tonight on kqed newsroom, we go in depth with the new head of california fire, joe tyler, we discussed how california fire is coping with a warmer california, the departments fatigued firefighting force and tyler's response to investigations that say his agency needs to do more to prevent wildfires. plus, we visit some friends, on tonight's editn of something beautiful. coming to you from our headquarters in san francisco, this friday, august 12, 2022. hello and welcome to kqed newsroom, i'm priya david

clemens. we cannot get away from concern over wildfires in california, especially as climate change makes the dry dryer and the hot hotter as our governor likes to say. and the housing crunch has pushed mo people to move away from urban centers and closer to wilderness areas. closer, that is than to potential fire zones. we are well into fire season and this week firefighters have been focused on a major blaze in northern california, the mccain if our has killed four people, including a woman who worked as a longtime forest service lookout, the agency charged with fighting and preventing wildfires on state land is cal fire, they have a new director, joe tyler who was appointed by governor newsom in march. chief tyler joins us via skype in sacramento. welcome to the show. >> thank you for having me. >> you have en with the agency for a long time, 31

years, but you have been in this job as the director for just a few months how's it going? >> it has been an honor and a great opportunity to serve as the director and fire chief of cal fire, i never thought that i would be here. >> why not? >> well, i started my career as you said so many years ago in chester county, eventually making my way down to riverside, and back into the sacramento area and el dorado county. >> were you a firefighter at the time? >> i was a firefighter, i started from the lowest ranks of our department as a seasonal firefighter and made my way through every fire suppression rig that this department has.>> and what did that perspective give you as you start this job as director? >> it has given me a full depth and breadth of experience across the state working in multiple areas in the state and

understanding the diversity of the state as well. it gives me the opportunity to know, where i worked on the fire station and responded to emergencies and did vegetation management, also when i worked in administration as the administrative officer. i think all of those things may be well-rounded for the position i'm in today. >> could you sketch out a description of the work cal fire does separately from maybe the local firefighting departments or the federal land? what specifically does cal fire do ? how large of a portion of california are they responsible for?>> thank you for the question. cal fire is the wildland fire agency for the state of california protecting 33 million acres across the state, that's a lot of the foothills and valley areas of california, we are up higher in elevation at our federal partners take responsibility for the wildland

fire jurisdiction, but not only does cal fire respond to wildland fires, that also provides municipal fire services, we are also the state fire marshal's office, and equally important, we are the department of forestry resource protection and natural resource improvement agency as well.>> so can you break that down for us? how much of your work is in fire prevention? how much is firefighting? is that a 50-50? or does that change from season to season? >> i think that it changes from season to season. whereas we saw 2.5 million acres of land burn in 2021 and 4.3 million acres of land in 2020, this year alone we have only burned 181,000 acres, i say only, that is still a

significant amount that we are prepared to respond to emergencies and in 2022, the wildland fire emergency stepped in much less. so, to your point, i expect them to be doing vegetation management, and defense space type work. >> do you feel you have the resources that you need to lead this agency? it is billions of dollars, the state is investing in cal fire, but fire has also never been as big of a threat to us as it is now. do you have what you need in terms of your resources? >> you know, we really saw a significant increase in the fire activity starting in 2014. and it continues to grow today. like i said just a few minutes ago, only 181,000 acres have burned in california this year.

so between our local partners, cal fire and federal partners, i appreciate the administration's commitment to the funding and the resources they have given us to conduct fire prevention activities and respond to emergencies. the conditions in california, they haven't just developed overnight, this is hundreds of years of improvement that is needed. and we are working together at all levels of government with our local and private partners as well as federal partners to try to turn this corner. >> i don't hear you saying no, we need more trucks or vehicle, aviation vehicles, or more personnel.>> certainly in a planning effort, our personnel and resources that we have today seem to be needing today's need

. as we continue to grow and we continue to turn this corner on fire prevention activity, i certainly hope that we are going to see the amount of acreage start to decline burning each year.>> why do you think we have had an easier start to the fire season this year? >> well, i think it is a number of things. i think that the duration of large fires that have occurred over the years, or over this year in 2022, we have been so very fortunate that they have only occurred one at a time, so all levels of government have been able to dedicate resources to each large fire that has occurred thus far, to try to keep them small. it is equally important to know that one year ago tomorrow the central and northern california area were pummeled by lightning that started hundreds of fires, one year ago tomorrow.

