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"content": "\n\u003cp>Former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> Supervisor Jane Kim’s proposal to create a public, natural disaster insurance program for all is the boldest out-of-the-box idea in the race to become California’s next insurance commissioner.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The consumer advocate and attorney proposed a “guaranteed disaster for all insurance program that is publicly run and nonprofit.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The state would collect some of the premiums that you’re already paying to this industry,” she said. “We would invest those dollars in the market, and then we would use excess capital to actually invest in driving down risk, meaning we would invest in fireproofing and floodproofing communities.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim has pointed to New Zealand and France’s arrangements as potential models. In these countries, the government and private companies share risk in the insurance market. She said she wants to see California’s insurance dollars at work to control the state’s insurance costs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Could a similar program work here? How would it? KQED spoke with half a dozen experts to take a look at these questions, and many met the idea with skepticism, and also some hints of curiosity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What exactly is Jane Kim proposing?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim’s campaign released a \u003ca href=\"https://www.janekim.org/policy-brief\">policy document\u003c/a> on the proposal on Oct. 8th. It outlines a vision to have the state cover the cost of rebuilding the average home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The money for this would come from two charges added to a person’s private insurance: one would be based on a home’s wildfire risk, another would be based on the value of the home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The proposal raises the possibility of adding a surcharge on high-value second homes and vacation properties. The program would be mandatory but administered similar to the California Earthquake Authority, which covers earthquake risk in the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor and candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, speaks with politics reporter Marisa Lagos for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Sept. 17, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From the consumer’s perspective, there’s no difference,” Kim said during an interview on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100390/jane-kims-bold-plan-to-protect-you-when-disaster-strikes\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>. “And when you file a claim, you still file it with the insurance industry. But the state pays it out, and they pay it out quickly and fairly.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To fund this, Kim said, the program would happen in stages, “and we’d have to figure out how to capitalize it in the beginning so that we could pay out claims in year one if fires happened.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the advantage for the state, she said, is that the profit insurance companies make on this part of policies could be invested in reducing risk.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public-private insurance partnerships exist in some form in dozens of countries, including England for flood risk and Spain for some risk reduction and emergency response. The U.S. also has a national flood insurance program. And states like Texas and Florida have schemes to socialize some of the costs of home insurance, owing to their frequent hurricanes and flooding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighter Nolan Graham sprays water around a scorched garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake on Sept. 8, 2024. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each country or state’s arrangement is unique. In New Zealand, a set amount of a homeowner’s property insurance, about 600 New Zealand dollars ($336), goes to the government program that covers seismic risk: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. If a policyholder suffers a loss, they can receive up to 300,000 NZ$ (roughly $170,000). All claim values above that are paid by the insurance company they have coverage with. It only covers seismic hazards.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In France, a surcharge of 20% is added to property insurance policies. Private insurance companies handle claims, but they are reinsured by a public reinsurance company backed by the French state. Spain also operates a public reinsurance and direct insurance program, also funded by mandatory surcharges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While some California insurance experts believe bold ideas are needed to decrease wildfire risk, most are skeptical of Kim’s idea. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Caution, skepticism, some curiosity, too \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their concerns overlap: public insurance programs spread out costs but don’t necessarily reduce them; they are often overly generous and fiscally irresponsible because they are set up by politicians who want to be reelected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some experts argue that California’s climate-fueled disasters are so expensive and frequent that it would be foolish for the state to take on so much risk, and that California’s market is in the early phases of a recovery and that shocking it with major changes could delay or reverse the progress. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A home destroyed by the Boyles Fire in Clearlake on Sept. 9, 2024, after the wildfire swept through the area on Sept. 8, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There aren’t a huge number of what most people would consider successful examples of public insurers. They tend to be plagued by problems,” said Michael Wara, wildfire and insurance expert at Stanford. “And the biggest problem is that when you tell a government agency to set the cost of insurance, they almost always set it too low.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And that means that taxpayers then must bail out the program. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ideally, place politicians far away from this process,” said Ilan Noy, an expert in the economics of disasters and climate change at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noy has studied the New Zealand program extensively and is largely a fan of it. However, he did not think an all-natural-hazard system would work in California, where some of the people at the highest risk are also wealthy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When public-private programs work, it’s because the insurance is being subsidized. But would subsidizing these wealthy homeowners be fair? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If California insurance costs are going up, Noy said, “the only way to make them lower is reduce the risk through public policy. You cannot make the costs, the premiums low if the risk is high because someone ends up paying for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other experts stressed that the public-private partnerships could work but must be well-designed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s literally a design choice of, what are we solving for?” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwann-o-michel-kerjan-5653a9/?isSelfProfile=false\">Erwann Michel-Kerjan\u003c/a>, former executive director of the Wharton Risk Center, now a partner at McKinsey & Company. He has studied France’s system. “Are you solving for fairness?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps fairness is everyone paying for their own risk? But, equally, perhaps it’s unfair for people to see their insurance costs triple and to be priced out of where they grew up, when they didn’t do anything themselves to increase fire risk?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t think anyone has the answer, because there is not the perfect silver bullet,” Michel-Kerjan said. “California is unique, so it’s not like you can take the French system, the Netherlands system, and make it work in California, but you could be inspired by some of the principles behind some of these schemes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time and again, California’s wildfires defy expectations. Do taxpayers want to be responsible?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A system could be particularly hard to set up in California, right now. Wildfire damage is enormous, and costs are skyrocketing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Experts worry that creating an all-hazard system in California would concentrate fire risk into one program, instead of allowing private insurance companies to spread the costs out across the country, among many different policies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If a public insurance scheme relied only on money from within the state, the danger of costs exceeding incoming funds is greater than if the money going into and out of the system flows through national and global companies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998029\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fire destruction in downtown Altadena, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This proposal,” said Carolyn Kousky, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.insuranceforgood.org/\">Insurance for Good\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that works on insurance solutions, “would concentrate fire risk, not diversify it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Diversification tends to make insurance markets stronger. Currently, California’s property insurance market is diversified among dozens of private carriers who, in turn, are diversified across the country, insuring people in different states, and hold reinsurance through global markets.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You would actually end up costing people more by concentrating fire risk in one program instead of having access to this broader diversification,” Kousky said. “And we’ve seen that global reinsurance markets tend to charge more for public programs, for them to offload directly into the reinsurance market, because they are so often politically manipulated and their business isn’t consistent.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reassurance through reinsurance? \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If California were to, instead of insuring homes directly, follow one aspect of the French model, it could create a different problem with reinsurance. Reinsurance is most simply thought of as insurance for insurance companies. In France, this helps keep costs down, and in Florida, too; however, in California, reinsurance costs are not a great place for saving. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Florida is the only state in the U.S. that has a public reinsurance program. And it’s actually working pretty well,” Kousky said. That’s because Florida is filled with very small insurers who tend to operate only in the state or the region, and they are poorly capitalized and heavily dependent on insurance. Those costs are high, and they impact the primary market. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville with a smoldering hillside behind as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, on July 3, 2024. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Putting in a state layer of reinsurance that’s less expensive and — important — stable in its pricing does provide these protective benefits to the homeowners market there. That’s not the case for the homeowners market in California.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here, she said, most carriers operate nationally, have good financial health, and are getting reinsurance fairly inexpensively. Putting out California fire reinsurance specifically won’t help residents much. Perhaps it would make policies slightly cheaper, but Kousky estimated by not much. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What these public programs mostly do is change who pays. To meaningfully lower how much everyone has to pay, we need to make everyone safer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could insurance fees pay for wildfire mitigation?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim does want to solve the persistent state problem of a lack of funds to invest in home- and community-level fire resilience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents parts of Los Angeles County and is Kim’s opponent for the role of insurance commissioner. He wants to expand grants and financing to help home and business owners safeguard their properties from fire. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wara, at Stanford, said he loves that both insurance commissioner candidates are thinking about how to find money to help communities reduce risk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002299\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Wara does not think there would be enough profit in California’s wildfire insurance premiums to siphon enough off for meaningful investment and have a fund that could continue to pay claims. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When disaster strikes, those funds need a big pile of cash to pay claims, Wara said. “If we are spending that money on trying to reduce risk, the challenge is that we might have some bad fires before we’ve actually reduced the risk and then we’re going to need to pay claims, but we won’t have the money.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In bad years like 2017, 2018 and 2020, insurance industry insiders said decades of company profits were wiped out and, by the early 2020s, many companies felt that the California market had become so risky and unprofitable that, for a time, almost no insurance company would offer new homeowner policies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That has since loosened up, and California’s insurance market shows some early signs of recovery: more companies entering the market and slowed growth in the FAIR Plan — California’s carrier of last resort. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wara likened this to a sick patient who has a long way to go before they can do anything too ambitious. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have taken one dose of antibiotics when it comes to the insurance system in California,” he said. It’ll be a while before it’s fully healthy. When someone is in recovery, “You just say: ‘go to bed, rest, take some antibiotics. Here’s some soup.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New and creative ideas are needed in California to shift the state from its current untenable trajectory with climate change, wildfires and electrical utilities, Wara said. But he is skeptical of the contours of the plan currently offered by Kim. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not like the status quo is necessarily going to work,” he said, “We may have to try very different things.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Allen characterized her plan as “taking popular support for comprehensive single-payer health care, which is a real thing that exists in a lot of countries,” he told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098926/ben-allen-wants-to-take-on-the-insurance-industry-for-you\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>, “and popped it over onto home disaster insurance.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the problem, he said, is that a comprehensive single-payer system doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even if she were able to get this through the legislature, which I don’t think she’d be able to, even if it were a good idea, it would take 10 years to implement at the earliest,” he said. “I’m trying to focus on fixing the problems right now.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim, if elected, would need to advocate for the idea, have a bill proposed by a legislative partner, see it pass both houses and have it signed by the governor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For her part, Kim said she’s optimistic about her ability to negotiate, build coalitions and get this idea across the finish line. Voters will decide if she gets the chance to try.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> Supervisor Jane Kim’s proposal to create a public, natural disaster insurance program for all is the boldest out-of-the-box idea in the race to become California’s next insurance commissioner.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The consumer advocate and attorney proposed a “guaranteed disaster for all insurance program that is publicly run and nonprofit.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The state would collect some of the premiums that you’re already paying to this industry,” she said. “We would invest those dollars in the market, and then we would use excess capital to actually invest in driving down risk, meaning we would invest in fireproofing and floodproofing communities.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The state would collect some of the premiums that you’re already paying to this industry,” she said. “We would invest those dollars in the market, and then we would use excess capital to actually invest in driving down risk, meaning we would invest in fireproofing and floodproofing communities.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kim has pointed to New Zealand and France’s arrangements as potential models. In these countries, the government and private companies share risk in the insurance market. She said she wants to see California’s insurance dollars at work to control the state’s insurance costs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kim has pointed to New Zealand and France’s arrangements as potential models. In these countries, the government and private companies share risk in the insurance market. She said she wants to see California’s insurance dollars at work to control the state’s insurance costs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Could a similar program work here? How would it? KQED spoke with half a dozen experts to take a look at these questions, and many met the idea with skepticism, and also some hints of curiosity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Could a similar program work here? How would it? KQED spoke with half a dozen experts to take a look at these questions, and many met the idea with skepticism, and also some hints of curiosity.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "What exactly is Jane Kim proposing? ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What exactly is Jane Kim proposing?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What exactly is Jane Kim proposing?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kim’s campaign released a \u003ca href=\"https://www.janekim.org/policy-brief\">policy document\u003c/a> on the proposal on Oct. 8th. It outlines a vision to have the state cover the cost of rebuilding the average home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The money for this would come from two charges added to a person’s private insurance: one would be based on a home’s wildfire risk, another would be based on the value of the home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The proposal raises the possibility of adding a surcharge on high-value second homes and vacation properties. The program would be mandatory but administered similar to the California Earthquake Authority, which covers earthquake risk in the state.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kim’s campaign released a \u003ca href=\"https://www.janekim.org/policy-brief\">policy document\u003c/a> on the proposal on Oct. 8th. It outlines a vision to have the state cover the cost of rebuilding the average home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The money for this would come from two charges added to a person’s private insurance: one would be based on a home’s wildfire risk, another would be based on the value of the home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The proposal raises the possibility of adding a surcharge on high-value second homes and vacation properties. The program would be mandatory but administered similar to the California Earthquake Authority, which covers earthquake risk in the state.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor and candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, speaks with politics reporter Marisa Lagos for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Sept. 17, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002300\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor and candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, speaks with politics reporter Marisa Lagos for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Sept. 17, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“From the consumer’s perspective, there’s no difference,” Kim said during an interview on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100390/jane-kims-bold-plan-to-protect-you-when-disaster-strikes\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>. “And when you file a claim, you still file it with the insurance industry. But the state pays it out, and they pay it out quickly and fairly.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“From the consumer’s perspective, there’s no difference,” Kim said during an interview on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100390/jane-kims-bold-plan-to-protect-you-when-disaster-strikes\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>. “And when you file a claim, you still file it with the insurance industry. But the state pays it out, and they pay it out quickly and fairly.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To fund this, Kim said, the program would happen in stages, “and we’d have to figure out how to capitalize it in the beginning so that we could pay out claims in year one if fires happened.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To fund this, Kim said, the program would happen in stages, “and we’d have to figure out how to capitalize it in the beginning so that we could pay out claims in year one if fires happened.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the advantage for the state, she said, is that the profit insurance companies make on this part of policies could be invested in reducing risk.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the advantage for the state, she said, is that the profit insurance companies make on this part of policies could be invested in reducing risk.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Public-private insurance partnerships exist in some form in dozens of countries, including England for flood risk and Spain for some risk reduction and emergency response. The U.S. also has a national flood insurance program. And states like Texas and Florida have schemes to socialize some of the costs of home insurance, owing to their frequent hurricanes and flooding.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Public-private insurance partnerships exist in some form in dozens of countries, including England for flood risk and Spain for some risk reduction and emergency response. The U.S. also has a national flood insurance program. And states like Texas and Florida have schemes to socialize some of the costs of home insurance, owing to their frequent hurricanes and flooding.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighter Nolan Graham sprays water around a scorched garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake on Sept. 8, 2024. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994224\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighter Nolan Graham sprays water around a scorched garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake on Sept. 8, 2024. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Each country or state’s arrangement is unique. In New Zealand, a set amount of a homeowner’s property insurance, about 600 New Zealand dollars ($336), goes to the government program that covers seismic risk: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. If a policyholder suffers a loss, they can receive up to 300,000 NZ$ (roughly $170,000). All claim values above that are paid by the insurance company they have coverage with. It only covers seismic hazards.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Each country or state’s arrangement is unique. In New Zealand, a set amount of a homeowner’s property insurance, about 600 New Zealand dollars ($336), goes to the government program that covers seismic risk: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. If a policyholder suffers a loss, they can receive up to 300,000 NZ$ (roughly $170,000). All claim values above that are paid by the insurance company they have coverage with. It only covers seismic hazards.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In France, a surcharge of 20% is added to property insurance policies. Private insurance companies handle claims, but they are reinsured by a public reinsurance company backed by the French state. Spain also operates a public reinsurance and direct insurance program, also funded by mandatory surcharges.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In France, a surcharge of 20% is added to property insurance policies. Private insurance companies handle claims, but they are reinsured by a public reinsurance company backed by the French state. Spain also operates a public reinsurance and direct insurance program, also funded by mandatory surcharges.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While some California insurance experts believe bold ideas are needed to decrease wildfire risk, most are skeptical of Kim’s idea. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While some California insurance experts believe bold ideas are needed to decrease wildfire risk, most are skeptical of Kim’s idea. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Caution, skepticism, some curiosity, too",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Caution, skepticism, some curiosity, too \u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Caution, skepticism, some curiosity, too \u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Their concerns overlap: public insurance programs spread out costs but don’t necessarily reduce them; they are often overly generous and fiscally irresponsible because they are set up by politicians who want to be reelected.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Their concerns overlap: public insurance programs spread out costs but don’t necessarily reduce them; they are often overly generous and fiscally irresponsible because they are set up by politicians who want to be reelected.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some experts argue that California’s climate-fueled disasters are so expensive and frequent that it would be foolish for the state to take on so much risk, and that California’s market is in the early phases of a recovery and that shocking it with major changes could delay or reverse the progress. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A home destroyed by the Boyles Fire in Clearlake on Sept. 9, 2024, after the wildfire swept through the area on Sept. 8, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There aren’t a huge number of what most people would consider successful examples of public insurers. They tend to be plagued by problems,” said Michael Wara, wildfire and insurance expert at Stanford. “And the biggest problem is that when you tell a government agency to set the cost of insurance, they almost always set it too low.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And that means that taxpayers then must bail out the program. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Ideally, place politicians far away from this process,” said Ilan Noy, an expert in the economics of disasters and climate change at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Ideally, place politicians far away from this process,” said Ilan Noy, an expert in the economics of disasters and climate change at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Noy has studied the New Zealand program extensively and is largely a fan of it. However, he did not think an all-natural-hazard system would work in California, where some of the people at the highest risk are also wealthy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Noy has studied the New Zealand program extensively and is largely a fan of it. However, he did not think an all-natural-hazard system would work in California, where some of the people at the highest risk are also wealthy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When public-private programs work, it’s because the insurance is being subsidized. But would subsidizing these wealthy homeowners be fair? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When public-private programs work, it’s because the insurance is being subsidized. But would subsidizing these wealthy homeowners be fair? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If California insurance costs are going up, Noy said, “the only way to make them lower is reduce the risk through public policy. You cannot make the costs, the premiums low if the risk is high because someone ends up paying for it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If California insurance costs are going up, Noy said, “the only way to make them lower is reduce the risk through public policy. You cannot make the costs, the premiums low if the risk is high because someone ends up paying for it.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other experts stressed that the public-private partnerships could work but must be well-designed. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s literally a design choice of, what are we solving for?” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwann-o-michel-kerjan-5653a9/?isSelfProfile=false\">Erwann Michel-Kerjan\u003c/a>, former executive director of the Wharton Risk Center, now a partner at McKinsey & Company. He has studied France’s system. “Are you solving for fairness?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s literally a design choice of, what are we solving for?” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwann-o-michel-kerjan-5653a9/?isSelfProfile=false\">Erwann Michel-Kerjan\u003c/a>, former executive director of the Wharton Risk Center, now a partner at McKinsey & Company. He has studied France’s system. “Are you solving for fairness?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps fairness is everyone paying for their own risk? But, equally, perhaps it’s unfair for people to see their insurance costs triple and to be priced out of where they grew up, when they didn’t do anything themselves to increase fire risk?