Fall weekends in Berkeley, California, have passed in a more subdued manner than years past.
How controlled fires have helped prevent mega-fires for centuries
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Where throngs of college students once partied raucously, sororities and fraternities now are dark and quiet. Around the University of California’s campus, it’s clear school is underway. But where is everyone?
Most students have been staying inside – for weeks.
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Like much of California, Berkeley students have faced overlapping crises that have limited options for learning, socializing and carrying out everyday life.
First, it was the coronavirus. The university scrapped its plan for a hybrid of in-person and online courses this fall when COVID-19 cases mushroomed in mid-July. Many students moved home. Those who stayed found pandemic restrictions in place on everything from large gatherings to indoor dining.
Then, the fires came. California is battling the worst fire season in recorded history. Smoke has blanketed much of the state for weeks.
That means physical exertion outside is not recommended, and prolonged exposure can lead to headaches, sore throats and worse. Weeks after thick smoke first sent Californians inside, fires have sparked again across California. The taste of smoke comes and goes, and at times, San Francisco is barely visible across the Bay.
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Online classes have made the whole experience more isolating, UC Berkeley third-year undergraduate Katie Lyon told USA TODAY. Lyon, co-president of the Cal Hiking and Outdoors Society, has found it hard to practice self-care while staring at a screen all day, which is why she usually hikes “every opportunity that I get between my academic schedule.”
That’s become more difficult this semester. Wildfire season happens every year, and usually she and other members of CHAOS would travel on out-of-state trips when air quality worsened in the state.
“But because of COVID, you’re really not supposed to be driving long distances or going too far away from where you live,” she said. Although backpacking is still allowed, the wildfires, both in terms of air quality and the scorching flames, are making it difficult to find hiking opportunities close to home.
The experience is not unique to California. As climate change evolves and fire season burns hotter and longer, the West Coast is increasingly blanketed in dangerous air for long stretches that are likely to change the fall semester for years to come.
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Several times this month, air quality in parts of the West Coast was rated as the worst in the world by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index.
The toll on residents’ health – specifically their respiratory systems – is mounting. Beyond physical effects, there’s also mental: The air quality extends the stress caused by COVID-19.
For college athletes on the West Coast, the hits keep on coming – and not the ones they’re used to sidestepping.
Wyatt Hutchinson is a quarterback at Southern Oregon University, an NAIA college in Ashland, Oregon, located 16 miles from the California border.
A senior, Hutchinson returned to school this summer not knowing if he’d be able to play football this fall. Soon, the bad news started rolling in: The season was postponed till spring and most classes moved online, giving the campus of 5,800 students a static feel.
Then the Alameda Fire roared through the community, destroying two small towns outside Ashland and leaving a thick haze hanging over all of southern Oregon.
Hutchinson – who had to answer a reporter’s questions via text message because the fires damaged some cell towers, making phone connections brutally bad – said last month he was more worried about his family on evacuation notice in the Portland area than himself. But he certainly didn’t enjoy being stuck indoors for nearly two weeks because of hazardous air quality.
“With online learning and COVID still going on it really makes you wonder how bad you want to play football,” he texted. Having a plan to play in the spring, he said, “keeps a lot of players inspired.”
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Still, he acknowledges it’s been a tough few months. Fire season could stretch into November, meaning poor air quality could hang around until winter.
“I hope we don’t have to worry about it again, but we always have to plan for the worst-case scenario,” he wrote. “It can be stressful when you are thrown off schedule but I think myself and others can find ways to be productive inside.” He mentioned keeping busy with schoolwork, preparing healthy meals and cleaning his home.
It’s hard to keep from being stressed about the situation on the West Coast. The fire season has already killed 30 people, burned down thousands of buildings and homes and forced more than 96,000 residents to evacuate. COVID-19 has cost about 58 million people their jobs at some point in the last six months.
It’s a cost Irena Moon knows well. She and her boyfriend, DeWalt Mix, attend Santa Monica College, a community college near Los Angeles.
Up until July, Moon, who is pursuing a fashion degree, was the primary financial support for the couple. Mix receives disability payments after having a leg amputated in 2007. In July, Moon lost her job.
Strained for cash, and needing to save for rent, Moon and Mix found a “saving grace” in the college’s drive-thru food pantry.
The pantry pop-up hosts 200 to 300 SMC students, who all walk away with fresh goods in a time when food insecurity is at a high in the Los Angeles area, said Lizzy Moore, president of the Santa Monica College Foundation.
