In Fire Scorched California, Town Aims To Buy The Highest At-Risk Properties
3 years, 4 months ago

In Fire Scorched California, Town Aims To Buy The Highest At-Risk Properties

NPR  

In Fire Scorched California, Town Aims To Buy The Highest At-Risk Properties Enlarge this image toggle caption Kirk Siegler/NPR Kirk Siegler/NPR By the heat of the afternoon, smoke from the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., the Dixie Fire, drifts into Paradise, Calif. "Quite literally, it's hanging over your head," says Dan Efseaff, director of the Paradise Recreation and District. It's part of a new, ambitious town effort to identify the most high risk properties in the burn area and, if there are willing sellers, buy them and turn them into fire resistant green spaces. Broshears's home was one of a few spared in 2018, something he says was at least partly to do with its fire resistant materials and him clearing out all the brush and creating "defensible space." Enlarge this image toggle caption Kirk Siegler/NPR Kirk Siegler/NPR "We were happy with the idea that my folks' old property could be turned into something beautiful rather than just somebody building another house," Helene says.

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History of this topic

A documentary on wildfires raised tough questions in 2021. People may now be more inclined to listen
1 day, 18 hours ago

A documentary on wildfires raised tough questions in 2021. People may now be more inclined to listen

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — When Lucy Walker debuted her harrowing documentary about California wildfires, “Bring Your Own Brigade,” at Sundance in 2021, it was during peak COVID. “I didn’t blame people for not wanting to watch a film about the fires in the middle of the pandemic, because it was just too much horror.” Now, with the devastating wildfires that have …

Los Angeles wildfires could be the costliest in history
3 days, 13 hours ago

Los Angeles wildfires could be the costliest in history

Salon  

Wildfires still raging across Los Angeles County are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. “This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in U.S. modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate …

The Los Angeles Fires Will Put California’s New Insurance Rules to the Test
55 years ago

The Los Angeles Fires Will Put California’s New Insurance Rules to the Test

Wired  

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Over the past five years, California has become a poster child for what climate-fueled weather disasters can do to a state’s home insurance market. “With input from thousands of residents throughout California, this reform balances protecting consumers with the need to strengthen our market against climate …

California wildfires show we are not prepared for climate change
1 week ago

California wildfires show we are not prepared for climate change

Salon  

I spent most of the evening on January 7, a Christmas Day celebrated by Orthodox Christians around the world, monitoring local news and emergency apps for evacuation alerts for the Los Angeles area. As one writer pointed out on X on Tuesday night, “this is how people turn into climate refugees.” As Salon has previously reported, nowhere will be safe …

Wildfires are coming to the Southeast. Can landowners mitigate the risk in time?
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Wildfires are coming to the Southeast. Can landowners mitigate the risk in time?

Salon  

Courtney Steed often burns barefoot. “You have these dynamics playing out in the region, then you throw in changes in climate and potentially warmer and drier conditions,” Donovan said, “and you set yourself up for more destructive wildfires.” Such dynamics played out in April, 2023, when a blaze in North Carolina’s Croatan National Forest jumped from 7,000 acres to 32,000 …

WATCH: Thousands Evacuated As California's Park Fire Expands To Over 370,000 Acres
5 months, 2 weeks ago

WATCH: Thousands Evacuated As California's Park Fire Expands To Over 370,000 Acres

News 18  

Dozens of firefighters were dispatched to the US state of California Monday to battle the state’s largest blaze of the year, which has prompted thousands of evacuations and already burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles. For more information on active statewide incidents, visit https://t.co/CfcEwIPpfd pic.twitter.com/cbAc2Y8AX0— CAL FIRE July 29, 2024 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRESBREAKING – California Battles One …

Crews battle wildfires across the US West and fight to hold containment lines
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Crews battle wildfires across the US West and fight to hold containment lines

Associated Press  

FOREST RANCH, Calif. — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames, including the largest wildfire in California this year. However, Cal Fire operations section chief Jeremy Pierce had some good news for the area, saying around midday that the Park Fire’s southernmost …

Is this the solution to California’s soaring insurance prices due to wildfire risk?
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Is this the solution to California’s soaring insurance prices due to wildfire risk?

LA Times  

In the past several years, homeowners across the state have been either burdened with extremely high insurance premiums or have struggled to find coverage at all. Earlier this month State Farm’s cancellations of 30,000 homeowner policies mostly in high wildfire risk areas, took effect. She is one of the many California homeowners struggling to maintain home insurance as costs increase …

State regulators identify wildfire neighborhoods targeted for insurance relief
7 months ago

State regulators identify wildfire neighborhoods targeted for insurance relief

LA Times  

California regulators Wednesday disclosed which areas of the state insurers will have to cover if they want to take advantage of financial incentives intended to resolve the homeowners’ insurance crisis. In Los Angeles County, those areas include ZIP Codes in the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains and parts of the Santa Clarita Valley, according to draft regulations released …

Has California addressed the failures that led to the deadly Camp fire five years ago?
1 year, 2 months ago

Has California addressed the failures that led to the deadly Camp fire five years ago?

