Zeke Lunder - The Lookout

Sorry for the dick tone. I'm tired, grumpy, catching a cold. You know where to find me!

And there is no engagement here. Nobody asks questions or really interacts with me - similar to what Twitter has become, a one-way broadcasting tool.
All our content gets pushed to the-lookout.org. You can use this feed with a browser RSS reader plugin to follow our content. the-lookout.org/feed

I don't have the bandwidth to post to this site, anymore. The big hangup is having to edit everything down to such short messages. I am buried with all the other aspects of trying to create content and get it out. I can't make this work, sorry. You find us also on LinkedIn and YouTube.

Heading up to Deer Creek with Michael Steinberg to check out the lightning fire above Deer Creek Falls - we'll have a report this evening.
8/27/2025

Friends in harm's way, the Forest Service got all the worst ground, and can't fix it. - 8/26/2025 Lightning fires, tough times on the Klamath River, and how SPI ended up with the best tree-growing land. Also, the Garnet Fire might burn a big piece of old ...

Proud of the storytelling we did tonight on The Lookout, even if it made me cry. It's one of the rawer broadcasts we've done.
youtube.com/live/GUR_I_z...

NorCal Lightning Fires - 8/26/2025 - The Lookout Here is tonight’s Lookout Livestream. We talk about the Dillon, Peak, Deer Creek Canyon fires, and the Garnet Fire, east of Fresno. We’ll update this page later, tonight.

Today's Lookout Livesteam looks at the Dillon, Peak, and Deer Creek Canyon fires, in Northern California, and at the Garnet Fire, east of Fresno.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/26/n...

West Coast Fire Report - With Michael Steinberg - 8/25/2025 - The Lookout This broadcast, on August 25, 2025, discussed various wildfires across the West Coast. Michael Steinberg, a geography student, shared his field observations from the Pickett Fire in Napa County,…

Things are starting to go a little crazy across the West, after a pretty slow/weird fire season. Michael Steinberg joined me in The Lookout to talk about all sorts of fire geekery.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/25/w...

The Lookout Independent wildfire and water-related reporting. Host Zeke Lunder has 30 years of experience in wildland fire management and California water issues. During wildfire season we provide UNOFFICIAL…

Michael Steinberg will be joining me on The Lookout Livestream at 7:25pm to share videos and stories from his field reporting on the final day of major spread on the Pickett Fire (8/23). We'll also look at wild weather across the west this week. youtube.com/c/thelookout1

Flat Fire - 8/24/2025 - The Lookout Zeke Lunder discusses the Flat Fire in Oregon, highlighting its geographical similarities to Westwood, California, and its impact on urban areas like Bend and Sisters. The fire, influenced by strong…

There were a lot of new lightning ignitions today in California. The storms are also bringing a lot of moisture to some areas.

Tonight's Lookout Livestream looked at the #FlatFire, near Sisters, Oregon, which had minimal growth between last night and noon, today.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/24/f...

Active Evening on the Pickett Fire - 8/23/2025 - The Lookout The Pickett Fire grew significantly this afternoon, driven by steady winds, low humidities, and hot temperatures. After making some ‘slope-reversals’ in Swartz Canyon, yesterday afternoon and…

Today was an active day on the #PickettFire. As with the previous several days, the fire was somewhat subdued in the morning hours under heavy smoke, but woke up and made major runs in the late afternoon and evening. We have 10:30pm maps and analysis on The Lookout.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/23/a...

Pickett Fire - Morning Update - 8/23/2025 - The Lookout 12 hours of growth – 8pm on 8/22 thru 08:00, today. White line is last night’s perimeter. No livestream tonight unless something crazy is happening.

Updated maps for #PickettFire are available on The Lookout.
No livestream tonight.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/23/p...

Episode 4 of our 'Danger in Plain Sight' video series is now live!
We talk about the folly of rebuilding the exact same urban footprint in Pacific Palisades, in direct antagonism to the annual Santa Ana winds.

Episodes 1-4 are available, here:
the-lookout.org/danger-in-pl...

Pickett Fire - 8/22/2025 - The Lookout The fire has been slowly waking up, throughout the day. As of about 4:30pm, the smoke inversion that was suppressing fire behavior for most of the day has pretty much cleared out, and the fire seems…

We just wrapped up a livestream on the #PickettFire, current and expected weather, and also, a bonus feature on citizen burning with PBAs (Prescribed Burn Associations).
the-lookout.org/2025/08/22/p...

Pickett Fire - 8/22/2025 - The Lookout The fire has been slowly waking up, throughout the day. As of about 4:30pm, the smoke inversion that was suppressing fire behavior for most of the day has pretty much cleared out, and the fire seems…

The next few hours are likely to be active on the #PickettFire, in Napa County, California. Here is a link to our most recent mapping for the fire - updated 3:30pm, 8/22/2025
the-lookout.org/2025/08/22/p...

We've got updated 11:20pm maps for the #PickettFire up on The Lookout, along with our 2hr livestream from this evening, which rambled all over the Wine Country.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/21/p...

