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"title": "The Largest, Deadliest and Most Destructive Fires in California History",
"headTitle": "The Largest, Deadliest and Most Destructive Fires in California History | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>UPDATED: Monday, Dec. 5\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11705243/california-wildfires-what-you-need-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Camp Fire burning in Butte County\u003c/a> became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, with 85 deaths reported to date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five of the most destructive fires and two of the deadliest have occurred in the last two years, according to Cal Fire records. That doesn’t count the Thomas Fire in Southern California last year, in which just two people died as a direct result of the fire, but 21 more deaths were attributed to the mudslides that followed the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been doing this job for 31 years and probably in the last five, maybe seven years, every year seems to get worse,” Cal Fire Chief Scott Jalbert \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lej-NG9Qb4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told the \u003cem>Associated Press\u003c/em> recently\u003c/a>. He attributed some of the extreme fires to drought conditions and strong winds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”eFcWMsVCKbrP5A0zx4EcbJ5R8rPwZe2Y”]Over the weekend President Trump twice \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061168803218948096\">tweeted \u003c/a>that the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061554334276747264\">fires \u003c/a>were the result of poor forest management, threatening to withhold federal aid if the problem wasn’t remedied. But forest management is just one factor in fire prevention — with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11705903/megafires-more-frequent-because-of-climate-change-and-forest-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate change and global warming contributing to an increase in the number of large fires\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Managing all the forests in every way we can does not stop climate change, and those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies that we are now witnessing and will continue to witness,” Gov. Jerry Brown said during a news conference over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human-driven warming is \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Wildfires-getting-worse-due-to-climate-change-9961409.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">drying out forests\u003c/a> to the point that peak fire seasons in the region have increased every year by about nine days since 2000, according to a 2017 study. Since 1970, average annual temperatures for the region have increased by 1.9 degree Farenheit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/impacts/infographic-wildfires-climate-change.html#.W2thz_5KjOQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about twice the pace\u003c/a> of the global average warming, according to data from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Meanwhile urbanization is contributing to the destructiveness of wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1928770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as more people\u003c/a> move into harm’s way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”sAMHMv8j4MaXTDuTDFQaD5FcHgfSpODc”]What this means is the list of biggest and most destructive fires may need more updating soon. Below are the current top ten largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires, according to Cal Fire records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>See all of our ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/wildfires/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfire coverage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1934341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1934341\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-960x638.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-375x249.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-520x346.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters monitor the flames during the Thomas Fire in Dec. 2017. \u003ccite>(ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Top 10 Largest Fires\u003c/h3>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Mendocino Complex, July 2018.\u003c/strong> Mendocino, Lake, Glenn and Colusa counties. 459,123 acres burned. 280 structures destroyed. One death. Cause is still under investigation\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Thomas Fire, December 2017.\u003c/strong> Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. 281,893 acres burned. 1,063 structures destroyed. Two deaths (with an additional 21 deaths attributed to the mudslides that followed the fire). Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Cedar Fire, October 2003.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. 273,246 acres burned. 2,820 structures destroyed. Fifteen deaths. Sparked by a signal fire from lost hunter.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Rush Fire, August 2012.\u003c/strong> Lassen County. 271,911 acres burned (with an additional 43,665 acres burned in Nevada). No structures destroyed. Zero deaths. Sparked by lightning.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Rim Fire, August 2013.\u003c/strong> Tuolumne County. 257,314 acres burned. 112 structures destroyed. Zero deaths. Sparked by camp fire.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Zaca Fire, July 2007.\u003c/strong> Santa Barbara County. 240,207 acres burned. One structure destroyed. Zero deaths. The fire was caused by sparks from a grinding machine on private property.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Carr Fire, July 2018\u003c/strong>. Shasta and Trinity counties. 229,651 acres. 1,604 structures destroyed. Eight deaths. Sparked by a tractor trailer scraping against pavement.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Matilija Fire, September 1932.\u003c/strong> Ventura County. 220,000 acres burned. No structures destroyed. Zero deaths. Unknown cause.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Witch Fire, October 2007.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. 197,990 acres burned. 1,650 structures destroyed. Two deaths. Sparked by power lines.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Klamath Theater Complex, June 2008.\u003c/strong> Siskiyou County. 192,038 acres. Zero structures destroyed. Two deaths. Sparked by lightning.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1934339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1934339\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The destruction in Paradise has wiped out nearly the entire town. \u003ccite>(Danielle Venton/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Top 10 Most Destructive Fires\u003c/h3>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Camp Fire, November 2018 (ongoing).\u003c/strong> Butte County. As of Nov. 16, About 16,000 structures destroyed. 151,000 acres burned. 77 deaths. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tubbs Fire, October 2017\u003c/strong>. Napa and Sonoma counties. 5,643 structures destroyed. 36,807 acres burned. 22 deaths. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tunnel-Oakland Hills Fire, October 1991\u003c/strong>. Alameda County. 2,900 structures destroyed. 1,600 acres burned. 25 deaths. Sparked by a rekindled grassfire and spread by heavy winds.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Cedar Fire, October 2003\u003c/strong>. San Diego. 2,820 structures destroyed. 273,246 acres burned. Fifteen deaths. Sparked by a signal fire from lost hunter.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Valley Fire, September 2015\u003c/strong>. Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties. 1,955, structures destroyed. 76,067 acres burned. Four deaths. Sparked by faulty wiring in a hot tub installation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Witch Fire, October 2007.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. 1,650 structures destroyed. 197,990 acres burned. Two deaths. Sparked by power lines.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Carr Fire, July 2018.\u003c/strong> Shasta and Trinity counties. 1,604 structures destroyed. 229,651 acres burned. Eight deaths. Sparked by a tractor trailer scraping against pavement.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Nuns Fire, October 2017.\u003c/strong> Sonoma County. 1,355 structures destroyed. 54,382 acres burned. Three deaths. Cause still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Thomas Fire, December 2017.\u003c/strong> Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. 1,063 structures destroyed. 281,893 acres burned. Two deaths (with an additional 21 deaths attributed to the mudslides that followed the fire). Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Old Fire, October 2003\u003c/strong>. San Bernardino County. 1,003 structures destroyed. 91,281 acres burned. Six deaths. One man convicted of arson for starting the fire.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1934383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1934383\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two women look through the remains of the Tubbs Fire at Journey’s End Mobile Home Park in Santa Rosa. \u003ccite>(Adam Grossberg/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Top 10 Deadliest Fires\u003c/h3>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Camp Fire, November 2018 (ongoing).\u003c/strong> Butte County. As of Nov. 19, 77 deaths. 151,000 acres burned. About 16,000 structures destroyed. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Griffith Park, October 1933.\u003c/strong> Los Angeles. 29 deaths. 47 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Started as a brush fire, unknown was sparked the fire.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tunnel-Oakland Hills Fire, October 1991\u003c/strong>. Alameda County. 25 deaths. 1,600 acres burned. 2,900 structures destroyed. Sparked by a rekindled grassfire and spread by heavy winds.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tubbs Fire, October 2017\u003c/strong>. Napa and Sonoma counties. 22 deaths. 36,807 acres burned. 5,643 structures destroyed. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Cedar Fire, October 2003\u003c/strong>. San Diego. Fifteen deaths. 273,246 acres burned. 2,820 structures destroyed. Sparked by a signal fire from lost hunter.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Rattlesnake Fire, July 1953. \u003c/strong>Glenn County. Fifteen deaths. 1,340 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Started as arson.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Loop Fire, November 1966. \u003c/strong>Los Angeles County. Twelve deaths. 2,028 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Sparked by power lines.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Hauser Creek, October 1943.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. Eleven deaths. 43,904 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Cause unknown, likely sparked by a wayward bullet from a military training exercise.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Inaja Fire, November 1956.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. Eleven deaths. 1,345 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Sparked by a match at a campfire site.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Iron Alps Complex, August 2008.\u003c/strong> Trinity County. Ten deaths. 105,855 acres burned. Ten structures destroyed. Sparked by lightning.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>*Though only two deaths were attributed to the Thomas Fire in December 2017 in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, 21 people died as a result of the mudslides that followed the fire.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The number of deadly and destructive megafires has increased in recent years.",
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"title": "The Largest, Deadliest and Most Destructive Fires in California History | KQED",
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"headline": "The Largest, Deadliest and Most Destructive Fires in California History",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>UPDATED: Monday, Dec. 5\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11705243/california-wildfires-what-you-need-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Camp Fire burning in Butte County\u003c/a> became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, with 85 deaths reported to date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five of the most destructive fires and two of the deadliest have occurred in the last two years, according to Cal Fire records. That doesn’t count the Thomas Fire in Southern California last year, in which just two people died as a direct result of the fire, but 21 more deaths were attributed to the mudslides that followed the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been doing this job for 31 years and probably in the last five, maybe seven years, every year seems to get worse,” Cal Fire Chief Scott Jalbert \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lej-NG9Qb4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told the \u003cem>Associated Press\u003c/em> recently\u003c/a>. He attributed some of the extreme fires to drought conditions and strong winds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Over the weekend President Trump twice \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061168803218948096\">tweeted \u003c/a>that the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061554334276747264\">fires \u003c/a>were the result of poor forest management, threatening to withhold federal aid if the problem wasn’t remedied. But forest management is just one factor in fire prevention — with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11705903/megafires-more-frequent-because-of-climate-change-and-forest-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate change and global warming contributing to an increase in the number of large fires\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Managing all the forests in every way we can does not stop climate change, and those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies that we are now witnessing and will continue to witness,” Gov. Jerry Brown said during a news conference over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human-driven warming is \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Wildfires-getting-worse-due-to-climate-change-9961409.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">drying out forests\u003c/a> to the point that peak fire seasons in the region have increased every year by about nine days since 2000, according to a 2017 study. Since 1970, average annual temperatures for the region have increased by 1.9 degree Farenheit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/impacts/infographic-wildfires-climate-change.html#.W2thz_5KjOQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about twice the pace\u003c/a> of the global average warming, according to data from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Meanwhile urbanization is contributing to the destructiveness of wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1928770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as more people\u003c/a> move into harm’s way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>What this means is the list of biggest and most destructive fires may need more updating soon. Below are the current top ten largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires, according to Cal Fire records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>See all of our ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/wildfires/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfire coverage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1934341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1934341\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-960x638.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-375x249.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1-520x346.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS28632_Thomas-Fire-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters monitor the flames during the Thomas Fire in Dec. 2017. \u003ccite>(ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Top 10 Largest Fires\u003c/h3>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Mendocino Complex, July 2018.\u003c/strong> Mendocino, Lake, Glenn and Colusa counties. 459,123 acres burned. 280 structures destroyed. One death. Cause is still under investigation\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Thomas Fire, December 2017.\u003c/strong> Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. 281,893 acres burned. 1,063 structures destroyed. Two deaths (with an additional 21 deaths attributed to the mudslides that followed the fire). Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Cedar Fire, October 2003.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. 273,246 acres burned. 2,820 structures destroyed. Fifteen deaths. Sparked by a signal fire from lost hunter.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Rush Fire, August 2012.\u003c/strong> Lassen County. 271,911 acres burned (with an additional 43,665 acres burned in Nevada). No structures destroyed. Zero deaths. Sparked by lightning.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Rim Fire, August 2013.\u003c/strong> Tuolumne County. 257,314 acres burned. 112 structures destroyed. Zero deaths. Sparked by camp fire.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Zaca Fire, July 2007.\u003c/strong> Santa Barbara County. 240,207 acres burned. One structure destroyed. Zero deaths. The fire was caused by sparks from a grinding machine on private property.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Carr Fire, July 2018\u003c/strong>. Shasta and Trinity counties. 229,651 acres. 1,604 structures destroyed. Eight deaths. Sparked by a tractor trailer scraping against pavement.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Matilija Fire, September 1932.\u003c/strong> Ventura County. 220,000 acres burned. No structures destroyed. Zero deaths. Unknown cause.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Witch Fire, October 2007.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. 197,990 acres burned. 1,650 structures destroyed. Two deaths. Sparked by power lines.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Klamath Theater Complex, June 2008.\u003c/strong> Siskiyou County. 192,038 acres. Zero structures destroyed. Two deaths. Sparked by lightning.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1934339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1934339\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS33883_IMG_1259-qut-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The destruction in Paradise has wiped out nearly the entire town. \u003ccite>(Danielle Venton/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Top 10 Most Destructive Fires\u003c/h3>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Camp Fire, November 2018 (ongoing).\u003c/strong> Butte County. As of Nov. 16, About 16,000 structures destroyed. 151,000 acres burned. 77 deaths. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tubbs Fire, October 2017\u003c/strong>. Napa and Sonoma counties. 5,643 structures destroyed. 36,807 acres burned. 22 deaths. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tunnel-Oakland Hills Fire, October 1991\u003c/strong>. Alameda County. 2,900 structures destroyed. 1,600 acres burned. 25 deaths. Sparked by a rekindled grassfire and spread by heavy winds.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Cedar Fire, October 2003\u003c/strong>. San Diego. 2,820 structures destroyed. 273,246 acres burned. Fifteen deaths. Sparked by a signal fire from lost hunter.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Valley Fire, September 2015\u003c/strong>. Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties. 1,955, structures destroyed. 76,067 acres burned. Four deaths. Sparked by faulty wiring in a hot tub installation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Witch Fire, October 2007.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. 1,650 structures destroyed. 197,990 acres burned. Two deaths. Sparked by power lines.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Carr Fire, July 2018.\u003c/strong> Shasta and Trinity counties. 1,604 structures destroyed. 229,651 acres burned. Eight deaths. Sparked by a tractor trailer scraping against pavement.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Nuns Fire, October 2017.\u003c/strong> Sonoma County. 1,355 structures destroyed. 54,382 acres burned. Three deaths. Cause still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Thomas Fire, December 2017.\u003c/strong> Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. 1,063 structures destroyed. 281,893 acres burned. Two deaths (with an additional 21 deaths attributed to the mudslides that followed the fire). Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Old Fire, October 2003\u003c/strong>. San Bernardino County. 1,003 structures destroyed. 91,281 acres burned. Six deaths. One man convicted of arson for starting the fire.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1934383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1934383\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/11/RS27478_journeys-end3-qut-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two women look through the remains of the Tubbs Fire at Journey’s End Mobile Home Park in Santa Rosa. \u003ccite>(Adam Grossberg/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Top 10 Deadliest Fires\u003c/h3>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Camp Fire, November 2018 (ongoing).\u003c/strong> Butte County. As of Nov. 19, 77 deaths. 151,000 acres burned. About 16,000 structures destroyed. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Griffith Park, October 1933.\u003c/strong> Los Angeles. 29 deaths. 47 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Started as a brush fire, unknown was sparked the fire.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tunnel-Oakland Hills Fire, October 1991\u003c/strong>. Alameda County. 25 deaths. 1,600 acres burned. 2,900 structures destroyed. Sparked by a rekindled grassfire and spread by heavy winds.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tubbs Fire, October 2017\u003c/strong>. Napa and Sonoma counties. 22 deaths. 36,807 acres burned. 5,643 structures destroyed. Cause is still under investigation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Cedar Fire, October 2003\u003c/strong>. San Diego. Fifteen deaths. 273,246 acres burned. 2,820 structures destroyed. Sparked by a signal fire from lost hunter.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Rattlesnake Fire, July 1953. \u003c/strong>Glenn County. Fifteen deaths. 1,340 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Started as arson.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Loop Fire, November 1966. \u003c/strong>Los Angeles County. Twelve deaths. 2,028 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Sparked by power lines.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Hauser Creek, October 1943.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. Eleven deaths. 43,904 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Cause unknown, likely sparked by a wayward bullet from a military training exercise.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Inaja Fire, November 1956.\u003c/strong> San Diego County. Eleven deaths. 1,345 acres burned. Zero structures destroyed. Sparked by a match at a campfire site.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Iron Alps Complex, August 2008.\u003c/strong> Trinity County. Ten deaths. 105,855 acres burned. Ten structures destroyed. Sparked by lightning.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>*Though only two deaths were attributed to the Thomas Fire in December 2017 in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, 21 people died as a result of the mudslides that followed the fire.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Air Pollution is 'The New Tobacco,' Warns World Health Organization",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"p1\">The vast majority of the world’s children under the age of 15 live in environments with poor air quality, fueling a global public health crisis, according to a \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-10-2018-more-than-90-of-the-world%E2%80%99s-children-breathe-toxic-air-every-day\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">new report\u003c/span>\u003c/a> released Monday by the World Health Organization (WHO).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1.8 billion children, or 93 percent of the age group, are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed WHO safety guidelines, according to the new report.[contextly_sidebar id=”hbedu4oUrO00I6sAXvfWSXYYhIgU5tIP”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “This is inexcusable. Every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulfill their full potential.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not surprisingly, 98 percent of children under the age of 5 who live in low- and middle-income countries are exposed to higher levels of dirty air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, just over half of children in the same age group who live in high-income countries are exposed to levels that exceed WHO’s safety guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The striking new report warns that children who breathe polluted air face a greater risk of developing a host of health problems that can lead to early death, including impaired brain development,\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> \u003c/span>respiratory disease, childhood cancer, and cardiovascular disease later in life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2016, poor air quality \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/ceh/publications/air-pollution-child-health/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contributed to\u003c/a> respiratory tract infections that led to the deaths of 543,000 children under the age of five, according to the same report\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report arrives one week ahead of the first global conference on air pollution and health, organized by WHO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the\u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/airpollution/events/conference/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> conference\u003c/a>, which opens in Geneva Oct. 29, participating nations are expected to pledge various initiatives for reducing air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution because their bodies are still developing and they breathe more rapidly than adults, causing them to absorb proportionately more pollutants, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Children also tend to breathe closer to the ground, where pollutants are concentrated at greater levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">The report’s authors say the damage may even begin before a child is born. Pregnant woman who breathe in dirty air are at a greater risk of giving birth to premature or underweight babies, conditions which can lead to chronic disease later on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WHO director Ghebreyesus \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/27/air-pollution-is-the-new-tobacco-warns-who-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">calls air pollution\u003c/a> the “new tobacco” and blasts what he calls a “smog of complacency” that pervades the international community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The world has turned the corner on tobacco. Now it must do the same for the ‘new tobacco’ – the toxic air that billions breathe every day,” Ghebreyesus wrote in an opinion column for \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/27/air-pollution-is-the-new-tobacco-warns-who-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Guardian\u003c/a>. “No one, rich or poor, can escape air pollution. It is a silent public health emergency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WHO estimates that poor air quality kills 7 million people annually, \u003ca href=\"http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/255336/9789241565486-eng.pdf;jsessionid=1E5E1F65EE880B020CE71674203530EF?sequence=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">more than the \u003c/a>number of people killed by tobacco smoke per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the U.S., about 77 percent of \u003ca href=\"https://gispub.epa.gov/neireport/2014/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">air pollution\u003c/a> comes from power plants and other industrial processes, according to the latest available information. More than 16 percent comes from \u003ca href=\"http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfire\u003c/a> smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under President Donald Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rolling back several key standards that limit air pollution, including the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1920482/protesters-policymakers-and-a-polar-bear-try-to-protect-clean-power-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clean Power Plan\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1933612/california-escalates-battle-with-trump-epa-over-clean-car-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clean car rules\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1931545/trump-administration-eases-regulation-of-methane-leaks-on-public-lands\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">methane standards\u003c/a> for oil and gas operations.