The Brief

California’s fifth largest wildfire is encroaching on some of the last strongholds for imperiled salmon, with potentially devastating consequences for a species already on the brink.

The explosive Park Fire has spread into the Mill and Deer Creek watersheds in Tehama County, which are two of the three remaining creeks where wild, independent populations of spring-run Chinook, a threatened species, still spawn in the Central Valley.

If the Park Fire climbs to higher altitudes, federal and state officials said it could strike the final deathblow to the region’s spring-run salmon, which are already at risk of extinction.

“It’s really concerning. It’s really sad. Spring-run Chinook populations have taken such a hit over the past few years, and they’re just at a critically low point,” said Howard Brown, senior policy advisor with the Central Valley office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast fisheries region. “The emotional toll of seeing a fire like this hit such an important place, with (critically at-risk) populations that are suffering so bad, it just feels like the cards are stacked up deeply.”

Experts are anxiously awaiting the wildfire’s next move, hoping that it doesn’t spread farther into higher elevations. That’s where adult salmon are waiting in cool pools for water temperatures to drop and flows to rise so they can spawn, and where year-old juveniles are gaining strength before migrating to the ocean.

“We’re kind of at the mercy of the weather and wind to see if these fires creep along doing beneficial to less-severe things, or if we see a big run that really cooks the watershed,” said Matt Johnson, a senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Northern Region Anadromous Fisheries Program.

“The species is at real risk of extirpation or blinking out. We hope that doesn’t happen,” he said.

Flames are not the primary, immediate threat. The spring-fed streams are moving so fast that ash in the water will quickly wash away, according to wildlife officials. Instead, firefighting efforts could pose a direct threat to the waterways, including the use of fire retardant, which is toxic to fish, though experts say it’s a necessary tradeoff.

“The important thing right now is to just try to stop it on the head, so it doesn’t burn up these really precious watersheds,” Brown said. “The next few days will be pretty telling.”

The most severe damage could come later this year — if heavy rains wash ash, chemicals and sediment from the burn scar into the creeks. Too much sediment can smother the eggs and baby fish, or spark a microbial bloom that sucks oxygen from the water. Larger debris flows also could scour the waterways and fill in holding pools.

“It’s like liquid cement coming down the river channel,” said Steve Lindley, director of fisheries ecology at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center lab. “It just scours the river down to the bedrock, and everything in it is crushed and ground up.”

Two years ago, flash floods sent debris from Siskiyou County’s McKinney Fire into the Klamath River, where the Karuk Tribe reported a devastating fish kill.

Protected by the nation’s Endangered Species Act since 1999, Central Valley spring-run Chinook have already experienced catastrophic declines, reaching record lows last year with only 16 adults returning to spawn in Deer Creek and 34 to Mill Creek. These populations, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife warned earlier this year, “are now at high risk of extinction.”

“To see really big, hot fires like this move into what used to be their strongholds — it’s really a tough thing to witness,” Brown said. “Right now, it feels like the frontlines of climate change.”

Salmon 'are really struggling'

Spring-run Chinook salmon were once the cornerstone of California’s commercial fishery, with more than half a million fish caught in 1883 alone.

But California’s big dam era in the 20th century also sparked a massive decline of spring-run Chinook, one of the four runs of salmon named for the season when they return to freshwater to spawn. The dams cut off critical upstream spawning habitat, shifted the timing of flows and degraded downstream waterways.

Now nearly all of the Central Valley’s spring-run populations are gone. The remaining ones are largely confined to the northern Sacramento Valley, where Mill and Deer Creeks provide some of the last, high quality, high-elevation habitat for the species, as well as for threatened Central Valley steelhead.

Both are tributaries to the Sacramento River. Born in Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mill Creek flows through forests and meadows before dropping through a steep rock canyon into the Sacramento Valley, where it meets the Sacramento River. Deer Creek emerges near the summit of Butt Mountain, flowing 60 miles before it reaches the valley floor and stretches another 11 miles to join the Sacramento River near Vina.

“Deer and Mill Creeks have always represented this exceptional habitat piece for salmon,” said Johnson. “Unfortunately, despite that great habitat, the fish populations are really struggling.”

Last year, counts of returning adults were so low, scientists described it as a cohort collapse — meaning there were too few to successfully produce a new generation. The catastrophic declines prompted state and federal wildlife agencies to begin a conservation hatchery program at UC Davis.

