Protecting people, property, and resources from wildfires is a challenge in any State. However, an extremely unusual set of factors make doing this critical job in California even more difficult and complex: • 38 million people • 2.309 identified communities at risk • increasing development in the wildlands • unusual and ever changing weather conditions, including droughts and "Santa Ana winds"The bad news is that sometimes these factors reach critical mass, such as the 2007 fire season, one of the worst in history, with 1.6 million acres burned, 8,881 fires, 3,830 homes and structures burned, and numerous lives lost. The good news isCalifornia's Federal, State, and local wildland firefighting agencies have formed extraordinary partnerships to fight fires, and, together with local communities, to prevent or lessen fire danger.
Articles, citations, reports, websites, and multimedia resources focused on rangeland ecology, management, restoration, and other issues on American rangelands.