Jamie Jiang covers wildfires in Chico, California for North State Public Radio, which serves Northern California. A recent graduate of UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics, Jiang was the podcasts editor for the student paper, the Daily Bruin, and created and produced podcast episodes for UCLA’s FEM newsmagazine radio program. She has interned with KCUR public radio in Kansas City, Missouri, and her independently written and produced audio history of the University of California Police Department, “Cops On Campus,” will be published in summer 2022. A native Californian, Jiang enjoys early morning birdwatching in her spare time.
Beat: Wildfires and their aftermath in Chico
The 2018 Camp Fire was the most destructive ever in California, and the 2021 Dixie Fire is the single largest in modern state history. Both occurred in communities that NSPR covers. This beat serves an essential role in keeping communities safe and informed, and holding governments accountable. The reporter monitors fires and provides updates across all multimedia platforms, develops contacts among the fire survivors, follows recovery efforts and highlights ways in which the wildfires affect public health, housing affordability and more.