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"p1\">The vast majority of the world’s children under the age of 15 live in environments with poor air quality, fueling a global public health crisis, according to a \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-10-2018-more-than-90-of-the-world%E2%80%99s-children-breathe-toxic-air-every-day\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">new report\u003c/span>\u003c/a> released Monday by the World Health Organization (WHO).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1.8 billion children, or 93 percent of the age group, are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed WHO safety guidelines, according to the new report.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “This is inexcusable. Every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulfill their full potential.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not surprisingly, 98 percent of children under the age of 5 who live in low- and middle-income countries are exposed to higher levels of dirty air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, just over half of children in the same age group who live in high-income countries are exposed to levels that exceed WHO’s safety guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The striking new report warns that children who breathe polluted air face a greater risk of developing a host of health problems that can lead to early death, including impaired brain development,\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> \u003c/span>respiratory disease, childhood cancer, and cardiovascular disease later in life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2016, poor air quality \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/ceh/publications/air-pollution-child-health/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contributed to\u003c/a> respiratory tract infections that led to the deaths of 543,000 children under the age of five, according to the same report\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report arrives one week ahead of the first global conference on air pollution and health, organized by WHO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the\u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/airpollution/events/conference/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> conference\u003c/a>, which opens in Geneva Oct. 29, participating nations are expected to pledge various initiatives for reducing air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution because their bodies are still developing and they breathe more rapidly than adults, causing them to absorb proportionately more pollutants, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Children also tend to breathe closer to the ground, where pollutants are concentrated at greater levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">The report’s authors say the damage may even begin before a child is born. Pregnant woman who breathe in dirty air are at a greater risk of giving birth to premature or underweight babies, conditions which can lead to chronic disease later on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WHO director Ghebreyesus \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/27/air-pollution-is-the-new-tobacco-warns-who-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">calls air pollution\u003c/a> the “new tobacco” and blasts what he calls a “smog of complacency” that pervades the international community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The world has turned the corner on tobacco. Now it must do the same for the ‘new tobacco’ – the toxic air that billions breathe every day,” Ghebreyesus wrote in an opinion column for \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/27/air-pollution-is-the-new-tobacco-warns-who-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Guardian\u003c/a>. “No one, rich or poor, can escape air pollution. It is a silent public health emergency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WHO estimates that poor air quality kills 7 million people annually, \u003ca href=\"http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/255336/9789241565486-eng.pdf;jsessionid=1E5E1F65EE880B020CE71674203530EF?sequence=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">more than the \u003c/a>number of people killed by tobacco smoke per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the U.S., about 77 percent of \u003ca href=\"https://gispub.epa.gov/neireport/2014/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">air pollution\u003c/a> comes from power plants and other industrial processes, according to the latest available information. More than 16 percent comes from \u003ca href=\"http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfire\u003c/a> smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under President Donald Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rolling back several key standards that limit air pollution, including the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1920482/protesters-policymakers-and-a-polar-bear-try-to-protect-clean-power-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clean Power Plan\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1933612/california-escalates-battle-with-trump-epa-over-clean-car-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clean car rules\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1931545/trump-administration-eases-regulation-of-methane-leaks-on-public-lands\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">methane standards\u003c/a> for oil and gas operations.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Fuel Matters: Why Wildfire Behavior Depends on What's Burning",
"headTitle": "Fuel Matters: Why Wildfire Behavior Depends on What’s Burning | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In his latest attack on California’s forest management policies, President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that the solution to the state’s punishing wildfire season should be a no-brainer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re tired of giving California hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, all the time for their forest fires,” Trump told the White House State Leadership Day Conference, “when you wouldn’t have them if they managed their forests properly. They don’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving aside the fact that nearly 60 percent of California’s forestland is managed by the federal government, most scientists agree that the buildup of fuels is a factor in fire severity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not nearly that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters on the ground know that fire behaves very differently depending on whether the flames are spreading in grass, chaparral, forest, or a mix. And according to fire scientists, property owners and policymakers should be paying more attention to these differences, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Building the Campfire\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve ever built a campfire, you know that you need different kinds of fuel to get a fire going: paper, small twigs, or pine needles to ignite the fire, then small sticks to keep it going, and finally big logs that keep the fire going and produce the big flames that keep you warm all night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires work the same way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters categorize plants based on their size and how quickly they dry out — and consequently, how easily they will ignite and burn. Grasses are 1-hour fuels, sometimes called light fuels, or flashy fuels. If the weather becomes hot and dry, they become just as dry as the surrounding atmosphere in about an hour. Trees and dead logs and are usually 100 or 1000-hour fuels; it takes much longer before they’re ready to burn, but when they get going they can give off bigger flames, more intense heat, and can burn for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930109\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930109\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-800x566.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-800x566.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-160x113.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-768x543.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1020x721.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1200x849.png 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1920x1358.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1180x834.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-960x679.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-240x170.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-375x265.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-520x368.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As of August 16, the Mendocino Complex had burned over 370,000 acres. The larger Ranch Fire has burned in a mix of forest and shubland, while the smaller River Fire has burned mostly in shrubland. \u003ccite>(Allie Weill)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Multiplying Threat\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of this range of fuel types, you get different kinds of fires at different times of year, according to Jonathan Cox, a battalion chief with Cal Fire. Earlier in the season, blazes tend to be grass fires that are easier to get under control, though extreme weather can make it harder. The County Fire, which started at the end of June in Yolo County, burned mostly in grasses and shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as the summer wears on, the big stuff dries out, too. The Carr Fire, which began in late July and has driven the destruction around Redding, has burned through a lot of heavily forested land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930036\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930036\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As of August 16, the Carr Fire had burned over 200,000 acres. A lot of that land was forest, unlike in many earlier season fires, or fires in other parts of the state.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In mid-July, Cox noted that heavier fuels were already starting to be receptive to fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a problem,” he told KQED, “because it takes more resources, and it takes more time to suppress those types of fuels. That’s why, as the fire season progresses, it’s kind of a continuing threat that kind of multiplies as those heavier fuels dry out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Trouble with Grasses\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It might seem like light fuels — like grasses — are preferable to heavy forest fuels or dense shrublands. In general, they are easier to manage because the flames are smaller and it’s easier for firefighters to maneuver. But grass fires have their own challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The easier it is for fuels to dry out, the faster the rate of spread. According to Cox, fire spreads twice as fast in grass as it does in brush, and twice as fast in brush as it does in timber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Ferguson Fire, burning near Yosemite National Park, burned first in areas of grass and shrubs but has expanded into forested areas.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because of their faster spread, grass fires are often the deadliest. Cox says a common denominator among some of the most destructive fires is that they started in light, flashy fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a very big kind of watch-out factor for firefighters as far as their safety is concerned,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“It is a very big kind of watch-out factor for firefighters as far as their safety is concerned.”\u003ccite>Jonathan Cox, Cal Fire Battalion Chief\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No One Size Fits All\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nIt’s not just firefighters who need to be aware of fuel types. There are implications for land managers and homeowners, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one thing, it offers clues to future fire patterns in any given area, points out \u003ca href=\"https://consbio.org/people/staff/alexandra-syphard\">Alexandra Syphard\u003c/a>, a fire specialist at the Conservation Biology Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area and coastal Southern California, shrublands, grasslands, and forests come together in a patchwork of fuel types. Managing these lands for wildfire hazard, ecology, and resource value can be a challenge. When it comes to managing fire in the coast ranges, “there’s no one-size-fits-all,” said UC Berkeley fire scientist Scott Stephens at a symposium in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930035\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930035\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 2017 Tubbs Fire burned in an area with a patchwork of land types, including forest, shrubland, grassland, agriculture, and urban Santa Rosa.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because fire behaves differently in different types of fuels, if you change the fuel type, you change the fire you get there. The reverse is also true: if you change the amount of fire, you can change the type of fuel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, native grasslands and woodlands \u003ca href=\"http://www.publish.csiro.au/wf/WF05003\">once flourished in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, maintained by regular cultural burns by Native Americans and by grazing. A reduction in grazing, as well as the end of these traditional burns, led to the conversion of grassland to shrubland and an increase in heavy fuels in some areas. Indigenous groups and conservation organizations are \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcn.org/issues/49.21/wildfire-what-fire-researchers-learned-from-northern-california-blazes\">working to return fire\u003c/a> to the land in Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Grass Versus Shrub In Southern California\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, coastal Southern California and some chaparral areas in other parts of the state actually have as much or more frequent fire today than they did historically, explains Syphard. The result is \u003ca href=\"https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68303-4_12\">a widespread conversion of chaparral\u003c/a> to non-native grassland. This process may be accelerated by climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Syphard and other researchers who focus on chaparral \u003ca href=\"https://d2k78bk4kdhbpr.cloudfront.net/media/publications/files/Halsey_and_Syphard_High_Severity_Fire_in_Chaparral_20151.pdf\">caution against\u003c/a> the indiscriminate application of fire management practices that work for forests or other regions — like prescribed fire or cutting fuel breaks — to Southern California shrublands. \u003ca href=\"http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094005/pdf\">Research shows\u003c/a> that these tools aren’t that effective during big chaparral fires driven by Santa Ana winds, like the Thomas Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And those light flashy fuels might make it easier to fight the fire, but they also increase the risk of ignition in the first place. Syphard’s \u003ca href=\"https://d2k78bk4kdhbpr.cloudfront.net/media/publications/files/Comparingtheroleoffuelbreaks.pdf\">research\u003c/a> has shown that fuel breaks are mostly effective as an access point for firefighters and not so much as a hazard reduction, because exotic grasses fill in the gaps. The same conclusion might apply to management around homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re removing shrubland or woody vegetation that has pretty high fuel moisture and replacing it with grasslands that you’re not going to irrigate, you could unknowingly be putting yourself in an even worse position than you were before, ” Syphard cautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930038\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Last winter’s Thomas Fire, the second-largest fire on record in California, burned mostly in shrubland. Some areas within the perimeter have burned so many times in recent years that shrubland has converted to grassland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s not an easy story, says Syphard, and managing fuels means balancing safety, cultural, and ecological concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the most important things to understand is that it’s very geographically variable and the relationships that might be true in one region are likely to be really different than others,” says Syphard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jared Dahl Aldern, an environmental historian, agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know the whole southern California region is a distinct place with its own characteristics as compared to, for instance, the Sierra Nevada, ” he says. “So the key is to collaborate with local experts, including tribes who have some experience and some idea with how to proceed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Fire behaves differently depending on whether it burns in grasses, shrubs or forest. Firefighters know this well -- but scientists say that land managers and homeowners should think about it, too.",
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"description": "Fire behaves differently depending on whether it burns in grasses, shrubs or forest. Firefighters know this well -- but scientists say that land managers and homeowners should think about it, too.",
"title": "Fuel Matters: Why Wildfire Behavior Depends on What's Burning | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In his latest attack on California’s forest management policies, President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that the solution to the state’s punishing wildfire season should be a no-brainer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re tired of giving California hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, all the time for their forest fires,” Trump told the White House State Leadership Day Conference, “when you wouldn’t have them if they managed their forests properly. They don’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving aside the fact that nearly 60 percent of California’s forestland is managed by the federal government, most scientists agree that the buildup of fuels is a factor in fire severity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not nearly that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters on the ground know that fire behaves very differently depending on whether the flames are spreading in grass, chaparral, forest, or a mix. And according to fire scientists, property owners and policymakers should be paying more attention to these differences, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Building the Campfire\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve ever built a campfire, you know that you need different kinds of fuel to get a fire going: paper, small twigs, or pine needles to ignite the fire, then small sticks to keep it going, and finally big logs that keep the fire going and produce the big flames that keep you warm all night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires work the same way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters categorize plants based on their size and how quickly they dry out — and consequently, how easily they will ignite and burn. Grasses are 1-hour fuels, sometimes called light fuels, or flashy fuels. If the weather becomes hot and dry, they become just as dry as the surrounding atmosphere in about an hour. Trees and dead logs and are usually 100 or 1000-hour fuels; it takes much longer before they’re ready to burn, but when they get going they can give off bigger flames, more intense heat, and can burn for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930109\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930109\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-800x566.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-800x566.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-160x113.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-768x543.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1020x721.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1200x849.png 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1920x1358.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-1180x834.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-960x679.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-240x170.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-375x265.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Mendocino_768-520x368.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As of August 16, the Mendocino Complex had burned over 370,000 acres. The larger Ranch Fire has burned in a mix of forest and shubland, while the smaller River Fire has burned mostly in shrubland. \u003ccite>(Allie Weill)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Multiplying Threat\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of this range of fuel types, you get different kinds of fires at different times of year, according to Jonathan Cox, a battalion chief with Cal Fire. Earlier in the season, blazes tend to be grass fires that are easier to get under control, though extreme weather can make it harder. The County Fire, which started at the end of June in Yolo County, burned mostly in grasses and shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as the summer wears on, the big stuff dries out, too. The Carr Fire, which began in late July and has driven the destruction around Redding, has burned through a lot of heavily forested land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930036\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930036\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Carr-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As of August 16, the Carr Fire had burned over 200,000 acres. A lot of that land was forest, unlike in many earlier season fires, or fires in other parts of the state.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In mid-July, Cox noted that heavier fuels were already starting to be receptive to fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a problem,” he told KQED, “because it takes more resources, and it takes more time to suppress those types of fuels. That’s why, as the fire season progresses, it’s kind of a continuing threat that kind of multiplies as those heavier fuels dry out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Trouble with Grasses\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It might seem like light fuels — like grasses — are preferable to heavy forest fuels or dense shrublands. In general, they are easier to manage because the flames are smaller and it’s easier for firefighters to maneuver. But grass fires have their own challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The easier it is for fuels to dry out, the faster the rate of spread. According to Cox, fire spreads twice as fast in grass as it does in brush, and twice as fast in brush as it does in timber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Ferguson-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Ferguson Fire, burning near Yosemite National Park, burned first in areas of grass and shrubs but has expanded into forested areas.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because of their faster spread, grass fires are often the deadliest. Cox says a common denominator among some of the most destructive fires is that they started in light, flashy fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a very big kind of watch-out factor for firefighters as far as their safety is concerned,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“It is a very big kind of watch-out factor for firefighters as far as their safety is concerned.”\u003ccite>Jonathan Cox, Cal Fire Battalion Chief\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No One Size Fits All\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nIt’s not just firefighters who need to be aware of fuel types. There are implications for land managers and homeowners, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one thing, it offers clues to future fire patterns in any given area, points out \u003ca href=\"https://consbio.org/people/staff/alexandra-syphard\">Alexandra Syphard\u003c/a>, a fire specialist at the Conservation Biology Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area and coastal Southern California, shrublands, grasslands, and forests come together in a patchwork of fuel types. Managing these lands for wildfire hazard, ecology, and resource value can be a challenge. When it comes to managing fire in the coast ranges, “there’s no one-size-fits-all,” said UC Berkeley fire scientist Scott Stephens at a symposium in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930035\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930035\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Tubbs-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 2017 Tubbs Fire burned in an area with a patchwork of land types, including forest, shrubland, grassland, agriculture, and urban Santa Rosa.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because fire behaves differently in different types of fuels, if you change the fuel type, you change the fire you get there. The reverse is also true: if you change the amount of fire, you can change the type of fuel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, native grasslands and woodlands \u003ca href=\"http://www.publish.csiro.au/wf/WF05003\">once flourished in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, maintained by regular cultural burns by Native Americans and by grazing. A reduction in grazing, as well as the end of these traditional burns, led to the conversion of grassland to shrubland and an increase in heavy fuels in some areas. Indigenous groups and conservation organizations are \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcn.org/issues/49.21/wildfire-what-fire-researchers-learned-from-northern-california-blazes\">working to return fire\u003c/a> to the land in Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Grass Versus Shrub In Southern California\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, coastal Southern California and some chaparral areas in other parts of the state actually have as much or more frequent fire today than they did historically, explains Syphard. The result is \u003ca href=\"https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68303-4_12\">a widespread conversion of chaparral\u003c/a> to non-native grassland. This process may be accelerated by climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Syphard and other researchers who focus on chaparral \u003ca href=\"https://d2k78bk4kdhbpr.cloudfront.net/media/publications/files/Halsey_and_Syphard_High_Severity_Fire_in_Chaparral_20151.pdf\">caution against\u003c/a> the indiscriminate application of fire management practices that work for forests or other regions — like prescribed fire or cutting fuel breaks — to Southern California shrublands. \u003ca href=\"http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094005/pdf\">Research shows\u003c/a> that these tools aren’t that effective during big chaparral fires driven by Santa Ana winds, like the Thomas Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And those light flashy fuels might make it easier to fight the fire, but they also increase the risk of ignition in the first place. Syphard’s \u003ca href=\"https://d2k78bk4kdhbpr.cloudfront.net/media/publications/files/Comparingtheroleoffuelbreaks.pdf\">research\u003c/a> has shown that fuel breaks are mostly effective as an access point for firefighters and not so much as a hazard reduction, because exotic grasses fill in the gaps. The same conclusion might apply to management around homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re removing shrubland or woody vegetation that has pretty high fuel moisture and replacing it with grasslands that you’re not going to irrigate, you could unknowingly be putting yourself in an even worse position than you were before, ” Syphard cautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1930038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1930038\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-1020x721.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-1200x849.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-1180x835.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-960x679.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-240x170.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/KQEDScience_Thomas-520x368.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Last winter’s Thomas Fire, the second-largest fire on record in California, burned mostly in shrubland. Some areas within the perimeter have burned so many times in recent years that shrubland has converted to grassland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s not an easy story, says Syphard, and managing fuels means balancing safety, cultural, and ecological concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the most important things to understand is that it’s very geographically variable and the relationships that might be true in one region are likely to be really different than others,” says Syphard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jared Dahl Aldern, an environmental historian, agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know the whole southern California region is a distinct place with its own characteristics as compared to, for instance, the Sierra Nevada, ” he says. “So the key is to collaborate with local experts, including tribes who have some experience and some idea with how to proceed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Should Californians Be Rebuilding Homes in a Fire Zone?",
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"content": "\u003cp>A year ago, on a warm, windy night, Paul Lowenthal got the call; he was needed at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Tubbs Fire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/multimedia/7567543-181/santa-rosas-tubbs-fire-spread\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on its way\u003c/a> to becoming the most destructive blaze in California history, was spreading into Santa Rosa, and Lowenthal, the city’s assistant fire marshal, needed to get people out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was exploding at a rate that I would have never imagined,” he says. “I left in my work truck and uniform and thought: worst case scenario, I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘In a disaster, there’s such a strong emotional pull to get what you lost back.’\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Julie Combs, Santa Rosa City Council\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Later that night, he drove past his own neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You couldn’t actually make out individual homes in here,” he says. “It just looked like an entire wall of fire. And then realized right away my house is gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He worked the next five days on just a few hours of sleep, until finally, he stopped to take stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then realized I have nothing,” he says. “Literally had nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Picking Up the Pieces\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fueled by extreme winds, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11654027/my-world-was-burning-the-north-bay-fires-and-what-went-wrong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sonoma County’s Tubbs fire\u003c/a> killed 22 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes and buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, the community has banded together to pick up the pieces. But it’s also been grappling with a tough question — one that faces fire-ravaged communities around the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire is a normal part of the California landscape. So, how — and where — should residents rebuild to protect themselves?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1932391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1932391\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-1200x676.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-960x541.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly a year after the Tubbs Fire, Paul Lowenthal’s Larkfield rebuild was finally nearing completion — this time with more fire-resistant materials. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of Sonoma residents have opted to stay put, both financially and emotionally tied to their land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lowenthal is one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do I think those areas will burn again?” he says. “Absolutely. It’s done it before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It happened 54 years ago, when the Hanly Fire burned almost exactly same area. But since then, Santa Rosa’s population has grown by nearly six times, and Lowenthal was keenly aware of this latest fire’s effect on an already-tight housing market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I made a decision that it made more sense to rebuild here,” he says. His daughter was also a big part of that decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Could I have convinced her that we could live in a really cool place somewhere else?” he says. “Maybe. But this was our home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the hills above Santa Rosa, wooden frames of houses are rising among the blackened trees. Many of the rebuilt homes will include new fire-resistant building materials, something few had when the fire swept through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, because of California’s decade-old zoning rules, almost 2,000 of the destroyed structures will not be required to meet building standards for wildfire-prone areas. Some homeowners are taking it on themselves to meet them anyway, dipping into their insurance payouts to cover the cost. Others are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, given the region’s severe housing shortage even before last year’s firestorm, city and county governments are under pressure to build new housing in areas at risk for wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As people are trying to heal and recover, local leaders have been faced with balancing those delicate issues. With climate change making California’s fires more extreme, their decisions will affect lives for decades to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1932394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1932394\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tubbs Fire swept away about 5 percent of Santa Rosa’s housing stock. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wildland Building Codes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year after the fires, Lowenthal’s Larkfield home is finally taking shape, still a few weeks away from final inspection. This time, he says it will be better prepared to withstand fire, built with cement-fiber siding and other fire-resistant materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Between the roof, the siding, things of that nature, it was definitely a step that I wanted to take,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lowenthal isn’t legally obligated to do any of that, as his home was outside the area subject to California’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/downloads/ICC_2009_Ch7A_2007_rev_1Jan09_Supplement.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wildland-Urban Interface Codes\u003c/a>.” They include a broad range of standards for siding, roofs, decks, and windows, as well as requirements for gutters and attic vents that are meant to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917346/wildfires-can-attack-your-house-from-the-inside-heres-how-to-prevent-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prevent embers blown ahead of a wildfire\u003c/a> from igniting a home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The zones are established by a set of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917374/map-see-if-you-live-in-a-high-risk-fire-zone-and-what-that-means\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2008 Cal Fire maps\u003c/a> that outline wildfire risk by considering vegetation, fire history and slope. Sonoma County’s zones are based exactly on those maps, while the city of Santa Rosa had extended the stricter requirements somewhat beyond what was on the state maps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost 2,000 buildings destroyed in the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County weren’t mapped in those zones and won’t be required to use fire-resistant materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have an extra set of rules or requirements that we put on people to rebuild,” says David Guhin, Santa Rosa’s director of planning and economic development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guhin says Santa Rosa would be on shaky legal ground if it imposed new wildfire building codes on structures that weren’t required to meet them when they were destroyed. But since most of the homes were built decades ago, before most modern building codes, he says even the basic code upgrades they’ll undergo will help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917314\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 450px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1917314\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/FireHazard_V02_171024.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"801\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fire maps based on 2007 assessment.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The housing stock that’s going in is much more resilient than the previous house stock,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, many believe Cal Fire’s maps are outdated, since they don’t reflect the extreme nature of today’s fires. The maps assumed fairly benign weather conditions, just 12 mph for “mid-flame” wind speed, the height that affects fire behavior. During the Tubbs Fire, gusts hit almost 80 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire is in the process of updating the fire hazard maps using more realistic data, including localized information and historic fire conditions. A draft of the maps is expected sometime next year. The new maps could put many homes into a fire hazard zone that aren’t in one today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But several North Bay officials say the community can’t wait for that to be sorted out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I take solace in that the existing code is significantly better than what was there before,” Tennis Wick, who heads Sonoma County’s Permit and Resource Management Department. “I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This community needs to rebuild.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wick says many homeowners are choosing fire-resistant materials anyway, such as cement-laden siding and metal roofs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Giving Home Owners Choices\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some fire victims have opted to pull up stakes after living through the fire’s emotional trauma or due to steep rebuilding costs. In the hilly Fountaingrove neighborhood of Santa Rosa, for-sale signs sprout from empty lots among the construction sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other homeowners are tied to their property, either restricted by insurance policies that prescribe where they can rebuild, or simply priced out of other Bay Area homes. And that concerns Santa Rosa City Council member Julie Combs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know I’ve heard stories about flooding along the Mississippi and thought, ‘Why did they keep rebuilding there?’” notes Combs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m all for having property owners have choice,” she adds. “And right now, we aren’t really giving them a choice to not build on the land they’re tied to in a high-fire-hazard area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”6J0nVgqZyLvs7R2iqgz1ZfZkLrWF3g14”]Combs says she’s interested in programs like those that already exist for flooded homes, where governments or neighbors can buy out inundated properties so they won’t be re-developed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s not confident that today’s wildfire building codes are enough to protect people. The codes are meant to reduce risk, but don’t eliminate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within the Tubbs fire footprint in Santa Rosa, 22 homes were built with the most recent wildfire codes before the fire. Twenty-one of them burned anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That doesn’t strike me as particularly good odds,” says Combs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Struggle Over New Housing\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homeowners considering not rebuilding face another hurdle: there are few other places to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Santa Rosa, the Tubbs fire obliterated five percent of the city’s housing stock, exacerbating an already brutal housing market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the fire, the city estimated it needed 5,000 more housing units. The fire added 3,000 more to that number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Guhin says. “We’re going to rebuild our community as fast and quickly and as efficiently as we possibly can, but we also have to build new homes as fast as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1932396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1932396\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 237-unit Round Barn Hill Project is proposed for an area burned in the Tubbs fire. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Santa Rosa is pushing for more “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917302/bay-area-sprawl-has-put-homes-in-the-path-of-fires-what-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in-fill development\u003c/a>,” putting housing downtown and closer to public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We made that a priority this year,” he says. “We put a number of polices in place such as expedited permit processing, reducing the impact fees substantially for housing in the downtown core.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there has long been pressure to build in the surrounding hills, where the wildfire risk is highest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Development of single-family homes on the outskirts of town will happen on its own,” Guhin says. “There is a market for that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, the Santa Rosa City Council faced down that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco-based City Ventures asked for a zoning change to allow its Round Barn Village project to go forward. The 237-unit townhome development is proposed for a hillside that burned in the Tubbs fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City Ventures made the case that the homes would be built using wildfire standards and would provide much needed affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We absolutely need the housing,” said council member John Sawyer at the meeting. “And lots of mistakes were made in the past with saying no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But doubts hounded at least one council member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are setting a precedent to build more new housing in a fire hazard area when we vote today,” warned Combs at the meeting. “I just think we need to not put more sleeping people in a fire hazard area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rezoning passed 6-1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really sorry to be a lone vote,” says Combs. “It becomes very difficult to explain why we would approve that and not approve more. And I have real concerns that more is coming. We don’t need sprawl. We need to be building up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonoma County is also facing pressure to build.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I met with a resort that burned twice, once in the Hanley fire and a second time in the Tubbs,” Wick says. “New people came to see me about building a third one. And I told them I just could not support the project. There’s an enormous pressure on us to be approving resorts in remote areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In communities still in shock from the fires, these fraught decisions won’t come easily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that in a disaster, there’s such a strong emotional pull to get what you lost back,” says Combs. “I think that’s a powerful pull.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "One year after devastating fires, the North Bay is grappling with how and where to rebuild.",
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"title": "Should Californians Be Rebuilding Homes in a Fire Zone? | KQED",
"description": "One year after devastating fires, the North Bay is grappling with how and where to rebuild.",
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"headline": "Should Californians Be Rebuilding Homes in a Fire Zone?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A year ago, on a warm, windy night, Paul Lowenthal got the call; he was needed at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Tubbs Fire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/multimedia/7567543-181/santa-rosas-tubbs-fire-spread\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on its way\u003c/a> to becoming the most destructive blaze in California history, was spreading into Santa Rosa, and Lowenthal, the city’s assistant fire marshal, needed to get people out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was exploding at a rate that I would have never imagined,” he says. “I left in my work truck and uniform and thought: worst case scenario, I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘In a disaster, there’s such a strong emotional pull to get what you lost back.’\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Julie Combs, Santa Rosa City Council\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Later that night, he drove past his own neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You couldn’t actually make out individual homes in here,” he says. “It just looked like an entire wall of fire. And then realized right away my house is gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He worked the next five days on just a few hours of sleep, until finally, he stopped to take stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then realized I have nothing,” he says. “Literally had nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Picking Up the Pieces\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fueled by extreme winds, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11654027/my-world-was-burning-the-north-bay-fires-and-what-went-wrong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sonoma County’s Tubbs fire\u003c/a> killed 22 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes and buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, the community has banded together to pick up the pieces. But it’s also been grappling with a tough question — one that faces fire-ravaged communities around the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire is a normal part of the California landscape. So, how — and where — should residents rebuild to protect themselves?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1932391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1932391\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-1200x676.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-960x541.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/lownethal-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly a year after the Tubbs Fire, Paul Lowenthal’s Larkfield rebuild was finally nearing completion — this time with more fire-resistant materials. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of Sonoma residents have opted to stay put, both financially and emotionally tied to their land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lowenthal is one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do I think those areas will burn again?” he says. “Absolutely. It’s done it before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It happened 54 years ago, when the Hanly Fire burned almost exactly same area. But since then, Santa Rosa’s population has grown by nearly six times, and Lowenthal was keenly aware of this latest fire’s effect on an already-tight housing market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I made a decision that it made more sense to rebuild here,” he says. His daughter was also a big part of that decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Could I have convinced her that we could live in a really cool place somewhere else?” he says. “Maybe. But this was our home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the hills above Santa Rosa, wooden frames of houses are rising among the blackened trees. Many of the rebuilt homes will include new fire-resistant building materials, something few had when the fire swept through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, because of California’s decade-old zoning rules, almost 2,000 of the destroyed structures will not be required to meet building standards for wildfire-prone areas. Some homeowners are taking it on themselves to meet them anyway, dipping into their insurance payouts to cover the cost. Others are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, given the region’s severe housing shortage even before last year’s firestorm, city and county governments are under pressure to build new housing in areas at risk for wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As people are trying to heal and recover, local leaders have been faced with balancing those delicate issues. With climate change making California’s fires more extreme, their decisions will affect lives for decades to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1932394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1932394\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/rebuild2-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tubbs Fire swept away about 5 percent of Santa Rosa’s housing stock. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wildland Building Codes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year after the fires, Lowenthal’s Larkfield home is finally taking shape, still a few weeks away from final inspection. This time, he says it will be better prepared to withstand fire, built with cement-fiber siding and other fire-resistant materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Between the roof, the siding, things of that nature, it was definitely a step that I wanted to take,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lowenthal isn’t legally obligated to do any of that, as his home was outside the area subject to California’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/downloads/ICC_2009_Ch7A_2007_rev_1Jan09_Supplement.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wildland-Urban Interface Codes\u003c/a>.” They include a broad range of standards for siding, roofs, decks, and windows, as well as requirements for gutters and attic vents that are meant to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917346/wildfires-can-attack-your-house-from-the-inside-heres-how-to-prevent-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prevent embers blown ahead of a wildfire\u003c/a> from igniting a home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The zones are established by a set of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917374/map-see-if-you-live-in-a-high-risk-fire-zone-and-what-that-means\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2008 Cal Fire maps\u003c/a> that outline wildfire risk by considering vegetation, fire history and slope. Sonoma County’s zones are based exactly on those maps, while the city of Santa Rosa had extended the stricter requirements somewhat beyond what was on the state maps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost 2,000 buildings destroyed in the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County weren’t mapped in those zones and won’t be required to use fire-resistant materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have an extra set of rules or requirements that we put on people to rebuild,” says David Guhin, Santa Rosa’s director of planning and economic development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guhin says Santa Rosa would be on shaky legal ground if it imposed new wildfire building codes on structures that weren’t required to meet them when they were destroyed. But since most of the homes were built decades ago, before most modern building codes, he says even the basic code upgrades they’ll undergo will help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1917314\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 450px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1917314\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/10/FireHazard_V02_171024.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"801\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fire maps based on 2007 assessment.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The housing stock that’s going in is much more resilient than the previous house stock,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, many believe Cal Fire’s maps are outdated, since they don’t reflect the extreme nature of today’s fires. The maps assumed fairly benign weather conditions, just 12 mph for “mid-flame” wind speed, the height that affects fire behavior. During the Tubbs Fire, gusts hit almost 80 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire is in the process of updating the fire hazard maps using more realistic data, including localized information and historic fire conditions. A draft of the maps is expected sometime next year. The new maps could put many homes into a fire hazard zone that aren’t in one today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But several North Bay officials say the community can’t wait for that to be sorted out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I take solace in that the existing code is significantly better than what was there before,” Tennis Wick, who heads Sonoma County’s Permit and Resource Management Department. “I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This community needs to rebuild.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wick says many homeowners are choosing fire-resistant materials anyway, such as cement-laden siding and metal roofs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Giving Home Owners Choices\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some fire victims have opted to pull up stakes after living through the fire’s emotional trauma or due to steep rebuilding costs. In the hilly Fountaingrove neighborhood of Santa Rosa, for-sale signs sprout from empty lots among the construction sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other homeowners are tied to their property, either restricted by insurance policies that prescribe where they can rebuild, or simply priced out of other Bay Area homes. And that concerns Santa Rosa City Council member Julie Combs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know I’ve heard stories about flooding along the Mississippi and thought, ‘Why did they keep rebuilding there?’” notes Combs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m all for having property owners have choice,” she adds. “And right now, we aren’t really giving them a choice to not build on the land they’re tied to in a high-fire-hazard area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Combs says she’s interested in programs like those that already exist for flooded homes, where governments or neighbors can buy out inundated properties so they won’t be re-developed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s not confident that today’s wildfire building codes are enough to protect people. The codes are meant to reduce risk, but don’t eliminate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within the Tubbs fire footprint in Santa Rosa, 22 homes were built with the most recent wildfire codes before the fire. Twenty-one of them burned anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That doesn’t strike me as particularly good odds,” says Combs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Struggle Over New Housing\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homeowners considering not rebuilding face another hurdle: there are few other places to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Santa Rosa, the Tubbs fire obliterated five percent of the city’s housing stock, exacerbating an already brutal housing market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the fire, the city estimated it needed 5,000 more housing units. The fire added 3,000 more to that number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Guhin says. “We’re going to rebuild our community as fast and quickly and as efficiently as we possibly can, but we also have to build new homes as fast as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1932396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1932396\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/10/roundbarn-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 237-unit Round Barn Hill Project is proposed for an area burned in the Tubbs fire. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Santa Rosa is pushing for more “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1917302/bay-area-sprawl-has-put-homes-in-the-path-of-fires-what-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in-fill development\u003c/a>,” putting housing downtown and closer to public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We made that a priority this year,” he says. “We put a number of polices in place such as expedited permit processing, reducing the impact fees substantially for housing in the downtown core.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there has long been pressure to build in the surrounding hills, where the wildfire risk is highest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Development of single-family homes on the outskirts of town will happen on its own,” Guhin says. “There is a market for that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, the Santa Rosa City Council faced down that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco-based City Ventures asked for a zoning change to allow its Round Barn Village project to go forward. The 237-unit townhome development is proposed for a hillside that burned in the Tubbs fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City Ventures made the case that the homes would be built using wildfire standards and would provide much needed affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We absolutely need the housing,” said council member John Sawyer at the meeting. “And lots of mistakes were made in the past with saying no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But doubts hounded at least one council member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are setting a precedent to build more new housing in a fire hazard area when we vote today,” warned Combs at the meeting. “I just think we need to not put more sleeping people in a fire hazard area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rezoning passed 6-1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really sorry to be a lone vote,” says Combs. “It becomes very difficult to explain why we would approve that and not approve more. And I have real concerns that more is coming. We don’t need sprawl. We need to be building up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonoma County is also facing pressure to build.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I met with a resort that burned twice, once in the Hanley fire and a second time in the Tubbs,” Wick says. “New people came to see me about building a third one. And I told them I just could not support the project. There’s an enormous pressure on us to be approving resorts in remote areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In communities still in shock from the fires, these fraught decisions won’t come easily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that in a disaster, there’s such a strong emotional pull to get what you lost back,” says Combs. “I think that’s a powerful pull.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Fire Ecologists Say Stop Smothering Fires, Let Them Burn",
