A Heart Ablaze
Written by: Thejo Akkoor, Diya Gehlaut
Edited by: Yasmine Murad
Is it a boy, a girl, or a fire? As if multiple celebrity deaths and a global pandemic didn’t do the job, forest fires have made their mark on the year of 2020. On September 5th, an expecting couple were getting ready to reveal the gender of their baby to family and friends, but little did they know that they would spark a region-wide devastating fire. They used a blue smoke bomb as a method of revealing the gender but this soon got out of hand when the fire caught onto trees in El Dorado, California, and began rapidly spreading, resulting in red-flag warnings to be issued (NBC Los Angeles). Almost a third of these fires were burning in just California, a scene of many fires throughout the past years (CNN).
Former Democratic Presidential Nominee and environmentalist, Tom Steyer, echoed many of our concerns about the rapidly changing climate by stating that, “These are intense, huge blazes… This is a huge, immediate, urgent problem” (CNN). In California, most of the moisture is accumulated during the fall and winter. Higher temperatures in the spring and summer months slowly cause this moisture to dry out, which result in the tiniest sparks setting off fatal wildfires.
More often than not, humans are responsible for these fires, says research scientist Nina Oakely from UC San Diego (New York Times). However, fire fighters, climate change activists, and scientists say that there is a big natural contributor to the continuous spread of these surreal wildfires, and that’s where an unexpected instigator comes in: the Bark Beetle. Bark Beetles are smaller than a grain of rice, but size means nothing when it comes to the damage they are capable of causing. They have killed around 129 million trees in California itself (CBS). These beetles take advantage of California’s dry climate by targeting dry trees and laying their eggs in the tree’s tissue. Dry trees don’t have enough moisture to combat these beetles and are blocked from receiving nutrients by the beetle’s eggs and the fungi that they spread. This results in a devastating amount of dead trees, which greatly fuels the large forest fires we have been facing today.
It has become increasingly hard to prevent forest fires due to these natural setbacks, and the amount we have spent on prevention efforts is no surprise. Firefighting costs have increased steadily from 450 million in 1990 to around 3.1 billion in 2018 (Washington Post).
Not many people acknowledge and realize how incredibly hard and challenging it can be to be a firefighter. And an even lesser number of people realize how tough it is to be a firefighter in the middle of a global pandemic. As citizens are adapting to life with COVID-19, first responders are growing more and more vulnerable to the virus. As expected, an increasing number of firefighters are unfortunately dying. In fact, a fire captain died from COVID-19 complications right here in Detroit, Michigan. According to CBS News, “Wildland firefighter numbers are already down in many areas due to pandemic-related complications, but these numbers may become particularly strained as the fire season progresses. There is a fear that COVID-19 cases along with cases of camp crud, which could be mistaken for COVID-19, could severely deplete firefighter numbers. The safety of rural western communities depends on the wildland firefighters and their ability to respond to emergencies. Protecting their health helps protect public health, too” (CBS News). Despite all of these complications, firefighters continue to fight and protect Americans. But what are other powerful people doing to help with the problem at hand?
During the week of September 14th, fires in the West Coast picked up. 35 people died due to the 90 wildfires that continued to rage and roar. 4.6 million acres of land burned, with California in the lead (CNN). 10 people died in Oregon because of the fires, and 22 are still missing. Despite this, President Trump has not done anything. When contacted by Governor Jay Inslee, he dismissed the problem. “It’ll start getting cooler,” Trump told state officials, “you just watch.” Inslee replied by saying, “that is false...this abandonment of leadership has once again left the states on their own to fight this existential threat to our people. Climate change is doing more damage to our communities faster than anyone thought,” Inslee added (Medium Post).
2020 has proven to be a year that no one expected, and forest fires have definitely made a mark. These incredible fires are practically screaming that climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed, along with the safety of citizens and firefighters. Once the problem is truly acknowledged, we can think of a solution (CNN). The Coronavirus might be the main issue at hand, but forest fires cannot be downplayed, or they will burn us right back!
Former Democratic Presidential Nominee and environmentalist, Tom Steyer, echoed many of our concerns about the rapidly changing climate by stating that, “These are intense, huge blazes… This is a huge, immediate, urgent problem” (CNN). In California, most of the moisture is accumulated during the fall and winter. Higher temperatures in the spring and summer months slowly cause this moisture to dry out, which result in the tiniest sparks setting off fatal wildfires.
