibits eateries from using plastic anti-splashers, stirrers and other plastic items that environmentalists say are too small to be recycled properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retailers would no longer be able to sell the items starting July 2019. In addition, food and drink vendors would be allowed to dispense cutlery, napkins, condiments and lids only on request or through self-serve stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People with disabilities have spoken out against the plastic straw ban, saying customers with mobility issues rely on the tubes to drink and paper or metal straws aren’t always appropriate. But businesses in politically progressive San Francisco appear to be largely in support, with Supervisor Katy Tang announcing the legislation at a popular bubble milk tea shop in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a movement not just happening in San Francisco but nationally and internationally,” said Peter Gallotta, spokesman for the city’s Department of Environment. “The larger elephant in the room is the single-use disposable culture we find ourselves in, and straws are the epitome of this unnecessary daily waste.”[contextly_sidebar id=”HAngwCuZaFFqA6pQwxGjgZlBBops87uK”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Washington, D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association issued a statement Monday saying a better solution is to expand recycling technology. “Regardless of what a straw is made of, we can all agree that it should not end up as litter,” it said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seattle is believed to be the first major U.S. city to shun plastic straws when its ban went into effect this month. Since then, the world’s largest coffee shop and hotel chains — Starbucks and Marriott — announced they too would move away from plastic straws and stirrers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco has frequently led the way on policies considered eco-friendly. In 2007, it outlawed single-use plastic bags and in 2016, expanded its prohibition on foam food carryout containers to include retail sales of kiddie pool toys and packing peanuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"div-gpt-ad-1470255291270-1\" class=\"ad-placeholder\">\n\u003cdiv id=\"google_ads_iframe_/15786418/APNews/site/article/midarticle2_0__container__\">\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s legislation calls for to-go containers and wrappers to be free of fluorinated chemicals. The chemicals are used to ward off grease, but the chemicals do not degrade, said Jen Jackson, toxics reduction manager at the San Francisco Department of Environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t compost,” she said, “so it will remain and continue to accumulate in the environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jonathan Corley, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, a trade association, said Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed the chemicals currently used to package to-go food is safe.[contextly_sidebar id=”E69LbVaRa3zIJP2sM3grFFpLDolTPsBO”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This potential ban is unnecessary, contrary to sound science and will provide no further benefits to public health or the environment,” he said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gwyneth Borden, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said restaurateurs have no desire to pass on toxins through carryout containers. But the higher cost of compostable fluorinated-free containers will drive businesses to return to recyclable plastic containers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an interesting evolution,” Borden said, “but sometimes making decisions premature to fully understanding the science can be difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Eco-conscious San Francisco plans to ban plastic straws, along with tiny coffee stirrers and cup pluggers, as part of an effort to reduce plastic waste. The legislation also makes single-use food and drink side items available upon request.",
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"description": "Eco-conscious San Francisco plans to ban plastic straws, along with tiny coffee stirrers and cup pluggers, as part of an effort to reduce plastic waste. The legislation also makes single-use food and drink side items available upon request.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 4:50 p.m. Tuesday: \u003c/strong> San Francisco supervisors have unanimously approved a ban on plastic straws and some takeout containers. The legislation requires a second vote next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post: \u003c/strong>In a bid to further cut down on waste, eco-conscious San Francisco is expected to join Seattle in outlawing plastic straws used to suck down Mai Tais and slurp up bubble tea.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal, to be taken up by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, also would make the novel move to ban vendors from using takeout containers made with fluorinated chemicals. Washington’s governor recently signed legislation approving a possible ban to go into effect in 2022, but San Francisco’s January 2020 deadline would be earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation prohibits eateries from using plastic anti-splashers, stirrers and other plastic items that environmentalists say are too small to be recycled properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retailers would no longer be able to sell the items starting July 2019. In addition, food and drink vendors would be allowed to dispense cutlery, napkins, condiments and lids only on request or through self-serve stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People with disabilities have spoken out against the plastic straw ban, saying customers with mobility issues rely on the tubes to drink and paper or metal straws aren’t always appropriate. But businesses in politically progressive San Francisco appear to be largely in support, with Supervisor Katy Tang announcing the legislation at a popular bubble milk tea shop in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a movement not just happening in San Francisco but nationally and internationally,” said Peter Gallotta, spokesman for the city’s Department of Environment. “The larger elephant in the room is the single-use disposable culture we find ourselves in, and straws are the epitome of this unnecessary daily waste.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Washington, D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association issued a statement Monday saying a better solution is to expand recycling technology. “Regardless of what a straw is made of, we can all agree that it should not end up as litter,” it said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seattle is believed to be the first major U.S. city to shun plastic straws when its ban went into effect this month. Since then, the world’s largest coffee shop and hotel chains — Starbucks and Marriott — announced they too would move away from plastic straws and stirrers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco has frequently led the way on policies considered eco-friendly. In 2007, it outlawed single-use plastic bags and in 2016, expanded its prohibition on foam food carryout containers to include retail sales of kiddie pool toys and packing peanuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"div-gpt-ad-1470255291270-1\" class=\"ad-placeholder\">\n\u003cdiv id=\"google_ads_iframe_/15786418/APNews/site/article/midarticle2_0__container__\">\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s legislation calls for to-go containers and wrappers to be free of fluorinated chemicals. The chemicals are used to ward off grease, but the chemicals do not degrade, said Jen Jackson, toxics reduction manager at the San Francisco Department of Environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t compost,” she said, “so it will remain and continue to accumulate in the environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jonathan Corley, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, a trade association, said Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed the chemicals currently used to package to-go food is safe.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This potential ban is unnecessary, contrary to sound science and will provide no further benefits to public health or the environment,” he said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gwyneth Borden, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said restaurateurs have no desire to pass on toxins through carryout containers. But the higher cost of compostable fluorinated-free containers will drive businesses to return to recyclable plastic containers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an interesting evolution,” Borden said, “but sometimes making decisions premature to fully understanding the science can be difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "One Way to Save Birds: Pay Farmers to Flood Their Land",
