Winter Weather Outlook | 2022 Wildfire Season | Holiday Mental Health Triggers

Putting the first major winter storm of 2022 into context. Why California’s wildfire season this year was less severe than in recent years. How to process the “holiday blues.” 

Winter weather outlook

A series of storms has given the Sierra a boost of snow, allowing ski resorts to open and, more importantly, giving a base to the snowpack. Along with the snow, the state saw a strong soaking rain from north to south. Our parched state saw some decent rain totals, all typical for this time of year. But as we all know, it needs to continue. Just go back to last year when we had a great start to the season, plus a nice blast around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and then the faucet seemed to just shut off, leaving us with a dry January and marginal Spring. To put all of this wet weather into perspective and context, Insight invited KCRA3 Chief Meteorologist Mark Finan back onto the program. 

2022 Wildfire season

If you thought we had a less severe wildfire season this year, you’d be correct. According to CalFire (as of December 5th), in 2022, 362,000 acres were lost to fire this year so far. Just a fraction of the 2.5 million acres burned last year. And the over 4 million acres lost to fire in 2020. That’s a stunning decrease. But why? Our fire season is basically year-round. Our summers are hotter, our winters are unpredictable, and the weather is getting more extreme. All the while, the push to combat or curtail climate change continues as much of the world works on new agreements, laws, regulations, and incentives to get consumers and industries off carbon-fueled energy and into “greener” habits. To help us understand all of this, Insight invited Michael Wara, a senior research scholar at the Stanford University Woods Institute for the Environment, onto the program.   

Holiday mental health triggers

Holidays are a time for cheer for many, but for those living with mental health challenges, the holidays can also provide more time to reflect on trauma and amplify the feeling of "holiday blues." Adverse Childhood Experiences Resource Network is working to inform the community and help those suffering from the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, and toxic stress. Sarah Marikos, the network's executive director, joined Insight to discuss how people can process trauma and heal during the holidays. She was joined by Nefertiti Khemet Goudjayi, a licensed clinical social worker with "Stop Stigma Sac," and Sacramentan Mike McCarthy, who shared his personal experiences dealing with mental health during the holidays.