Fifth & Mission

At the end of a long day, Matthias Gafni is able to report back to evacuated residents of Solar Hills Drive who'd asked him to check on their homes: The fire came right up to the houses, but they're still standing. He also sees wildlife starting to return and neighbors putting out water and "Vacaville Strong" signs. Elsewhere in the region, though, fires are out of control. | Full wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporting from hard-hit English Hills Road, Matthias Gafni describes Vacaville on Thursday afternoon as people return to the area, sort through their damaged homes and, in some cases, breathe a sigh of relief that they were spared. | Full wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chronicle reporter Matthias Gafni interviews Jimmy Santos, a Vacaville homeowner he'd met Wednesday night as Santos and his wife waited for word about whether their “dream house” — bought only two months ago — would be saved by firefighters. It was. | Full wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Wilson, executive director of a homeless shelter in the Tenderloin, talks about the grueling nature of the job for those who do nonprofit work during the coronavirus crisis. Requests for mental health leaves are on the rise. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The wildfires burning through California are raising difficult new questions: How to evacuate while social distancing? Is the state prepared to fight the blazes? How bad is the air quality throughout the region? What about wineries and their workers? Chronicle reporters Joaquin Palomino, Trisha Thadani, Aidin Vaziri and Esther Mobley break it all down. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthias Gafni reports from the scene in Vacaville, where flames swallowed dozens of homes early Wednesday. A fast-moving fire raced into the town from the northwest, prompting frantic evacuations and rescues. Gafni speaks from a parking lot, where families are waiting in their cars to find out if their homes have been destroyed. | Full wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prices have dropped 20% in some neighborhoods and are expected to keep falling in the coronavirus crisis. Landlords are begging tenants to stay, offering reductions, weeks of free rent and even gift cards worth thousands of dollars. Reporter J.K. Dineen talks about whether the perks are working and what the market change means for the city long term. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid a historic heat wave, millions could lose power in the first rolling blackouts since the electrical crisis two decades ago. Reporter J.D. Morris talks about how California got here, who's to blame and what you can do to help and stay safe. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School is starting remotely in the Bay Area, and as working parents try to juggle jobs and distance learning, data and real-life stories show mothers are bearing the brunt of the extra work. Reporter Mallory Moench talks about the major reduction of women in the workforce as moms are finding something has to give. | Coronavirus coverage: sfchronicle.com/coronavirus | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If the City Council has its way, cops will no longer make traffic stops or respond to mental health crises. Different city workers will take on those jobs, leaving police to investigate violent crime. Reporter Ryan Kost wrote about Berkeley’s initiative in The Throughline. He discusses how policing across America might change as a result of Black Lives Matter protests. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices