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Podcasts Take Two
California continues to burn, fire management through prescribed burns, food as medicine
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Jul 30, 2018
Listen • 48:44
California continues to burn, fire management through prescribed burns, food as medicine

The biggest fires raging throughout the state, prescribed burns can prevent massive forest fires, a new healthcare program to treat illness with food.
TOPSHOT - A fire truck drives along Highway 299 as they Carr fire continues to burn near Whiskeytown, California on July 28, 2018. - The US federal government approved aid on July 28 for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - A fire truck drives along Highway 299 as they Carr fire continues to burn near Whiskeytown, California on July 28, 2018. - The US federal government approved aid on July 28 for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
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JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
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Fire Update

(Starts at 1:04)

There are 17 fires raging throughout the state. Combined the wildfires have consumed more than 200,000 acres. The most destructive of the blazes is the Carr fire, which has claimed six lives and six more remain missing. 

Prescribed burns as a way of fire management

(Starts at 5:55)

The Forest Service this week is advocating prescribed burns and "mechanical thinning" as a way to prevent massive forest fires. We look deeper into why controlled burns are hard to execute and how our relationship to fire may need to change despite its stigma. 

Guest:

  • Michael Kodas, author of "Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame"

https://twitter.com/forestservice/status/1021841630226202625?s=12

Returning evacuee on Cranston fire

(Starts at 12:44)

The Cranston Fire burning in Riverside County, it flared up last Wednesday and has burned more than 13,000 acres. There was a fear that the blaze would harm the idyllic town of Idyllwild, but thankfully the fire moved away from the area and evacuations have been lifted. We spoke to Idyllwild resident - and former Take Two producer - Steve Proffit last week after he had to flee his home. He was able to return yesterday. 

Guest:

  • Steve Proffitt, Idyllwild resident

Firefighter death

(Starts at 16:44)

The Ferguson Fire continues to burn near Yosemite. It's currently thirty percent contained. A second firefighter has been killed battling the fire. Brian Hughes was 33. He was Captian of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots.

Guest:

  • Jacob Welsh, U.S. Forest Service

https://twitter.com/SequoiaKingsNPS/status/1023739279686565888

California Dream Kids

(Starta at 22:28)

California's birth rate has dropped to near record lows. One reason they might be falling: high housing costs. As part of our statewide collaboration covering the California Dream, KPBS's Amita Sharma reports.

More on KPCC.org

Downtown Trolley

(Starts at 26:04)

Way back, in the early 1900s, Los Angeles had an extensive electric railway system. The Red Cars, as they were called, connected cities in LA, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. But a few decades later, they were all but dead. Passenger vehicles did them in the same way video killed the radio star. For some reason, though, everything old has a way of being new again. And that could go for the streetcar— a brand new one that would run through downtown L.A. Thing is, its projected cost has skyrocketed, which begs the question: Should L.A. desire a streetcar?

Guest:

  • Meghan McCarty Carino, KPCC commuting and mobility reporter

Another #MeToo reckoning

(Starts at 32:35)

More sexual misconduct allegations have hit the media industry, and this may be the most powerful man to face them yet, CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves. The CBS board is expected to decide what to do about Moonves at its meeting on Monday. 

Plus:

  • Moviepass, the ticketing app company was hit with an outage Thursday and it is struggling to stay afloat.
  • "Star Wars: Episode IX" starts shooting this week, and Disney has announced that Carrie Fisher will appear in it, using footage shot before her death.

Guest:

  • Rebecca Keegan, Vanity Fair

Food As Medicine

(Starts at 43:42)

L.A. is part of an ambitious new health care program to treat people's illness with food. The 6 million dollar pilot program delivers homemade meals to the doors of low-income patients who are just out of the hospital. California is betting on heart patients to get a lot healthier by eating their medicine. David Gorn of CAL Matters reports from southwest LA with these deliveries.