The earth is flat, the moon landing was fake, aliens built the pyramids, and the government set the LA fires on purpose. Not quite. As much as we all love a good conspiracy theory, sometimes the truth is much more complicated and unsexy.
And you might be curious why the solution isn’t more obvious. Like, why don’t we use the ocean to put out the fire?! Seems like someone’s trying to trick us, but the reality is that the salted seawater would make the soil infertile, making vegetation unable to grow.
This is just one example of how intricate Earth’s landscapes are. She’s real picky, and the more we mess with her, the more tantrums she will throw.
The devastation in LA is the result of years of people living against the land and relying on underfunded programs to keep us safe. Climate change, though it didn’t exactly cause the flames to show up out of the blue, has certainly been fueling the fire…literally.
photo by Kajetan Sumila
p.s. this post from Climate Diva both inspired this post and provided some education. Go check it out, follow & support her!
let’s back up and look at the reasons wildfires start
photo by nikita velikanin
Wildfires can be triggered by both natural and human-made factors.
natural causes of wildfires include things like:
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lightning strikes, which can ignite dry vegetation
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volcanic eruptions that produce hot lava capable of sparking fires
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drought which makes plants dry
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climate change which makes hot temperatures hotter, lakes and rivers dryer, and eats more energy from the power grid.
However, human activity is responsible for the majority of wildfires. In fact, roughly 90% of all wildfires are caused by people.
human causes of wildfires include things like:
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campfires left unattended
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burning debris
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fallen power lines
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discarded cigarettes
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deliberate acts of arson
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and people doing silly things that they shouldn’t be doing during a dangerous fire season
Of course, we’ve heard our fair share about gender reveal parties, but despite the media coverage (and horrible consequences), the impact compared to other causes is small.
but wait, aren’t wildfires natural; don’t they get set intentionally?
Wildfires do serve an important purpose; they have for centuries. Many environmental scientists say that periodic, small, controlled fires can help maintain healthy ecosystems by mimicking their natural cycles.
And Indigenous cultures have used controlled burning methods for millennia; they were forced to stop after their land was stolen, they were forcibly removed, and then national parks banned fires.
Setting controlled burns can help to maintain the health of a forest *in some situations*.
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it can rid a dense forest of dead leaves, tree limbs, and other debris.
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believe it or not, this can actually help to prevent bigger wildfires later.
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and it’s also done to reduce insect populations and invasive species.
Controlled fire can help forests thrive by returning nutrients to the soil from the ashes and the new exposed sunlight and space that were being hogged by all the old debris.
But the wildfires we’re seeing rip through downtown LA and destroy people’s homes are not quite the same thing.
the increase in wildfires can be directly linked to climate change creating a longer, more dangerous fire season
A recent study from Nature Ecology and Evolution has proven that intense, detrimental wildfires are significantly more common now than they were even 20 years ago. In fact, climate change has doubled the cumulative forest fire area since just 1984. But why?
A slew of reasons, majority of which are related to global warming.
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rising global temperatures have extended the traditional fire season.
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A hotter atmosphere is a dryer one, drawing out moisture from plants and trees making them essentially tinder.
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warmer winters result in reduced snowpack which decreases water availability for warmer months.
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earlier springs means snow melts earlier, drying out vegetation and leaving a shortage of water.
These conditions are ripe for flames to spread quickly.
California is particularly vulnerable to wildfires because of its landscape.
photo by Max Di Capua
*queue the western music and tumbleweeds*.
LA specifically sits in a landscape called chaparral, characterized by wet winters and dry summers. The landscape is already highly flammable and naturally predisposes the city to wildfires. But fire wasn’t always as big of a problem as it is now.
The landscape on its own is actually very fire-resistant!
Plants native to the LA area have evolved alongside fire for thousands and thousands of years without a problem. As we mentioned with controlled burning, some of them even need fire to regenerate.
So what’s the issue now? Basically, climate change is taking a situation that fits and making it not fine by creating:
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hotter summers
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drought
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weather whiplash
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Santa Ana winds
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invasive species
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dense population
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extensive urban wild-life interface
Let’s talk about it.
global warming’s impact on wildfires: drought, heatwaves, and winds, oh my!
photo by Pawel Czerwinski
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average summer temperatures are rising
California has experienced YEARS of drought; this continued pattern leads to a downhill domino effect:
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water reserves shrink leaving less for people, plants, and animals (and food).
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reduced rainfall makes the landscape dryer causing soil and vegetation to lose moisture.
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this dryer atmosphere turns dried-out plants into highly flammable fuel — under the right conditions which we’re seeing more and more of.
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prolonged heatwaves create conditions where even a small spark can ignite a massive blaze.
It’s a recipe for disaster. Once a fire starts, dry conditions make them even harder to control.
Let’s get one thing straight: climate fluctuations are normal. But climate change is intensifying everything: hotter temperatures and reduced rainfall.
