Is California really burning to the ground? Over the past few months, many people I know have made this statement which is both shocking and scary. California wildfires have spread throughout the state at a rapid pace burning down houses and putting families in danger. Currently, in California, 21 wildfires are burning across the state with 5,300 firefighters working to contain them. The most pressing fire, Diablo is causing fierce winds resulting in 386,000 people going without power in Northern California. The Nation Weather Service also issued a red flag warning for 30 million people which means that the low humidity has fueled the wildfires even more making them spread more quickly.
This year has been one of the worst for wildfires making many people myself included, worry about what the future looks like. In just the first 10 months of this year, 46,000 fires across the US have burned more than 8.6 million acres which is 2 million more than the average over the last 10 years. Droughts and heatwaves in the West have contributed to the fuel of the fires as well as concerning above-average temperatures.
The question everyone is asking is why to have the wildfires gotten extremely out of hand, this year of all years when the coronavirus is sweeping the nation? One of the most prominent reasons is climate change. California summer temperatures have become 2.5 degrees warmer since the 1970s and by the end of the century are to heat up by another 4.5 degrees. The forests in California have become increasingly more dry and hot making the region more at risk of wildfires. These fires have caused more than 500,000 people to evacuate their homes and 30 deaths. I am hoping that in the coming years we can work to stop the spread of these wildfires, to protect brave firefighters who are risking their lives and the homes of humans and animals who are suffering from these wildfires.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-13/climate-change-wildfires-california-west-coast
https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/california-wildfires
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/25/us/california-fires-sunday/index.html
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/nationworld/
I think you did a great job and I loved how you led into it.
ReplyDeleteThis is so scary!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great how you brought attention back to this topic many of us seem to have put behind us or maybe forgotten about.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a great topic to choose because it was so known but many people have forgotten about it
ReplyDelete