Zeke Lunder - The Lookout
Wildland Fire and Forestry Communicator.
Working in the woods since 1990.
Qualified California Burn Boss.
Intel = all public data.
Photos by me.
Fire is the best teacher.
the-lookout.org
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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
- 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...
- Our current situation summary for the Gifford Fire - 18:15hrs, 8/13/2025 the-lookout.org/2025/08/13/g...
- 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...
- 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!
- 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
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- Today's Lookout reporting analyzes 4 active wildfires in California and the Southwest, detailing their spread and behavior. The discussion highlights the intricate relationships between forest management, fire dynamics, and ecosystem health. the-lookout.org/2025/07/31/s...
- New fire just on the north end of Susanville, a threat to homes on end of Paiute Lane and Susanville Indian Rancheria. Viscious wind shift on this thing in last 10 minute. Susanville fires have a history of really ripping in the afternoon hours. Dangerous fire.
- We are tracking the new Big Cliff Fire on the Klamath National Forest just west of the Russian Wilderness, between Callahan and Sawyers Bar. We should have better mapping of it in the next few hours. It is burning within a 11 year-old fire scar, and it going to be hard to put out.
- Geeking out hard - it's a two-livestream sort of day, here at The Lookout! This afternoon we got a drop of Sentinel satellite imagery for the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon Fires, in Arizona and Utah, which catches both fires in the midst of kicking some serious ass! the-lookout.org/2025/07/30/s...
- Interesting firing operations are unfolding on the Dragon Bravo Fire as crews scramble to protect the area around Kaibab Lodge ahead of the fire's arrival. Several previous firing ops on this fire have failed to halt the fire's spread. Cover photo: Lauren Cisneros the-lookout.org/2025/07/30/d...
- A couple land-geek friends shot us some aerials for our recent Park Fire video, and they blew my mind! The Lookout needs a drone! Do any Lookout superfans have one they aren't using, or want to help us get in the air?
- Today's Lookout Livestream looks at factors driving the major, fairly uncontrollable spread of the Dragon Bravo Fire, in Northern Arizona, and the Monroe Canyon Fire, in Central Utah. the-lookout.org/2025/07/29/d...
- Today's Lookout Livestream discusses the Dragon Bravo Fire, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Northern Arizona, and the Monroe Canyon Fires, in Central Utah. Under the current conditions, the fires are largely uncontrollable. the-lookout.org/2025/07/28/d...
- Today's Lookout Livestream uses the extremely-active Dragon Bravo Fire as a object lesson in fire behavior analysis, and the extreme difficulty in containing fires burning under extreme weather conditions. the-lookout.org/2025/07/27/p...
- The #CenterFire is burning just west of the canyon rim on Nimshew Ridge, south off the end of Paschal Way. The fuels are ridiculously heavy at the top of the rim, but weather conditions are fairly mild today. Bad place for a fire, though.
- I asked a robot to parse my sense of humor, after feeding it today's livestream about the Dragon Bravo Fire. We talk about all the different ways that this fire continues to absolutely kick firefighters' asses. Here is our coverage for the fire, for today. the-lookout.org/2025/07/26/d...
- A year after the Park Fire, we are sharing an hour-long interview I did a week into the fire, with Northstate Public Radio's Blue Dot Report - a nationally-syndicated science program. the-lookout.org/2025/07/26/t...
- Some lightning activity, yesterday, but wildfire fuel moistures are higher than average in the Northern Sierra and Sac Valley, hazard of new large fires is relatively low unless we get dozens or hundreds of ignitions. Blue line = 2025. Red is max dryness 2000-2022. Gray line is average 2000-2022.
- Who says wildfire reporting has to be formulaic and boring? the-lookout.org/2025/07/24/a...
- Our architecture reaction video caught some ink in the California Sun Newsletter. If you haven't heard of it, the California Sun is a great daily newsletter currated by Mike McPhate. www.californiasun.co/newsletter/t...
- Here is our 7/22/2025 morning report for the Butler Fire, in NW California. The fire isn't doing a lot, but there are lots of interesting facets to how fires get fought in this country, and also, in how the locals interact with the incident management teams. the-lookout.org/2025/07/22/b...
- A Lookout reaction video about a gorgeous and doomed-to-burn (in my opinion) $4M architectural joyride in La Cañada Flintridge, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, just NE of Los Angeles. A prelude to our upcoming 'Danger in Plain Sight' video series. youtu.be/lBjtCuh7kBc?...
- If you're interested in the topic of using fire as a land management tool, both with prescribed fire and managed wildfire, check out this great new episode of Amanda Monthei's Life With Fire Podcast. lifewithfirepodcast.com/episodes/the...
- Here is our intel assessment for the Butler Fire, burning around Fork of Salmon, in NW California. It is based on infrared mapping collected 7/20/2025 at 11pm. We look at current fire behavior and the influence of previous fires in the area on this fire's potential. the-lookout.org/2025/07/21/b...
- Here is our intel update for the Butler Fire and Forks of Salmon, California, for 7/20/2025. the-lookout.org/2025/07/20/f...