LA Times  

Five years ago today, around 6:15 a.m., a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. transmission line in the Sierra Nevada foothills malfunctioned. “There are still some lessons that people can take away from an absolute worst-case scenario, where you have no hope of either fighting the fire or evacuating everyone at the same time,” said Jim Broshears, who was Paradise’s emergency …

How are people supposed to rebuild Paradise, California, when nobody can afford home insurance?
1 year, 2 months ago

How are people supposed to rebuild Paradise, California, when nobody can afford home insurance?

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — Heidi Lange was among the first to rebuild after the deadliest wildfire in California history destroyed her home in 2018 along with much of the town of Paradise. How is this the biggest thing we’re dealing with?” The soaring cost of home insurance has consumed the town of Paradise, residents and officials say, as it prepares to …

How are people supposed to rebuild Paradise, California, when nobody can afford home insurance?
1 year, 2 months ago

How are people supposed to rebuild Paradise, California, when nobody can afford home insurance?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. How is this the biggest thing we’re dealing with?” …

5 years after California’s deadliest wildfire, survivors forge different paths toward recovery
1 year, 2 months ago

5 years after California’s deadliest wildfire, survivors forge different paths toward recovery

Associated Press  

PARADISE, Calif. — On the day Paradise burned, Gwen Nordgren stopped her car just long enough to rescue a young woman escaping by foot. FILE - Homes leveled by the Camp Fire line the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park retirement community in Paradise, Calif., Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. Empty rows line the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, five …

Five years after the Camp fire, Paradise survivors see a hard future for Maui
1 year, 4 months ago

Five years after the Camp fire, Paradise survivors see a hard future for Maui

LA Times  

Whipping winds, a sky blackened by smoke. “It’s cool to see houses being built, and people coming home, and new people moving in and taking pride in our community.” Miller, who grew up in Paradise, was living in Texas at the time of the fire — she and her husband had moved there six months prior for his job. But …

More than half of rural California now ranks ‘very high’ for wildfire hazard
2 years ago

More than half of rural California now ranks ‘very high’ for wildfire hazard

LA Times  

For the first time, more than half of California’s rural and unincorporated communities could soon be classified as “very high” fire hazard severity zones, according to a proposed map from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Toggling between the previous map and the current iteration, it’s easy to see how “the zones kind of oozed ‘high fire severity’ …

Column: California wildfires to Florida hurricanes, how the rich game climate change
2 years, 3 months ago

Column: California wildfires to Florida hurricanes, how the rich game climate change

LA Times  

Boats are stacked up at the Port Sanibel Marina in Fort Myers, Fla., on Sept. 29. “They have hurricane disasters which most likely cost billions of dollars,” went one email, “yet they keep rebuilding only to have the same disaster again.” He’s right. Climate scientists are skeptical, though, because as with so much of high-risk Northern California, it’s likely that …

Opinion: Climate change puts these readers’ rural towns at risk. Why they want to rebuild
2 years, 3 months ago

Opinion: Climate change puts these readers’ rural towns at risk. Why they want to rebuild

LA Times  

The Dixie Fire in 2021 destroyed most of the habitat for deer in the Greenville area. The recent series by Times columnist Erika A. Smith and Anita Chabria focusing on Greenville, a community of 800 residents in the far northern Sierra Nevada that was devastated by the 2021 Dixie Fire, wrestled with these complex issues and came to a conclusion …

Climate change fuels extremism in California wildfire zones
2 years, 3 months ago

Climate change fuels extremism in California wildfire zones

LA Times  

It’s hard to explain just how much some people in rural California dislike and distrust the rest of us, especially Gov. He issued a statement lambasting the “dictatorial whims of the State Water Board” and a “systemic attempt to destroy farming and ranching in order to run the people off their own land.” He encouraged “anyone to stop ‘voluntarily complying’ …

Climate deniers are costing California too much time, money
2 years, 3 months ago

Climate deniers are costing California too much time, money

LA Times  

Looking back, Bradley Bentz doesn’t know what took him so long to move out of Los Angeles County. “I kind of just.,” Bentz said, searching for the right words to sum up his life, “fell in love.” Lumber trucks display the Stars and Stripes in Greenville’s Gold Diggers Day parade. “I really think it would take a disaster to scare …

How a high-risk California town learned to live with fire
2 years, 4 months ago

How a high-risk California town learned to live with fire

Al Jazeera  

As climate change heightens increasingly severe blazes in US, Topanga has taken steps to reduce its vulnerability. In 2018, the Woolsey Fire burned nearly 40,500 hectares in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Topanga, killing three people and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. California has more than 75 towns and cities where at least 90 percent of residents live …

Wildfires are getting worse across the globe. How does California compare?
2 years, 10 months ago

Wildfires are getting worse across the globe. How does California compare?

