California Wildfires
Federal wildfire crews are stretched thin. California is stepping in to help
As fire season takes hold, California is managing fuels and fire on federal lands. Can California keep it up?
Climate Change
California Wildfires
The Trump administration upended how the West fights wildfires. California is bracing too
California, which is having an unusually quiet fire summer, has deployed engines and crews to fight fires raging in Colorado and the Pacific Northwest — but even this well-resourced state continues to feel vulnerable.
Environment
What is the 10 a.m. rule? Controversial firefighting strategy could be back
Full suppression by 10 a.m. has not been reinstated under Trump but political pressure remains.
Environment
An oil field became California’s first carbon vault. Who’s responsible if something goes wrong?
California’s first commercial carbon-storage project is operating even though the state has yet to adopt rules required by law, 19 months after a key deadline.
Water
Band-Aid, not a cure: federal Colorado River plan leaves states guessing every two years
No long-term deal means water agencies around California and the West are stuck guessing how deep cuts on the Colorado River will go.
Environment
Fierce floods or wild waves? How San Diego is preparing for a winter of extreme weather under El Niño.
As a “super El Niño” season gains steam, San Diego contends with aging stormwater systems and century-old dams.
California Wildfires
California fire season has been quiet. A heat wave could change that fast
A fast-moving fire near Yosemite and an incoming heat wave highlight a growing link between heat and wildfires.
California Wildfires
California can’t replant its forests fast enough to keep up with wildfires
California's wildfires are destroying forests faster than the state can replant them, and federal cuts are making the gap worse.
Environment
California pulled the plug on new school air conditioners, leaving $200 million unspent
A program that promised schools upgraded AC systems was cut short in 2024, leaving hundreds of districts with broken systems and no money to fix them.
Environment
California restricts utility shutoffs as dangerous heat ripples across state
California bars utilities from cutting off power to customers who fall behind on their bills when it’s dangerously hot outside – a basic safety protection. Losing power in some rural areas can also mean losing water, and in cities, having no way to cool down can be dangerous, even deadly, when hot weather spans several […]