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Perhaps fairness is everyone paying for their own risk? But, equally, perhaps it’s unfair for people to see their insurance costs triple and to be priced out of where they grew up, when they didn’t do anything themselves to increase fire risk?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I don’t think anyone has the answer, because there is not the perfect silver bullet,” Michel-Kerjan said. “California is unique, so it’s not like you can take the French system, the Netherlands system, and make it work in California, but you could be inspired by some of the principles behind some of these schemes.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I don’t think anyone has the answer, because there is not the perfect silver bullet,” Michel-Kerjan said. “California is unique, so it’s not like you can take the French system, the Netherlands system, and make it work in California, but you could be inspired by some of the principles behind some of these schemes.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Time and again, California’s wildfires defy expectations. Do taxpayers want to be responsible?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time and again, California’s wildfires defy expectations. Do taxpayers want to be responsible?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A system could be particularly hard to set up in California, right now. Wildfire damage is enormous, and costs are skyrocketing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A system could be particularly hard to set up in California, right now. Wildfire damage is enormous, and costs are skyrocketing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Experts worry that creating an all-hazard system in California would concentrate fire risk into one program, instead of allowing private insurance companies to spread the costs out across the country, among many different policies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Experts worry that creating an all-hazard system in California would concentrate fire risk into one program, instead of allowing private insurance companies to spread the costs out across the country, among many different policies. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If a public insurance scheme relied only on money from within the state, the danger of costs exceeding incoming funds is greater than if the money going into and out of the system flows through national and global companies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If a public insurance scheme relied only on money from within the state, the danger of costs exceeding incoming funds is greater than if the money going into and out of the system flows through national and global companies. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998029\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fire destruction in downtown Altadena, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, on Jan. 9, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This proposal,” said Carolyn Kousky, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.insuranceforgood.org/\">Insurance for Good\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that works on insurance solutions, “would concentrate fire risk, not diversify it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This proposal,” said Carolyn Kousky, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.insuranceforgood.org/\">Insurance for Good\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that works on insurance solutions, “would concentrate fire risk, not diversify it.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Diversification tends to make insurance markets stronger. Currently, California’s property insurance market is diversified among dozens of private carriers who, in turn, are diversified across the country, insuring people in different states, and hold reinsurance through global markets.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Diversification tends to make insurance markets stronger. Currently, California’s property insurance market is diversified among dozens of private carriers who, in turn, are diversified across the country, insuring people in different states, and hold reinsurance through global markets.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You would actually end up costing people more by concentrating fire risk in one program instead of having access to this broader diversification,” Kousky said. “And we’ve seen that global reinsurance markets tend to charge more for public programs, for them to offload directly into the reinsurance market, because they are so often politically manipulated and their business isn’t consistent.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You would actually end up costing people more by concentrating fire risk in one program instead of having access to this broader diversification,” Kousky said. “And we’ve seen that global reinsurance markets tend to charge more for public programs, for them to offload directly into the reinsurance market, because they are so often politically manipulated and their business isn’t consistent.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Reassurance through reinsurance?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reassurance through reinsurance? \u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If California were to, instead of insuring homes directly, follow one aspect of the French model, it could create a different problem with reinsurance. Reinsurance is most simply thought of as insurance for insurance companies. In France, this helps keep costs down, and in Florida, too; however, in California, reinsurance costs are not a great place for saving. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If California were to, instead of insuring homes directly, follow one aspect of the French model, it could create a different problem with reinsurance. Reinsurance is most simply thought of as insurance for insurance companies. In France, this helps keep costs down, and in Florida, too; however, in California, reinsurance costs are not a great place for saving. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Florida is the only state in the U.S. that has a public reinsurance program. And it’s actually working pretty well,” Kousky said. That’s because Florida is filled with very small insurers who tend to operate only in the state or the region, and they are poorly capitalized and heavily dependent on insurance. Those costs are high, and they impact the primary market. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Florida is the only state in the U.S. that has a public reinsurance program. And it’s actually working pretty well,” Kousky said. That’s because Florida is filled with very small insurers who tend to operate only in the state or the region, and they are poorly capitalized and heavily dependent on insurance. Those costs are high, and they impact the primary market. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville with a smoldering hillside behind as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, on July 3, 2024. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000450\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville with a smoldering hillside behind as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, on July 3, 2024. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Putting in a state layer of reinsurance that’s less expensive and — important — stable in its pricing does provide these protective benefits to the homeowners market there. That’s not the case for the homeowners market in California.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here, she said, most carriers operate nationally, have good financial health, and are getting reinsurance fairly inexpensively. Putting out California fire reinsurance specifically won’t help residents much. Perhaps it would make policies slightly cheaper, but Kousky estimated by not much. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Here, she said, most carriers operate nationally, have good financial health, and are getting reinsurance fairly inexpensively. Putting out California fire reinsurance specifically won’t help residents much. Perhaps it would make policies slightly cheaper, but Kousky estimated by not much. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What these public programs mostly do is change who pays. To meaningfully lower how much everyone has to pay, we need to make everyone safer. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What these public programs mostly do is change who pays. To meaningfully lower how much everyone has to pay, we need to make everyone safer. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Could insurance fees pay for wildfire mitigation?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kim does want to solve the persistent state problem of a lack of funds to invest in home- and community-level fire resilience. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kim does want to solve the persistent state problem of a lack of funds to invest in home- and community-level fire resilience. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents parts of Los Angeles County and is Kim’s opponent for the role of insurance commissioner. He wants to expand grants and financing to help home and business owners safeguard their properties from fire. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents parts of Los Angeles County and is Kim’s opponent for the role of insurance commissioner. He wants to expand grants and financing to help home and business owners safeguard their properties from fire. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wara, at Stanford, said he loves that both insurance commissioner candidates are thinking about how to find money to help communities reduce risk. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002299\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002299\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Wara does not think there would be enough profit in California’s wildfire insurance premiums to siphon enough off for meaningful investment and have a fund that could continue to pay claims. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When disaster strikes, those funds need a big pile of cash to pay claims, Wara said. “If we are spending that money on trying to reduce risk, the challenge is that we might have some bad fires before we’ve actually reduced the risk and then we’re going to need to pay claims, but we won’t have the money.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When disaster strikes, those funds need a big pile of cash to pay claims, Wara said. “If we are spending that money on trying to reduce risk, the challenge is that we might have some bad fires before we’ve actually reduced the risk and then we’re going to need to pay claims, but we won’t have the money.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In bad years like 2017, 2018 and 2020, insurance industry insiders said decades of company profits were wiped out and, by the early 2020s, many companies felt that the California market had become so risky and unprofitable that, for a time, almost no insurance company would offer new homeowner policies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In bad years like 2017, 2018 and 2020, insurance industry insiders said decades of company profits were wiped out and, by the early 2020s, many companies felt that the California market had become so risky and unprofitable that, for a time, almost no insurance company would offer new homeowner policies. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That has since loosened up, and California’s insurance market shows some early signs of recovery: more companies entering the market and slowed growth in the FAIR Plan — California’s carrier of last resort. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That has since loosened up, and California’s insurance market shows some early signs of recovery: more companies entering the market and slowed growth in the FAIR Plan — California’s carrier of last resort. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wara likened this to a sick patient who has a long way to go before they can do anything too ambitious. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have taken one dose of antibiotics when it comes to the insurance system in California,” he said. It’ll be a while before it’s fully healthy. When someone is in recovery, “You just say: ‘go to bed, rest, take some antibiotics. Here’s some soup.’” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We have taken one dose of antibiotics when it comes to the insurance system in California,” he said. It’ll be a while before it’s fully healthy. When someone is in recovery, “You just say: ‘go to bed, rest, take some antibiotics. Here’s some soup.’” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>New and creative ideas are needed in California to shift the state from its current untenable trajectory with climate change, wildfires and electrical utilities, Wara said. But he is skeptical of the contours of the plan currently offered by Kim. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>New and creative ideas are needed in California to shift the state from its current untenable trajectory with climate change, wildfires and electrical utilities, Wara said. But he is skeptical of the contours of the plan currently offered by Kim. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s not like the status quo is necessarily going to work,” he said, “We may have to try very different things.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Allen characterized her plan as “taking popular support for comprehensive single-payer health care, which is a real thing that exists in a lot of countries,” he told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098926/ben-allen-wants-to-take-on-the-insurance-industry-for-you\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>, “and popped it over onto home disaster insurance.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Allen characterized her plan as “taking popular support for comprehensive single-payer health care, which is a real thing that exists in a lot of countries,” he told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098926/ben-allen-wants-to-take-on-the-insurance-industry-for-you\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>, “and popped it over onto home disaster insurance.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the problem, he said, is that a comprehensive single-payer system doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Even if she were able to get this through the legislature, which I don’t think she’d be able to, even if it were a good idea, it would take 10 years to implement at the earliest,” he said. “I’m trying to focus on fixing the problems right now.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kim, if elected, would need to advocate for the idea, have a bill proposed by a legislative partner, see it pass both houses and have it signed by the governor. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For her part, Kim said she’s optimistic about her ability to negotiate, build coalitions and get this idea across the finish line. Voters will decide if she gets the chance to try.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For her part, Kim said she’s optimistic about her ability to negotiate, build coalitions and get this idea across the finish line. Voters will decide if she gets the chance to try.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Jane Kim is running to be California’s insurance commissioner on the idea that it can. Many experts have reservations, but agree that more needs to be done to reduce insurance costs.",
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"title": "Could a Public Wildfire Insurance Plan Work in California? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> Supervisor Jane Kim’s proposal to create a public, natural disaster insurance program for all is the boldest out-of-the-box idea in the race to become California’s next insurance commissioner.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The consumer advocate and attorney proposed a “guaranteed disaster for all insurance program that is publicly run and nonprofit.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The state would collect some of the premiums that you’re already paying to this industry,” she said. “We would invest those dollars in the market, and then we would use excess capital to actually invest in driving down risk, meaning we would invest in fireproofing and floodproofing communities.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim has pointed to New Zealand and France’s arrangements as potential models. In these countries, the government and private companies share risk in the insurance market. She said she wants to see California’s insurance dollars at work to control the state’s insurance costs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Could a similar program work here? How would it? KQED spoke with half a dozen experts to take a look at these questions, and many met the idea with skepticism, and also some hints of curiosity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What exactly is Jane Kim proposing?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim’s campaign released a \u003ca href=\"https://www.janekim.org/policy-brief\">policy document\u003c/a> on the proposal on Oct. 8th. It outlines a vision to have the state cover the cost of rebuilding the average home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The money for this would come from two charges added to a person’s private insurance: one would be based on a home’s wildfire risk, another would be based on the value of the home.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The proposal raises the possibility of adding a surcharge on high-value second homes and vacation properties. The program would be mandatory but administered similar to the California Earthquake Authority, which covers earthquake risk in the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260917-JaneKimPB-04-BL_qed-bf9c36ae-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor and candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, speaks with politics reporter Marisa Lagos for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Sept. 17, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From the consumer’s perspective, there’s no difference,” Kim said during an interview on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100390/jane-kims-bold-plan-to-protect-you-when-disaster-strikes\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>. “And when you file a claim, you still file it with the insurance industry. But the state pays it out, and they pay it out quickly and fairly.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To fund this, Kim said, the program would happen in stages, “and we’d have to figure out how to capitalize it in the beginning so that we could pay out claims in year one if fires happened.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the advantage for the state, she said, is that the profit insurance companies make on this part of policies could be invested in reducing risk.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public-private insurance partnerships exist in some form in dozens of countries, including England for flood risk and Spain for some risk reduction and emergency response. The U.S. also has a national flood insurance program. And states like Texas and Florida have schemes to socialize some of the costs of home insurance, owing to their frequent hurricanes and flooding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/AP24253126507105-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighter Nolan Graham sprays water around a scorched garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake on Sept. 8, 2024. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each country or state’s arrangement is unique. In New Zealand, a set amount of a homeowner’s property insurance, about 600 New Zealand dollars ($336), goes to the government program that covers seismic risk: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. If a policyholder suffers a loss, they can receive up to 300,000 NZ$ (roughly $170,000). All claim values above that are paid by the insurance company they have coverage with. It only covers seismic hazards.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In France, a surcharge of 20% is added to property insurance policies. Private insurance companies handle claims, but they are reinsured by a public reinsurance company backed by the French state. Spain also operates a public reinsurance and direct insurance program, also funded by mandatory surcharges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While some California insurance experts believe bold ideas are needed to decrease wildfire risk, most are skeptical of Kim’s idea. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Caution, skepticism, some curiosity, too \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their concerns overlap: public insurance programs spread out costs but don’t necessarily reduce them; they are often overly generous and fiscally irresponsible because they are set up by politicians who want to be reelected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some experts argue that California’s climate-fueled disasters are so expensive and frequent that it would be foolish for the state to take on so much risk, and that California’s market is in the early phases of a recovery and that shocking it with major changes could delay or reverse the progress. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1994257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240909-BOYLESFIRE-22-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A home destroyed by the Boyles Fire in Clearlake on Sept. 9, 2024, after the wildfire swept through the area on Sept. 8, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There aren’t a huge number of what most people would consider successful examples of public insurers. They tend to be plagued by problems,” said Michael Wara, wildfire and insurance expert at Stanford. “And the biggest problem is that when you tell a government agency to set the cost of insurance, they almost always set it too low.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And that means that taxpayers then must bail out the program. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ideally, place politicians far away from this process,” said Ilan Noy, an expert in the economics of disasters and climate change at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Noy has studied the New Zealand program extensively and is largely a fan of it. However, he did not think an all-natural-hazard system would work in California, where some of the people at the highest risk are also wealthy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When public-private programs work, it’s because the insurance is being subsidized. But would subsidizing these wealthy homeowners be fair? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If California insurance costs are going up, Noy said, “the only way to make them lower is reduce the risk through public policy. You cannot make the costs, the premiums low if the risk is high because someone ends up paying for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other experts stressed that the public-private partnerships could work but must be well-designed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s literally a design choice of, what are we solving for?” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwann-o-michel-kerjan-5653a9/?isSelfProfile=false\">Erwann Michel-Kerjan\u003c/a>, former executive director of the Wharton Risk Center, now a partner at McKinsey & Company. He has studied France’s system. “Are you solving for fairness?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps fairness is everyone paying for their own risk? But, equally, perhaps it’s unfair for people to see their insurance costs triple and to be priced out of where they grew up, when they didn’t do anything themselves to increase fire risk?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t think anyone has the answer, because there is not the perfect silver bullet,” Michel-Kerjan said. “California is unique, so it’s not like you can take the French system, the Netherlands system, and make it work in California, but you could be inspired by some of the principles behind some of these schemes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time and again, California’s wildfires defy expectations. Do taxpayers want to be responsible?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A system could be particularly hard to set up in California, right now. Wildfire damage is enormous, and costs are skyrocketing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Experts worry that creating an all-hazard system in California would concentrate fire risk into one program, instead of allowing private insurance companies to spread the costs out across the country, among many different policies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If a public insurance scheme relied only on money from within the state, the danger of costs exceeding incoming funds is greater than if the money going into and out of the system flows through national and global companies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998029\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/240109-CAWindStorm-069_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fire destruction in downtown Altadena, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This proposal,” said Carolyn Kousky, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.insuranceforgood.org/\">Insurance for Good\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that works on insurance solutions, “would concentrate fire risk, not diversify it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Diversification tends to make insurance markets stronger. Currently, California’s property insurance market is diversified among dozens of private carriers who, in turn, are diversified across the country, insuring people in different states, and hold reinsurance through global markets.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You would actually end up costing people more by concentrating fire risk in one program instead of having access to this broader diversification,” Kousky said. “And we’ve seen that global reinsurance markets tend to charge more for public programs, for them to offload directly into the reinsurance market, because they are so often politically manipulated and their business isn’t consistent.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reassurance through reinsurance? \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If California were to, instead of insuring homes directly, follow one aspect of the French model, it could create a different problem with reinsurance. Reinsurance is most simply thought of as insurance for insurance companies. In France, this helps keep costs down, and in Florida, too; however, in California, reinsurance costs are not a great place for saving. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Florida is the only state in the U.S. that has a public reinsurance program. And it’s actually working pretty well,” Kousky said. That’s because Florida is filled with very small insurers who tend to operate only in the state or the region, and they are poorly capitalized and heavily dependent on insurance. Those costs are high, and they impact the primary market. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/OrovilleWildfireAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville with a smoldering hillside behind as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, on July 3, 2024. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Putting in a state layer of reinsurance that’s less expensive and — important — stable in its pricing does provide these protective benefits to the homeowners market there. That’s not the case for the homeowners market in California.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here, she said, most carriers operate nationally, have good financial health, and are getting reinsurance fairly inexpensively. Putting out California fire reinsurance specifically won’t help residents much. Perhaps it would make policies slightly cheaper, but Kousky estimated by not much. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What these public programs mostly do is change who pays. To meaningfully lower how much everyone has to pay, we need to make everyone safer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could insurance fees pay for wildfire mitigation?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim does want to solve the persistent state problem of a lack of funds to invest in home- and community-level fire resilience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents parts of Los Angeles County and is Kim’s opponent for the role of insurance commissioner. He wants to expand grants and financing to help home and business owners safeguard their properties from fire. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wara, at Stanford, said he loves that both insurance commissioner candidates are thinking about how to find money to help communities reduce risk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002299\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-708498f7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Wara does not think there would be enough profit in California’s wildfire insurance premiums to siphon enough off for meaningful investment and have a fund that could continue to pay claims. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When disaster strikes, those funds need a big pile of cash to pay claims, Wara said. “If we are spending that money on trying to reduce risk, the challenge is that we might have some bad fires before we’ve actually reduced the risk and then we’re going to need to pay claims, but we won’t have the money.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In bad years like 2017, 2018 and 2020, insurance industry insiders said decades of company profits were wiped out and, by the early 2020s, many companies felt that the California market had become so risky and unprofitable that, for a time, almost no insurance company would offer new homeowner policies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That has since loosened up, and California’s insurance market shows some early signs of recovery: more companies entering the market and slowed growth in the FAIR Plan — California’s carrier of last resort. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wara likened this to a sick patient who has a long way to go before they can do anything too ambitious. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have taken one dose of antibiotics when it comes to the insurance system in California,” he said. It’ll be a while before it’s fully healthy. When someone is in recovery, “You just say: ‘go to bed, rest, take some antibiotics. Here’s some soup.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New and creative ideas are needed in California to shift the state from its current untenable trajectory with climate change, wildfires and electrical utilities, Wara said. But he is skeptical of the contours of the plan currently offered by Kim. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not like the status quo is necessarily going to work,” he said, “We may have to try very different things.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Allen characterized her plan as “taking popular support for comprehensive single-payer health care, which is a real thing that exists in a lot of countries,” he told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098926/ben-allen-wants-to-take-on-the-insurance-industry-for-you\">KQED’s Political Breakdown\u003c/a>, “and popped it over onto home disaster insurance.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the problem, he said, is that a comprehensive single-payer system doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even if she were able to get this through the legislature, which I don’t think she’d be able to, even if it were a good idea, it would take 10 years to implement at the earliest,” he said. “I’m trying to focus on fixing the problems right now.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kim, if elected, would need to advocate for the idea, have a bill proposed by a legislative partner, see it pass both houses and have it signed by the governor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For her part, Kim said she’s optimistic about her ability to negotiate, build coalitions and get this idea across the finish line. Voters will decide if she gets the chance to try.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "newsom-signs-new-law-to-clear-confusion-around-smoke-damage",
