SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Reeling from destructive wildfires, including the deadliest in California history, state lawmakers in 2020 passed new requirements for clearing combustible materials like dead plants and wooden furniture within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of homes in risky areas.

Henry Stern, who was part of a group of lawmakers ... to the new rules because they are deemed at highest fire risk by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Noozhawk republishes news articles from CalMatters on state and local policy issues that impact Santa Barbara County readers. In 1955, the

In 2021, state senator Henry Stern (D), who lost his own home in Los Angeles’s Topanga Canyon in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, was fighting in the California legislature to stop development in high-risk areas. Stern told Curbed in May 2021 that it was time for ...

California's delay in implementing crucial fire safety regulations leaves homes vulnerable to devastating wildfires.

Kern water managers struck out again on their fourth attempt to write an adequate plan to protect the region’s groundwater, according to a report released Tuesday by state Water Resources

To many ecologists, economists and other experts on California wildfire risk, the vow to rebuild is part of a familiar California cycle as predictable as the Santa Anas: We keep putting homes in the path of the flames.

Eight people are vying to fill Encinitas Mayor Bruce Ehlers’ former District 4 City Council seat, and one of them could be picked for the job Wednesday. The council is proposing to interview all eight applicants during its regular meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave.