"After a series of storms drenched the region with a record 9.4 inches of rain in December, the Los Angeles River became a roiling, violent torrent in its concrete channel, before finally spilling into the Pacific Ocean."

"California’s severe drought, which seemed to be retreating after soaking storms in October and December, is now all but certain to continue into a third year after the driest January and February in recorded history."

"Botanist Maria Jesus has made a career out of trying to protect wild places where rare plants are making their last stand, and field work can mean bivouacking alone in a pup tent. Take the Inyo rock daisy, which only grows in the crevices of cliff walls in two largely roadless areas of the southern Inyo Mountains near Death Valley National Park."

"Federal regulators on Friday issued a draft environmental impact statement saying there were significant benefits to a plan to demolish four massive dams on Northern California’s Klamath River to save imperiled migratory salmon, setting the stage for the largest dam demolition project in U.S. history."

"For nearly 80 years, recruits reporting to central California’s Fort Ord considered themselves the lucky ones, privileged to live and work amid sparkling seas, sandy dunes and sage-covered hills."

"The federal government said Wednesday it won’t deliver any water to California farmers because of a severe drought, a decision that will force many to plant fewer crops in a region that supplies a quarter of the nation’s food."

"For a few frenzied weeks, beekeepers from around the United States truck billions of honeybees to California to rent them to almond growers who need the insects to pollinate the state's most valuable crop."

"Edison International’s Southern California Edison said it plans to spend about $1.7 billion this year on work to reduce the risk of its electrical equipment sparking wildfires during dry and windy conditions."

"Already diminished by drought and extreme heat, California’s water supply will face yet another peril as wildfires continue to incinerate ever larger areas of forested land, according to new research."

"The reign of terror in my Northridge neighborhood began with manic dog barking, eerie coyote howls and the high-pitched screams of an animal fighting for its life in the middle of the night."