"title": "Newsom Signs New Law to Clear Confusion Around Smoke Damage",
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"headTitle": "Newsom Signs New Law to Clear Confusion Around Smoke Damage | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>One of the paradoxes facing people whose homes survive a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire\u003c/a> is that they are often still victims of it. Sometimes, they have the least help for restoring their home to how it was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How insurance ought to address the damage caused by heat and smoke, even if the building never caught on fire, has been unclear, leaving survivors fighting to prove their homes were unsafe and to have their claims covered — until now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation into law that establishes the nation’s first enforceable standards for testing and fixing smoke-damaged homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For future fire survivors, they will have peace of mind as well as safety,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the advocacy group Every Fire Survivor’s Network. Her home suffered smoke damage during the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ideally we’ll get some settled science on the question, ‘Is my house safe?’” Chen said. “‘What needs to be done to make it safe?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles firestorm were among the strongest advocates for changes. More than a quarter of all insurance claims stemming from the fires were for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047275/6-months-after-januarys-fires-recovery-is-just-beginning-for-many\">smoke damage\u003c/a> to homes that didn’t burn, according to estimates from the California Department of Insurance. Smoke-damaged homes can be polluted with lead, asbestos, benzene and other toxic substances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“California will not leave survivors to navigate recovery alone,” Newsom said in a press release. “These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1795\">bill\u003c/a>, AB 1795, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For too many wildfire survivors, the end of the fire has never meant the end of the disaster. Families have spent months, and sometimes years, fighting over whether their homes were safe while navigating confusing and inconsistent insurance claims,” Lara said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This law closes a dangerous gap that left wildfire survivors without clear standards, clear answers, and often a clear path home.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the California Air Resources Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control will develop standards for testing, remediating and restoring the lead and asbestos contamination that can come from wildfire smoke. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance companies will have to assume that smoke damage from a wildfire impact zone came from the fire — meaning homeowners will not have to find a way to prove the cause — and will have to pay for the necessary testing, remediation and the living expenses of the household until the home is fixed and safe. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Policyholders will still have the right to select the restoration contractors of their choice. Insurance adjusters will get specialized training for handling smoke-damage claims. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance broker Karl Susman, who lives in Southern California, said what he observed wasn’t so much the problem of claims getting denied, “they just were getting paid so inconsistently.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might have one company that says, ‘We’re going to come in there, clean it all up, and we’re going to pay for you to live somewhere while we’re doing it.’ Another company would come in and say, ‘Yeah, just get a vacuum and you should be good.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other companies, he noted, might say the damage was so bad that everything in the house, including drywall, needed replacing. Each company is following interpretations of their own policies, he said, “but clearly a different outcome.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some industry groups opposed the bill, saying in part that it would increase costs for policy holders. A request for comment to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, one of the registered opponents of the bill, was not responded to by deadline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the LA fires were among the strongest advocates for the new law. The bill is not retroactive, however, so survivors will not in general be able to take care of the newfound clarity around insurance company’s responsibilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Still, the consumer protection win was celebrated by advocates, including Amy Bach, executive director of San Francisco-based advocacy group United Policyholders. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The organization “has been fighting for over a decade to get insurers to routinely test and thoroughly restore wildfire-damaged homes and not mislead residents that their homes are safe to move back into when they aren’t,” Bach said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Governor’s signature on AB 1795 paves the way for better outcomes and fewer disputes going forward. We commend the Commissioner’s team for the countless hours spent with survivors, insurers, scientists, and professionals to craft these protections.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“For future fire survivors, they will have peace of mind as well as safety,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the advocacy group Every Fire Survivor’s Network. Her home suffered smoke damage during the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles firestorm were among the strongest advocates for changes. More than a quarter of all insurance claims stemming from the fires were for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047275/6-months-after-januarys-fires-recovery-is-just-beginning-for-many\">smoke damage\u003c/a> to homes that didn’t burn, according to estimates from the California Department of Insurance. Smoke-damaged homes can be polluted with lead, asbestos, benzene and other toxic substances. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“California will not leave survivors to navigate recovery alone,” Newsom said in a press release. “These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1795\">bill\u003c/a>, AB 1795, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1795\">bill\u003c/a>, AB 1795, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“For too many wildfire survivors, the end of the fire has never meant the end of the disaster. Families have spent months, and sometimes years, fighting over whether their homes were safe while navigating confusing and inconsistent insurance claims,” Lara said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“For too many wildfire survivors, the end of the fire has never meant the end of the disaster. Families have spent months, and sometimes years, fighting over whether their homes were safe while navigating confusing and inconsistent insurance claims,” Lara said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This law closes a dangerous gap that left wildfire survivors without clear standards, clear answers, and often a clear path home.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the California Air Resources Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control will develop standards for testing, remediating and restoring the lead and asbestos contamination that can come from wildfire smoke. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the California Air Resources Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control will develop standards for testing, remediating and restoring the lead and asbestos contamination that can come from wildfire smoke. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Insurance companies will have to assume that smoke damage from a wildfire impact zone came from the fire — meaning homeowners will not have to find a way to prove the cause — and will have to pay for the necessary testing, remediation and the living expenses of the household until the home is fixed and safe. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Insurance companies will have to assume that smoke damage from a wildfire impact zone came from the fire — meaning homeowners will not have to find a way to prove the cause — and will have to pay for the necessary testing, remediation and the living expenses of the household until the home is fixed and safe. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Policyholders will still have the right to select the restoration contractors of their choice. Insurance adjusters will get specialized training for handling smoke-damage claims. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Insurance broker Karl Susman, who lives in Southern California, said what he observed wasn’t so much the problem of claims getting denied, “they just were getting paid so inconsistently.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You might have one company that says, ‘We’re going to come in there, clean it all up, and we’re going to pay for you to live somewhere while we’re doing it.’ Another company would come in and say, ‘Yeah, just get a vacuum and you should be good.’” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other companies, he noted, might say the damage was so bad that everything in the house, including drywall, needed replacing. Each company is following interpretations of their own policies, he said, “but clearly a different outcome.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other companies, he noted, might say the damage was so bad that everything in the house, including drywall, needed replacing. Each company is following interpretations of their own policies, he said, “but clearly a different outcome.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some industry groups opposed the bill, saying in part that it would increase costs for policy holders. A request for comment to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, one of the registered opponents of the bill, was not responded to by deadline. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some industry groups opposed the bill, saying in part that it would increase costs for policy holders. A request for comment to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, one of the registered opponents of the bill, was not responded to by deadline. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Survivors of the LA fires were among the strongest advocates for the new law. The bill is not retroactive, however, so survivors will not in general be able to take care of the newfound clarity around insurance company’s responsibilities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Still, the consumer protection win was celebrated by advocates, including Amy Bach, executive director of San Francisco-based advocacy group United Policyholders. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The organization “has been fighting for over a decade to get insurers to routinely test and thoroughly restore wildfire-damaged homes and not mislead residents that their homes are safe to move back into when they aren’t,” Bach said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The organization “has been fighting for over a decade to get insurers to routinely test and thoroughly restore wildfire-damaged homes and not mislead residents that their homes are safe to move back into when they aren’t,” Bach said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Governor’s signature on AB 1795 paves the way for better outcomes and fewer disputes going forward. We commend the Commissioner’s team for the countless hours spent with survivors, insurers, scientists, and professionals to craft these protections.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>One of the paradoxes facing people whose homes survive a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire\u003c/a> is that they are often still victims of it. Sometimes, they have the least help for restoring their home to how it was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How insurance ought to address the damage caused by heat and smoke, even if the building never caught on fire, has been unclear, leaving survivors fighting to prove their homes were unsafe and to have their claims covered — until now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation into law that establishes the nation’s first enforceable standards for testing and fixing smoke-damaged homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For future fire survivors, they will have peace of mind as well as safety,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the advocacy group Every Fire Survivor’s Network. Her home suffered smoke damage during the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ideally we’ll get some settled science on the question, ‘Is my house safe?’” Chen said. “‘What needs to be done to make it safe?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles firestorm were among the strongest advocates for changes. More than a quarter of all insurance claims stemming from the fires were for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047275/6-months-after-januarys-fires-recovery-is-just-beginning-for-many\">smoke damage\u003c/a> to homes that didn’t burn, according to estimates from the California Department of Insurance. Smoke-damaged homes can be polluted with lead, asbestos, benzene and other toxic substances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“California will not leave survivors to navigate recovery alone,” Newsom said in a press release. “These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1795\">bill\u003c/a>, AB 1795, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For too many wildfire survivors, the end of the fire has never meant the end of the disaster. Families have spent months, and sometimes years, fighting over whether their homes were safe while navigating confusing and inconsistent insurance claims,” Lara said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This law closes a dangerous gap that left wildfire survivors without clear standards, clear answers, and often a clear path home.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the California Air Resources Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control will develop standards for testing, remediating and restoring the lead and asbestos contamination that can come from wildfire smoke. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance companies will have to assume that smoke damage from a wildfire impact zone came from the fire — meaning homeowners will not have to find a way to prove the cause — and will have to pay for the necessary testing, remediation and the living expenses of the household until the home is fixed and safe. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Policyholders will still have the right to select the restoration contractors of their choice. Insurance adjusters will get specialized training for handling smoke-damage claims. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance broker Karl Susman, who lives in Southern California, said what he observed wasn’t so much the problem of claims getting denied, “they just were getting paid so inconsistently.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might have one company that says, ‘We’re going to come in there, clean it all up, and we’re going to pay for you to live somewhere while we’re doing it.’ Another company would come in and say, ‘Yeah, just get a vacuum and you should be good.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other companies, he noted, might say the damage was so bad that everything in the house, including drywall, needed replacing. Each company is following interpretations of their own policies, he said, “but clearly a different outcome.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some industry groups opposed the bill, saying in part that it would increase costs for policy holders. A request for comment to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, one of the registered opponents of the bill, was not responded to by deadline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the LA fires were among the strongest advocates for the new law. The bill is not retroactive, however, so survivors will not in general be able to take care of the newfound clarity around insurance company’s responsibilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Still, the consumer protection win was celebrated by advocates, including Amy Bach, executive director of San Francisco-based advocacy group United Policyholders. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The organization “has been fighting for over a decade to get insurers to routinely test and thoroughly restore wildfire-damaged homes and not mislead residents that their homes are safe to move back into when they aren’t,” Bach said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Governor’s signature on AB 1795 paves the way for better outcomes and fewer disputes going forward. We commend the Commissioner’s team for the countless hours spent with survivors, insurers, scientists, and professionals to craft these protections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke",
"title": "Shield Yourself From Wildfire Smoke: What You Need to Know",
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"content": "\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960130/4-things-about-californias-wildfire-smoke-climate-change\">wildfires worsen\u003c/a>, it’s become a familiar routine. You wake to see a haze in the sky, and a strange tinge to the light. You start to feel burning in your throat and irritation in your eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">the online air quality map\u003c/a> — the one you probably have bookmarked by now — confirms what you already suspected: that smoke from nearby wildfires is in the air once again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unhealthy air quality caused by fires has become an unfortunate reality for Bay Area residents, especially for those whose jobs or living circumstances mean they must spend most of the day outdoors. It might be tempting to try to go on with your day as normal. But the risks to your health from poor air quality due to wildfire smoke are serious and can cause long-lasting damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, there are several ways you can protect yourself and your loved ones from hazardous air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Jump straight to: \u003c/b>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Keep reading to find out how to prep your home for more smoky days, when it’s time to really worry about the air outdoors, and what to do when wildfire smoke hits your neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And remember: The following advice can also help protect your respiratory health on days that a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sparetheair.org/\">Spare the Air alert\u003c/a> has been issued, when concentrations of smog are expected to be unhealthy.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why is smoke from a wildfire so dangerous to my health?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What we call “wildfire smoke” is actually an ever-changing mix of particles and gases, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals, nitrogen oxides and trace minerals. Many of these compounds are toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the most dangerous thing for your health in wildfire smoke is the particulate matter: that is, the tiny pieces of soot and ash that are invisible to the naked eye. These particles are so small they’re measured in \u003ca href=\"https://sciencenotes.org/what-is-a-micron-definition-and-examples/\">microns (0.001 millimeters)\u003c/a> — and the most worrying particles in smoke can be less than 2.5 microns wide. For scale, a human hair is about 60 microns wide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also so light that they can travel huge distances from a raging wildfire. And when it comes to your respiratory system, these tiny traveling particles then become miniscule invaders that first cause damage to your body just by entering it, setting off inflammatory reactions that can make breathing difficult. In serious cases, these reactions can even trigger a heart attack or stroke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1930023]The particles then travel deep into your lungs, and within a few days, the damage they cause can result in bronchitis or pneumonia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Put simply: Even brief exposure to wildfire smoke can cause potentially serious health problems for everyone. People at higher risk include those with asthma, lung disease or heart disease, children and teens, older adults age 65+ and people who don’t live or work indoors. Pregnant people and their unborn infants are at particularly heightened risk from these particulates, which have been associated with low birth weight and premature birth for babies.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to prepare for dangerous air quality\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since dangerously unhealthy air from wildfires can sweep in with little to no warning, it’s important to be ready beforehand. The Environmental Protection Agency, \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">via its AirNow website\u003c/a>, recommends taking certain steps to ensure you and your home are prepared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find — or make — a portable air purifier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board recommends portable mechanical air cleaners with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter that collects very small particles and does not emit ozone or other harmful substances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These air cleaners dramatically reduce indoor particle levels, in some cases by more than 90%. \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/aircleaners/certified.htm\">Here is a list of devices that are certified by and legal in California\u003c/a>. If you can’t get a portable air purifier, the EPA \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">has tips on how to make your own DIY air cleaner from a box fan and filter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1950002\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 3456px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1950002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3456\" height=\"2304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg 3456w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3456px) 100vw, 3456px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke shrouds a road near Geyserville during a wildfire on Oct. 24, 2019. \u003ccite>(Danielle Venton/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Make a ‘clean air room’ — and keep it cool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA suggests designating a ‘clean air room’ in your home, one you can quickly seal off from any outside air and in which you can run a portable clean air filter. If excessive heat is a concern where you live, and you have a room with an air conditioner, this room might be best to select — just be sure to keep the fresh-air intake closed on any air conditioners to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside. If it’s not feasible to designate a single clean air room, consider purchasing multiple portable air purifiers and ensure your home is properly sealed to outside air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During heat waves, pay attention to temperature forecasts and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878134/bay-area-heat-wave-how-to-stay-safe-during-dangerously-hot-weather\">know how to stay safe in the heat\u003c/a>. Even if you don’t have air conditioning, keep doors and windows closed. This can reduce pollutant levels by 50%, according to the EPA. If you can’t stay cool at home or at a friend or relative’s house, the EPA suggests seeking relief at a clean air shelter or other large building with air conditioning and good filtration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stock up on filters for your air purifiers now\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether for portable air purifiers or a central HVAC system (if you have one), it’s a good idea to stock up on replacement air filters before the need arises. If you wait until smoky air descends, the EPA warns, supplies may be out of stock or may not arrive in time to be helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re using a central HVAC system, make sure to purchase high-efficiency filters rated MERV-13 or higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11834305]\u003cstrong>Have masks ready to wear\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834305/masks-for-smoke-and-covid-19-what-kind-is-best\">what kind of masks offer the best protection against wildfire smoke, \u003c/a>the answer is still: that collection of N95 or KN95 masks you may have stocked up on due to COVID. If you don’t have any left, now is a good time to stock up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for N95 masks with exhalation valves, it’s worth noting that these masks work well for wildfire smoke and may be easier to breathe through longer-term. But they’re less effective at stopping the spread of diseases like COVID — even with tape over the valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The least effective options are one‐strap paper dust masks or surgical masks that hook around your ears — they don’t protect against inhaling fine particles. Note that a cloth mask will not adequately protect your lungs from particles found in wildfire smoke, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">\u003c/a>How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Check your local air quality\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">Bookmark our real-time Bay Area air quality map\u003c/a>, which includes data from official EPA AirNow sensors, as well as from dozens of low-cost private sensors manufactured by PurpleAir. There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969271/making-sense-of-purple-air-vs-airnow-and-a-new-map-to-rule-them-all\">a few points to keep in mind\u003c/a> if you’re noticing discrepancies between what those sensors are reporting. Keep a close eye on local air quality reports to gauge how much time is safe for you and your family to spend outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1993529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 638px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1993529\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"638\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png 638w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1-160x105.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The air quality index (AQI) is divided into six categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern. \u003ccite>(Courtesy EPA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the air quality index (AQI) rises to 101 or above, consider taking steps to reduce exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep your indoor area purified\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure all doors and windows are closed and turn on those portable air purifiers, or crank your central HVAC system with a MERV-13 or higher-rated filter, if you have one. If you’re running an air conditioner, keep the fresh-air intake closed to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leave your portable air cleaners running continuously and avoid activities that increase indoor pollution. Burning candles, cooking on gas stoves and vacuuming can all increase indoor pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Driving? Don’t let smoke inside your car\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District recommends that on smoky days, you use the “recirculating air” button in your car’s air conditioning system, if you have one (it’s the button with the symbol of a car with a looping arrow inside it).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When your recirculating air is on, your car will stop taking in any air from the outside — and instead, your AC will recirculate the air that’s already inside your car. This will help prevent smoke outside from entering your car while still keeping the inside of your car cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Help the smoke leave your body\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve been exposed to wildfire smoke, wash your nose out and gargle with clean water. Do this five times a day until the smoke subsides. Take a shower and wash your clothing after being outside, even if your clothes don’t smell particularly smoky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep pets inside\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether house pets or livestock, domestic animals are affected by wildfire smoke, too. During periods of poor air quality, try to limit their time outside as much as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Air pollution from wildfire smoke can pose serious health risks. Here are some key steps you can take both before and during smoky days.