Beyond the Plume of Smoke
“While acute smoke is bad for human and environmental health, smoke in moderation can be part of human and environmental health and well-being.”
Fire
Living with Fire
There’s no option to live without fire in California, and setting small, controlled fires could help keep the large, unruly ones at bay. But what would an increase in controlled burns actually look like, and how would they impact our open spaces, wildlife, air, and water?
Redwood Memory
Old redwood trees have seen fire many times in their lives. It’s because of their fire scars—not in spite of them—that the redwood forest thrives.
Animals Can Recover From Fire
New research is using motion-sensor cameras to reveal how wildlife communities survive fire and how they adapt to a burned landscape in the weeks, months, and years after a fire.
On the Front Lines in Fire Season
Meet the East Bay Regional Park District Fire Department.
Letter from the Editor: A New Fire Story
Introducing the first themed issue in Bay Nature's 20 years of publication.
After the Lightning Fires in the East Bay Parks
The SCU Lightning Complex fires burned 6,000 acres of East Bay Regional Park District land last year. And already, green ground cover, reptiles, and raptors are returning in Morgan Territory.
When Wildlife Can’t Escape Fire
Whereas systems are in place to rescue domesticated animals in the path of fire, until now wild animals have been largely left to their own devices.
Finding Signs of Recovery in Santa Cruz’s Redwood Forest
Before the CZU Complex fires of 2020, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park had not seen fire for a hundred years. Signs of recovery in the park are as varied as the redwood forest ecology itself.
Naturalist’s Notebook: Fire Pines
A visual explanation of how fire helps release the seeds of knobcone, bishop, and Monterey pine trees, plus a fun experiment to try at home!
