For most of the last decade, that’s been the story of wildfire country in California. Homeowners with clean records and defensible space, dropped anyway. Whole zip codes redlined by carriers who decided the math no longer worked. And a question that’s followed every one of those empty lots: will the private insurance market ever come back, or is California stuck propping up its own backcountry forever?

The short answer is that private insurers are already coming back. The longer answer explains why they left in the first place, and it starts with a law most Californians have never heard of.

Proposition 103 passed in 1988, and for decades it did real good – it forced insurers to justify their rates to a state regulator instead of setting whatever price the market would bear. But it also locked insurers into pricing coverage off historical loss data, backward-looking numbers from years that no longer resemble the fire seasons California actually has now. A wildfire model built on 1990s data has no idea what a 2020s Sierra foothill looks like in September. Prop 103 also barred insurers from passing along the cost of their own reinsurance – the backstop insurance companies buy to protect themselves from catastrophic losses – onto their customers. Reinsurance got dramatically more expensive as fires got worse. Insurers ate that cost themselves, with no way to price it into a policy.

Run that math for long enough and the outcome is inevitable. Insurers were writing policies in the highest-risk parts of the state at prices that didn’t reflect the actual risk, then absorbing the full cost when a fire came through and wiped out a decade of premiums in one season. State Farm and Allstate, among the largest carriers in the state, stopped writing new homeowner policies here entirely. Not as a warning shot. As a straightforward response to losing money on every policy they sold.

Homeowners who got dropped landed on the FAIR Plan, and this is where a lot of the public conversation goes sideways. People call it a government bailout, a taxpayer-funded safety net for people who chose to live somewhere risky. It isn’t that. The FAIR Plan is a syndicate – a pool funded entirely by the private insurers licensed to do business in California, built to guarantee that no homeowner in the state goes without basic coverage, even if no single company wants to carry that risk alone. It’s the insurer of last resort, not a state agency writing checks. Every dollar in it comes from the same private industry that pulled back from wildfire country in the first place.

Which brings us to what’s actually changing. California’s new Sustainable Insurance Strategy rewrites the deal. Insurers can finally use forward-looking catastrophe models instead of pure historical data, meaning they can price a home in the Sierra foothills based on what the fire risk actually looks like today, not what it looked like when Reagan was governor. They can also factor reinsurance costs into premiums, closing the gap that was bleeding capital out of every wildfire-zone policy they wrote.

In return, the state isn’t handing out a blank check. Insurers who want the new pricing flexibility have to commit to writing at least 85% of their statewide market share inside California’s designated wildfire-distressed areas. That’s the trade: better tools to price risk accurately, in exchange for a legal obligation to actually write policies in the places that need them, instead of cherry-picking the low-risk suburbs and walking away from everywhere else.

This is why insurers are starting to move back in rather than doubling down on the exit. A company that’s allowed to price risk honestly, and required to show up where the risk is highest, has a very different set of incentives than a company boxed into underpricing a burning hillside with no way to hedge against it. The regulatory bottleneck that pushed State Farm and Allstate out the door is the same bottleneck the Sustainable Insurance Strategy is built to unwind.

None of this means every homeowner in every canyon gets a policy at the same price they paid in 2015. Rates in the highest-risk zones will reflect the risk, and that’s going to be a hard adjustment for people who bought their home when the math looked different. Consumer advocates have raised real concerns about affordability, and about whether catastrophe models built by the insurance industry itself will be scrutinized closely enough by regulators. Those are fair questions, and the answer plays out over the next few fire seasons, not in a press release.

But the direction is clear. The state spent thirty-five years asking insurers to price wildfire risk with one hand tied behind their back, then wondered why they left. Untie the hand, and they come back – not out of charity, but because the math finally works again.

Here’s How to Get Your Pass

If you’ve been putting off a visit to one of California’s state historic parks because of the entry fee, here’s some good news: for a limited time, you don’t have to pay it.

California State Parks is giving away a special edition of its Historian Passport — normally a $50 annual pass — completely free. The catch? You’ve got to grab it before Monday, July 6. Once you’ve downloaded it, you’re set for the rest of 2026, with unlimited admission for up to four people per vehicle at more than 30 state historic parks scattered across the state.

That’s no small thing – A pass that usually runs $50 a year, covering 30-plus sites, for FREE! If you’ve got even a passing interest in California history — Gold Rush boomtowns, Chinese immigrant heritage, Native American culture, Black pioneer settlements, frontier military outposts — this is the best way to see it in person.

