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!
Fire
The Unequal Social Consequences of Wildfire Smoke in California
Around the American West, wildfires are increasing in size and frequency. In California, the list of Top-20 records are telling: 15 of the most destructive, nine of the largest, and seven of the deadliest wildfires have occurred since 2015. At … Read more
Now, California Waits for the Fires
Drought returns to California, with a long fire season ahead.
Rebuilding Big Basin
California's first State Park burned in the 2020 CZU Lightning Fires. Now conservation groups want it to rebuild as the model of state parks for the future.
LNU Fire Complex Scalds Some Berryessa-Snow Mountain National Monument Landscapes, Spares Others, Tour Reveals
The splash of green on the ashen landscape was unexpected. Marc Hoshovsky, a naturalist retired from a career with California state agencies, was reviewing a satellite photo of areas burned in the LNU Complex fire last fall, hoping to tease … Read more
Reading the Landscape for Fire
In the beginning, fire burned the world. Don Hankins' Plains Miwok ancestors passed on this understanding of fire through generations, and he draws from it as a traditional cultural practitioner pyrogeographer when burning landscapes in California.
How Do Wildfires Affect Ocean Ecosystems?
How does wildfire ash affect the organisms in our waterways? Since plankton form the foundation of our coastal ecosystems, what happens if their equilibrium is disrupted?
Wildfire Smoke Changes Dramatically as it Ages, and That Matters for Downwind Air Quality – Here’s What We Learned Flying Through Smoke Plumes
Smoke changes as it ages, with implications for human health.
Rethinking the Wildland-Urban Interface
What does it even mean to live in a fire-risk zone now?
Size Isn’t the Best Way to Talk About Fires
One million acres. It seems an astounding number for a single fire. Even many fire scientists, who know full well that fire belongs in these forests, struggled to contain their surprise at how large the August Complex fire in the … Read more