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"content": "\u003cp>When a wildfire starts, whether by lightning or human hand, it is almost always smothered.[contextly_sidebar id=”rAPdiOusjR0JcHb07qYq15XwzGemasFQ”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters and aircraft are dispatched at the first sign of smoke. Ground crews build tight containment lines, contouring where they can with the fire’s edge. Helicopters douse hot spots and flames with deluges of foamy water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public and media extol their efforts. The headline reads, “Brave firefighters tame destructive fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malcolm North, a fire ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service and the University of California, Davis, gets it. He once worked as a wildland firefighter himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem, he says, is that approach to wildfire is not just short-sighted, it’s dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overgrown forests, the result of a century of aggressive firefighting, are one of the biggest contributors to the types of massive, catastrophic fires that are becoming more common in much of the west.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lesson we learn \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/08/06/635983535/photos-as-one-california-wildfire-ebbs-another-explodes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634696282/california-carr-fire-leaves-many-unsure-about-their-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/23/425519562/wildfires-in-montana-california-scorch-thousands-of-acres-trigger-evacuationshttps://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/23/425519562/wildfires-in-montana-california-scorch-thousands-of-acres-trigger-evacuations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time you get one of these big fires, it is the result of 100 years of management decisions where they went and put out lightning strikes, they limited or shut down prescribed fire. And those decisions eventually accumulate and bite you in the butt,” he says, between quick breaths, hiking up a rock-strewn trail in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miles back, North passed a sign declaring the trail closed due to a fire ahead. The sky is a muted blue and the jagged Sierra peaks to the west are fuzzy from a haze of drifting smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North is hiking towards the fire — \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5850/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Lions Fire\u003c/a> — because it’s an example of a different approach. It was, for a brief moment, the rare fire that forest managers decided not to smother, but to let burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a good example of just how difficult that decision can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Rare Opportunity \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lions Fire started the way a wildfire should, when lightning struck a tree-covered ridge in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, south of Yosemite National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That already made it a rarity. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/27/517100594/whats-the-leading-cause-of-wildfires-in-the-u-s-humans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vast majority of wildfires\u003c/a>, 84 percent, are human-caused.[contextly_sidebar id=”4m3cHY0fNql9k9UTgKMD6a3F4sluq5MY”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also made the fire an opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service has been talking about \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/01/05/508319075/forest-service-tries-a-different-approach-on-whether-to-let-fires-burn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letting more naturally-caused wildfires burn\u003c/a> for decades. There’s a recognition that wildfire is part of the landscape across much of America. Forests evolved with fire. They \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17147189\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">depend on it\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The area the Lions Fire was burning hadn’t burned in a long time, and there were indications that fire was needed. Half of the trees in the surrounding forest were already dead, killed by beetles. A windstorm, years earlier, had downed thousands of trees to the east of the fire, creating a jumbled mess on the forest floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For forest managers like Denise Tolmie, a district ranger in the Sierra National Forest, the Lions Fire seemed like an opportunity to restore some health to the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It checked all of the boxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It started naturally, early in the season. It was far away from people and property. It was in an area that had seen fire historically but hadn’t burned in some time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Initially we said, ‘Yup. This fire is in a good place,'” Tolmie says. “Can we have positive effects from the fire? Yes we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the Forest Service allowed the fire to burn over a 2,000 acre area, she says. Fire crews were sent in to make sure the fire stayed in that area, but they didn’t go with the goal of stamping out every flame. They were there to manage the fire, not fight it.[contextly_sidebar id=”PmzdUgtKebdZOFLvEkIFV7HQTwb0qpx7″]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This decision is incredibly rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a nail-biter,” Tolmie says. “You’re making a decision where — I usually do it as: Did I dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service stopped counting how many fires it and other agencies manage this way in 2009, as part of a larger policy change. From the years 1998 to 2008 though, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_stats_fireUse.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the last with data\u003c/a>, less than half of one percent — 0.4 percent — of all ignitions in the U.S. were allowed to burn. The rest were put out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lions Fire would be no different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Delaying The Inevitable\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A stump burns in a swirl of flame on the eastern edge of the Lions Fire. Smoke rises from downed logs and stump holes under a canopy of tall trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The forest is quiet, apart from the occasional crack or pop of wood and flame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It almost seems peaceful,” North says. “It’s kind of nice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lions Fire is burning through this area at a low-intensity, slowly creeping through pine needles, branches and brush on the forest floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Historically, North says, a lot of the forests in the Sierras saw fire like this about every 20 years. For the last century, the Forest Service has been aggressively putting those fires out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the conifers didn’t stop dropping needles. Trees didn’t stop growing or falling down. Without fire, that vegetation has built up over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North looks at that accumulation as a debt that society, someday, is going to have to pay off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time you put a fire out, you’re just postponing it. You’re just kicking the can down the road,” he says. “And not only are you postponing it, but you just increase the actual fuel load that is out there, so when it does happen you get these massive megafire events.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/8/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Climate change\u003c/a> is another major contributor to the those types of fires. And the effects of it are only expected to\u003ca href=\"https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188486#sec006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> worsen the problem\u003c/a> going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there has been more political attention on the issue of overgrown forests of late.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration is \u003ca href=\"https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-directs-interior-bureaus-take-aggressive-action-prevent-wildfires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">calling for more ‘active’ logging\u003c/a> and thinning in western forests. The goal is to reduce fire risk and jump-start resource-dependent economies in parts of the rural west.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are logistical challenges to doing that though. The Lions Fire, for example, is burning in the wilderness, an area where mechanical thinning or logging is prohibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t thin our way out of this,” North says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire needs to be utilized more often, he says, and more fires need to be allowed to burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Full suppression\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple of days after forest managers decided to let the Lions Fire burn, a weather event brought high winds to the area. The fire jumped from a couple dozen acres to over 1,000 overnight, expanding beyond the area in which forest managers wanted to keep it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the change in conditions, management of the fire changed too. Helicopters went in to douse the flames. Fire crews came in by aircraft to stop the fire’s spread. It was now being fully suppressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was welcome news to the residents of Mammoth Lakes, a resort ski town about seven miles from where the fire was burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, smoke from the Lions Fire had inundated the town, driving away tourists and vacation home owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nature has to do its thing, but there comes a point where it gets too close for comfort,” says Cruz Jonathan Valleflores, who works at a local car rental agency. “Tourism is a huge part of this community, so if tourism doesn’t come through, there’s no money. There’s no jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those concerns were shared by many in the community. Some wrote angry op-eds in the local newspaper. Others vented their frustrations on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are all angry about the smoke,” says John Wentworth, a town councilman. “But personally, I know there’s no future in denial. There’s no future in just saying, ‘put out every fire that you see,’ because that’s just going to put money in the bank for the big one that’s going to come here and burn us to the ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North was disappointed with the decision to suppress the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He understands why it was made, but he points to a section of forest floor in the still-smoldering Lions Fire. The pine needles and branches are gone, replaced by a layer of black ash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are the fire effects you want to see,” he says. “High-severity catastrophic fire — it’s going to be a lot harder for that to happen here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Fire+Ecologists+Say+More+Fires+Should+Be+Left+To+Burn.+So+Why+Aren%27t+They%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When a wildfire starts, whether by lightning or human hand, it is almost always smothered.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters and aircraft are dispatched at the first sign of smoke. Ground crews build tight containment lines, contouring where they can with the fire’s edge. Helicopters douse hot spots and flames with deluges of foamy water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public and media extol their efforts. The headline reads, “Brave firefighters tame destructive fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malcolm North, a fire ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service and the University of California, Davis, gets it. He once worked as a wildland firefighter himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem, he says, is that approach to wildfire is not just short-sighted, it’s dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overgrown forests, the result of a century of aggressive firefighting, are one of the biggest contributors to the types of massive, catastrophic fires that are becoming more common in much of the west.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lesson we learn \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/08/06/635983535/photos-as-one-california-wildfire-ebbs-another-explodes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634696282/california-carr-fire-leaves-many-unsure-about-their-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/23/425519562/wildfires-in-montana-california-scorch-thousands-of-acres-trigger-evacuationshttps://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/23/425519562/wildfires-in-montana-california-scorch-thousands-of-acres-trigger-evacuations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time you get one of these big fires, it is the result of 100 years of management decisions where they went and put out lightning strikes, they limited or shut down prescribed fire. And those decisions eventually accumulate and bite you in the butt,” he says, between quick breaths, hiking up a rock-strewn trail in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miles back, North passed a sign declaring the trail closed due to a fire ahead. The sky is a muted blue and the jagged Sierra peaks to the west are fuzzy from a haze of drifting smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North is hiking towards the fire — \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5850/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Lions Fire\u003c/a> — because it’s an example of a different approach. It was, for a brief moment, the rare fire that forest managers decided not to smother, but to let burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a good example of just how difficult that decision can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Rare Opportunity \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lions Fire started the way a wildfire should, when lightning struck a tree-covered ridge in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, south of Yosemite National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That already made it a rarity. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/27/517100594/whats-the-leading-cause-of-wildfires-in-the-u-s-humans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vast majority of wildfires\u003c/a>, 84 percent, are human-caused.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also made the fire an opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service has been talking about \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/01/05/508319075/forest-service-tries-a-different-approach-on-whether-to-let-fires-burn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letting more naturally-caused wildfires burn\u003c/a> for decades. There’s a recognition that wildfire is part of the landscape across much of America. Forests evolved with fire. They \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17147189\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">depend on it\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The area the Lions Fire was burning hadn’t burned in a long time, and there were indications that fire was needed. Half of the trees in the surrounding forest were already dead, killed by beetles. A windstorm, years earlier, had downed thousands of trees to the east of the fire, creating a jumbled mess on the forest floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For forest managers like Denise Tolmie, a district ranger in the Sierra National Forest, the Lions Fire seemed like an opportunity to restore some health to the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It checked all of the boxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It started naturally, early in the season. It was far away from people and property. It was in an area that had seen fire historically but hadn’t burned in some time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Initially we said, ‘Yup. This fire is in a good place,'” Tolmie says. “Can we have positive effects from the fire? Yes we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the Forest Service allowed the fire to burn over a 2,000 acre area, she says. Fire crews were sent in to make sure the fire stayed in that area, but they didn’t go with the goal of stamping out every flame. They were there to manage the fire, not fight it.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This decision is incredibly rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a nail-biter,” Tolmie says. “You’re making a decision where — I usually do it as: Did I dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service stopped counting how many fires it and other agencies manage this way in 2009, as part of a larger policy change. From the years 1998 to 2008 though, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_stats_fireUse.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the last with data\u003c/a>, less than half of one percent — 0.4 percent — of all ignitions in the U.S. were allowed to burn. The rest were put out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lions Fire would be no different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Delaying The Inevitable\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A stump burns in a swirl of flame on the eastern edge of the Lions Fire. Smoke rises from downed logs and stump holes under a canopy of tall trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The forest is quiet, apart from the occasional crack or pop of wood and flame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It almost seems peaceful,” North says. “It’s kind of nice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lions Fire is burning through this area at a low-intensity, slowly creeping through pine needles, branches and brush on the forest floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Historically, North says, a lot of the forests in the Sierras saw fire like this about every 20 years. For the last century, the Forest Service has been aggressively putting those fires out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the conifers didn’t stop dropping needles. Trees didn’t stop growing or falling down. Without fire, that vegetation has built up over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North looks at that accumulation as a debt that society, someday, is going to have to pay off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time you put a fire out, you’re just postponing it. You’re just kicking the can down the road,” he says. “And not only are you postponing it, but you just increase the actual fuel load that is out there, so when it does happen you get these massive megafire events.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/8/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Climate change\u003c/a> is another major contributor to the those types of fires. And the effects of it are only expected to\u003ca href=\"https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188486#sec006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> worsen the problem\u003c/a> going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there has been more political attention on the issue of overgrown forests of late.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration is \u003ca href=\"https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-directs-interior-bureaus-take-aggressive-action-prevent-wildfires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">calling for more ‘active’ logging\u003c/a> and thinning in western forests. The goal is to reduce fire risk and jump-start resource-dependent economies in parts of the rural west.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are logistical challenges to doing that though. The Lions Fire, for example, is burning in the wilderness, an area where mechanical thinning or logging is prohibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t thin our way out of this,” North says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire needs to be utilized more often, he says, and more fires need to be allowed to burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Full suppression\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple of days after forest managers decided to let the Lions Fire burn, a weather event brought high winds to the area. The fire jumped from a couple dozen acres to over 1,000 overnight, expanding beyond the area in which forest managers wanted to keep it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the change in conditions, management of the fire changed too. Helicopters went in to douse the flames. Fire crews came in by aircraft to stop the fire’s spread. It was now being fully suppressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was welcome news to the residents of Mammoth Lakes, a resort ski town about seven miles from where the fire was burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, smoke from the Lions Fire had inundated the town, driving away tourists and vacation home owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nature has to do its thing, but there comes a point where it gets too close for comfort,” says Cruz Jonathan Valleflores, who works at a local car rental agency. “Tourism is a huge part of this community, so if tourism doesn’t come through, there’s no money. There’s no jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those concerns were shared by many in the community. Some wrote angry op-eds in the local newspaper. Others vented their frustrations on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are all angry about the smoke,” says John Wentworth, a town councilman. “But personally, I know there’s no future in denial. There’s no future in just saying, ‘put out every fire that you see,’ because that’s just going to put money in the bank for the big one that’s going to come here and burn us to the ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North was disappointed with the decision to suppress the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He understands why it was made, but he points to a section of forest floor in the still-smoldering Lions Fire. The pine needles and branches are gone, replaced by a layer of black ash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are the fire effects you want to see,” he says. “High-severity catastrophic fire — it’s going to be a lot harder for that to happen here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Fire+Ecologists+Say+More+Fires+Should+Be+Left+To+Burn.+So+Why+Aren%27t+They%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California officials quickly determined an arsonist started last month’s huge wildfire southeast of Los Angeles, and that two weeks earlier sparks from a vehicle produced a deadly wildfire in the far northern part of the state.[contextly_sidebar id=”x9SVs9J5Md3sNK5CZuctRNYzzcoR5sxD”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But causes for many of California’s worst blazes of the past decade remain a mystery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Associated Press reviewed state data on the 10 largest wildfires and 10 most destructive in terms of homes and buildings burned for each year dating to 2008. Lightning was the most common cause, accounting for about a quarter of those fires, followed by incidents involving power lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, investigators could not determine a cause for about a third of those fires. Experts say each is a missed opportunity to learn something new.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we don’t know what causes a fire, we don’t know how to prevent them,” said Carrie Bilbao, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center who investigated wildfires in Idaho for 26 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1931687\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"556\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-160x111.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-768x534.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-240x167.jpeg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-375x261.jpeg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-520x361.jpeg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finding the trigger aids criminal prosecutions and helps determine liability. It also guides campaigns to change behavior, like avoiding mowing on hot afternoons when fire threat is high. And it leads to safety enhancements, like sleeves on power lines, which came about when it was determined that falling tree branches and birds cause sparks when they hit unprotected electrical wires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s estimated human activity — from untended campfires to sparks from vehicles — causes more than 80 percent of all wildfires in the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far in 2018, wildfires have scorched more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) in California. More than 2,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed, and at least 11 people killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Mendocino Complex Fire that burned for nearly two months, killing one firefighter and destroying more than 150 homes, is the largest ever recorded in the state at 720 square miles (1,865 square kilometers), an area more than twice the size of New York City. No cause has been determined yet, nor has one been pinpointed for the Ferguson Fire, which prompted the closure of much of Yosemite National Park.