and as we can see outside today, we saw monsoonal moisture and lightning in the last couple of weeks and we don't see that today. and i hope that mother nature ú provide one catastrophic event at a time that we can use our resources to mitigate this. >> it sounds like a little bit of luck really in terms of what our weather is right now. as the claimant continues to dry and it ntinues to get hotter, how does that factor into your planning?>> so, we are constantly evaluatinthe fire weather and fuel conditions across california and we are projecting it into the future, and i agree that climate change is playing a part in the factors that are affecting california. but to the other factor that we have talked about is forest

resilience and fuel reduction and we have to continue to invest in fire prevention activities and vegetation management to really turn this corner. >> let's talk about that in particular because kqed conducted an investigation and it had this headline saying that cal fire fumbles key responsibilities to prevent catastrophic wildfires despite historic budget. so, last year your budget was $1.5 billion for wildfire prevention and forest help but the investigation found that cal fire hasn't been clearing the brush and there's a greater emphasis on firefighting than forest management. what did you think of that investigation? did it ring true to you? and did it make you change, or make a decision to take different action in the future?>> thank you for that question as well. so, i am aware of those headlines and we have had

conversations with the various media entities and reporters since that time. it really hits home when cal fire is questioned about its activities, and when you start taking a hard look at yourself, you recognize that there are areas in which we could do better and i'm mmitted to do better in those areas. i also think that there was questions about definitions and what is meant by projects versus treatment versus treatment activities, as well as what i think we have corrected since them, some transparency to allow the public and anybody who wants the information to be able to see exactly what is happening within cal through a public view that is available

on our internet page. >> so, it doesn't sound like you are saying something needs to change or you need to do more of the fuel reduction work.>> well, certainly everybody across the state needs to continue to invest in fuel work and fuels reduction work across the state of california, not just cal fire but all of our state agency, federal partners and local partners and honestly private property owners as well, really need to conduct defensible space to help strengthen that ability to combat wildfire from being as devastating as it has in the past. certainly i have no concerns committing to doing better, and all of us doing better together is how we are going to turn this corner. >> what is key for you to accomplish as the new director?>> the key for me is what i have said previously sent my first day on march 4 as the director and fire chief of

cal fire, we have had a long and devastating fire year across california, and when i come into this position, i know that the personnel that worked for cal fire specifically, but it's all the firefighters across california, are really fatigued from these years of large and devastating fires. not only fatigued physically, but fatigued mentally and emotionally. when you have firefighters that are sitting community of paradise and seeing the devastation that occurred in 2018 in that area, and fires everywhere else. so my number one priority is my people. taking care of my people, their physical and mental well-being will allow me to really get an engaged and motivated workforce who know that myself is here to

support them. >> thank you for sharing that focus, i think it really comes from your perspective of rising up through the ranks all of those years, being a firefighter yourself and being with this agency year after year and seeing how much more challenging firefighting has been. i would like to listen to a short clip from a firefighter who is talking about the impact of the stress of the work on him and his colleagues.>> i don't want to lose my family over this. i would rather quit my job, i would be willing to bet there is serious suicidal ideology in half of our employees right now and probably half of them have a plan to do it, and part of that is because they don't get to go home, and when they are home they don't have enough time to be who they really want to be.>> i found that heart- wrenching honestly. does that resonate with you and could you tell us more about your fus on wellness with your staff and what that looks

like in practice? >> absolutely. it does resonate with me and as i said, my number one priority is our people. you know, i started the fire service, one of the earliest fires in 1992, the fountai fire in shasta county, it was 64,000 acres. and for that, many times people would say that was their career fire. we take the dixie fire, 983,000 fires acres, seeing the emotional and physical toll on the firefighters and the public and the residents who lost everything that they owned, really takes a toll on all firefighters, not just cal fire firefighters. but specifically, i'm charged to support the women and men of cal fire . and i do recognize

the toll it is taking. i was referred back in 1992, i was on that fire for 52 days and today it hasn't been uncommon since 2014 through 2021 where our personnel would respond to work on trying to mitigate fires, they are there anywhere from 21 to 30, 40, 50 days because they are so committed as firefighters to take care of and try to mitigate these emergencies are that does take a toll, not only are firefighters taking a toll, but also their families. >> what measures are you putting in place to help your employees cope with this hard work?>> so, measures that we have in place right now, we ensure that we provide all of our employees, not just our firefighters but support personnel as well, with access to therapists on missions and

retreats across the state and out of the state in which they can reflect on and overcome some of the emotional and physical distress that they see on a day-to-day basis. it does take a toll on families, it is a hard and grueling job for any firefighter whether you are local, state, or federal firefighter. >> what is it that keeps you up at night? what are you most worried about? >> i am most worried, what keeps me up at night, i'm worried about our people because it takes that engaged and motivated workforce to do all the other things we have been talking about. i work seven days a week, my phone is on 24 hours a day and my biggest fear, what keeps me up at night is that phone is going to ring and anyone of those 24 hours telling me that

there has been a fatality, either somebody in the public or one of our firefighters. >> that just happened recently with a forest service lookout, there were four fatalities, one of whom was a forest service lookout. is there a harder feeling because you have been in that position that you experienced that and you know what that's like, you feel it more strongly?>> certainly of the four fatalities on the mckinney incident, i reached out to the regional forest general to give our condolences and support, those occurrences have happened to us in the past as well. and it is every leaders worst dream or nightmare to receive dream orhat phone call of one o employees who perished.