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960130/4-things-about-californias-wildfire-smoke-climate-change\">wildfires worsen\u003c/a>, it’s become a familiar routine. You wake to see a haze in the sky, and a strange tinge to the light. You start to feel burning in your throat and irritation in your eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">the online air quality map\u003c/a> — the one you probably have bookmarked by now — confirms what you already suspected: that smoke from nearby wildfires is in the air once again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unhealthy air quality caused by fires has become an unfortunate reality for Bay Area residents, especially for those whose jobs or living circumstances mean they must spend most of the day outdoors. It might be tempting to try to go on with your day as normal. But the risks to your health from poor air quality due to wildfire smoke are serious and can cause long-lasting damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, there are several ways you can protect yourself and your loved ones from hazardous air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Jump straight to: \u003c/b>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Keep reading to find out how to prep your home for more smoky days, when it’s time to really worry about the air outdoors, and what to do when wildfire smoke hits your neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And remember: The following advice can also help protect your respiratory health on days that a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sparetheair.org/\">Spare the Air alert\u003c/a> has been issued, when concentrations of smog are expected to be unhealthy.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why is smoke from a wildfire so dangerous to my health?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What we call “wildfire smoke” is actually an ever-changing mix of particles and gases, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals, nitrogen oxides and trace minerals. Many of these compounds are toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the most dangerous thing for your health in wildfire smoke is the particulate matter: that is, the tiny pieces of soot and ash that are invisible to the naked eye. These particles are so small they’re measured in \u003ca href=\"https://sciencenotes.org/what-is-a-micron-definition-and-examples/\">microns (0.001 millimeters)\u003c/a> — and the most worrying particles in smoke can be less than 2.5 microns wide. For scale, a human hair is about 60 microns wide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also so light that they can travel huge distances from a raging wildfire. And when it comes to your respiratory system, these tiny traveling particles then become miniscule invaders that first cause damage to your body just by entering it, setting off inflammatory reactions that can make breathing difficult. In serious cases, these reactions can even trigger a heart attack or stroke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The particles then travel deep into your lungs, and within a few days, the damage they cause can result in bronchitis or pneumonia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Put simply: Even brief exposure to wildfire smoke can cause potentially serious health problems for everyone. People at higher risk include those with asthma, lung disease or heart disease, children and teens, older adults age 65+ and people who don’t live or work indoors. Pregnant people and their unborn infants are at particularly heightened risk from these particulates, which have been associated with low birth weight and premature birth for babies.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to prepare for dangerous air quality\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since dangerously unhealthy air from wildfires can sweep in with little to no warning, it’s important to be ready beforehand. The Environmental Protection Agency, \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">via its AirNow website\u003c/a>, recommends taking certain steps to ensure you and your home are prepared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find — or make — a portable air purifier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board recommends portable mechanical air cleaners with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter that collects very small particles and does not emit ozone or other harmful substances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These air cleaners dramatically reduce indoor particle levels, in some cases by more than 90%. \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/aircleaners/certified.htm\">Here is a list of devices that are certified by and legal in California\u003c/a>. If you can’t get a portable air purifier, the EPA \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">has tips on how to make your own DIY air cleaner from a box fan and filter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1950002\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 3456px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1950002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3456\" height=\"2304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg 3456w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3456px) 100vw, 3456px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke shrouds a road near Geyserville during a wildfire on Oct. 24, 2019. \u003ccite>(Danielle Venton/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Make a ‘clean air room’ — and keep it cool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA suggests designating a ‘clean air room’ in your home, one you can quickly seal off from any outside air and in which you can run a portable clean air filter. If excessive heat is a concern where you live, and you have a room with an air conditioner, this room might be best to select — just be sure to keep the fresh-air intake closed on any air conditioners to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside. If it’s not feasible to designate a single clean air room, consider purchasing multiple portable air purifiers and ensure your home is properly sealed to outside air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During heat waves, pay attention to temperature forecasts and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878134/bay-area-heat-wave-how-to-stay-safe-during-dangerously-hot-weather\">know how to stay safe in the heat\u003c/a>. Even if you don’t have air conditioning, keep doors and windows closed. This can reduce pollutant levels by 50%, according to the EPA. If you can’t stay cool at home or at a friend or relative’s house, the EPA suggests seeking relief at a clean air shelter or other large building with air conditioning and good filtration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stock up on filters for your air purifiers now\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether for portable air purifiers or a central HVAC system (if you have one), it’s a good idea to stock up on replacement air filters before the need arises. If you wait until smoky air descends, the EPA warns, supplies may be out of stock or may not arrive in time to be helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re using a central HVAC system, make sure to purchase high-efficiency filters rated MERV-13 or higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Have masks ready to wear\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834305/masks-for-smoke-and-covid-19-what-kind-is-best\">what kind of masks offer the best protection against wildfire smoke, \u003c/a>the answer is still: that collection of N95 or KN95 masks you may have stocked up on due to COVID. If you don’t have any left, now is a good time to stock up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for N95 masks with exhalation valves, it’s worth noting that these masks work well for wildfire smoke and may be easier to breathe through longer-term. But they’re less effective at stopping the spread of diseases like COVID — even with tape over the valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The least effective options are one‐strap paper dust masks or surgical masks that hook around your ears — they don’t protect against inhaling fine particles. Note that a cloth mask will not adequately protect your lungs from particles found in wildfire smoke, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">\u003c/a>How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Check your local air quality\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">Bookmark our real-time Bay Area air quality map\u003c/a>, which includes data from official EPA AirNow sensors, as well as from dozens of low-cost private sensors manufactured by PurpleAir. There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969271/making-sense-of-purple-air-vs-airnow-and-a-new-map-to-rule-them-all\">a few points to keep in mind\u003c/a> if you’re noticing discrepancies between what those sensors are reporting. Keep a close eye on local air quality reports to gauge how much time is safe for you and your family to spend outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1993529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 638px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1993529\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"638\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png 638w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1-160x105.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The air quality index (AQI) is divided into six categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern. \u003ccite>(Courtesy EPA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the air quality index (AQI) rises to 101 or above, consider taking steps to reduce exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep your indoor area purified\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure all doors and windows are closed and turn on those portable air purifiers, or crank your central HVAC system with a MERV-13 or higher-rated filter, if you have one. If you’re running an air conditioner, keep the fresh-air intake closed to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leave your portable air cleaners running continuously and avoid activities that increase indoor pollution. Burning candles, cooking on gas stoves and vacuuming can all increase indoor pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Driving? Don’t let smoke inside your car\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District recommends that on smoky days, you use the “recirculating air” button in your car’s air conditioning system, if you have one (it’s the button with the symbol of a car with a looping arrow inside it).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When your recirculating air is on, your car will stop taking in any air from the outside — and instead, your AC will recirculate the air that’s already inside your car. This will help prevent smoke outside from entering your car while still keeping the inside of your car cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Help the smoke leave your body\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve been exposed to wildfire smoke, wash your nose out and gargle with clean water. Do this five times a day until the smoke subsides. Take a shower and wash your clothing after being outside, even if your clothes don’t smell particularly smoky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep pets inside\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether house pets or livestock, domestic animals are affected by wildfire smoke, too. During periods of poor air quality, try to limit their time outside as much as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1968622/mapa-reporte-actual-de-la-calidad-del-aire-en-el-area-de-la-bahia\">Leer en español\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Concerned about wildfire smoke in your region? This map shows air quality ratings for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> and California, updated every hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The large circles on the map show Air Quality Index (AQI) values — for ozone and AQI2.5 — as measured at official, outdoor permanent monitoring sites managed in the Bay Area by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/current-air-quality\">Air Quality Management District\u003c/a> and submitted to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/\">U.S. EPA’s AirNow database\u003c/a>. Data from these sensors is updated hourly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smaller squares show real-time PM2.5 readings at low-cost, individually owned \u003ca href=\"https://map.purpleair.com/air-quality-standards-us-epa-aqi?opt=%2F1%2Flp%2Fa10%2Fp604800%2FcC0#7.72/37.63/-121.556\">PurpleAir sensors\u003c/a> that may be located indoors or outdoors. Data is updated every four hours. Outliers may be a result of localized activities, such as small fires or exposure to vehicle exhaust. Alternatively, healthy air quality in an otherwise unhealthy location could be the result of a sensor placed in a well-ventilated indoor area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Use the layer selector in the top left corner to toggle between layer views, including current wind and weather patterns, based on hourly weather station data provided by NOAA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If the map does not display below, \u003ca href=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a5534be2dbad4a168130942a641ab643\">view it here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%;\" align=\"center\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a5534be2dbad4a168130942a641ab643\" width=\"100%\" height=\"700\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Map produced by Matthew Green and \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-soule-6a085819/\">Brendan Soulé\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>What does AQI mean?\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a scale used to measure and report air pollution levels. It tells you how clean or polluted the air is and what health effects might be a concern. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, AQI values above 100 are considered unhealthy. Specifically, values between 101-150 are unhealthy for sensitive groups (like children, older adults, and people with heart or lung disease), 151-200 are unhealthy, 201-300 are very unhealthy, and anything over 300 is considered hazardous. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the air quality is poor (AQI above 100), it’s best to limit prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. Sensitive groups should be especially cautious and may need to stay indoors. Checking the air quality forecast can help you plan your activities accordingly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Want more information about air quality and wildfire smoke?\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969271/making-sense-of-purple-air-vs-airnow-and-a-new-map-to-rule-them-all\">How to read air quality maps properly, from Purple Air to AirNow\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834305/masks-for-smoke-and-covid-19-what-kind-is-best\">Which masks are best for smoke?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Here is an expanded list of other air quality measurement resources:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://mobile.arb.ca.gov/breathewell/CityList.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Air Resource Board Breathewell for Mobile\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://aqicn.org/city/california/san-francisco/san-francisco-arkansas-street/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World Air Quality Index\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.7576497&lng=-122.4353884&zoom=10\">AirNow is also running a project\u003c/a> that adds data from low-cost sensors to a fire and smoke map.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Breathe easy: this regularly-updated air quality map shows wildfire smoke impacts across the Bay Area.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1968622/mapa-reporte-actual-de-la-calidad-del-aire-en-el-area-de-la-bahia\">Leer en español\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Concerned about wildfire smoke in your region? This map shows air quality ratings for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> and California, updated every hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The large circles on the map show Air Quality Index (AQI) values — for ozone and AQI2.5 — as measured at official, outdoor permanent monitoring sites managed in the Bay Area by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/current-air-quality\">Air Quality Management District\u003c/a> and submitted to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/\">U.S. EPA’s AirNow database\u003c/a>. Data from these sensors is updated hourly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smaller squares show real-time PM2.5 readings at low-cost, individually owned \u003ca href=\"https://map.purpleair.com/air-quality-standards-us-epa-aqi?opt=%2F1%2Flp%2Fa10%2Fp604800%2FcC0#7.72/37.63/-121.556\">PurpleAir sensors\u003c/a> that may be located indoors or outdoors. Data is updated every four hours. Outliers may be a result of localized activities, such as small fires or exposure to vehicle exhaust. Alternatively, healthy air quality in an otherwise unhealthy location could be the result of a sensor placed in a well-ventilated indoor area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Use the layer selector in the top left corner to toggle between layer views, including current wind and weather patterns, based on hourly weather station data provided by NOAA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If the map does not display below, \u003ca href=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a5534be2dbad4a168130942a641ab643\">view it here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%;\" align=\"center\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqedsf.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a5534be2dbad4a168130942a641ab643\" width=\"100%\" height=\"700\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Map produced by Matthew Green and \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-soule-6a085819/\">Brendan Soulé\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>What does AQI mean?\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a scale used to measure and report air pollution levels. It tells you how clean or polluted the air is and what health effects might be a concern. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, AQI values above 100 are considered unhealthy. Specifically, values between 101-150 are unhealthy for sensitive groups (like children, older adults, and people with heart or lung disease), 151-200 are unhealthy, 201-300 are very unhealthy, and anything over 300 is considered hazardous. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the air quality is poor (AQI above 100), it’s best to limit prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. Sensitive groups should be especially cautious and may need to stay indoors. Checking the air quality forecast can help you plan your activities accordingly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Want more information about air quality and wildfire smoke?\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969271/making-sense-of-purple-air-vs-airnow-and-a-new-map-to-rule-them-all\">How to read air quality maps properly, from Purple Air to AirNow\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834305/masks-for-smoke-and-covid-19-what-kind-is-best\">Which masks are best for smoke?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Here is an expanded list of other air quality measurement resources:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://mobile.arb.ca.gov/breathewell/CityList.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Air Resource Board Breathewell for Mobile\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://aqicn.org/city/california/san-francisco/san-francisco-arkansas-street/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World Air Quality Index\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.7576497&lng=-122.4353884&zoom=10\">AirNow is also running a project\u003c/a> that adds data from low-cost sensors to a fire and smoke map.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.[aside postID=news_12086933 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-21603288801.jpg']California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Fire risk experts cautioned California lawmakers this week that the state needs to change course to both survive and bounce back from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021019/la-fires-threaten-california-insurance-market-stability-housing-costs\">wildfires\u003c/a> and other natural catastrophes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state Capitol on Tuesday, Nancy Watkins, an actuary at financial adviser Milliman who specializes in fire risk and insurance, counseled lawmakers that the state needs to stop “nibbling around the edges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody is going to save California from our decisions,” she said. “The state has to really step in and be more strategic about how to make things happen faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/senate-leader-taps-senators-becker-and-padilla-advance-effort-wildfire-recovery-and-energy\">statement on \u003c/a>Wednesday, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, and Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said they would study the report’s findings and develop a plan to help strengthen recovery efforts and protect residents from rising energy and insurance costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This work is essential,” Becker said. “We must advance reforms that protect access to insurance, lower costs, support wildfire resilience, and provide fair outcomes for those impacted — while ensuring our utilities are both accountable for safety and financially stable enough to attract low-cost capital on behalf of ratepayers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires over the past decade have driven up \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985175/insurance-in-california-is-changing-heres-how-it-may-affect-you\">home insurance \u003c/a>rates and made coverage harder to obtain in many parts of California. In response, the state has invested heavily in firefighting capacity, early fire-detection technology and vegetation management. But Watkins told legislators those efforts alone are not enough.[aside postID=science_2000680 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/480270735_qed-1020x680.jpg']“The buildup of wildfire risk is a state and a local issue. It’s arising from climate change, it also arises from decades of decisions that we’ve made on land use, building, fire suppression, and decades of regulatory decisions,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins said the state should focus more heavily on making communities less vulnerable to wildfire by making them less ready to burn, rather than relying primarily on detecting and extinguishing fires quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot address this problem through ignition reduction, fuel reduction, or fire suppression, and we definitely can’t get it just through early detection. This all has to include home hardening and defensible space within communities at a much, much greater scale than has been done,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins recently co-authored an\u003ca href=\"https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/state-wildfire-mitigation-framework-measure-twice-cut-once\"> article\u003c/a> with Michael Wara of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University and Dave Winnacker, wildfire policy adviser of the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which outlined a roadmap for reducing wildfire risk in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Watkins said the paper was intended to give policymakers “explicit, tangible steps” to better protect communities and reduce the state’s growing wildfire exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fire risk experts cautioned California lawmakers this week that the state needs to change course to both survive and bounce back from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021019/la-fires-threaten-california-insurance-market-stability-housing-costs\">wildfires\u003c/a> and other natural catastrophes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state Capitol on Tuesday, Nancy Watkins, an actuary at financial adviser Milliman who specializes in fire risk and insurance, counseled lawmakers that the state needs to stop “nibbling around the edges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody is going to save California from our decisions,” she said. “The state has to really step in and be more strategic about how to make things happen faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/senate-leader-taps-senators-becker-and-padilla-advance-effort-wildfire-recovery-and-energy\">statement on \u003c/a>Wednesday, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, and Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said they would study the report’s findings and develop a plan to help strengthen recovery efforts and protect residents from rising energy and insurance costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This work is essential,” Becker said. “We must advance reforms that protect access to insurance, lower costs, support wildfire resilience, and provide fair outcomes for those impacted — while ensuring our utilities are both accountable for safety and financially stable enough to attract low-cost capital on behalf of ratepayers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires over the past decade have driven up \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985175/insurance-in-california-is-changing-heres-how-it-may-affect-you\">home insurance \u003c/a>rates and made coverage harder to obtain in many parts of California. In response, the state has invested heavily in firefighting capacity, early fire-detection technology and vegetation management. But Watkins told legislators those efforts alone are not enough.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The buildup of wildfire risk is a state and a local issue. It’s arising from climate change, it also arises from decades of decisions that we’ve made on land use, building, fire suppression, and decades of regulatory decisions,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins said the state should focus more heavily on making communities less vulnerable to wildfire by making them less ready to burn, rather than relying primarily on detecting and extinguishing fires quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot address this problem through ignition reduction, fuel reduction, or fire suppression, and we definitely can’t get it just through early detection. This all has to include home hardening and defensible space within communities at a much, much greater scale than has been done,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins recently co-authored an\u003ca href=\"https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/state-wildfire-mitigation-framework-measure-twice-cut-once\"> article\u003c/a> with Michael Wara of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University and Dave Winnacker, wildfire policy adviser of the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which outlined a roadmap for reducing wildfire risk in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Watkins said the paper was intended to give policymakers “explicit, tangible steps” to better protect communities and reduce the state’s growing wildfire exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "living-with-fire-inside-northern-californias-first-wildfire-prepared-neighborhood",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the small \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/sierra-nevada\">Sierra\u003c/a> foothills community of Cameron Park, state officials, Cal Fire leaders, members of the insurance and construction industries, and a group of “El Dorado Roses” gathered around a yellow ceremonial ribbon. The Roses — mature women in Victorian dresses with large hats festooned in artificial flowers who serve as ambassadors for El Dorado County’s Chamber of Commerce — had come to celebrate the opening of new model homes for a unique neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 24 single-story homes planned for the Stone Canyon development in Cameron Park, now under construction and up for sale, will form Northern California’s first “wildfire-prepared neighborhood.” Developers and policymakers hope the designation from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety could offer a blueprint for building — and insuring — homes in an era of megafires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With insurance companies reluctant to insure fire-prone parts of California after a string of catastrophic blazes, state officials and builders are increasingly looking to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024420/rebuilding-la-heres-what-fire-survivors-and-experts-say-is-key\">fire-hardened construction\u003c/a> to keep housing both insurable and habitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fire-hardened homes are the future of the state of California,” El Dorado County Supervisor George Turnboo said. He bemoaned the plight of Caldor Fire survivors in his district who find \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021019/la-fires-threaten-california-insurance-market-stability-housing-costs\">insurance difficult to obtain\u003c/a> — including himself. He said he now pays $10,000 a year for insurance that once cost $900.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The construction company leading the Stone Canyon project, KB Home, is betting that fire-prepared construction will attract buyers seeking peace of mind — and make it easier for them to obtain insurance. Nam Joe, Sacramento division president for KB Home, said buyers in the company’s first wildfire-prepared neighborhood, in fire-prone Escondido, enjoy more insurance options than owners of non-prepared homes nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999915\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999915\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roy Wright, president and CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, stands in front of a home built to fire-ready specifications he helped design. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rachael Gauthier)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Walking around a model home at the Stone Canyon ribbon-cutting on Thursday, visitors’ feet crunched on small pebbles of crushed granite beside a circulating water fountain, paved stones, river rocks and drought-resistant plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is some of the most beautiful Zone 0 landscapes I’ve seen,” said Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS, as he detailed features of a model home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Zone 0” refers to the five-foot perimeter of crushed rock surrounding the entire house, designed to keep burning embers from collecting at the base of the walls.[aside postID=news_11833686 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/08/pexels-dids-1986996-1-1020x680-1.jpg']In examining homes that burned in last year’s L.A. fires, Wright said he and his team found that houses within range of fire had a 90% chance of damage or destruction if burnable material was within five feet of the home. They published their \u003ca href=\"https://ibhs.org/ibhs-news-releases/ibhs-findings-on-la-countys-palisades-and-eaton-fires/\">post-fire investigation\u003c/a> findings last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clearing flammable material within that perimeter is one of the most effective ways of hardening a home — and among the most accessible to homeowners. The practice is now the subject of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068943/after-devastating-la-fires-california-is-drafting-nations-toughest-rules-for-homes\">much-debated policy\u003c/a> under review by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for high fire-risk areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some homeowners associations have raised concerns that compliant homes will be unattractive or stripped of charm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there’s folks who have created an [inaccurate] narrative about what’s going to be required,” Wright said. “I think what we see here is something that really is survivable and beautiful at the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home’s backyard looks out onto mature oak woodland and wide green fields. Young trees, planted away from the house, line a fence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overhead, enclosed eaves stretch along the low edge of the Class A fire-resistant roof, designed to keep out embers blown in from a nearby wildfire. The windows are dual-paned and tempered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999914\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999914\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This newly-built model home in El Dorado County is designed to survive wildfires. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rachael Gauthier)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“So if one of them was to break, the other could still survive,” Wright said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The house’s siding and shutters are made of fiber cement board, covered in stucco all the way to the base of the structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The entire facade of this is non-combustible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>California is an expensive place to live. Are you feeling the pinch? \u003ca href=\"#Shareyourstory\">Share your story\u003c/a> with KQED by leaving us a voicemail at \u003ca href=\"tel:4155532115\">415-553-2115\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\">clicking here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>A vinyl fence surrounds the house, but it is connected to the structure by a five-foot metal gate. That way, Wright explained, even if the vinyl fence were to catch fire, it wouldn’t act as a connective wick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wright stressed the importance of all the safety components working together, noting that when every home on a block adheres to fire-prepared standards, the entire neighborhood becomes safer. In this sense, wildfire resilience differs from other weather- and climate-related hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unlike rain, wind, hail, simply doing the upgrades to one home, while important, is not enough,” Wright said. “The adjacent properties begin to affect the wildfire risk of these homes. And so the collective action across the entire development is what fundamentally changes the risk profile of this place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even nearby homes built decades ago will benefit, as a fire moving through the surrounding oaklands is less likely to ignite one of the fire-ready homes and trigger a structure-to-structure conflagration.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Shareyourstory\">\u003c/a>California is expensive. Share your story of how you get by\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The new Stone Canyon development in El Dorado County was built with wildfire in mind. It could offer a blueprint for building — and insuring — homes in an era of megafires.",
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"title": "Living With Fire: Inside Northern California’s First ‘Wildfire-Prepared Neighborhood’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the small \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/sierra-nevada\">Sierra\u003c/a> foothills community of Cameron Park, state officials, Cal Fire leaders, members of the insurance and construction industries, and a group of “El Dorado Roses” gathered around a yellow ceremonial ribbon. The Roses — mature women in Victorian dresses with large hats festooned in artificial flowers who serve as ambassadors for El Dorado County’s Chamber of Commerce — had come to celebrate the opening of new model homes for a unique neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 24 single-story homes planned for the Stone Canyon development in Cameron Park, now under construction and up for sale, will form Northern California’s first “wildfire-prepared neighborhood.” Developers and policymakers hope the designation from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety could offer a blueprint for building — and insuring — homes in an era of megafires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With insurance companies reluctant to insure fire-prone parts of California after a string of catastrophic blazes, state officials and builders are increasingly looking to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024420/rebuilding-la-heres-what-fire-survivors-and-experts-say-is-key\">fire-hardened construction\u003c/a> to keep housing both insurable and habitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fire-hardened homes are the future of the state of California,” El Dorado County Supervisor George Turnboo said. He bemoaned the plight of Caldor Fire survivors in his district who find \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021019/la-fires-threaten-california-insurance-market-stability-housing-costs\">insurance difficult to obtain\u003c/a> — including himself. He said he now pays $10,000 a year for insurance that once cost $900.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The construction company leading the Stone Canyon project, KB Home, is betting that fire-prepared construction will attract buyers seeking peace of mind — and make it easier for them to obtain insurance. Nam Joe, Sacramento division president for KB Home, said buyers in the company’s first wildfire-prepared neighborhood, in fire-prone Escondido, enjoy more insurance options than owners of non-prepared homes nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999915\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999915\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-04-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roy Wright, president and CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, stands in front of a home built to fire-ready specifications he helped design. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rachael Gauthier)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Walking around a model home at the Stone Canyon ribbon-cutting on Thursday, visitors’ feet crunched on small pebbles of crushed granite beside a circulating water fountain, paved stones, river rocks and drought-resistant plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is some of the most beautiful Zone 0 landscapes I’ve seen,” said Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS, as he detailed features of a model home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Zone 0” refers to the five-foot perimeter of crushed rock surrounding the entire house, designed to keep burning embers from collecting at the base of the walls.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In examining homes that burned in last year’s L.A. fires, Wright said he and his team found that houses within range of fire had a 90% chance of damage or destruction if burnable material was within five feet of the home. They published their \u003ca href=\"https://ibhs.org/ibhs-news-releases/ibhs-findings-on-la-countys-palisades-and-eaton-fires/\">post-fire investigation\u003c/a> findings last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clearing flammable material within that perimeter is one of the most effective ways of hardening a home — and among the most accessible to homeowners. The practice is now the subject of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068943/after-devastating-la-fires-california-is-drafting-nations-toughest-rules-for-homes\">much-debated policy\u003c/a> under review by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for high fire-risk areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some homeowners associations have raised concerns that compliant homes will be unattractive or stripped of charm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there’s folks who have created an [inaccurate] narrative about what’s going to be required,” Wright said. “I think what we see here is something that really is survivable and beautiful at the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home’s backyard looks out onto mature oak woodland and wide green fields. Young trees, planted away from the house, line a fence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overhead, enclosed eaves stretch along the low edge of the Class A fire-resistant roof, designed to keep out embers blown in from a nearby wildfire. The windows are dual-paned and tempered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999914\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999914\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-03-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This newly-built model home in El Dorado County is designed to survive wildfires. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rachael Gauthier)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“So if one of them was to break, the other could still survive,” Wright said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The house’s siding and shutters are made of fiber cement board, covered in stucco all the way to the base of the structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The entire facade of this is non-combustible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>California is an expensive place to live. Are you feeling the pinch? \u003ca href=\"#Shareyourstory\">Share your story\u003c/a> with KQED by leaving us a voicemail at \u003ca href=\"tel:4155532115\">415-553-2115\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header\">clicking here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>A vinyl fence surrounds the house, but it is connected to the structure by a five-foot metal gate. That way, Wright explained, even if the vinyl fence were to catch fire, it wouldn’t act as a connective wick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wright stressed the importance of all the safety components working together, noting that when every home on a block adheres to fire-prepared standards, the entire neighborhood becomes safer. In this sense, wildfire resilience differs from other weather- and climate-related hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unlike rain, wind, hail, simply doing the upgrades to one home, while important, is not enough,” Wright said. “The adjacent properties begin to affect the wildfire risk of these homes. And so the collective action across the entire development is what fundamentally changes the risk profile of this place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even nearby homes built decades ago will benefit, as a fire moving through the surrounding oaklands is less likely to ignite one of the fire-ready homes and trigger a structure-to-structure conflagration.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Shareyourstory\">\u003c/a>California is expensive. Share your story of how you get by\u003c/h2>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5v6Atf-zIWjJr8ZXgyOmDSRVu2kSdv4_RdPTIWLdBmnVoXg/viewform?usp=header'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "new-california-insurance-laws-on-the-books-in-2026",
"title": "New California Insurance Laws on the Books in 2026",
"publishDate": 1768237251,
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"headTitle": "New California Insurance Laws on the Books in 2026 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A new suite of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> laws aimed at improving property insurance for the state’s people took effect Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Primarily, the legislation focuses on promoting wildfire safety and consumer protections, with steps that increase transparency or customer convenience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance is crucial because it gives our lives some stability in an inherently and increasingly unstable world. Climate change is accelerating natural disasters, making insurance more expensive and less available. The laws the state passed in 2025 attempted to increase oversight, protections and convenience for Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that insurance companies are returning or expanding coverage in California in his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069094/in-final-state-of-state-speech-gov-newsom-says-california-offers-model-for-the-nation\">final State of the State speech\u003c/a>, but acknowledged that there is still “a lot of work to do here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His latest budget includes a financing program to help survivors of wildfires bridge the gap between insurance payouts and the costs of rebuilding. “This will help get survivors back in their homes much, much faster,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999802\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999802\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom, above right, speaks during his State of the State address on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That may be the case, but many Californians are still saddled with high insurance premiums that threaten affordable housing across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are the key insurance-focused measures:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>Eliminate “The List” Act (SB 495)\u003c/strong>: Insurance companies have generally required wildfire survivors to submit a detailed list of everything in their house destroyed in a disaster in order to get reimbursed for those items. A \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB495/id/3261341\">new law\u003c/a>, authored by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, eliminated this requirement. Insurance companies must now pay 60% of contents coverage limits, capped at $350,000, when customers lose their home in a qualifying disaster. Customers who do have a detailed list of all their belongings and their value can get 100%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was one of the laws Dave Jones, former state Insurance Commissioner from 2011 to 2018, thinks will have the greatest impact for Californians. Creating “the list” following a catastrophic loss was emotionally taxing and logistically difficult for many people. As commissioner, he said, his office got insurance companies to voluntarily reimburse people for up to 50% of coverage limits for personal contents. He was glad to see this codified in law and raised to 60%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The California Wildfire Public Model Act (SB 429)\u003c/strong>: Jones, who is now the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, was also glad to see a law passed that funds the nation’s first publicly available wildfire loss catastrophe model. More than a decade ago, the state of Florida built a catastrophe model for hurricanes and the state, insurers and residents have found it useful in understanding their risk from severe storms. California now allows insurance companies to use forward-looking “cat models,” which factor in risks due to climate change, and legislators felt a public model was needed as a transparent comparison point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Instead of just having to rely on the private proprietary models that the insurers have or that they license from private modeling vendors and then use and submit to the department for purposes of seeking approval of their rates,” Jones said, “there would be a publicly owned model.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999801\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999801\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Altadena resident Herb Wilson, 67, walks with his dog, Rosie, to survey the home he shares with his wife, Loyda, after it was destroyed in the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The couple was on vacation in Hawaii when the fire broke out, so they were not able to retrieve any belongings. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When insurance companies ask the Department of Insurance for a rate increase, the state can now compare estimates of the private and public models. Officials hope it will be useful for local and state planning and administrative agencies to get a grip on the potential catastrophic risks that California faces. It can also guide the state of California or local governments that want to guard against disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San José, authored \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB429/id/3191123\">the law\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The California Safe Homes Grant Program (AB 888)\u003c/strong>: Steps like installing fire-resistant roofs or changing landscaping around the home can do much to protect a home from fire, but the changes can come with a hefty price tag. \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB888/id/3131905\">This bill\u003c/a> establishes a program to help cover homeowner and community costs. The amount in the fund hasn’t yet been communicated. Authored by state Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, D-Whitter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The Insurance and Wildfire Safety Act (AB 1)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1/id/3272734\">This bill\u003c/a> requires California’s insurance regulators to regularly review and update their regulations designed to promote wildfire safety and encourage insurers to offer discounts for wildfire mitigation. Authored by Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The Business Insurance Protection Act (SB 547)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB547/id/3272909\">This extends\u003c/a> the protections homeowners receive after a fire, a one-year prohibition of non-renewals from insurance companies, to businesses, homeowners’ associations, condominiums, affordable housing units and nonprofits. Authored by state senators Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Alhambra, and Susan Rubio, D-West Covina.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The FAIR Plan Stabilization Act (AB 226)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB226/id/3046897\">This law\u003c/a> permits the FAIR plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, to access bonds if it’s at risk of bankruptcy. Jointly authored by Assemblymembers Lisa Calderon, D-Whitter, and David Alvarez, D-Chula Vista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998790\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998790\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The burnt remains of St. Mark’s Church and the school’s playground in\u003cbr>Altadena, California, on April 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>FAIR Plan oversight (AB 234)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB234/id/3053669\">This act\u003c/a> places two lawmakers, or someone they designate, on the FAIR Plan governing board in an attempt to increase transparency. This is one of the property insurance-related laws Karl Susman, insurance broker and owner of Susman Insurance Agency, said is overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve never had an idea of what’s going on behind the scenes with the FAIR Plan,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan has not publicly disclosed who is on the board and doesn’t have to explain their deliberations. The lawmakers on the board won’t have voting power, but they will be able to communicate with the public about what is happening. “I think that’s a really big one,” Susman said. “At least now when there’s a major problem we’re not going: ‘We don’t even know who to ask.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>FAIR Plan automatic payments (AB 290)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB290/id/3227449\">This bill\u003c/a> tries to prevent unintentional policy lapses in coverage from the FAIR Plan due to missed or delayed payments. It requires the FAIR plan to set up a system to accept automatic payments from policyholders. Authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-San Ramon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan “has an online portal where you can make payments, but it’s notoriously bad,” Susman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This law may make payments more convenient for FAIR Plan policyholders, he said, even if it seems like an odd thing to have to legislate. “If I told you how much time gets wasted on their payment portal, you’d say, ‘Oh my God, that’s crazy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bills that didn’t pass\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A bill that did not pass last year, to Jones’ disappointment, sought damages from the oil and gas industry for its role in rising temperatures and extreme weather-related disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would have allowed individuals, small businesses, and even the FAIR Plan to bring lawsuits directly against the industry for damages associated with emissions-driven, climate catastrophes.[aside postID=news_12069177 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-2000x1333.jpg']Last year, Colorado passed a bill (\u003ca href=\"https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1182\">HB25-1182\u003c/a>) that requires insurance companies to take into account home hardening, defensible space and landscape-scale forest management projects when they write or renew policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would mean lower prices for customers who mitigate their fire risk. A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1060\">similar bill\u003c/a> failed in California in 2024, but Jones hopes the idea is revisited. “It’s embarrassing that California not only is not the first state in the nation to enact it, but has not enacted it at all,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, California’s recent changes to how insurance works, he believes, will keep the industry going in the near and mid-term. But in the long run, he said, these tweaks won’t cut it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The increase of climate-driven disasters, Jones said, will overwhelm any of these regulatory changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unless we address the root cause, which are the emissions that are causing temperature rise, more severe and extreme weather-related events, killing more people, injuring more people, destroying more homes and businesses and then causing insurers to pay out more,” he said. “Unless we address the root causes, we’re going to continue to march towards an uninsurable future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "New California Insurance Laws on the Books in 2026 | KQED",
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"headline": "New California Insurance Laws on the Books in 2026",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A new suite of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> laws aimed at improving property insurance for the state’s people took effect Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Primarily, the legislation focuses on promoting wildfire safety and consumer protections, with steps that increase transparency or customer convenience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance is crucial because it gives our lives some stability in an inherently and increasingly unstable world. Climate change is accelerating natural disasters, making insurance more expensive and less available. The laws the state passed in 2025 attempted to increase oversight, protections and convenience for Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that insurance companies are returning or expanding coverage in California in his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069094/in-final-state-of-state-speech-gov-newsom-says-california-offers-model-for-the-nation\">final State of the State speech\u003c/a>, but acknowledged that there is still “a lot of work to do here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His latest budget includes a financing program to help survivors of wildfires bridge the gap between insurance payouts and the costs of rebuilding. “This will help get survivors back in their homes much, much faster,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999802\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999802\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP2-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom, above right, speaks during his State of the State address on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That may be the case, but many Californians are still saddled with high insurance premiums that threaten affordable housing across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are the key insurance-focused measures:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>Eliminate “The List” Act (SB 495)\u003c/strong>: Insurance companies have generally required wildfire survivors to submit a detailed list of everything in their house destroyed in a disaster in order to get reimbursed for those items. A \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB495/id/3261341\">new law\u003c/a>, authored by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, eliminated this requirement. Insurance companies must now pay 60% of contents coverage limits, capped at $350,000, when customers lose their home in a qualifying disaster. Customers who do have a detailed list of all their belongings and their value can get 100%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was one of the laws Dave Jones, former state Insurance Commissioner from 2011 to 2018, thinks will have the greatest impact for Californians. Creating “the list” following a catastrophic loss was emotionally taxing and logistically difficult for many people. As commissioner, he said, his office got insurance companies to voluntarily reimburse people for up to 50% of coverage limits for personal contents. He was glad to see this codified in law and raised to 60%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The California Wildfire Public Model Act (SB 429)\u003c/strong>: Jones, who is now the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, was also glad to see a law passed that funds the nation’s first publicly available wildfire loss catastrophe model. More than a decade ago, the state of Florida built a catastrophe model for hurricanes and the state, insurers and residents have found it useful in understanding their risk from severe storms. California now allows insurance companies to use forward-looking “cat models,” which factor in risks due to climate change, and legislators felt a public model was needed as a transparent comparison point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Instead of just having to rely on the private proprietary models that the insurers have or that they license from private modeling vendors and then use and submit to the department for purposes of seeking approval of their rates,” Jones said, “there would be a publicly owned model.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999801\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999801\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-029_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Altadena resident Herb Wilson, 67, walks with his dog, Rosie, to survey the home he shares with his wife, Loyda, after it was destroyed in the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The couple was on vacation in Hawaii when the fire broke out, so they were not able to retrieve any belongings. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When insurance companies ask the Department of Insurance for a rate increase, the state can now compare estimates of the private and public models. Officials hope it will be useful for local and state planning and administrative agencies to get a grip on the potential catastrophic risks that California faces. It can also guide the state of California or local governments that want to guard against disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San José, authored \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB429/id/3191123\">the law\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The California Safe Homes Grant Program (AB 888)\u003c/strong>: Steps like installing fire-resistant roofs or changing landscaping around the home can do much to protect a home from fire, but the changes can come with a hefty price tag. \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB888/id/3131905\">This bill\u003c/a> establishes a program to help cover homeowner and community costs. The amount in the fund hasn’t yet been communicated. Authored by state Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, D-Whitter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The Insurance and Wildfire Safety Act (AB 1)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1/id/3272734\">This bill\u003c/a> requires California’s insurance regulators to regularly review and update their regulations designed to promote wildfire safety and encourage insurers to offer discounts for wildfire mitigation. Authored by Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The Business Insurance Protection Act (SB 547)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB547/id/3272909\">This extends\u003c/a> the protections homeowners receive after a fire, a one-year prohibition of non-renewals from insurance companies, to businesses, homeowners’ associations, condominiums, affordable housing units and nonprofits. Authored by state senators Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Alhambra, and Susan Rubio, D-West Covina.