Environment & Climate

Health officials took eight days to send letters to parents of children possibly contaminated by lead. And not everyone received a letter.

This story was produced as a project for the 2019 California Fellowship, a program of USC Annenberg's Center for Health Journalism....

When a major wildfire burns into an urban area, federal disaster officials are quick to offer financial help to people who lose their homes. But not everyone is eligible for aid after a wildfire.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Monica Vaughan, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
Oceano Dunes stays open to off-roading. But California still says big changes must be made
Health alert: Air quality warning issued for

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Monica Vaughan, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
Live on or near the Nipomo Mesa? We’re investigating air quality and need your help

Dena Kapsalis, director of student services at Paradise Unified School District, was surprised at first by how many students chose to return after the Camp Fire destroyed the town.

“I never imagined that in one day, my whole caseload would have such severe trauma due to a natural disaster,” a school clinical social worker said.

“I have kids telling me still, oh Ms. Henry I lost my stuffed animals that were in the garage and I know that they burned in there and it makes me very sad,” she said. “You know, those little things were people to them.”

While rolling vineyards, and fine wines and dining come to mind when most of the world thinks of the Napa Valley, the financial burden Agustina Palafox faces because of housing costs is not unusual here.

Standing in the Fountaingrove neighborhood, you can see the scar of the Tubbs fire stretch across the hillside. Two years later, the trees are still charred and the sounds of reconstruction are constant.