Tricks of the TradeTrump's Second TermMy EconomyI've Always Wondered ...

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!
Stories Tagged as

Wildfire

As wildfires scorch the West, Eastern Oregon ranchers deal with major losses

by Alejandro Figueroa
Aug 9, 2024
It’s been a big fire season so far across the West, including in Oregon where more than 1.2 million acres have burned this season. On the eastern side of the state, the fires have left many cattle displaced or dead, leaving ranchers with significant losses.
Jared Smull points out burned land at the beginning of the drive into Rye Valley, where he and his family grazed their cattle for many years before the Durkee Fire on July 31. The Smull family lost thousands of acres of grazeable land in the fire.
Anna Lueck/OPB
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For affected communities, wildfire recovery is a slow burn 

by Brian Bull
Jul 9, 2024
For those who choose to stay and rebuild after a devastating blaze, the experience can become a test of patience and endurance.
A destroyed homestead and car sit among the ruins of Blue River, Oregon, after the Holiday Farm Fire in 2020.
Brian Bull/KLCC
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
A Warmer World

Female fire crew in Colorado clears a path for women in wildland firefighting

by Caroline Llanes
Jun 26, 2024
The vast majority of Forest Service firefighters are men. A crew of women who are comfortable roughing it aim to change the equation.
The crew hikes to their job site on a trail they cut themselves during the early days of the project.
Caroline Llanes/Aspen Public Radio
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Safety net home insurance plans are becoming the only option for many in disaster-prone states

by Scott Rodd
May 20, 2024
As private insurance companies retreat in states hit by climate-fueled disasters, safety net insurance plans are left to fill the gap.
At his two-acre property in San Diego County, Paul Felber gotten rid of much of the flammable vegetation bordering his home and spent more than $60,000 to harden it against wildfire. But home insurance companies weren’t impressed. In the last five years, the Felbers were dropped by two different companies.
Scott Rodd/KPBS
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

A look back at the 2020 Creek Fire and a harrowing escape

by Kerry Klein
Apr 4, 2024
Nearly 250 campers had to be airlifted out of the Sierra Nevada mountains after the fire trapped them at a lake.
Years after the 2020 Creek Fire, parts of the Sierra National Forest remain denuded and bare, like this section being surveyed and restored by workers with the U.S. Forest Service in August of 2023.
Kerry Klein/KVPR
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Long after wildfires race through rural communities, mobile home parks still await rebuilding

by Mitchell Hartman
May 25, 2022
In September 2020, blazes destroyed many homes and RVs in mobile home parks. Rebuilding plans call for publicly funded affordable housing.
Charred tree stumps and barren home pads are among the few remnants of the Lazy Days mobile home park site in Blue River, Oregon.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

California's wildfire building codes make newer homes less likely to burn

by Samantha Fields
Apr 1, 2022
But up to 14 million homes were built before fire safety measures took effect. Some insurers now offer discounts for risk reduction.
Jim and Ann Pesout's house in Northern California before it burned down in the Butte Fire in 2015.
Courtesy Jim and Ann Pesout
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For public good, not for profit.

Donate

Massive power shut-off would cost businesses in California

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Oct 8, 2019
As the risk of wildfire and natural disasters increase with climate change, power disruptions could become more common.
Towers carrying electrical lines in south San Francisco.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE

California utility is reportedly considering bankruptcy after wildfires

by Andy Uhler
Jan 7, 2019
California lawmakers are back in session after a holiday break, and a new governor is in place. One of the sticky issues all those folks might have to confront is what to do about the troubled utility Pacific Gas and Electric. The investor-owned utility provides gas and electricity to more than 5 million Californians. And […]
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Devastated Northern California marijuana farms are ineligible for insurance

by Tonya Mosley
Oct 23, 2017
While legal in the state, cannabis farms are still federally outlawed, which means no insurance payouts.
Wildfire burns through a forest west of Napa, California, on Oct. 12, 2017.
David McNew/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE