Western U.S. Wildfires Surge Under Powerful Southwest Winds; Three Firefighters Killed in Colorado

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Note: This article is based upon an AI-generated summary of today’s Lookout Livestream. It has been edited and proof-read by a human. Watch the Livestream, here: Western U.S. Wildfires Surge Under Powerful Southwest Winds; Three Firefighters Killed in Colorado Strong southwest winds and critically dry conditions across the interior West have driven explosive wildfire growth … Read more

Wicked Winds on Utah’s Fires – 6/26/2026

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In this Lookout Livestream, we discuss the Cottonwood fire in Utah, highlighting its current (Lookout estimate) size of over 90,000 acres and potential expansion to well over 100,000 acres. The fire, burning in the Tushar Mountains of SW Utah, has been active on the northwest and south flanks, with significant runs driven by southwest winds. … Read more

Evaluating the Cottonwood Fire’s Potential

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This Lookout Livestream reviews recent behavior of the Cottonwood Fire in Utah—its big run up Beaver River through Copes Basin and Eagle Point Resort, current lull due to higher humidity, and potential for major spread in the coming days/weeks. We also use predictive fire spread modeling tools from the Pyregence Project to evaluate potential long-term … Read more

A Complex Burn on a Hot Day

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Join Lookout Host Zeke Lunder and the First Rain crew on a late-season prescribed burn in Nevada County’s high-risk wildland–urban interface. We break down real-time decisions on firing patterns, smoke, wind, and tricky mining topography while trying to reduce dangerous fuels without torching the overstory. If you geek out on prescribed fire, fuel loads, and … Read more

Geeking out on Wildfire Fuels

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In this Lookout Livestream, we dive into the fascinating (we think!) world of wildland fire fuels. We talk about the terminology and basic science of wildfire, and how the vegetation, homes, weeds, forests, and other burnable things on the landscape affect the way that fires behave. We also talk about the seasonality of wildfires in … Read more

Mapping Industrial Hazards

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In this livestream, we use the Garden Grove HazMat disaster, in Orange County, California, to explore publicly-available data which shows the locations of major industrial users/producers of chemicals. We explain the use of geography tools for mapping and understanding pollution, highlighting the importance of zoning, stormwater management, and environmental justice. We use data from the … Read more

Geeking out on Air Tankers with Juan Browne

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In our latest Lookout video, Juan Browne, of the ‘Blancolirio’ aviation YouTube channel and I check out the insides of 3 different air tankers, and learn about new ways that companies are converting commuter planes into the next generation of airtankers.

Geopolitics of the Middle East

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The latest installment in our Middle East series zooms out from individual countries to explore the broader geopolitics of the region, with a particular focus on how geography shapes power. Starting from early 20th-century maps, the video shows how the Middle East transitioned from empires and loosely defined regions like Mesopotamia and Persia into the … Read more

I Dislike Small Planes

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20 years after a close call ended my aerial photography career, I got an invitation to fly over the Park Fire scar, right here in our backyard, with the legendary aviation YouTuber, Juan ‘Blancolirio’ Browne. After some trepidation, I jumped in his Cessna 206 and we had a grand tour of this nearly 500,000 acre … Read more

Why Can’t We Secure the Strait of Hormuz?

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In this Lookout briefing, we use maps and terrain analysis to explain why geography sits at the heart of the escalating crisis in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. We begin by situating Iran in its regional context—comparable in size to the U.S. West Coast and bordered by Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and … Read more

The Geography of Iran

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In this episode of The Lookout, we take a look at the geography of Iran. The article below is an AI-generated summary of the video, above, which was narrated by Zeke Lunder. The original narration was developed without the use of AI. Iran’s geography is often flattened into a stereotype of endless desert, but in … Read more

Flying Over the Dixie and Park Fires

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I recently had a work trip to the Midwest, and my return flight (Denver to Redding) took me right over the Feather River Watershed and the massive 2021 and 2024 Dixie and Park Fire burn scars. This was the first time I’d been on this particular transect of a landscape that I know really well, … Read more

What is a FORT?