"headTitle": "One Way to Save Birds: Pay Farmers to Flood Their Land | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>An innovative scheme to leverage Central Valley farmland as temporary wetlands on the Pacific Flyway helped birds navigate California’s five-year drought, according to \u003ca href=\"https://peerj.com/articles/5147/\">a new analysis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than four years ago, in the midst of California’s most punishing drought on record, conservation groups began working with growers and citizen scientists to identify and maintain habitat for wetland birds on agricultural land, as \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/01/27/during-drought-pop-up-wetlands-give-birds-a-break/\">KQED reported.\u003c/a> The Central Valley is in the middle of the Pacific Flyway, and millions of birds stop to rest at wetlands in the region during their migrations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since more than 90 percent of historically occurring natural wetlands in the Central Valley \u003ca href=\"http://www.fwspubs.org/doi/suppl/10.3996/012014-JFWM-003/suppl_file/012014-jfwm-003.s10.pdf?code=ufws-site\">are gone, largely displaced by agriculture\u003c/a>, the birds have to work with what’s there. So, conservation groups devised a strategy to help them out: The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service started paying rice farmers to keep their fields flooded during the post-harvest months, allowing migratory birds to take refuge in these “pop-up wetlands.” For farmers and conservationists, participating in this type of incentive program was risky: farmers had to put in additional labor, the conservation groups offset the estimated costs, and neither group knew for sure whether the plan would actually work.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/01/27/during-drought-pop-up-wetlands-give-birds-a-break/\">Read the backstory of the BirdReturns program in this KQED Quest feature\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But now enough time has elapsed to get some answers. Researchers used satellite data to understand how wetland bird habitat changed over the course of the drought and to estimate how much the incentive programs for farmers helped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From satellite images taken between 2000 and 2015, the researchers could detect how much open water was available for birds during non-drought, moderate drought, and severe drought years. They found that the severe drought dramatically reduced available wetland habitat, with declines of up to 80 percent in agricultural areas and up to 60 percent in managed wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was a little surprised at the magnitude of the decline in some of the wetlands,” recalls Matt Reiter, principal scientist at \u003ca href=\"https://www.pointblue.org/\">Point Blue Conservation Science\u003c/a>, and lead author on the study. “Maybe it shouldn’t have been, given how much coverage the drought was getting and it was the first time we started seeing water curtailment, and certainly the price of water was going up, and so it shouldn’t have surprised me but it did.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To assess the effect of incentives for flooded farms, the researchers honed in on rice fields, calculating what percent of the total flooded rice habitat could be attributed to two incentive programs during times of severe drought. The Nature Conservancy’s \u003ca href=\"http://birdreturns.org/\">BirdReturns\u003c/a> program was responsible for up to 61 percent of available flooded rice habitat in the fall and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s \u003ca href=\"http://calrice.org/pdf/waterbirdhabitatbro_web.pdf\">Waterbird Habitat Enhancement Program (WHEP)\u003c/a> provided up to 100 percent of available habitat in the winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">The results show that severe drought can have huge impacts on wetland habitat, and incentives programs can help.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The two programs operated at different times of year: BirdReturns focuses on the fall and spring, and WHEP on the winter months. In the analysis, these complementary timelines functioned to maintain wetland habitat in rice fields for much of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results show that severe drought can have huge impacts on wetland habitat, and incentives programs can help. However, the direct effects of drought on birds are not yet clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of our big questions now is, ‘Okay, so what?’” says Reiter. “What does this mean for the birds? Are the birds falling out of the sky? Are the birds declining? Did the drought really impact their populations?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Habitat is a pretty good proxy for population impacts, since habitat loss has been documented to be a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320713000426\">leading cause of wetland bird declines\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054142\">of wildlife declines more generally\u003c/a>. And \u003ca href=\"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eap.1658\">research has shown\u003c/a> that bird densities can be very high in flooded agricultural fields. But Reiter and his colleagues want to put some real numbers on the effects of severe drought on wetland birds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1927732\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1927732\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-800x270.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-800x270.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-160x54.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-768x259.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1020x344.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1200x405.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1920x648.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1180x398.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-960x324.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-240x81.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-375x127.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-520x175.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandhill Cranes are one of many wetland bird species that can be found in the flooded rice fields. \u003ccite>(Bob Wick/BLM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incentive programs are set to continue for the time being — but both are dependent on ongoing funding: the BirdReturns program relies on funding from the nonprofit Nature Conservancy, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s WHEP is counting on a renewal of funds in the federal Farm Bill. Ideally, Reiter says, the incentive programs would be “a short-term thing, that instills a new kind of management ethic that then sort of propagates itself forward.” It’s uncertain whether that will ever happen, so funding is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Reiter is optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Different versions of these incentive programs have been around for a very long time, so it gives you some hope that they will stay around,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, there’s the new analysis, which Reiter hopes will reach people who may be considering similar conservation strategies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think our study really shows the value of these incentive programs,” he says, “and so we just hope that managers can see these data and see that — hey — there is real value in doing these programs, and particularly in drought years, as we saw, and think about how we can make sure that these are sustained into the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, birds visiting the Central Valley have a little more room to roost.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>An innovative scheme to leverage Central Valley farmland as temporary wetlands on the Pacific Flyway helped birds navigate California’s five-year drought, according to \u003ca href=\"https://peerj.com/articles/5147/\">a new analysis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than four years ago, in the midst of California’s most punishing drought on record, conservation groups began working with growers and citizen scientists to identify and maintain habitat for wetland birds on agricultural land, as \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/01/27/during-drought-pop-up-wetlands-give-birds-a-break/\">KQED reported.\u003c/a> The Central Valley is in the middle of the Pacific Flyway, and millions of birds stop to rest at wetlands in the region during their migrations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since more than 90 percent of historically occurring natural wetlands in the Central Valley \u003ca href=\"http://www.fwspubs.org/doi/suppl/10.3996/012014-JFWM-003/suppl_file/012014-jfwm-003.s10.pdf?code=ufws-site\">are gone, largely displaced by agriculture\u003c/a>, the birds have to work with what’s there. So, conservation groups devised a strategy to help them out: The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service started paying rice farmers to keep their fields flooded during the post-harvest months, allowing migratory birds to take refuge in these “pop-up wetlands.” For farmers and conservationists, participating in this type of incentive program was risky: farmers had to put in additional labor, the conservation groups offset the estimated costs, and neither group knew for sure whether the plan would actually work.