A wildfire that started early this afternoon in Yosemite National Park in Yosemite National Park has grown to approximately 700 acres. The Meadow Fire originated in Yosemite’s backcountry wilderness, east of Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley, at approximately noon today. Approximately 100 hikers were evacuated from the top of …
Read More »Wildfire Reported in Yosemite National Park
A wildfire was reported around 2:45 p.m. this afternoon in the western portion of Yosemite National Park. The “Dog Rock Fire,” is currently at 130 acres and multiple aircraft are en route to suppress the fire. Yosemite National Park fire crews, along with crews from several agencies, are working together …
Read More »Wildfire in Yosemite National Park
A wildfire above Yosemite Valley began yesterday afternoon, September 7, 2015. The “Tenaya Fire” is currently at approximately 500 acres and is burning above Yosemite Valley. The fire is located along both sides of the Lehamite Creek Trail from the north rim of the Valley to the Tioga Road. Smoke …
Read More »U.C. Merced professor on how climate change alters wildfire behavior
For the first time in recorded history, wildfires breached the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains this year – terrain long considered to be well equipped to fend off encroaching fires. To learn more about the significance of this milestone, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke to Crystal Kolden, a …
Read More »A decade of data links rising wildfire smoke exposure to poor health outcomes
Dangerous Air, an investigation by NPR’s California Newsroom into the rise of western wildfire smoke and the extent it harms health, is based on more than a decade’s worth of data. To learn more about its findings, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke to Alison Saldanha, the data journalist who …
Read More »Yosemite National Park Rescue Medic Heather Wonenberg Awarded the 2018 Outstanding Wildfire EMS Individual of the Year
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group in Boise, Idaho has awarded Yosemite National Park Helitack member Heather Wonenberg the 2018 Outstanding Wildfire EMS Individual of the Year Award. This award recognizes and honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding work, actions, or programs in emergency medical service for our Nation’s Wildland Firefighters. …
Read More »California National Parks Reduce Wildfire Risks Through First-of-its-Kind Collaboration with Utilities
The National Park Service (NPS) has issued permits to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) to perform wildfire prevention activities in 12 California national park units through a new public-private partnership that focuses on protecting park resources and streamlining communication between the NPS and utilities. …
Read More »Wildfire Smoke In 2020 Led To More Valley COVID Cases, Deaths, Says New Study
Last year, the western states were hit with a double-whammy of natural disasters: Not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a historically long and intense wildfire season that blanketed the region with plume after plume of noxious smoke. The confluence of those two was deadly: A study published recently in …
Read More »Why Air Quality Was So Oppressive During Last Year’s Wildfire Season
California’s 2020 wildfire season was indisputably historic: Fires burned a record-high 4.3 million acres in the state, and five of the blazes went down among the 10 largest in our recorded history. Many were touched off by widespread lightning sieges, which hadn’t occurred at such a high rate since 2008. …
Read More »Wildfire Season Is Here: How To Prepare For The Health Impacts Of Smoke
In 2020, the Creek Fire and other blazes throughout California billowed so much smoke into the San Joaquin Valley that, at times, the sky turned brown and ashes accumulated on cars and sidewalks like snowflakes. We know long-term air pollution is bad for our health, but what can we expect …
Read More »Governor, Lawmakers Add $500 Million to Wildfire Prevention Budget, Following CapRadio Investigation
Governor Gavin Newsom is set to approve an extra $ 500 million for wildfire prevention — a last-minute change that would more than double what’s in the current budget deal. https://www.kvpr.org/sites/kvpr/files/styles/big_story/public/202106/newsom_1.jpg
Read More »CapRadio Reporter On Investigation Of State Wildfire Prevention Efforts
Last week, CapRadio, along with NPR’s California Newsroom, reported that Governor Gavin Newsom dramatically overstated the amount of wildfire prevention efforts that had taken place leading up to this year’s fire season. CapRadio’s Scott Rodd was the journalist behind that investigation. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with him about …
Read More »Newsom Misled The Public About Wildfire Prevention Efforts Ahead Of Worst Fire Season On Record
On Gavin Newsom’s first full day in office, Jan. 8, 2019, the newly elected governor stood before the cameras, clad in jeans and sneakers and surrounded by emergency responders, and declared war on wildfires. “Everybody has had enough,” the governor said, announcing he’d signed a sweeping executive order overhauling the …
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