September, 2026

MBCAAN'ections

Two Seasons, "wet" and "dry"

As a kid, we joked that California had two seasons: “wet” and “dry.”  This year, both seasons promise to be more extreme versions than experienced in the past. Our hills are more charred than golden. And, this winter’s El Ninõ promises to bring significant coastal flooding and warmer waters that will impact both land and sea life.

Driving up Highway 101 this past weekend, evidence of the extreme “dry” season was abundant, with wildfire smoke from the Plaskett and Timber fires casting an eerie Halloween haze over the ridgeline and the sun (photo: on the 101, San Lucas, CA). The Ridge Fire left swaths of scorched earth and blacked trees along significant stretches of the Grapevine, and the Antelope Fire on Route 46 between Kecks Corner and Paso Robles turned the golden hills to black char.

Can it get any drier or wetter? California’s upcoming 5^th Climate Assessment data confirms yes, it can, and it will. Storm models from the 5^th Climate Assessment also demonstrate the potential for a 100-year sea level rise scenario that could impact over 20,000 central coast residents. For comparison, the 2023-2024 El Ninõ impacted 3,000 residents, causing billions of dollars of infrastructure damage to the Santa Cruz Pier, the Harbor Marina, and boats. Here in the Monterey Bay region models are projecting a 24% increase in sea level rise over the winter. 

So, what are our coastal communities doing to reduce wildfire impacts and potential flooding due to an intense El Ninõ?

The Climate Resilient Monterey Bay Impact Report and Story Map highlighted further in this Newsletter provide information about progress being made across the region to implement adaptation strategies designed to reduce extreme wildfire and flood impacts.

The Resilient California Summit this October in Sacramento will bring together practitioners, decision-makers, researchers, and community members from across the state to address climate acceleration, insights from the 5^th Climate Assessment and interactive sessions to develop strategies for the future of all Californians. Two of those sessions will be led by Jesse Traller Ojeda and Emily Franc to showcase the collaborative work being done through Climate Resilient Monterey Bay and the Monterey Bay Climate Adaptation Network to reduce fire and flooding impacts and support a resilient workforce.

Read further to participate in a Wildfire Resilience Workforce Training Survey, attend Firesafe Council meetings, and plan to attend the upcoming Fall MBCAAN Quarterly Meeting in October and the Central Coast Climate Resilience Symposium in December.

-Emily Franc

Greater Farallones Association Hiring: Coastal Resilience Operations Coordinator

To run the day-to-day operations of a growing coastal resilience program spanning multiple state and federal grants, partners, and deliverables.

Wildfire Resilience Workforce Training Survey

Sierra Business Council is conducting a survey on workforce training within California’s wildfire resilience sector. Input is being invited by Organizations who have a direct role in:

• Providing workforce training and education related to wildfire resilience, and/or
• Employing/contracting people to implement wildfire resilience work

SURVEY LINK

Findings will help the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force identify the wildfire resilience workforce training needed to support implementation of its 2026-2031 Action Plan, and may also inform other state and regional workforce investments, policy decisions, and program design.  Deadline is September 15, 2026

Questions? Contact Emily Blackmer at e_blackmer@sierrabusiness.org

CMSF Has Moved!

Our new office is located at 1315-A Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz.

Firesafe Council Outreach

There are several upcoming virtual forums advocating for fire safety and informing residents about valuable resources hosted by the Fire Safe Council for Monterey County. In September, RCDMC will be presenting on our recently completed Carmel Valley Fuelbreak Project as part of the series.

Firewise 101 (monthly) - for residents to project their communities(attached flyer) Mon 9/21 @2pm and Mon 10/19 @2pm

Monterey Bay Firewise Partners Forum (quarterly) - larger organized panel speakers Mon 9/14 @ 3 PM (tentative date)

Board Meetings (monthly) - open to the public

Thursday, 9/24 @10:30AM

Location: & CAL FIRE BEU Expanded Dispatch, 2221 Garden Rd, or ZOOM

Lastly, here is a Google Calendar link for FSCMC and other wildfire-related community events!

Call for 2026 Applicants: Wiegel Scholarship for Coastal Studies

The California Shore and Beach Preservation Association is pleased to open the 2026 call for applicants, intended to honor a graduate student pursuing a graduate degree at a California university or college whose work best exemplifies a passion for coastal science and/ or coastal engineering.  Deadline: October 15, 2026 Submission: Online Form

Please visit here for more information about the scholarship, including past winners

Early Bird Registration for the Resilient California Summit closes September 4. 

This major conference will convene 1,000+ participants from across the state to make progress on the policies, partnerships, and practices needed to build resilience as climate change accelerates.

Summit Dates: October 20-22, 2026

Coastal GeoTools Conference: Submit an abstract to share your best practices, lessons learned, or tools you’ve developed to build resilience in local communities. This major conference in Charleston will convene 1,000+ participants from across the nation to make progress on the policies, partnerships, and practices needed to build resilience as climate change accelerates.

Promoting Partner Events:

As a reminder MBCAAN members are welcome to promote their events on our MBCAAN Calendar. Fill out this form to add your organization's events.