NBC Bay Area meteorologist Rob Mayeda walks in the Woodward fire zone in Point Reyes with Berkeley Lab scientist Margaret Torn who examines what climate change is doing to the Earth that’s sparking intense and more frequent wildfires.
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Wine Country Wildfires
Berkeley Lab scientists study how these Northern California wildfires impact the Russian River watershed that provides water to 600,000 people. One concern is that potentially toxic chemicals common in many household items and firefighting foams would find their way into this water after a wildfire.
Caldor Fire
Berkeley Lab mobilizes to predict how Caldor Fire may lead to floods and land movement. Scientists gather water and ash samples in effort to understand fire’s impacts on an important mountain ecosystem. The data from these efforts will then be rapidly incorporated within an advanced hydrologic model developed to investigate how wildfire events affect things like groundwater levels and streamflow.