Wildfire Media Coverage

Scientists study how beavers' dams create green firebreaks in wildfire-prone areas

Smoke from wildfires is now causing nearly 700 deaths a year in the U.S., according to new research. Marshall Burke said the "evidence linking climate change to burned areas was 'rock solid,'" but "'linking burned area to smoke is trickier because you never know exactly which way the wind's going to blow.'"

A new study finds that just 21 fossil fuel companies are responsible for $28 trillion in global climate damages. Their emissions have worsened heatwaves, droughts, and economic losses around the world. The findings strengthen calls to hold top polluters financially accountable.

Michael Wara says California "wants to spend as little money on wildfires as possible," but in reality, "taxpayers, ratepayers, insurance premium payers" will have to spend that money. 

Federal agencies are removing topsoil from burned areas but will not test it for contaminants. So scientists and residents are testing fire-affected properties themselves.

Michael Wara says incentivizing people to move away from environmentally hazardous areas is "largely theoretical," especially in places with booming economies. 

Jessica Yu says the health risks associated with wildfires can persist for months afterward. 

Michael Wara says being the insurance commissioner in California is "more of a ceremonial vehicle for political posturing than for crafting serious policy."

Michael Wara says we must "push back against politicization of disaster aid no matter where the disaster is."

California is proven to be at risk of wildfires, harming insurance rates. Michael Wara compares the state to "a drive that's had five car accidents." 

Michael Wara's 2019 study identifying California's worst-case-scenario wildfire costs found three communities to be most at risk: Pacific Palisades, Moraga, and Orinda. 

Michael Wara discusses private firefighters: insurance companies think they are highly effective while he thinks they might not be able to get to a scene fast enough. 

Deborah Sivas says the hilly terrain of places like Pacific Palisades will make it hard to clean up after wildfires. 

Mention of Marshall Burke's study found that students who were exposed to wildfire smoke had lower test scores by the equivalent of less than a day of learning. 

Michael Wara says the Bay Area could easily have a similar situation as LA's current wildfire crisis. "We've been there before. We could be there again."

While drafting a 2021 report for the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Wara said “existing homes in high fire threat areas” built before the implementation of California’s wildfire building codes “are a massive problem.” When it was published, around 700,000 to 1.3 million pre-building code homes were standing in “high or very high threat areas.”

Michael Wara says the origin of the Eaton Fire relies on what is known about the high-voltage transmission tower and its age.

Michael Wara says we need to build fire-resilient communities to prevent the same damage that LA wildfires are causing from happening again. 

Chris Field says once communities are burning, "it doesn't really have anything to do with forest management." A large fire break couldn't keep fire out at that point.  

Stanford scholars discuss health risks post-fire: "Burn sites can be a kind of toxic waste dump."

Michael Wara told USA Today, "Mother Nature decides when the fire season ends in California, and everywhere."

Michael Wara discusses the insurance landscape during the LA wildfire crisis.

Michael Wara says "It looks bad for Edison" but there is no knowing yet. 

Michael Wara shares that insurance is not a way out of the wildfire crisis.

Finding how a wildfire started is difficult. As Michael Wara puts it, "you're basically throwing a crime scene in an oven."

Michael Wara discusses the insurance landscape in California given the wildfire crisis. 

Noah Diffenbaugh says that climate change is elevating the risk of wildfires because of how it has altered conditions. 

Michael Wara says Cal Fire should partner with the Forest Service to conduct prescribed burns on national forest lands to reduce fire fuels. 

Chris Field says that wildfire risk and mitigation efforts vary from place to place. In general, homeowners and homeowner associations are responsible for managing fuels. 

Michael Wara hopes that the wildfire crisis ignites more "conversation around fuels and community design."

Electricity was still moving between transmission and distribution lines in Altadena and Eaton Canyon's hillside, according to Michael Wara. 

Michael Wara remarks that there shouldn't have to be "any trade-off between reliability and safety" regarding wildfire mitigation. 

According to Michael Wara, '[insurance carriers] are looking at this situation and saying, this is supposed to happen one in 100 years, not three times in 10.'

Michael Wara says that if the FAIR Plan charges the industry, it will show that fires are aggressively destroying California's insurance market. 

Regarding the LA wildfires, Michael Wara says that "firefighting is not going to be effective in the context we saw a few days ago. You could put a fire truck in every driveway and it would not matter." 

Michael Wara says the insurance rate increases for those in high-risk wildfire areas are only "a preview... of what is to come."

Danielle Venton shares her conversation with Michael Wara about how insurance rates are increasing in high-risk areas.

Michael Wara states that LADWP "is operating in a way that is very different from any of the investor-owned utilities in California or across the West at this point."

Michael Wara created a wildfire catastrophe model back in 2019. It predicted 3 fires, much like the ones we are seeing now. 

Noah Diffenbaugh says more people are moving into the wildland-urban interface, increasing their risk and the potential for more fires to start.

Noah Diffenbaugh says rising temperatures related to climate change increase "the likelihood of highly flammable vegetation."

Michael Wara says the insurance companies are facing big enough losses due to California wildfires that they will increase rates and might even leave the state. 

Noah Diffenbaugh says the dry and windy conditions in LA make it a very "high-risk situation."

Noah Diffenbaugh says that climate change is clearly warming not only the planet but also Southern California. It's likely exacerbating wildfire conditions. 

Michael Wara says wildfires are increasing insurance costs in California. The resulting claims from wildfire damage are too much for the state-run insurer to handle.  

Noah Diffenbaugh says the intensity of the wildfires can be attributable to weather variability. 

