Science supports Los Angeles wildfires’ aftermath
In early 2025, wildfires ravaged Southern California. Firefighters spent days battling flames that engulfed houses, businesses and landmarks while forcing thousands to flee. But even once the fires came under control, the danger wasn’t over. As the smoke cleared from the burned hillsides of Los Angeles, a new kind of urgency mounted. Now the threat was not from flames but instead from what could…
#California
Get your off-roading on in California’s national forests
Joaquin Jeepers club member James Casity rides his 2005 Jeep Rubicon across the Duck Creek Bridge. He’ll exit the Slick Rock Trail near the Spicer Sno-Park on the Stanislaus National Forest, October 2024. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Wilson/Joaquin Jeepers)
While driving towards mountains…
#OHV, #Recreation, #California
A blueprint for fire prevention
The sounds of chainsaws and chippers aren’t normally associated with a sense of new life and vitality. But in Lake County, California, where the 2015 Valley Fire killed 4 people and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures, clearing overgrown brush is not only reducing the risk of wildfire, but also creating jobs and restoring hope.“The Valley Fire made us all wake up and feel that we had to do…
#FireAndAviationManagement, #CommunityWildfireDefenseGrants, #California, #Fire, #Firefighters, #InfrastructureInvestmentAndJobsAct
Rising through the ranks
A career day at Chaparral High School in Temecula, California. That’s what changed Cole Weissgerber’s life. Before then, he wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do with his life (who really does know what they want to be at age 17?). But the USDA Forest Service’s presence at the school that day drew Weissgerber into the fire service. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the thought of saving communities or…
#California, #Careers, #WildlandFirefighters
Audio Story: Wandering after Wolves
It appears that your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Please use the following download directly link instead.Transcript | Download directly (18 MB)The gray wolf (Canis lupus) became extirpated, or locally extinct, in California in the 1920s. But this large member of the dog family was once a native species in California that ranged widely here and throughout much of the United States. In…
#Wolves, #California
Where the city meets the forest
Los Angeles skyline with the Angeles National Forest in the background. (USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
Editor’s note: The Forest Service, now in its second year of implementing its Wildfire Crisis Strategy, is treating 11 additional landscapes across the country to help reduce wildfire risk to communities. Combined with the initial 10…