California is in flames again and this time breaking all previous records. California got into the fire which turned drastic and took many parts of the country under the rage. The fires in times of a pandemic which requires social distancing are complicating evacuation strategies.
Fires have been blazing in California, Oregon, and Washington for three weeks.
Unfurled by winds amid record heat, the blazes have burnt millions of acres, destroyed thousands of homes. There can be many reasons for the California fire, noteworthy are Climate change and winds.
Climate change is the prominent reason for California fires. These wildfires spread due to the changing weather conditions. Winds are yet another cause for the massive fires. High winds are the primary cause of fire spread in large parts which swell to such massive sizes. High winds are especially tricky because they can prevent air support, in the form of retardant-dumping planes and water-dropping helicopters, from flying. Others may include carelessly discarding a cigarette, poorly maintained infrastructure, or even gender reveal parties with pyrotechnics that can spark fires.
More than 33 people have been dead and Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. It turned out to be a mass fatality incident as dozens are missing and over 3,000 homes have been destroyed. The number may soar as agencies claim. California’s wildfire has scorched 3.1 million acres of land so far. This part of the country is suffering from the dirtiest air. Los Angel is under tribulation due to the worst smog in 30 years and temperature is making things really lamentable, a recorded temperature of 125 °F.
Fire officials are reported to have said that they have never seen fire spread so fast as 125 miles in a single day. They said that this fire is something different which they have seen in the previous years.
In California, a prolonged drought over the past decade has mowed down millions of trees, turning them into potent fuel for the fires. Mountain regions that are normally cooler and wetter have dried out more rapidly in the summer, adding to the potential fuel load. Climate scientists had forecast that western wildfires would grow in size, scale, and impact.
The White House said Trump, will meet with California officials on Monday. The president has said that western governors bear some of the blame for intense fire seasons in recent years, accusing them of poor forest management.
On the other side Trump’s Democratic opponent in the November election, Joe Biden, on Saturday linked the inferno to climate change, echoing comments made a day earlier by California Governor Newsom. On Sept. 9, California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted a short video by Bloomberg’s QuickTake in which he said: “climate change has profoundly impacted the reality that we’re currently experiencing.”
Wildlife is likely to be affected most severely by these fires and can hinder the ability of an ecosystem to recover. All animals are under stress by these fire because smoke, fire, and heat are extremely dangerous for animals that can’t escape fast enough, particularly young and small animals. After all these hard times California is in believe that firefighters will get the upper hand in this tragedy.