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
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
The Garnet Fire has gobbled about 20 square miles in the past 12 hours. We’ll catch you up on where this new growth is happening. Below, we also have the second half of this livestream, which is focused more on forestry. We split them up so the good forestry info wouldn’t get burned in the … Read more
We’ve been reporting on how the Garnet Fire, burning on the Sierra National Forest east of Fresno, has been spreading into a large area of old-growth forest in the Teakettle Experimental Forest. The Climate & Wildfire Institute, a think tank with connections to UCLA, got about $5.4 million from the California Climate Investments (CCI) fund … Read more
Though our semi-daily Lookout Livestreams usually are focused on current developments on active fires, we end up covering a lot of broader wildland firefighting, forestry, and prescribed fire topics. This episode uses the ongoing Garnet and Dillon Fires to illustrate indirect attack tactics – the practice of preparing firelines well in advance of the fire’s … Read more
Zeke Lunder provided a detailed update on the Garnet Fire, noting its progression and the potential for it to be contained. He discussed the impact of recent rains and the fire’s activity near the Tea Kettle Experimental Forest, where a carbon-focused forestry project just got nuked. Lunder also covered other fires in California, including the … Read more
We’ve been reporting on how the Garnet Fire, burning on the Sierra National Forest east of Fresno, has been spreading into a large area of old-growth forest in the Teakettle Experimental Forest. The Climate & Wildfire Institute, a think tank with connections to UCLA, got about $5.4 million from the California Climate Investments (CCI) fund … Read more
If you’re interested in how wildfires affect the ecology of a place, and in how we can manage post-burn landscapes in anticipation of future fires, here is an interview with Jamie Allen, a biologist working in Seiad Valley, in the Klamath Mountains. We talk about how the 2014 Happy Camp Complex Fires are affecting the … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Root Fire, which was taken off Mount Shasta, and its potential impact on the surrounding area. The fire, started in a clear-cut on private land, is expected to spread north towards Lake Siskiyou, driven by unstable weather conditions and strong winds. The area hasn’t had fire for over 100 years, leading … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Garnet and Blue fires, noting the Garnet fire’s active status and the Blue fire’s recent growth to 1,000 acres. He highlighted the challenges of managing fires in the northern Sierra due to strong east winds and the impact on old-growth forests. Zeke mentioned the upcoming interview with Jamie Allen, a biologist … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Garnet Fire, which started near the Kings River and spread into the Sierra Nevada, highlighting its rapid growth and the challenges of suppressing it. He also covered the Teakettle Experimental Forest, where a planned 3,000-acre burn is being incinerated by the fire’s advancement. Lunder explained the complexities of fire behavior in … Read more
The livestream discussed current fire behavior and management tactics on major fires in California. The Garnet fire is spreading rapidly, with a 1,000-acre spot fire across the North Fork of the Kings River. The L-2 fire near Deer Creek Falls, in Tehama County is under control, thanks to a lot of heavy helicopter drops. The … Read more
This broadcast, on August 25, 2025, discussed various wildfires across the West Coast. Michael Steinberg, a geography student, shared his field observations from the Pickett Fire in Napa County, highlighting some extreme fire behavior he observed firsthand on 8/23/2025, and the impact of 2020 fire severity on current fuel loading. The Garnet Fire in Fresno, … Read more
Summary Zeke Lunder provided a midday update on the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon fires, using satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2. The Dragon Bravo fire, active on the western flank, has seen significant firefighting efforts, including drone-assisted ignitions. The fire has advanced a mile and a half in 12 hours and is … Read more
Summary Zeke Lunder discussed the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon fires. Dragon Bravo, burning on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, has destroyed the visitor center and is spreading rapidly, with minimal firefighting success. The fire is expected to reach the Kaibab Lodge, with efforts to slow its progression using drones and strategic firing … Read more