[contextly_sidebar id=”ht3ccnGCMhE9MnKWGfNiADaxgb6dja0r”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Holy Fire, southeast of Los Angeles, was quickly determined to be arson. Authorities say the suspect was motivated by a feud with his neighbors in the Cleveland National Forest. The fire prompted evacuation orders for 20,000 people and nearly burned through the community of Lake Elsinore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arson was pegged as the cause for only five of California’s most destructive or largest fires of the last decade, according to state records, though officials say the true number likely is much higher. That’s because for arson to be the cause, no other possibility can exist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, for example, even if investigators believe an arsonist was responsible for a fire next to a rail line, they may leave the cause undetermined because they can’t rule out a spark from a passing train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finding causes that can lead to preventive measures has become more urgent in drought-plagued California. Even as climate change extends the fire season and feeds record-breaking infernos, more homes are being built in rugged areas where fire danger is high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three times as much acreage has burned so far this year in California as last year, which produced the Tubbs Fire that was the most destructive in recorded state history and the Thomas Fire that, until this year, was the largest ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the most dangerous months for California wildfires are still to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Carr Fire, the deadliest so far this year with eight fatalities, started in July with a spark from a vehicle. Whipped by winds, the flames exploded into Redding, the largest city in far Northern California. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed.[contextly_sidebar id=”W46QqhdbxLoat50CyyG3OstxHgZm0r5B”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The driver immediately reported the fire so there was no mystery about how it started. Such quick confirmation is unusual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trying to investigate any kind of fire is almost like trying to investigate a murder — except most of your evidence has been destroyed, and everything around it has been destroyed, by fire,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If lightning maps show no activity in a burn area, the assumption is it was started by humans, and fire investigators immediately head to the spot to cordon it off and protect evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a painstaking process, even when fires are small.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investigators look at how the vegetation is flattened to determine where the flames originated and track it to the ignition point — usually the coldest spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are challenges, especially if the fire occurred along a road or other heavily trafficked area. Crews fighting fires can inadvertently wipe out key clues, like carbon particles from a car backfiring or pieces of porcelain from an exploded catalytic converter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cellphone photos and videos from witnesses help investigators. Drones provide aerial views of a point of ignition, showing burn patterns and strike marks on power lines, which are hard to see from the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But often it comes down to two possible causes, which results in the cause being declared undetermined and the case being closed unless new evidence appears. Tolmachoff can’t recall an investigation to determine a cause ever reopening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s Tubbs and Thomas fires still are under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tubbs, in wine country north of San Francisco, destroyed nearly 5,700 structures and killed 22 people. Thomas, in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings. A month later, heavy rains fell on hills denuded by the fire, unleashing mudslides that killed 21 and left two others missing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawsuits seeking billions in damages have been filed. Concern that California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., would go bankrupt if it’s found at fault for the Tubbs Fire prompted the Legislature to pass a bill allowing the company to raise utility bills to pay off lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California officials quickly determined an arsonist started last month’s huge wildfire southeast of Los Angeles, and that two weeks earlier sparks from a vehicle produced a deadly wildfire in the far northern part of the state.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But causes for many of California’s worst blazes of the past decade remain a mystery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Associated Press reviewed state data on the 10 largest wildfires and 10 most destructive in terms of homes and buildings burned for each year dating to 2008. Lightning was the most common cause, accounting for about a quarter of those fires, followed by incidents involving power lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, investigators could not determine a cause for about a third of those fires. Experts say each is a missed opportunity to learn something new.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we don’t know what causes a fire, we don’t know how to prevent them,” said Carrie Bilbao, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center who investigated wildfires in Idaho for 26 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1931687\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"556\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-160x111.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-768x534.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-240x167.jpeg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-375x261.jpeg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/09/800-2-520x361.jpeg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finding the trigger aids criminal prosecutions and helps determine liability. It also guides campaigns to change behavior, like avoiding mowing on hot afternoons when fire threat is high. And it leads to safety enhancements, like sleeves on power lines, which came about when it was determined that falling tree branches and birds cause sparks when they hit unprotected electrical wires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s estimated human activity — from untended campfires to sparks from vehicles — causes more than 80 percent of all wildfires in the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far in 2018, wildfires have scorched more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) in California. More than 2,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed, and at least 11 people killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Mendocino Complex Fire that burned for nearly two months, killing one firefighter and destroying more than 150 homes, is the largest ever recorded in the state at 720 square miles (1,865 square kilometers), an area more than twice the size of New York City. No cause has been determined yet, nor has one been pinpointed for the Ferguson Fire, which prompted the closure of much of Yosemite National Park.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Holy Fire, southeast of Los Angeles, was quickly determined to be arson. Authorities say the suspect was motivated by a feud with his neighbors in the Cleveland National Forest. The fire prompted evacuation orders for 20,000 people and nearly burned through the community of Lake Elsinore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arson was pegged as the cause for only five of California’s most destructive or largest fires of the last decade, according to state records, though officials say the true number likely is much higher. That’s because for arson to be the cause, no other possibility can exist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, for example, even if investigators believe an arsonist was responsible for a fire next to a rail line, they may leave the cause undetermined because they can’t rule out a spark from a passing train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finding causes that can lead to preventive measures has become more urgent in drought-plagued California. Even as climate change extends the fire season and feeds record-breaking infernos, more homes are being built in rugged areas where fire danger is high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three times as much acreage has burned so far this year in California as last year, which produced the Tubbs Fire that was the most destructive in recorded state history and the Thomas Fire that, until this year, was the largest ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the most dangerous months for California wildfires are still to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Carr Fire, the deadliest so far this year with eight fatalities, started in July with a spark from a vehicle. Whipped by winds, the flames exploded into Redding, the largest city in far Northern California. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The driver immediately reported the fire so there was no mystery about how it started. Such quick confirmation is unusual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trying to investigate any kind of fire is almost like trying to investigate a murder — except most of your evidence has been destroyed, and everything around it has been destroyed, by fire,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If lightning maps show no activity in a burn area, the assumption is it was started by humans, and fire investigators immediately head to the spot to cordon it off and protect evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a painstaking process, even when fires are small.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investigators look at how the vegetation is flattened to determine where the flames originated and track it to the ignition point — usually the coldest spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are challenges, especially if the fire occurred along a road or other heavily trafficked area. Crews fighting fires can inadvertently wipe out key clues, like carbon particles from a car backfiring or pieces of porcelain from an exploded catalytic converter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cellphone photos and videos from witnesses help investigators. Drones provide aerial views of a point of ignition, showing burn patterns and strike marks on power lines, which are hard to see from the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But often it comes down to two possible causes, which results in the cause being declared undetermined and the case being closed unless new evidence appears. Tolmachoff can’t recall an investigation to determine a cause ever reopening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s Tubbs and Thomas fires still are under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tubbs, in wine country north of San Francisco, destroyed nearly 5,700 structures and killed 22 people. Thomas, in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings. A month later, heavy rains fell on hills denuded by the fire, unleashing mudslides that killed 21 and left two others missing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawsuits seeking billions in damages have been filed. Concern that California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., would go bankrupt if it’s found at fault for the Tubbs Fire prompted the Legislature to pass a bill allowing the company to raise utility bills to pay off lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "U.S. Deaths From Wildfire Smoke Could Double By 2100 Even as Air Quality Improves Overall",
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"content": "\u003cp>As wildfire season intensifies due to climate change, a new study finds that the number of U.S. deaths linked to the chronic inhalation of wildfire smoke could double by the end of the century — to more than 40,000 deaths per year.[contextly_sidebar id=”M3M5DyyUYffqWEz81xgsDJm4P5svG3Ie”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, published in \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018GH000144\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the journal GeoHealth\u003c/a>, is the first to simulate the effects of wildfire smoke on human health over the coming decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers looked at the impacts of changing fire emissions on air quality and premature deaths in the middle to late 21st century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on the model, the number of deaths from chronic inhalation of wildfire smoke could increase to more than 40,000 per year by the end of the 21st century, up from around 15,000 per year today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Declines in air pollution from human sources such as cars could be offset by increases in emissions from more intense wildfires, according to co-author Jeff Pierce, associate professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2017, the U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire suppression costs reached a record\u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/blogs/2018-predicted-be-challenging-wildfire-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> high of $2.4 billion.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Smoke concentrations will roughly double and this will counteract a lot of improvements gained from a reduction in emissions from human sources, such as power plants,” says Pierce.[contextly_sidebar id=”ZBSnpUWr3GDytt4NOd5KXiuOFKegGScb”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> poses a risk to human health\u003c/a> because of its composition, a mixture of gases and microscopic particles from burned material known as particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exposure\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/features/wildfires/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to particulate matter\u003c/a> can irritate the eyes, aggravate respiratory issues, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can also lead\u003ca href=\"https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/wildfire_may2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to premature death\u003c/a> in people with heart or lung disease, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers used simulated concentrations of particulate matter generated by a model for early, mid, and late-century time frames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on those concentrations, researchers then calculated the expected number of annual deaths due to chronic exposure to wildfire smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We relied on previously done epidemiological studies that have come up with relationships between particulate matter concentrations and death rates,” says Pierce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings underscore the importance of preparing for future air quality changes caused by wildfires, according to Pierce.[contextly_sidebar id=”GDcM14JS6EO9cSJhJF2nIvYmx8v5FrMP”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he cautions that more research needs to be done since the findings were based on a single simulation due to the high costs associated with doing environmental-based computational work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first simulation of its kind and we don’t have a proper probability distribution model,” says Pierce. “With more models, you can come up with a range of probabilities of what the future might look like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The model used in the study bases its estimates on current climate projections that corrects for future things like temperature and relative humidity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our study is a starting point and the information could be used as a first estimate of what to prepare for,” says Pierce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health campaigns in conjunction with climate mitigation efforts could help reduce human exposure to wildfire smoke, according to the study’s authors.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As wildfire season intensifies due to climate change, a new study finds that the number of U.S. deaths linked to the chronic inhalation of wildfire smoke could double by the end of the century — to more than 40,000 deaths per year.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, published in \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018GH000144\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the journal GeoHealth\u003c/a>, is the first to simulate the effects of wildfire smoke on human health over the coming decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers looked at the impacts of changing fire emissions on air quality and premature deaths in the middle to late 21st century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on the model, the number of deaths from chronic inhalation of wildfire smoke could increase to more than 40,000 per year by the end of the 21st century, up from around 15,000 per year today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Declines in air pollution from human sources such as cars could be offset by increases in emissions from more intense wildfires, according to co-author Jeff Pierce, associate professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2017, the U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire suppression costs reached a record\u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/blogs/2018-predicted-be-challenging-wildfire-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> high of $2.4 billion.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Smoke concentrations will roughly double and this will counteract a lot of improvements gained from a reduction in emissions from human sources, such as power plants,” says Pierce.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1926793/protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> poses a risk to human health\u003c/a> because of its composition, a mixture of gases and microscopic particles from burned material known as particulate matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exposure\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/features/wildfires/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to particulate matter\u003c/a> can irritate the eyes, aggravate respiratory issues, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can also lead\u003ca href=\"https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/wildfire_may2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to premature death\u003c/a> in people with heart or lung disease, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers used simulated concentrations of particulate matter generated by a model for early, mid, and late-century time frames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on those concentrations, researchers then calculated the expected number of annual deaths due to chronic exposure to wildfire smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We relied on previously done epidemiological studies that have come up with relationships between particulate matter concentrations and death rates,” says Pierce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings underscore the importance of preparing for future air quality changes caused by wildfires, according to Pierce.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he cautions that more research needs to be done since the findings were based on a single simulation due to the high costs associated with doing environmental-based computational work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first simulation of its kind and we don’t have a proper probability distribution model,” says Pierce. “With more models, you can come up with a range of probabilities of what the future might look like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The model used in the study bases its estimates on current climate projections that corrects for future things like temperature and relative humidity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our study is a starting point and the information could be used as a first estimate of what to prepare for,” says Pierce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health campaigns in conjunction with climate mitigation efforts could help reduce human exposure to wildfire smoke, according to the study’s authors.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/493341765″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this month’s episode of Deeply Talks, Water Deeply managing editor Matt Weiser discussed the American West’s dual challenges of water scarcity and wildfires with Crystal Kolden, associate professor of forest, rangeland and fire sciences in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, and Van Butsic, assistant cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Berkeley.[contextly_sidebar id=”R19g0r3w6Y4guMyUxHierEeT3WsqiEuG”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire affects the watersheds that in turn supply municipal drinking water, fulfill agricultural needs and support critical species across the West. That’s why the management of both forest and water resources is so closely intertwined – and why this issue has become more pressing. The West, Kolden explained, is seeing more fires across larger areas, and even changes to how these fires burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of the water utilities in California now have extensive programs that address fire prevention and suppression and also forest management to alter the behavior of fires in their watersheds,” Kolden said. Outside of California, however, the level of preparedness varies, depending on how often the municipalities have seen the effect of wildfire on their watersheds firsthand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more and more areas that haven’t had to deal with wildfires are recognizing that with climate change, they will start to. “They’re very much understanding that this is something they’ll have to tackle if they aren’t already,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prescribed burns and forest thinning are recognized as ways to control wildfires, said Butsic, but it’s something that’s easier said than done, particularly because of regulations that restrict forest management. While many of these rules have benefits – for example, preventing exposure to smoke inhalation and protecting endangered species – he maintains that they are still shortsighted. In a recent study, his team proposed some changes to help take these long-term costs into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Forest management is really about trade-offs,” Butsic said. “You’re either going to do the work now and get the benefits later, or you’re going to put off doing the work now and then you’re going to get the pain later.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article originally appeared on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://mail.kqed.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9e4bb0e1a7d74f24ba4684ef2533053d&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.newsdeeply.com%2fwater\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water Deeply\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and you can find it \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/09/05/deeply-talks-fire-drought-the-extremes-become-routine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For important news about the California drought, you can \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://waterdeeply.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8b78e9a34ff7443ec1e8c62c6&id=2947becb78\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sign up\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the Water Deeply email list.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The West has entered an era of permanent water scarcity and is facing more frequent, larger wildfires. Listen to two experts explain how these challenges – and our approaches to managing them – are intertwined.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='”100%”' height='”300″'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/493341765″&visual=true&”color=#ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true”'\n title='”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/493341765″'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this month’s episode of Deeply Talks, Water Deeply managing editor Matt Weiser discussed the American West’s dual challenges of water scarcity and wildfires with Crystal Kolden, associate professor of forest, rangeland and fire sciences in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, and Van Butsic, assistant cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Berkeley.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire affects the watersheds that in turn supply municipal drinking water, fulfill agricultural needs and support critical species across the West. That’s why the management of both forest and water resources is so closely intertwined – and why this issue has become more pressing. The West, Kolden explained, is seeing more fires across larger areas, and even changes to how these fires burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of the water utilities in California now have extensive programs that address fire prevention and suppression and also forest management to alter the behavior of fires in their watersheds,” Kolden said. Outside of California, however, the level of preparedness varies, depending on how often the municipalities have seen the effect of wildfire on their watersheds firsthand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more and more areas that haven’t had to deal with wildfires are recognizing that with climate change, they will start to. “They’re very much understanding that this is something they’ll have to tackle if they aren’t already,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prescribed burns and forest thinning are recognized as ways to control wildfires, said Butsic, but it’s something that’s easier said than done, particularly because of regulations that restrict forest management. While many of these rules have benefits – for example, preventing exposure to smoke inhalation and protecting endangered species – he maintains that they are still shortsighted. In a recent study, his team proposed some changes to help take these long-term costs into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Forest management is really about trade-offs,” Butsic said. “You’re either going to do the work now and get the benefits later, or you’re going to put off doing the work now and then you’re going to get the pain later.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article originally appeared on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://mail.kqed.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9e4bb0e1a7d74f24ba4684ef2533053d&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.newsdeeply.com%2fwater\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water Deeply\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and you can find it \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/09/05/deeply-talks-fire-drought-the-extremes-become-routine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For important news about the California drought, you can \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://waterdeeply.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8b78e9a34ff7443ec1e8c62c6&id=2947becb78\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sign up\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the Water Deeply email list.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "'Dangerously Overgrown' Forests May Revive Logging Industry",