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/01/27/during-drought-pop-up-wetlands-give-birds-a-break/\">Read the backstory of the BirdReturns program in this KQED Quest feature\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But now enough time has elapsed to get some answers. Researchers used satellite data to understand how wetland bird habitat changed over the course of the drought and to estimate how much the incentive programs for farmers helped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From satellite images taken between 2000 and 2015, the researchers could detect how much open water was available for birds during non-drought, moderate drought, and severe drought years. They found that the severe drought dramatically reduced available wetland habitat, with declines of up to 80 percent in agricultural areas and up to 60 percent in managed wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was a little surprised at the magnitude of the decline in some of the wetlands,” recalls Matt Reiter, principal scientist at \u003ca href=\"https://www.pointblue.org/\">Point Blue Conservation Science\u003c/a>, and lead author on the study. “Maybe it shouldn’t have been, given how much coverage the drought was getting and it was the first time we started seeing water curtailment, and certainly the price of water was going up, and so it shouldn’t have surprised me but it did.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To assess the effect of incentives for flooded farms, the researchers honed in on rice fields, calculating what percent of the total flooded rice habitat could be attributed to two incentive programs during times of severe drought. The Nature Conservancy’s \u003ca href=\"http://birdreturns.org/\">BirdReturns\u003c/a> program was responsible for up to 61 percent of available flooded rice habitat in the fall and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s \u003ca href=\"http://calrice.org/pdf/waterbirdhabitatbro_web.pdf\">Waterbird Habitat Enhancement Program (WHEP)\u003c/a> provided up to 100 percent of available habitat in the winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">The results show that severe drought can have huge impacts on wetland habitat, and incentives programs can help.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The two programs operated at different times of year: BirdReturns focuses on the fall and spring, and WHEP on the winter months. In the analysis, these complementary timelines functioned to maintain wetland habitat in rice fields for much of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results show that severe drought can have huge impacts on wetland habitat, and incentives programs can help. However, the direct effects of drought on birds are not yet clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of our big questions now is, ‘Okay, so what?’” says Reiter. “What does this mean for the birds? Are the birds falling out of the sky? Are the birds declining? Did the drought really impact their populations?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Habitat is a pretty good proxy for population impacts, since habitat loss has been documented to be a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320713000426\">leading cause of wetland bird declines\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054142\">of wildlife declines more generally\u003c/a>. And \u003ca href=\"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eap.1658\">research has shown\u003c/a> that bird densities can be very high in flooded agricultural fields. But Reiter and his colleagues want to put some real numbers on the effects of severe drought on wetland birds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1927732\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1927732\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-800x270.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-800x270.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-160x54.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-768x259.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1020x344.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1200x405.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1920x648.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-1180x398.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-960x324.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-240x81.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-375x127.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k-520x175.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/07/28444533660_7982e33f07_k.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandhill Cranes are one of many wetland bird species that can be found in the flooded rice fields. \u003ccite>(Bob Wick/BLM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incentive programs are set to continue for the time being — but both are dependent on ongoing funding: the BirdReturns program relies on funding from the nonprofit Nature Conservancy, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s WHEP is counting on a renewal of funds in the federal Farm Bill. Ideally, Reiter says, the incentive programs would be “a short-term thing, that instills a new kind of management ethic that then sort of propagates itself forward.” It’s uncertain whether that will ever happen, so funding is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Reiter is optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Different versions of these incentive programs have been around for a very long time, so it gives you some hope that they will stay around,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, there’s the new analysis, which Reiter hopes will reach people who may be considering similar conservation strategies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think our study really shows the value of these incentive programs,” he says, “and so we just hope that managers can see these data and see that — hey — there is real value in doing these programs, and particularly in drought years, as we saw, and think about how we can make sure that these are sustained into the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, birds visiting the Central Valley have a little more room to roost.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s power grid operators called for cutbacks in electricity usage as parts of the U.S. Southwest braced Tuesday for another day of scorching heat.[contextly_sidebar id=”ZY8Ecu9yuTnHbe3OTqnHOkh3jpoBksNp”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With triple-digit temperatures expected throughout the region, the California Independent System Operator Corp. urged people to ease off blasting the air conditioner or using the washer or other appliances from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and again on Wednesday. Those are the times of peak power usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The so-called Flex Alerts are needed to reduce the risk of rotating power outages, Cal-ISO said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scattered outages during the day and evening Monday left several thousands of people sweltering even though overall state electrical demand never exceeded available power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials urged homeowners to keep the thermostat at 78 degrees (26 Celsius) or higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also urged people to stay out of the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When temperatures are high, even a few hours of exertion may cause severe dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Others who are frail or have chronic health conditions may develop serious health problems leading to death if they are exposed to high temperatures over several days,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the county’s interim health officer.[contextly_sidebar id=”oZ3czPRTDr1KET89oZoGen2iPHSs9VJR”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Children, the elderly and pets shouldn’t be left in homes without air conditioning or in cars even with open windows because temperatures can quickly soar to life-threatening levels, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Highs around the Southwest approached 120 degrees (49 Celsius) Monday, with Phoenix recording a steamy 115 degrees (46 Celsius), breaking the previous record for the day, the National Weather Service reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can be suffocating,” said Don Frey, an employee of the moving company Budget Movers, told KTVK-TV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An important tool of his trade was his water jug, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about Tuesday’s forecast of a high of 117 degrees (47 Celsius), Frey said: “Those are the days that you really wish you listened to mom and dad and stayed in school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters said southern Arizona will swelter through temperatures from 112 to 119 degrees through Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Texas, forecasts called for a high of 108 degrees along the border from Del Rio to Laredo and up to 101 in Central Texas and the Big Bend. However, temperatures were only expected to top out in the upper 90s over much of the state.