The program was in response to the “threat that this species could blink out because nothing would return in subsequent years. So the captive brood population is like a little insurance plan or bank account of genetic material,” Johnson said.

With so few returning adults, a hit to the next generation from the Park Fire could be catastrophic. Johnson said after the Dixie Fire in 2021, he saw the first rains of the season turn Mill Creek black with runoff.

“The adults returning this year are from that Dixie Fire cohort and we’re looking at preliminary very low returns,” Johnson said. Though he doesn’t have the evidence yet to back it up, the fire “could be a contributing factor.”

State wildlife officials in February warned water regulators that the fish have been in steep decline since 2015 — in part because agricultural water diversions from the lower rivers frequently drain the creeks. They urged the State Water Resources Control Board to set minimum levels of water that must flow through the creeks to protect fish.

“Historical water diversion and water use practices have long been out of balance with ecological needs on these critical watersheds,” Tina Bartlett, regional manager of the northern region, wrote to the water board. In recent years, the problem has been amplified by climate change and frequent droughts.

Water board staff are reviewing the recommendations, according to spokesperson Ailene Voisin.

Eggs and young fish could be smothered

Because of the fire, state wildlife officials cannot survey the number of adult salmon that returned this year, Johnson said. But preliminary estimates for this year remain very low — prompting alarm from scientists.

“We had a really bad year last year. We had a really bad year this year,” said Andrew Rypel, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. “Say we wipe out this cohort. Salmon are on a three-year lifecycle. That’s starting to look like the anatomy of an extinction.”

The wildfire is not an imminent threat to adults that are in the creeks right now, Johnson said. The creeks have abundant cool water, and as of Monday the fire was not affecting flow or temperatures.

“What this fire represents, if it were to consume the habitat in the upper watersheds, is a degradation of that habitat. It’s just another hit to the species that’s already struggling,” Johnson said.

In these fire prone landscapes, low-intensity fires can be beneficial. Some sediment in the water can help hide juveniles from predators. Downed trees in the stream can create fish habitat.

But Johnson and others are concerned about the heat and intensity of the fire. If the first rain events send mud and ash flooding into the creeks, the eggs or juveniles could be smothered by the sediment, or suffocate if oxygen levels plummet. Chemicals could degrade the water quality.

Brown said that these hot fires could reshape this wild, remote landscape. Recent studies show that the one-two punch of climate change and severe fires can change which plants return to a fire-scoured region. Denuded slopes are primed for erosion, and the loss of tree cover could allow these vital, cool stretches of river to warm in the summer.

“At this point, my greatest concern is the fire moving any further up Mill and Deer Creek. A hot fire blowup could have devastating ecological consequences for the watershed health of these streams,” he said. “The watersheds and the salmon are irreplaceable resources in the state of California and they are almost gone. This hurts.”

Drivers know it really, really sucks to get gas right now.

California is (unfortunately) leading the nation in this gas surge, according to the American Automobile Association, which tracks fuel price trends.

And with prices in Southern California hovering around $5.75 (and beyond) — just for regular-grade fuel — it can feel like almost every station is trying to compete for the most notoriously priced gas.

What gives? And more importantly, how can you save on gas right now? We looked into it.

Why is our gas so expensive?

Prices at the pump have been skyrocketing since the start of the U.S. war in Iran last month because oil shipments are being bottlenecked along the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route in the Middle East.

California feels this pain especially hard as the state imports a decent chunk of its oil from the region. Plus, that’s happening at the same time the state is doing its annual switch to the summer blend of fuel. So both of those things, coupled with our high gas tax, means the spike hits us hard.

If you zero in more to hubs like Los Angeles and Orange County, it gets worse. Kandace Redd, a spokesperson for AAA, said that’s tied to gas stations’ higher rent, wages and operating costs.

“That is often passed on to the drivers,” she said. “ So simply put, the higher the cost of living, the higher the price you’re likely to pay at the pump.”

Some relief could be on the way, but it’s unclear when that could happen.

How to save at the pump

• Don’t wait to fill up

During normal times, one subtle way you could save would be to fill up on certain days of the week. This is because California is one of the states that shows a predictable pattern at the pump, called price-cycling.

According to a GasBuddy study that analyzed weekly price changes, they found that the best day to get gas in California was Sunday, and the worst Tuesday. But that’s when things are relatively stable.

“During periods of rapidly rising prices … prices tend to keep increasing, not decrease, so filling up sooner is often best,” Redd said.

