April marks FAC Net’s fifth year of operations. According to some traditions, an appropriate five-year anniversary gift is something made of wood. For FAC Net members and partners, perhaps fewer wooden fences near homes or healthier forests would… Read More

To see dwarf mistletoe seeds is to experience them. These are not typical seeds that gently drop from a mature plant. Rather, they are explosive — forcibly ejected from their fruits at high rates of speed. I remember learning about this in college:… Read More

Just as quickly as the Thomas Fire swept through parts of our community, the questions started flooding my office: Should we prune our burned avocado trees? Can I graze my cattle on burned pastures, and if not, how can I increase my forage production… Read More

Last Sunday morning, I sat crying at my kitchen table as my family went about its usual routine around me. They knew I wasn’t there with them; rather, I was in 19th-century China, immersed in the friendships, stories and heartbreaks of other women.… Read More

On the morning of Septemb­­er 2, 2010, the Four Mile Canyon Fire ignited in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, just west of Boulder, Colorado. Eighteen hours later, 168 homes were destroyed, and over 6,000 acres had burned. For me, what started as a… Read More

2017 has been a big year. Natural disasters, including wildfires, struck numerous communities. Technology evolved in novel ways. A total solar eclipse occurred. Bitcoin became the talk of the town. Fidget spinners went viral and out of style. By… Read More

I was nine years old when my dad’s family home burned in the Oakland Hills Fire. As a country kid from one of the most fire-prone counties in northern California, I was no stranger to wildfire. Still, I remember the shock of driving through his… Read More

All of my friends know that I’m a bit of a holiday scrooge. Holidays involve all kinds of societal traditions that put me on edge, like setting off explosives, dressing up in costumes, and obligatory gift giving. But Thanksgiving is a different… Read More

Need some inspiration? Here are four examples of how planning ahead, whether that involved fuels treatment, team building or outreach, generated success during the 2017 wildfire season. Collaborative Restoration Works, but Integrating Communities Is… Read More

On Labor Day weekend, my friends and I canceled a vacation rental on the Trinity River because of the heat and smoke. It was predicted to be 112 degrees inland that weekend, and we figured we’d be crazy to subject ourselves (and our posse of… Read More