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"content": "\u003cp>In Redding, where the Carr Fire burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed more than a thousand homes, there’s a feeling of desperation. Something has to be done to clear the dense stands of trees and thick brush in the mountains around town, or the next fire will be even worse.[contextly_sidebar id=”6J6TyQdeTAPOMUSCY8UwzixxvC7j0q2S”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just global warming,” said Ryan Adcock, who grew up here. She was forced to evacuate her home for five days due to the Carr Fire and was taking advantage of a rare smoke free morning walking with her kids along a river front bike path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just one thing, there’s logging, there are several factors that play into why it’s worse now than it’s ever been,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was a time when logging and timber companies ruled Redding. When Bill Oliver moved here in the 1960s to take a job with the U.S. Forest Service, he remembers the valley was lined with timber mill after timber mill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was the major industry between Shasta Lake City, 8 miles north, all the way down to Anderson, 8 miles south of here,” Oliver says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to California’s deadly wildfires, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-fires-blog-as-trump-tweets-about-california-fires-1533693230-htmlstory.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump administration is calling for more ‘active’ logging \u003c/a>in western forests. They want to open up more public lands to the timber industry, to reduce the fire risk but also revive rural, natural-resource dependent economies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a decades-old debate in the West and by no means a new GOP talking point. But out on the ground, foresters and even some timder industry leaders say what’s really needed to mitigate the wildfire threat is a lot more involved — and expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The picture has changed,” says Rich Fairbanks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fairbanks managed and fought fires for the U.S. Forest Service for 30 years, largely in southern Oregon and northern California, where many of the West’s worst fires have burned so far this year. Fairbanks is now a fire and forest management consultant from his home near Ashland, Ore.[contextly_sidebar id=”hidfqgQP7teUgioPyRefKojw4JVRgmyQ”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of senators and congressmen are still thinking we’re back in the 1970s,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, much has changed since the 1970s and 1980s, which marked the height of the timber wars over clear cutting and the spotted owl. Since then, the amount of federal land open to logging has dropped precipitously and a lot of the logging moved to private land. Timber and logging companies themselves have consolidated and mechanized, leaving fewer people necessary to do the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A ‘Sustainable’ Industry \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, even if more public land was opened back up to logging, retired Forest Service officials like Bill Oliver wonder whether there is enough industry left in the West to process the timber. Oliver, a wildfire scientist, says the forests are dangerously overgrown today due to prior forest management decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The forests are much too dense because we’ve tried to keep fire out for about a hundred years,” Oliver says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver says the actual stuff that needs to be cleared out of the woods are the brush and small diameter trees that provide kindling for today’s mega fires. Those don’t tend to be worth that much to the timber industry. It’s the big trees that make the money. This has long been an impediment to joint public-private forest restoration and wildfire mitigation efforts. But there are signs this is changing.[contextly_sidebar id=”c07wsvBxrVL7AM7hSFZ8MwOEGLtffZNy”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the few big players left in northern California’s wood products industry is \u003ca href=\"http://www.spi-ind.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sierra Pacific Industries\u003c/a>. Each of their six mills in the region are being systematically upgraded to handle that smaller diameter wood so it can be turned into commercially viable products like particle board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry sees opportunity, says Dan Tomascheski, vice president of forest resources at the company. But they need reassurances that there will be a lumber supply on public lands for more than just one or two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This can’t be a bubble,” he says. “This has to be a ramp up and then a sustained program.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service says there is a sustainable market — and opportunity — when you consider that upwards of \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/toward-shared-stewardship.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">80 million acres of forest lands\u003c/a> nationwide are considered at risk of major fires and in need of treatment. So far only about two million acres of public land have been treated through logging and other thinning projects or prescribed burns, according to the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not talking about just cutting trees to cut trees,” says Tomascheski. “We’re talking about harvesting timber in a way that produces the fuel breaks and the thinning that we all need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Environmental Appeals \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration says the biggest thing standing in the way of the fuel load is environmental lawsuits. \u003ca href=\"https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-introduces-legislation-to-accelerate-forest-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A bill introduced this month\u003c/a> by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., aims to reduce legal appeals and fast track forest management projects on some national forests in the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a recent committee hearing, Daines said there were more than two dozen forest management projects under litigation in Montana alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t even see the mountains out of my backdoor in my home which are just a few miles away because of the smoke,” Daines said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration’s secretary of the interior, Ryan Zinke, has even \u003ca href=\"https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/13/exclusive-zinke-environmental-terrorist-groups-western-us-wildfires/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">referred to some of the groups opposing logging as environmental terrorist organizations\u003c/a>, causing \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/zinke-says-environmental-terrorist-groups-enabled-wildfires-n901481\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an outcry\u003c/a> in many corners of the region. Still, in a lot of the West, tensions between environmentalists and logging companies have actually cooled over the past decade.[contextly_sidebar id=”TF3m95iiRBDJOC5n3HcMPDv13WnVMO4P”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are now partnerships and compromises being made on forest health projects from \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/site/panhandleforestcollaborative/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Idaho\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/our-work/snfci-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California\u003c/a> that don’t always make the headlines. Dan Tomascheski at Sierra Pacific says his company now regularly talks with some environmental groups that he couldn’t imagined working with 20 years ago. “The level of hostility and the fiery dialogue has really diminished,” Tomascheski says. He says this is largely due to an understanding among all sides that the status quo in forest management isn’t working and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/08/07/636458618/why-todays-wildfires-are-hotter-and-more-destructive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfires are only worsening\u003c/a> in severity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People outside of Washington D.C. tend to point their finger at a much less high profile culprit they say is holding up fire mitigation projects: funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest enemy of good forest management, especially fire management, is budget cuts,” says forest management consultant Rich Armstrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Armstrong says it takes money to plan and implement the kinds of landscape level forest restoration projects that are needed. But the government has cut the budget for wildfire mitigation and other forest programs, while diverting much of the remaining funding to pay to fight wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Sierra Pacific, Dan Tomascheski sees the effects of this on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Forest Service has lost quite a bit of expertise in all of the disciplines of hydrology, road engineering, wildlife biology etcetera,” he says. “They’ve lost a lot of the funding for those positions and they need to regain some of that expertise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress recently passed a bi-partisan fix creating a separate fund to pay for wildfire suppression, though that won’t take effect until next year at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Will+More+Logging+Save+Western+Forests+From+Wildfires%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Trump administration has called for more logging of western forests to reduce wildfire risks. But people on the ground in the west say the solution is thinning and forest restoration, not logging.",
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"description": "The Trump administration has called for more logging of western forests to reduce wildfire risks. But people on the ground in the west say the solution is thinning and forest restoration, not logging.",
"title": "'Dangerously Overgrown' Forests May Revive Logging Industry | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In Redding, where the Carr Fire burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed more than a thousand homes, there’s a feeling of desperation. Something has to be done to clear the dense stands of trees and thick brush in the mountains around town, or the next fire will be even worse.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just global warming,” said Ryan Adcock, who grew up here. She was forced to evacuate her home for five days due to the Carr Fire and was taking advantage of a rare smoke free morning walking with her kids along a river front bike path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just one thing, there’s logging, there are several factors that play into why it’s worse now than it’s ever been,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was a time when logging and timber companies ruled Redding. When Bill Oliver moved here in the 1960s to take a job with the U.S. Forest Service, he remembers the valley was lined with timber mill after timber mill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was the major industry between Shasta Lake City, 8 miles north, all the way down to Anderson, 8 miles south of here,” Oliver says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to California’s deadly wildfires, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-fires-blog-as-trump-tweets-about-california-fires-1533693230-htmlstory.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump administration is calling for more ‘active’ logging \u003c/a>in western forests. They want to open up more public lands to the timber industry, to reduce the fire risk but also revive rural, natural-resource dependent economies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a decades-old debate in the West and by no means a new GOP talking point. But out on the ground, foresters and even some timder industry leaders say what’s really needed to mitigate the wildfire threat is a lot more involved — and expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The picture has changed,” says Rich Fairbanks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fairbanks managed and fought fires for the U.S. Forest Service for 30 years, largely in southern Oregon and northern California, where many of the West’s worst fires have burned so far this year. Fairbanks is now a fire and forest management consultant from his home near Ashland, Ore.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of senators and congressmen are still thinking we’re back in the 1970s,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, much has changed since the 1970s and 1980s, which marked the height of the timber wars over clear cutting and the spotted owl. Since then, the amount of federal land open to logging has dropped precipitously and a lot of the logging moved to private land. Timber and logging companies themselves have consolidated and mechanized, leaving fewer people necessary to do the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A ‘Sustainable’ Industry \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, even if more public land was opened back up to logging, retired Forest Service officials like Bill Oliver wonder whether there is enough industry left in the West to process the timber. Oliver, a wildfire scientist, says the forests are dangerously overgrown today due to prior forest management decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The forests are much too dense because we’ve tried to keep fire out for about a hundred years,” Oliver says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver says the actual stuff that needs to be cleared out of the woods are the brush and small diameter trees that provide kindling for today’s mega fires. Those don’t tend to be worth that much to the timber industry. It’s the big trees that make the money. This has long been an impediment to joint public-private forest restoration and wildfire mitigation efforts. But there are signs this is changing.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the few big players left in northern California’s wood products industry is \u003ca href=\"http://www.spi-ind.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sierra Pacific Industries\u003c/a>. Each of their six mills in the region are being systematically upgraded to handle that smaller diameter wood so it can be turned into commercially viable products like particle board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry sees opportunity, says Dan Tomascheski, vice president of forest resources at the company. But they need reassurances that there will be a lumber supply on public lands for more than just one or two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This can’t be a bubble,” he says. “This has to be a ramp up and then a sustained program.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service says there is a sustainable market — and opportunity — when you consider that upwards of \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/toward-shared-stewardship.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">80 million acres of forest lands\u003c/a> nationwide are considered at risk of major fires and in need of treatment. So far only about two million acres of public land have been treated through logging and other thinning projects or prescribed burns, according to the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not talking about just cutting trees to cut trees,” says Tomascheski. “We’re talking about harvesting timber in a way that produces the fuel breaks and the thinning that we all need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Environmental Appeals \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration says the biggest thing standing in the way of the fuel load is environmental lawsuits. \u003ca href=\"https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-introduces-legislation-to-accelerate-forest-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A bill introduced this month\u003c/a> by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., aims to reduce legal appeals and fast track forest management projects on some national forests in the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a recent committee hearing, Daines said there were more than two dozen forest management projects under litigation in Montana alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t even see the mountains out of my backdoor in my home which are just a few miles away because of the smoke,” Daines said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration’s secretary of the interior, Ryan Zinke, has even \u003ca href=\"https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/13/exclusive-zinke-environmental-terrorist-groups-western-us-wildfires/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">referred to some of the groups opposing logging as environmental terrorist organizations\u003c/a>, causing \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/zinke-says-environmental-terrorist-groups-enabled-wildfires-n901481\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an outcry\u003c/a> in many corners of the region. Still, in a lot of the West, tensions between environmentalists and logging companies have actually cooled over the past decade.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are now partnerships and compromises being made on forest health projects from \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/site/panhandleforestcollaborative/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Idaho\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/our-work/snfci-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California\u003c/a> that don’t always make the headlines. Dan Tomascheski at Sierra Pacific says his company now regularly talks with some environmental groups that he couldn’t imagined working with 20 years ago. “The level of hostility and the fiery dialogue has really diminished,” Tomascheski says. He says this is largely due to an understanding among all sides that the status quo in forest management isn’t working and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/08/07/636458618/why-todays-wildfires-are-hotter-and-more-destructive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfires are only worsening\u003c/a> in severity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People outside of Washington D.C. tend to point their finger at a much less high profile culprit they say is holding up fire mitigation projects: funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest enemy of good forest management, especially fire management, is budget cuts,” says forest management consultant Rich Armstrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Armstrong says it takes money to plan and implement the kinds of landscape level forest restoration projects that are needed. But the government has cut the budget for wildfire mitigation and other forest programs, while diverting much of the remaining funding to pay to fight wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Sierra Pacific, Dan Tomascheski sees the effects of this on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Forest Service has lost quite a bit of expertise in all of the disciplines of hydrology, road engineering, wildlife biology etcetera,” he says. “They’ve lost a lot of the funding for those positions and they need to regain some of that expertise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress recently passed a bi-partisan fix creating a separate fund to pay for wildfire suppression, though that won’t take effect until next year at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Will+More+Logging+Save+Western+Forests+From+Wildfires%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "breathing-fire-californias-central-valley-bears-the-brunt-of-harmful-wildfire-smoke",
"title": "Breathing Fire: California's Central Valley Bears the Brunt of Harmful Wildfire Smoke",
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"headTitle": "Breathing Fire: California’s Central Valley Bears the Brunt of Harmful Wildfire Smoke | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>Worsening wildfires linked to the weather, climate change and forest management policies are causing unprecedented smoke pollution across the West and beyond, creating public health risks and undermining decades of air quality gains. \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>fter 30 minutes of gardening, Donna Fisher’s eyes are burning. One is swollen shut. Since retiring to the forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range 20 years ago, the 74-year-old has cultivated a garden large enough to feed her and her husband well into the winter. For the past two years, smoke from wildfires has reduced the time she can spend tending to her vegetables before her asthma and bronchitis are triggered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like somebody choking you, or putting a band around your chest and pulling it tight,” she said. Wildfire seasons in the Western U.S. are \u003ca href=\"http://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/westernwildfires2016v2.pdf\">105 days longer\u003c/a> than they were five decades ago, billowing smoke that contains tiny chemical particles that threaten public health. “It used to be a few days, maybe a week at worse. Now it’s longer than it’s ever been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929787\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1929787 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-1180x663.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-960x539.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-520x292.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired nurse Donna Fisher wears a hat and sunglasses to protect from the sun while she picks squash from her garden. Fisher says smoke that has settled in near her home in the Sierra Nevada foothills has affected her health. \u003ccite>(Alex Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Smoke from wildfires is undermining decades of gains made in reducing air pollution from exhaust pipes and power plants. The number of days each year that wildfires foul the air is increasing in parts of the West, with worse expected as temperatures continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘You might not automatically have a heart attack or get asthma, but health effects can last for a year or more.’\u003ccite>Loretta Mickley, Harvard chemist\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/113/42/11770\">Wildfires are projected to continue increasing in size and frequency,\u003c/a> leading to more ‘smoke waves’ — days-long bouts of dangerous pollution. For asthmatics like Fisher, that means more days of lung-pinching pain and confinement indoors. For those who aren’t retired, it can mean missed work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Someone exposed to smoke for a few weeks can feel health impacts long afterward, says \u003ca href=\"http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~mickley/\">Loretta Mickley\u003c/a>, an atmospheric chemist at Harvard University who studies the relationship between smoke particles and health. In the longer term, exposure to the pollution is associated with earlier deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You might not automatically have a heart attack or get asthma,” Mickley said. “But health effects can last for a year or more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”HWK9Tdsapvxh9XUBThIRFS0pCQet5a2x”]Fisher’s home is surrounded by forests that are naturally prone to burn, putting her at the front lines of smoke waves. Forty miles downhill, smoke from fires burning around California funnels into the Central Valley — a farming region where \u003ca href=\"http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_CentralValleyJTF.pdf\">6.5 million residents\u003c/a>, many of them poor and working outdoors, endure some of the country’s most polluted air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2010, residents of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the two valleys that comprise the Central Valley, experienced at least \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-air-pollution-progress-still-undermined-by-western-wildfires-21911\">40 days each year\u003c/a> when air quality was dangerous according to EPA standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1929810\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences.jpg\" alt=\"Graph: AQ exceedances in the San Joaquin Valley\" width=\"1200\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-800x565.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-768x542.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-1020x720.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-1180x833.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-960x678.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-240x169.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-520x367.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>“We have the biggest challenge that any air district has in the nation,” said Jon Klassen, a program manager at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid \u003ca href=\"http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2014/08/20/air-quality-in-san-joaquin-valley/\">advances in reducing pollution\u003c/a> from farms and the trucks that haul away their produce, longer and larger wildfires burning throughout California are ushering more smoke waves into this hard-hit region. Rising temperatures, a build-up of fuel on forest floors and the growth of neighborhoods in fire-prone areas are amplifying hazards. With these wildfires, comes more smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents of the Central Valley endure \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/CDCB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/BurdenReport04-04-13_ADA.pdf\">greater risks\u003c/a> than others in the U.S. of developing asthma, suffering heart attacks and strokes, and experiencing related mental health problems. Health care costs follow. The smoke affects day-to-day activities, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/10/21/558754511/california-wildfires-have-disrupted-school-for-a-quarter-of-a-million-students\">putting classes\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/sports/high-school/joe-davidson/article216243435.html\">sports practices on hold\u003c/a> and keeping the sick and elderly indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1929819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: detailer Danny Espinoza at work in Fresno\" width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-1180x663.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-960x539.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-520x292.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detailer Danny Espinoza wipes the windows of a client’s car in Fresno. Espinoza, who works outside, says the smoke and sun bother him, but his job requires it and he’s gotten used to it. \u003ccite>(Alex Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://faculty.washington.edu/djaffe/\">Dan Jaffe\u003c/a>, a chemistry professor at the University of Washington, Bothell who studies air quality, \u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/07/10/1804353115.short?rss=1\">analyzed data\u003c/a> from air monitors. He found that since 1970, air quality on the most polluted days each year improved on average across much of the continental U.S. But it worsened across swaths of the West, including the northern half of California and other areas affected by smoke waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There really has been a statistically robust increase in wildfires in the Western U.S., and that’s directly impacting air pollution,” Jaffe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Breathing Fire \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regina Sorondo was born and raised in Fresno, a San Joaquin Valley city home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fresnocitycalifornia,fresnocountycalifornia,sanluisobispocountycalifornia,US/PST045217\">500,000 \u003c/a>people. Now, she’s raising her daughter and son here. Like one in four children living in Fresno County, both have been diagnosed with asthma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Last season to this season has been really bad,” said Sorondo, a call center employee, of the smoke from record-breaking fire seasons. “It’s really dangerous — it’s really scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny particles in the smoke, released when fire burns through fuel, is what Sorondo worries about most. Small enough to sneak through defense systems in the eyes, nose and mouth, the particulate matter, called PM2.5, can pierce through the lungs and travel through the bloodstream to organs including the heart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Particulate matter does affect how our central nervous system works,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/meet-epa-lab-director-wayne-cascio-md\">Wayne Cascio\u003c/a>, a cardiologist and lab director at the federal EPA who studies the topic. “It also has an effect on inflammation, which we now know is an important role in driving cardiovascular outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staying indoors for prolonged periods, which is one of the few ways of guarding against particulate matter, can affect mental health. The Oregon Health Authority is working to help people in the southern half of the state, where wildfire smoke from California has led to sustained exposure, find psychologists and therapists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The veil of pollution clouding much of the West this summer comes with fatal consequences. A \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2018GH000144\">study\u003c/a> published in \u003ci>GeoHealth\u003c/i> this summer concluded that early deaths related to wildfire smoke could double this century, even as deaths from breathing fossil fuel pollution decline amid a transition to cleaner energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You see more patients coming in with typical symptoms of shortness of breath, wheezing, chronic cough,“ said \u003ca href=\"http://www.familyallergyasthmaclinic.com/dr-buddiga/\">Praveen Buddiga\u003c/a>, an asthma doctor who has been treating patients in Fresno for 13 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These particles don’t just affect people living close to burning wildfires. In the weeks after the Carr Fire broke out nearly 350 miles north of Fresno, Buddiga said there was an uptick in patients visiting his clinic — particularly children. Smoke from Western wildfires in early August reached far as \u003ca href=\"http://www.sonomatech.com/projects/2421\">Louisiana\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NWSSanDiego/status/1027192594294628352\">New York\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s been dramatic is how the smoke is traveling eastward,” said the EPA’s Cascio. “It’s not just a local phenomena, it’s a national one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1929815\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map.jpg\" alt=\"Map: national progress toward clean air goals\" width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-800x480.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-768x461.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-1020x612.