So if you know you need gas, don’t try waiting a few days for prices to drop until the situation changes. L.A.’s average gas price jumped 30 cents over the last week.

• Use GasBuddy’s 10 top lists

These show user-reported gas prices for stations near you. Here’s are examples of ones for Southern California:

• Top 10 Gas Station & Cheap Fuel Prices in L.A. County
• Top 10 Gas Station & Cheap Fuel Prices in Orange County
• Top 10 Gas Station & Cheap Fuel Prices in Riverside County

If you have a AAA membership, the mobile app also shows cheap gas nearby.

• Avoid stations in certain areas

If you want to pay less, stay away from stations in popular areas, like airports, tourist hubs or freeways. Neighborhoods with fewer gas stations can cost you more money, so finding a place that’s ripe with competition can also be better for your wallet.

Even position on the street corner matters. Redd said gas stations can charge more when they’re on a side with heavier traffic or when they’re more accessible.

“ Stations that are easier for drivers to enter, fill up and exit often attract more customers and may even charge a little bit more than that,” she said.

Stretch your gas tank by taking care of your car

You can save on gas beyond the pump, Redd said, by managing how your car is using fuel. For example, combining your trips or avoiding stop-and-go traffic times can cut down on consumption. It’s all about how you care for and use your car:

Reduce your load. That means clear out that trunk and take off that top rack when it’s not in use. When your car is heavier, it burns fuel faster to account for the load.

Maintain your vehicle. If you can afford it, keep the check engine light off and your tires properly inflated. This can help make sure you're using gas at your car’s intended rate. Underinflated tires are more resistant to movement, which can reduce the miles per gallon you get.

Watch your speed.  Your car uses more gas at higher speeds, so you really wanna be sure to also avoid any sort of hard acceleration. If your car has an economy mode, that could also help by making your car run more efficiently.

 Turn off your engine when your car is parked or stopped for a long period of time. Blasting the air conditioning can also impact gas usage, though it’s a smaller margin.

A record-baking heat wave is scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack.

Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer runoff that refills reservoirs when the state needs the water most.

But a warm wet storm followed February’s snow, and now, March temperatures are shattering records — prompting warnings of rapid snowmelt and swift rivers.

Historically, the snowpack is at its deepest in April. But climate change is shifting runoff earlier, leaving less water trickling down the mountains in warmer months for homes, farms, fish, hydropower and forests.

“In an ideal world, you'd have your reservoir full right now, and this additional huge snowpack reservoir that we know will help replenish and provide more water supply,” said Levi Johnson, operations manager for the Central Valley Project, the massive federal water system that funnels northern California river water to the Central Valley and parts of the Bay Area.

This year, he said, “we're not going to have that.”

California’s reservoirs are in good shape, brimming above historic averages with many nearing capacity. But that summertime snow bank on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada is disappearing early, and fast — dropping to 38% of average for mid-March statewide.

It’s not yet the worst snowpack on record: that distinction belongs to 2015, when then-Gov. Jerry Brown stood on brown, barren slopes of the Sierra Nevada to watch scientists measure the most meager snowpack in history.

But this year’s snowpack is rapidly approaching the worst five on record for April 1st, state climatologist Michael Anderson said — and it’s likely to worsen still as temperatures climb. From early to mid-March, the snowpack has been disappearing at a rate of roughly 1% per day. 

It’s a sharp departure from the near-average conditions of last year, and presents both a challenge and a glimpse of the future for reservoir operators in the state.

Conflicting roles for reservoirs

Many of California’s reservoirs serve a dual role: stoppering flood flows and storing water for drier times ahead.

Those roles sometimes conflict — as they did at Lake Mendocino, which dried to a mud puddle during the 2012–16 drought. Rigid federal operating rules forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release vital water supplies from the dam to make room for winter floods that didn’t come.

The dire water shortages that followed spurred an experimental partnership called Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, between the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes and state, federal and local agencies.

The program incorporates advanced forecasting and weather observations into reservoir release decisions at Lake Mendocino. It prevented the reservoir from going dry during the most recent drought, according to Don Seymour, deputy director of engineering at Sonoma Water, which co-manages the reservoir.

Now, 165 miles away in the Sierra Foothills, Yuba Water Agency is eyeing adopting the same program for New Bullards Bar, a reservoir roughly eight times bigger than Lake Mendocino that’s fed by Sierra snowmelt on the North Yuba River.

