Documentary #3: Uneven Burns in Northern California

The Response

The third episode of The Response travels to Northern California to provide a unique perspective on the topics of climate change and immigration. We put the focus on last year’s Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California — the state’s most destructive fire to date — and how it impacted the undocumented community. We explore how, in the face of ICE raids, labor violations, a housing crisis, and climate-fueled wildfires, the broader community is coming together to stand in solidarity with those who are being forced into the shadows.

California’s climate-fueled drought has left the state in an extremely precarious condition and has led to an unprecedented number of wildfires that are burning hotter, faster, and ever more acreage. The largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history was the Mendocino Complex Fire, which scorched well over four-hundred thousand acres during the Summer of 2018. And the second largest fire in California burned just a year before that. As California Governor Jerry Brown says, “Since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago, we haven’t had this kind of heat condition, and it’s going to continue getting worse.”

We’ve already reached a one degree celsius increase in average global temperatures, and we may be on track for four by the end of the century. As the reality of an increasingly chaotic climate begins to settle in, it must be viewed through a lens of social, economic, and political circumstances as well. What does the growing threat of climate-fueled disasters mean for the most vulnerable among us?

For more visit TheResponsePodcast.org

Executive Producer/Host: Tom Llewellyn

Producer/Writer: Robert Raymond

Field Producers: Ninna Gaensler-Debbs and Robert Raymond

Music: Chris Zabriskie and Lanterns

Voice Over Narration: Luisa Cardoza