Local fire crews are counting on a high-flying, high tech tool to help them respond more quickly to emergency situations. A specialized aerial drone being deployed by the Fresno County Fire Protection District, will do more than just provide first responders with an aerial view of an incident. Officials say...
Agencies Try Hard to Stop Suicides of Wildland Firefighters
BOISE, Idaho — Shane Del Grosso spent some 30 summers crossing smoke-shrouded mountains and forests to fight increasingly devastating wildfires in the U.S. West. Toward the end, his skills and experience propelled him to lead a federal multi-agency team that responded to large-scale national disasters. On some days he directed...
911 Upgrade Could Cost Californians Despite Budget Surplus
SACRAMENTO — A $214.8 billion budget approved Thursday by California lawmakers would upgrade the state's aging 911 system following the most devastating wildfire season in state history and help middle class families pay their monthly health insurance premiums. To fund those changes, however, lawmakers want to impose a new monthly...
What Happens When the Next Big Wildfire Hits?
Don’t be fooled by the precipitation, the snowpack, the wildflowers. When winter ends, it’s unlikely that California’s iconic landscape will sustain the moisture to withstand the 100-degree summer and fall. California has yet to recover from the 5-year drought that began in 2012. For four years, record wildfires have ravaged...