Julie Cart

A man trying to save a home from a wildfire in Vacaville, Calif., watches futilely as it goes up in flames, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

California battles onslaught of wildfires with help from mutual aid: ‘More resources than rest of US combined’

August 7, 2024 at 2:03 p.m.

On the surface, fighting wildfires doesn’t appear to require delicacy or nuance. Fire bosses speak in the language of war: weapons, attack, suppression, control.

Firefighters battle the Camp Fire in 2018 (File photo: Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

‘Total system breakdown’: California firefighters with PTSD face a workers’ comp nightmare

June 26, 2024 at 12:40 p.m.

Todd Nelson could feel it coming on. And he began to run. He was going dark again, retreating to a place where he would curl into a fetal position with...

‘A massive enterprise’: California’s offshore wind farms are on a fast track

October 18, 2023 at 6:01 a.m.

If the American West represents the “geography of hope,” as author Wallace Stegner wrote, then what better place than California’s far north to illustrate the eternal tension between the limitless...

US Forest Service teams deploy drones to capture photographs and infrared images, which are used to map fires to find areas where flames are still active and where they might spread. Photo by Andrew Avitt, US Forest Service

Drones, satellites and AI: How California fights its unpredictable wildfires with analytics

July 12, 2023 at 12:29 p.m.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie wasn’t expecting much to worry about when a late summer fire erupted north of Santa Cruz, home to California’s moist and cool “asbestos forests.”...

Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses the media during a press conference announcing new gun legislation targeting the state's public carry laws on Feb. 1, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

California Democrats sideline Gavin Newsom’s plan to build big things faster

May 29, 2023 at 12:03 p.m.

Dealing a blow to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic legislators this week shot down his ambitious attempt to reform state environmental law and make it easier to build big infrastructure projects...

Slashing greenhouse gases: California revises climate change strategy

November 17, 2022 at 6:53 a.m.

A new version of California’s climate plan sets a more stringent — some say unrealistic — target for cutting greenhouse gases. It also relies more on controversial carbon capture projects.

FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2022. On Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, California. (File Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Newsom calls for more aggressive climate action

July 25, 2022 at 1:09 p.m.

As the largest wildfire of the year rages across California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling down on an aggressive strategy to combat climate change — one that also appears to...

Overworked California firefighters’ struggles with suicide, fatigue, PTSD

June 15, 2022 at 6:51 a.m.

Martinez said he “bleeds Cal Fire,” but neither of his young adult sons want to follow him into the fire service, and he understands. “I tell my young firefighters: ‘Don’t...

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Noelle Bahnmiller, shown at a fire station in Bradley, struggled for months to escape the pain and trauma after an out-of-control fire surrounded firefighters in Mendocino County. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Back from the brink: A fire captain’s journey from terror to trauma to recovery — and then more terror

June 15, 2022 at 12:24 p.m.

“I felt trapped.” For months, a firefighter kept reliving her colleagues’ screams when a Mendocino County wildfire encircled them. On the day she planned to take her life, she got...

Cattle graze as the Tamarack fire burned in 2021 near Markleeville in Alpine County due to drought conditions and gusty winds. Photo by Ty O'Neil/SOPA Images/Sipa USA

Report to California Legislature: Prepare for sweeping effects of climate change

April 6, 2022 at 10:39 a.m.

From housing and health to transportation and education, the Legislative Analyst’s Office provides a litany of sobering climate change impacts for California legislators to address as they enact policies and...

All Stories