The first time Moon went to the drive-thru, she cried. Both the generosity of the people volunteering and donating, and the fact that they were “giving it to people who need it, especially students, that was just so emotional,” she said.
“It’s beautiful to have some food coming in from the generosity of people and programs – it means you don’t have to spend [money] and then you’re not worried about rent,” Mix added. “It really does change your perspective, your quality of life and your situation.”
The program has run for nearly 29 weeks and will extend into the fall. The pantry serviced students as fires raged close by – volunteers stood outside as ash-covered tables and chairs and heat beat down on their heads.
“While everyone was told to stay inside, we didn’t have that option, because we had to take care of students,” Moore said.
Back in Berkeley, things have gotten easier – COVID-19 cases have fallen in the state, and most of the fires around the Bay Area have been contained.
Still, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that some of the progress against the virus has started to slow, and California is poised to hit a fearsome milestone: 4 million acres burned this year, with no sign of stopping.
Southern California is just entering its fire season, said Katie Licari-Kozak, a first-year student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, who is taking classes from home in Orange County. She’s fearing the worst, but Northern California fires have already taken their toll on air quality down south.
“It’s hard to sit on Zoom for eight hours a day,” she said. And with the wildfire smoke, “you can’t really go for a run.”
Licari-Kozak had to evacuate twice in 2017 because of a house fire and the Canyon Fire but was able to stay with relatives. She wouldn’t be comfortable staying in someone else’s house during a pandemic.
“Where do people go when they lose their homes?” she said. “The one thing worse than being stuck in your house all day is being stuck and not having a house.”
Contributing: Daniel Lempres, Special to USA TODAY; Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY
Cliff DuGranrut, deputy state fire marshal examines the debris left from the Glass Fire in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020.
Homes leveled by the Glass Fire line a street in the Skyhawk neighborhood of Santa Rosa, Calif., on Sept. 28, 2020.
Buildings burn along Highway 12 from the Shady Fire as it approaches Santa Rosa, California on Sept. 28, 2020. The wildfire quickly spread over the mountains and reached Santa Rosa where is has begun to affect homes.
Flames from the Glass Fire consume the Black Rock Inn, late Sept. 27, 2020, in St. Helena, Calif. EDITORS NOTE An earlier version of this caption had some incorrect information. It has been corrected.
Residents of the Oakmont Gardens senior home evacuate by bus as the Shady Fire approaches Santa Rosa Calif., Sept. 28, 2020.
A Marin County firefighter helps to build containment lines during the Glass fire in St. Helena, Calif. on Sept. 27, 2020. Napa County between Calistoga and St. Helena overnight on September 27, 2020 just as the Bay Area braces for extreme wildfire conditions.
Lights from a firetruck illuminate firefighters working the Bobcat Fire burning near Cedar Springs in the Angeles National Forest on Sept. 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, Calif. The fire, which erupted on Sept. 6 in the Angeles National Forest, has become one of the largest fires in Los Angeles County’s hisory with over 100,000 acres scored by the fire.
The Bobcat Fire burns pine trees near Cedar Springs, Los Angeles, Calif. on Sept. 21, 2020.
Damage caused by wildfires is seen in Gates, Oregon on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020.
Dennis and Denise Schlies, and Shirley Hoover pose for a portrait with their pets Guni the dog and Savannah the cat on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020 at a hotel in Salem, Oregon. The family lost their home during the wildfire in Gates, Oregon.
Fire burns through the Angeles National Forest on September 18, 2020.
Los Angeles County Firefighters 1106 work to extinguish the Bobcat Fire in Valyermo, California on Sept. 18, 2020, one of the many neighborhoods near Angeles National Forest that have been threatened by the Fire. The Bobcat Fire, which has been burning since Sept. 6, is now 15% contained.
The SQF (Sequoia) Complex Fire blazes through forest area on Sept. 17, 2020 in Springville, Calif. The fire has affected the communities of Alpine Village, Sequoia Crest, and Doyle Springs.
Rows of mailboxes destroyed from fire damage are seen on Sept. 17, 2020 in Springville, Calif. The SQF (Sequoia) Complex Fire has affected the communities of Alpine Village, Sequoia Crest, and Doyle Springs. It’s reported that 62 structures were damaged or destroyed in the fire.
Fred Skaff and his son Thomas, 22, clear debris from their home destroyed by the Almeda Fire, on Sept. 16, 2020 in Phoenix, Ore.
A car is seen covered in red fire retardant after the passage of the Almeda Fire at a trailer park on Sept. 16, 2020 in Talent, Ore.
