When Wildfire Comes

This is a podcast about close encounters with a major wildland fire that occurred during the past several years. It is not a breaking news report, but rather another case study episode in this podcast series, during which our guest recounts their reactions, observations, and emotions and their first-hand observations of a wildfire approaching and burning in their town or community, and the lessons to be learned from such a horrifying event.

When Wildfire Comes is a science podcast hosted by Christopher Potter, PhD, with 15 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Christopher Potter, PhD hosts When Wildfire Comes, a science show with 15 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #15

  Episode 15 – California’s First Gigafire: 2020 August Complex Fire

  Aug 3, 202646 min

  This episode is in-depth analysis of the August Complex Fire, which was the most massive fire incident that started in August 2020 during the unprecedented lightning wildfire season. It has officially become the largest wildfire in California's modern history and is frequently described in slang as the state's first "gigafire" because it burned over one million acres of land, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. The fire burned through timberlands in three national forests – the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers, until it was contained in early November 2020. Over 930 rural community structures were destroyed and one firefighter was killed in the line of duty. Listeners should go to the Facebook page album at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.122141579763079001&type=3 to follow along with the presentation slides. Recorded comments from firefighters who were on the ground in 2020 trying to control the August Complex fires can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI9ikgLJ2II

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #14

  Episode 14 - The CZU Complex Fire in 2020 with Chief Nate Armstrong

  Jul 2, 20261h 6m

  In the summer of 2020, the CZU Complex Fires destroyed 80,000 acres of coastal old-growth redwood forest ecosystems of central CA. The wildfires started on August 16, 2020 when 11,000 bolts of dry lightning were detected as ground strikes in San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, igniting hundreds of fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Follow along with CALFIRE Chief for Santa Cruz County Nate Armstrong as he describes the fire’s nearly uncontrollable swath of destruction in the numerous steep drainages in Big Basin Redwoods State Park and how the town of Boulder Creek was threatened. A full scientific study of the CZU Fire severity can be found at https://journal.wildlife.ca.gov/2023/04/12/impacts-of-the-czu-lightning-complex-fire-of-august-2020-on-the-forests-of-big-basin-redwoods-state-park/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #13

  Episode 13 - The Park Fire in 2024 with Chief Jeremey Pierce

  Jun 3, 202643 minS0

  <p>The Park Fire is the largest most recent mega-fire in Northern California.   This wildfire damaged several rural communities including burning most structures in the town of Cohasset, CA.  Follow along with Chief Pierce as he describes the fire’s nearly uncontrollable path of destruction in the numerous steep drainages in Butte County and how the town of Paradise was again threatened after being completely destroyed by the Camp Fire of 2018.  Daily progression of the Park Fire can be seen at https://hiform.org/projects/2024-park-fire-lassen-national-forest-ca</p>

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #12

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

  May 2, 20261h 2mS0

  <p>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 bu...

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #11

  Episode 11 – The Palisades Fire in 2025 with Richard Thompson, NOAA

  Apr 8, 202647 minS0

  <p>The Palisades Fire, which ignited on January 7, 2025, was a catastrophic wildfire in Los Angeles County driven by historically powerful Santa Ana winds.  NOAA incident meteorologist Richard Thompson describes how the humidity levels during this extreme wind event were driven down to critical levels and cast burning embers into the city of Pacific Palisades to ultimately burn nearly 7000 structures.  Listeners can see the progression of the fire into the urban zones of Pacific Palisades by going to the map found at https://the-lookout.org/2025/01/21/progression-of-the-palisades-fire/</p>

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on When Wildfire Comes. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.