California Wildfires and Climate Change: What Do We Do Now?
- ecoexplained
- Oct 25, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 27, 2020
Anyone in California can attest to the fact that wildfires happen frequently here. As a California native in a coastal chaparral environment, it’s not uncommon to be on evacuation alert every couple of years. But in the past few years, it's been every year. For months at a time, with millions of acres burning.
According to Cal Fire, 5 of the Top 20 largest wildfires in California history have occurred in 2020 alone. 6 wildfires this year are also in the Top 20 most destructive wildfires. Therefore, fire seasons are more frequent, spread over more months, and are more damaging and intense.
While attention to wildfires has frequented the minds of state natives, residents, and homeowners in fire-prone areas, the recent California wildfires have finally garnered widespread attention from policy makers and emergency responders now seeking to understand the multiple contributors that increasingly exacerbate wildfires. They want to effectively “develop risk mitigation, land management, and resource allocation strategies”, claims Goss et al. 2020.
However, the scientific community has already come to a consensus about the causes of wildfires, and (1) climate change and (2) decades of landscape mismanagement seem to be the leading two contributors to the increased intensity of fires in California. And finally, others are starting to listen.
Although, the Trump administration is blaming California’s poor fire management as the only cause and thinks that climate change does not contribute. Trump also often conflates “climate” with “weather” in his tweets about cold and snow, whereas “climate” refers to long-term trends in weather (think years) and “weather” refers to short-term conditions of a day, week, etc. According to a conversation between fire responders and Donald Trump on September 14 of this year, “it’ll start getting cooler,” and “I don't think science knows, actually.”
But we do know. And it’s the right of the citizens to know too in order to make informed decisions.
Lack of fire management and funding does contribute to the intensity of fires, and this needs to change. And climate change doesn’t cause wildfires, per say. However, scientists have proven that climate variability directly affects a number of risk factors for the likelihood of wildfires—such as increasing overall temperatures, making potential fuel for fires by causing organic matter to dry out (and therefore to burn easier), and decreasing soil moisture. For much of the Western U.S., projections by the USDA show that if average temperatures increased by 1 degree Celsius, the median burned area per year would increase by up to 600% in some types of forests.
Goss et al. 2020 concluded in their climate-fire analyses from 1979-2018 that there was also a, “substantial and statistically significant historical trend toward autumns, which are increasingly conducive to enhanced wildfire risk across most of California.”
Basically, what this study and graph tells us is that the risks that can lead to unruly wildfires (temperature and frequency of weather that makes fires more likely aka Fire Weather Index) have increased in Autumn months. On the other hand, factors like precipitation that would decrease the likelihood of fires or, in simple terms, put fires out have decreased. What's most striking is that “fire season,” in my experience as a Californian and from hearsay of older locals, used to always be the hot Summer months. But now in recent years, that doesn’t seem to be the case, and the sage advice from old Californians is no longer relevant. The trend is that the fire season is extending into Fall/Autumn too.
So if our local officials and responders are in conflict with the priorities and opinions of Trump’s administration, what can we do? How will we be able to mitigate these fires if there isn’t a consensus that a solution needs to be made at all?
Firstly, one someone can always do is call their representatives and make sure their representatives care about minimizing damage of wildfires and has solutions regarding effective land management. Making our voices heard is key. And the another effective way to do that? VOTE for people who prioritize wildfire management and have real solutions to climate change!
Secondly, while some fires are caused by lighting strikes, many are due to human error. Taking responsibility upon ourselves to prevent fires will be key in making sure as little unnecessary fires start as possible, and using common sense here is key. Don't make open campfires, don’t light explosives/cigarettes in dry grass (@ the gender reveal that started this past fire season), etc.
International Association of Certified Home Inspectors also suggest a plethora of precautionary measures that protect a building from a wildfire, such as:
Using metal fences instead of wood
Putting metal screens on vent entrances in attics, crawlspaces, and the lower portions of roofs to prevent embers from flying in the home an debris from collecting (which equals more fuel for fires)
Not storing combustible materials under wooden, raised decks
Installing dual-pane, tempered glass windows to prevent the windows from breaking and letting flames enter the house
Frequently removing debris from gutters and roofs
Cutting trees and vegetation frequently and back from the home;s perimeter
Homes in heavily forested/grassland, dry areas should be inspected periodically and modified appropriately, especially during dry spells
I know you can feel frustrated and helpless when thinking about how to find solutions to huge global issues like climate change and devastating wildfires. They feel unstoppable, and it’s natural and valid to feel like there is nothing you, the individual, can do. Especially when policy makers control your lives and don’t care as much as they should about these issues. But luckily, there are small steps you can take to make a huge difference. Keep posting on social media and calling your representatives to create social pressure! Do little things to lessen the likelihood of you being responsible for starting a fire! VOTE out people, like Donald Trump, who don’t care about these threats to our environment and communities!
And for students--if these issues really resonate with you, I recommend you continue to educate yourself, and maybe one day, you may be able to largely contribute by helping combat these problems (whether that be getting involved in research, policy, education, etc.). And if not, that’s fine too! An informed citizen is an empowered one. It’s cliche, but it’s true--knowledge is power. Anyone can make a change by equipping themself with this power.
Links to papers and information cited:
Goss et al. 2020:
Trump’s Tweets and CNN Article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/weather/global-warming-vs-weather-trump/index.html
Center for Climate Change and Energy Solutions: https://www.c2es.org/content/wildfires-and-climate-change/
USDA:
International Association of Certified Home Inspectors:
Cal Fire:
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