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>The FAIR Plan Stabilization Act (AB 226)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB226/id/3046897\">This law\u003c/a> permits the FAIR plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, to access bonds if it’s at risk of bankruptcy. Jointly authored by Assemblymembers Lisa Calderon, D-Whitter, and David Alvarez, D-Chula Vista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998790\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998790\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/mette.lampcov.church.bell-30_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The burnt remains of St. Mark’s Church and the school’s playground in\u003cbr>Altadena, California, on April 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>FAIR Plan oversight (AB 234)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB234/id/3053669\">This act\u003c/a> places two lawmakers, or someone they designate, on the FAIR Plan governing board in an attempt to increase transparency. This is one of the property insurance-related laws Karl Susman, insurance broker and owner of Susman Insurance Agency, said is overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve never had an idea of what’s going on behind the scenes with the FAIR Plan,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan has not publicly disclosed who is on the board and doesn’t have to explain their deliberations. The lawmakers on the board won’t have voting power, but they will be able to communicate with the public about what is happening. “I think that’s a really big one,” Susman said. “At least now when there’s a major problem we’re not going: ‘We don’t even know who to ask.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*\u003cstrong>FAIR Plan automatic payments (AB 290)\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB290/id/3227449\">This bill\u003c/a> tries to prevent unintentional policy lapses in coverage from the FAIR Plan due to missed or delayed payments. It requires the FAIR plan to set up a system to accept automatic payments from policyholders. Authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-San Ramon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan “has an online portal where you can make payments, but it’s notoriously bad,” Susman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This law may make payments more convenient for FAIR Plan policyholders, he said, even if it seems like an odd thing to have to legislate. “If I told you how much time gets wasted on their payment portal, you’d say, ‘Oh my God, that’s crazy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bills that didn’t pass\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A bill that did not pass last year, to Jones’ disappointment, sought damages from the oil and gas industry for its role in rising temperatures and extreme weather-related disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would have allowed individuals, small businesses, and even the FAIR Plan to bring lawsuits directly against the industry for damages associated with emissions-driven, climate catastrophes.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last year, Colorado passed a bill (\u003ca href=\"https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1182\">HB25-1182\u003c/a>) that requires insurance companies to take into account home hardening, defensible space and landscape-scale forest management projects when they write or renew policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would mean lower prices for customers who mitigate their fire risk. A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1060\">similar bill\u003c/a> failed in California in 2024, but Jones hopes the idea is revisited. “It’s embarrassing that California not only is not the first state in the nation to enact it, but has not enacted it at all,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, California’s recent changes to how insurance works, he believes, will keep the industry going in the near and mid-term. But in the long run, he said, these tweaks won’t cut it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The increase of climate-driven disasters, Jones said, will overwhelm any of these regulatory changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unless we address the root cause, which are the emissions that are causing temperature rise, more severe and extreme weather-related events, killing more people, injuring more people, destroying more homes and businesses and then causing insurers to pay out more,” he said. “Unless we address the root causes, we’re going to continue to march towards an uninsurable future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "maidu-tribes-reignite-ancestral-fire-stewardship-in-the-sierra-foothills",
"title": "Maidu Tribes Reignite Ancestral Fire Stewardship in the Sierra Foothills",
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"content": "\u003cp>Magan Herrera stood in the middle of a sloping meadow this fall, wearing a hard hat, sturdy boots, and a yellow fire-resistant jacket framing her pregnant belly. The meadow, in the midst of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sierra-nevada\">Sierra\u003c/a> foothills, may once have been a Maidu basket weaver’s garden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deer grass juts from the ground in bunches — good habitat for grazing animals and material for the tribe’s baskets. The meadow also holds yerba santa, an evergreen shrub used to treat colds, and manzanita, with its brilliant green leaves identical on both sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For thousands of years, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1973196/the-karuk-used-fire-to-manage-the-forest-for-centuries-now-they-want-to-do-that-again\">native people used fire\u003c/a> to tend this land in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11933052/the-burn-scars-of-the-sierra-foothills-tell-a-story-and-offer-lessons\">Sierra foothills\u003c/a>, in what is now known as Butte County, spurring growth of the plants they wanted, knocking back the ones they didn’t and constraining the lightning-ignited wildfires that burned the area every few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then came Western settlement, firefighters suppressing the flames, and conifers tangling thickly together. Eventually, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887158/in-california-restoring-our-relationship-with-fire-is-possible\">conditions grew ripe\u003c/a> for the ferocious, wind-driven flames of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998245/the-summer-that-changed-california-forever\">North Complex Fire and Bear Fire\u003c/a>, which consumed nearly everything along nearby Berry Creek and killed 11 people in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Herrera, who is part of the Maidu tribe, surveyed the meadow, she saw the promise of a place her people could, once again, rely on for generations to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999159\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999159\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magan Herrera of the Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My hope is for our people to use this land so that everybody will have everything that they need,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To steward the land, she was helping to lead a planned burn. Maidu people from five local tribal groups participated: Berry Creek Rancheria, Mechoopa, Mooretown, Enterprise and Konkow Valley. It’s the first time in living memory that they’ve come together to burn, Herrera said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss of indigenous fire stewardship and the corresponding Western settler obsession with suppressing all fire have fueled our current era of devastating megafires. Returning fire stewardship to indigenous communities helps restore the land and people’s souls. This is the spirit embodied in the November meadow burn. The land will be safer from future wildfires and tended according to the traditions of the Maidu ancestors who lived here for generations.[aside postID=science_1998787 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240110-CAWindStorm-007_qed.jpg']Fire, in this region of Northern California between Interstate 5 and the Sierra Nevada, is a defining problem of life. For native people like the Maidu, it is also a solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The burn was formally a training, with the goal of enabling the Berry Creek Maidu to reestablish their traditional relationship with fire. But it was more than that. Jedediah Brown, the tribe’s historic preservation officer, described it as “a homecoming, a return of fire to the land and the people. […] Through the continuation of this work, the relationship between fire, people, and place is renewed in the way our ancestors intended.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before burning the meadow, Herrera urged everyone to think about those who would gather materials in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be a place where our people can gather food, fibers and medicines,” she said. “We want to make sure all of that stuff stays really clean.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Basket weavers often hold materials in their mouths, and it’s long been a challenge to find plants free of fuel or herbicides. Here, the tribe can tend its garden as it chooses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burners didn’t use drip torches, which plop lit gasoline on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fires burn as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead, in the months prior to the burn, Herrera trained a crew of Maidu women in traditional ecological knowledge — “my girls,” she calls them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My girls harvested a lot of sticks,” she said, picking up one of the many bundles set aside for the burn. She held a lighter to the long twigs. “You light the stick, and the leaves start falling exactly like a drip torch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 90 people came to the burn from all over Northern California. More than a dozen agencies and organizations — including resource conservation districts, prescribed burn associations and fire safe councils — partnered to make the training possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some tribes, like the Karuk and Yurok along the Klamath River, have robust fire programs built over decades of working to reclaim intentional fire from agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire, the reclamation in Berry Creek — formally the Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians of California — is in early stages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999161\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999161\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Maidu tribe of Butte County-Berry Creek, Mechoopda, Mooretown, Enterprise and Konkow Valley set out to begin a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ability to practice their culture and revitalize traditions will provide the Berry Creek Maidu “a strong connection with their land in a way that helps to overcome the past traumas, including the traumas of the North Complex fire,” said Don Hankins, an indigenous fire expert and professor at California State University, Chico, who did not attend the Berry Creek burn but knows others who did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restoration, he said, can help the tribe feel ownership and responsibility “to shape their future with fire so that they don’t have to go through that again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hankins, who is a California Plains Miwok traditional cultural practitioner, writes about the stories that indigenous people tell of devastating “first fires.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And the fires we’re experiencing today are no different,” Hankins said. “Those stories tell us, after that happened, people learned to take care of the land. And so we’re at that time, this is the opportunity when there’s a fire footprint, even though there’s been devastation, the only good choice, I think, is to step back in and learn to steward [with fire] again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999162\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999162\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the CAL-TREX prescribed burn bundle fuels and set them alight in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The intense 2020 fires burned through thick forests and uncovered Berry Creek Maidu ancestral village sites and gathering grounds, allowing the tribe to care for those places again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looked to [our cultural monitors] like everything was laid where our ancestors had left it,” Herrera said. “Just like if you walked into an abandoned house and there’s a pair of glasses and a newspaper and half a cup of tea. Like somebody just got up and left.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This 60-acre parcel, which used to host village sites, is part of that story. It was home to their ancestors for many thousands of years. But the land had been held privately for generations, and the tribes accessed it only recently, when it came up for sale and they collectively purchased it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The morning after the meadow burn, Brown, the cultural preservation officer, walked a short distance away. Leaves, acorns and pebbles crunched under his feet. He stopped at a small rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999158\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999158\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jedediah Brown of the Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is a village site. The old name for it is Piube. It means ‘rooted food,’” Brown said. “We now call it Hyhcetim kumbali, ‘the place to know’ or ‘the learning place.’ Because it’s like our school now, our classroom. We learn every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the North Complex fire, Brown and other volunteers cleaned up the burned land, tending to it on the weekends over the course of three years. In that time, many acquired first aid and chainsaw certification, allowing them to safely remove burned trees at risk of falling on people — a big but necessary task to make events like this training day possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They uncovered a broad, flat rock with about 60 circular cups carved into the surface, each roughly the diameter of a coffee mug. Brown’s ancestors processed acorns for food in this bedrock mortar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tribe still uses acorns heavily. The day of the meadow burn, tribal members served acorn soup to all participants. Its pleasant, mild flavor was so popular that their entire batch disappeared, to their own surprise. Volunteers helped gather acorns underneath black oak trees — it was only fair to help replenish the stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999157\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999157\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn listen to a weather and safety briefing in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After a full day of burning and a dinner of venison, corn and mashed potatoes hosted by tribal members in an indoor gym, Herrera reflected on the progress and her hopes for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t even believe that today happened,” she said. Herrera organized the volunteers into groups with tribal names and became emotional listening to volunteers calling “out their squads in Maidu because the land here recognizes the language, it’s been spoken to it since time immemorial. I think that put a lot of intention down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we were lighting the fires, every bunch of deer grass got hit with just the right gust of wind [to light it], every single time,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a good day’s work. She looked down at her abundant belly. Herrera expects her second child, a son, in February. She will develop her weaving skills as she waits, crafting both a new life and a basket to hold him, made of willow, oak and wild roses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The basket’s backboard will grow from the land she burned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Magan Herrera stood in the middle of a sloping meadow this fall, wearing a hard hat, sturdy boots, and a yellow fire-resistant jacket framing her pregnant belly. The meadow, in the midst of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sierra-nevada\">Sierra\u003c/a> foothills, may once have been a Maidu basket weaver’s garden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deer grass juts from the ground in bunches — good habitat for grazing animals and material for the tribe’s baskets. The meadow also holds yerba santa, an evergreen shrub used to treat colds, and manzanita, with its brilliant green leaves identical on both sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For thousands of years, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1973196/the-karuk-used-fire-to-manage-the-forest-for-centuries-now-they-want-to-do-that-again\">native people used fire\u003c/a> to tend this land in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11933052/the-burn-scars-of-the-sierra-foothills-tell-a-story-and-offer-lessons\">Sierra foothills\u003c/a>, in what is now known as Butte County, spurring growth of the plants they wanted, knocking back the ones they didn’t and constraining the lightning-ignited wildfires that burned the area every few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then came Western settlement, firefighters suppressing the flames, and conifers tangling thickly together. Eventually, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887158/in-california-restoring-our-relationship-with-fire-is-possible\">conditions grew ripe\u003c/a> for the ferocious, wind-driven flames of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998245/the-summer-that-changed-california-forever\">North Complex Fire and Bear Fire\u003c/a>, which consumed nearly everything along nearby Berry Creek and killed 11 people in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Herrera, who is part of the Maidu tribe, surveyed the meadow, she saw the promise of a place her people could, once again, rely on for generations to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999159\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999159\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_91_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magan Herrera of the Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My hope is for our people to use this land so that everybody will have everything that they need,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To steward the land, she was helping to lead a planned burn. Maidu people from five local tribal groups participated: Berry Creek Rancheria, Mechoopa, Mooretown, Enterprise and Konkow Valley. It’s the first time in living memory that they’ve come together to burn, Herrera said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss of indigenous fire stewardship and the corresponding Western settler obsession with suppressing all fire have fueled our current era of devastating megafires. Returning fire stewardship to indigenous communities helps restore the land and people’s souls. This is the spirit embodied in the November meadow burn. The land will be safer from future wildfires and tended according to the traditions of the Maidu ancestors who lived here for generations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Fire, in this region of Northern California between Interstate 5 and the Sierra Nevada, is a defining problem of life. For native people like the Maidu, it is also a solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The burn was formally a training, with the goal of enabling the Berry Creek Maidu to reestablish their traditional relationship with fire. But it was more than that. Jedediah Brown, the tribe’s historic preservation officer, described it as “a homecoming, a return of fire to the land and the people. […] Through the continuation of this work, the relationship between fire, people, and place is renewed in the way our ancestors intended.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before burning the meadow, Herrera urged everyone to think about those who would gather materials in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be a place where our people can gather food, fibers and medicines,” she said. “We want to make sure all of that stuff stays really clean.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Basket weavers often hold materials in their mouths, and it’s long been a challenge to find plants free of fuel or herbicides. Here, the tribe can tend its garden as it chooses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burners didn’t use drip torches, which plop lit gasoline on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_203_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fires burn as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead, in the months prior to the burn, Herrera trained a crew of Maidu women in traditional ecological knowledge — “my girls,” she calls them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My girls harvested a lot of sticks,” she said, picking up one of the many bundles set aside for the burn. She held a lighter to the long twigs. “You light the stick, and the leaves start falling exactly like a drip torch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 90 people came to the burn from all over Northern California. More than a dozen agencies and organizations — including resource conservation districts, prescribed burn associations and fire safe councils — partnered to make the training possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some tribes, like the Karuk and Yurok along the Klamath River, have robust fire programs built over decades of working to reclaim intentional fire from agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire, the reclamation in Berry Creek — formally the Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians of California — is in early stages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999161\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999161\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_177_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Maidu tribe of Butte County-Berry Creek, Mechoopda, Mooretown, Enterprise and Konkow Valley set out to begin a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ability to practice their culture and revitalize traditions will provide the Berry Creek Maidu “a strong connection with their land in a way that helps to overcome the past traumas, including the traumas of the North Complex fire,” said Don Hankins, an indigenous fire expert and professor at California State University, Chico, who did not attend the Berry Creek burn but knows others who did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restoration, he said, can help the tribe feel ownership and responsibility “to shape their future with fire so that they don’t have to go through that again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hankins, who is a California Plains Miwok traditional cultural practitioner, writes about the stories that indigenous people tell of devastating “first fires.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And the fires we’re experiencing today are no different,” Hankins said. “Those stories tell us, after that happened, people learned to take care of the land. And so we’re at that time, this is the opportunity when there’s a fire footprint, even though there’s been devastation, the only good choice, I think, is to step back in and learn to steward [with fire] again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999162\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999162\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_190_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the CAL-TREX prescribed burn bundle fuels and set them alight in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The intense 2020 fires burned through thick forests and uncovered Berry Creek Maidu ancestral village sites and gathering grounds, allowing the tribe to care for those places again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looked to [our cultural monitors] like everything was laid where our ancestors had left it,” Herrera said. “Just like if you walked into an abandoned house and there’s a pair of glasses and a newspaper and half a cup of tea. Like somebody just got up and left.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This 60-acre parcel, which used to host village sites, is part of that story. It was home to their ancestors for many thousands of years. But the land had been held privately for generations, and the tribes accessed it only recently, when it came up for sale and they collectively purchased it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The morning after the meadow burn, Brown, the cultural preservation officer, walked a short distance away. Leaves, acorns and pebbles crunched under his feet. He stopped at a small rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999158\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999158\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_68_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jedediah Brown of the Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is a village site. The old name for it is Piube. It means ‘rooted food,’” Brown said. “We now call it Hyhcetim kumbali, ‘the place to know’ or ‘the learning place.’ Because it’s like our school now, our classroom. We learn every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the North Complex fire, Brown and other volunteers cleaned up the burned land, tending to it on the weekends over the course of three years. In that time, many acquired first aid and chainsaw certification, allowing them to safely remove burned trees at risk of falling on people — a big but necessary task to make events like this training day possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They uncovered a broad, flat rock with about 60 circular cups carved into the surface, each roughly the diameter of a coffee mug. Brown’s ancestors processed acorns for food in this bedrock mortar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tribe still uses acorns heavily. The day of the meadow burn, tribal members served acorn soup to all participants. Its pleasant, mild flavor was so popular that their entire batch disappeared, to their own surprise. Volunteers helped gather acorns underneath black oak trees — it was only fair to help replenish the stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999157\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999157\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_01_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn listen to a weather and safety briefing in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After a full day of burning and a dinner of venison, corn and mashed potatoes hosted by tribal members in an indoor gym, Herrera reflected on the progress and her hopes for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t even believe that today happened,” she said. Herrera organized the volunteers into groups with tribal names and became emotional listening to volunteers calling “out their squads in Maidu because the land here recognizes the language, it’s been spoken to it since time immemorial. I think that put a lot of intention down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we were lighting the fires, every bunch of deer grass got hit with just the right gust of wind [to light it], every single time,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a good day’s work. She looked down at her abundant belly. Herrera expects her second child, a son, in February. She will develop her weaving skills as she waits, crafting both a new life and a basket to hold him, made of willow, oak and wild roses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The basket’s backboard will grow from the land she burned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>2025 has been a year of upheaval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We saw a new administration in Washington take sweeping action to cut the work of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029795/california-scientists-left-adrift-mass-federal-layoffs-noaa\">federal scientists and researchers\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909572/how-president-trump-aims-to-dismantle-environmental-protections\"> gut environmental\u003c/a> and species protections. We saw the most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026682/how-we-rebuild-la-recovers-from-wildfire\">destructive fires in California’s history\u003c/a> ravage areas of Los Angeles. We saw a protracted government shutdown and a state government more or less constantly at war with the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also saw people taking local action to improve land and communities they care about, and people reaching out to others – again and again – in the hopes of making their lives a little better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through it all, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science\">KQED’s Science\u003c/a> and climate team has been here bringing you the stories you need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we wrap up this year, we’ve handpicked some of the stories that we find especially memorable, thought-provoking or that changed how we thought about something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999092\" title=\"\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nikola Alexandre, of Shelterwood Collective, performs a burn at the property in Cazadero on Nov. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero, climate reporter:\u003c/strong> “They want to change the culture to make this place one that’s not just about a party, but a place that cares about the river and cares about the ecosystem, so that it can have a long life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ezra David Romero chose his Dec. 1 story \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984173/shelterwood-collective-soloar-punk-farms-lgbtq-history-russian-river\">“A Queer Climate Movement Takes Root Along the Russian River” \u003c/a>profiling people caring for land in an area with a long queer legacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a big year of negative environmental news, with the Trump administration rolling back so much. I wrote dozens of those stories earlier this year. I wanted to do something that felt more regenerative, something focusing on positive news in the climate world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kept meeting so many queer people in interviews, so I wondered if there were any interesting stories about queer people and climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I found these two groups who purchased land up in the Guerneville area and are sort of reinvigorating this idea that the Russian River area had all these queer communes, in the ’60s, ’70s, but in a climate conscious way. They want to make sure the Russian River remains a queer place — that’s only going to happen if there’s forest restoration there, because the area is prone to fires, and if the place is able to withstand the future floods, because in a warming climate atmospheric rivers will be wetter and make bigger floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so it’s cool to hear that they’re not just changing the land, but they want to change the culture to make this place a place that’s not just about a party, but a place that cares about the river and cares about the ecosystem, so that it can have a long life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997021\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997021\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Milner (left) and Rupert Mayer work to install solar panels in Milner’s backyard in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nLaura Klivans, climate reporter:\u003c/strong> “This helped me see what trends look like in the beginning — things might start out like the Wild West — before larger entities can wrap their heads around procedures and make policy around it. ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laura Klivans chose her Jul. 28 story \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">“Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall” \u003c/a>about an emerging climate solution: people installing solar panels on balconies or in their backyards to get clean energy, even if they don’t own their homes or have the capital to invest in traditional solar setups. Laura’s reporting captured the attention of regulators and PBS Newshour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I saw that I was informing some of the interested parties, important stakeholders in this matter, that this was even happening. Someone at the California Energy Commission wrote to me and said ‘We’re all passing this around the office today.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That felt great because a lot of my stories are on trends, solutions, events that have already happened or been established for a long time. That doesn’t do much to inform policy. But with this story, the people who have yet to write the policy are looking at my work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Using solar panels in this way isn’t really allowed in its current form. It was interesting to talk to so many people who were willing to go on the record with something that is emerging right now and not really sanctioned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels like the work has more reach. And I think that’s why the post was so popular. I caught this wave of developing news.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997768\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997768\" title=\"\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1202\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giovanni Figueroa, a mental health specialist with the Orange County Health Care Agency, writes a to-do list before meeting with a client at the Central Men’s & Women’s Jails in Orange County on July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(David Rodriguez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>April Dembosky, health correspondent:\u003c/strong> “If you have a person whose illness makes them believe they’re not ill, how do you convince them to accept treatment?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>April Dembosky chose her July 17 post \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997759/he-relentlessly-drove-30000-miles-asking-one-question-do-you-want-help\">‘Do You Want Help?’: Inside Orange County’s Bet on Voluntary Mental Health Care\u003c/a>” looking at Orange County’s implementation of a new state program that seeks to help the people with serious mental illness, through radical patience and relentless outreach.[aside postID=news_12068387 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/04242019_measles-vaccination-california-legislature-qut.jpg']“Getting people with serious mental illness into treatment has been a historical problem and in recent years has resparked a vexing ethical debate: is treating people against their will an act of cruelty or compassion? California has been experimenting with new policies that make it easier to coerce people into treatment. ‘Care Court’ is one of those programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Orange County ’s healthcare leaders surprised me because, while they volunteered to be one of the first counties to implement the program, they are completely against forcing people into care. They believe we need to invest in long-term relationships if we want to see long-term results. Their approach is to coax, rather than coerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went down there to see what this looks like and I met Giovanni Figueroa. He’s a social worker for the county who spends his days looking for and building trust with people with psychotic illness. He builds trust one bottle of water, one hamburger at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes it can take six months or more before someone finally says, ‘OK, I’ll go see the doctor. OK, I’ll think about taking medication.’ He is incredibly patient and devoted to his clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His approach looks completely different from any other I have ever seen in the healthcare system – which is basically ‘take it or leave it.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He continues to show up for people, over and over, no matter what. It’s not a quick fix by any means and time will tell if it ultimately works. But this story showed me a different way of doing things is possible. Giovanni is an inspiration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998532\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998532\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kayakers paddle through Elkhorn Slough as a sea otter floats nearby. Conservationists warn that proposed rollbacks to Endangered Species Act protections could threaten the species’ recovery. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Mohamad, science engagement producer: \u003c/strong>“Watching otters float by, completely unaware of the decisions being made about their future, made the policy debate feel immediate and human.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sarah Mohamad chose a piece she worked on with Ezra David Romero that published on Oct. 16, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998802/california-otters-could-face-new-threats-if-trump-weakens-law-for-endangered-animals\">“California Sea Otters Could Face New Threats if Trump Weakens Law for Endangered Animals.”\u003c/a> It’s about southern sea otters in Elkhorn Slough. The reporters kayaked to see otters up close for a s\u003ca class=\"hoverZoomLink\" title=\"\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DQMy_WnjzuF/\">ocial video\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I expected to be a pretty straightforward wildlife comeback story ended up being something much bigger, a reminder of just how interconnected ecosystems are, and how fragile those connections can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always thought of sea otters as these really charismatic animals — they’re adorable, and I knew they were important in a general conservation sense. But seeing them in the water, watching them float with their pups, and listening to scientists talk about what they actually do in this ecosystem shifted my thinking. The otters aren’t just surviving in Elkhorn Slough, they’re actively shaping it. By eating crabs, they help stabilize marsh banks, make space for eelgrass to grow, and even help the ecosystem store carbon. They’re influencing biodiversity, habitat health, and climate resilience all at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998311\" title=\"\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Donald Sims rests under a tree with his belongings across from St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County in Oakland on Aug. 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg, health correspondent: \u003c/strong>“What happens to people living on the street when encampments are swept away?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her Sept. 15 post \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998435/the-hidden-health-risk-behind-bay-area-homeless-encampment-sweeps#:~:text=For%20people%20using%20illicit%20drugs,deaths%20in%20the%20next%20decade.\">“The Hidden Health Risk Behind Bay Area Homeless Encampment Sweeps”\u003c/a> Lesley McClurg investigated the unintentional health harms to unhoused people when authorities move them off the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A year ago the Supreme Court made it possible for communities to move people living on the street, even if there weren’t enough shelter beds to offer them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sweeps are sold as being good for public health. Officials tell the public, ‘Look, it’s not healthy for people to be defecating in the streets or for all the garbage to be there. And yet it endangers the people who are displaced. What we found, and what the studies show, is that displacing people does lead to a higher rate of overdoses, instability, and mental health issues. They’re in a much more precarious physical and mental position, which overall is going to hurt society.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spent about 10 hours on the streets talking to people.They all had understandable reasons for being there. It gave me a window into their lives that I didn’t have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996372\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996372\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teddy holds his fleece stuffed animal, Bunny, at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Jan. 2, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Danielle Venton, science reporter:\u003c/strong> “There’s no ‘away’ to throw our stuff to, everything is connected and comes back to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Danielle Venton chose her Mar. 25 story \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996394/cuddly-costly-unseen-dangers-fleece-kids-clothes-toys\">“Cuddly but Costly: The Unseen Dangers of Fleece in Kids Clothes and Toys”\u003c/a> where she tried to answer the question for herself, ‘Should I let my kid wear fleece and play with fleece toys?’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was interested in this question for practical reasons. I’m concerned about microplastic pollution coming from fleece and my son has a lot of beloved polyester stuffed animals and warm fleece jacket hand-me-downs. Should I let him have these things? If yes, how do I best care for them?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It opened my eyes to this new way of looking at consumption, the lifecycle of our products and the burden our bodies bear in this era where we are surrounded by plastic all the time. I was especially dismayed to learn that landfills often leak material they’re holding into groundwater and they give off pollution into the air as well. This made me question, ‘Can we ever truly throw something away?’ Instead I now feel more responsibility for the entire life cycle of a product.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fortunately, reporting this piece made me somewhat less worried about the fleece in my home. And it cemented a game plan for how we [at home] wash it, treat it, we avoid the dryer and we always pass it on. But we do not purchase any new fleece items because there is far too much of it in the world already.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg id=\"hzDownscaled\" style=\"position: absolute;top: -10000px\">\u003cimg id=\"hzDownscaled\" style=\"position: absolute;top: -10000px\">\u003cimg id=\"hzDownscaled\" style=\"position: absolute;top: -10000px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Stories That Stuck With Us This Year, Handpicked by the KQED Science Team | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>2025 has been a year of upheaval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We saw a new administration in Washington take sweeping action to cut the work of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029795/california-scientists-left-adrift-mass-federal-layoffs-noaa\">federal scientists and researchers\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909572/how-president-trump-aims-to-dismantle-environmental-protections\"> gut environmental\u003c/a> and species protections. We saw the most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026682/how-we-rebuild-la-recovers-from-wildfire\">destructive fires in California’s history\u003c/a> ravage areas of Los Angeles. We saw a protracted government shutdown and a state government more or less constantly at war with the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also saw people taking local action to improve land and communities they care about, and people reaching out to others – again and again – in the hopes of making their lives a little better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through it all, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science\">KQED’s Science\u003c/a> and climate team has been here bringing you the stories you need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we wrap up this year, we’ve handpicked some of the stories that we find especially memorable, thought-provoking or that changed how we thought about something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999092\" title=\"\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/20251101_QUEERWOODS-GC-24-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nikola Alexandre, of Shelterwood Collective, performs a burn at the property in Cazadero on Nov. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero, climate reporter:\u003c/strong> “They want to change the culture to make this place one that’s not just about a party, but a place that cares about the river and cares about the ecosystem, so that it can have a long life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ezra David Romero chose his Dec. 1 story \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984173/shelterwood-collective-soloar-punk-farms-lgbtq-history-russian-river\">“A Queer Climate Movement Takes Root Along the Russian River” \u003c/a>profiling people caring for land in an area with a long queer legacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a big year of negative environmental news, with the Trump administration rolling back so much. I wrote dozens of those stories earlier this year. I wanted to do something that felt more regenerative, something focusing on positive news in the climate world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kept meeting so many queer people in interviews, so I wondered if there were any interesting stories about queer people and climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I found these two groups who purchased land up in the Guerneville area and are sort of reinvigorating this idea that the Russian River area had all these queer communes, in the ’60s, ’70s, but in a climate conscious way. They want to make sure the Russian River remains a queer place — that’s only going to happen if there’s forest restoration there, because the area is prone to fires, and if the place is able to withstand the future floods, because in a warming climate atmospheric rivers will be wetter and make bigger floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so it’s cool to hear that they’re not just changing the land, but they want to change the culture to make this place a place that’s not just about a party, but a place that cares about the river and cares about the ecosystem, so that it can have a long life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997021\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997021\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Milner (left) and Rupert Mayer work to install solar panels in Milner’s backyard in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nLaura Klivans, climate reporter:\u003c/strong> “This helped me see what trends look like in the beginning — things might start out like the Wild West — before larger entities can wrap their heads around procedures and make policy around it. ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laura Klivans chose her Jul. 28 story \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">“Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall” \u003c/a>about an emerging climate solution: people installing solar panels on balconies or in their backyards to get clean energy, even if they don’t own their homes or have the capital to invest in traditional solar setups. Laura’s reporting captured the attention of regulators and PBS Newshour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I saw that I was informing some of the interested parties, important stakeholders in this matter, that this was even happening. Someone at the California Energy Commission wrote to me and said ‘We’re all passing this around the office today.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That felt great because a lot of my stories are on trends, solutions, events that have already happened or been established for a long time. That doesn’t do much to inform policy. But with this story, the people who have yet to write the policy are looking at my work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Using solar panels in this way isn’t really allowed in its current form. It was interesting to talk to so many people who were willing to go on the record with something that is emerging right now and not really sanctioned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels like the work has more reach. And I think that’s why the post was so popular. I caught this wave of developing news.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997768\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997768\" title=\"\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1202\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/07/Rodriguez_CARE_07_07_2025-4-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giovanni Figueroa, a mental health specialist with the Orange County Health Care Agency, writes a to-do list before meeting with a client at the Central Men’s & Women’s Jails in Orange County on July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(David Rodriguez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>April Dembosky, health correspondent:\u003c/strong> “If you have a person whose illness makes them believe they’re not ill, how do you convince them to accept treatment?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>April Dembosky chose her July 17 post \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997759/he-relentlessly-drove-30000-miles-asking-one-question-do-you-want-help\">‘Do You Want Help?’: Inside Orange County’s Bet on Voluntary Mental Health Care\u003c/a>” looking at Orange County’s implementation of a new state program that seeks to help the people with serious mental illness, through radical patience and relentless outreach.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Getting people with serious mental illness into treatment has been a historical problem and in recent years has resparked a vexing ethical debate: is treating people against their will an act of cruelty or compassion? California has been experimenting with new policies that make it easier to coerce people into treatment. ‘Care Court’ is one of those programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Orange County ’s healthcare leaders surprised me because, while they volunteered to be one of the first counties to implement the program, they are completely against forcing people into care. They believe we need to invest in long-term relationships if we want to see long-term results. Their approach is to coax, rather than coerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went down there to see what this looks like and I met Giovanni Figueroa. He’s a social worker for the county who spends his days looking for and building trust with people with psychotic illness. He builds trust one bottle of water, one hamburger at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes it can take six months or more before someone finally says, ‘OK, I’ll go see the doctor. OK, I’ll think about taking medication.’ He is incredibly patient and devoted to his clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His approach looks completely different from any other I have ever seen in the healthcare system – which is basically ‘take it or leave it.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He continues to show up for people, over and over, no matter what. It’s not a quick fix by any means and time will tell if it ultimately works. But this story showed me a different way of doing things is possible. Giovanni is an inspiration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998532\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998532\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/09/250916_SEAOTTERS_GH-9-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kayakers paddle through Elkhorn Slough as a sea otter floats nearby. Conservationists warn that proposed rollbacks to Endangered Species Act protections could threaten the species’ recovery. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Mohamad, science engagement producer: \u003c/strong>“Watching otters float by, completely unaware of the decisions being made about their future, made the policy debate feel immediate and human.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sarah Mohamad chose a piece she worked on with Ezra David Romero that published on Oct. 16, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998802/california-otters-could-face-new-threats-if-trump-weakens-law-for-endangered-animals\">“California Sea Otters Could Face New Threats if Trump Weakens Law for Endangered Animals.”\u003c/a> It’s about southern sea otters in Elkhorn Slough. The reporters kayaked to see otters up close for a s\u003ca class=\"hoverZoomLink\" title=\"\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DQMy_WnjzuF/\">ocial video\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I expected to be a pretty straightforward wildlife comeback story ended up being something much bigger, a reminder of just how interconnected ecosystems are, and how fragile those connections can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always thought of sea otters as these really charismatic animals — they’re adorable, and I knew they were important in a general conservation sense. But seeing them in the water, watching them float with their pups, and listening to scientists talk about what they actually do in this ecosystem shifted my thinking. The otters aren’t just surviving in Elkhorn Slough, they’re actively shaping it. By eating crabs, they help stabilize marsh banks, make space for eelgrass to grow, and even help the ecosystem store carbon. They’re influencing biodiversity, habitat health, and climate resilience all at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998311\" title=\"\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/250826_ALAMEDASWEEPS_GH-20-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Donald Sims rests under a tree with his belongings across from St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County in Oakland on Aug. 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg, health correspondent: \u003c/strong>“What happens to people living on the street when encampments are swept away?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her Sept. 15 post \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998435/the-hidden-health-risk-behind-bay-area-homeless-encampment-sweeps#:~:text=For%20people%20using%20illicit%20drugs,deaths%20in%20the%20next%20decade.\">“The Hidden Health Risk Behind Bay Area Homeless Encampment Sweeps”\u003c/a> Lesley McClurg investigated the unintentional health harms to unhoused people when authorities move them off the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A year ago the Supreme Court made it possible for communities to move people living on the street, even if there weren’t enough shelter beds to offer them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sweeps are sold as being good for public health. Officials tell the public, ‘Look, it’s not healthy for people to be defecating in the streets or for all the garbage to be there. And yet it endangers the people who are displaced. What we found, and what the studies show, is that displacing people does lead to a higher rate of overdoses, instability, and mental health issues. They’re in a much more precarious physical and mental position, which overall is going to hurt society.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spent about 10 hours on the streets talking to people.They all had understandable reasons for being there. It gave me a window into their lives that I didn’t have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996372\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996372\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/250102-KidsFleece-14-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teddy holds his fleece stuffed animal, Bunny, at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Jan. 2, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Danielle Venton, science reporter:\u003c/strong> “There’s no ‘away’ to throw our stuff to, everything is connected and comes back to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Danielle Venton chose her Mar. 25 story \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996394/cuddly-costly-unseen-dangers-fleece-kids-clothes-toys\">“Cuddly but Costly: The Unseen Dangers of Fleece in Kids Clothes and Toys”\u003c/a> where she tried to answer the question for herself, ‘Should I let my kid wear fleece and play with fleece toys?’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was interested in this question for practical reasons. I’m concerned about microplastic pollution coming from fleece and my son has a lot of beloved polyester stuffed animals and warm fleece jacket hand-me-downs. Should I let him have these things? If yes, how do I best care for them?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It opened my eyes to this new way of looking at consumption, the lifecycle of our products and the burden our bodies bear in this era where we are surrounded by plastic all the time. I was especially dismayed to learn that landfills often leak material they’re holding into groundwater and they give off pollution into the air as well. This made me question, ‘Can we ever truly throw something away?’ Instead I now feel more responsibility for the entire life cycle of a product.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fortunately, reporting this piece made me somewhat less worried about the fleece in my home. And it cemented a game plan for how we [at home] wash it, treat it, we avoid the dryer and we always pass it on. But we do not purchase any new fleece items because there is far too much of it in the world already.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg id=\"hzDownscaled\" style=\"position: absolute;top: -10000px\">\u003cimg id=\"hzDownscaled\" style=\"position: absolute;top: -10000px\">\u003cimg id=\"hzDownscaled\" style=\"position: absolute;top: -10000px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>For decades, firefighters facing some of the state’s most destructive wildfires worked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911015/why-are-firefighters-battling-wildfires-without-masks\">without proper masks or respirators\u003c/a>, despite evidence showing long-term \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">health risks from wildfire smoke\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why a bipartisan group of senators, including California Democrat Adam Schiff and Utah Republican John Curtis, introduced the first-ever respiratory protection standards for wildland firefighters on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Congress passes the bipartisan bill, it would ensure the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior “take long overdue steps to protect the health of these heroes,” the bill’s authors said in a press release. This legislation was co-sponsored by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Tim Sheehy (R-Montana).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wildland firefighters deploy in the most extreme conditions to combat wildfires, preserve vital ecosystems, and save lives,” Padilla said in a press release. “These heroic men and women should not be forced to face long-term illness or premature death due to smoke exposure on the job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the U.S. Forest Service \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/us/wildfires-masks-firefighters.html\">banned\u003c/a> firefighters from wearing masks, arguing that they were too unwieldy for the job. In September, the Forest Service posted new guidance, paving the way for the new legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sen. Alex Padilla speaks at a press briefing in San Francisco on June 1, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under the \u003ca href=\"https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/sens-curtis-schiff-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-create-first-ever-respiratory-protection-requirements-for-federal-firefighters/\">Healthy Lungs for Heroes Act\u003c/a>, the agencies would work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to develop appropriate respiratory protections — masks and other devices — tailored to the unique needs of wildland firefighters when smoke exposure exceeds exposure limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawmakers noted that wildland firefighters frequently work 16-hour shifts while traversing mountains, ash and debris — all while inhaling toxic smoke. They said there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998209/breathing-poison-you-cant-outrun-wildfire-smoke\">a clear link\u003c/a> between wildfire smoke and adverse health impacts, including multiple forms of cancer. Firefighters have a life expectancy that is around \u003ca href=\"https://woods.stanford.edu/news/health-impacts-wildfire-smoke\">a decade shorter\u003c/a> than that of the average adult due to lung damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Firefighters are heroes, and it’s critical that we do everything possible to ensure they’re protected from the health risks associated with wildfires,” Sen. Adam Schiff said in a press release.