Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Fires that Changed Fire Science
As another wildfire season begins, Unfold heads into the burn zones of last year’s fires in Los Angeles County. UC Davis and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists are learning what the fires left behind — both on the ground and in the air. You’ll hear about one Altadena fire survivor’s efforts to save his oak trees and about a highly toxic carcinogen detected in the air over millions of people. Researchers are building a new kind of fire science, because the fires are changing and science is racing to keep up.
In this episode:
• Alessandro Ossola, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
• Chris Shogren, environmental horticulture advisor, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Michael Kleeman, professor, UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Chapters
00:00 Introduction/The Trees of Altadena
3:40 The Science of Scorched Trees
8:00 Mapping the Burn Zones
9:29 What Urban Fires Leave in the Air
11:00 Riding in a Mobile Air Quality Lab
12:40 Hexavalent Chromium: A Hidden Danger
14:20 The Cleanup and What Came With It
The Fires that Changed Fire Science
As another wildfire season begins, Unfold heads into the burn zones of last year’s fires in Los Angeles County. UC Davis and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists are learning what the fires left behind — both on the ground and in the air. You’ll hear about one Altadena fire survivor’s efforts to save his oak trees and about a highly toxic carcinogen detected in the air over millions of people. Researchers are building a new kind of fire science, because the fires are changing and science is racing to keep up.
In this episode:
• Alessandro Ossola, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
• Chris Shogren, environmental horticulture advisor, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Michael Kleeman, professor, UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Chapters
00:00 Introduction/The Trees of Altadena
3:40 The Science of Scorched Trees
8:00 Mapping the Burn Zones
9:29 What Urban Fires Leave in the Air
11:00 Riding in a Mobile Air Quality Lab
12:40 Hexavalent Chromium: A Hidden Danger
14:20 The Cleanup and What Came With It
