California
California Wildfire Updates: Fires Near Full Containment—As Officials Warn Of Flooding, Mudslides
Three active fires in Los Angeles neared full containment Sunday, as the region receives much-needed rain that has produced flood and mudslide warnings lasting through Monday.
Cal Fire data marked the Palisades Fire at 87% containment, the Eaton Fire at 95% containment and the Hughes Fire at 92% containment.
A flood watch lasting until Monday at 4 p.m. goes into effect for areas in or near burn scars created by the Eaton, Franklin, Palisades, Hughes and Bridge fires, with the NWS noting a 10% to 20% chance of significant debris flows (see what areas are at risk here).
The NWS’s red flag warning for most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties expired, meaning firefighters should receive a break from strong winds and gusts that swept through the regions Wednesday and Thursday.
President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to visit Los Angeles on Friday, suggested abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is set to cover 100% of the cost of California’s disaster response to the fires for 180 days, suggesting the federal government would still fund disaster response efforts but states would be responsible for response actions.
The National Weather Service forecasted a low pressure system “likely” to bring much needed rain to Southern California would move through the area Saturday into Sunday, though experts have warned the precipitation could create flash flooding, mudslides and toxic runoff.
The National Weather Service warned Thursday is a particularly dangerous day for fires in Los Angles and Ventura counties, adding most of both counties are at “critical red flag levels” with humidity less than 15% and winds that frequently hit 25 mph or greater.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal disaster funds from California as he blamed the state’s fish conservation efforts in its north for water shortages that have hampered the firefighting efforts. Trump told Fox: “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it was able to stop forward progress of the Sepulveda Fire, which covered 40 acres near the Getty Center and Los Angeles’ upscale Bel Air neighborhood.
The wildfires have cost the city of Los Angeles at least $385 million so far, according to a preliminary report released by the city on Wednesday. Around $350 million of that cost is linked to the damage caused by the fire to the city’s infrastructure.
A small new fire, called the Sepulveda Fire, was reported in Los Angeles county near the Getty Center and state freeway 405, and according to Cal Fire it covers around 20 acres.
According to Cal Fire’s latest update the Hughes Fire expanded to cover 10,176 acres with 14% of the blaze contained—but despite it swelling in size, no structural damage or casualties have been linked to the Hughes Fire so far as the blaze mostly covers hills in the northern part of Los Angeles County.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) called for an investigation into delayed evacuation orders issued for Western Altadena, where 17 people died, at the start of the Eaton Fire on Jan. 7.
According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 31,000 people were ordered to evacuate due to the Hughes Fire while evacuation warnings were issued to another 23,000 people.
Cal Fire officials announced the Hughes Fire reached over 9,400 acres, noting no buildings or homes were destroyed as of the early evening.
The Hughes Fire increased to 8,096 acres, spreading northeast and triggering 12 evacuation warnings and 10 evacuation orders for adjacent areas.
The Hughes Fire spread to 5,054 acres in a largely mountainous area.
The Hughes Fire grew to 3,407 acres, according to Cal Fire, with evacuation orders extending to the community of Castaic and evacuation warnings stretching to the northernmost parts of Santa Clarita, which had an estimated population of 224,028 in 2023.
The Hughes Fire began just north of the city of Santa Clarita and quickly spread to about 500 acres, with 0% contained, triggering evacuation orders in Naylor Place and Martins.
Cal Fire data marked the Palisades Fire at 68% containment and the Eaton Fire at 91% containment, listing no other active fires in Los Angeles as a red flag warning is in effect for much the region until Friday evening.
A “particularly dangerous situation” is forecasted to develop in parts of Ventura County, the San Fernando Valley and adjacent areas just north of the regions, with the National Weather Service warning of 50 to 70 mph wind gusts across coasts and valleys, as well as 60 to 100 mph gusts in mountains and foothills from noon Monday to Tuesday morning.
President Donald Trump commented about the fires in Los Angeles during his inauguration speech, focusing on the impact they have had on “some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country,” with Trump adding, “They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced another eight people were charged for crimes linked to the wildfires in Los Angeles, bringing the total to 17 as the accused face charges such as looting, arson and impersonation of a firefighter.