The reservoir supplies water to more than 60,000 acres of farmland in Yuba County as well as users south of the Delta. But early snowmelt is complicating efforts to store that water.

“We're seeing snowmelt conditions in mid-March that we normally don't see until at least mid-May,” said general manager Willie Whittlesey. “It's pretty obvious that this is the runoff — this is the snowmelt — and it's just happening about two months early.”

The reservoir is nearly full at 114% of average for this date and 84% of total capacity.

But when snowmelt arrives early, the agency can’t catch it once the reservoir reaches a certain level — even when no storms are in the immediate forecast. Federal rules require Yuba Water to maintain a certain amount of empty space until June to absorb potential floodwaters, according to Whittlesey.

Yuba Water is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update this decades-old rulebook, Whittlesey said, but until then it must request special permission to store the extra water.

Though the agency has received permission in the past, this year it’s also contending with a rupture in a major pipe to one of its hydropower facilities, which is forcing the agency to hold back more water behind the dam.

Whittlesey said he suspects that the combination of flood-control requirements and damage control after the pipe failure is likely costing them tens of thousands of acre-feet of snowmelt.

The California Department of Water Resources, which manages Lake Oroville — the state’s second-largest reservoir — told CalMatters that it’s storing water beyond its normal flood control limits, with permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In the Bay Area, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, California’s second-largest urban water supplier, owns and operates the Camanche and Pardee reservoirs in the Central Sierra foothills.

“We're working to save every drop in light of the warm temperatures that we are experiencing now, and in light of all the zeros that we are seeing in terms of a rain or snow forecast,” said spokesperson Andrea Pook. “The last time that we had run off this early was in 2015.”

Pook said the district is releasing less water from its reservoirs now, in order to preserve more for the fall when salmon migrate upriver to spawn.

“We're tracking to not necessarily be in a drought situation. But I am not convinced that we're going to fill our reservoirs by July 1st, which is our usual goal,” Pook said.

Improved forecasts after a major miss

Even as California suffers record heat and early snowmelt, the state is better prepared than in the past.

Five years ago, state forecasters badly missed their runoff predictions — overestimating the snowmelt expected to refill reservoirs by up to 68%. Dry soils and a parched atmosphere drank up the runoff before it could flow into storage. Farms and cities scrambled in the middle of a drought as supplies fell far short of expectations.

This year is different. Major reservoirs are already above historic averages, and early season storms soaked the soil beneath the snowpack, making it less likely to swallow the runoff.

The state has also been working on better forecasts.

“Things have substantially improved,” said Andrew Schwartz, Director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, in an email to CalMatters.

Johnson, at the federal Central Valley Project, said that the state and federal water delivery systems are in a better spot than five years ago, and that forecasts haven’t made a major miss since.

But the season’s early melt may still leave a gap.

“It's going to get us through this year just fine,” Johnson said. “But it's not as ideal as having that additional snow reservoir ready to run off through summer, and replenish what we're going to be releasing.”

Improved snowpack modeling and soil moisture estimates, experimental temperature measurements at different snow depths, university collaborations and incorporating weather outlooks are helping, according to the Department of Water Resources.

Still, between state budget shortfalls and federal cuts, challenges remain, Anderson said.

Efforts to install more soil moisture sensors in national forests have run into permitting slowdowns at the U.S. Forest Service, which has shed thousands of employees under President Donald Trump.

“You wait in line a lot longer,” Anderson said. “That's been the biggest limitation of late. There just isn't anybody there.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

The fasting period for millions of Muslims ends this weekend with Eid al-Fitr — the “festival of breaking the fast” — marking the end of Ramadan. 

The holiday, which lasts three days, centers on prayer, charity and time spent with family and community. 

And with it comes a wave of joyful celebrations, feasts and family events.

These gatherings arrive after a stretch of difficult years marked by global conflict, including wars in Iran, Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, and many other ongoing conflicts worldwide.

For many, those events have cast a shadow over recent Ramadans, making the spirit of the holy month feel harder to fully hold onto, especially for those watching the violence unfold from afar.

Still, Eid offers a moment of grounding, with events showing how that sense of togetherness endures — a chance to gather with loved ones, give thanks and find meaning in community.

And across Los Angeles, that spirit is reflected in a range of events. From Eid-themed picnics in Ladera Heights to comedy shows in Westlake to a 5K run through Boyle Heights, here are some of the best ways to commemorate the end of Ramadan.

