The results of fire, salvage logging, flooding and a massive landslide that closed Highway 50, American River near Whitehall, CA, 1997

Parts of California and the American West have environments that naturally burn with ecosystems that have evolved with fire as an essential part of habitat vitality and renewal. Continuing climate change will cause the Wests forests to burn larger, hotter, faster, and more frequently. As seen in the recent fires in Los Angeles, development in fire prone places will significantly increase property damage and human suffering.