logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2021
19m 54s

Our Fire Conversation Needs to Change

KQED
About this episode

Several wildfires are burning in Northern California — again. Fire is now a regular part of our lives, and we need to address it with the nuance and complexity it deserves. 

But in order to do that, we need to rethink how we talk about and report on fire in the first place. Today, KQED Science reporter Danielle Venton shares what she’s learned in 6 years of wildfire reporting — and what needs to change.

More Resources:


Read the episode transcript here.

Up next
Jul 2
The Bay Is Taking a Break in July
Every year The Bay team takes some time off from making new episodes. This is time we spend planning and recharging. So there will be no new episodes in your feed in the month of July. In the meantime, we want to thank you for letting us be part of your daily routines. We will be ... Show More
1m 21s
Jun 30
A New Home For Women’s Sports, Stanford Scales Back Trans Care for Minors, and Why Some SF Malls Are Thriving
On this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, we introduce you to the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar, discuss Stanford’s scaling back of gender-related surgical procedures for minors, and the secret sauce of the San Francisco malls defying the ‘doom loop’ narrative. Lin ... Show More
24m 15s
Jun 27
Why Local Theater Is in 'Free Fall'
Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley has long been seen as a launchpad for actors and artists. In 2018 the theater commissioned and premiered the Tony-Award winning play “Eureka Day.” Now, the theater is suspending production, joining a growing list of Bay Area theaters on the brin ... Show More
22m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
Fighting Fire with Fire
Year after year, wildfires have swept through Northern California’s wine and dairy country, threatening the region’s famed agricultural businesses. . Evacuation orders have become a way of life in places like Sonoma County, and so too have exemptions to those orders. Officials in ... Show More
50m 39s
Sep 2020
What's Driving California's Biggest-Ever Wildfire Season
California set a new record high this week for the most acres burned in a single wildfire season. In an average season, 300,000 acres burn. This year more than 2 million acres have been scorched — and the season isn't over yet. Some communities have taken actions to prevent fires ... Show More
13m 6s
Jul 2023
This Is Canada's Worst Fire Season In Modern History. It's Not New
Canada is having its worst fire season in modern history. The fires have burnt more than 20 million acres, casting hazardous smoke over parts of the U.S. and stretching Canadian firefighting resources thin. Public officials and many news headlines have declared the fires as "unpr ... Show More
13m 26s
Aug 2023
Fighting Canada’s Unending Fires
The wildfires sweeping Canada have become the largest in its modern history. Across the country, 30 million acres of forest have burned — three times as much land as in the worst American fire in the past 50 years.The scale has forced an international response and a re-evaluation ... Show More
27m 11s
Sep 2020
Wildfires Have Gone From Bad To Worse — And More Are Inevitable
More than 3 million acres have burned in California this wildfire season. The previous record in a single season was 1.7 million, two years ago. Towns are being decimated across California, Oregon and Washington — and firefighting resources are maxed out, as NPR's Kirk Siegler re ... Show More
13m 20s
Oct 2022
Prescribed Burns Started a Wildfire, But Experts Say They're A Crucial Tool
After a prescribed burn became the largest wildfire in New Mexico history earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service put a ninety day ban on controlled burns. But while these kinds of burns do carry risk, very few escape, and they are a crucial tool in reducing the risk of catast ... Show More
14m 38s
Sep 2020
A Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Wildfires
When many in California talk about this year’s wildfires, they describe the color — the apocalyptic, ominous, red-orange glow in the sky.The state’s current wildfires have seen two and a half million acres already burned.Climate change has made conditions ripe for fires: Temperat ... Show More
24m 24s
Aug 2023
As fires burn, N.W.T.’s premier calls out Ottawa
As wildfires burn in the Northwest Territories, premier Caroline Cochrane called out Ottawa for failing to respond to decades-long requests to address basic infrastructure gaps. And as the residents who were forced to evacuate know, things like safe road systems and strong teleco ... Show More
26m 45s
Sep 2020
A Deadly Tinderbox
“The entire state is burning.” That was the refrain Jack Healy, our national correspondent, kept hearing when he arrived in the fire zone in Oregon.The scale of the wildfires is dizzying — millions of acres have burned, 30 different blazes are raging and thousands of people have ... Show More
27m 38s