This video shares video, maps, and photos collected in the year since the Park Fire burned over 400,000 acres in Northern California, north of Chico, California. The audio for this episode was recorded on 7/31/2024, during an interview for the Blue Dot Report, a week into the fire. The Blue Dot Report is a science … Read more
I was in a burn plan writing workshop at Chico State this week, and ran into retired US Forest Service leader, Patty Grantham. She is a Lookout fan, and said yes when I asked her to sit for an interview! We discussed her 41-year career. She detailed her tenure on the Klamath National Forest from … Read more
{Written by a robot, skimmed by Zeke} Zeke Lunder discussed the active wildfires in Northern California on July 4, 2025. Key fires included 2 small fires in Butte County, the Green Fire near Round Mountain/Shasta Lake, the Horse Fire between Lakehead and Trinity Lake, the Helena Fire west of Weaverville, and the Summit, Butler, and … Read more
This post and video were inspired by a Facebook post from our local congressman, Doug LaMalfa, in regards to the Forest Service reforming the 2001 ‘Roadless Rule’, which placed large contiguous areas which were still unroaded in 1979 into a protected status which prevents future roadbuilding in these areas. My reply: Rep. LaMalfa claims “The … Read more
On 4/18/2025, Terra Fuego Resource Foundation crews conducted a 60 acre prescribed burn for the Butte County Fire Safe Council on land owned and managed by the Paradise Unified School District. This project used fire to reduce forest undergrowth, pine needles, branches, and logs in an area that has been thinned, masticated, and chipped over … Read more
If you’ve followed our work, you’ve probably heard about my friend and colleague, Will Harling, who is a leader in bringing community-based prescribed fire back to the Klamath River after a century of fire exclusion and criminalization of native burning by local tribes. Locals on the River have been through a lot of fire, and … Read more
Storms like the one we just had here in Northern California are a real learning experience. If you want to understand the hydrology of a place, there is no substitute for being out on the ground when water is flowing. Our newest Lookout video is a mashup of on-the-ground video, maps, and commentary on things … Read more
We have been using the Boise Fire as an opportunity to talk about the social aspects of fire management in the Klamath Mountains. If you missed those stories, you can watch them in the two videos embedded at the end of this post. 5pm UPDATE: The maps below show the fire’s location at 2:40pm, today, … Read more
Successful Firing Operation at the Park Fire: A Case Study Satellite imagery by Zeke Lunder Written by Ryan Stephens In late July, we took a trip up Highway 32 to observe the aftermath of a firing operation conducted to control the spread of the Park Fire. This operation was a critical measure to mitigate the … Read more
The Lookout’s Zeke Lunder was on KQED’s forum on Friday, 8/2/2024 to talk about the Park Fire and wildfire resilience in California, in general. Here is a transcription of our conversation. You can listen to the broadcast here: Mina Kim Welcome to forum. I’m Mina Kim. Hotter temperatures expected this weekend and possible dry … Read more
July 30th Update – Ryan Cowper Stephens Firefighting efforts on the Park Fire have yielded notable progress, though the situation remains dynamic, and with some seemingly insurmountable challenges to overcome, particularly on the Northern and Eastern flanks of the fire. The fire continues to burn very actively in remote, steep and inaccessible terrain. The added … Read more
Today the European Space Agency’s Sentinel Satellite went over the Park Fire. This satellite passes over every 5 days, and has sensors which can see through smoke and detect heat. We use Sentinel data a lot in my day job for vegetation and fuel mapping, but during wildfires, especially on fires as large as the … Read more
Will Harling and I are sort of like brothers from different mothers. Both of us were raised up by the long-haired wolves, timber fallers, mechanics, railroaders, gold miners, and other outlaws who populate the hillbilly sticks of far Northern California. First opening day fishing trip with the grown-ups, Mill Creek, California, 1985. Not surprisingly, as … Read more
Rain is coming, but will high winds spread the fire farther north before it begins in earnest? We take a quick look at IR mapping from the evening of 9/23/2023 and assess current fire spread and tactics. We also watch footage of a very low drop from a DC-10 airtanker on the NE corner of … Read more
Rain is coming! In today’s video, we look at weather satellites, assess the current lay of the Anvil and SRF Complex Fires, and talk about lighting large prescribed fires out ahead of weather systems. Also, we interview Rachel Smith, Klamath National Forest Supervisor. We couldn’t get a video interview, so had to use a puppet. … Read more