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A five-month KQED investigation of what happened the first night of the fires found systemic problems with California’s emergency response procedures.
Three reporters spent a week on the road in a cramped SUV, bound for places that had been touched by devastating fires to see firsthand how firefighters and their communities battle blazes.
Wildfires are getting bigger, more expensive to fight and closer than ever to where people live. The consequences can be deadly. The next episode of Reveal examines how wildfires got so dangerous – and how some areas are fighting back.
Wildfires, long considered a problem exclusive to the West, now threaten many other parts of the country as extreme weather becomes more commonplace and more people live in areas at risk for wildfire.
After a century of helping visitors enjoy the wonders of the natural world, the guardians of America’s most treasured places have been handed an almost unimaginable new job – slowing the all-out assault climate change is waging against national parks across the nation.
The lethal Valley Fire that destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings and killed at least four people in 2015 was started by faulty wiring at a home outside the community of Cobb, California, an investigation found.
Last summer, three fires ravaged Lake County, California. Use our new interactive tool to take a deeper look at where and how these blazes spread.
At first, last December’s rains seemed like welcome relief for drought-stricken California. But while the moisture did little to hydrate trees and shrubs, it did lead to the widespread of growth of wild grasses, which dried out quickly and contributed to this year’s wildfire season.