Nevada County Resilience Digest

Two-thirds of community college students in California admit to struggling to meet basic needs. The California Community Colleges’ Student Ambassador Program has empowered more than 50 students to act as resource guides to help them.

Pioneer Community Energy, a not-for-profit electricity provider, is expanding service into Grass Valley and Nevada City beginning in January 2024.

Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke drifts into residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts.

The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages federal water such as the Central Valley Project, has a new regional director for the California-Great Basin Region.

An effort spearheaded by the Newsom administration and congressional leaders resulted in Congress authorizing and accelerating the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard to CalFire, expanding California’s firefighting fleet.

Tahoe National Forest is now seeking public comment for the Big Jack East: Targeted Grazing Project, which proposes the use of targeted grazing to reduce fuels on up to 2,012 acres of Forest Service lands in northeastern Placer County near Truckee.

2023 has broken climate records, accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

In the immediate aftermath of the severe winter weather of early 2023, the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services launched the Winter Storm Hazardous Vegetation Cleanup Project. This program was designed to ensure that 100 miles of county roads were cleared of storm debris.

Much of California could get hit by extreme weather conditions this winter. A major storm is due to hit Northern California this week.

The Nevada Irrigation District has agreed to the transfer of Pacific Gas & Electric’s Deer Creek hydroelectric development, including facilities on the South Yuba Canal, Chalk Bluff Canal and Deer Creek Powerhouse.

More than 1.5 million acres of forest have been burned or scarred in California. Climbers go high in trees to grab pine cones that could help in reforestation.

Learning for Donner Trail Elementary School students took place in the Sierra Nevada forest on Defensible Space Stewardship Day, as the Truckee Fire Protection District and Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships helped students reduce the threat of wildfires and help community members in need.

Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue responds to over 100 incidents per year to locate persons who are lost or in danger. A grant from the Truckee Tahoe Airport District will help fund a new Rapid Response Mobile Command vehicle.

The Nevada County Resource Conservation District is launching a multi-year education program for private landowners to learn how to use prescribed fire as a tool to reduce wildfire hazard and promote healthy ecosystems.

Forecasters have struggled to understand why tropical storms sometimes blow up into major hurricanes. Scientists have shed some light on this forecasting challenge.

Councilmembers in Nevada City took steps to place a 0.5% special sales tax measure on the ballot of the General Municipal Election scheduled for March 5, 2024.

By a unanimous vote, the Grass Valley City Council declared a fiscal emergency “due to the lack of necessary funding for fire personnel and land management required to combat wildfires and extreme weather conditions.” This was a necessary step to place a general sales tax measure on the March 5, 2024 ballot.

Dense vegetation in the Deer Creek watershed puts Nevada City at high risk for wildfire, and a grant awarded by Sierra Nevada Conservancy and other projects in the works are bringing hope for a safer community.

The grant is one of nearly 50 awarded in California to local law enforcement agencies through ABC’s Alcohol Policing Partnership (APP) program.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has identified nearly 500 “zones” that are ill-prepared to tolerate flooding, earthquakes, heat waves, wildfires, landslides and other natural hazards. California topped all states with 51 total zones, followed by 35 in Texas and 32 in Florida.

A new study that found human-caused climate warming has increased the frequency of fast-spreading California wildfires has come into question from the unlikeliest of critics—its own lead author.

The California Wildlife Conservation Board awarded $8.3 million in grant funding to accelerate the pace and scale of forest management in the Middle Truckee River Watershed.

After California lost over 4 million acres to fire in 2020, the state funded Task Force Rattlesnake, with National Guardsmen to assist Cal Fire.

Summer heatwaves can strain California’s electricity supply, prompting energy emergency notifications to appear across highway signs and social media.

As sea levels rise, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes from an approach often considered a last resort.

Luis Yauri Oyola hopes one day to buy a tractor to start a business in Peru; he estimates that he is six years away from that goal, for which he will have spent more than a decade of his life living thousands of miles away from his family. He is on call 24/7 and doesn’t leave the job site except for necessities.

Nevada County was added to the Presidential FEMA Individual Assistance Declaration for the February 2023 Winter Storms, which makes new resources available to residents and businesses that experienced damages or hardships due to this year’s winter storms.

Starting on January 1, 2024, residents within the jurisdiction of Grass Valley and Nevada City will automatically be enrolled with Pioneer Community Energy, after the city councils of both cities approved the new contract.

If you live pretty much anywhere in California, you’re familiar with to-do lists that help residents prepare for wildfires. What might be missing from the lists are ways to deal with stress and anxiety.

Winter storm damage is a chance to make the changes to your house you’ve always wanted, but having help to navigate the insurance process can make a big difference.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that by the end of the year all insurance companies will be mandated to offer a discount to insured members who create defensible defensible space and adhere to guidelines outlined by Firewise USA.

Ranchers in Placer, Nevada, and Yuba counties, along with UC Cooperative Extension and county agricultural departments, have established a program to facilitate livestock and human safety before, during, and after wildfire and other emergencies.