Monica and Larry Garrison, left, walk with friends Donna and Victor Baumann to a neighbor’s property destroyed in the Beachie Fire, Sept. 16, 2020, in Mehama, Ore.
The remains of homes and vehicles line a residential street on Sept. 16, 2020 in Talent, Ore. Thousands remain evacuated following the destructive Almeda Fire in Southern Oregon.
Esme Rodas, (L-R) Alexa De La Cruz and Esly De La Cruz dig through the remains of the De La Cruz’s home on Sept. 16, 2020 in Talent, Ore.
A utility worker walks over a residential street covered in fire retardant on Sept. 16, 2020 in Talent, Ore.
Blue River, Ore., lies in ruin Sept. 15, 2020 eight days after the Holiday Farm Fire swept through its business district. More than 300 structures have been confirmed destroyed in the fire.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and California Gov. Gavin Newsom get a first-hand look at Creek Fire damage near Pine Ridge School in Auberry, Calif. on Sept. 15, 2020.
A firefighter watches the Bobcat Fire burning on hillsides near Monrovia Canyon Park in Monrovia, Calif. on Sept. 15, 2020.
In this aerial photo taken with a drone, fire retardant blankets leveled homes in Talent, Ore., on Sept. 15, 2020, after the Almeda Fire tore through the area.
(L-R) Michael Garcia, Arath Ramirez and Leonard Barila prop up the front door to Ramirez’s burned down home on Sept. 15, 2020 in Talent, Ore. City leaders estimate at least 600 homes were lost in the Almeda Fire as it burned through Talent and Phoenix, Ore.
A man stands near some of the destruction caused by the Almeda Fire in Phoenix, Ore., Sept. 15, 2020.
Keith Davis, a member of Washington Task Force One Search and Rescue squad praises search and rescue dog, Asher, while conducting operations Sept. 15, 2020, in Blue River, Ore. in areas affected by the Holiday Farm Fire. More than 300 structures have been confirmed destroyed in the fire.
A charred table is seen among the rubble of homes destroyed by the Almeda Fire in Talent, Ore., Sept. 15, 2020.
A tanker drops retardant as smoke from the SQF Complex Fire billows Monday, Sept. 14, 2020 near Camp Nelson and areas along Highway 190 east of Springville, Calif. The fire has also lead to a partial closure of Sequoia National Park.
Signs thanking firefighters hang on the fence at Holiday Farm Fire Incident Command Post at Thurston Middle School in Springfield, Oregon on September, 14, 2020 which was shrouded in a mix of fog and smoke.
The melted sign for the Oak Park Motel stands at the entrance of the property destroyed by the flames of the Beachie Creek Fire east of Salem, Ore. on Sept. 13, 2020. The wildfire caused the evacuation of 40,000 residents, killing four people and five are still missing.
Mill Creek Hotshots set a backfire to protect homes during the Bobcat Fire on September 13, 2020 in Arcadia, Calif. California wildfires that have already incinerated a record 2.3 million acres this year and are expected to continue till December. The Bobcat Fire, burning in the San Gabriel Mountains, has grown to about 32,000 acres and is only 6% contained.
Shayanne Summers holds her dog Toph while wrapped in a blanket after several days of staying in a tent at an evacuation center at the Milwaukie-Portland Elks Lodge, Sept. 13, 2020, in Oak Grove, Ore. “It’s nice enough here you could almost think of this as camping and forget everything else, almost,” said Summers about staying at the center after evacuating from near Molalla, Oregon which was threatened by the Riverside Fire.
The remnants of several homes destroyed by the Beachie Creek Fire east of Salem, Ore. on Sept. 13, 2020.
A chicken wanders through charred remains from the Beachie Creek Fire near the destroyed Oregon Department of Forestry, North Cascade District Office in Lyons, Ore. on Sept. 13, 2020.
Charred vehicles sit inside a burned auto-repair shop outside Medford, Oregon, following the passage of the Almeda fire.
Scott Coash, left, carries a cooler, hand sanitizer and a handgun as he walks into his evacuated neighborhood with his wife Cindy and their dog Bella, near Medford, Oregon, following the passage of the Almeda fire.
Harlan Brooks, left, recovers the remains of a vintage sewing machine that belonged to is partner Katie Fawkes, right, from the rubble of the home they shared in Talent, Ore. Sept. 12, 2020.
A firefighter keeps watch on flames that could jump the Angeles Crest Highway at the Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest on September 11, 2020 north of Monrovia, California.
