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Warrior’s plume (Pedicularis densiflora). Photo by Scott Hein When lightning strikes began igniting fires across California last August, the East Bay Regional Park District staff scooped up water from reservoirs…

Story and photos by Bruce and Joan Hamilton How Did Wildlife Fare in the SCU Fires? As we pull into the parking lot at Sunol Regional Wilderness one June morning,…

Fields of Flowers A walk in the Ohlone Wilderness Photos by Scott Hein Text by Bruce and Joan Hamilton It was an alluring prospect: a springtime trip to the Ohlone…

With over 2,500 recorded observations stretching across the 620-square-mile SCU Lightning Complex fire footprint, Save Mount Diablo’s 2021 BioBlitz concluded with exhilarating findings. By Denise Castro Save Mount Diablo conducts…

Photographer Scott Hein and journalist Joan Hamilton came to Connolly Ranch to report on the effects of the 400,000-acre SCU Lightning Complex Fire. But as they toured the ranch’s blackened…

Spring looks different. More filled with hope. Spring is finally here. Scant rainfall early in the winter kept plants from sprouting as quickly and blooming as exuberantly as they might…

Here’s our first photographic look at the Diablo Range’s recovery since lightning sparked the SCU fire complex last August. You’ve surely noticed that the blazes were followed by a serious…

Story by Joan Hamilton Hugh Safford is the regional ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region. Years of experience have honed his ability to look at a blackened…

On the morning of August 16th, 2020, Margaret Kruse jumped out of bed to the sound of thunder and lightning. The sky was gold. Atop the ridge beside her ranch,…