Ten of the 20 most destructive wildfires in state history have occurred since 2015. These megafires fueled by hot, dry winds and climate change seemingly blanket every late summer with gray, smoky skies and a gnawing worry among Californians that the next one might take out their home.

A growing movement of farmers is focused on agricultural practices that can mitigate or adapt to an uncertain future brought by climate change.

Part of this month’s Innovation issue

In California, where 90 percent of American strawberries are grown, the time is ripe for a faster, better way to pick them. That’s the idea behind Advanced Farm Technologies, a Davis-based startup that uses customized tools to lend farmers a helping robotic hand.

Research shows being close to so-called “blue space” like river trails, a lake or even urban fountains can have certain psychological benefits similar to those associated with green nature.

If you’re shopping for a live Christmas tree this year, you may have to search harder than in the past. Over the last five years Christmas tree shortages have been reported in many parts of the U.S.

During the first week of November every year, like clockwork, the gates to the fish ladder open at Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River, and the Chinook salmon — crucial to California’s commercial and recreational fishing industry — climb 22 steps to complete their final journey home.

Wildfires are threatening homes across California. Those fires are offering critical data and insight that can be used by first-responders and government agencies to prevent them in the first place and better rebuild communities when they do occur.

The biggest problem facing business owners is a lack of customers. No one knows what to do first: Build the customer base and create a demand for business, or rebuild the businesses and see if the customers follow?

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lambasting of PG&E as California reels from wildfires and mass blackouts reflects his roots in San Francisco — and a public perception that’s built up over the last half century. 

The company recently broke ground on a new Woodland facility that will double its warehouse size and serve as a community hub at the intersections of gourmet food, farm to fork and pollinator support.