Kailiana Kroeker wears a respirator while during a visit to donation site at Silke Field in Springfield, Oregon on September, 11, 2020. Air quality continued to be hazardous in the region due to wildfire smoke.
The devastation is widespread: The Holiday Farm Fire left burned-out vehicles outside a shop in Nimrod, Ore.
Lindsie Cline (right) hugs her sister-in-law Brittany Cline from Leaburg, Ore. at an evacuation center at Springfield High in Springfield, Ore. on Sept. 10, 2020 after their families fled the flames of the Holiday Farm Fire.
Dora Negrete, right, and her husband Marcelino Rocha, left, and son Hector Rocha console each other after seeing their destroyed mobile home at the Talent Mobile Estates as wildfires devastate the region on Sept. 10, 2020 in Talent, Ore.
Volunteer firefighter Dave White looks on after losing his home in a fire, in Gates, Oregon, on Sept. 10, 2020. California firefighters battled the state’s largest ever inferno as tens of thousands of people fled blazes up and down the U.S. West Coast and officials warned the death toll could shoot up in coming days.
Firefighters work on mopping up a back burn near Leaburg, Ore on Sept. 10, 2020. A dearth of resources has hampered the fight against the Holiday Farm Fire.
A couple, who declined to give their names, embrace while touring in an area devastated by the Almeda Fire, Sept. 10, 2020, in Phoenix, Ore.
Mormon Lake Hotshots firefighter Sara Sweeney uses a drip torch to set a backfire to protect mountain communities from the Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest on Sept. 10, 2020 north of Monrovia, Calif.
A charred vehicle is seen in the parking lot of the burned Oak Park Motel after the passage of the Santiam Fire in Gates, Ore., on Sept. 10, 2020.
Bethany Bravery (right) prays with a volunteer at an evacuation site for the Holiday Farm Fire at Springfield High in Springfield, Ore. on Sept. 10, 2020.
Members of the Mormon Hot Shots from Arizona lay hose line down rugged terrain off Highway 39 near Crystal Lake in front of the Bobcat Fire, which has burned more than 23,000 acres, Sept. 10, 2020.
Community donations of clothing, shoes, food and living supplies are available for evacuees from the Holiday Farm Fire at Springfield High in Springfield, Ore. on Sept. 10, 2020.
Patrick Kenefick, left, and Dana Williams, both of Mill Valley, Calif., record the darkened Golden Gate Bridge covered with smoke from wildfires, Sept. 9, 2020, from a pier at Fort Baker near Sausalito, Calif. The photo was taken at 9:47 a.m. in the morning.
Flames lick above vehicles on Highway 162 as the Bear Fire burns in Oroville, Calif., on Sept. 9, 2020.
Smoke from California wildfires obscures the sky over Oracle Park as the Seattle Mariners take batting practice before their baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 9, 2020, in San Francisco.
In this image taken with a slow shutter speed, embers light up a hillside behind the Bidwell Bar Bridge as the Bear Fire burns in Oroville, Calif., on Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region.
Remnants of homes, cars, bicycles and street signs litter the path left by the Creek Fire in Big Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2020. The Creek Fire has destroyed over 50 homes between Huntington Lake and Shaver Lake. As of Wednesday morning the fire has consumed over 150,000 acres and 65 structures, and is at 0% containment. Over 1,000 personnel are assigned to the Creek Fire.
Wind and flames leap high in the air as a home near Shaver Lake, Calif., is being consumed by the fire on Sunday, Sep. 6, 2020. The fire has destroyed over 160,000 acres and remains at 0% containment.
A melted slide smolders as a playground continues to burn at Pine Ridge school during the Creek fire in an unincorporated area of Fresno County, California on September 08, 2020. – Wildfires in California have torched a record more than two million acres, the state fire department said on September 7, as smoke hampered efforts to airlift dozens of people trapped by an uncontrolled blaze.
Butte County firefighters watch as flames quickly spread across a road at the Bear fire in Oroville, California on September 9, 2020. – Dangerous dry winds whipped up California’s record-breaking wildfires and ignited new blazes, as hundreds were evacuated by helicopter and tens of thousands were plunged into darkness by power outages across the western United States.
Brian Fowlie, a volunteer firefighter and North Fork resident closes his eyes as he rest his body on a utility pole in the Cascadel Woods neighborhood in Madera County on Monday, Sep. 7, 2020.
A look at the Creek Fire fro the Cascadel Woods neighborhood in Madera County on Monday, Sep. 7, 2020. As of Tuesday morning the fire has consumed over 140,000 acres and has over 1,000 personnel working on putting out the fire.
