Farmworkers in Salinas harvest lettuce during the wildfires in Salinas, where the River Fire has filled the air with orange smoke and haze. Photo by Ramiro, a farmworker, from United Farm Workers on Instagram.
On this show, we spend the hour talking about the 300+ fires raging across California, including the major LNU Lightning Complex Fire and the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, and take calls from listeners. Thousands of people are under evacuation orders.
Guests:
- Tim Edwards is president of Cal Fire Local 2881, the state Cal Fire firefighters’ union. He says crews are stretched thin and understaffed, and working ultra long shifts, putting more strain on their bodies and minds, and on their families.
- Dr. John Balmes, professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, talks about respiratory health and wildfire smoke.
- Senator Bill Dodd represents California’s Senate District 3, which includes parts of Napa, Contra Costa, Solano, Yolo and Sacramento counties.
- Gabriela Orantes is the Just Recovery Fellow with the North Bay Organizing Project.
- Christy Lubin is with the Graton Day Labor Center.