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California’s 2018 wildfires cost the US economy $148.5 billion

by Brian Kahn, Gizmodo Highlights According to Nature Sustainability, the 2018 wildfires resulted in a $148.5 billion economic loss for the United States At the peak of the Camp Fire in November, nearly 40% of the state’s population was breathing air deemed unhealthy or worse and an estimated 3,652 people died from air pollution About … Read more

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Insurance companies abandoning California at a faster rate, as wildfires wreak havoc

by Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee Highlights Deputy Insurance Commissioner Bryant Henley announced that insurance companies have dropped many Californians in the Sierra foothills after the 2017 and 2018 wildfire season resulted in losses of $25 billion for those companies 42,088 homeowners were sent non-renewal in the foothill counties in 2019 and had to purchase replacement … Read more

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The climate science behind this year’s wildfires and powerful storms

by Scott Pelley, 60 Minutes Highlights In 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen discovered that man made climate change would lead to a global rise in temperatures by the year 2020 “Career fires” or fire events that firefighters would likely only see once in their career, can typically burn up to 50,000 acres and are happening … Read more

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California fires: Climate hellscape science warned us of is here

by The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, The Los Angeles Times Highlights The west coast of the United States is currently experiencing the climate catastrophe scientists have been warning the world about for decades Around 2 million acres of land have burned in California from this year’s early fire season Though some fires were accidentally … Read more

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A climate-driven transformation of wildfires around the globe

by Michael Kodas, Inside Climate News Highlights Climate change is increasing the severity and size of wildfires across the globe Fires in Colorado burned over 200,000 acres, while fires in California burned an area the size of Rhode Island These Western US fires were predicted by Federal wildfire forecasters due to the trend of low … Read more

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How local energy providers are ensuring energy resilience

Solar Installation

by Sarah Golden, GreenBiz Highlights California’s Community Choice Agencies (CCAs) are providing ratepayers with energy resilience programs for the upcoming fire season Four Northern California CCAs, East Bay Community Energy, MCE (Marin Community Energy), Peninsula Clean Energy, and Silicon Valley Clean Energy, have recently announced solar plus battery storage projects in their territories  CCAs have … Read more

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How wildfires make COVID more dangerous

by Julia Rosen, The New York Times Highlights With wildfire season fast approaching, concerns about fire smoke as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic are rising Scientists worry that wildfire smoke will have effects for months as a recent study in Montana showed that smoky summers led to more severe flu seasons the following winter People … Read more

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California virus war slams into its other crisis: wildfires

By David R Baker and Mark Chediak, Bloomberg Green Highlights Social distancing and stay at home mandates have made preparing for wildfire season harder, limiting tree trimming, controlled burns, and powerline maintenance. Though California may suffer another severe fire season, the U.S. Forest Service has suspended in-person training for firefighters In the State budget Governor … Read more

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Climate change increasing fire weather days in California; emissions reductions can reverse this

from Environmental Research Letters Highlights As the state gets warmer every year due to the effects of climate change, California’s wildfire season is being fueled by offshore winds, dry vegetation, and drought. These fires result in public health risks from smoke and can result in long term energy shutoffs.  Fire Causes Human exposure and vulnerability … Read more