A State Trooper leave the Oregon State Capitol as a combination of high winds and multiple wildfires cause smoke, poor air quality and low visibility at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020.
The sky glows red as ash floats through the air in Stayton, Oregon on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. Many residents are preparing to evacuate.
Kristin Croker, with her dog Jacob, looks up at the sky as smoke from the Creek Fire fills the air Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in Shaver Lake, Calif. Croker was among a group of campers being held in a marina in Shaver Lake as roads were deemed impassable due to the Creek Fire.
Creek Fire burns near Shaver Lake on Sunday, September 6, 2020.
Workers spray lake water over boats as Creek Fire burns near Shaver Lake on Sunday, September 6, 2020.
Aerial fire crews attack the Sequoia Fire behind a back fire on Thursday, August 27, 2020. The unconfined Sequoia Fire has burned more than 20,000 acres in the Golden Trout Wilderness area.
Tulare County Fire Department works in Forks of the Kern Trailhead during the Sequoia Fire on Thursday, August 27, 2020. The Sequoia Fire has burned more than 20,000 acres in the Golden Trout Wilderness area.
A thank you sign is posted along Empire Grade Rd. Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Bonny Doon, Calif., after the the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire passed by.
A ‘Vaca Strong’ message is painted onto a burned hillside during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Vacaville, California on August 24, 2020.
A burned residence is seen during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Vacaville, California on August 24, 2020.
Fire burns in the hollow of an old-growth redwood tree after the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire passed through Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Calif.
Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires leap above Butts Canyon Rd. on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Lake County, Calif.
Firefighters watch flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in the Berryessa Estates neighborhood of unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. The blaze forced thousands to flee and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures.
The shell of a burned-out car along Pleasant Valley Road near Winters, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2020.
Melted wall siding sits along Pleasants Valley Road in Solano County, Calif. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. The LNU Lightning Complex fire has destroyed nearly 500 structures and has burned more than 20,000 acres.
Firefighters battle the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire in the backyard of a home Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, in Boulder Creek, Calif.
A firefighter watches the LNU Lightning Complex Fire spread through the Berryessa Estates neighborhood of unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Aug. 21. The blaze forced thousands to flee and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures.
Local residents sit next to a vineyard as they watch the LNU Lightning Complex fire burning in nearby hills on August 20, 2020 in Healdsburg, California. The LNU Lightning Complex fire is spread over 5 counties and has burned over 130,000 acres. The out-of-control wildfire has destroyed at least 50 homes and is zero percent contained.
Peter Koleckar is overwhelmed by the sight of multiple homes burned in his neighborhood after the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire passed through Aug. 20 in Bonny Doon, Calif.
Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires consume a home in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Aug. 19, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes.
Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires jump Interstate 80 in Vacaville, Calif., Aug. 19, 2020. The highway was closed in both directions shortly afterward.
Docked boats burn on Lake Berryessa during the LNU Lightning Complex Fire in Napa, Calif., on Aug. 19.
Flames and smoke overtake a tree as the LNU Lightning Complex fire continues to spread in Fairfield, California on Aug. 19, 2020.
Fire crews maintain a backburn to control the River Fire near the Las Palmas neighborhood in Salinas, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Nic Coury) ORG XMIT: CANC112
Firefighter Ian Johnson watches as an air tanker drops retardant to keep the River Fire from reaching a home in Salinas, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of blazes sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
Inmate firefighters rest during a break from battling the River Fire in Salinas, Calif., Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of blazes sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
A plume rises over a vineyard in unincorporated Napa County as the Hennessey Fire burns on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of blazes sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
An inmate firefighter rests during a break from battling the River Fire in Salinas, Calif., Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of blazes sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
A vehicle drives along Knoxville Road, with flames from the LNU Lightning Complex in the background Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Napa County, Calif. The blaze went on to destroy multiple homes near Lake Berryessa. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of blazes sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
Jerry Kuny sprays water on a home as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in unincorporated Napa County, Calif. This home remained standing as main front passed although the fire went on to destroy multiple residences.
Seen in a long exposure photograph, embers burn along a hillside as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
Members of the Grizzly Firefighters fight the Carmel Fire near Carmel Valley, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020.
An outbuilding burns as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through the Spanish Flat area of unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
An air tanker drops retardant as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through the Spanish Flat community in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
Bill Nichols, 84, works to save his home as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through Vacaville, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Nichols has lived in the home for 77 years. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 and wildfire smoke put twindemic pressure on California, West Coast college students
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