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We’ve got a new sponsor, here at The Lookout! Wildfire Safety Systems has invented a fireproof shed/wildfire shelter, the ‘FORT’, that you can stay safe in if you get trapped by wildfire at your home. It’s also a place you can stash all of your heirlooms and treasures if you have to evacuate and don’t … Read more

Panel Discussion: Colgate Disaster, Hydropower, Flooding, Fish

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In part two of our coverage of the ongoing disaster at the Colgate Powerhouse, in Yuba County, Zeke Lunder and guests discuss the collapse of the Colgate penstock in Yuba County, California, following a major spill when the penstock which feeds the powerhouse ruptured. The disaster, which occurred after significant upgrades, has impacted water management … Read more

Colgate Powerhouse Disaster

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In this Lookout Livestream, we discuss the emergent Colgate Powerhouse penstock failure in Yuba County, California, which occurred when a major water pipeline that supplies the Yuba Water Agency’s New Colgate hydroelectric powerplant, ruptured, releasing a small river’s worth of water onto a steep mountainside, causing significant environmental damage and massive sedimentation in the Yuba … Read more

A Winter Burn in Butte County

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On January 16, 2026, the Butte Prescribed Burn Association conducted a landowner burn in Forest Ranch, with about 30 participants from various organizations. The burn area, which had been previously thinned, was covered in a layer of pine needles, oak leaves, and twigs. This video is about the importance of community involvement and cooperative efforts … Read more

Large Wildfires Torching Chile, Again.

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Big wildfires burning in Chile are torching a region where native forests have been replaced with highly-flammable industrial tree farms which have experienced many large/disasterous fires in the past. This map shows current fires with perimeters of 2023 fires in yellow, and 2017 fires in blue.  These maps show industrial tree farms, in green. Many … Read more

Anniversary of the LA Fires

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Zeke, Denny O’Neil, and Tim Chavez had a phone call today week to catch up on the LA Fires. The three of us, along with Harrison Raine, toured the fire areas and Santa Monica Mountains back in May 2025, and made a docu-series about it called ‘DANGER IN PLAIN SIGHT‘. The three recounted their journey … Read more

Travelogue: Wildfire Hazards in Cameron Park

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We took a little day-trip to visit relatives in Cameron Park this week, and it got me thinking about the debate around ‘Zone Zero’ – new regulations which will mandate wildfire mitigation (removal of flammable vegetation and materials) within 5 feet of homes in the most fire-prone areas of California. We’ve got a short new … Read more

Good Fire At The Maidu TREX

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The 2025 Maidu TREX was a collaborative prescribed fire training exchange event, held in Berry Creek, California. The event was a collaboration between the Butte County Resource Conservation District, Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians of California, and many other partners. The Maidu TREX aimed to give tribal members safe opportunities to use fire … Read more

Phoenix Prescribed Burn

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We got a chance to go out and look at Cal Fire Butte Unit’s 400+ acre Phoenix Prescribed Burn yesterday. This project is intended to reduce fuels and increase the likelihood of containing new large fires in a very high-hazard and strategic location, east of Oroville, California. Project Coordinator, Matt Brady, walks us through this … Read more

Talking Federal Firefighting with Bobbie Scopa

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We sat down with Bobbie Scopa, Executive Secretary of the Grassroots Firefighters organization and 45-year wildland fire veteran to talk about current issues facing Federal wildland firefighters. Topics included pay, mental health, organizational inefficiencies, and the government shutdown. Bobbie highlighted the inefficiencies in the federal fire system, including the lack of advocacy within the US … Read more

Prescribed Fire Season Begins in Nevada County

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I got a chance to shoot video on a 20 acre landowner-run prescribed fire at First Rain Farm, burn off of North Bloomfield Read, this week, just above Nevada City. I wanted to cover this project because it has often been difficult to get permits to do prescribed burns in the Sierra Nevada Foothills before … Read more

Franklin Carroll

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Plenty of terrible political news out there, today, but if you want to hear two people who thought the other person was full of sh!t on Facebook have a conversation in real life, check out our latest interview. Frank Carroll came onto the Lookout Livestream and discussed the evolution of wildfire policy since 2009, emphasizing … Read more

Can California Forestry Become More Fire Resilient?

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Today’s Lookout Livestream looks at economic, institutional, and physical constraints to California’s timber industry becoming more wildfire resilient. Topics include: The role of private timberland owners, the impact of climate change, long-term supply challenges for logs and woodchips, need for fire in dry forest ecosystems, and the challenges of prescribed fire implementation.   The conversation … Read more

Garnet Churns, NorCal is Quiet – 9/8/2025

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The Garnet Fire continues to gobble acres, but the weather is cooling down a bit, and shortly, the fire will run out of mountains to run to the top of. Tonight’s Lookout Livestream tracks today’s developments on the fire. We also talk about the Blue and Dillon Fires, and how tactics that look easy on … Read more