Dec 27, 2017 -- In November, I took a walk in Potter Valley with local cannabis cultivator Susan Schindler. This story is loosely divided into two parts. In the first half, we visit Schindler's medical cannabis garden, which was damaged by high winds during the October firestorms. The plants then died from lack of water during the evacuation of Potter Valley. I also took the opportunity to talk with Schindler about her preparations for the next phase of legalization, and how the fire affected her decisions.
In the second half, we continued our walk around the property, examining damage by heavy firefighting equipment. Firefighters staged their operations on Schindler's property with her permission, but she was concerned that fire breaks could result in landslides. A CalFire forester assured me that half a dozen professional foresters had evaluated the area for erosion control, and that he was concerned that digging drainage ditches around the fire breaks might cause further damage.
Part 2 is slightly longer than the broadcast version.