Episode 12 - The Bear Fire in 2020 with Chief John Messina

The Bear Fire started in the Plumas National Forest of Butte County CA and became the North Complex Fire in 2020, killing sixteen people and destroying thousands of homes in the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls.  As the Bear Fire exploded in unprecedented size (burning 220,000 acres in one day) and intensity overnight on September 9, 2020, its plume of smoke eventually covered the entire Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, leading to the event called the "Orange Skies Day" in the Bay Area.  Follow along with Chief Messina as he describes 18 hours of the most intensive wildfire to burn in the recent history of the western US.  Views of the Bear Fire can be viewed at https://gis.data.cnra.ca.gov/maps/CALFIRE-Forestry::north-complex-structure-status-map/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GivCgdNzV2c