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With details still emerging about what led to Maui’s deadly blaze, observers are asking tough questions. Should utilities be able to shut off all power when winds and fire risk are high? What about people who need powered medical devices to survive? Can we set up systems that account for both needs — before such scenarios become even more common, as climate change fuels increasingly intense fires?

In my hometown of Big Bear, the debate over catastrophic wildfire prevention is no less complicated. And it just landed in court.

I spent time in Big Bear last fall learning about the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed plan to improve forest conditions and reduce wildfire risks by removing trees and doing prescribed burns. Forest Service experts say thinning is needed to give rescuers a fighting chance at stopping a major blaze from turning Big Bear Valley into the next Paradise. Removing trees, they told me, also will reduce beetle infestations, help native species grow and otherwise restore the forest to a more natural state.

But the agency’s plan, the North Big Bear Landscape Restoration Project, has been controversial among some area residents and environmental groups since they first learned about it two years ago. Those groups were particularly concerned about the original plan’s call for adding miles of trails, including some that would be open to ebikes, in the area. The trails were dropped from the plan before it was approved in May. But project opponents argue the Forest Service still hasn’t done enough to study how the plan will impact local wildlife, including the valley’s famed bald eagles.

While I was off gallivanting on the Lost Coast Trail, my colleague Madison Hart reported that a trio of concerned environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the project. They’ve got charismatic protagonists for their cause in eagles Jackie and Shadow, who advocates fear could leave the valley if equipment is brought in to thin the surrounding forest.

Forest Service folks argue there could be no home left for Jackie and Shadow if they don’t take steps to prevent a catastrophic fire, and to stop the steady creep of the nearby high desert’s ecosystem into the mountains.

As with so many dilemmas we face in the wake of worsening climate change, there are no easy answers.

Judges, it seems, may be increasingly left holding the bag.

— By Brooke Staggs, environment reporter

 SIMMER

One last summer simmer?: Unlike much of the rest of the world, we’ve had a relatively mild summer in Southern California. But temps are expected to reach above 100 degrees in inland areas today, as a heat wave moves through the region. Stay hydrated. Limit outside activity if possible. Check on vulnerable folks. Take care with pets. And look forward to cooler temps moving in Wednesday! …READ MORE…

Dive deeper: Get more tips for staying safe and cool during heat waves in this handy explainer from Grist.

 ENERGIZE

California vs. oil: As climate change boosts deadly heat waves, fires and flooding this summer, the clash between the seventh largest oil-producing state in the nation and the oil companies that call it home is poised to heat up at the statehouse, at the ballot box and in communities across Southern California. With the state’s first oil czar taking the helm of the state’s new industry watchdog agency Monday, I looked at key areas where this battle is boiling over and what it might mean for Californians. …READ MORE…

Charged up: An Australia-based battery tech company is planting roots in Orange County, our Samantha Gowen reports. EVO Power USA plans to do design engineering, assembly, testing and distribution of its battery energy storage systems, used with various solar and grid support applications, out of a facility in Rancho Santa Margarita. Meanwhile, an Irvine-based company says it’s partnering with a South Korean battery maker to develop a manufacturing facility somewhere in the United States. …READ MORE…

 REGULATE

My gas bill paid for what now?:  SoCalGas booked at least $36 million to ratepayers for political lobbying to undermine California policies aimed at addressing the climate crisis since 2019, according to a Sacramento Bee investigation. It’s illegal for utilities to bill customers for “anything other than providing safe and reliable gas service,” Joe Rubin and Ari Plachta report. Now watchdog groups are calling on state regulators to halt the gas company’s requested rate hikes and issue more fines. …READ MORE…

Transparency on the rails: A handful of Democrats, including several from Southern California, could again derail a bill that would require big corporations to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, reports Capital & Main’s Aaron Cantú. It’s one of just a few climate bills still up in the air as the Sept. 14 deadline for legislation to clear lawmakers looms. Microsoft, IKEA, Patagonia and Sierra Nevada Brewing support the bill, while the state’s Chamber of Commerce and other business interests say it’ll do little to help with climate change. …READ MORE…

Plastic bag fail: California was the first state to ban single-use plastic bags back in 2014. But Jessica Roy at the Los Angeles Times reports that Californians are generating more plastic bag waste per capita now than before the ban, with single-use bags replaced by heavier plastic versions that are often still only used once and are more likely to end up in landfills. …READ MORE…

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 PROTECT

Getting batty: As bat season gets underway, Los Angeles County is seeing a jump in rabid bat cases, while the Inland Empire has seen a drop. Our Monserrat Solis and Steve Scauzillo looked at the data and how to stay safe, while visual journalist Kurt Snibbe offered up an informative graphic about bats in California. …READ MORE…

Toxic trash: Thousands of Los Angeles County residents are neighbors to one of California’s biggest hazardous waste recyclers, which they say is unfairly exposing them to pollution. But can California afford to lose one of the few facilities that still takes toxic waste? Robert Lewis at CalMatters continues his great reporting on this growing problem. …READ MORE…

Wildlife refuge: There’s Zeus, a blind owl with white stars in his eyes. There’s Marcelo, a monkey who was confiscated during a drug bust at a house in Los Angeles. There’s Juneau, a female red fox that was found for sale on Craigslist. Marianne Love highlighted the work being done by staff and volunteers at the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar, which is home to more than 100 sick, blind or beaten wild creatures. …READ MORE…

 CELEBRATE

Food bank first: By cutting single-use products and doing more to recycle and compost, less than 5% of what Second Harvest Food Bank’s operations generate goes to a landfill — down from 40% two years ago. The Irvine-based nonprofit is now the first food bank in the world that’s TRUE certified, joining a handful of other Southern California businesses and organizations with the LEED equivalent of certificates recognizing low-waste practices. …READ MORE…

Apple backs repair bill: After fighting the concept for years, Grist’s Maddie Stone reports that Apple recently changed its tune and gave State Sen. Susan Eggman a letter supporting California’s so-called “right to repair” bill, which would make it easier for the public to access the spare parts, tools, and repair documentation needed to fix devices. …READ MORE…

Kumaka Jensen, who has spina bifida, is the first to use a Mobi-Mat in Huntington Beach, CA on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The mat is a nylon mesh that lies on the sand and keeps devices like wheelchairs from sinking into the sand. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

 EXPLORE

Trails for all: A decade ago, when I was in my first year at the Orange County Register and covering its canyon communities, I had an inspiring conversation with Judie Bruno and Linda May about their efforts to open OC canyon trails to people who use wheelchairs. (As May told me, “I learned that I could make a difference, and that’s a dangerous thing to let a woman know.”) Two years ago, my colleague Laylan Connelly wrote about a mat that allows people who use wheelchairs to access a portion of Huntington Beach. Such trails, sadly, remain few and far between. But here, Laura Newberry with the L.A. Times shares eight trails across Southern California that are accessible to everyone, from wheelchair users to kids in strollers. …READ MORE…

 PITCH IN

Wealth of resources: For this week’s tip on how Southern Californians can help the environment… As part of the L.A. Times’ “Our Climate Challenge” package, Abigail Siatkowski gathered up ideas from across Southern California for folks to get educated, volunteer, access resources and otherwise pitch in to do their part in addressing the climate crisis. Follow the links and read an article, volunteer, donate… Take one step today!

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