Central Valley Daily

Oct. 15: Researchers Were Studying Land In The Sierra. Then The Garnet Fire Destroyed It.

By Elizabeth Arakelian,

Published October 15, 2025 at 4:45 AM PDT

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The Garnet Fire swept through the mountains in eastern Fresno County this summer. Among the affected regions was a little-known area called the “Tea Kettle Experimental Forest.” Matthew Hurteau, a professor of biology at the University of New Mexico, joins us to discuss how the Garnet Fire thwarted his planned research at the site and what comes next.

Plus, the latest news headlines: Labor and elected leaders form commission to support immigrant workers; and a Republican congressman calls for members to return to D.C. amid shutdown.

Central Valley Daily

Elizabeth Arakelian

A Valley native, Elizabeth earned her bachelor's degree in English Language Literatures from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her master's degree in journalism from New York University. She has covered a range of beats. Her agriculture reporting for the Turlock Journal earned her a first place award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

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Jonathan Linden

Jonathan Linden is a podcast producer at KVPR. Born and raised in Riverside, he's a Southern California native. Jonathan's passion for public radio began at a young age when his brother would play NPR while driving him home from middle school. He earned his B.A. in journalism from Biola University in 2019.

See stories by Jonathan Linden