September 20, 2024 — Four years after the Hopkins Fire destroyed 30 homes in Calpella and burned 257 acres near Lake Mendocino, arson in the Ukiah area has fallen 45%. A new approach to intentional fires, put in place by Ukiah Valley Fire Authority Chief Justin Buckingham, has reduced the percent of intentional fires from a high of 66% of all fires in 2021 to 35% today.

September 19, 2024 — Ten years ago a warm water blob in the Pacific Ocean destroyed 93% of the kelp forest off the Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts. Then a wasting disease wiped out the remaining ocean predators for purple urchins.Since that time, abalone season has been closed, the red urchin fishery was declared a national disaster and purple urchins blanket the sea floor consuming everything in their path. Today over 96% of the kelp forest has disappeared.The Nature Conservancy was recently given 1.6 million to develop kelp restoration programs along the coast. Tristin McHugh, the kelp restoration coordinator for The Nature Conservancy, provides an update on what's working to restore kelp forests at Big River and Albion and talks about how the restoration efforts are helping the decimated fishing industry.