POW Bonus Episode! Living with Fire in Tahoe—with Athlete, New Dad and Climate Advocate Cody Townsend

09/14/22 • 20 min

In a special bonus episode of our recreation X wildfire series sponsored by Protect Our Winters, we spoke with professional skier Cody Townsend about what it's like to live in North Lake Tahoe as the threat of wildfire (or smoke) in that area seems to increase exponentially every fire season, as well as what kind of advocacy work he suggests for listeners who don't know where to get started in the climate or advocacy space.

And we know what you might be thinking right now: A professional skier? On a wildfire podcast?

You betcha, and for good reason—Cody hasn't just been an outspoken advocate for better climate policy and the politicians that support them, but has also experienced the community impacts of wildfire first hand, whether through air quality, forest and trail closures, figuring out what to put his family's go-bags or otherwise living with the near constant threat of wildfire and smoke. His experiences likely mirror those of many folks in California and beyond, and are particularly pertinent now as the Mosquito Fire continues to burn intensely—blanketing much of the Tahoe and Reno areas in dense smoke.

You can learn more our sponsor, Protect our Winters, and their Stoke the Vote campaign—which encourages the outdoor community to do their research, register to vote and make their voices heard ahead of this fall's midterms. Learn more about the campaign and POW's other work here.

To support Life with Fire, follow us on Instagram and Twitter; you can also support us/help pay the bills (and our host's burgeoning addiction to iced lattes) by donating to our Patreon.

Song featured in POW ad: The Times They Are A Changin' by Goth Babe

And we know what you might be thinking right now: A professional skier? On a wildfire podcast?

To support Life with Fire, follow us on Instagram and Twitter; you can also support us/help pay the bills (and our host's burgeoning addiction to iced lattes) by donating to our Patreon.

Song featured in POW ad: The Times They Are A Changin' by Goth Babe

Previous Episode

Building Trails in Burn Areas, with Dillon Osleger

Today we're talking trails! What do trails have to do with wildfire, you ask? Well, ask any trail builder that question and they'll tell you that they're kind of a pain to rebuild (and cut out) after wildfires. Today's guest Dillon Osleger is a trail builder, an environmental advocate, scientist and Executive Director of the Sage Trail Alliance, and also works with Protect Our Winters as both a creative and an athlete. He's done a fair bit of both trail building and trail rehab in the aftermath of wildfires, and has some great perspectives on how folks who like to use trails can become more engaged in keeping those trails looking good both before and after wildfire impacts.

To see what Dillon's been up to, check out his website as well as a recent film he worked on about the impacts of drought, beetle kill and wildfire on trails in southwest Colorado.

To learn more about Protect our Winters, the sponsor of our wildfire and recreation series, and their Stoke the Vote campaign, check out their website.

Music featured in the POW ad by Goth Babe.

To support Life with Fire, check out our Patreon.

Next Episode

How Do Wildfires Impact Snowpack? With Andrew Schwartz

In the fourth episode of our series sponsored by Protect our Winters, we spoke with self-proclaimed snow nerd Andrew Schwartz about his work as the lead scientist at the the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, where he explores all sorts of snowpack-related science but also how wildfires are impacting that snowpack. From less canopy to protect the snow from the sun to ash on the snow attracting more solar energy, Andrew talks us through all the ways that our snowpack and glaciers will continue to be impacted by wildfires that are increasing in size and creeping further into the alpine.

To see more of what Andrew's doing, give him and the Snow Lab a follow on Twitter.

Learn more about Protect our Winters and their Stoke the Vote campaign at their website.

Support Life with Fire by donating to our Patreon! We'll send you some swag for your troubles, and really appreciate the support.

Music featured in POW Ad: The Times They Are A Changin' by Goth Babe.