Forest Fires In California

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In the state of California, there is over twenty million acres of national forests. Speaking upon that, over one million acres of forest was destroyed due to forest fires in 2017 alone. Forest fires are a started by one of two ways, natural and human-caused. Natural fires are usually caused by lightning, very small amounts by combustion of dry fuel and leaves, and sometimes drought. As for human-caused fires, there are a plethora of ways such as camping, gasoline, etc. Ways firefighters stop the fires are fire retardants and fire breaks. In addition, helicopters release water in attempts to die down the fires. On December 4, 2017 the Thomas fire was ignited North of Saint Paula, and although the cause is still under investigation, the damage …show more content…
Over 220,000 acres were ruined, forcing over 100,000 citizens to evacuate and left 1,000 buildings perished. The overall cost of the fire was $297 million, $177 million of that used to fight the disastrous fire. This fire left many lives changed and the forest will need years to recover. Although this fire could’ve possibly been natural, if it was human-caused that is a large problem that needs to be faced up front to avoid future fires. Over 29% of wildfires are caused by arson every year. Whereas, arson is the intentional setting of a fire. That is not excluding the fact that 90% of fires are human-caused overall. To avoid future cases of arson, California should set laws in place to avoid known arsonists even having access to national forests. To enforce that law, …show more content…
Animals and other organisms are affected just as much maybe even more than humans when a wildfire breaks. Not only are they losing their home, but the environment in which they live in is ruined. Moreover, if wildfires start during a dry season, such as a drought, it can burn and destroy all vegetation. For larger animals, they have a better chance to get away from a fire in comparison to smaller ones. Once a wildfire is put out, “Wildfire populations can suffer substantial losses due to habitat alteration and destruction. Since their habitat has been destroyed, wildlife becomes displaced and must spend more time searching for food, water and shelter.” (thewildlifemuseum). Solutions to this could be making sure that animals are evacuated and protected when a wildfire has been reported. In addition, keeping these habitats protected year around could not only protect animals from these fires, but also lead to a decrease in poaching. When animals make it out the fire, the usually have a hard time adapting to another environment. Most of the time, there is competition for water, shelter, and food. Animal sanctuaries could take those displaced animals and prepare them for life in the wild again. Not only do animals lose their home after a fire, but humans do also. An estimated 100,000 citizens had to evacuate after the Thomas Fire, additionally leaving one thousand buildings and homes perished. As for animals will eventually
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