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Fighting fire with fire

Amanda Monthei Zoeann Murphy Lo Bénichou Shikha Subramaniam Dylan Moriarty

July 29, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seeley Lake, Montana

Regular burns of forests in the American West historically occurred naturally or as a forest management tactic by Indigenous people, but suppressing all fires has been the predominant policy for well over a century. As a result, what would be small fires that benefit flora and fauna have turned into giant, uncontrolled wildfires that feed off uncleared brush and deadwood. The Forest Service and others use prescribed burns, in fairly limited ways at this point, to prevent bigger fires in the future. More could be done but budgets are consumed fighting the many uncontrolled wildfires.

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Meet the People Burning California to Save It

Emma Cott Caroline Kim Elie Khadra

July 29, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Sonoma, California

Prescribed burns are an ancient method of preventing more destructive, out-of-control wildfires. They fell into disuse for decades, worsening today's wildfire risks. California and federal forestry officials want to "treat" 1 million acres per year by 2025 with tree- and brush-clearing and prescribed burns. But they are running far behind that pace as government resources get consumed by the need to fight wildfires. Private crews could expand the capacity to conduct prescribed burns, but financial liability and other barriers must be removed first.

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Hotels for those left unhoused by wildfires

Hanna Merzbach

June 03, 2021 |

High Country News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Hotels and motels are being converted into free housing for people experiencing housing instability in Oregon. Project Turnkey is a state-funded initiative that buys potential housing units and puts local organizations in charge of running them. The program was a response to displaced victims of wildfires that tore through a number of communities in 2020 but future plans include housing people experiencing homelessness for any reason.

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Reimagining a Better World After George Floyd's Death

Anoa Changa Laura Rosbrow-Telem

May 24, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Two ways that communities affected by police violence and racial injustice responded to the uprising after George Floyd's murder were block-by-block organizing and participatory budgeting. The first, used in Minneapolis, provided public safety and mutual aid when neighbors formed networks to guard buildings, put out fires, mediate disputes, and deliver aid to people living through a period of unrest. In participatory budgeting, 30 cities turned over control of $400 million in public spending to communities, which set policy based on communal decisions and directed financial priorities.

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The Great Plains prairie needs fire to survive. These ranchers are bringing it back.

Brianna Randall

May 13, 2021 |

National Geographic |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Maywood, Nebraska

The Loess Canyons Rangeland Alliance in Nebraska is working to preserve grasslands through prescribed burns. Eighty-volunteer members have burned nearly 85,000 acres to stop the spread of cedar trees that disrupt the prairie ecosystem. These burns allow the grass to return, which has been helpful for farmers and their livestock. This work has inspired others in the state to create associations to share resources on how to restore their lands.

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Amid Devastating California Fire Season, One Small Community Saved Itself. Here's How

Danielle Venton

May 12, 2021 |

KQED |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Rock Haven, California

After years of debate and education, the residents of the tiny community of Rock Haven, in the Sierra National Forest, found the will and the money to "treat" the forest around their homes: removing dead trees and brush that made the land extremely vulnerable to wildfire. When the massive Creek Fire in 2020 arrived, it wiped out the trees in the part of the property that had gone untreated, but left unscathed the treated land and the cabins on it. The costly preparation made firefighting safer and more effective while slowing the wildfire's spread.

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As Paradise Rebuilds, It's Also Preparing for the Next Fire

Colleen Hagerty

May 04, 2021 |

Sierra Club |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Paradise, California

After the 2018 Camp Fire that tore through the town of Paradise, California, local residents are starting to rebuild. As of April, the town issued nearly 1,500 building permits. They’re also implementing a plan to remove trees that pose a safety concern for residents, which has been an extensive coordination effort between federal, state, and local government officials. Housing prices in the area have increased significantly making it difficult for some people to rebuild, but some organizations are working to help those that want to return to the area.

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Simple hand-built structures can help streams survive wildfires and drought

Brianna Randall

March 26, 2021 |

Science News |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Idaho

Conservationists, government agencies, scientists, and landowners are working together to restore streams using low-cost solutions from sticks, stones, and even beavers. Restoring these floodplains is important to help communities combat drought and wildfires. In Idaho, scientists relocated nine beavers to Birch Creek so they could help repair the dried-up stream. In three years, the beavers built dams, which helped the creek flow for longer in the summer. This method might not work everywhere, so scientists have also tested stone structures, which also proved effective at improving the ecosystem.

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Indigenous Elders Are at Risk of Freezing to Death Because Wood Is So Expensive

Terry Greene Sterling

January 29, 2021 |

Slate |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Navajo Nation, Arizona

A collaborative experiment between Indigenous community activists, tribal officials, loggers, nonprofits, and the U.S. Forest Service is delivering firewood to residents who need it for heating and cooking. The program, called Wood for Life, also doubles as a forest management initiative to thin out Arizona’s forests to prevent deadly wildfires. The shuttering of a local coal mine and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this home heating crisis and group members in 2020 delivered a total of 650 cords of wood to several Indigenous nations.

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A rural county in Washington state hasn't wasted a single Covid-19 vaccine dose. Here's its secret

Christina Zdanowicz

January 25, 2021 |

CNN |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kittitas County, Washington

Kittitas County is leading the way in Washington state in efforts to distribute the coronavirus vaccine thanks to having a strong disaster management system in place. The county is accustomed to responding to disasters, such as wildfires, and tapped the deputy fire chief of Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue to lead the incident response team. He explains, "The infrastructure that we have with everybody communicating, everybody willing to be flexible and play whatever role's necessary and an understanding of (incident command system) and emergency operation centers gives us the framework to do it."

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