- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
![Steve Quarles gestures toward flames rising from dry pine needles and leafy debris in a melting plastic rain gutter affixed to a structure with a shingled roof.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/107900small.png)
Priorities include removing objects within five feet of a house, upgrading vents
Wildfire losses cost taxpayers and communities hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and preparing communities before a disaster occurs is the best way to avoid damage to homes and neighborhoods. Retrofitting existing homes can make communities safer while avoiding billions in disaster costs.
As Californians learn to live with wildfire, scientists encourage improving the structure and design of houses and other buildings to help...
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
![A member of the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association holds a hose in one hand while observing the flames at the base of trees in a forest.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/106781small.jpg)
First Forester TREX to be held June 3-6
California's first-ever Forester Prescribed Fire Training Exchange event focused on bringing together professional foresters, forest managers and fire practitioners will occur June 3-6 near Watsonville. The four-day event is being hosted by the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, which empowers the public to build a culture of good fire and supports private landowners in conducting prescribed burns in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.
There will be one burn conducted during the event, likely on June 4 or 5, which will be open for the...
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
![A group of people observe a dry grassy plant in a metal bucket flaming inside a metal enclosure.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/106755small.jpg)
Wildfire, cultural and prescribed burns, plant flammability among topics covered
Interested in learning about some of the latest research in fire science and stewardship? Join the UC ANR Fire Network for a series of free lunchtime webinars to explore fire science topics with colleagues from across the globe.
This four-part webinar series will address fire in land management, plant flammability, fire history and management and forestry and fuel profiles.
Everyone is welcome to watch the Hot Topics in Fire Science and Stewardship Webinar Series.
Restoring...
/h3>- Author: Grace Fruto, UC Davis
- Author: Trina Kleist, UC Davis
![Shooting stars, or Dodecatheon clevelandii; pink blooms reach for the blue sky](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/104955small.jpg)
Wildflower displays threatened
Northwest of Los Angeles, springtime brings native wildflowers to bloom in the Santa Monica Mountains. These beauties provide food for insects, maintain healthy soil and filter water seeping into the ground – in addition to offering breathtaking displays of color.
They're also good at surviving after wildfire, having adapted to it through millennia. But new research shows wildflowers that usually would burst back after a blaze and a good rain are losing out to the long-standing, double threat of city smog and nonnative weeds.
A recent study led...
/h3>- Author: Mary Burich, CLEAR Center
![Cattle grazing](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/104362small.jpg)
Are cattle a secret weapon for taking on California wildfires?
California's cattle ranchers contribute a significant amount to the region's culture, economy and food supply, but do they also inadvertently help to temper the wildfires that have been plaguing the state? And if so, is it a better alternative – environmentally speaking – to letting grasslands burn?
A new study published in the journal Sustainability delves into the topic, weighing the advantages – and disadvantages – grazing cattle bring to the table. Researchers, including scientists from University of California,...
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