The National Weather Service said winds peaked for the day and would lower into the evening, noting the end of several red flag warnings at 6 p.m. with the exception of warnings in mountainous regions that remain effective until Thursday at 3 p.m.
Some 25 people have died, with nine confirmed deaths from the Palisades fire and 16 from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said. An earlier toll for the Eaton Fire was at 17, but officials later clarified that a set of remains was non-human.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order aimed at cracking down on “predatory land speculators making aggressive and unsolicited cash offers” to victims of the fire to purchase their property. The order makes it illegal to make “unsolicited undervalued offers to purchase property,” in specified areas of Los Angeles County.
Cal Fire says the Auto Fire, which broke out Monday in Ventura County, is 25% contained several hours after fire crews stopped forward progress on the 56-acre blaze.
The National Weather Service’s “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties went into effect through Wednesday, and the agency’s LA office noted that while such warnings “do not predict fire starts, they do highlight an extremely dangerous environment that is favorable to very rapid fire growth if a fire does start.”
The Auto Fire started late on Monday night and rapidly grew to cover 56 acres (the fire received its name because of the large number of auto dealerships in the impacted area, according to the Los Angeles Times).
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power issued a warning that it may be forced to cut off power supply—with outages potentially lasting as long as 48 hours—in certain areas as a safety measure to prevent wildfires while the Red Flag Warning remained in effect.
Local, state, and federal officials announced help for those affected: former President Joe Biden announced wildfire victims are eligible for a $770 one-time payment designated for essential items (here’s who can apply), while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order aiming to expedite the process of rebuilding homes, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed $2.5 billion in additional funding for disaster response and recovery efforts in Los Angeles that will need to be approved by the legislature.
Hochman announced nine people were charged in connection to looting carried out in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, in addition to one arson charge for a man who allegedly started a fire in the city of Azusa, which is located about 20 miles east of Altadena.
The NWS issued a red flag warning for a large portion of southern California until Wednesday and said much of the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County would be in a “Particularly Dangerous Situation”—an especially severe fire warning—from early Tuesday morning until noon Wednesday. Forecasters are expecting 45 to 70 mph wind gusts and low humidity capable of creating rapid fire growth in the most hard-hit areas: “In other words, this setup is about as bad as it gets,” the agency said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said 23 people have been reported missing as a result of the fires—17 near the Eaton Fire and six near the Palisades Fire—and LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said six people are also missing and unaccounted-for in the city of Los Angeles, though it’s unclear if there’s overlap with Luna’s count. The death toll remains at 24, including a former child actor from Australia, a surfer from Malibu and a 67-year-old amputee who refused to leave his disabled son behind. Luna also said 34 people have been arrested since the fires began for breaking curfew and other offenses, including three arrests for drone-related incidents.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN the agency will cover the full cost of removing wildfire debris for six months—180 days—but warned cleanup from the disaster is going to take longer.
The Pasadena Unified School District announced all its schools will remain closed this week as evacuation orders remain in effect, the air quality in the area is “unhealthy” and “damage to school facilities and safety concerns, make it impossible to reopen schools for in-person learning at this time.”
Bass announced firefighters and engines were being “strategically pre-deployed in areas close to the Palisades Fire as well as various fire stations throughout the city,” in response to the National Weather Service’s warnings about strong gusts winds on Tuesday and Wednesday that have raised risk of further flareups early this week.
The Hurst Fire, the smallest of the active fires which covers 799 acres, is now 95% contained and has no active evacuation orders or warnings linked to it.
The Los Angeles United School District said it will reopen most of its schools and all of its offices on Monday but officials will continue to “monitor conditions” and inform families about any changes by 5.30 a.m. on Monday.
Authorities will start drawing up plans for evacuated residents to return to their neighborhoods “first thing Thursday,” after another bout of heavy wind subsides, County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said in a meeting.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN, “the winds are potentially getting dangerous and strong again,” adding that the firefighters’ response in the coming days “all depends on the weather.”
All evacuation warnings linked to the Archer Fire in Granada Hills are lifted as the blaze lessened in size to about 19 acres, after officials lifted evacuation orders and said the fire was no longer spreading.
