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California's wildfires explained: how did they start – and is this normal?

September 24, 2020
Wildfires have been raging across California, ripping through wildlands as well as cities, towns and rural neighborhoods, forcing thousands of residents to flee amid a heatwave and the coronavirus pandemic. The blazes have blackened skies, spewing smoke across the Bay Area and sprinkling ash across...

Past Wildfires Offer Future Roadmap for Forest Management’s Effects on Water

September 15, 2020
Forest restoration is often associated with mitigating wildfire risk and improving ecosystem health throughout the Sierra Nevada. But restoration also dramatically affects water use within forests and the amount of runoff that flows downstream. The Sierra Nevada provides more than 60 percent of...

Fire experts: Western fires are ‘unreal’

September 14, 2020
Wildfire experts and meteorologists are aghast at the explosion in Western wildfires. Massive, rapidly moving fires have come alive in California, Washington, and Oregon as potent winds fanned flames over a region parched by heat and dryness. The big picture out West, particularly in...

Extreme End To The 2020 Northwest Fire Season Reminds Of The 1910 ‘Big Burn’

September 14, 2020
Usually, fire season starts to tamp down in September. This year has been anything but normal. In an unprecedented fire event, at least 80 fires started in Washington over Labor Day weekend. Strong winds and extremely dry vegetation made for extreme fire danger throughout the Northwest....

‘Ground zero’ for dead trees. How California mega-drought turned Creek Fire into inferno

September 14, 2020
California’s mega-drought officially ended three years ago but may have turned the Creek Fire into a monster. By killing millions of trees in the Sierra National Forest, the historic drought that ended in 2017 left an incendiary supply of dry fuel that appears to have intensified...

These Changes Are Needed Amid Worsening Wildfires, Experts Say

September 14, 2020
Wildfires are ravaging the West — in California alone, five of the largest blazes on record have all struck in just the past four years — offering a deadly reminder that the nation is far behind in adopting policies widely known to protect lives and property, even though...

Trauma, fear, homelessness: life after California's deadliest fire shows the future of climate crisis

September 14, 2020
In the last two years, Erin Finafrock has lived in a trailer and at the homes of friends in three California cities. She has camped at a fairground and in between swaths of fire-blackened forest. She has slept on owl-print sheets in a tent next to a busy Oakland street. When the Camp...

SNRI Executive Named Director of State Parks

August 27, 2020
Armando Quintero’s passion for water, conservation, nature and responsible stewardship has carried him through his life, from his days as a National Park ranger, artist, teacher and leader of natural history journeys to his executive director position with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute. Now...

Precipitation and Drainage Fuel Large CO2 ‘Burps’ from Rainforest Soils, Study Finds

August 17, 2020
It is said that rainforests are the Earth’s lungs, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, building it into lush vegetation and releasing oxygen and water back into the air. But every time there’s a big rain, the rainforest soil emits a significant burst of that CO2, according to a new study...

Reforesting After Wildfires: Which Trees Are Most Likely to Thrive?

August 11, 2020
Wildfire seasons are intensifying because of climate change. That means reforestation efforts will increase, making it important for scientists and resource managers to understand how to make sure restorations will thrive in the future. Because changes in climate challenge forests’ stability and...

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