>> let's turn to a different topic, fire has been our landscape for a number of generations. their practices can help the state, tell us about how cal fire is working with tribal leaders? >> so, since i have taken this position in march, i have dedicated myself to working with my partners to learn more about their cultures and cultural burning and prescribed fire burning, closely with tribes up in the north coast area of the state. as well as the pomo indians in the mendocino county area working closely with all of them to better understand their cultural practices as well as learn from the indigenous people of their past cultural burning and prescribed practices. it is going to take all of us

investing in and learning from these tribes on how we can reintroduce fire and intervals on the landscape at the right times to ensure that we are only cleaning up the understory of any forest or the vegetation to try to make our forest more resilient. we have been working closely together.>> do you think that we are at this place in california where we are just constantly going to be battling úfire and year after year it's just going to be by the skin of our teeth, we are hoping it doesn't come into these populated areas, especially as people move out into the wildlife interface that we are just increasingly going to be pushing up against this threat of fire? or do you see any hope for the future, that there is some sort of work that can be done that would give us a different path in the future that would make it not such a threat to our everyday lives?

i don't know what that is. i'm wondering if you do. >> i think that you have set the stage already, that we are seeing communities spreading into the urban interface areas and we have to adapt to that interface zone, and homes that are scattered within that wildland environment and it is tough, it is important that we ensure that we are doing what we need to do through fire safe regulations through defensible space, and fuels reduction in general to be able to make our wildlands more resilient across california. it is not going to happen overnight. but i think that it is clear by all californians and the people of california that we have to do something to turn this corner. so we have to invest in fire prevention and fire suppression activities and tell that

someday we will. >> would you discourage people from moving into those wilderness adjacent areas? >> i'm not personally going to discourage anybody from moving to any place in california that they want to live but what i would encourage is every homeowner, every landowner doing their part to conduct their own defensible space and harden their homes in preparation of a wildfire that me come into their community. there's a lot of efforts that are going on right now to grant opportunities or otherwise to be able to reflect upon ways in which we can do better together. >> turning to a different topic in the last few moments we have, tell us about your thoughts on the use of prisoner firefighting crews, we are talking about people who were incarcerated and voluntarily work for a few dollars a day to

fight fires.>> i appreciate that question as well. and there was a time in which cal fire had an interagency agreement, which we still do with the california department of corrections and rehabilitation, there was a time in which cal fire has 38 conservation camps and up to 196 fire crews, they did both firefighting and fuels reduction work using incarcerated inmates who were eligible for that opportunity, low risk inmate who was really becoming a stng firefighter and gaining additional on-the- job opportunities and skills. they have been and have been critical in the firefighting effort with these firefighters going in places that mechanized equipment can't go. and through the years, through

criminal justice reform and otherwise, we have decreased the conservation camps and a capacity of 152 crews through cdc are, but most recently, we are running on an average of 50 crews with approximately 12 inmates to be able to support that. and as we continue through and out of this pandemic, we continue to see a decline of available and made firefighters available for that ability. so the administration is investing through paid firefighting crews to try to replace those critical firefighters that we have. as it relates to your specific question, to my opinion about incarcerated firefighters, in 2013-14, i was the chief at the conservation camp in el dorado

county, and really got to understand and know about the inmates and the roles they play and they are a strong force and do well for the people of california to be able to mitigate fires. i am equally happy that in my time in my last role, in these last couple years, that we are starting to provide opportunities to our incarcerated firefighters, so when they parole, we give them opportunities such as those right now at the training center to give them additional skills to make them competitive for fire service jobs in california. and since the inception of the program, we have been able to hire within cal fire over 200 additional firefighters who are previously made firefighters. they probably play a role and

they are a critical resource. >> thank you so much for your time, chief tyler, thank you for this extended conversation, we appreciate it and we wish you all the best of luck as you embark as the director of cal fire. thank you. every year, thousands of wild birds are captured and brought to the united states to be sold as pets. some parakeets and others find loving homes, some become victims of abuse and neglect. this week's something beautiful is mickaboo bird rescue in san jose, where exotic birds of a feather have found a place to flock together.

>> that's the end of our show tonight, you can find kqed newsroom online or on tweeter, you can reach me on social media at priya david clemens, thank you for joining us, we will see you back here next friday night, have a great weekend.

geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. tonight on “pbs news weekend,” our weekend briefing with the latest legal jeopardy facing former president trump, and president biden's latest legislative wins. then, hot water -- a closer look at the effect of marine heatwaves like the one driving up temperatures in the mediterranean sea. and on our weekend spotlight, abbi jacobson on her reboot of "a league of their own," 30 years after the classic movie brought the all-american girls professional baseball league to life. abbi: the more we researched, the more we found that this all american girls professional baseball league was this really incredible time for a lot of queer women who thought they were the only one. geoff: all that and the day's headlines on tonight's "pbs news weekend."