[contextly_sidebar id=”maO7kGUrliSjBRD9YnzmAI74PrtHd42h”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parts of Utah were also issued an excessive heat warning with temperatures this week expected to approach 109 degrees. The weather service said the warning for Utah’s Dixie and Lake Powell regions will be in effect Tuesday through Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With some of the highest temperatures over the next few days expected in Phoenix, officials cautioned people to stay hydrated and take advantage of cooler indoor buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maricopa County public health officials say 155 people died in the Phoenix area last year from heat-caused illnesses such heat stroke.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s power grid operators called for cutbacks in electricity usage as parts of the U.S. Southwest braced Tuesday for another day of scorching heat.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With triple-digit temperatures expected throughout the region, the California Independent System Operator Corp. urged people to ease off blasting the air conditioner or using the washer or other appliances from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and again on Wednesday. Those are the times of peak power usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The so-called Flex Alerts are needed to reduce the risk of rotating power outages, Cal-ISO said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scattered outages during the day and evening Monday left several thousands of people sweltering even though overall state electrical demand never exceeded available power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials urged homeowners to keep the thermostat at 78 degrees (26 Celsius) or higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also urged people to stay out of the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When temperatures are high, even a few hours of exertion may cause severe dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Others who are frail or have chronic health conditions may develop serious health problems leading to death if they are exposed to high temperatures over several days,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the county’s interim health officer.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Children, the elderly and pets shouldn’t be left in homes without air conditioning or in cars even with open windows because temperatures can quickly soar to life-threatening levels, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Highs around the Southwest approached 120 degrees (49 Celsius) Monday, with Phoenix recording a steamy 115 degrees (46 Celsius), breaking the previous record for the day, the National Weather Service reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can be suffocating,” said Don Frey, an employee of the moving company Budget Movers, told KTVK-TV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An important tool of his trade was his water jug, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about Tuesday’s forecast of a high of 117 degrees (47 Celsius), Frey said: “Those are the days that you really wish you listened to mom and dad and stayed in school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters said southern Arizona will swelter through temperatures from 112 to 119 degrees through Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Texas, forecasts called for a high of 108 degrees along the border from Del Rio to Laredo and up to 101 in Central Texas and the Big Bend. However, temperatures were only expected to top out in the upper 90s over much of the state.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parts of Utah were also issued an excessive heat warning with temperatures this week expected to approach 109 degrees. The weather service said the warning for Utah’s Dixie and Lake Powell regions will be in effect Tuesday through Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With some of the highest temperatures over the next few days expected in Phoenix, officials cautioned people to stay hydrated and take advantage of cooler indoor buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maricopa County public health officials say 155 people died in the Phoenix area last year from heat-caused illnesses such heat stroke.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "As Heat Rises, So Do Suicides, a Stanford Study Finds",
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"content": "\u003cp>A warming climate may carry a sneaky effect on mental health. A Stanford University-led research team warns \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0222-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a study published today\u003c/a> that hotter temperatures are raising the risk of suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">\u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=CAZ547&warncounty=CAC037&firewxzone=CAZ547&local_place1=2%20Miles%20WSW%20Burbank%20CA&product1=Excessive+Heat+Warning&lat=34.182&lon=-118.3595\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Excessive Heat Warning\u003c/a> issued for the San Gabriel, San Fernando and Ventura County Valleys, through Thursday. Temperatures up to 108 degrees with high nighttime temperatures. \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/safety/heat-during\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Take precautions\u003c/a>.\u003ccite>National Weather Service\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Going back to the early 19th century, scientists, sociologists and poets all noticed more people die by suicide in spring. That’s caused other teams to investigate \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1901524\">sunlight’s influence on mental health \u003c/a>and the connection between \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/the-troubling-link-between-allergies-and-suicide/523608/\">allergies and suicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall Burke, an associate professor of earth systems sciences at Stanford, worked with colleagues at UC Berkeley and an international team to amass decades of death records for the U.S. and Mexico, and localized temperature records. They found that when temperatures rose about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in a given location and given month, deaths by suicide rose by about 1 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even a one percent effect – if multiplied across many people in the United States – implies a very large additional health burden from increasing temperature,” says Burke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, nearly 800,000 people die by suicide each year, according to the World Health Organization. Suicides in the United States and Mexico represent abut 7% of the total. In the United States, suicide is a top-ten leading cause of death, and in the most recent 17 years on record, the nation’s overall suicide rate has increased 28%, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml\">according to\u003c/a> the National Institute of Mental Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burke’s newly-released study doesn’t suggest that hot temperatures cause people to harm themselves. And he stresses that suicide has other larger and well-documented risk factors. Researchers now wonder \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4245634/\">whether warmer temperatures are\u003c/a> some sort of a biological trigger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But based on this data and on global models, this team projects that if climate change continues unchecked until the middle of this century, hotter temperatures could cause at least 20,000 additional deaths in the two countries studied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That sounds like an abstract statistic,” Burke says, “but we should think of that as individuals and individual families that are going to be fundamentally affected by that if temperatures increase.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He notes that air conditioning and wealth don’t seem to mitigate the link between hotter temperatures and suicide. So as temperatures rise, he expects the risks of heat to human health will continue to rise too.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "It's not that hot weather causes people to harm themselves. But a massive study of deaths in the U.S. and Mexico shows a link between rising temperatures and suicide rates. ",
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"description": "It's not that hot weather causes people to harm themselves. But a massive study of deaths in the U.S. and Mexico shows a link between rising temperatures and suicide rates. ",