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-1180x708.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-960x576.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-240x144.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-375x225.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-520x312.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>Reversing Decades of Air Quality Gains\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the 1990s, when monitors began \u003ca href=\"https://airnow.gov/\">tracking PM2.5\u003c/a> and the EPA began fining states for breaching its standards, air quality nationwide has been improving. The number of people exposed to particulate matter has halved, and related deaths have fallen by about a third, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EHP507.alt_.pdf\">a study\u003c/a> by the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With wildfires increasing in size and intensity, those gains are being undermined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate Central \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-air-pollution-progress-still-undermined-by-western-wildfires-21911\">researchers examined the number of days each year\u003c/a> when PM2.5 levels exceeded federal standards. In both of the valleys that comprise California’s Central Valley, the number of these days decreased overall since 2000, but the proportion of those days occurring during the wildfire season increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Fire responds exponentially to warming. For every degree of warming there is in the Western U.S., the impact is a lot more.’\u003ccite>Park Williams, Columbia Univ.\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Health risks depend on age, health conditions and wealth. Poorer residents may not be able to miss work, and may live in drafty homes that allow smoke to permeate indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/academics/erhs/Pages/sheryl-magzamen.aspx\">Sheryl Magzamen\u003c/a>, an epidemiologist at Colorado State University, has been tracking asthma-related hospital admissions in Western counties. At the beginning of August, as the Mendocino Complex Fire burned in northern California, she said she found that the likelihood of being hospitalized with asthma-related issues more than doubled along counties on the Oregon-California border.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We breathe every minute of every day multiple times and it’s not something that we can stop doing,” said Magzamen. “That’s why this is concerning — this impacts everyone, it’s widespread and we’re seeing real impacts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>The Role of Humans\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change, the whims of the weather and a century of firefighting practices have all been contributing to the destructiveness of the West’s recent wildfire seasons. Even as scientists and California firefighters point to the role of warming temperatures in fueling blazes, the Trump administration has been downplaying or falsely denying the links.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/7596/california-temperatures-on-the-rise\">Rising temperatures in California\u003c/a> caused in part by the heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution are sucking moisture from Western landscapes and hastening the annual melting of snowpacks, drying fuel for wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fire responds exponentially to warming,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/user/williams\">Park Williams,\u003c/a> a bioclimatologist at Columbia University. “For every degree of warming there is in the Western U.S., the impact is a lot more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/03/06/1718850115.short\">new residents continue to move into areas\u003c/a> that are prone to burn, increasing risks to themselves, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/humans-blamed-for-most-wildfires-us-21197\">accidentally or deliberately starting fires\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/u-s-forest-service-fire-suppression/\">A century of aggressive firefighting\u003c/a> to protect residents and property has also contributed to the devastation, leaving fuel on forest floors that would once have burned naturally during low-level fires kindled by lightning strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since a series of forest fires burned three million acres of Montana, Idaho and Washington in 1910, strategies for managing fires have generally favored extinguishing them as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t suppress all fires, they are part of our ecosystem and are necessary,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorado.edu/geography/colleen-reid-0\">Colleen Reid\u003c/a>, a geographer at the University of Colorado-Boulder who is investigating how controlled burns and wildfires affect public health. “The challenge is having that perspective but also caring about the health of populations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, the federal government has been working with local and state agencies to boost prescribed burns, where officials set and manage low-level fires that consume shrubs, small trees and leaf litter. The efforts have been be limited by funding shortfalls. And nearby residents and local agencies sometimes oppose prescribed burns, worried about smoke pollution and risks that the fires will get out of control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Trump administration eliminates climate protections and falsely denies climate change’s role in wildfires, it has proposed reduced spending to agencies researching and managing wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re spending $2.5 billion fighting forest fires, there’s not a lot left in the budget to do forest management,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1929627/interior-secretary-ryan-zinke-says-california-fires-have-nothing-to-do-with-climate-change-hes-wrong\">said in a radio interview Sunday\u003c/a> with KCRA 3 in Sacramento. (During the interview, he incorrectly said this year’s wildfires have “nothing to do with climate change.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As federal government leaders reject basic science and \u003ca href=\"https://www.revealnews.org/article/as-wildfires-rage-trump-administration-plans-to-slash-fire-science-funding/\">move to shrink programs\u003c/a> that could reduce risks, the air district that regulates air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley is becoming more flexible in allowing for prescribed burns — even when the air is already dirty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929790\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1929790\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image of smoke from the Ranch Fire, August 11, 2018. Smoke from fires across Northern California tends to get drawn into the Central Valley. \u003ccite>(Planet Labs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had to go further than any region has before,” said Klassen, of the San Joaquin Valley’s air district. It has implemented hundreds of rules in an effort to reduce pollution, including allowing more prescribed burns in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, AJ Rassamni, who manages a car wash in Fresno, wants to see more comprehensive forest management. With fewer people leaving their homes amid recent smoke waves, fewer customers have been coming through his car wash. He provides masks to protect staff, but they can make breathing difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worried about effects from climate change, Rassamni bought an electric car and had solar panels installed at home to reduce his climate pollution. Without aggressive steps from governments to systematically reduce pollution and boost prescribed burns, though, his efforts alone will do little to protect Central Valley residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it good for us?” he said. “No. But you have a life, and you’re going to live with the weather you have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story was produced and published in partnership with \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/\">\u003ci>Climate Central\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a non-advocacy group that researches and reports on the changing climate.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Worsening wildfires linked to climate change and forest management policies are causing unprecedented smoke pollution across the West and beyond, creating public health risks and undermining decades of air quality gains. ",
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"title": "Breathing Fire: California's Central Valley Bears the Brunt of Harmful Wildfire Smoke | KQED",
"description": "Worsening wildfires linked to climate change and forest management policies are causing unprecedented smoke pollution across the West and beyond, creating public health risks and undermining decades of air quality gains. ",
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"headline": "Breathing Fire: California's Central Valley Bears the Brunt of Harmful Wildfire Smoke",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>Worsening wildfires linked to the weather, climate change and forest management policies are causing unprecedented smoke pollution across the West and beyond, creating public health risks and undermining decades of air quality gains. \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>fter 30 minutes of gardening, Donna Fisher’s eyes are burning. One is swollen shut. Since retiring to the forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range 20 years ago, the 74-year-old has cultivated a garden large enough to feed her and her husband well into the winter. For the past two years, smoke from wildfires has reduced the time she can spend tending to her vegetables before her asthma and bronchitis are triggered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like somebody choking you, or putting a band around your chest and pulling it tight,” she said. Wildfire seasons in the Western U.S. are \u003ca href=\"http://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/westernwildfires2016v2.pdf\">105 days longer\u003c/a> than they were five decades ago, billowing smoke that contains tiny chemical particles that threaten public health. “It used to be a few days, maybe a week at worse. Now it’s longer than it’s ever been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929787\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1929787 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-1180x663.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-960x539.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_DonnaFisher-520x292.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired nurse Donna Fisher wears a hat and sunglasses to protect from the sun while she picks squash from her garden. Fisher says smoke that has settled in near her home in the Sierra Nevada foothills has affected her health. \u003ccite>(Alex Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Smoke from wildfires is undermining decades of gains made in reducing air pollution from exhaust pipes and power plants. The number of days each year that wildfires foul the air is increasing in parts of the West, with worse expected as temperatures continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘You might not automatically have a heart attack or get asthma, but health effects can last for a year or more.’\u003ccite>Loretta Mickley, Harvard chemist\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/113/42/11770\">Wildfires are projected to continue increasing in size and frequency,\u003c/a> leading to more ‘smoke waves’ — days-long bouts of dangerous pollution. For asthmatics like Fisher, that means more days of lung-pinching pain and confinement indoors. For those who aren’t retired, it can mean missed work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Someone exposed to smoke for a few weeks can feel health impacts long afterward, says \u003ca href=\"http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~mickley/\">Loretta Mickley\u003c/a>, an atmospheric chemist at Harvard University who studies the relationship between smoke particles and health. In the longer term, exposure to the pollution is associated with earlier deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You might not automatically have a heart attack or get asthma,” Mickley said. “But health effects can last for a year or more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Fisher’s home is surrounded by forests that are naturally prone to burn, putting her at the front lines of smoke waves. Forty miles downhill, smoke from fires burning around California funnels into the Central Valley — a farming region where \u003ca href=\"http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_CentralValleyJTF.pdf\">6.5 million residents\u003c/a>, many of them poor and working outdoors, endure some of the country’s most polluted air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2010, residents of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the two valleys that comprise the Central Valley, experienced at least \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-air-pollution-progress-still-undermined-by-western-wildfires-21911\">40 days each year\u003c/a> when air quality was dangerous according to EPA standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1929810\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences.jpg\" alt=\"Graph: AQ exceedances in the San Joaquin Valley\" width=\"1200\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-800x565.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-768x542.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-1020x720.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-1180x833.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-960x678.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-240x169.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-375x265.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/SanJoaquinExceedences-520x367.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>“We have the biggest challenge that any air district has in the nation,” said Jon Klassen, a program manager at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid \u003ca href=\"http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2014/08/20/air-quality-in-san-joaquin-valley/\">advances in reducing pollution\u003c/a> from farms and the trucks that haul away their produce, longer and larger wildfires burning throughout California are ushering more smoke waves into this hard-hit region. Rising temperatures, a build-up of fuel on forest floors and the growth of neighborhoods in fire-prone areas are amplifying hazards. With these wildfires, comes more smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents of the Central Valley endure \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/CDCB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/BurdenReport04-04-13_ADA.pdf\">greater risks\u003c/a> than others in the U.S. of developing asthma, suffering heart attacks and strokes, and experiencing related mental health problems. Health care costs follow. The smoke affects day-to-day activities, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/10/21/558754511/california-wildfires-have-disrupted-school-for-a-quarter-of-a-million-students\">putting classes\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/sports/high-school/joe-davidson/article216243435.html\">sports practices on hold\u003c/a> and keeping the sick and elderly indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1929819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: detailer Danny Espinoza at work in Fresno\" width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-1180x663.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-960x539.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/8_15_18_Upton_KQED_AJRamnisien1-520x292.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detailer Danny Espinoza wipes the windows of a client’s car in Fresno. Espinoza, who works outside, says the smoke and sun bother him, but his job requires it and he’s gotten used to it. \u003ccite>(Alex Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://faculty.washington.edu/djaffe/\">Dan Jaffe\u003c/a>, a chemistry professor at the University of Washington, Bothell who studies air quality, \u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/07/10/1804353115.short?rss=1\">analyzed data\u003c/a> from air monitors. He found that since 1970, air quality on the most polluted days each year improved on average across much of the continental U.S. But it worsened across swaths of the West, including the northern half of California and other areas affected by smoke waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There really has been a statistically robust increase in wildfires in the Western U.S., and that’s directly impacting air pollution,” Jaffe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Breathing Fire \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regina Sorondo was born and raised in Fresno, a San Joaquin Valley city home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fresnocitycalifornia,fresnocountycalifornia,sanluisobispocountycalifornia,US/PST045217\">500,000 \u003c/a>people. Now, she’s raising her daughter and son here. Like one in four children living in Fresno County, both have been diagnosed with asthma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Last season to this season has been really bad,” said Sorondo, a call center employee, of the smoke from record-breaking fire seasons. “It’s really dangerous — it’s really scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny particles in the smoke, released when fire burns through fuel, is what Sorondo worries about most. Small enough to sneak through defense systems in the eyes, nose and mouth, the particulate matter, called PM2.5, can pierce through the lungs and travel through the bloodstream to organs including the heart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Particulate matter does affect how our central nervous system works,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/meet-epa-lab-director-wayne-cascio-md\">Wayne Cascio\u003c/a>, a cardiologist and lab director at the federal EPA who studies the topic. “It also has an effect on inflammation, which we now know is an important role in driving cardiovascular outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staying indoors for prolonged periods, which is one of the few ways of guarding against particulate matter, can affect mental health. The Oregon Health Authority is working to help people in the southern half of the state, where wildfire smoke from California has led to sustained exposure, find psychologists and therapists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The veil of pollution clouding much of the West this summer comes with fatal consequences. A \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2018GH000144\">study\u003c/a> published in \u003ci>GeoHealth\u003c/i> this summer concluded that early deaths related to wildfire smoke could double this century, even as deaths from breathing fossil fuel pollution decline amid a transition to cleaner energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You see more patients coming in with typical symptoms of shortness of breath, wheezing, chronic cough,“ said \u003ca href=\"http://www.familyallergyasthmaclinic.com/dr-buddiga/\">Praveen Buddiga\u003c/a>, an asthma doctor who has been treating patients in Fresno for 13 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These particles don’t just affect people living close to burning wildfires. In the weeks after the Carr Fire broke out nearly 350 miles north of Fresno, Buddiga said there was an uptick in patients visiting his clinic — particularly children. Smoke from Western wildfires in early August reached far as \u003ca href=\"http://www.sonomatech.com/projects/2421\">Louisiana\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NWSSanDiego/status/1027192594294628352\">New York\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s been dramatic is how the smoke is traveling eastward,” said the EPA’s Cascio. “It’s not just a local phenomena, it’s a national one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1929815\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map.jpg\" alt=\"Map: national progress toward clean air goals\" width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-800x480.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-768x461.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-1020x612.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-1180x708.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-960x576.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-240x144.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-375x225.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/PM25map-520x312.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>Reversing Decades of Air Quality Gains\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the 1990s, when monitors began \u003ca href=\"https://airnow.gov/\">tracking PM2.5\u003c/a> and the EPA began fining states for breaching its standards, air quality nationwide has been improving. The number of people exposed to particulate matter has halved, and related deaths have fallen by about a third, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EHP507.alt_.pdf\">a study\u003c/a> by the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With wildfires increasing in size and intensity, those gains are being undermined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate Central \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-air-pollution-progress-still-undermined-by-western-wildfires-21911\">researchers examined the number of days each year\u003c/a> when PM2.5 levels exceeded federal standards. In both of the valleys that comprise California’s Central Valley, the number of these days decreased overall since 2000, but the proportion of those days occurring during the wildfire season increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Fire responds exponentially to warming. For every degree of warming there is in the Western U.S., the impact is a lot more.’\u003ccite>Park Williams, Columbia Univ.\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Health risks depend on age, health conditions and wealth. Poorer residents may not be able to miss work, and may live in drafty homes that allow smoke to permeate indoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/academics/erhs/Pages/sheryl-magzamen.aspx\">Sheryl Magzamen\u003c/a>, an epidemiologist at Colorado State University, has been tracking asthma-related hospital admissions in Western counties. At the beginning of August, as the Mendocino Complex Fire burned in northern California, she said she found that the likelihood of being hospitalized with asthma-related issues more than doubled along counties on the Oregon-California border.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We breathe every minute of every day multiple times and it’s not something that we can stop doing,” said Magzamen. “That’s why this is concerning — this impacts everyone, it’s widespread and we’re seeing real impacts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>The Role of Humans\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change, the whims of the weather and a century of firefighting practices have all been contributing to the destructiveness of the West’s recent wildfire seasons. Even as scientists and California firefighters point to the role of warming temperatures in fueling blazes, the Trump administration has been downplaying or falsely denying the links.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/7596/california-temperatures-on-the-rise\">Rising temperatures in California\u003c/a> caused in part by the heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution are sucking moisture from Western landscapes and hastening the annual melting of snowpacks, drying fuel for wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fire responds exponentially to warming,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/user/williams\">Park Williams,\u003c/a> a bioclimatologist at Columbia University. “For every degree of warming there is in the Western U.S., the impact is a lot more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/03/06/1718850115.short\">new residents continue to move into areas\u003c/a> that are prone to burn, increasing risks to themselves, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/humans-blamed-for-most-wildfires-us-21197\">accidentally or deliberately starting fires\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/u-s-forest-service-fire-suppression/\">A century of aggressive firefighting\u003c/a> to protect residents and property has also contributed to the devastation, leaving fuel on forest floors that would once have burned naturally during low-level fires kindled by lightning strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since a series of forest fires burned three million acres of Montana, Idaho and Washington in 1910, strategies for managing fires have generally favored extinguishing them as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t suppress all fires, they are part of our ecosystem and are necessary,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorado.edu/geography/colleen-reid-0\">Colleen Reid\u003c/a>, a geographer at the University of Colorado-Boulder who is investigating how controlled burns and wildfires affect public health. “The challenge is having that perspective but also caring about the health of populations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, the federal government has been working with local and state agencies to boost prescribed burns, where officials set and manage low-level fires that consume shrubs, small trees and leaf litter. The efforts have been be limited by funding shortfalls. And nearby residents and local agencies sometimes oppose prescribed burns, worried about smoke pollution and risks that the fires will get out of control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Trump administration eliminates climate protections and falsely denies climate change’s role in wildfires, it has proposed reduced spending to agencies researching and managing wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re spending $2.5 billion fighting forest fires, there’s not a lot left in the budget to do forest management,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1929627/interior-secretary-ryan-zinke-says-california-fires-have-nothing-to-do-with-climate-change-hes-wrong\">said in a radio interview Sunday\u003c/a> with KCRA 3 in Sacramento. (During the interview, he incorrectly said this year’s wildfires have “nothing to do with climate change.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As federal government leaders reject basic science and \u003ca href=\"https://www.revealnews.org/article/as-wildfires-rage-trump-administration-plans-to-slash-fire-science-funding/\">move to shrink programs\u003c/a> that could reduce risks, the air district that regulates air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley is becoming more flexible in allowing for prescribed burns — even when the air is already dirty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929790\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1929790\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image of smoke from the Ranch Fire, August 11, 2018. Smoke from fires across Northern California tends to get drawn into the Central Valley. \u003ccite>(Planet Labs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had to go further than any region has before,” said Klassen, of the San Joaquin Valley’s air district. It has implemented hundreds of rules in an effort to reduce pollution, including allowing more prescribed burns in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, AJ Rassamni, who manages a car wash in Fresno, wants to see more comprehensive forest management. With fewer people leaving their homes amid recent smoke waves, fewer customers have been coming through his car wash. He provides masks to protect staff, but they can make breathing difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worried about effects from climate change, Rassamni bought an electric car and had solar panels installed at home to reduce his climate pollution. Without aggressive steps from governments to systematically reduce pollution and boost prescribed burns, though, his efforts alone will do little to protect Central Valley residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it good for us?” he said. “No. But you have a life, and you’re going to live with the weather you have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story was produced and published in partnership with \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/\">\u003ci>Climate Central\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a non-advocacy group that researches and reports on the changing climate.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>As California firefighters continue to battle more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/09/us/mendecino-fire-animation-trnd/index.html\">a dozen blazes\u003c/a> throughout the state, wide swaths of smoke sweep across the country, billowing thousands of miles away to move past New York City and out over the Atlantic Ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”vhVfMyS7ZGpSQX8txg2UIqbzK41tbriL”]Satellites from \u003ca href=\"https://www.planet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Planet\u003c/a> captured the vast trails of smoke, including smoke from the largest fire in the state’s history, the Mendocino Complex fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three-week old Carr fire in Shasta County became the state’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Acres.