Chand Raat Mela at Islamic Center of South Bay–LA

South Bay
25816 Walnut St. Lomita
Date: Thursday, March 19
Time: 6 to 11 p.m.
More info here.

Grab some food, browse outfits and jewelry, get your mehndi (henna) done and soak up the pre‑Eid buzz with families from all over.

Prayer at Masjid Umar Ibn Al Khattab

Exposition Park
1025 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20,
Time: 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
More info here.

Join a packed Eid congregation across from USC, with early‑morning prayer, and complimentary coffee, tea and snacks such as donuts, cookies, sandwiches, nachos and hot dogs. 

Prayer at Masjid Al-Zahra

Southeast LA
8152 Seville Ave, South Gate
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 7:30 am
More info here.

Masjid Al-Zahra is offering prayers followed by a breakfast. 

Prayer at the Islamic Center of Southern California 

Koreatown
434 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: Take beerat at 7 a.m. with prayer at 7:30 a.m.; Take beerat at 9 a.m. with prayer at 9:30 a.m.
More info here.

Mark a historic Eid as Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) hosts prayers at its Vermont Avenue campus, offering multiple morning prayer times and easy access to Koreatown eats afterward.

Eid Picnic at Kenneth Hahn

Ladera Heights
4100 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 2 to 7 p.m.
More info here.

Join the fun with BBQ on the grill, kids getting soaked in water games, and friendly basketball and soccer showdowns.

Eid in the City at Ladera Park

Ladera Heights
6027 Ladera Park Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 3 p.m.
More info here.

Pack a blanket, round up the crew and hang out at this potluck in the park.

Wellness as Resistance at InnerCity

Boyle Heights
3467 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
More info here.

Gaby Alcala from Luminous Body Therapy is offering a free, grounding community sound bath at InnerCity Struggle’s Youth and Community Center.

Nowruz 2026

Highland Park
5541 York Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 7 p.m.
More info here.

Celebrate the arrival of spring with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, featuring live Persian music.

“Beetlejuice” at the Pantages

Hollywood
6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22
Time: Various
More info here.

The cult‑favorite musical adaptation of “Beetlejuice” delivers big spectacle, singalong moments right on Hollywood Boulevard.

Immanuel Wilkins at Blue Note 

Hollywood
6372 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22
Time: Various
More info here.

Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins brings cutting‑edge jazz to Blue Note for an ideal date night.

Beautify your community

East LA
4025 City Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
More info here.

Connect with your neighbors at a street cleanup hosted by Visión City Terrace and the Maravilla Community Advisory Committee at City Terrace Library.

Goats & Totes

Westside
8840 National Blvd., Culver City
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 11 a.m.More info here.

Take the family to meet and pet some goats at Ivy Station.

DOLORES at Plaza de la Raza

Lincoln Heights
3540 N. Mission Road, Los Angeles
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 3 p.m.
More info here.

Explore the legacy of Dolores Huerta with a screening, art exhibit, opening reception and panel conversation at the Plaza de la Raza Boathouse Gallery as part of a special exhibition on view through April 12, 2026.

Andrew Callaghan at The Wiltern 

Westlake
3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 7:30 p.m.
More info here.

Andrew Callaghan brings his popular “Channel 5” world to the stage for a one‑night carnival of live bits, interviews and typically internet-native chaos.

“Vertigo” in Concert with the LA Phil

Downtown
111 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 8 p.m.
More info here.

See Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” on the big screen while the LA Phil performs Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score live at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Beautify your community

East LA
2609 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 7:30 a.m.
More info here.

Join Healing in Spanglish and Acurrúcame Cafe for a 5K run or 2-mile walk through Boyle Heights. Stay for the post-run cafecito. The first 50 cars will get access to free parking at 345 N. Fickett St.

Dorsey High School Eid Al‑Fitr Festival 2026

Crenshaw
3537 Farmdale Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 12 to 4 p.m.
More info here.

Spend the afternoon roaming food stalls, checking out vendors and just hanging out. Adults pay a small entry fee, kids get in free.

Butterfly Pavilion

Exposition Park
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
More info here.

Starting Sunday, you can take the kids to walk among hundreds of beautiful butterflies at the Natural History Museum. Reservations are required. The pavilion runs through the summer. 

New Horizon School Eid Breakfast

San Gabriel Valley
651 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena
Date: Monday, March 30
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
More info here.

Roll up with the family for a laid‑back breakfast, kids’ activities and plenty of time to catch up with friends between coffee refills.