This pattern repeated year after year doesn’t give the land a chance to heal as it would in a ‘healthy’ climate. It fuels a horrible cycle of drought, heat, and fire.
Also contributing to increased wildfires is weather whiplash.
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dramatic weather shifts known as weather whiplash affect fire season
Last year, California had extremely high levels of rainfall followed by another record-breaking hot summer.
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rain increases plant growth
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a hot dry summer turns plant growth into a kindling for dry weather and little rainfall.
And of course, climate change is making these swings much more dramatic by making them more common and more extreme.
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Santa Ana winds increase how quickly a fire can spread
On top of the weather whiplash that fuels the flames in LA, we have the Santa Ana winds, a defining feature of Southern California’s wildfire landscape.
These dry, warm winds originate inland and flow toward the coast, accelerating as they descend through mountain passes. These winds were traveling upwards of 100mph (hurricane-level gusts) through the LA area.
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low humidity and high speeds create ideal conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread.
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these winds can turn small fires into massive blazes by carrying embers over long distances.
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the intensity makes firefighting efforts significantly more challenging, often forcing evacuations and causing widespread destruction.
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the invasive species of it all
Thanks to colonization and even modern-day traveling, plants from other places around the world have made their way into the L.A. landscape where they don’t naturally belong.
There’s a lot to be said about native plants & species, but we’re talking about the fact that non-native species intensify the catching and spreading of fire in this area.
look at the Eucalyptus tree:
Indigenous to Australia, these can be spotted all over L.A. Cute, but they’re also highly flammable and are intensifying the spread of fire.
California Buckeye trees on the other hand, are native to California, have evolved for this kind of climate and recover quickly after wildfires.
annuals vs. perennials:
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Not all, but many native plants to LA are perennials, meaning they grow again each year without needing to be planted.
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Most of the invasive species in LA are annuals, meaning that they die each year.
Because perennials have a longer life cycle, they have a deeper system of roots and structures which makes them more fire-resilient.
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we’re working against nature, instead of working with it
Lastly, our way of life is making it all worse. The dense population and extensive urban-wildland interface in LA increase the likelihood of human-caused ignitions. Huh?
Wildland urban interface is the zone where human development meets the wild (undeveloped land).
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population growth and underfunded programs (housing developments, environmental studies, power and water infrastructure) mean that the places we live are quickly overlapping wild land.
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highly flammable land right next to homes can have entire neighborhoods burning in what feels like the blink of an eye.
What could have been the carefles flick of a cigarette, a craving for smores, or that weird cousin who always seems to have fireworks — mixed with a highly flammable landscape it’s the perfect recipe for disaster.
long-term impacts of wildfires on people and the environment
photo by Jessica Christian
People have died.
They’ve had to evacuate their homes.
They haven’t been able to work not knowing if their house is going to be there when they get back.
It’s estimated that the total damage and economic loss of these fires could be between $250 billion and $275 billion.
But losing all of the photos you have of your grandparents, a precious item from a long-gone sibling, and literally all of your things is priceless.
Not to mention, where do the people who don’t have second homes and can’t afford a hotel for an unlimited amount of time go?
environmentally, it’s not much better
Wildfires dramatically impact the atmosphere and even the ocean.
Forests are ‘carbon sinks’, their burning can increase carbon emissions.
A carbon sink is a place that stores lots and lots of carbon. (Flashback to your 4th grade science class. Trees breathe in CO2!)
As plants and vegetation burn in such large quantities, all of the carbon stored in them gets shot up right into the sky, further increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
A tree has been absorbing carbon for essentially its whole life. When it catches on fire and burns, it lets all of that stored carbon go. Multiply that by every plant burning in a large area…that’s a lot of carbon released into the atmosphere.
Ash and debris from wildfires often end up in rivers and streams, eventually flowing into the ocean.
This runoff can alter ocean salinity and introduce pollutants that harm marine ecosystems.
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this hurts marine life
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it affects those of us who depend on clean drinking water, (umm literally everyone).
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water treatment plants are having an increasingly difficult time removing pollutants, microplastics, and toxic substances from our water.
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adding ash and particulate matter from wildfires to the mix is not exactly ideal for any of us.
So were the California wildfires caused by climate change? Indirectly yes. Climate change didn't just show up in January and hold a magnifying glass over LA. Just like the perfect cookie needs all the right ingredients, so too do these natural disasters we’re seeing more of.
The way forward is to believe in science.
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keep having fun with conspiracy theories, but do your own research and listen to multiple sources reporting on wildfires and other disasters.
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implement more sustainable (people and planet-friendly) infrastructure.
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invest in wildfire prevention.
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using more energy-efficient everything.
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support the scientists and those working to make sustainable changes.
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and of course, putting our dollars and our voices behind the brands and communities who give a damn.
Global warming is continually exacerbating the impacts of disasters such as the fires in LA, and will continue to do so until we educate, raise awareness, understand the science, and debunk the conspiracy theories.