We’re focused on he security situation that we face now, which again, we’ve acknowledged is deteriorating. We are certainly mindful of the advances that the Taliban have made in terms of taking over yet — an increased number of provincial capitals. And the other thing I’d say is that no potential outcome has to be inevitable, including the fall of Kabul.

“I would never want to be unhelpful in any way. Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing. My resignation will be effective in 14 days.” “The independent investigation has concluded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so, violated federal and state law.” “The most serious allegations made against me had no credible factual basis in the report. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not to say that there are not 11 women who I truly offended. There are. And for that, I deeply, deeply apologize. In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone. But I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn.” “I think he should resign.” “We continue to believe that the governor should resign.” “He should step aside right now.”

“Do not stay. Your house is not going to make it. You have got to go now. Let’s go.” California is reckoning with a terrifying new normal. Announcer: “100 percent of California is now in a drought.” “It’s never been hotter. Feels like we’re in an oven.” Announcer: “The worst possible conditions for firefighters.” And it’s fueling a movement to radically rethink how we deal with fire. “If you think about a typical person’s experience with wildfire, what they see, of course, is fire at its worst. They think, ‘Oh my goodness, you’re going to deliberately start a fire? Are you guys insane?’” Setting fire to stop fire isn’t a new idea, it’s an ancient practice. And for decades, experts have been saying we need to bring it back. “The thing that prescribed fire does, is actually removes the fuels — leaves and branches and grass — and the things that allow fire to burn. So if we can use prescribed fire, they’re not there when the wildfire comes through.” But we’re still not doing it nearly enough. To understand why, we followed some of the most dedicated prescribed burners in the state who are taking a risk to try to save California. “It’s a mission for me. It’s a cause. This has to happen. OK, we’re good. As we’re moving in, if you have a torch, know your path, see your path, see your exit, and then have a secondary, OK?” Sarah Gibson works for a local fire department in Sonoma County. She’s using her experience fighting fires to become an expert at lighting them. She’s training to become what’s called a burn boss. “I’ve been working towards being a burn boss for 16 years. I have taken fire behavior and weather classes, fire ecology classes, smoke management.” “This is changing the battlefield, changing the landscape. The first prescribed burn inside a city limits in the County of Sonoma, probably ever.” Cal Fire does some prevention work, like this burn today. But most of the time, they’re putting fires out. “I think the fire agency has come to the realization that we only can get so much prescribed burning done, because we also are responding to fires. At some point, it totally takes prescribed burning off the table.” To do this work at a scale that would make a difference, California needs more burn bosses. The situation is dire. Homes like these, nestled amongst trees, span California. Without fire-safe measures, they can become kindling. Some of the residents here have evacuated the last four years in a row. “Literally, it’s our back fence is where they’re burning right now. They’ve been prepping for a long time. They took a huge fuel load out two months ago, and then waited for the wind to die down.” “Let’s just start with the one really close. Nice and tight. We got a lot of people watching. We want this to stay small, I think this is making people a little sketchy, OK?” “I can empathize with people who are concerned about prescribed fire. Culturally, we believed that fire was bad. It had to be excluded from our wildlands.” “Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.” Singing: “Smokey the Bear.” “Smokey was kind of the messenger for the campaign that started almost 110 years ago, where we promoted complete suppression of wildfire in our land.” “A shift of the wind can trap these men, but fearlessly they battled the red enemy till the fire lies in smoldering defeat.” But much of the state evolved with fire. It actually needs it to thrive. “When we have fire at normal intervals, the forests are also better protected from things like drought, things like bug infestations.” Native Californians knew this. For tribes like the Karuk, burning was a key part of the culture until the government first banned it in 1850. Now, an estimated 20 million acres of forest land here need fuel reduction, like tree thinning and prescribed burning. The state and the Forest Service have pledged to treat 1 million acres a year by 2025, but last year, they did less than a third of that. “When you compare that to the August Complex Fire, which burned a million acres, we have a long way to go.” “250 gallons of water, 300 feet of hose with a certain amount of tease —” One way to treat more land is to train private burn bosses to add to the work the government is doing. “Fire management and prescribed fire are typically only conducted by federal and state agencies. We need everyone at the table. Jim, did you have a question?” Lenya Quinn-Davidson helped design California’s first burn boss state certification course. Sarah is in the inaugural class. But training is only the first hurdle. “One of the things that burn bosses in California, including myself, are facing right now, is this disconnect between perceived risk and actual risk, and that translates into difficulty in getting insurance for what we do. It comes to a point down there for what I recall and then we just —” Experienced burn bosses like Phil Dye rarely lose control of a burn. For example, the Forest Service says its burns go as planned over 99 percent of the time. But problems can happen. “So if you’re a federal or state burn boss, you are indemnified as long as you’re doing your job and you’re being diligent, and operating within your scope of duty.” “I mean, you have a consistent fuel, right?” “But with these private burn bosses, they are personally liable if something goes wrong. There are some important changes happening this year.” Now, Lenya Quinn-Davidson is trying to fix the liability problem. “So I see these two points, the liability piece and the insurance piece, as top priorities.” She’s advising California lawmakers on two fronts: a state-backed claims fund for damages and a Senate bill that’s on track to pass. “Encouraging more use of the prescribed fire that currently occurs in the state is the goal of S.B. 332.” “So what’s your plan for —” If these two measures go through, private burners wouldn’t have to risk going broke. But until then … “There really isn’t any great way around the liability. I will only put fire on the ground when I’m confident that either it’s not going to escape or if it escapes, I’m going to immediately catch it.” “They are really risking everything to do this work. And that’s not a model for growth. That’s not a way to encourage this work.” “Got everybody? OK, so safety is my utmost concern here. So please, I do expect everyone to be using their full P.P.E. today.” Today, weather conditions are perfect for a safe burn: no real wind and just the right amount of moisture in the air. “All right. We’re going to start our test fire.” The border around the burn area was mowed a couple of days ago. Wetting it ensures the fire stops there. Fire will always run uphill, so the team lights at the highest point. That way, the flames stay short and controlled until they burn out. “Watch out — rattlesnake. Everyone move back.” Meanwhile, the holding team is monitoring for any spot fire escapes. “You know, here we are, private entities, putting fire on the ground. Ten years ago, this would have been unthinkable. The need is great and the resources are few. We need to keep it moving forward.” With climate change fueling one record fire season after another, political winds are starting to shift. “We’re investing in prevention and preparation today and the federal government is going to have to have your backs.” California’s new budget has more funding than ever for wildfire prevention. “Advancing more prescribed burns in this state, more home hardening support in this state.” Cooperatives of prescribed fire volunteers are popping up across the state, and communities on the ground are starting to embrace it also. “And I stay packed for half a year, and I’ve already packed a lot of my things, so hopefully I won’t need to pull them out of the house and put them in the car to get out of here now.” “I think that after having to evacuate and rebuild, that people are ready to see good fire come back. They understand now, and people are just ready to do something about it.”