Newsom directed state water and fire officials to conduct an independent investigation into causes of the “lost water supply and water pressure in municipal water systems” during the fires, also requesting reviews of preparation and response procedures taken by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, as well as Los Angeles County Officials.
Biden, who described Los Angeles as a “war zone,” said the death toll for the fires is still expected to rise, though it’s not clear how significantly: “There are still a lot of people who are unaccounted for. We don’t know where they are,” he said.
Bass said FEMA has pledged to reimburse disaster relief expenses, as the Palisades Fire expanded to more than 20,000 acresand the Eaton Fire increased to nearly 14,000 acres.
Kevin McGowan, director of Los Angeles County’s Office of Emergency Management, apologized during a press conference for an evacuation alert mistakenly sent to millions of county residents at about 4 a.m. local time, saying the error was “not human driven” while acknowledging “an extreme amount of frustration, fear and anger.”
Satellite images released by Maxar on Jan. 9 showed the scale of devastation caused by fires so far as Cal Fire’s latest update says the blazes have destroyed more than 10,000 structures, including homes and businesses.
Biden announced he has approved Newsom’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration, adding that it will allow “folks impacted by the Southern California wildfires to get cash assistance to cover things like groceries and medicine.”
The Kenneth Fire grew in size to cover nearly 1,000 acres, according to Cal Fire’s latest update, but firefighters have managed to contain 35% of the blaze.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said a fire fighting plane struck by a civilian drone over the Palisades Fire was the SuperScooper—an amphibious plane which can scoop up water from a river or lake and aerially dump it on a fire—and has been grounded, though it managed to land safely.
The death toll from all the fires rose to 10, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office announced.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his department has requested support from the California National Guard and is trying to implement a curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires to prevent looting and other crimes.
The Ventura County Fire Department said, “forward progress of the Kenneth fire has been stopped,” and the fire continues to hold at 960 acres with 0% containment.
The LAPD told local outlets they received a call informing them that a “suspect was ‘attempting to light a fire’ in the area of the Kenneth Fire,” and while the suspect is now in custody the department added: “We are continuing our investigation and we CANNOT confirm any connection to any fire.”
Los Angeles Police have arrested a man suspected of arson in the Woodland Hills area, and the department told NewsNation they are now investigating if the Kenneth Fire was intentionally set.
Newsom approved a request from Los Angeles County to deploy 8,000 National Guard members to the region to help combat fires and prevent looting (the sheriff’s department arrested 20 people for looting as of Jan. 9).
The NFL announced the Jan. 13 wild card playoff matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings will be moved from SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, citing concerns for public safety.
The Kenneth Fire began in the neighborhood of West Hills and spread to 50 acres, triggering evacuation orders for some residents in the Hidden Hills community.
The death toll from the fires reached six, according to multiple outlets, with the city of Malibu reporting its first death of a resident killed in the Palisades fire.
Biden said the federal government will pay the full cost of the disaster response for 180 days, covering the costs of things like “debris and hazard removal, temporary shelters, first responders’ salaries and all necessary measures to protect life and property” (the federal funding initially covered 75% of eligible firefighting costs).
Bass said the Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills was “fully contained” after the fire began Wednesday evening and spread to 43 acres.
Los Angeles Unified School District announced its schools and offices will remain closed through Friday, adding students will continue to have access to digital academic resources, meal distribution and mental health support services.
Pasadena urged residents in a portion of the city to not use tap water for drinking or cooking “until further notice,” citing the Eaton Fire’s damage to reservoirs and pump stations that potentially impacted water quality in certain areas.
The wildfires severely impacted the air quality in the Los Angeles area with levels of PM 2.5 pollutants—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter—hitting 165, which is labeled “unhealthy” by the EPA’s AirNow tracker and 11 times above the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limit of 15.
At least 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been destroyed by the fires so far, and more than 130,000 people have been forced to evacuate—some even multiple times as the fires spread to other parts of Los Angeles county.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said “the majority of the Evacuation Zone for the Sunset Fire is LIFTED” in an update shortly after midnight as Cal Fire’s tracker showed the size of the blaze in the Hollywood Hills shrinking from its previous size of 60 acres to 43 acres at 12:17 a.m. PST.
