DEADLINE: IJNR Southern California Wildfire Institute

As the world grapples with the continued escalation of wildfires, southern California presents an especially wicked problem. More than 13 million people live in the southern third of the state, where fires burn with greater ferocity and frequency due to factors like extended drought and an overabundance of fuel. A huge influx of residential development in the wildland-urban interface over the past 30 years has also made the fires more destructive and left millions of Californians directly in harm’s way.

The scale of the problem is almost unimaginable. State, federal and local officials are trying out new ways to work together and protect residents from a relentless fire cycle that continues to consume property and threaten human life. Meanwhile, firefighting agencies contend with a crisis in firefighter mental health, a dwindling workforce and complicated resource-sharing arrangements. The end result is a complicated beat, rich with stories for journalists covering fire.

From March 2-8, 2025, the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources (IJNR) will conduct a five-day, six-night training program for roughly 15 professional journalists designed to advance their reporting on a range of wildfire-resilience topics, including but not limited to:

• The differences between fighting fire in chaparral and forested landscapes
• Reducing risk and creating defensible space in fire-prone communities
• Indigenous knowledge and the return of beneficial fire to the landscape
• Public health impacts of wildfire smoke
• How agencies are grappling with firefighter mental health and recruitment
• The looming insurance crisis in disaster-prone areas
• The role of public utilities in mitigating fire risk

The program will begin and end in San Diego and travel to locations across southern California as participating journalists meet with fire chiefs, scientists, homeowners, Tribal officials, policymakers and more as we explore efforts to mitigate the worst impacts of fire and create a more sustainable future for southern California.

IJNR will select up to 15 applicants who represent diversity in geography, outlet, race, gender, experience, and journalistic medium. Priority consideration will be given to journalists of color.

Participation is free. IJNR covers all program expenses (food, lodging, local travel) during programs.

Deadline: Friday, January 31 (midnight MT)

Details and application.