August 9 Digest: This Week in Wildfire Recovery News

This is a digest of selected news and media that emerged over the last week related to wildfire emergencies, recovery efforts, and resilience building efforts in the American West. 

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Six Rivers Lightning Complex(opens in new tab)

From San Francisco Chronicle | August 7, 2022

Updates on this year's California wildfires, including twelve new lightning fires identified August 5 as a result of thunderstorms moving through forests

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State to redraw wildfire risk map and suspend appeals process for properties in high-risk zones(opens in new tab)

From The Oregonian, by Ted Sickinger | August 4, 2022

Oregon Department of Forestry announces it will redraw wildfire risk map for properties across the state and pause enforcement measures that might require some owners to make improvements to their structures after extreme backlash

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52 Weeks of Preparedness: What to do with your pets if you’re forced to evacuate(opens in new tab)

From KMVT 11, by Nicholas Snider | August 5, 2022

Where to go and what you need to take with you if an evacuation is ordered and your pets are not allowed in evacuation centers

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Locals, Forest Service see hope for interface forest management(opens in new tab)

From Yahoo | August 5, 2022

The Kootenai Complex Project, part of 10 identified under the federal Initial Landscape Investments plan to address the West's worsening wildfire crisis, is planned to help thinning, prescribed burns and planting in forests

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Oregon’s wildfire risk map emerges as new climate flashpoint(opens in new tab)

From AP News, by Gillian Flaccus | August 5, 2022

After large amounts of angry pushback from Oregon homeowners, that officials retract new wildfire risk map that rated wildfire risk of every tax lot in the state and labeled nearly 80,000 structures as high-risk

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Study shows how restoring overstocked forests can yield multiple, diverse benefits(opens in new tab)

From UCI News, by Brian Bell | August 5, 2022

According to researchers, mechanical thinning and scientifically based forest management practices could help to eliminate built up vegetation that fuels blazes, promote carbon storage in trees, and improve the reliability of water supplies

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In red California, a deadly fire ignites political rage at liberal government(opens in new tab)

From Los Angeles Times, by Hayley Smith | August 6, 2022

Though experts propose there are many factors behind recent wildfires, such as population growth and global warming, many are certain that years of government policies are to blame for the continuing growth and severity of wildfires in the West

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MORE TRANSPARENCY: judge orders Fire Victim Trust release insights on spending, lobbyists(opens in new tab)

From KRCR, by Ryan Matthey | August 5, 2022

Fire Victim Trust is legally ordered to reveal more after thousands of CA wildfire victims have yet to be compensated with promised payments after the multiple fires that have been sparked by PG&E equipment

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Insurance Companies Need To Give Wildfire Victims More Time To Rebuild(opens in new tab)

From Portland Local News | August 5, 2022

The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation rules that property and casualty insurers who write homeowners policies that give a time-limit of three years to rebuild must give more time for wildfire victims to rebuild if delay is due to circumstances beyond the insured’s control

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Habitat for Humanity dedicates 3 new homes for families on the Ridge(opens in new tab)

From Action News Now, by Chloe Curtis | August 6, 2022

Several families in Paradise, CA who were victims of the Camp Fire will soon be moving into their new homes on the Ridge built with the help of Habitat for Humanity, volunteers, and each of the homeowners themselves

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Paradise Teen Center hosts open house for newly renovated facility(opens in new tab)

From Action News Now, by Jafet Serrato | August 4, 2022

After being out of use since the Camp Fire, the Boys and Girls Club of the North Valley brings back a newly renovated Paradise Teen Center

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US Senate Preps for Landmark Climate Legislation(opens in new tab)

From VOA, by Rob Garver | August 6, 2022

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is on the cusp of being passed in the Senate, which would dedicate $369 billion to combat climate change through a combination of grants, tax cuts, subsidies and other measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

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How climate change is wrecking the spectacular landscape where California meets Oregon(opens in new tab)

From The Sacramento Bee, by Jack Ohman | August 5, 2022

Lasting effects from climate-caused wildfires leaves devastating marks through thick smoke, blackened trees, and dangerous conditions all along the border of California and Oregon

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Here’s how we ‘save the trees’(opens in new tab)

From Grist, by Joan Maloof | August 5, 2022

Though President Biden signed an executive order to create a national inventory of mature and old-growth forests to put them under federal protection, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management continue to engage with timber industries that perform threatening logging projects

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August 5, 2022 How a Summer of Disasters Shows the US Isn’t Prepared for Climate Migration(opens in new tab)

From Inside Climate News, by Kristoffer Tigue | August 5, 2022

Though scientists have warned that climate change would become a factor in migration patterns for places susceptible to global warming disasters, this summer that has been filled with extreme and deadly weather shows the US is not prepared for the consequences of the many forced relocations