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Monterey County Local News: Resilience


All Local Resilience News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: A Pyrocumulus cloud generated by the Dixie Fire in July, 2021.
What is Fire 'Containment?' That and Other Terms, Explained

What does it mean when firefighters call a fire "contained?" Here's a brief guide to commonly used fire prevention terminology.

Image caption: A smoky blanket of particulate matter hovers over San Francisco’s skyline.
Getting Acquainted With AQI

Learn what's getting into Californians’ lungs and why it matters.

Image caption: Many of Robert Kerbeck’s neighbors in Malibu Park lost their homes in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which left behind lots where only chimneys still stood.
Give Your Home a Fighting Chance in a Wildfire

California wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent and more ferocious. ‘Malibu Burning’ author Robert Kerbeck shares simple steps you can take to protect your home.

Image caption: Flooding on the Salinas River in 2023 brought economic hardship to farmers and snarled traffic.
Disaster Prep: Alerts, Maps and Apps

Whether you’re on the Monterey Peninsula, in the Salinas Valley or Big Sur, keep these information resources handy on your smartphone.

Image caption: The Pajaro River levee broke during the 2023 atmospheric river storms, flooding the town of Pajaro.
Is California Ready for More Extreme Weather Driven by Climate Change?

This year, a series of extreme events in California and around the country have wreaked havoc, driven by climate change. How prepared are we for things to get worse?

Image caption: Kerry Wood, CEO of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, says the organization researches areas of need to help donors direct their contributions.
What Is a Community Foundation?

By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.

Image caption: Just because record rains have been falling, the state’s water crisis remains.
What Is Drought? Probably Not What You Think

2023’s torrential rainstorms have eased California's drought conditions. But there’s a lot more to drought than the amount of rain, and this drought isn't over yet.

Image caption: With CERT training, volunteers can learn firefighting skills.
Emergency Teamwork

Fires, floods, earthquakes—California’s got it all. And CERT volunteers are ready to step in.

Image caption: Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners

As California insurance companies have revoked the fire policies of thousands of homeowners, the state has taken steps to get them covered again.

Image caption: Though it’s the most famous, the San Andreas Fault is just one of more than 500 active faults in California.
Battening Down for the Big One

Making it through the earthquake is the easy part. The hard part is surviving in the chaos that follows.

Image caption: Supercell storms are just one of many weather phenomena in the era of climate change.
The New Vocabulary of the Climate Change Era

The climate change era has created a whole new set of terms for a wide variety of storms and other weather phenomena. Here are some of the most important.

Image caption:
How Not to Feel the Burn

California residents can turn to these public and private entities to help prepare for wildfires and protect their property.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

11/07/2024
Image for display with article titled The Peninsula’s Water Usage Dips to Its Lowest Level in Nearly 50 Years.

David Schmalz here, with some notable news to report. This past water year—a calendar built around the wet season, from Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024—just 8,972 acre-feet of water were pumped into Cal Am’s system to meet customer demand. It marks the first time since 1977—a severe drought year that led to water rationing—that number has dipped below 9,000 acre-feet. For contrast, the amount of water put into the system in 1976 was around 16,000 acre-feet.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

11/05/2024
Learn more about how the just-passed $10 billion climate bond measure will fund resiliency projects across the state.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/31/2024
Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/30/2024
Low counts of spawning salmon could mean another year without fishing. Experts say the outlook still has time to turn around.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

10/16/2024
Image for display with article titled The California Marine Sanctuary Foundation Is Putting a $71 Million Grant Into Action.

During a trip to Palo Alto in June 2023, President Joe Biden announced the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge aimed at projects that improve coastal resilience against sea level rise, drought, wildfire and other climate change impacts, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

10/09/2024
Image for display with article titled A Coalition of Big Sur Leaders Are Working to Get Funding for Internet Access in Tough-to-Reach Places.

As the pandemic spotlighted, access to the internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity. From health care and online banking to education and disaster communication, much of everyday life requires being online.

Salinas Valley Tribune logo From Salinas Valley Tribune...

10/09/2024
Image for display with article titled Alliance on Aging Presents South County Solutions Summits to Address Community Needs

The Alliance on Aging is set to launch a series of South County Solutions Summits aimed at addressing vital concerns for older adults and individuals with disabilities in Monterey County.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

10/08/2024
How to apply rebate as part of the recent $80 million state program to electrify homes.

King City Rustler logo From King City Rustler...

10/07/2024
Image for display with article titled Fort Hunter Liggett Celebrates Microgrid Launch

The U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett, under the command of Col. Stephen Trotter, celebrated a landmark achievement Sept. 17 with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new microgrid, a fully renewable energy system designed to bolster the base's energy resilience and sustainability.

KSQD logo From KSQD...

10/03/2024
Image for display with article titled Gary Griggs: “California Catastrophes: The Natural Disaster History of the Golden State”

Gary Griggs, UCSC Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences tells us about his new book, California Catastrophes: The Natural Disaster History of the Golden State, about the history of disasters in our state and what we can expect in the future.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

10/02/2024
Image for display with article titled After Decades of Delays, the Shovels Have Finally Hit the Dirt for the Pajaro River Levee Project.

Officials celebrated the groundbreaking of the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, which is expected to provide 100-year flood risk reduction to the area by constructing levees and improvements along the lower Pajaro River and its tributaries.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/19/2024
At a CalMatters event, California’s insurance commissioner says the changes he’s making will help homeowners and business owners. One idea: A state grant for those who spend money to protect their property from wildfires.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/13/2024
California’s inland regions are experiencing dangerous heat waves, exacerbated by rapid population growth. As more people move away from the expensive coastal areas to more affordable inland communities, these regions are seeing significant demographic changes and spiking electricity bills.

King City Rustler logo From King City Rustler...

09/11/2024
Image for display with article titled Cal Fire Grants Boost Central Coast Fire Safety Efforts

In a significant boost to wildfire prevention efforts, the City of Greenfield has been awarded $189,263 in grant funding through Cal Fire’s Wildfire Prevention Grants Program as part of a larger initiative aimed at enhancing wildfire resilience across the Central Coast.

California Local Pin Marker From Monterey Herald...

09/11/2024
In their September 10 meeting, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the environmental review of the Carmel Lagoon flood control project, in draft since 2016.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/04/2024
Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.

California Local Pin Marker From https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article291844345.html...

09/02/2024
CalFire received the first of five planes promised by the federal government, a former Coast Guard C-130 Hercules air tanker.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/29/2024
Early warning systems save lives during disasters, but a recent FEMA survey found that only a third of people are signed up. Use this resource to find your county’s emergency alert sign-up page.

Salinas Valley Tribune logo From Salinas Valley Tribune...

08/20/2024
Image for display with article titled Hartnell College Awarded $2M as Part of NOAA Climate Resilience Project

SALINAS — Hartnell College was awarded a $2 million subaward, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s $71 million Climate Resilience Regional Challenge to advance climate change resilience around the Monterey Bay area through the Monterey Bay Climate Action Adaptation Network.

California Local Pin Marker From Monterey Herald...

08/19/2024
Continued shifting of the Regent's Slide on Highway 1 has caused work to be delayed as CalTrans engineers access the situation.
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