California Wildfires

Fewer inmates are available for hand crews so the state is filling the gap. So far, slightly more acreage has burned this year than last year.

California's last juvenile fire camp could close due to state budget cuts. Though critics question putting young inmates in danger for as little as $1 an hour, supporters say it's one of the few proven models for rehabilitation.

State officials said that California isn’t backing away from prioritizing environmental protections, but that the harsh realities of the economic meltdown require difficult compromises.

Despite a projected $54 billion budget shortfall, California officials vow to continue funding for wildfire-related projects.

The utility agreed not to pay shareholder dividends for three years — a $4 billion forfeiture. And it will get more state oversight.

Authorities may ask utility companies to provide real-time outage updates, help create community centers where vulnerable people can seek refuge and practice better notification procedures. 

One by one, wildfire victims, bondholders and insurers have signed onto PG&E's plan for emerging from bankruptcy reorganization. Only Newsom now stands in the company's way — and he has threatened a public takeover if big changes aren't made at California's largest investor-owned utility. 

California state Sen. Bill Dodd has introduced legislation to help schools make up instructional time and state dollars lost to closures for climate-driven emergencies such as wildfires. The increasingly pressing issue was the topic of a CalMatters series last year.

It’s not about cap and trade.  A non-partisan report says California's renewable energy mandate is the star of the state's greenhouse gas goals, just as some propose to stop it.

California's year of extreme events includes fires, floods, blobs, and blooms — here's a look back at 2019 from space.