With all the fire activity and displaced personnel last fall, I would never have guessed we would already be back in that same place. But with the Carr fire and now the River fire, Shasta, Mendocino, and Lake County UCCE offices have had to close and personnel evacuated. Shasta and Mendocino offices are now open. Portions of the Hopland REC have burned but no one has been injured in any location. Fire has kept clear of UCCE Riverside and San Bernardino offices, so far. Let's keep our fingers crossed it stays that way and keep everyone in our thoughts.

Once again, I learned a ton of new things last week during our Modoc County visit, from both our clientele and partners who hosted us and from the Advisors who updated us on their work. Fire was one of the topics. Much like the conversations we've had in the Central Sierra and in Humboldt County, prescribed fire is a critical piece of the toolkit that has been missing in California. This surprises me, given how important I recall it being when I was in Florida. Perhaps this will be changing in the near future. It can't happen fast enough.

Another thing I would never have guessed – that Modoc County is home to wild rice production, plum wine, and a sturgeon farm that produces high-end caviar! Whoever would have expected that, driving through the area? But that's what we saw during our visit last week. It gave me some ideas for holiday gifts from California. I believe I also saw more Monarch butterflies in the air than I did when I visited Pacific Grove during the winter break. And Blue Lake was beautiful. I can see why the locals find it a great place for recreation. But don't let the secret out or the place may become overrun with tourists! One place I definitely want to go back to see is Devil's Garden, home to wild horses. The smoke was too thick to see the plateau and the schedule was already packed full so a follow up trip will be needed. We did have a chance to meet the two summer interns who are working on a project with Laura that involves a horse inventory. The interns are learning many things this summer and are involved in many projects with partners and other researchers. No wonder Laura had applicants from across the U.S. Next year I suspect she will be inundated with applicants!

I'm in Detroit this week for the ASABE annual meeting. I haven't attended since joining UC ANR. Now that I no longer have a lab or an Extension program, it's a bit odd to be here. But then again, I am able to hear presentations from the UC ANR Specialists and Advisors that are presenting. This morning's sessions focused on water. I see Ali Pourezza has been tweeting about the keynote speaker (Margaret Catley-Carlson). What struck me about her remarks in a water security panel that followed her keynote was that, when asked what she would do with $1 million, she responded she would invest it in social media communications about the severity of the global water problems and proposed solutions, including reduced food waste. One of the other panelists, who had attended the recent Water and Agriculture Policy forum co-hosted by Israel and UC, indicated he would spend his $1 million on policy. Given it's an engineering meeting, I would not have guessed the panelists would not have all spent their money on developing solutions. Personally, I would lean more towards the ‘communication' purchase, particularly given the extent of the population that is completely unaware of the problem or their role in it, especially food waste contributions. That's just another reason why communication is so important!