Pickett Fire near Calistoga - 8/21/2025 - The Lookout The Pickett Fire started around 3:20pm just north of Calistoga, California, in Napa County. It promptly made a slope-driven run to the top of the ridge, and over, between Browns Hill and High Point.…

The #PickettFire started around 3:20pm just north of Calistoga, California, in Napa County. It promptly made a slope-driven run to the top of the ridge, and over, between Browns Hill and High Point. It was about 1,200 acres by 6pm.

the-lookout.org/2025/08/21/p...

Our morning livestream for the Coyote Fire is posted on The Lookout:
the-lookout.org/2025/08/21/c...

New Lookout merch!!! Our Squatch Duty shirts are live.
Putting fire on the ground is the duty of anyone who lives in the woods. Bigfoot is not off the hook.
And yes, we asked Watch Duty and they were alright with it, because they are cool like that.

I got a chance to talk with Sheryl Drinkwater, a wildfire-savvy Berkeley architect. We looked at new wildfire-related codes for portions of the Berkeley Hills, and talked about the inherent flammability of the "classic California home".
the-lookout.org/2025/08/20/s...

Episode 3 of our five-part 'Danger in Plain Sight' docu-series is now live on The Lookout!
Following on the first two episodes, in which we ride bikes looking for clues into the Eaton Fire's destructiveness, we inspect our vacation rental for fire hazards. the-lookout.org/danger-in-pl...

No Lookout Livestream tonight. Things were pretty quiet on the Gifford Fire, today. If you’re Jonesing for map-geekery, tonight, check out our YouTube archive, or fire up CalTopo.com and explore their mapping tools! @caltopo

Gifford Fire in Dragon Mode - 8/13/2025 - The Lookout UPDATED 10:30pm, 8/13/2025 Firing operations have been underway on the north end of the Gifford Fire, east of San Luis Obispo, California, in some fashion or another for about 36 hours. This…

Here is updated mapping (9:45pm) of the #GiffordFire. The fire appears to have largely stayed within the primary and contingency lines, today.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/13/g...

Gifford Fire in Dragon Mode - 8/13/2025 - The Lookout Firing operations have been underway on the north end of the Gifford Fire, east of San Luis Obispo, California, in some fashion or another for about 36 hours. Today the fire is doing what it will with...

Our current situation summary for the Gifford Fire - 18:15hrs, 8/13/2025
the-lookout.org/2025/08/13/g...

Ponderosa Pounded, Gifford Firing, and Cut Yer Brush! - 8/10/2025 - The Lookout Tonight’s Lookout Livestream covered today’s Ponderosa Fire, in Yuba County, taking a detailed look at the incredible fuel loading and fire hazards found across large portions of the Yuba County…

Today was a busy wildfire day in California. Tonight's Lookout Livestream reviews the Ponderosa Fire, in the Yuba County Foothills, and upcoming major firing operations on the Gifford Fire. Also, best (and worst) practices for fire-safing your property. the-lookout.org/2025/08/10/p...

Major firing ops are planned on the Gifford Fire in the coming days to try to contain the northern edge of the fire. We dig deep into the potential tactics for this operation on today's Lookout Livestream.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/10/m...

Fire Perimeters | CAL FIRE

Cal Fire has a great new mapping website that allows you to explore the fire history of the California. Th e state has so much fire history that it's kind of difficult, visually, to make the data accessible, but they did a great job with this site!

CapRadio Player - player.capradio.org Listen to CapRadio, including live streaming of the News and Music stations, Jazz and Classical, and on-demand latest news.

I’ll be live on Capital Public Radio at 12:20 today to talk about our new ‘Danger in Plain Sight’ video series, about fire hazards in Los Angeles. The series premiere is this Friday!

player.capradio.org/streams

Interview with David Hertz, Architect - The Lookout Zeke Lunder and David Hertz discuss the role of architects in fire mitigation, highlighting the importance of home hardening and community brigades. They discuss the challenges of rebuilding in…

New (extended) interview on The Lookout with Malibu Architect, David Hertz.
We discuss the need for architects to become better-versed in fire mitigation, and the challenges and pitfalls of rebuilding in fire-prone areas, such as the Palisades and Bel Air.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/02/i...

We are finishing edits on our 'Danger in Plain Sight' mini-doc series. We recorded it during a week of biking around wildfire-prone parts of Los Angeles with some of my smartest wildland firefighter… Lookout LA Tour - Danger in Plain Sight Video Series

Finishing up edits on episodes 1 and 2 of our Lookout in LA - Danger in Plain Sight series!
First episodes are dropping in one week. We got the final cut of episode 1 back last night, and it was so good it gave me the goosebumps!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKlg...

Big Cliff Fire - 8/1/2025 - The Lookout The Big Cliff Fire, on the Klamath National Forest, in far NW California, looks like it will be with us for awhile. Here is last night’s IR map. Big Cliff Fire Overview The Big Cliff Fire is on a…

Last night's IR for the Big Cliff Fire, on the Klamath National Forest, shows long-range spotting, and a fire that will be with us for awhile.
New mapping and commentary on The Lookout.
the-lookout.org/2025/08/01/b...