The city of Santa Monica instituted a mandatory curfew from sunset to sunrise on Wednesday night “to support law enforcement efforts in these zones, and other measures to facilitate an effective response,” the Palisades Fire.
Another fire, called the Sunset Fire, broke out around 6 p.m. PST in the Hollywood Hills which has rapidly grown in recent hours to engulf more than 50 acres or area, prompting mandatory evacuations.
Biden canceled the final overseas trip of his presidency on Wednesday—shortly before he was set to travel to Italy and the Vatican—to stay in Washington D.C. and monitor the emergency in California.
Biden approves a Major Disaster Declaration for California, making federal funding available to those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles County.
Nearly 1 million customers of electricity providers in Los Angeles County were without power, PowerOutage.us reported before it said the outage management system of Southern California Edison—the main electricity provider in the county—went offline.
The Palisades Fire in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades—an affluent coastal neighborhood—exploded to 15,832 acres, according to Cal Fire, making it the largest fire of the four burning in Los Angeles County as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Eaton Fire in Altadena, a small city directly north of Pasadena, grew to 10,600 acres with 0% containment, according to the Cal Fire.
Bass announced Los Angeles Fire Department air operations resumed after a lengthy suspension of air support began Tuesday due to high winds.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said FEMA is “closely monitoring” the wildfires and has authorized additional assistance from the agency to support firefighting efforts.
The Woodley Fire began in the Sepulveda Basin neighborhood, expanding to 30 acres before being brought under control, according to The New York Times.
The Hurst Fire ignited in the suburban area of Sylmar.
Newsom declared a state of emergency, urging residents to heed evacuation orders and saying, “This is a highly dangerous windstorm creating extreme fire risk, and we’re not out of the woods.”
The Palisades Fire started in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and resulted in about 30,000 people receiving evacuation orders as it initially spread to about 2,000 acres.
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The Palisades Fire began Jan. 7 and burned 23,448 acres as of Sunday, with about 87% of the fire’s perimeter contained, according to Cal Fire. Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said Jan. 9 “it is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.”
The second blaze, called the Eaton Fire, began in the evening on Jan. 7 in Eaton Canyon near the San Gabriel Mountains and grew rapidly, covering 14,021 acres with 95% contained as of Sunday. The fire triggered a round of mandatory evacuations in the nearby areas of Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.
The Hughes Fire, which broke out Wednesday north of Santa Clarita, has burned about 10,425 acres and is 92% contained as of Friday. At least 31,000 people in the area were under evacuation orders the day the fire broke out.
The Sepulveda Fire started Thursday and covered about 45 acres, eventually reaching 60% containment as of Friday. The fire broke out near the Bel-Air neighborhood, east of the Palisades Fire.
Preliminary data from Cal Fire indicates the Palisades and Eaton fires rank among California’s most destructive wildfires in state history:
JPMorgan analysts led by Jimmy Bhullar estimated in a note Jan. 9 there could be $50 billion in total damages, including $20 billion in insured losses, though they noted “estimates of potential economic and insured losses are likely to increase.” Those estimates would place the fires as the costliest in U.S. history. Jasper Cooper, vice president-senior credit officer at Moody’s Ratings, said the credit rating business expects “insured losses to run in the billions of dollars given the high value of homes and businesses in the impacted areas,” adding “commercial property losses could be significant.”
A mix of extremely gusty winds, drought conditions and low humidity created conditions conducive for fires to quickly spread. The appearance of weather conditions suggestive of La Niña, a climate phenomenon linked to drier conditions and drought in southern parts of the U.S., likely played a large part in priming southern California for extreme fire conditions. Los Angeles in particular has seen an underwhelming amount of rain in the last eight months alongside a dry winter. The last time the city recorded over a tenth of an inch of rainfall was last May, according to the Los Angeles Times, contributing to drought. The dry conditions paired with historically strong winds gave way to this week’s fires. Wind gusts of up to 99 mph were reported near Altadena and other nearby areas early Wednesday. The National Weather Service forecast wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph in parts of southern California and up to 100 mph gusts in mountains and foothills last week. The conditions are the result of a wind pattern called the Santa Ana winds or “devil winds,” which are often fast-moving, dry and warm winds that originate inland, around Nevada and Utah, and blow toward the coastal regions of Southern California. Cal Fire is still investigating the specific causes for each of the fires blazing in Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner confirmed 27 people had died as of Friday, including 17 from the Eaton Fire and 10 from the Palisades Fire, though the number could climb. At least 16 others were reported missing to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, but that number could also climb.