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eighth largest wildfire\u003c/a> on Sunday, the same day the image below was captured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929789\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1929789 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x1813.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"1138\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x1813.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-160x284.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-800x1422.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-768x1365.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-675x1200.jpg 675w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-960x1707.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-240x427.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-375x667.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-520x924.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image of smoke from the Carr Fire in Shasta County, August 11, 2018. The image spans 560 miles north to south, and 70 miles east to west. You can see the smoke hovering around the edges of Mount Shasta, in the center of the photo. SOURCE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.planet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Planet\u003c/a> \u003ccite>(Planet Labs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Carr Fire has scorched 207,162 acres, destroying nearly 1,100 homes and a total of 1,599 structures, making it one of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Destruction.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">top 10 most destructive\u003c/a> fires in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Tuesday morning,\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> the fire was\u003c/a> 65 percent contained. An estimated date for full containment is not yet known.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the National Weather Service released its own satellite images today showing a layer of smoke from the California wildfires covering several states including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Another smoky day across the region and here is another satellite image showing just how expansive we all know it is. Ugh times 2! \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wildfires?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wildfires\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wawx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wawx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/idwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#idwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/orwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#orwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/mtwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mtwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/cawx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#cawx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/airquality?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#airquality\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/Ad5Xm9Io82\">pic.twitter.com/Ad5Xm9Io82\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— NWS Spokane (@NWSSpokane) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NWSSpokane/status/1029192999446740992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>And another image showing the path of the smoke extending out over the Atlantic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The smoke from the western North America \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wildfires?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wildfires\u003c/a> is moving eastward across the Atlantic Ocean, captured here by our \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESEast?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GOESEast\u003c/a> satellite. More imagery: \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI\">https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/HsJh25vbvY\">pic.twitter.com/HsJh25vbvY\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/1029457750152097792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Acres.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">largest fire in California history\u003c/a> is made up of two blazes burning through three counties, called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216163950.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mendocino Complex Fire\u003c/a>. The gargantuan fire has scorched more than \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6073/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">354,000 acres\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ranch fire claimed its first victim on Monday evening, Utah firefighter Matthew Burchett.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire crews are constructing fire lines north of the fire to prevent it from reaching some 200 residences in Lake Pillsbury, which is under a mandatory evacuation order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929790\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1929790 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image of smoke from the Ranch Fire, August 11, 2018. The image represents 35 miles north-south, 60 miles east-west, with Clear Lake in the center-bottom. SOURCE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.planet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Planet\u003c/a> \u003ccite>(Planet Labs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ranch Fire\u003c/a>, the larger of the twin blazes, has burned through 295,970 acres. The blaze was 68 percent contained as of Tuesday morning, with an estimated date of full containment on September 1. The River fire has been fully contained.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "New satellite images captured of the Carr and Ranch fires show a thick layer of smoke spreading from the blazes, and smoke from North American wildfires stretching across the country.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As California firefighters continue to battle more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/09/us/mendecino-fire-animation-trnd/index.html\">a dozen blazes\u003c/a> throughout the state, wide swaths of smoke sweep across the country, billowing thousands of miles away to move past New York City and out over the Atlantic Ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Satellites from \u003ca href=\"https://www.planet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Planet\u003c/a> captured the vast trails of smoke, including smoke from the largest fire in the state’s history, the Mendocino Complex fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three-week old Carr fire in Shasta County became the state’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Acres.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eighth largest wildfire\u003c/a> on Sunday, the same day the image below was captured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929789\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1929789 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x1813.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"1138\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x1813.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-160x284.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-800x1422.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-768x1365.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-675x1200.jpg 675w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-960x1707.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-240x427.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-375x667.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811-520x924.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/CARR_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image of smoke from the Carr Fire in Shasta County, August 11, 2018. The image spans 560 miles north to south, and 70 miles east to west. You can see the smoke hovering around the edges of Mount Shasta, in the center of the photo. SOURCE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.planet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Planet\u003c/a> \u003ccite>(Planet Labs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Carr Fire has scorched 207,162 acres, destroying nearly 1,100 homes and a total of 1,599 structures, making it one of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Destruction.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">top 10 most destructive\u003c/a> fires in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Tuesday morning,\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> the fire was\u003c/a> 65 percent contained. An estimated date for full containment is not yet known.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the National Weather Service released its own satellite images today showing a layer of smoke from the California wildfires covering several states including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Another smoky day across the region and here is another satellite image showing just how expansive we all know it is. Ugh times 2! \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wildfires?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wildfires\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wawx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wawx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/idwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#idwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/orwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#orwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/mtwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mtwx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/cawx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#cawx\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/airquality?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#airquality\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/Ad5Xm9Io82\">pic.twitter.com/Ad5Xm9Io82\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— NWS Spokane (@NWSSpokane) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NWSSpokane/status/1029192999446740992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>And another image showing the path of the smoke extending out over the Atlantic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The smoke from the western North America \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wildfires?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wildfires\u003c/a> is moving eastward across the Atlantic Ocean, captured here by our \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOESEast?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GOESEast\u003c/a> satellite. More imagery: \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI\">https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/HsJh25vbvY\">pic.twitter.com/HsJh25vbvY\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/1029457750152097792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Acres.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">largest fire in California history\u003c/a> is made up of two blazes burning through three counties, called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216163950.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mendocino Complex Fire\u003c/a>. The gargantuan fire has scorched more than \u003ca href=\"https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6073/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">354,000 acres\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ranch fire claimed its first victim on Monday evening, Utah firefighter Matthew Burchett.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire crews are constructing fire lines north of the fire to prevent it from reaching some 200 residences in Lake Pillsbury, which is under a mandatory evacuation order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1929790\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1929790 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/08/RANCH_SCALE_MILES_180811-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image of smoke from the Ranch Fire, August 11, 2018. The image represents 35 miles north-south, 60 miles east-west, with Clear Lake in the center-bottom. SOURCE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.planet.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Planet\u003c/a> \u003ccite>(Planet Labs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ranch Fire\u003c/a>, the larger of the twin blazes, has burned through 295,970 acres. The blaze was 68 percent contained as of Tuesday morning, with an estimated date of full containment on September 1. The River fire has been fully contained.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Says California Fires ‘Have Nothing to Do With Climate Change.’ He's Wrong",
"headTitle": "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Says California Fires ‘Have Nothing to Do With Climate Change.’ He’s Wrong | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke argued that climate change is not a factor in California’s wildfires. Or at least, if it is, it doesn’t much matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve heard the climate change argument back and forth,” Zinke told KCRA 3, in Sacramento. “This has nothing to do with climate change. This has to do with active forest management.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m60146AeQ_g&w=560&h=315]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KCRA reporter Mike Luery, who conducted the interview, says Zinke brought up the subject on his own, before Luery could even ask him a question. Later, they returned to the topic. Luery has a transcript of the full interview and he read us Zinke’s answer, which doesn’t appear online:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The argument of climate change to me takes a backseat to ‘let’s manage it,’ ” Zinke said. “Because if it’s climate change, you still have to manage the forest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zinke’s statement came just after a visit to the site of the Carr Fire, where a record-setting \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1928143/reddings-firenado-was-not-your-garden-variety-fire-whirl\">fire tornado\u003c/a> driven by extreme heat and wind amplified devastation on the western edge of Redding in late July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, the secretary seemed to acknowledge that climate played a role in the fire, though he did not use the words “climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘I’ve heard the climate change argument back and forth. This has nothing to do with climate change.’\u003ccite>Ryan Zinke\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Zinke \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SecretaryZinke/status/1027141678749175808\">wrote on Twitter\u003c/a>: “Wildfires are burning hotter and more intense due to drier and hotter conditions and due to a buildup of dead and dying timber.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216550420.html\">the Sacramento Bee reported\u003c/a>, Zinke also said that, “there’s no doubt the (fire) season is getting longer, the temperatures are getting hotter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That much is true. July \u003ca href=\"http://www.noaa.gov/news/july-2018-was-11th-warmest-july-on-record-for-us\">was the hottest month on record in California\u003c/a>, based on more than a century of data. Research has shown that the \u003ca href=\"http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/371/1696/20150178\">fire season has gotten longer\u003c/a>. And California is still dealing with the effects of the severe drought between 2011 and 2017, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1918327/california-drought-kills-27-million-more-trees\">killed trees across California\u003c/a> (presumably the “dead and dying timber” that Zinke mentioned).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>It’s Climate Change\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it’s not clear what, exactly, Zinke thinks is responsible for the hotter, drier conditions and the longer fire seasons, fire and climate scientists, as well as California firefighters, have no difficulty putting a name to it: Climate change. Research has tied both the \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2015GL064924\">recent California drought\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/113/42/11770.short\">area burned in Western U.S. forests\u003c/a> to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While other factors, like forest management, play a role, too, climate change is a “threat multiplier,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/07/california-wildfires-megafires-future-climate-change\">wrote climate and fire scientists \u003c/a>Daniel Swain, Crystal Kolden, and John Abatzoglou last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zinke’s comments about forest management appear to refer to the increasing density of trees, shrubs, and grasses in many of California’s forests that have resulted from a century of fire suppression policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most fire scientists agree with Zinke that forest management is also a major factor in many of California’s fires. And while \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hanson-miller-governor-fire-orders-20180525-story.html\">some environmental groups\u003c/a> oppose forest thinning in the name of habitat protection, some of the biggest conservation groups are among the most vocal supporters of forest management reform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Congress passed a bipartisan \u003ca href=\"http://resources.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Laird-Fire-Funding-Fix-statement.pdf\">“fire funding fix”\u003c/a> that is designed to free up funds for forest management projects. Prior to its passage, The Nature Conservancy \u003ca href=\"https://support.nature.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=180\">was one of its biggest cheerleaders\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state level, Gov. Jerry Brown is also a big supporter, having built $210 million of funding for forest management into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2018/06/27/governor-brown-signs-final-state-budget-with-record-rainy-day-fund-school-funding/\">state budget\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in Washington, the Forest Service is facing budget cuts, and the Joint Fire Science Program, which supports wildfire research, much of it related to forest management, \u003ca href=\"http://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/next-years-federal-budget-could-slash-funding-fire-science-and-research#stream/0\">may be eliminated\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Few Trees, Intense Fires \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, forest management is only one driver of fire behavior in California. Though it has played a role in many California forests, cutting down trees won’t make wildfire behavior less extreme everywhere. Many of California’s largest and most destructive fires of the past two years have burned in places where there are few trees to begin with. The vast majority of land burned in the Thomas Fire, now the second-largest fire in California history, was chaparral (sometimes called “brush”), not forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/pyrogeog/status/1026581511464611840\">Tweeted\u003c/a> fire scientist Crystal Kolden:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If you believe that the primary reason fires are getting worse is dead trees in forests, please explain why non-forest fires are also getting worse? (Hint: it starts with “climate” and ends with “change”) 🤔\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Dr. Crystal A. Kolden (@pyrogeog) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/pyrogeog/status/1026581511464611840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 6, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>And when it comes to fire behavior, Cal Fire Battalion chief Jonathan Cox says that weather is more important than fuel load in the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s hot, if it’s windy, that’s going to have a much greater impact on the fire behavior, as opposed to the fuel or the topography,” says Cox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though climate and weather are not the same thing, they go hand-in-hand, with climate change driving shifts in day-to-day weather. Weather is saying, “It’s hot today.” But Zinke’s statement “the temperatures are getting hotter” is a description of a change in climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Allie Weill is a fire ecologist at UC Davis, currently serving as a AAAS Fellow at KQED Science. Jon Brooks contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says forest management should be the focus of preventing destructive wildfires, and that climate change doesn't matter. Scientists and firefighters disagree.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke argued that climate change is not a factor in California’s wildfires. Or at least, if it is, it doesn’t much matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve heard the climate change argument back and forth,” Zinke told KCRA 3, in Sacramento. “This has nothing to do with climate change. This has to do with active forest management.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/m60146AeQ_g'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/m60146AeQ_g'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KCRA reporter Mike Luery, who conducted the interview, says Zinke brought up the subject on his own, before Luery could even ask him a question. Later, they returned to the topic. Luery has a transcript of the full interview and he read us Zinke’s answer, which doesn’t appear online:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The argument of climate change to me takes a backseat to ‘let’s manage it,’ ” Zinke said. “Because if it’s climate change, you still have to manage the forest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zinke’s statement came just after a visit to the site of the Carr Fire, where a record-setting \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1928143/reddings-firenado-was-not-your-garden-variety-fire-whirl\">fire tornado\u003c/a> driven by extreme heat and wind amplified devastation on the western edge of Redding in late July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, the secretary seemed to acknowledge that climate played a role in the fire, though he did not use the words “climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘I’ve heard the climate change argument back and forth. This has nothing to do with climate change.’\u003ccite>Ryan Zinke\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Zinke \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SecretaryZinke/status/1027141678749175808\">wrote on Twitter\u003c/a>: “Wildfires are burning hotter and more intense due to drier and hotter conditions and due to a buildup of dead and dying timber.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216550420.html\">the Sacramento Bee reported\u003c/a>, Zinke also said that, “there’s no doubt the (fire) season is getting longer, the temperatures are getting hotter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That much is true. July \u003ca href=\"http://www.noaa.gov/news/july-2018-was-11th-warmest-july-on-record-for-us\">was the hottest month on record in California\u003c/a>, based on more than a century of data. Research has shown that the \u003ca href=\"http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/371/1696/20150178\">fire season has gotten longer\u003c/a>. And California is still dealing with the effects of the severe drought between 2011 and 2017, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1918327/california-drought-kills-27-million-more-trees\">killed trees across California\u003c/a> (presumably the “dead and dying timber” that Zinke mentioned).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>It’s Climate Change\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it’s not clear what, exactly, Zinke thinks is responsible for the hotter, drier conditions and the longer fire seasons, fire and climate scientists, as well as California firefighters, have no difficulty putting a name to it: Climate change. Research has tied both the \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2015GL064924\">recent California drought\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/113/42/11770.short\">area burned in Western U.S. forests\u003c/a> to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While other factors, like forest management, play a role, too, climate change is a “threat multiplier,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/07/california-wildfires-megafires-future-climate-change\">wrote climate and fire scientists \u003c/a>Daniel Swain, Crystal Kolden, and John Abatzoglou last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zinke’s comments about forest management appear to refer to the increasing density of trees, shrubs, and grasses in many of California’s forests that have resulted from a century of fire suppression policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most fire scientists agree with Zinke that forest management is also a major factor in many of California’s fires. And while \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hanson-miller-governor-fire-orders-20180525-story.html\">some environmental groups\u003c/a> oppose forest thinning in the name of habitat protection, some of the biggest conservation groups are among the most vocal supporters of forest management reform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Congress passed a bipartisan \u003ca href=\"http://resources.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Laird-Fire-Funding-Fix-statement.pdf\">“fire funding fix”\u003c/a> that is designed to free up funds for forest management projects. Prior to its passage, The Nature Conservancy \u003ca href=\"https://support.nature.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=180\">was one of its biggest cheerleaders\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state level, Gov. Jerry Brown is also a big supporter, having built $210 million of funding for forest management into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2018/06/27/governor-brown-signs-final-state-budget-with-record-rainy-day-fund-school-funding/\">state budget\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in Washington, the Forest Service is facing budget cuts, and the Joint Fire Science Program, which supports wildfire research, much of it related to forest management, \u003ca href=\"http://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/next-years-federal-budget-could-slash-funding-fire-science-and-research#stream/0\">may be eliminated\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Few Trees, Intense Fires \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, forest management is only one driver of fire behavior in California. Though it has played a role in many California forests, cutting down trees won’t make wildfire behavior less extreme everywhere. Many of California’s largest and most destructive fires of the past two years have burned in places where there are few trees to begin with. The vast majority of land burned in the Thomas Fire, now the second-largest fire in California history, was chaparral (sometimes called “brush”), not forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/pyrogeog/status/1026581511464611840\">Tweeted\u003c/a> fire scientist Crystal Kolden:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If you believe that the primary reason fires are getting worse is dead trees in forests, please explain why non-forest fires are also getting worse? (Hint: it starts with “climate” and ends with “change”) 🤔\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Dr. Crystal A. Kolden (@pyrogeog) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/pyrogeog/status/1026581511464611840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 6, 2018\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>And when it comes to fire behavior, Cal Fire Battalion chief Jonathan Cox says that weather is more important than fuel load in the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s hot, if it’s windy, that’s going to have a much greater impact on the fire behavior, as opposed to the fuel or the topography,” says Cox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though climate and weather are not the same thing, they go hand-in-hand, with climate change driving shifts in day-to-day weather. Weather is saying, “It’s hot today.” But Zinke’s statement “the temperatures are getting hotter” is a description of a change in climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Allie Weill is a fire ecologist at UC Davis, currently serving as a AAAS Fellow at KQED Science. Jon Brooks contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"soldout": {
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