More often than not, humans are responsible for these fires, says research scientist Nina Oakely from UC San Diego (New York Times). However, fire fighters, climate change activists, and scientists say that there is a big natural contributor to the continuous spread of these surreal wildfires, and that’s where an unexpected instigator comes in: the Bark Beetle. Bark Beetles are smaller than a grain of rice, but size means nothing when it comes to the damage they are capable of causing. They have killed around 129 million trees in California itself (CBS). These beetles take advantage of California’s dry climate by targeting dry trees and laying their eggs in the tree’s tissue. Dry trees don’t have enough moisture to combat these beetles and are blocked from receiving nutrients by the beetle’s eggs and the fungi that they spread. This results in a devastating amount of dead trees, which greatly fuels the large forest fires we have been facing today.
It has become increasingly hard to prevent forest fires due to these natural setbacks, and the amount we have spent on prevention efforts is no surprise. Firefighting costs have increased steadily from 450 million in 1990 to around 3.1 billion in 2018 (Washington Post).
Not many people acknowledge and realize how incredibly hard and challenging it can be to be a firefighter. And an even lesser number of people realize how tough it is to be a firefighter in the middle of a global pandemic. As citizens are adapting to life with COVID-19, first responders are growing more and more vulnerable to the virus. As expected, an increasing number of firefighters are unfortunately dying. In fact, a fire captain died from COVID-19 complications right here in Detroit, Michigan. According to CBS News, “Wildland firefighter numbers are already down in many areas due to pandemic-related complications, but these numbers may become particularly strained as the fire season progresses. There is a fear that COVID-19 cases along with cases of camp crud, which could be mistaken for COVID-19, could severely deplete firefighter numbers. The safety of rural western communities depends on the wildland firefighters and their ability to respond to emergencies. Protecting their health helps protect public health, too” (CBS News). Despite all of these complications, firefighters continue to fight and protect Americans. But what are other powerful people doing to help with the problem at hand?
During the week of September 14th, fires in the West Coast picked up. 35 people died due to the 90 wildfires that continued to rage and roar. 4.6 million acres of land burned, with California in the lead (CNN). 10 people died in Oregon because of the fires, and 22 are still missing. Despite this, President Trump has not done anything. When contacted by Governor Jay Inslee, he dismissed the problem. “It’ll start getting cooler,” Trump told state officials, “you just watch.” Inslee replied by saying, “that is false...this abandonment of leadership has once again left the states on their own to fight this existential threat to our people. Climate change is doing more damage to our communities faster than anyone thought,” Inslee added (Medium Post).
2020 has proven to be a year that no one expected, and forest fires have definitely made a mark. These incredible fires are practically screaming that climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed, along with the safety of citizens and firefighters. Once the problem is truly acknowledged, we can think of a solution (CNN). The Coronavirus might be the main issue at hand, but forest fires cannot be downplayed, or they will burn us right back!
Additional Research Sources:
www.firerescue1.com/coronavirus-covid-19/articles/covid-19-firefighter-deaths-la0l8Hf2UzjRdTPC/.
www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-coast-wildfires-09-14-2020/index.html.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/16/fires-climate-change/.
www.cbsnews.com/news/how-the-bark-beetle-fueled-californias-wildfires/.
www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/firefighter-death-san-bernardino-county-el-dorado-gender-reveal-party-fire/2430203/.
www.latimes.com/projects/california-fires-damage-climate-change-analysis.
www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfire-covid-19-risk-firefighters/.
www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/us/california-wildfires-monday/index.html.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/07/california-fire-caused-by-explosive-at-gender-reveal-party.
www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/us/wildfires-in-the-us-by-state/index.html.
Image Source:
Pixabay
www.firerescue1.com/coronavirus-covid-19/articles/covid-19-firefighter-deaths-la0l8Hf2UzjRdTPC/.
www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-coast-wildfires-09-14-2020/index.html.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/16/fires-climate-change/.
www.cbsnews.com/news/how-the-bark-beetle-fueled-californias-wildfires/.
www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/firefighter-death-san-bernardino-county-el-dorado-gender-reveal-party-fire/2430203/.
www.latimes.com/projects/california-fires-damage-climate-change-analysis.
www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfire-covid-19-risk-firefighters/.
www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/us/california-wildfires-monday/index.html.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/07/california-fire-caused-by-explosive-at-gender-reveal-party.
www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/us/wildfires-in-the-us-by-state/index.html.
Image Source:
Pixabay