Kirk Siegler

The Los Angeles area has been devastated by wildfires over the past week. As officials work to get the two biggest fires contained, president-elect Trump blames Governor Gavin Newsom for the disaster's scale.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, national correspondent Kirk Siegler, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

The podcast is produced by Bria Suggs & Kelli Wessinger, and edited by Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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A mild and dry El Nino winter in parts of the West is stirring anxieties about the looming wildfire season, just as federal agencies are struggling to fill firefighting jobs.

A mild and dry El Nino winter in parts of the West is stirring anxieties about wildfire season, just as federal agencies are struggling to fill firefighting jobs.

Recent winter storms failed to produce the snow that farmers, cities and skiers rely on in much of the west. It's stirring climate change fears in snow-dependent economies.

In Utah, lawmakers are convening amid mounting pressure to enforce tougher conservation laws to save the imperiled Great Salt Lake.

Wyoming closed 2023 as the state with the highest gun suicide rate. Mental health professionals are seeing some positive change in response and prevention efforts.

Unusual and tragic are two words that might describe the 2023 wildfire season which experts say might end up being a game changer for U.S. fire policy.

The Story Behind the Story: Kirk Siegler's flight over Idaho

Colorado's urban population flipped the state from red to blue, allowing a referendum on a polarizing issue to pass. Wildlife officials are now preparing for the reintroduction of gray wolves.

A long running effort to permanently boost pay for thousands of federal wildland firefighters is finally gaining traction in Congress but fire managers warn it could be too little too late.

Five years after of one of America's worst wildfires, slow and expensive recovery continues in Paradise, Calif., which could be a portent for what's ahead on fire-stricken Maui.

The Biden administration is proposing sweeping reforms to where new drilling can occur on federal land. Oil companies say they're draconian and will do little to address climate change.

The Biden administration is trying to dramatically change how and where oil and gas drilling occurs on federal land, which is getting mixed reviews in longtime drilling boom-towns.

The Biden administration is trying to dramatically change how and where oil and gas drilling occurs on federal land, which is getting mixed reviews in longtime boom towns like Farmington, N.M.

Idaho has more backcountry airstrips and wilderness pilots than any state other than Alaska. Many airstrips were incorporated into protected wilderness but now conservationists are challenging them.

Environmental groups have filed suit against the state of Utah arguing leaders aren't doing enough to prevent the state's namesake Great Salt Lake from drying up.

When the deadly wildfires ignited on Maui, tourists were turned away. Three weeks later, business owners are eager for them visit — responsibly.

When the deadly wildfires ignited on Maui, tourists were turned away. Three weeks later there are now desperate pleas for them to return and visit responsibly.

There's frustration and confusion as hundreds remain unaccounted for on Maui. Officials have asked for patience as they work through the list.

Search and recovery teams say the work to identify human remains in Lahaina is grueling and complicated by the fact that the fire burned so hot, even just making a positive ID is difficult.