Lauren Sommer
speaker
391 appearances
50 recordings
1 series
first heard Jul 2025
last heard 10 Sep
Lauren Sommer’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 47 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 15.
Appearances
FEMA relies on thousands of disaster workers to respond on the ground when storms and wildfires hit.
Those workers are on two- or four-year contracts, which generally are renewed.
Recently, FEMA has been terminating employees whose contracts are up, something disaster response experts say could hurt the agency's ability to respond.
On Thursday, FEMA abruptly stopped that policy, according to an internal email obtained by NPR.
The Trump administration has been critical of FEMA and is working to overhaul the agency.
In a statement to NPR, FEMA says its disaster workforce is designed to fluctuate, but did not respond to questions about whether the termination policy would be reinstated after the winter storm.
Lauren Sommer, NPR News.
December was about 10 degrees hot of an average across much of the West, making it the warmest December on record in nine states.
That means when storms hit, a lot of precipitation fell as rain instead of snow.
As of early January, western snow cover was at its lowest in 25 years for this time, with the biggest deficits in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.
Snowpack provides much of the West's drinking water as it slowly melts throughout the spring.
Climate change research shows that snowpack is at risk as winters keep getting warmer.
Lauren Sommer, NPR News.
A wildfire is largely spread by embers, tiny bits of burning debris carried by the wind.
So wildfire experts say it matters if something flammable is next to your house, which puts it at risk.
California regulators are now drafting new rules for the vegetation that's within five feet of homes.
Property owners would be required to clear some or all of it in areas at risk of wildfires.
Some homeowners are pushing back, even in the Los Angeles neighborhoods that recently burned.
They're concerned about losing greenery and that houses need to be made fire resistant too.
With all the debate, California regulators will be working on the rules through April.
Showing 321–340 of 391 · page 17 of 20
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