California Wildfires

California Wildfires

Harry Bradley '22 Elaine Li '24 - 2 minute read
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The California wildfires beginning in late August have continued to cause trepidation along America’s West Coast. Covering over 4,000,000 acres as of October 2, the uncontained flames have destroyed houses, communities, and unfortunately, lives. What was originally a gender reveal party in San Bernardino, California, spiraled into an inferno caused by a playful smoke bomb to reveal the gender of a family’s new born baby. This event, combined with the dry season in California and the prospect of global warming, accelerated the evolution of this historic wildfire.

Since the 1980’s, the effects of climate change have resulted in a clear increase in the intensity and size of California wildfires. Environmentalists and scientists declared human behavior and the California climate as the primary cause of wildfires.

The first and most prevalent cause of these wildfires is California’s arid climate. Like many other states in the Western region, California gets most of its rain in the fall and winter. During the summer and spring, there is little to no rainfall. In July it rained an average of a mere 0.1 inches. Without water, the vegetation quickly dries and becomes the perfect fuel for fires. 

In addition to dry vegetation, fires also begin as a result of humans or man-made objects. For instance, downed power lines are the culprits of many major wildfires. Reports in 2017 stated that power lines were responsible for twelve major wildfires in just that year. The following year, the number of major wildfires caused by power lines rose to seventeen. A fallen powerline induced a fire dubbed “the Campfire,” scorching 153,336 acres of land and 18,804 structures.

Nature also plays a role in starting wildfires. On August 17, a series of lightning strikes started hundreds of wildfires . The fires burned down a total of 397,000 acres and 224 residential and commercial structures. While nature typically is not the main cause of wildfires, unexpected circumstances can still lead to extremely destructive fires on occasion. 

The California wildfires not only impacted structures and human life but also left a trail of ruined ecosystems and animal habitats. Burned landscapes make it difficult for ecosystems to return to their previous state. Fires have also caused permanent loss of essential habitats for native animals such as foxes, deer, and other forest animals. 

The damages of these fires formed a massive dent in the government’s economic budget. It is likely that an attempt to return towns and wildlife to normalcy will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. However, these fires are becoming somewhat of a regular occurrence for the West Cost. Citizens in Oregon commented that as global warming progresses, fires have been more frequent, and unhealthy air quality has loomed over them for years. A professor from USC predicts that a sizable portion of the West Coast population will leave for the foreseeable future because of the terrible environmental conditions.

These fires will forever change the lives of those affected. Because an overwhelming number of communities have been wrecked, many places along the coastline will become unlivable and a dramatic fall in population is likely.

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