- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Unfortunately, Santa Ana winds are as reliable a part of Southern California's autumn as colorful fall foliage is for New England. Santa Anas are strong, extremely dry offshore winds often associated with the warmest weather and fiercest fires in the southern part of the state; 2008 is no exception.
According to the Associated Press, powerful winds stoked three major wildfires this morning after destroying dozens of homes, forcing thousands to flee and killing two people.
An article in the
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Pacific fishers are at the center of a conundrum. Most people have never seen them, but judging from photos of researchers cuddling the furry creatures, they are adorable. The nocturnal and obsessively shy fisher is related to the mink, otter and marten. They once ranged from British Columbia down through California's Sierra Nevada, but only two native populations remain today -- one around the western California/Oregon border, and one in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to the Environmental Protection Information Center.
Fishers' preferred home in dead trees and their tendency to move around put them at odds...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Last July, when the summer's most ferocious wildfires near wine country were still smoldering, Wine Spectator magazine suggested the 2008 vintage could be tainted by the smoke.
An article in today's Santa Rosa Press-Democrat seems to confirm that the magazine's early prediction is coming to fruition, at least in Mendocino County.
“Winemakers are saying that they think stuff is smelling funny to them, and they want to know what’s going on,” the Press-Democrat article quoted Glenn...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Two nationally recognized news outlets featured UC experts in recent stories - National Public Radio and the MSN Web site.
Agricultural Issues Center director Dan Sumner provided comment on the NPR story about a trend at Walmart stores to stock "locally grown" food. The story pointed out that the megastore's definition of locally grown -- grown within the state's boundaries -- is different from that of many locavores -- which generally define local as within 100 miles of home.
On the radio program, Sumner said the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The firestorms of summer 2008 are still very much on the mind of the media. Recently, follow up stories have been published in California newspapers with analysis, recovery and prevention information.
The Los Angeles Times ran an article that centered on UC Cooperative Extension wood durability advisor Stephen Quarles' work on attic vents. Quarles points to flying embers as a reason even homes with cleared landscape and fire-resident siding, windows and roofs still succumb to wildfire.
Glowing fragments can blow through house vents and start a fire inside attics. Quarles is studying new high-tech vents that would stop...