How to Get It

You’ll need an account with ReserveCalifornia.com, the state parks system’s official reservation site. Once you’ve got that set up, the special edition Historian Passport is a free download. No mailing, no waiting — register and go.

A Few Stops Worth Building a Trip Around

The list of participating parks runs the length of the state and covers a lot of ground, historically speaking. A handful that stand out:

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park — Founded in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth and a group of Black pioneers, this is a California town that was built, financed, and governed entirely by African Americans. It’s one of the most significant sites in the state for telling that chapter of California’s story.

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park — Home to what’s believed to be the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America, along with one of the largest ceremonial roundhouses still in active use by Native Americans in California. The Chaw’se Regional Indian Museum on-site has an excellent collection of artifacts from tribes throughout the region.

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — Ground zero for the 1848 gold discovery that touched off the California Gold Rush and reshaped the entire trajectory of the state and the nation. The site doesn’t shy away from the harder parts of that story either — the displacement and violence the Gold Rush brought to California’s Native communities.

Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park — The oldest continuously used Chinese temple in California, built in the heart of a Gold Rush-era Chinese American community up in Trinity County. A powerful reminder of how much Chinese immigrants contributed to building this state, often in the face of serious discrimination.

That’s just four of the nearly 30 parks on the list — there’s plenty more out there worth tracking down once you’ve got the pass in hand.

Other Free Ways to See State Parks Year-Round

If you can’t make the July 6 deadline, or you want more free options, California State Parks runs several standing free-access programs worth knowing about:

• California State Library Parks Pass — Check one out from any public library, just like a book, for free vehicle day-use at 200-plus parks.
• California State Parks Adventure Pass — Free entry for fourth-graders in public school and their families at 54 parks.
• Golden Bear Pass — A free annual pass for families on CalWORKs, SSI recipients, income-eligible Californians 62 and older, and Tribal TANF participants — good for vehicle day-use at over 200 parks.
• Distinguished Veterans Pass — Free day-use, family camping, and boat use at 100-plus parks for honorably discharged California resident veterans, with free access for active, reserve, and retired military on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

California’s state park system is the largest and most diverse in the country — over 340 miles of coastline, some of the tallest and oldest trees on Earth, more than 5,200 miles of trail, and a deep bench of historic and archaeological sites. The Historian Passport is a good excuse to see a slice of it you might not have gotten around to otherwise.

Download yours before July 6, and go stand where California history happened!

Download your pass here: Special Edition Historian Passport

If you’re heading out to the forest this summer – hiking, camping, off-roading, whatever brings you up there – this affects you directly.

Here’s what the High fire danger order prohibits:

• Building, maintaining, attending, or using a wood or charcoal fire or campfire outside of a developed recreation site
• Welding or operating any acetylene or other open-flame torch
• Discharging a firearm, air rifle, or gas gun, except at currently authorized public shooting ranges listed in the forest order

A few things worth noting. Hunters with a valid California hunting license can still discharge a firearm at legal game during open season – that exemption is written into the order. And if you have a valid California Campfire Permit, you can still use a portable lantern or stove running on gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel. You just can’t have a wood or charcoal fire outside a developed site. Get your free campfire permit at readyforwildfire.org before you go.

I’ll say what I say every fire season: the Angeles is one of the most heavily visited national forests in the country, sitting right on the edge of one of the largest urban areas in the world. The margin for error out there is basically zero. One spark in the wrong place on a dry August afternoon and we’re watching another hillside burn on the evening news – and losing another set of trails for two years while it recovers.

We’ve been down that road recently enough that nobody should need reminding. But here we are.

Be smart out there. Check conditions before you go, follow the order, and for the love of everything green and growing in those mountains – don’t be the person who starts the next one.

Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office: (626) 574-1613.

More info: Angeles National Forest – Fire Danger

These seasonal restrictions stack on top of BLM’s year-round statewide fire prevention order, and they’ll stay in effect “until further notice” — meaning until conditions get wet enough that the fire danger eases up. Here’s the rundown, region by region:

Bakersfield Field Office — effective May 15, 2026 This one covers a lot of ground that off-roaders and campers know well: eastern Fresno, western Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties, plus the Carrizo Plain National Monument, Keysville Special Recreation Management Area, Lake Isabella, and the San Joaquin River Gorge. No campfires, wood, briquette, or charcoal barbecues anywhere — in or out of developed campgrounds. Pressurized gas stoves and grills are okay, but only with a valid California Campfire Permit (free, and easy to get online).

Central Coast Field Office — effective May 15, 2026 Covering western Fresno, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. Same story here — no campfires, briquette, or charcoal barbecues except in agency-provided fire rings or barbecues at developed recreation sites. This is on top of the permanent fire restrictions already in place at Fort Ord National Monument and Cotoni-Coast Dairies, so if you’re headed that way, plan accordingly.

