Southern California is jolted into a new reality.
California
Posted inArticles
Los incendios urbanos no deberían sorprendernos
El sur de California se ve sacudido a una nueva realidad.
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The possibilities of climate grief
A journey through the heart of despair to find what’s on the other side.
Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories
Bringing black abalone back from the brink
To save the species, researchers translocated the endangered California mollusk.
Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories
How do we raise our children in a time of wildfire?
The poet Rachel Richardson learns, through writing and motherhood, to defy fear.
Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories
Orcas à la mode, totally tubular sea pickles and bloodthirsty squirrels
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
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Many renters are struggling after fleeing LA County wildfires
For many in the county, recovery requires a new lease, a new landlord, new schools and possibly a new state.
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With so many displaced by fires, Los Angeles County can’t accurately measure homelessness
The county was supposed to conduct an annual tally of people experiencing homelessness this month. Then disaster struck.
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The American Climate Corps fades away
After just 8 months, Biden’s green jobs program shut down before Trump took office. What did it do?
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Wildfires are too much for municipal water systems. In Los Angeles, firefighters tried anyway.
Water systems aren’t designed for unlimited demands during wildland-urban interface fires.
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What it’s like to be an incarcerated firefighter
Eddie Herrera, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, talks about the job and how he sees what’s happening in Los Angeles.
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What do the deadly Los Angeles fires mean for the city’s wildlife?
Wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeñana explains how blazes push animals into the unknown.
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How to understand the West’s ‘forever wildfire season’
Amid California’s deadly fires, here are 10 High Country News stories to help you bring context to wildland blazes.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Wind energy jobs are taking off, but so are risks
Workers are pushing for improved training and safety standards to help avoid falls, electrocution and equipment failure.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Fire crews do more than fight fires
Some protect habitats and cultural resources from smoke and flames.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Felonious furries, bunches of bats, a coyote commune and pumpkin paddlers
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
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2024’s biggest conservation wins for the West
There were glimmers of good news across the region, from restored habitats to growing wildlife populations.
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Wildfire … in winter?
Expect more fires like the fast-moving one in Malibu, scientists say.
Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories
Unhoused people pay a disproportionate price for the West’s deadly roads
People experiencing homelessness are more likely to die from transportation-related injuries than the general population.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
Can land repair the nation’s racist past?
California’s approach to Black reparations shifts toward land access, ownership and stewardship.