LA Times  

An alarming new United Nations report warns that the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 50% globally by the end of the century, and that governments are largely unprepared for the burgeoning crisis. “We hear that people in D.C. think of fire as a Western issue, or a Californian issue, but it really isn’t — it’s a global …

If you live in a fire-prone part of California, this road map can help you save on insurance
2 years, 11 months ago

If you live in a fire-prone part of California, this road map can help you save on insurance

LA Times  

With the fire season growing longer and wildfires increasing in intensity, Californians living in fire-prone areas are having a harder time finding affordable insurance for their homes — if they can find coverage at all. For more detailed suggestions, consult Cal Fire’s “Hardening Your Home” site, its low-cost retrofit list and the University of California’s preparing your home webpage. The …

Paradise again threatened as deadly fires push toward towns gutted by 2018 inferno
4 years, 3 months ago

Paradise again threatened as deadly fires push toward towns gutted by 2018 inferno

LA Times  

A November 2018 photo of Paradise High School. Two years after being decimated by the worst blaze in California history, the town of Paradise was again under threat, this time from the deadly North Complex fire. Butte County sheriff’s officials issued an evacuation order for Pulga and Concow and an evacuation warning for the town of Paradise, which was mostly …

Amid smoke and ash, wildfire-scarred Paradise rebuilds
4 years, 4 months ago

Amid smoke and ash, wildfire-scarred Paradise rebuilds

Associated Press  

PARADISE, Calif. — When flames chased Chuck and Janie Dee down the mountain two years ago, they thought they’d never be back. The 2018 fire struck two weeks before Thanksgiving, destroyed roughly 19,000 structures in and around Paradise and killed 85 people. The latest fire to threaten the town came when Pacific Gas & Electric had shut off power in …

Paradise rebuilds, but fire safety sometimes takes a back seat to economic realities
5 years, 2 months ago

Paradise rebuilds, but fire safety sometimes takes a back seat to economic realities

LA Times  

Victoria Sinclaire, second from right, and her family were the first to rebuild their home in Paradise, Calif. “If you make it so difficult to build, they’ll just leave.” A vision for Paradise In the first few months after the fire, the town didn’t know where to start. “Having this zone right next to a building is pretty important,” said …

Safety questions still swirl in Paradise year after wildfire
5 years, 2 months ago

Safety questions still swirl in Paradise year after wildfire

Associated Press  

PARADISE, Calif. — There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise. “As we saw in the Camp Fire, the town’s really well set up to kill people with wildfire,” said Lunder, who lives in nearby Chico. “If you take away all the trees, it’s what we’re here for, is for the trees,” resident Vincent Childs told …

Residents Of Paradise And Other Towns Destroyed By Wildfire Must Wait To Go Home
5 years, 11 months ago

Residents Of Paradise And Other Towns Destroyed By Wildfire Must Wait To Go Home

NPR  

Residents Of Paradise And Other Towns Destroyed By Wildfire Must Wait To Go Home Enlarge this image toggle caption Kirk Siegler/NPR Kirk Siegler/NPR Three months have passed since the deadly Camp Fire devastated towns in the mountains of Butte County, Calif., leaving residents with burned-out properties covered with potentially toxic debris. Enlarge this image toggle caption Kirk Siegler/NPR Kirk Siegler/NPR …

California's top firefighter says people should be BANNED from living in fire-prone areas
6 years ago

California's top firefighter says people should be BANNED from living in fire-prone areas

Daily Mail  

After several deadly California wildfires ravaged the state destroying more than 250,000 acres of land and killing at least 90 people state-wide, officials are suggesting banning people from living in fire-prone areas. California's top firefighter Ken Pimlott says that the government and citizens must act now to protect their lives and property from future infernos that will inevitably set the …

Some evacuation orders lifted for California wildfire area
6 years, 1 month ago

Some evacuation orders lifted for California wildfire area

Associated Press  

PARADISE, Calif. — Authorities are lifting evacuation orders for some Northern California communities ravaged by the state’s deadliest wildfire but said no traffic will be allowed into the town of Paradise, which was the most devastated community in last month’s blaze. The Butte County Sheriff’s office on Sunday said residents of neighborhoods in nearby Magalia can return to the area …

California wildfires: Rain helps ensure Camp Fire blaze is nearly fully contained although hundreds remain missing
6 years, 1 month ago