Michael Wara, director of CEEP, says that with "uncontrolled fire spread -- you could lose $30 billion overnight."

Michael Wara discusses how detection isn't the absolute solution to wildfires because focusing on it too much may lead us to "overlook mitigation and prevention.

Scott Fendorf's burn control experiment, the BurnBot, aims to predict when and how wildfire can change soil chemistry. 

New Stanford research shows how wildfires transform soil chemistry.

NBC News highlights Scott Fendorf's research that shows how wildfires alter soil composition.

Scott Fendorf's study found that wildfires can change soil composition, hurting soils' ability to store carbon dioxide.

Michael Wara collaborated with insurance companies in California to inform how big wildfire funds need to be to restore market confidence. A similar approach is now being used in Hawai'i after the Maui wildfires.

Scott Fendorf discusses how wildfires can transform benign chromium in soil into its toxic form in this radio episode.

Michael Wara applauds the introduction of the California Wildfire Mitigation Strategic Planning Act as a means to "maximize the effectiveness of California's work to reduce the impacts of wildfire."

Michael Wara comments on the monopolistic culture of the United States' energy system and the consequences of power shut-offs during natural disasters. 

Fendorf comments on how those who live in the middle of the United States and on the East Coast need to understand wildfires have the potential to impact their homes too. Additionally, Heft-Neal mentions the health implications that come with wildfire smoke such as circulatory system issues, headaches, heart attacks, and strokes.

New research reveals that wildfires can change a benign form of chromium into a toxin. 

Michael Wara hopes policymakers use scientific findings to push for use of prescribed burns.

Michael Wara discusses the FAIR Plan, an insurance policy for Californians in high fire risk areas. 

Michael Wara discusses federal clean air standards, specifically the Clean Air Act. 

Michael Wara coauthors the study mentioned in this article about the effectiveness of prescribed burns.

Michael Wara comments on the effectiveness of low-intensity burns to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Stanford University and Columbia University publish the first study that quantifies the magnitude of protection an area has following a mild, beneficial fire and how that long protection lasts. 

Michael Wara and Marshall Burke comment on an uptick in air pollution and a legal loophole has allowed the EPA to strike pollution from clean air tallies.

Marshall Burke is quoted on a new study showing that in the United States, smoke from wildfires is undoing progress from the Clean Air Act.

The onslaught of wildfire smoke amid a warming climate has rolled back years of air quality gains in the U.S.

Michael Wara comments on the recent power outages in Oregon in an attempt to curb wildfires.

The multibillion-dollar liabilities faced by Hawaiian Electric for the deadly wildfire in Maui — compounded by Maui County’s lawsuit against the utility on Thursday — are reverberating through the electricity industry and are forcing a reckoning for power companies and their customers, nationwide.

Here's what you should know about air pollution from these blazes.

Chris Field discusses controlled burn options for California.

Jeff Koseff and colleagues create model to analyze wind impacts on wildfire.

Chris Field reflects on 2023's wildfire season. 

Michael Wara comments on how utilities can prevent wildfires in the future.

Gabrielle Wong-Parodi reports results from a recent study on migration linked to wildfires.

Stanford researchers offer practical tips to mitigate harm from wildfire smoke.

KCRW | Michael Wara discusses the Washburn Fire, fuels management, prescribed fire, and hiring challenges in the federal workforce       

High Country News | Mary Prunicki explains how the impacts of wildfire smoke are felt far beyond the fire's immediate area. 

E&E News | Michael Wara is quoted on the lessons we can learn from past California wildfires to better prepare for future disasters.

Life With Fire | Michael Wara is interviewed in a podcast on the risks and impacts of wildfires and wildfire policy.

The Guardian | Chris Field is quoted explaining how combatting wildfires requires addressing the housing crisis in California.

Davis Vanguard | Michael Wara is quoted on the continuing impacts of drought in California and what they mean in terms of wildifre prevention.

KCRW | Michael Wara weighs in on federal funding for California wildfire relief and preparedness. 

Quartz | Noah Diffenbaugh comments on the link between wildfire and drought in California.

National Geographic | Michael Wara is quoted on how ending traditional land management contributed to current fire conditions.

Smithsonian Magazine | Mary Prunicki is quoted on how wildfires have become a national public health problem.

National Geographic | Mary Prunicki comments on the national and global threat of wildfire smoke to human health.

The Mercury News | Noah Diffenbaugh is quoted on the causes of California wildifres and how a better understanding can help us prepare for future fires.

The Mercury News | Noah Diffenbaugh explains how a better understanding of fire conditions can help us prepare for future fires.

The Guardian | Mary Prunicki explains how everyone is vulnerable to the negative health effects of wildfire smoke.

Mic | Noah Diffenbaugh explains how the increasing severity of wildfire season can be linked to ongoing climate change.

KRON4 | Alexandra Konings is quoted on how this year's drought in California will influence the wildfire season.

The Mercury News | Eric Appel discusses the potential for a new fire-stopping technology he developed to help prevent further catastrophic wildfires.

San Francisco Chronicle | Director Chris Field comments on the 2020 fire season and its connection to climate change.

The Guardian | Marshall Burke and Mary Prunicki comment on new study on wildfire smoke and air pollution

San Francisco Chronicle | Michael Wara and Marshall Burke explain new findings showing wildfire smoke is now responsible for as much as half of the fine-particulate air pollution in western states.

Associated Press | Marshall Burke comments on new study showing up to half of air pollution in Western U.S. is from wildfire smoke in recent years.