"title": "As Heat Rises, So Do Suicides, a Stanford Study Finds | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A warming climate may carry a sneaky effect on mental health. A Stanford University-led research team warns \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0222-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a study published today\u003c/a> that hotter temperatures are raising the risk of suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">\u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=CAZ547&warncounty=CAC037&firewxzone=CAZ547&local_place1=2%20Miles%20WSW%20Burbank%20CA&product1=Excessive+Heat+Warning&lat=34.182&lon=-118.3595\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Excessive Heat Warning\u003c/a> issued for the San Gabriel, San Fernando and Ventura County Valleys, through Thursday. Temperatures up to 108 degrees with high nighttime temperatures. \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/safety/heat-during\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Take precautions\u003c/a>.\u003ccite>National Weather Service\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Going back to the early 19th century, scientists, sociologists and poets all noticed more people die by suicide in spring. That’s caused other teams to investigate \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1901524\">sunlight’s influence on mental health \u003c/a>and the connection between \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/the-troubling-link-between-allergies-and-suicide/523608/\">allergies and suicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall Burke, an associate professor of earth systems sciences at Stanford, worked with colleagues at UC Berkeley and an international team to amass decades of death records for the U.S. and Mexico, and localized temperature records. They found that when temperatures rose about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in a given location and given month, deaths by suicide rose by about 1 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even a one percent effect – if multiplied across many people in the United States – implies a very large additional health burden from increasing temperature,” says Burke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, nearly 800,000 people die by suicide each year, according to the World Health Organization. Suicides in the United States and Mexico represent abut 7% of the total. In the United States, suicide is a top-ten leading cause of death, and in the most recent 17 years on record, the nation’s overall suicide rate has increased 28%, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml\">according to\u003c/a> the National Institute of Mental Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burke’s newly-released study doesn’t suggest that hot temperatures cause people to harm themselves. And he stresses that suicide has other larger and well-documented risk factors. Researchers now wonder \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4245634/\">whether warmer temperatures are\u003c/a> some sort of a biological trigger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But based on this data and on global models, this team projects that if climate change continues unchecked until the middle of this century, hotter temperatures could cause at least 20,000 additional deaths in the two countries studied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That sounds like an abstract statistic,” Burke says, “but we should think of that as individuals and individual families that are going to be fundamentally affected by that if temperatures increase.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He notes that air conditioning and wealth don’t seem to mitigate the link between hotter temperatures and suicide. So as temperatures rise, he expects the risks of heat to human health will continue to rise too.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Monitoring Agricultural Water Use Remains Challenging Despite New Oversight Rules",
"headTitle": "Monitoring Agricultural Water Use Remains Challenging Despite New Oversight Rules | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A new program in California aimed at tracking agricultural water consumption is off to a bumpy start, highlighting the challenges of monitoring an industry that has historically enjoyed limited oversight.[contextly_sidebar id=”9GyCzsqYD2KoprBkRhX1TmaNWhg3fJ5D”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water in the West, with many states using more than 70 percent of developed freshwater supplies for agriculture. So you would think state governments watch water consumption on farms carefully to look for conservation opportunities. In fact, some do not.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">California generates more farm revenue than any other state. Yet until recently there was no requirement to report agricultural water consumption. That changed in 2007, when a new state law required irrigation districts to file annual reports on water delivered to their farm customers, beginning in 2012.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The program became known as “farm-gate” reporting, because irrigation districts must document monthly deliveries to the diversion gates where water leaves the district’s distribution canal and moves onto private farmland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">However, follow-up laws confused the rules, and there has never been any penalty for failing to comply.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">As a result, only 48 percent of irrigation districts complied with the law in 2016, the most recent reporting year, according to the state Department of Water Resources, which oversees the program.[contextly_sidebar id=”546RAah7jhtbJmKX9zbrA0NYjbFHMnqP”]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">In addition, tech-savvy California did not require irrigation districts to file their reports online. Instead, it allowed them to send paper forms by mail. And the law did not require the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>\u003c/span> to post any of the data online. So it did not do so until May of this year, when it launched a crude beta-stage \u003ca href=\"https://wuedata.water.ca.gov/ag_farm_plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">website\u003c/span>\u003c/a> that includes only some of the data reported so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“This is the agency that’s responsible for managing, I would argue, the most precious natural resource in the state,” said Arohi Sharma, a water policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The agency has the ability to fill all of these gaps. It’s just a matter of flexing its muscles and holding water districts accountable.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Sharma is lead author of a new \u003cspan class=\"caps\">NRDC\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/experts/arohi-sharma/report-ca-ag-water-data-leaks-through-mismanagement-cracks?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=Water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">report\u003c/span>\u003c/a> critical of the state’s program. In its analysis, compliance with the law was even lower than the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\"> estimate. Using \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> data, the group focused on 123 “large” irrigation districts \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> those with at least 10,000 irrigated acres \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> in order to compare consistent data. It found only 30 percent of these districts submitted water delivery data in 2016.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“While these numbers are obviously not satisfactory, we think it’s going to improve because of the changes in the legislation,” said Manucher Alemi, a \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> policy adviser on water use efficiency, who manages the program. “These things take time. We are making progress.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The data available on the state’s website also contains errors. Anthea Hansen, general manager of Del Puerto Water District, said she has filed the water delivery reports every year since the requirement began. But only one \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> from 2014 \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> is posted online, giving the impression the district is out of compliance. And that record shows the 2014 report was submitted in April 2018, suggesting it was filed late.[contextly_sidebar id=”ZcvvWCEH5tdLJhwGhRY75uNyvVYPLobc”]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">That appears to be a data entry error, because the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>\u003c/span> website shows 2014 reports from other irrigation districts were also submitted in April 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“Last year, \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> did a report to the Legislature, and our name popped up as being delinquent,” said Hansen, whose district irrigates some 45,000 acres in the Modesto area. “And I was quite taken aback, because I don’t like our name to pop up in a negative light on anything. We strive to do everything right here.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> officials say they send annual reminders by letter and email to encourage irrigation districts to submit the required data. But Hansen said she has never received one.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_133958\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_133958\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2256px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-133958 size-full\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180720100226/Hkg22059571.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2256\" height=\"1501\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farm gates like this one in Firebaugh, California, control the flow of water in irrigation canals. They’re also the point at which the state’s irrigation districts are supposed to measure annual water deliveries to farms. But fewer than half are meeting the annual reporting requirement, and the state Department of Water Resources has limited enforcement power. (ROBYNBECK/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“I don’t think it’s so much that water agencies can’t or don’t want to do it,\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">” she said. \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“It could be they don’t know or forgot. It’s not a real highly publicized thing.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Alvar Escriva-Bou, a water policy research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, called the state’s approach a “bottom-up” method of water accounting. That’s because it relies on good-faith reporting by water users at the end of the distribution system.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“When there’s not good oversight, you have to be really careful on what users tell you,” he said, “because they just fill out the form and send it in. You need good oversight to rely on these requirements.”[contextly_sidebar id=”j4vOVuwyqamsK4XJhvMhdHwMAnNhCUJP”]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Escriva-Bou was the lead author of a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ppic.org/publication/accounting-for-californias-water/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">2016 study\u003c/span>\u003c/a> that examined California’s water accounting systems. It includes an exhaustive technical appendix, illuminating methods used by nearly every other Western state.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">He said Colorado and Idaho are good examples of what he calls top-down water accounting. In both cases, the state collects its own data on water distribution by maintaining hundreds of measurement devices on irrigation canals. Irrigators are not required to send in any reports, because the state gathers the data itself \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> in many cases using real-time sensors linked to state computers by telemetry devices.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Both states also maintain comprehensive information portals, offering public access to a vast trove of current information on water distribution and water rights.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">California offers good data on water movement by major state and federal plumbing systems, but very little at the local level.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“Sometimes centralized systems can help, especially during droughts, and we don’t have that in California,” Escriva-Bou said. “We struggled during the last drought to know exactly how much water we have, and how much water farmers were using.”[contextly_sidebar id=”tpvBQfeAwuTSO3mKu95hfsdQsSBdUKJM”]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The California farm water reporting program is governed by no fewer than three laws. In some ways, each has clarified the requirements. In other ways, they have added complications.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The farm-gate reporting requirement first came into effect in 2007 with the passage of \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1401-1450/ab_1404_bill_20071014_chaptered.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Assembly Bill 1404\u003c/a>. It required irrigation districts serving 2,000 or more acres to measure water deliveries according to “best professional practices,” which were never defined. They were required to report the data annually to the state, starting in 2012, according to “water year.” For Hansen’s district that is March through February.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">In 2009, a comprehensive water law (\u003ca href=\"http://wdl.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/sb7/projects.cfm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Senate Bill \u003cspan class=\"caps\">X7\u003c/span>-7\u003c/a>) added requirements for districts serving more than 25,000 acres. These larger districts were directed to measure and report water deliveries according to standards developed by the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>, and the reporting period was switched to calendar year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">It took the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> three years to develop those standards, and the first reporting year was 2013. The requirements called for the water delivery data to be reported on a paper form, with email submission as an option.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The latest changes were imposed on May 31 when Governor Jerry Brown signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1668\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Assembly Bill 1668\u003c/a>. Starting January 1, 2019, irrigation districts must report their water deliveries according to groundwater basin. Some large irrigation districts may encompass four or five basins, which means they must file four or five reports.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">For the first time, this new law requires water delivery reports to be filed online.[contextly_sidebar id=”cl4h0CjokjqoGFf5ptSA9NLb9nY38QDy”]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“The requirements have been evolving and there has been a lack of clarity on what districts have been required to do,” said Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition. “As a moving target, it was hard to keep up.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">None of these laws allows the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> to fine or penalize water districts that miss deadlines or fail to file.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">However, the 2009 law did allow the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> to use its grantmaking power as a hammer: irrigation districts with service areas between 10,000 acres and 25,000 acres are not eligible to receive state grants for water projects unless they submit annual water delivery reports.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“Our only leverage is through encouragement and incentives for compliance,” Alemi said. “And we don’t have the resources to monitor every one of them all the time. So we just communicate with them and tell them when it is due.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">In short, the mosaic of laws has saddled the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> with enforcing three different sets of requirements, depending on the size of the irrigation district.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">One result is that the data gathered from irrigation districts so far is not consistent. Some reflects a calendar year, some a water year. Some is on paper, and some is electronic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“The earliest data is not being posted, simply because we’re trying to verify accuracy,” Alemi said. “And that’s taking time because there was some confusion around the change to calendar year.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">There is also some question about how useful the data will be when it does get compiled.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The law requires irrigation districts to report monthly deliveries to farm gates – the points where water leaves the district’s distribution canal and flows onto private farmland. Each record shows the total number of farm gates and total water volume delivered to those gates each month. The records do not show how much was diverted at each gate, or how the water was used on each farm.[contextly_sidebar id=”spgfMUImxhbxxR1rg9URe335RARElOmh”]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“I think it can be a valuable tool and help improve management and tighten standards down, so people are assured they’re doing a good job,” said Wade. “But I don’t know, in the big scheme of things, that it’s going to change a lot in terms of our understanding of water supply in California.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The records also say nothing about return flow. This is the water not consumed by crops that may run off the field and return to a stream. Idaho collects this information, but California does not.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Knowing return flows, if any, is important to determine agriculture’s net effect on fisheries and aquatic habitat. And if it is known that return flows are augmenting streamflow, said Escriva-Bou, it may also avoid the pain of water diversion curtailments during drought.