See a full list here. Paris Hilton, who wrote she had evacuated her home, reportedly lost her Malibu home to the fire. Billy Crystal and his wife Janice said they lost their Pacific Palisades home to the fire, after first moving to the location in 1979. Jamie Lee Curtis said she likely lost her home to the fire and wrote on Instagram calling for people to “reach out to anyone who lives in Los Angeles” to offer assistance. Eugene Levy, the Pacific Palisades’ honorary mayor, told the Los Angeles Times he fled his home and said the “smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon.” Meanwhile, actor Mark Hamill wrote on Instagram he evacuated his Malibu home, while Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in Los Angeles was put under an evacuation order, though no one was in the home at the time the order was placed, spokesperson Ernesto Apreza said.
Curtis, who advocated in a “Tonight Show” appearance for people to donate to relief efforts, said she was donating $1 million to start a support fund for the city and people impacted by the fire. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly made monetary donations to relief efforts, and donated clothing, children’s items and other supplies. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, the third-wealthiest person in the world, said he and his wife Priscilla are personally donating to relief efforts, and Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman tapped by Trump to serve as the next administrator of NASA, has said he will match the first $1 million donated to his company’s relief campaign. The NFL is donating $5 million to relief efforts.
Most Los Angeles Unified Schools were reopened Jan. 13 after being shut down on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. Schools in areas most impacted by the fires or accompanying evacuation orders were temporarily moved to alternate sites (list here). Pepperdine University announced its Malibu campus will resume in-person classes on Jan. 21.
The voting deadline for the Academy Awards was pushed back to Jan. 19, with the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominees also delayed to Jan. 23 at 5:30 a.m. PST. The award show is set to take place in early March. The Grammys are reportedly still scheduled for the first weekend of February, though organizers say this year’s show will focus on fundraising for relief efforts. The Critics Choice Awards—slated for Sunday—were postponed due to the fires, while the Screen Actors Guild cancelled its in-person awards nomination ceremony last week. Several TV shows—from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to “NCIS”—paused production last week but reportedly plan to resume this week (see here for a list).
An NFL wild card playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings took place in Arizona instead of SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area. The Rams secured 750 spots on 15 buses to take fans from Los Angeles to Phoenix and back. Several other sporting events in the L.A. area were postponed, including an NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames, an NBA matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets and a women’s college basketball game featuring Pepperdine University and the University of Portland.
Los Angeles International Airport, located about 19 miles south of the Pacific Palisades, has not experienced significant flight cancellations, according to FlightAware.
Trump and one of his key advisers, Elon Musk, have been critical of the local government’s response to the fire since they broke out. In a Jan. 9 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk claimed “the immense loss of homes in LA is primarily due to” bad governance leading to a shortage of water and “nonsensical overregulation that prevented creating fire breaks and doing brush clearing.” Trump has also taken aim at Bass and Newsom, saying on Truth Social Jan. 9 “nobody has ever seen such failed numbers before!” (referring to the Palisades Fire’s zero containment at the time) and blamed it on “gross incompetence” by Newsom and Bass.
Orange County’s top prosecutor said Amazon has agreed to stop California sales of certain e-bikes that can go faster than state speed limits following a series of fatal collisions.
The announcement, first reported by KCRA, comes on the heels of an April consumer alert by California Attorney General Rob Bonta that highlighted a rise in deaths related to e-bike and motorcycle crashes.
“We are seeing a surge of safety incidents on our sidewalks, parks, and streets,” Bonta said in a statement. “To ride a motorcycle or moped, you need to have the appropriate driver’s license and comply with rules of the road.”
Bonta’s alert stated that pedal-assisted e-bikes cannot exceed 28 mph. Throttle-assisted e-bikes are limited to 20 mph.
Amazon had continued to sell e-bikes with speeds over 40 mph. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Electric bikes and motorcycles have become increasingly popular in the last few years, particularly among teens. But the surge has been shadowed by a spate of deadly crashes.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer has charged at least three parents with allowing their children to ride electric motorcycles illegally, calling the vehicles a “loaded weapon.”