Mother Lode Field Office — effective May 22, 2026 This one hits the Gold Country and Sierra foothills crowd: Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties. No campfires or open flame of any kind, including in established campgrounds.

Ukiah Field Office — effective June 5, 2026 And rounding things out, the North Coast and wine country region: Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties are now under the same no-campfire, no-open-flame restrictions.

What this means across the board:

No matter which of these regions you’re exploring, the restrictions generally include:

• No campfires, open flames, or (in most areas) charcoal/briquette barbecues
• No smoking except in vehicles, buildings, or a cleared 3-foot area at developed sites
• No welding or open-flame torches
• No off-road travel with motorized vehicles or tools off designated roads and trails
• Restrictions on target shooting and steel-core/incendiary ammunition — hunting with a valid CA license is still allowed
• Fireworks and pyrotechnics remain prohibited on all BLM land, restrictions or not

A valid California Campfire Permit is required anywhere a stove or fire is allowed — get yours free at readyforwildfire.org.

Bottom line: California’s backcountry is calling, but let’s keep it standing for the next generation of explorers. Check the BLM California Fire Restrictions map before you head out, since these orders can expand to additional field offices as conditions change. And remember — 95% of wildfires in California are human-caused. A little extra care goes a long way.

More info: BLM Bakersfield

Stay safe out there, and I’ll see you on the trail.

As bears come out of winter dens, they’re searching for food, moving through new habitat, and in some cases protecting cubs — all of which can increase the odds of a surprise encounter on the trail. As BLM’s Acting Director Bill Groffy put it, “Public lands managed by the BLM are wild places, and wildlife safety is visitor safety.” Simple precautions go a long way toward keeping both you and the bears safe.

Core bear safety reminders:

• Never approach a bear, no matter how far away or how good the photo opportunity looks
• Stay alert on the trail — skip the headphones so you can hear what’s around you
• Hike in groups when possible
• Make noise near streams, dense brush, and blind corners where visibility is limited
• Store food, trash, and anything scented (toothpaste, sunscreen, etc.) properly — in a vehicle, bear box, or bear-resistant container
• Carry bear spray where it’s recommended and allowed
• Never run from a bear
• Remember that bear spray and firearms are tools, not substitutes for good judgment and awareness

If you do encounter a bear:

Stay calm, speak in a steady, low voice, and back away slowly. No sudden movements, no running. If it’s safe to do so afterward, report the encounter to the local BLM field office so they can track activity in the area.

Bottom line: California’s wild places are also home to wildlife that was here long before any of us, and a little preparation means everyone — bears included — gets to enjoy the season. Keep this one bookmarked, and I’ll be linking back to it from upcoming hiking and off-roading posts as a quick refresher.

More info: BLM California

See you out there — and don’t forget the bear spray…

Large publishers prefer agented submissions because the work arrives pre-vetted. They’re not wasting their time on an amateurish screed from someone who thinks they’re a writer because they own a copy of Word and know how to stuff a manila envelope full of their poorly-written, spell-check-ignored ‘manuscript’ and fire it off (unsolicited) to the President of the publishing company.

Agents exist, in part, to spare editors from sending more paper to the local recycling facility.

If you have bona fides—actual credentials—you can approach a publisher directly. But you follow their roadmap, not yours. No serious publisher accepts unsolicited manuscripts, but most will consider a query letter and book proposal (for non-fiction), or a synopsis and sample chapters (for fiction) — IF the writer conducts themselves professionally.

That last word there is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

Here’s what’s prohibited in the San Gabriel Canyon OHV Area:

• Entering or being in the OHV area when it’s posted as closed – check the closure map and associated documents linked below before you go
• Entering or being in the San Gabriel Reservoir – stay out, full stop
• Parking or leaving a vehicle in violation of posted instructions
• Possessing or using a motorized vehicle without functioning four-wheel drive capability – yes, they mean it, and yes, they check
• Possessing alcoholic beverages as defined by California State Law

That last one on four-wheel drive capability is worth calling out specifically. This isn’t a suggestion. If your rig doesn’t have a functioning 4WD system, you don’t belong in the OHV area – not because the Forest Service is trying to ruin your day, but because a two-wheel drive vehicle in that terrain is a rescue waiting to happen. Nobody wants to be that guy, and nobody wants to be the volunteer who has to come get that guy.

