Natural disasters are increasing across the nation. In the West, these disasters often come in the form of wildfire, and perhaps no state understands the true cost of wildfire like California.
The Golden State has always had forest fires, but they’re progressively becoming harder to control and more deadly. At the same time, the state’s population has surpassed 40 million, pushing people further into wild spaces that have been adapted to fire. California Burning takes a critical look at how the state’s fire-prone forests have been managed and examines how we can all be better stewards of the land and avoid catastrophic wildfires in the future.
Produced by Matt Fidler, Sarah Bohannon and Gregg McVicar.
Full transcripts, photos and links at californiaburning.net. All episodes also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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On the first episode of California Burning, we explore the history of the U.S. Forestry Department and how a series of unprecedented wildfires in the early twentieth century led to our current forest management policies that have made our forests ripe for the catastrophic wildfires we’re seeing in the West today. Forest historians Steven Pyne and Char Miller tell the story. -
On the second episode of California Burning, Matt visits the Yurok Reservation in Northern California to visit Margo Robbins, President of the Cultural Fire Management Council, and learn about how Native Californians maintained the forested lands in California for over 14,000 years with fire, to not only prevent future catastrophic wildfires, but to produce important cultural needs such as food and materials. -
On the third episode of California Burning, we talk to many people who are or have been working directly with fire - both deep in the forests and closer to our communities. This includes a professor of fire ecology who runs a wildland fire lab, firefighters, forest rangers, and a timber manager for a sustainable timber operation. -
On the fourth episode of California Burning we focus on the issues surrounding fires where the urban and wild spaces meet. We hear from people who have experienced some of the most tragic fires in California’s history from the Thomas Fire that caused lethal debris flows in Santa Barbara, the Tubbs Fire that ravaged neighborhoods Santa Rosa, and the Camp Fire which destroyed over 19,000 homes in the town of Paradise. -
On the fifth and final episode of California Burning, we look for solutions that address the many different factors associated with the wildfires plaguing our State. This includes a talk on alternative building materials that withstand fire and a tour of a fire-resistant house that survived the Carr Fire while the rest of his neighborhood burned. -
Natural disasters are increasing across the nation. In the West, these disasters often come in the form of wildfire, and perhaps no state understands the…
