California

"When Varlin Higbee eyes the scrubby forest of pinyon pines and juniper trees that fill the high desert outside this old Union Pacific Railroad town, there’s just one thought that crosses his mind: “They’re just a wildfire waiting to happen,” the Lincoln County commissioner says of the low, bushy trees."

"Doctors have reported surges of gastrointestinal illness when intense storms like this week’s atmospheric rivers overwhelm wastewater treatment plants and flood communities with raw sewage."

"The same flood-control system that protected L.A. from the atmospheric rivers also saw tens of billions of gallons of stormwater flush to the sea."

"A firehose of rain has parked over Southern California, worsening the risk of flooding. At least two people have died as a result of falling trees and more than 16 million people are under a rare high risk of excessive rainfall, with downtown Los Angeles receiving 75% of its annual rainfall in only the second month of 2024."

"State officials said a Humboldt County cannabis operation took water from streams and damaged wetlands for years without authorization. The owner called the fine extreme and unfair but agreed to pay and restore wetlands."

"The second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers churned slowly through California early Monday, flooding roadways and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people and prompting a rare warning for hurricane-force winds as the already soggy state braced for another day of heavy rains."

"Fire in Paradise: Low-income US home owners face soaring insurance premiums in 'managed retreat' from climate change".

"The return of sea otters and their voracious appetites has helped rescue a section of California marshland, a new study shows. Sea otters eat constantly and one of their favorite snacks is the striped shore crab. These crabs dig burrows and also nibble away roots of the marsh grass pickleweed that holds dirt in place."

"A group of 25 California counties have sued Elon Musk's Tesla, claiming the electric vehicle maker mishandled hazardous waste at its facilities across the state."