by Hyon K. Rah – Chair, Environment & Sustainable Development Committee

November 2020

Wildfires, a natural part of life in many parts of the United States, were typically expected during the annual wildfire season, which started around May and ended by September or October. Until recent years, with some tragic exceptions, the fires tended to happen in uninhibited areas and remain largely under control. Not anymore.

As many in the western part of the country would tell you from experience, wildfires have become larger, more intense, more frequent, and more prolonged. In California, the phrase “wildfire season” has become almost obsolete as the fires are raging year-around. Between the beginning of the year and early September, over 3.2 million acres of land—an area close to the size of the entire state of Connecticut—burned in California. Colorado is having a record-setting wildfire season in late October, which is normally the end of the wildfire season.

The lack of forest management in wildfire-prone areas, many of which are protected national forests, is a part of the problem, but there are other important factors. For one, the western U.S. has been experiencing a severe drought (Figure 1). This has been caused by growing water demand, less rainfall and snow, and rising temperatures (Figure 2). Climate change is a root cause of the trend toward more frequent and severe droughts. One of its effects is the lower moisture level in the soil, which translates to drier trees and plant species reliant on that soil. This turns heavily planted areas such as forests into potential tinderboxes filled with dry bushes and shrubs at greater risk of burning.

The dire consequences of wildfires reach beyond those directly affected by losing their homes, possessions, and loved ones. In parts of California and Oregon, the air quality index has shot up to over 600 because of the fires. To put that into perspective, the average air quality index in 2019 in Delhi, Indian, which arguably is one of the most polluted cities in the world, was 98.6. The threats to people’s respiratory health this poses is grave, especially during a pandemic that is known to degrade respiratory systems.

PG&E, one of the biggest electric utility companies that serves over 16 million customers in northern and central California, announced its plans to shutoff power in over 360,000 homes and businesses in late October—the fifth time such a decision was made this year. The shutoffs are aimed to prevent worsening the on-going wildfires by removing the risk of downed electric wires during a powerful windstorm. Being plunged into darkness for wildfire safety is starting to become routine.

So, what can we do? First, learning about wildfires and the interconnectedness of their causes—including forest management, water use, and the rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns caused by climate change--and sharing that information with others is important because t solutions will require changes in behaviors and policies. Communicating the risks with people you know, including your elected leaders, and encouraging them to take steps to conserve water is imperative. Contributing less to products and activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions would help address the root of the problem, which is the trend of heatwaves and droughts due to climate change.

To be ready for wildfires, here are some resources for making an emergency plan and packing a “go-bag”. Also included here is a piece of advice from Marikay Shellman, a valued member of the Environment & Sustainable Development Committee and an avid gardener/rancher, on something simple you can do to help keep more moisture in the soil while helping pollinators thrive (more on pollinators later).

If you want to share any of your ideas, tips, or feedback, we’d be happy to hear from you, at: environment@nfbpwc.org.

Figure 1: Many areas under threat from wildfires fall in the zones with persistent or developing drought conditions.

Figure 2: Many areas under threat from wildfires fall in the zones with rising temperatures.