An image from September 2020 of Lake Tenaya in Yosemite National Park, with sunlight and shadows cast in the wildfire smoke hanging over the lake water.
Image credit: Chris Neklason contributed
Fire Season Begins with a Roar
A whiff of smoke on the breeze the other day had me thinking back to 2020.
I was up at our family cabin outside Yosemite that August, and one night watched the most intense thunderstorm of my life take place off to the east over the Sierra. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder crashed and boomed for hours, though little or no rain fell.
It was the same up and down California, and the next day, the state was on fire.
I was back up at the cabin a month later in September, and the smoke was so thick I donned goggles and an industrial respirator and headed up into the Yosemite high contry in search of breathable air. After driving a couple hours I found some up in Tuolumne Meadows, and remember hiking to the river and wondering if I should camp out for a few days.
That summer there were so many fires buring in the state, I'd found the best air in California and was loathe to leave.
Since then, more communities have become firewise certified, more homeowners have embraced defensible space, and more funding has been directed toward clearing beetle-killed trees in forests.
Hopefully, this summer won't see the return of the lurid yellow and orange skies of 2020.
Summer arrived this year on June 20, but fire season got here first with the ignition of the Corral Fire south of Tracy in San Joaquin County on June 1. Now 100% contained, the fire burned over 14,000 acres of grasslands and led to evacuations of some neighborhoods.
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.
The UC San Diego-managed ALERTCalifornia network of mountaintop cameras act as remote eyes for fire fighters, and the public.
Recipe of the Week
Our friends at Sacramento Digs Gardening publish a recipe from their gardens every Sunday, which we feature here so you can start your week with some yum.
The Tahoe Big Year, an event which is held every three years by the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, welcomes birders of all abilities to head outside to find as many different species of birds as they can during the …
With kids out of school for the summer, Acres of Hope, a nonprofit organization that focuses on helping women and children break the cycles of homelessness and trauma, is seeking volunteers to help in its children’s center.
In a coordinated effort to plan for the future of transit in western Placer County, the city of Auburn has teamed up with the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency and Roseville Transit to draft a regional transit analysis.
Building on the county’s Government Center Master Plan, the county utilized Community Development Block Grant funds to create potential future plans for private development opportunities for housing and an indoor/outdoor marketplace that aims to celebrate Placer County’s home-grown goods and …
According to the Truckee Dirt Union the Donkey Town and El Burro trail closures are expected to begin as early as next week, and will remain closed for the remainder of 2024.
Councilmembers made two small changes to an informational report on the citizen-initiated vacancy tax ballot measure before approving the report at their meeting Tuesday night, June 18.
A Folsom Assemblyman is pushing legislation that calls for more transparency on how the state is spending money on homelessness. The bill is in response to a state audit report which revealed the state spent $24 billion on homelessness, yet …
An ever-changing economy, hard-to-fill jobs, new technologies and preparing people to get good-paying jobs were the topics of a first-of-its-kind workforce summit held at Sierra College in Rocklin on June 18.
The Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District recently reported the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been detected in two Roseville and Rocklin neighborhoods.
In what they are hailing as a significant crackdown on illegal fireworks, law enforcement and fire officials in Sacramento County seized their largest-ever haul of illicit pyrotechnics following a targeted investigation prompted by a tip-off from concerned citizens Thursday.
Working in the education industry is something that Folsom Cordova Unified School District Superintendent Sarah Koligian has not only been doing for over three decades, it’s something she has poured her heart into with great passion, a trait that has …
There is no better place than Lake Tahoe during summer. Clear skies, warm sand, and clean, blue water greet hundreds of thousands of fun-seekers. But it doesn't stay that way all by itself.
The City of South Lake Tahoe is working to stay ahead of increasing wildfire concerns. "I personally feel that the Caldor Fire was a warning," Fire Marshal Kim George said to City Council on June 4 while presenting the city's …
Folsom Cordova Unified School District campuses in Rancho Cordova are now offering free meals to children this summer who may otherwise go without, thanks to a collaborative program with the United States Department of Agriculture.
The Tahoe Truckee Unified School District has partnered with Placer School for Adults to ensure continued adult education programming for the Truckee North Tahoe Community.
CalFire has suspended all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of Nevada, Yuba, Placer and Sierra counties and bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves.
The Auburn City Council voted to declare a fiscal emergency and cancel all salary increases in their June 17 meeting, as the city faces an ongoing $825,000 annual budget deficit.
The Placer-Sierra Railroad Heritage Society meeting on Tuesday, June 25, will feature Paul Greenfield discussing the visit of the “Big Boy” to the Sacramento area.
The Sierra State Parks Foundation was born when a group led by local women of the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, persuaded the Department of Parks and Recreation to scrap its plans for razing the 1903 Ehrman Mansion after it …
• What You Need to Know About the California Budget Deal
Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders announce an agreement to bridge the state budget deficit by dipping into reserves and reducing some spending. The deal also calls for a bill in August to set aside more money and a 2026 constitutional amendment to grow the state’s rainy day fund.
• Environmental Groups Appeal Sites Reservoir Ruling
A new round of litigation began when environmental groups opposed to the Sites reservoir in Colusa County filed an appeal on a ruling which dismissed their suit seeking to halt the project from proceeding.
• In Rain, Snow and Drought, California’s Fights Over Water Rights, Supplies Persist
Legal rights to use water — particularly those obtained prior to 1914 — lie at the heart of California’s perpetual wrangling over the allocation of increasingly limited water supplies.
Vitakraft Sun Seed Inc. of Weston, OH, is voluntarily recalling one lot of Sun Seed Vita Prima Hedgehog Food because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is also a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products,
Hudson Harvest of Germantown, NY, is voluntarily recalling Hudson Harvest Tomato Basil Sauce because of reported swelling, leaking, or bursting jars. There is a possibility that the product has been under processed, which could lead to the potential for spoilage organisms or pathogens.
Snapchill LLC (Snapchill) of Green Bay, WI is voluntarily recalling all canned coffee products manufactured by the company, within expiration date, because their current process could lead to the growth and production of the deadly toxin, botulinum toxin, in low acid canned foods. Botulism, a poten
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for not-ready-to-eat pork and beef bacon products due...
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2024 - Bonneval Foods, LLC, a Gonzales, La. establishment, is recalling all barbecue pork skin product that is currently available in commerce due to misbranding and undeclared...
Villa Nueva Interservices LLC. in Lake Worth, FL is recalling "Arepas LA Mejor" 25 oz bags of Arepa de Choclo /Chocolo because it contains undeclared milk. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to Milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these pro
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for a salad product labeled as Bistro Grande...
Classic Delight LLC, a St. Mary's, OH firm is voluntarily recalling a limited number of individually wrapped sandwiches due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes
Lake Worth, FL (June 7, 2024) - Green Life Farms is voluntarily recalling one lot of its 4-ounce containers of Baby Arugula because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Symptoms of Salmonella may include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Illness usually occurs within 12 t
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for product labeled as bao Thai-style curry chicken...
An image from September 2020 of Lake Tenaya in Yosemite National Park, with sunlight and shadows cast in the wildfire smoke hanging over the lake water.
