California may be known for its year round beautiful weather and breathe-taking beaches, but the state is also well known for its wildfires. Drought has made fire season even more prevalent over the past few years. Waking up to orange skies illuminated by a vibrant red sun, not being able to see the city but rather clouds of smoke across the Golden Gate Bridge, and inhaling smoke filled air that makes you think the next-door neighbors are having an outdoor barbeque have become the new norm during fire season.
The smoke filled, orange sky as a result of wildfire smoke.
As a native Californian, I can say that we do adore warm winters with minimal icky rainfall, but the tradeoff of wildfires that spread across hundreds of acres and take days-months to contain are the price to pay.
In 2020, California was hit with its worst wildfire season ever in history (Cart, 2021).
"California's 2020 fire year:
Four million acres [burned],
112 million tons of greenhouse gases [emitted],
Thousands of lightning strikes,
11 million gallons of fire retardant [used],
And 31 lost lives" (Cart, 2021).
These wildfires were no ordinary fires. Take acres of dry shrubs, dry grassland, dry soil that hasn't met rainfall in months, and combine them with lightning. Lightning struck at the end of August 2020 and started multiple fires that burned for a span of months (Cart, 2021). A storm that Californians hoped would put out any already burning fires, in fact, sparked many more fires. 18,500 firefighters were at the frontline for months trying to put out fires that only continued to spread and blaze (Cart, 2021). The wind carried the dense smoke from these fires miles and miles away, stealing visibility county by county. Many people in the Bay Area who normally depend on sunlight as a natural alarm clock most mornings "reported oversleeping because the sky was so dark" (Paul, 2020). City officials were even enforcing drivers to use their headlights all day and night street lights shined continuously through 90 degree, "sunny" days (Paul, 2020).
Firefighters at the front line attempting to contain spreading wildfire blazes.
Thankfully, firefighters were eventually able to contain these fires. The year 2020 was an eye-opener for what drought can lead to. Acres of dry vegetation are fire hazards. California is desperately in need of water. I remember when the fires began to worsen during my senior year of high school in Spring of 2019. Districts were closing schools for days at a time because the heavy smoke posed health risks and daylight became scarce. I flew to St Paul to tour Macalester's campus around the same time and I can remember seeing real, natural sunlight that wasn't orangish-red once the plane flew above the clouds. And upon landing in St. Paul, I can remember the air feeling so fresh and crisp to breathe. It almost felt like a privilege. I had become so numb to inhaling smoke. Before 2019, I remember hearing about wildfires miles away, but never feeling the effects of them. In 2019, the wind carried the heavy wildfire smoke to the Bay Area, and suddenly what was one county's primary issue became a state wide issue. I worry for this year's fire season.
References:
Byrd, D. (2020, August 23). Wildfire sunsets and Sunrises: Today's image. EarthSky. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photos-wildfire-sunsets-us-west-aug-sep-2020/.
Cart, J. (2021, July 29). California's 2020 Fire Siege: Wildfires by the numbers. CalMatters. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-fires-2020/.
Paul, K. (2020, September 9). 'good morning, hell': Californians awake to apocalyptic skies as wildfires rage. The Guardian. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/09/orange-sky-california-fires-smoke-san-francisco.
Reuters. (2020, August 22). Largest in state history, California lightning fires advance on Towns. News18. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.news18.com/news/world/california-lightning-fires-advance-on-towns-2809009.html.
Dear Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the list of statistics you clearly presented in your blog. It help put the hazard into perspective. The fun fact about people sleeping in was also super interesting.
It's very clear that wildfire mitigation is hard in places that see very little ran and that are dry to begin with.
Hi Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteWildfires are terrifying. I'm sure this is an understatement, especially to someone who has experienced them firsthand. However, the intensity and devastation brought on by the 2020 wildfires comes through to the reader so clearly. The statistics you listed helped me to further understand the severity of what Californians tend to experience every year, along with the fears and anxieties brought on by this geohazard.