Spitzer noted in a post on X that Amazon said it removed e-bikes advertised with speeds over 40 miles per hour after KCRA contacted the company.
“The company said it has removed the examples provided and is investigating compliance for similar products,” Spitzer wrote.
That includes an Orange County mother, who faces an involuntary manslaughter charge after her son allegedly struck an 81-year-old man with an electric motorcycle. The 14-year-old boy had been doing wheelies on an e-motorcycle
A 13-year-old boy on an e-bike in Garden Grove died earlier this week after veering into the center median and hurtling onto the roadway. The boy was traveling at around 35 mph on a black E Ride Pro electric motorcycle, authorities said.
Amazon’s new sales limits come as the Los Angeles City Council pushes to keep electric bikes of off most city recreational trails, arguing they are a threat to hikers. E-bikes would still be allowed on designated bikeways, such as along the L.A. River.
Daniel Felix, 10, looks out from atop a gargantuan stump of an old-growth redwood on his tribe’s ancestral land. Once, this forest on California’s North Coast was replete with the ancient behemoths that can live beyond 2,000 years.
Only a fraction are left now, depleted by a logging company before the state acquired the forest in the 1940s.
This is unique public land, Jackson Demonstration State Forest, spanning 50,000 acres. Trees are plentiful here, but they might not live a millennium. California’s 14 demonstration forests are required to produce and sell timber to show — or “demonstrate” — sustainable practices. Money from logging — roughly $8.5 million a year — pays for management of the forests by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
Daniel’s tribe, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, has pushed to rein in the cutting — spearheaded by his late great-grandmother, Priscilla Hunter. They’re part of a diverse coalition that includes environmental activists, local politicians and other tribes.
Now they may finally get their wish. Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) has introduced a bill that would nix the forests’ logging mandate, instead prioritizing values such as carbon storage, wildfire resilience and biodiversity.
The bill represents the latest chapter in a region legendary for fierce battles over logging, and it marks an uncommon alliance between tribes and the environmental movement.
Under Assembly Bill 2494, there could still be logging, but it would have to support those new principles, and the forests would be funded differently.
And it proposes another significant change. It would pave the way for giving tribes a say in managing the lands for the first time since they were forcibly evicted more than a century ago, and for integrating Indigenous knowledge — like cultural burning — into the forests.
“It’s what we dreamed of,” said Polly Girvin, Hunter’s former partner and a retired lawyer focused on Native American issues. “And to have it come true? I’m used to movements that sometimes take 30 years in Indian Country to get to the justice you’re seeking.”
Kids play in the stump of an ancient redwood during a potluck held after the spirit run in Jackson Demonstration State Forest last month.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
Some backers say the bill offers a new economic path forward for communities behind the so-called redwood curtain. With the decline of logging and cannabis, they see tourism driven by ultramarathons, mushroom foraging and other outdoor activities as a financial savior.
“If we had an increase of 10% of visitors coming to our county because of recreational opportunities, that would more than surpass all of the timber tax in our county,” Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams said, projecting an increase in money from a lodging tax.
But the push to reshape forest management is fiercely opposed by loggers and mill owners, who say their work is sustainable and provides blue-collar jobs in a region where they’ve dwindled. Already California imports most of its wood from Oregon, Washington and Canada.
“California has the most rules and regulations of anywhere in the world so all they’re doing is exporting the environmental impact to somewhere else, still using the product,” said Myles Anderson, owner of a logging company in Fort Bragg founded by his grandfather. “It’s pretty disgusting, really.”
Anderson believes the bill will greatly reduce logging, even stop it altogether. In his office, with photos of him and his father at a logging site decades ago, he points out it’s sponsored by the Environmental Protection Information Center. Why else would they and other environmental groups “support it if they didn’t see the same thing that I’m seeing?”
Last month, activists who have sought to rein in logging at Jackson held their first major gathering in about four years, galvanized by the bill that they see as a significant step in the right direction.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
A new but old fight
About five years ago, community members caught wind of plans to chop down towering redwoods within Jackson, near the coastal town of Caspar. Priscilla Hunter would come out to the forest “and could hear them crying — it was our ancestors,” said her daughter Melinda Hunter, the tribe’s vice chairwoman. “Then she had to protect [the trees].”
