Johnwschoen. (2019, November 9). Warming climate, population sprawl threaten California’s future with more destructive wildfires. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/09/why-californias-wildfires-are-going-to-get-worse.html
A recent spike in California wildfires are causing billions in property damage, the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and the displacement of thousands of people. Wildfires have gotten more common and destructive, with 10 of California’s most deadly wildfires in the last decade. Dry summers lead to wet winters, but the time between the two seasons becomes the prime climate for wildfires. A growing population is placing people and nature more at risk of being burned. “Population growth is making (wildfires) more deadly but it’s also making them more likely… The more people on the landscape means more opportunity for a fire during one of these wind events” says Jon Keeley, a research scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists have tried to mitigate the risks that wildfires pose with prescribed burns, but not everybody is on board with that.
Living in California I know first hand the degree to which we experience wildfires and the damage it causes. We have had smoke days, in which school is canceled because the air is so polluted from the smoke of a fire that is hundreds of miles away. Many fingers can be pointed at why we are experiencing wildfires at this rate, of course, wildfires are natural but the ones we experience are more times than not man-made. Wildfires relate to population growth because as communities pop up in forest areas that are usually isolated, the chances for a fire increase. The developments also create a good fuel for the fires to burn. Population growth can also be seen as an enhancer of climate change, which is an obvious cause of forest fires. Forest fires will surely become more common as the population grows and the planet gets drier.
These wildfires are truly becoming more of a serious threat as our population in California grows and expands into more densely-wooded areas. Because wildfires are so common here, I think its important for those living in areas that are susceptible to fires to be aware of what to do in that type of an emergency.
I knew that the wildfire has become bigger in this recent years, but I didn’t know the connection between population. It was interesting to hear that the chances of fire happening increases as the population of California increases. I wonder how could we probably avoid this from happening, and still have progress in population.
Wow, this is really interesting as I never knew that the wildfires could increase population growth, if anything, I thought it would decrease the population due to people dying, the destruction of homes, and people overall feeling unsafe. I never knew that the fires taking out forests could potentially lead to more land for homes, therefore increasing the population. My question is: do you think people may be hesitant to move into an area that was wiped out by a fire?