The San Gabriel Canyon OHV Area is one of the more accessible off-road destinations in Southern California – close to Los Angeles, well-known, and heavily used. That’s exactly why these rules matter. High use areas attract people who don’t always know what they’re doing, and a few bad actors ruin access for everyone. I’ve seen it happen. So have you.

Follow the rules, run your rig responsibly, pack out what you pack in, and this place stays open. It’s that simple.

For current closure schedules and maps, contact the Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office at (626) 574-1613.

More info: San Gabriel Canyon OHV

The San Dimas Experimental Forest, tucked into the hills north of Glendora in the Angeles National Forest, has been closed to public recreation since March 23, 2026 – and unlike some closures I could name, this one makes sense to me.

Here’s the deal. The San Dimas Experimental Forest isn’t a park. It isn’t a trail system. It’s a working outdoor laboratory that’s been quietly doing some of the most important long-term environmental research in California for decades. Climate studies, soil science, air pollution monitoring, erosion research, wildlife studies, fire behavior research – it’s all happening out there, with instruments and monitoring stations scattered across the landscape that need uninterrupted data to be worth anything.

You walk through the wrong drainage and kick over a sensor that’s been collecting data for fifteen years – that’s fifteen years of baseline data compromised. No dramatic explosion, no obvious damage. Just a gap in the record that can never be filled back in.

The closure order was executed March 23, 2026, by Dr. Frank H. McCormick, Acting Station Director for the Pacific Southwest Research Station, and it runs until further notice. It covers the entire San Dimas Experimental Forest as depicted in the official closure map. Exemptions are narrow – permitted researchers, government officials on duty, and organized rescue or firefighting personnel.

This is exactly the kind of public/private land management I believe in. The Forest Service is protecting a long-term investment in understanding how California’s landscapes actually work – the kind of foundational science that informs everything from watershed management to fire policy to species recovery. You don’t get that data by accident. You get it by protecting the conditions that make the research possible.

So if you’ve been eyeing the San Dimas area for a hike, find somewhere else for now. The work happening in there is worth more than the trail day you’d get out of it.

More info: Angeles National Forest – Experimental Forest

Public Service Announcement:

I’ve decided I’m going to continue to use the ’em dash’ character — the character that idiots think is a hallmark and “proof” of AI writing, instead of what it actually is, “a mark for emphatic pauses, abrupt changes in thought, or asides” as defined by the Chicago Manual of Style — so that people think I’m artificially intelligent rather than actually intelligent.

That way, there’s no expectation that I’ll have to display my intellectual brilliance or perfection to those who clearly do not deserve to bask in my greater glory.

As the popularity of overlanding continues to grow, Subaru’s presence celebrates owners’ love of outdoor adventure and the camaraderie it builds.

Subaru of America, Inc. is returning as the title sponsor of the 2026 Overland Expo, bringing an expanded Camp Subaru experience to Costa Mesa, California, where Subaru is set to showcase its adventure-ready SUVs, hands-on off-road workshops, record live podcasts, feature music, and offer owner-focused programming.

Camp Subaru will feature a full lineup of Subaru’s latest adventure models — including the 2026 Crosstrek Wilderness, Outback Wilderness, Forester Wilderness, the Trailseeker, and the Forester Hybrid — alongside new accessories from outdoor brands such as REI and Thule. The exhibit is designed as a gathering place for both longtime Subaru owners and newcomers curious about vehicle customization and practical overlanding gear.

With over eight million Americans taking overlanding trips in 2024 — a number industry analysts expect to grow roughly 50% in the coming years — Camp Subaru aims to be a practical, immersive classroom for would-be and veteran adventurers alike. Attendees can take workshops on off-roading techniques, pet travel safety, camp setup, navigation, and route planning, and learn best practices from experts and fellow enthusiasts.

“Subaru owners are known for their enthusiasm around outdoor adventures, and Overland Expo is a prime destination for them to meet, share stories, and plan for their next excursions,” said Alan Bethke. “We want to do everything we can to support them and their dedication to our brand with access to our latest off-road-ready vehicles, unique onsite experiences, and inspiring discussions.”

True to its More Than a Car Company® positioning, Subaru will also continue community-minded programming at the Expo. The company will partner with local shelters to host pet adoptions, run workshops on safe pet travel, provide complimentary dog treats and pet water stations, and support the Subaru Loves Pets® initiative with pet-focused giveaways.

According to Subaru, select Overland Expo stops will add owner perks such as an evening reception and access to Subaru Base Camp, an owner-exclusive camping area offering food, beverages, and yoga classes.

For more information about Subaru’s presence at Overland Expo, go HERE.

For more information about Overland Expo, go HERE.