Not if But When
It’s one thing to follow the news reports and social media videos of wildfire damage from afar, mentally preparing yourself for what it might be like to try and identify the skeletal remains of a structure as your own family’s cabin or home. Or see the tornados of fire set ablaze against a hillside you’ve traversed hundreds of times by car or by foot. Or watch a community you know and love evacuate by the thousands, their whole lives crammed into one carload.
It’s another thing entirely when it happens for real.
From Beyond the Line of Fire: Living through largest single fire in California History
As we contemplated go-bag contents and watched the relentless advance of the Beckwourth, River, Tamarack, and especially the Dixie fire over the last few weeks, one of our dearest Small Business Development Center counselors, Clint Koble was smack in the middle of the devastation. Clint lives at and manages a resort in Chester along Lake Almanor. Over the course of several days, Clint holed up at the resort, guarded by the command of fire fighters he so graciously hosted. The firefighters instructed him to park his car on the boat ramp and to take refuge in the car should the flames approach – they would protect him.
Call to Action: Why We Need Immediate Government Funding for the 2021 Fire Season
As you know, California witnessed its worst wildfire season on record in 2020. Over 4 million acres burned, costing us more than 10,000 homes and buildings and at least 33 lives (not to mention the long-term negative health impacts of the dense smoke experienced across the state). Wildfire is a natural part of California’s landscape, but today’s wildfires are out of balance due to a century of fire suppression and misguided forest management. As climate change accelerates the risk of extreme wildfire, 2020 could be the start of our new normal. In 2021, we have an opportunity to keep that from happening. If we take action now, we can help protect our communities and restore the health of our forests.
Dare to Believe: Meaningful Funding for California’s Wildfire Crisis
Fire has always had a place in California. There was a time when the state had a well-defined wildfire season, when homeowners in California’s wildland urban interface could readily insure their homes, when wildfire smoke wouldn’t blanket the entire state at one time. Unfortunately, due to a century of mismanagement of our fire ecosystem and the growing impacts of climate change, that time has passed.
Wildfire Strategy
Wildfire risk is increasing in size, intensity, frequency, and duration across a broader range of communities and landscapes. Wind-driven fires as a result of Diablo wind patterns (rather than fuel-dominated wildland ground and crown fires) are also increasingly common, leading to structure fires in urban communities that originate in the wildland urban interface (WUI) or wildlands.
Healthier Forests, a Stronger Workforce, and Reduced Wildfire Risk: A Win-Win-Win.
The scale required to meet California’s wildfire crisis is massive. Millions of acres are in need of forest restoration, millions of homes are in need of retrofitting, millions of Californians are threatened by unprecedented wildfire risks.
And yet, the state does not have the workforce capacity to meet that scale, not even close.
What to Do When Leaders Don’t Lead: Wildfire Policy (or Lack Thereof) in 2020
I’ve had a number of sleepless nights over the past few weeks. You might think it’s because of the COVID crisis, or the financial melt-down in our small Sierra towns, or the fires that are literally burning up the state right now. And you’d be right. But underlying all of that is the head-shaking, eye-popping, foot-stomping, heart-wrenching fact that our leaders don’t lead.
You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone: Honoring Nevada City’s Independence Trail
This old saying perfectly describes my realization of how special the Independence Trail was for our community. Lighting struck repeatedly throughout the night on August 17th, igniting dry fuel in our foothills refuge of Nevada City and across the state of California.
Doing Business Through a Public Safety Power Shutoff
Doing Business Through a Public Safety Power Shutoff Small business owners are facing new challenges in California. In addition to preparing for wildfire and beefing up their business resilience preparation, small business owners and home-based businesses now must also prepare for extended power outages. This type of interruption can be devastating to the bottom line […]
I Received the Letter Every Sierra Homeowner is Trying to Avoid
I Received the Letter Every Sierra Homeowner is Trying to Avoid I received the dreaded letter last month. The one from my insurance company telling me they were not renewing the fire portion of my homeowner’s insurance. This, even after my husband has been a loyal premium-paying customer for 42 years, and we and our […]