Despite increased awareness of the dangers of wildfires, an alarming number of Californians still aren’t prepared for them. Every year, we’re told to pack go bags, clear out the dried debris around our homes and to keep a full tank of gas when there’s a red flag warning, meaning the potential for fire is high. But how many of us actually do these things?
Environmental design professor Emily Schlickman studies land use in the Big Chico Creek watershed, which has been devastated by the Park Fire in California.
Dozens of residents and firefighters gathered on Sunday in the tiny coastal town of Tomales. In the town hall, past a table of coffee and donut holes, they met around six folding tables covered with giant maps of Tomales and the surrounding agricultural region from Dillon Beach to Two Rock.
Dr. Nina Fontana is a researcher at the University of California Davis in collaboration with USGS Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. Her research focuses on cultural burning and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in forest-dependent communities. In February 2024, Nina participated in a series of policy engagement workshops in Washington, DC facilitated by COMPASS and the Federation of American Scientists.
Prescribed fire, which mimics natural fire regimes, can help improve forest health and reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire. But this management tool is underused in the fire-prone U.S. West and Baja California, Mexico, due to several barriers.
Derek Urwin and his fellow firefighters have a mordant quip about wildland fires that burn into developed areas: “That one took a couple of years off my life.”
Wildfire smoke may carry mold spores that cause fungal infections in humans. Naomi Hauser, an infectious disease specialist and assistant clinical professor at UC Davis Health, built strong partnerships with community fire departments to measure the spread of spores during wildfires.
In wildfire-beleaguered California, firefighters and emergency personnel race to help humans, livestock and neighborhoods across the state, year after year. Now, a new network is being created to help treat injured individuals from an overlooked population — wildlife.
Schmidt is part of a group at UC Davis studying the effects of wildfires on pregnant women and their unborn children. The goal is to find out what chemicals these women and their unborn children were exposed to and what long-term effects they could have.