Romal Noori worked for the United States military for almost a decade. Now as the U.S. officially wraps up its military mission in Afghanistan … “It’s time to end America’s longest war.” … tens of thousands of Afghan interpreters and contractors like Romal fear they will be targeted by the Taliban. “Last night, too much attacks on the base. The kids, they cried. I told them there is no Taliban. Nothing is going to happen to us — don’t worry.” We spoke to Romal over the course of a month as the U.S. military completes its final drawdown. We offered to protect his identity, but he chose to go on camera to draw attention to his case. “Hello” “Hi.” “Hi.” Emboldened by the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the Taliban has taken over large swaths of the country in the past few months. The impact has reached Bagram, home to the largest American military base in Afghanistan. For most of Romal’s life, American troops have been nearby. He started working for the military when he was a teenager. In the last few years, several hundred translators and their families have been killed, according to an advocacy group for Afghan allies called No One Left Behind. To acknowledge these risks, Congress created a program called the Special Immigrant Visa or S.I.V. Romal is one of more than 20,000 Afghans who have applied, but time is running out. “The S.I.V. program is in no way going to be a fast enough program to get Afghans to safety.” Jennifer Patota works with applicants like Romal at the International Refugee Assistance Project. She says that the S.I.V. program is plagued by a severe backlog, arbitrary denials and stringent requirements that are difficult to meet. “The most difficult step of the S.I.V. application process is the first step, which is the chief of mission approval process, also known as COM approval.” To get past this first stage, S.I.V. applicants are entirely dependent on American supervisors and companies for proof of their work. “It’s very possible that people spend years trying to locate their employers that have gone out of business or locate their U.S. citizen supervisors.” It took Romal several years to get the documents ready, and that means he’s just at the beginning of a 14-step process. “The American Legion demands that the United States government act now.” For several months, veteran groups, lawmakers and advocates have been asking the White House for an emergency evacuation to get S.I.V. applicants to safety. On July 21, the State Department announced the details of an evacuation plan called Operation Allies Refuge. Currently only those who have received COM approval will be relocated. We spoke to Romal after the news came out. For now, the vast majority of S.I.V. applicants including Romal are stuck in Afghanistan until their cases move forward. The State Department has acknowledged that the S.I.V. approval process is slow, but says applicants need to go through a thorough vetting process. Top U.S. military officials say after American troops leave, a complete Taliban takeover is possible.