Environmental activists and Native Americans, not historically allies in the region, joined forces to fight it. “Forest defenders” camped out high in the canopy and blocked logging equipment with their bodies. Some were arrested.
The uprising harked back to the 1980s and 1990s, when iconic environmentalist Judi Bari led Earth First! campaigns against logging in the region. Many of the old tree sitters — white-haired and brimming with stories of Bari — have come out of the woodwork for the latest battle.
For them, it was a win. Cal Fire paused new timber sales and, citing public safety, halted some that were underway — including one expected to generate millions of dollars for Myles Anderson’s logging company.
“We were left with nothing,” Anderson said.
Then, last year, Cal Fire approved the first harvest plan since that hiatus. It riled up the sizable, ecologically minded community.
Jessica Curl, 47, remembers growing up nearby “in a terrain of trunks” as trucks carried out logs. Now the redwoods are regrowing, “gorgeous” and gobbling carbon, she said.
“We’re so lucky to live in an area where we have this amazing climate-change mitigation tool, that if we would just leave it alone would do this amazing work that we’re trying to think of all these cool, inventive things to do.”
Isidro Chavez receives burning sage, or smudging, after a run in Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Smudging is a ritual used to cleanse spaces and individuals of negative energy, promote calm and improve mood.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
Tears of grief, resolve
A group of “spirit runners” — a Native American tradition of bringing prayer — sprinted through the heart of Jackson forest as rain poured through the canopy. The mid-April event marked activists’ first major gathering since protests wound down in 2022.
Attendees gathered in a circle to wait for them. Misty Cook, of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, read a statement as eyes misted all around:
“All the living things around us, they miss us. They miss the language. They miss our touch, our hands, touching all of the things — the water, the plants. They miss the songs. They miss the beat of our footsteps and our voices, and they miss the children’s laughter and play, which was so important. They want us to gather them, to use them and to share them. Otherwise they will get sick and possibly die.”
Cal Fire launched a tribal advisory council to bring Indigenous perspective into Jackson. But some local tribes say it’s not enough because they lack decision-making power.
When the runners arrived, the circle absorbed them. Then they continued on to the site of a controversial proposed harvest, Camp Eight. They wrapped a bandana that belonged to Priscilla Hunter around a small tree — a quiet, somber act where she took her last stand. Runners took turns embracing the trunk.
Redwoods at the Capitol
In March, Rogers’ bill cleared a committee and is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. A hearing is set for Thursday.
Funding is a major point of contention. Environmentalists say funding these forests with timber operations incentivizes cutting bigger trees. Cal Fire maintains decisions are driven by forest health, not industry demand.
AB 2494 would fund the forests through a tax on lumber and engineered wood products. The shift could create “[o]ngoing state costs and cost pressures of an unknown but potentially significant amount, possibly in the low millions of dollars annually,” according to a legislative analysis.
The California Forestry Assn., a timber industry trade group, says the idea is a nonstarter.
Cal Fire declined to comment on pending legislation but Kevin Conway, the agency’s staff chief for resource protection and improvement, said its nearly 80-year history managing Jackson reflects “care and attention.” Since the state acquired the forest, “we have more trees on the landscape, more habitat and those trees are trending larger,” he said.
For the tribes who have rallied and prayed, a burning question is whether the land will again reflect their vision, or remain shaped by decisions made by others.
Buffie Campbell, executive director of the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council — co-founded by Priscilla Hunter and one of the groups supporting the bill — said young people wouldn’t be able to fathom the significance of the legislation passing. Maybe that’s a good thing.
“Maybe they don’t need to know about all the fighting that we have to do before they get to go out and enjoy and be tribal guardians stewarding their land.”
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Two Republican candidates seeking California’s top office were back on the campaign trail and made a stop in Bakersfield on Saturday.
The California Young Republicans and Kern County Young Republicans co-hosted a forum featuring Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton. The event follows two gubernatorial debates last month in which both candidates appeared alongside several Democrats.
The forum happened on Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Center on California Ave.
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The forum came as mail voting is underway ahead of California’s June 2 primary, where the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election regardless of party.
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