A toast to the League's productive risk-reduction and wildfire resilience work in Long Meadow Grove, which burned in the 2021 Windy Fire.

Packsaddle sequoia grove and the surrounding forest has been decimated by the Forest Service / Save the Redwoods League. Bulldozers have ripped apart the earth and turned the forest into dust. Thousan...

Packsaddle sequoia grove and the surrounding forest has been decimated by the Forest Service / Save the Redwoods League. Bulldozers have ripped apart the earth and turned the forest into dust. Thousan...

The Government of New South Wales (NSW Government) is investing $3 million into the investigation of solar and battery-powered microgrids across four remote Far West communities. Working with Essential Energy, the State Government will undertake pre-feasibility studies in White Cliffs, Tibooburra, Milparinka and Packsaddle to strengthen electricity reliability in the region. The work will identify infrastructure that could generate and store electricity locally, providing additional resilience for communities vulnerable to outages caused by extreme weather and other disruptions. In White Cliffs, the program will investigate a new solar-powered microgrid, building on the town’s history with solar generation. A proposed solar microgrid will also be assessed for Tibooburra, where the existing electricity system is backed by diesel generation. The study will consider how local solar generation could improve network reliability and energy security for homes, businesses and community facilities. Meanwhile, battery energy storage options will be investigated for Milparinka and Packsaddle, with a focus on supporting electricity supply during outages. Essential Energy will assess whether the proposed systems could maintain power to essential services during disruptions, including communications infrastructure, emergency response facilities and fuel supplies. Liam Ryan, Executive Director of Energy Infrastructure at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the...

Meanwhile, in Milparinka and Packsaddle, the programme is examining battery storage options to support the communities during outages. No details on the size of the microgrid projects, nor the size of the battery storage system, have been disclosed. Essential Energy will assess whether the proposed systems could keep essential services running during outages, including communications infrastructure, emergency response facilities and fuel supplies, before reporting its findings to the government ahead of any decision to progress to the next phase. The announcement follows a storm that destroyed seven transmission towers on the single high-voltage line supplying Broken Hill and the Far West region on 17 October 2024, cutting power to Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Menindee, Tibooburra and White Cliffs for weeks and prompting a parliamentary inquiry that reported in June 2026. NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water executive director of energy infrastructure, Liam Ryan, said the scoping work builds on lessons from that event. “In helping respond to the Far West electricity supply disruption in October 2024, I saw first-hand how important a reliable electricity supply is to regional and remote communities,” Ryan said. “These microgrid projects could improve energy security, reduce reliance on diesel and help communities...

A dirt-bike rider is recovering after a crash in Driggs, Idaho, where Teton County Search and Rescue and partners led the effort.

YouTube video by Benjamin Peel

Stop the fencing of Packsaddle fields in Frome