California wildfires: Rain helps ensure Camp Fire blaze is nearly fully contained although hundreds remain missing

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors …

California fire: What started as a tiny brush fire became the state’s deadliest wildfire. Here’s how
6 years, 1 month ago

California fire: What started as a tiny brush fire became the state’s deadliest wildfire. Here’s how

LA Times  

A man rests at a shelter at the Church of the Nazarene in Oroville, Calif. Megan Butler, 26, and her daughter Aurora, 2, are homeless after their house burned down in Concow in the Camp fire. Alexandria Wilson, 21, consoles her boyfriend, Jacob Golden, 25, as they recount their harrowing escape from the Camp Fire at a relative’s house in …

Paradise lost: How California’s deadliest wildfire unfolded
6 years, 1 month ago

Paradise lost: How California’s deadliest wildfire unfolded

CNN  

CNN — What started as the wind-driven wildfires common in California escalated into fast-moving infernos, roaring through homes and sending thousands fleeing in the middle of the night. JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images Lidia Steineman, who lost her home in the Camp Fire, prays during a vigil for fire victims on November 18 in Chico, California. Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images Firefighters work to …

California wildfires: Death toll rises to 65, searches underway for 630 missing people
6 years, 2 months ago

California wildfires: Death toll rises to 65, searches underway for 630 missing people

ABC  

The deadliest wildfires in California's history have killed at least 65 people and more than 600 are still missing as authorities continue to search for victims. Key points: The list of those missing has doubled in a day from 297 to 630 About 50,000 people remain under evacuation orders Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea expects list of missing to fluctuate …

Southern California wildfire roars to life in wilderness
6 years, 2 months ago

Southern California wildfire roars to life in wilderness

Associated Press  

MALIBU, Calif. — Southern California’s huge wildfire roared to life again Tuesday in a mountain wilderness area. A massive plume rose suddenly at midmorning in the Santa Monica Mountains near the community of Lake Sherwood, prompting authorities to send numerous aircraft to drop fire retardant and water on the blaze. “That number is going to rise significantly,” Los Angeles County …

Despite fire after fire, Paradise continued to boom — until California’s worst wildfire hit
6 years, 2 months ago

Despite fire after fire, Paradise continued to boom — until California’s worst wildfire hit

LA Times  

Paradise boomed over the last four decades as a popular retirement spot even though fires destroyed homes every few years. Johnson has been living in Paradise for 48 years and says of the fire, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” 12 / 37 The sun rises over the burned hills near Paradise, Calif., as the Camp fire continues to burn. …

California wildfire: At least 23 killed, over 2.5 lakh residents ordered to evacuate as rescue missions continue
6 years, 2 months ago

California wildfire: At least 23 killed, over 2.5 lakh residents ordered to evacuate as rescue missions continue

Firstpost  

In California’s Paradise town, in Butte County, rescuers removed remains over a period of several hours and placed them in a black hearse. Paradise: Rescue workers recovered multiple bodies on Sunday from the charred remains of residences in a California town ravaged by the most destructive fire to hit the US state. The death toll in the California wildfire from …

Camp Fire in Northern California is now the most destructive in state history
6 years, 2 months ago

Camp Fire in Northern California is now the most destructive in state history

Daily Mail  

The Camp Fire in Northern California has been declared the most destructive in the state's history, as investigators probe whether faulty power lines may have sparked the blaze. Authorities say the fire burning around the town of Paradise has become the state's most destructive since record-keeping began The map above shows the three major fires now burning in California, two …

Stunning NASA Photos Show California's Devastating Wildfires From Space
6 years, 2 months ago

Stunning NASA Photos Show California's Devastating Wildfires From Space

Huff Post  

Satellite photos captured by NASA show how large California’s wildfires have become as they continue to burn vast areas of the state. In the photos below, taken from NASA’s Terra satellite on Friday, massive plumes of smoke can be seen drifting over the Pacific Ocean from fires in Northern and Southern California. The Camp fire in Northern California has devastated …

California wildfires: Tens of thousands forced to flee as entire city ‘pretty much’ destroyed by blaze
6 years, 2 months ago

California wildfires: Tens of thousands forced to flee as entire city ‘pretty much’ destroyed by blaze

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy An entire Californian city …

Paradise, Calif., Destroyed By Wildfire, Authorities Say
6 years, 2 months ago

Paradise, Calif., Destroyed By Wildfire, Authorities Say

NPR  

Paradise, Calif., Destroyed By Wildfire, Authorities Say Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Updated at 5:15 a.m. The Camp Fire started Thursday morning near Paradise, a town of around 27,000 people some 90 miles north of Sacramento. Enlarge this image toggle caption Noah Berger/AP Noah Berger/AP "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's …

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