Explore the challenges and lessons learned from mitigating critical issues in Kubernetes releases in this conference talk. Dive into the complexities of maintaining large open-source projects, focusing on the sustainability of contributors and the project itself. Examine specific incidents that delayed Kubernetes releases, including a bug in the Go 1.18 standard library and a release-blocking scalability regression. Learn about effective strategies for CNCF project maintainers to avoid similar situations, ensure contributor sustainability, and improve project reliability. Gain insights into the typical flow of addressing critical issues, growing the OWNERS file strategically, and expanding the pool of capable firefighters. Discover valuable takeaways for maintaining and scaling open-source projects while balancing the need for deep expertise with sustainable practices.