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Even so, Alemi said the state’s data collection program will lead to useful reforms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"fin\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“It helps us to understand what the agricultural demand is, and also project how we are going to close the gap between supply and demand in the future,” he said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article originally appeared on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2018/07/23/california-farms-water-use-still-unclear-despite-new-reporting-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water Deeply\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and you can find it \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://mail.kqed.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9e4bb0e1a7d74f24ba4684ef2533053d&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.newsdeeply.com%2fwater%2farticles%2f2016%2f07%2f07%2fnine-experts-to-watch-on-california-water-policy\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For important news about the California drought, you can \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://waterdeeply.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8b78e9a34ff7443ec1e8c62c6&id=2947becb78\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sign up\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the Water Deeply email list.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "While some other states monitor water deliveries to farms in real time, California has allowed irrigation districts to submit annual reports on paper. According to one recent analysis, fewer than half are even doing that much.",
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"description": "While some other states monitor water deliveries to farms in real time, California has allowed irrigation districts to submit annual reports on paper. According to one recent analysis, fewer than half are even doing that much.",
"title": "Monitoring Agricultural Water Use Remains Challenging Despite New Oversight Rules | KQED",
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"headline": "Monitoring Agricultural Water Use Remains Challenging Despite New Oversight Rules",
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"slug": "california-farms-water-use-still-unclear-despite-new-reporting-rules",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A new program in California aimed at tracking agricultural water consumption is off to a bumpy start, highlighting the challenges of monitoring an industry that has historically enjoyed limited oversight.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water in the West, with many states using more than 70 percent of developed freshwater supplies for agriculture. So you would think state governments watch water consumption on farms carefully to look for conservation opportunities. In fact, some do not.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">California generates more farm revenue than any other state. Yet until recently there was no requirement to report agricultural water consumption. That changed in 2007, when a new state law required irrigation districts to file annual reports on water delivered to their farm customers, beginning in 2012.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The program became known as “farm-gate” reporting, because irrigation districts must document monthly deliveries to the diversion gates where water leaves the district’s distribution canal and moves onto private farmland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">However, follow-up laws confused the rules, and there has never been any penalty for failing to comply.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">As a result, only 48 percent of irrigation districts complied with the law in 2016, the most recent reporting year, according to the state Department of Water Resources, which oversees the program.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">In addition, tech-savvy California did not require irrigation districts to file their reports online. Instead, it allowed them to send paper forms by mail. And the law did not require the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>\u003c/span> to post any of the data online. So it did not do so until May of this year, when it launched a crude beta-stage \u003ca href=\"https://wuedata.water.ca.gov/ag_farm_plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">website\u003c/span>\u003c/a> that includes only some of the data reported so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“This is the agency that’s responsible for managing, I would argue, the most precious natural resource in the state,” said Arohi Sharma, a water policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The agency has the ability to fill all of these gaps. It’s just a matter of flexing its muscles and holding water districts accountable.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Sharma is lead author of a new \u003cspan class=\"caps\">NRDC\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/experts/arohi-sharma/report-ca-ag-water-data-leaks-through-mismanagement-cracks?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=Water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">report\u003c/span>\u003c/a> critical of the state’s program. In its analysis, compliance with the law was even lower than the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\"> estimate. Using \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> data, the group focused on 123 “large” irrigation districts \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> those with at least 10,000 irrigated acres \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> in order to compare consistent data. It found only 30 percent of these districts submitted water delivery data in 2016.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“While these numbers are obviously not satisfactory, we think it’s going to improve because of the changes in the legislation,” said Manucher Alemi, a \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> policy adviser on water use efficiency, who manages the program. “These things take time. We are making progress.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The data available on the state’s website also contains errors. Anthea Hansen, general manager of Del Puerto Water District, said she has filed the water delivery reports every year since the requirement began. But only one \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> from 2014 \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> is posted online, giving the impression the district is out of compliance. And that record shows the 2014 report was submitted in April 2018, suggesting it was filed late.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">That appears to be a data entry error, because the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>\u003c/span> website shows 2014 reports from other irrigation districts were also submitted in April 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“Last year, \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> did a report to the Legislature, and our name popped up as being delinquent,” said Hansen, whose district irrigates some 45,000 acres in the Modesto area. “And I was quite taken aback, because I don’t like our name to pop up in a negative light on anything. We strive to do everything right here.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> officials say they send annual reminders by letter and email to encourage irrigation districts to submit the required data. But Hansen said she has never received one.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"attachment_133958\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_133958\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2256px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-133958 size-full\" src=\"https://newsdeeply.imgix.net/20180720100226/Hkg22059571.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2256\" height=\"1501\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farm gates like this one in Firebaugh, California, control the flow of water in irrigation canals. They’re also the point at which the state’s irrigation districts are supposed to measure annual water deliveries to farms. But fewer than half are meeting the annual reporting requirement, and the state Department of Water Resources has limited enforcement power. (ROBYNBECK/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“I don’t think it’s so much that water agencies can’t or don’t want to do it,\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">” she said. \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“It could be they don’t know or forgot. It’s not a real highly publicized thing.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Alvar Escriva-Bou, a water policy research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, called the state’s approach a “bottom-up” method of water accounting. That’s because it relies on good-faith reporting by water users at the end of the distribution system.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“When there’s not good oversight, you have to be really careful on what users tell you,” he said, “because they just fill out the form and send it in. You need good oversight to rely on these requirements.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Escriva-Bou was the lead author of a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ppic.org/publication/accounting-for-californias-water/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">2016 study\u003c/span>\u003c/a> that examined California’s water accounting systems. It includes an exhaustive technical appendix, illuminating methods used by nearly every other Western state.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">He said Colorado and Idaho are good examples of what he calls top-down water accounting. In both cases, the state collects its own data on water distribution by maintaining hundreds of measurement devices on irrigation canals. Irrigators are not required to send in any reports, because the state gathers the data itself \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">\u003cspan class=\"st\">–\u003c/span> in many cases using real-time sensors linked to state computers by telemetry devices.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Both states also maintain comprehensive information portals, offering public access to a vast trove of current information on water distribution and water rights.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">California offers good data on water movement by major state and federal plumbing systems, but very little at the local level.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“Sometimes centralized systems can help, especially during droughts, and we don’t have that in California,” Escriva-Bou said. “We struggled during the last drought to know exactly how much water we have, and how much water farmers were using.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The California farm water reporting program is governed by no fewer than three laws. In some ways, each has clarified the requirements. In other ways, they have added complications.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The farm-gate reporting requirement first came into effect in 2007 with the passage of \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1401-1450/ab_1404_bill_20071014_chaptered.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Assembly Bill 1404\u003c/a>. It required irrigation districts serving 2,000 or more acres to measure water deliveries according to “best professional practices,” which were never defined. They were required to report the data annually to the state, starting in 2012, according to “water year.” For Hansen’s district that is March through February.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">In 2009, a comprehensive water law (\u003ca href=\"http://wdl.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/sb7/projects.cfm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Senate Bill \u003cspan class=\"caps\">X7\u003c/span>-7\u003c/a>) added requirements for districts serving more than 25,000 acres. These larger districts were directed to measure and report water deliveries according to standards developed by the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span>, and the reporting period was switched to calendar year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">It took the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> three years to develop those standards, and the first reporting year was 2013. The requirements called for the water delivery data to be reported on a paper form, with email submission as an option.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The latest changes were imposed on May 31 when Governor Jerry Brown signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1668\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Assembly Bill 1668\u003c/a>. Starting January 1, 2019, irrigation districts must report their water deliveries according to groundwater basin. Some large irrigation districts may encompass four or five basins, which means they must file four or five reports.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">For the first time, this new law requires water delivery reports to be filed online.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“The requirements have been evolving and there has been a lack of clarity on what districts have been required to do,” said Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition. “As a moving target, it was hard to keep up.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">None of these laws allows the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> to fine or penalize water districts that miss deadlines or fail to file.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">However, the 2009 law did allow the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> to use its grantmaking power as a hammer: irrigation districts with service areas between 10,000 acres and 25,000 acres are not eligible to receive state grants for water projects unless they submit annual water delivery reports.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“Our only leverage is through encouragement and incentives for compliance,” Alemi said. “And we don’t have the resources to monitor every one of them all the time. So we just communicate with them and tell them when it is due.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">In short, the mosaic of laws has saddled the \u003cspan class=\"caps\">DWR\u003c/span> with enforcing three different sets of requirements, depending on the size of the irrigation district.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">One result is that the data gathered from irrigation districts so far is not consistent. Some reflects a calendar year, some a water year. Some is on paper, and some is electronic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“The earliest data is not being posted, simply because we’re trying to verify accuracy,” Alemi said. “And that’s taking time because there was some confusion around the change to calendar year.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">There is also some question about how useful the data will be when it does get compiled.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The law requires irrigation districts to report monthly deliveries to farm gates – the points where water leaves the district’s distribution canal and flows onto private farmland. Each record shows the total number of farm gates and total water volume delivered to those gates each month. The records do not show how much was diverted at each gate, or how the water was used on each farm.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“I think it can be a valuable tool and help improve management and tighten standards down, so people are assured they’re doing a good job,” said Wade. “But I don’t know, in the big scheme of things, that it’s going to change a lot in terms of our understanding of water supply in California.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">The records also say nothing about return flow. This is the water not consumed by crops that may run off the field and return to a stream. Idaho collects this information, but California does not.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Knowing return flows, if any, is important to determine agriculture’s net effect on fisheries and aquatic habitat. And if it is known that return flows are augmenting streamflow, said Escriva-Bou, it may also avoid the pain of water diversion curtailments during drought.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Even so, Alemi said the state’s data collection program will lead to useful reforms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"fin\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">“It helps us to understand what the agricultural demand is, and also project how we are going to close the gap between supply and demand in the future,” he said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article originally appeared on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2018/07/23/california-farms-water-use-still-unclear-despite-new-reporting-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water Deeply\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and you can find it \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://mail.kqed.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9e4bb0e1a7d74f24ba4684ef2533053d&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.newsdeeply.com%2fwater%2farticles%2f2016%2f07%2f07%2fnine-experts-to-watch-on-california-water-policy\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For important news about the California drought, you can \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://waterdeeply.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8b78e9a34ff7443ec1e8c62c6&id=2947becb78\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sign up\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the Water Deeply email list.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"order": 8
},
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},
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"order": 1
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
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"meta": {
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"source": "WNYC"
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"hyphenacion": {
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"source": "WaitWhat"
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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