In this episode of The Lookout Livestream, Zeke Lunder and Michael Steinberg, a current CSUC pyrogeography student/storm chaser/videographer, reviewed mapping and on-scene videos captured by Michael during last week’s Palisades and Eaton Fires in Southern California. Steinberg documented the fire’s rapid spread, highlighting the critical role of embers and wind in igniting homes. He emphasized … Read more
We discussed the Palisades and Eaton Fires in Southern California, noting that both fires are mostly out despite ongoing wild weather. We highlighted the high-severity burn in vegetation-rich areas and the ecological benefits of lower-severity burning in the riparian zones. We talked about how the complex, bureaucratic post-fire cleanup process will roll out, based on … Read more
When homes are densely packed in alignment with the direction of strong fire-season winds, it is nearly almost impossible to cut enough brush to make the homes defensible. Fire burns from house to house, no longer a ‘brush fire’, rather it is referred to as an ‘urban conflagration’ or simply a ‘conflagration’. Wind-driven brush fires … 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
Zeke recently went to the 10th annual International Fire Ecology and Management Congress where he gave two separate talks, one of which his only instruction was to “be provocative.” Zeke was happy to deliver a talk that centered on the radical idea that towns that burn down need to be reconfigured so that they are … Read more