[aside postID=news_12056655 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/Middlebrook-2-1020x765.jpg']Joe Perez, a firefighter based out of Northern California, said he’s fought wildland fires like the Tubbs Fire in 2017 and others in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My whole career, I’ve worn a bandana or sometimes a facial shroud, which was standard practice,” he said. “But fires are burning thousands of homes, the contents of the homes and vehicles, and you’re sitting in that smoke for weeks at a time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez was on administrative leave for months in 2024 due to lung damage sustained in the years prior. A person he was dating at the time told him he needed to get checked out because she heard him wheezing, he said. “She could smell the burnt plastics and stuff coming out of my skin for days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He now lives with reactive airway disease, which resembles asthma, because of all the smoke he’s breathed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez is part of a wildland firefighter respiratory protection working group with Cal/OSHA, and now fights fires while wearing a mask. He said additional protections could have reduced his exposure to dangerous smoke and chemicals, but the culture of firefighting would have made it tough to be the only one wearing a mask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether I would have worn it is another question,” Perez said. “That’s the kind of cultural question that’s difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1941800\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1941800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2029/05/RS12068_455629778-e1763427602401.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters monitor a backfire as they battle the King Fire on September 17, 2014, in Fresh Pond, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He thinks the aim of the legislation is a step in the right direction, but noted that while the agencies study the issue, firefighters will still have to deal with all the smoke without strong rules around masking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I get cancer or something else down the line, I can pretty much point to where it’s probably coming from,” Perez said of the risks firefighters take in breathing in smoke while on a blaze. “But if we can avoid making that sacrifice, especially when we’re in our later years and supposed to be enjoying our retirement and having grandkids and stuff, that feels like something that makes a lot of sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the September rule change, the Forest Service acknowledged that masks and respirators can protect firefighters against the particles in wildfire smoke. They’re now allowed to use \u003ca href=\"https://health.nifc.gov/node/9\">N95\u003c/a> respirators approved by federal workplace safety regulators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Respirators remain banned during arduous work, like digging trenches, to prevent overheating. Officials note that while N95 respirators filter out particles, they don’t protect against gases, vapors or all tiny solid particles, with no respirators on the market that filter out all inhalation hazards while also complying with federal regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several firefighter associations, unions and organizations, including the nonprofit Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, endorse the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For too long, the physical health and well-being of these responders has been ignored by their own agencies,” said Lucas Mayfield, president of the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayfield added that “wildland firefighters’ lives literally depend on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For decades, firefighters facing some of the state’s most destructive wildfires worked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911015/why-are-firefighters-battling-wildfires-without-masks\">without proper masks or respirators\u003c/a>, despite evidence showing long-term \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">health risks from wildfire smoke\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why a bipartisan group of senators, including California Democrat Adam Schiff and Utah Republican John Curtis, introduced the first-ever respiratory protection standards for wildland firefighters on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Congress passes the bipartisan bill, it would ensure the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior “take long overdue steps to protect the health of these heroes,” the bill’s authors said in a press release. This legislation was co-sponsored by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Tim Sheehy (R-Montana).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wildland firefighters deploy in the most extreme conditions to combat wildfires, preserve vital ecosystems, and save lives,” Padilla said in a press release. “These heroic men and women should not be forced to face long-term illness or premature death due to smoke exposure on the job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the U.S. Forest Service \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/us/wildfires-masks-firefighters.html\">banned\u003c/a> firefighters from wearing masks, arguing that they were too unwieldy for the job. In September, the Forest Service posted new guidance, paving the way for the new legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/AlexPadillaKQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sen. Alex Padilla speaks at a press briefing in San Francisco on June 1, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under the \u003ca href=\"https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/sens-curtis-schiff-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-create-first-ever-respiratory-protection-requirements-for-federal-firefighters/\">Healthy Lungs for Heroes Act\u003c/a>, the agencies would work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to develop appropriate respiratory protections — masks and other devices — tailored to the unique needs of wildland firefighters when smoke exposure exceeds exposure limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawmakers noted that wildland firefighters frequently work 16-hour shifts while traversing mountains, ash and debris — all while inhaling toxic smoke. They said there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998209/breathing-poison-you-cant-outrun-wildfire-smoke\">a clear link\u003c/a> between wildfire smoke and adverse health impacts, including multiple forms of cancer. Firefighters have a life expectancy that is around \u003ca href=\"https://woods.stanford.edu/news/health-impacts-wildfire-smoke\">a decade shorter\u003c/a> than that of the average adult due to lung damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Firefighters are heroes, and it’s critical that we do everything possible to ensure they’re protected from the health risks associated with wildfires,” Sen. Adam Schiff said in a press release.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Joe Perez, a firefighter based out of Northern California, said he’s fought wildland fires like the Tubbs Fire in 2017 and others in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My whole career, I’ve worn a bandana or sometimes a facial shroud, which was standard practice,” he said. “But fires are burning thousands of homes, the contents of the homes and vehicles, and you’re sitting in that smoke for weeks at a time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez was on administrative leave for months in 2024 due to lung damage sustained in the years prior. A person he was dating at the time told him he needed to get checked out because she heard him wheezing, he said. “She could smell the burnt plastics and stuff coming out of my skin for days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He now lives with reactive airway disease, which resembles asthma, because of all the smoke he’s breathed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez is part of a wildland firefighter respiratory protection working group with Cal/OSHA, and now fights fires while wearing a mask. He said additional protections could have reduced his exposure to dangerous smoke and chemicals, but the culture of firefighting would have made it tough to be the only one wearing a mask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether I would have worn it is another question,” Perez said. “That’s the kind of cultural question that’s difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1941800\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1941800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2029/05/RS12068_455629778-e1763427602401.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters monitor a backfire as they battle the King Fire on September 17, 2014, in Fresh Pond, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He thinks the aim of the legislation is a step in the right direction, but noted that while the agencies study the issue, firefighters will still have to deal with all the smoke without strong rules around masking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I get cancer or something else down the line, I can pretty much point to where it’s probably coming from,” Perez said of the risks firefighters take in breathing in smoke while on a blaze. “But if we can avoid making that sacrifice, especially when we’re in our later years and supposed to be enjoying our retirement and having grandkids and stuff, that feels like something that makes a lot of sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the September rule change, the Forest Service acknowledged that masks and respirators can protect firefighters against the particles in wildfire smoke. They’re now allowed to use \u003ca href=\"https://health.nifc.gov/node/9\">N95\u003c/a> respirators approved by federal workplace safety regulators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Respirators remain banned during arduous work, like digging trenches, to prevent overheating. Officials note that while N95 respirators filter out particles, they don’t protect against gases, vapors or all tiny solid particles, with no respirators on the market that filter out all inhalation hazards while also complying with federal regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several firefighter associations, unions and organizations, including the nonprofit Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, endorse the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For too long, the physical health and well-being of these responders has been ignored by their own agencies,” said Lucas Mayfield, president of the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayfield added that “wildland firefighters’ lives literally depend on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Children climbed up fire engines, gripped hoses, and fired bursts of water to knock down wooden flames in the windows of small model houses. Local gardening experts offered tips on growing native plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I heard someone was lighting things on fire somewhere. And nearby goats lounged in the shade in a pen. Some looked around. Some serenely closed their eyes. I was hoping one of them might like to make a sound into my microphone for a radio story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re not very personable,” said their human, Bianca Shapiro, project manager at Star Creek Land Stewards, a targeted grazing operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welcome to Ember Stomp, a free festival hosted by the nonprofit Fire Safe Marin, focused on wildfire safety and preparedness. Held at the Marin Civic Center last month — home to the county fair — Ember Stomp felt like a small-town music festival, complete with food trucks and kid-friendly activities. There were no beer gardens or concert stages, but a lively marching band did parade through the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of agencies — including all of Marin’s fire departments — joined forces with nonprofits to showcase fire prevention programs and community resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vendors offered fire-resistant building materials, rooftop sprinklers, and landscape design for defensible space. Everyone was eager to share their piece of the wildfire protection puzzle. Organizers estimate about 6,000 people attended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998826\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1998826 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1672\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED-160x134.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED-768x642.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED-1536x1284.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Quarles, a pioneering researcher in how to make buildings more resistant to fire, begins a burn demonstration to illustrate the difference between fire-resistant siding and normal siding at the Ember Stomp festival in Marin on Sept. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I came curious: What do you see at a fire-prep festival? What did people who were willing to devote part of a precious Saturday to learning about fire-resistant siding make of it? Should Marin’s model be an example?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marin’s public outreach around wildfire resilience has grown in recent years, thanks in large part to something unique in California — and possibly the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five years ago, Marin charged a county-wide group of officials with the task of preventing wildfire destruction, organized around a joint powers authority and funded by a voter-approved parcel tax.[aside postID=science_1998746 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg']This organization, the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, supports Fire Safe Marin and helps drive local preparedness initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Marin has found a great way to create a local funding stream that has been a critical innovation, especially in a landscape where we see fluctuations in the availability of state and federal funds,” said Jacy Hyde, executive director for the California Fire Safe Council, during a recent state wildfire task force meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She cited Marin’s group as a model for other counties looking to invest directly in their own wildfire resilience priorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the county’s fire risk is still substantial, the way to start chipping away at that danger is through spurring people to take action. Money invested for safety ahead of time generally pays off richly down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Building go bags and prepping fire-ready homes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Jessamyn Hise, community outreach manager for Fire Safe Marin, greeted people at a table about assembling a “go bag.” What many don’t understand, she said, is that a go bag need not be expensive and likely will not require the purchase of a lot of new stuff. I came away with a printed checklist and renewed mental resolve to check and revamp my own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I followed the sound of excited squeals to an activity on the edge of the festival. Kids and firefighters aimed water hoses at a small pretend house and knocked down wooden flames in the upper window.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After whoops and cheers for each kid, firefighters then popped the flames back up, pulling a length of rope — the same sort of technology used in old carnival games where players might knock down a duck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998824\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1998824 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED-1536x1048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Different types of bark mulch display varying resistance to carrying fire, as part of the live burn demonstrations at Marin’s Ember Stomp Festival on Sept. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Close to the human kids, the aloof goats from Star Creek Land Stewards gave project manager Shapiro a chance to talk about the case for using adorable grazers to prepare landscapes for fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Star Creek manages about 8,000 goats and 3,000 sheep that work around the state to eat grass and brush, leaving the land safer in case a fire breaks out. Shapiro explained that grazing, like all vegetation management techniques, has advantages and drawbacks. Some of the pluses include avoiding chemical herbicides that are used by some land managers to knock back weeds, and avoiding smoke or the risk of a fire escape, as would be present during a prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shapiro said, crews that use tools to clear plants by hand work well in many places, but noted, “There are lots of zones where goats or sheep just have a much easier time climbing the hill and munching at the same time. The other asset is that sheep and goats, rather than just cutting things and leaving them on the ground, they digest it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From there, I scouted out a few vendors. Pacific Gas and Electric offered free manzanita and California laurel plant starters the size of small basketballs, along with advice on landscaping with other utility-friendly plants, whose roots won’t puncture watermains or whose branches won’t grow so tall as to interfere with powerlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998825\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998825\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1349\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees observe a live burn demonstration at Marin’s fire safety festival, Ember Stomp, on Sept. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>United Policyholders, a nonprofit helping consumers navigate fire insurance, shared advice, a listening ear and giveaway flashlights, powered by a hand crank instead of batteries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the main attraction of the day was live burn demonstrations, showing the effectiveness of fire-resistant building materials and retrofitting techniques.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a penned-off area, at the end of the two charmingly named corridors “Home Hardening Way” and “Environmental Alley,” Steve Quarles was setting things on fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quarles, an experienced researcher and expert in how to keep buildings safe from fires, showed how things like fire-resistant soffits perform when fires burn underneath them. A firefighter assisting him piled glowing embers on top of four different types of mesh vents. Depending on the size of the grain, the mesh let burning embers in or kept them out. The best performers are clearly the sixteenth-of-an-inch mesh.[aside postID=science_1998787 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240110-CAWindStorm-007_qed.jpg']“Embers that can pass through here typically don’t have enough energy to ignite things on the other side,” Quarles said. “Not the case for the quarter-inch and not the case of the half-inch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One type of sixteenth-inch mesh is ember-resistant but could let in flames. The state fire marshal approves the other to be flame-resistant, as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up to 90% of home ignitions during fires start from embers sneaking inside the house, not from flames. So, keeping them out was a main message for the day. Hence the name, “Ember Stomp.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event is a main focus of Fire Safe Marin’s public education efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving the festival, people carried their giveaways from exhibitors, masks to shield from smoke, buckets to hold evacuation supplies and a couple of big smiles from Peter Kacherginsky and his family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They live nearby in Lucas Valley and had a fire near them last year. They attended for tips on how to make their home safer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it was great, very informative,” he said. “We want to do some kind of sprinkler system on the roof – that seemed to have worked in L.A. fires.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’re looking to design their backyard to be ready for fires. He looked down at his two kids with red plastic firefighter helmets on their heads, bouncing up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The kids loved it also.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welcome to Ember Stomp, a free festival hosted by the nonprofit Fire Safe Marin, focused on wildfire safety and preparedness. Held at the Marin Civic Center last month — home to the county fair — Ember Stomp felt like a small-town music festival, complete with food trucks and kid-friendly activities. There were no beer gardens or concert stages, but a lively marching band did parade through the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of agencies — including all of Marin’s fire departments — joined forces with nonprofits to showcase fire prevention programs and community resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vendors offered fire-resistant building materials, rooftop sprinklers, and landscape design for defensible space. Everyone was eager to share their piece of the wildfire protection puzzle. Organizers estimate about 6,000 people attended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998826\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1998826 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1672\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED-160x134.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED-768x642.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-03-KQED-1536x1284.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Quarles, a pioneering researcher in how to make buildings more resistant to fire, begins a burn demonstration to illustrate the difference between fire-resistant siding and normal siding at the Ember Stomp festival in Marin on Sept. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I came curious: What do you see at a fire-prep festival? What did people who were willing to devote part of a precious Saturday to learning about fire-resistant siding make of it? Should Marin’s model be an example?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marin’s public outreach around wildfire resilience has grown in recent years, thanks in large part to something unique in California — and possibly the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five years ago, Marin charged a county-wide group of officials with the task of preventing wildfire destruction, organized around a joint powers authority and funded by a voter-approved parcel tax.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This organization, the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, supports Fire Safe Marin and helps drive local preparedness initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Marin has found a great way to create a local funding stream that has been a critical innovation, especially in a landscape where we see fluctuations in the availability of state and federal funds,” said Jacy Hyde, executive director for the California Fire Safe Council, during a recent state wildfire task force meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She cited Marin’s group as a model for other counties looking to invest directly in their own wildfire resilience priorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the county’s fire risk is still substantial, the way to start chipping away at that danger is through spurring people to take action. Money invested for safety ahead of time generally pays off richly down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Building go bags and prepping fire-ready homes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Jessamyn Hise, community outreach manager for Fire Safe Marin, greeted people at a table about assembling a “go bag.” What many don’t understand, she said, is that a go bag need not be expensive and likely will not require the purchase of a lot of new stuff. I came away with a printed checklist and renewed mental resolve to check and revamp my own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I followed the sound of excited squeals to an activity on the edge of the festival. Kids and firefighters aimed water hoses at a small pretend house and knocked down wooden flames in the upper window.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After whoops and cheers for each kid, firefighters then popped the flames back up, pulling a length of rope — the same sort of technology used in old carnival games where players might knock down a duck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998824\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1998824 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-01-KQED-1536x1048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Different types of bark mulch display varying resistance to carrying fire, as part of the live burn demonstrations at Marin’s Ember Stomp Festival on Sept. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Close to the human kids, the aloof goats from Star Creek Land Stewards gave project manager Shapiro a chance to talk about the case for using adorable grazers to prepare landscapes for fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Star Creek manages about 8,000 goats and 3,000 sheep that work around the state to eat grass and brush, leaving the land safer in case a fire breaks out. Shapiro explained that grazing, like all vegetation management techniques, has advantages and drawbacks. Some of the pluses include avoiding chemical herbicides that are used by some land managers to knock back weeds, and avoiding smoke or the risk of a fire escape, as would be present during a prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shapiro said, crews that use tools to clear plants by hand work well in many places, but noted, “There are lots of zones where goats or sheep just have a much easier time climbing the hill and munching at the same time. The other asset is that sheep and goats, rather than just cutting things and leaving them on the ground, they digest it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From there, I scouted out a few vendors. Pacific Gas and Electric offered free manzanita and California laurel plant starters the size of small basketballs, along with advice on landscaping with other utility-friendly plants, whose roots won’t puncture watermains or whose branches won’t grow so tall as to interfere with powerlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998825\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998825\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1349\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251015-EMBER-STOMP-02-KQED-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees observe a live burn demonstration at Marin’s fire safety festival, Ember Stomp, on Sept. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>United Policyholders, a nonprofit helping consumers navigate fire insurance, shared advice, a listening ear and giveaway flashlights, powered by a hand crank instead of batteries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the main attraction of the day was live burn demonstrations, showing the effectiveness of fire-resistant building materials and retrofitting techniques.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a penned-off area, at the end of the two charmingly named corridors “Home Hardening Way” and “Environmental Alley,” Steve Quarles was setting things on fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quarles, an experienced researcher and expert in how to keep buildings safe from fires, showed how things like fire-resistant soffits perform when fires burn underneath them. A firefighter assisting him piled glowing embers on top of four different types of mesh vents. Depending on the size of the grain, the mesh let burning embers in or kept them out. The best performers are clearly the sixteenth-of-an-inch mesh.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Embers that can pass through here typically don’t have enough energy to ignite things on the other side,” Quarles said. “Not the case for the quarter-inch and not the case of the half-inch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One type of sixteenth-inch mesh is ember-resistant but could let in flames. The state fire marshal approves the other to be flame-resistant, as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up to 90% of home ignitions during fires start from embers sneaking inside the house, not from flames. So, keeping them out was a main message for the day. Hence the name, “Ember Stomp.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event is a main focus of Fire Safe Marin’s public education efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving the festival, people carried their giveaways from exhibitors, masks to shield from smoke, buckets to hold evacuation supplies and a couple of big smiles from Peter Kacherginsky and his family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They live nearby in Lucas Valley and had a fire near them last year. They attended for tips on how to make their home safer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it was great, very informative,” he said. “We want to do some kind of sprinkler system on the roof – that seemed to have worked in L.A. fires.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’re looking to design their backyard to be ready for fires. He looked down at his two kids with red plastic firefighter helmets on their heads, bouncing up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The kids loved it also.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"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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"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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"marketplace": {
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"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.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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