Wildfires ravage western U.S.
Wildfires have been added to the list of extreme weather events for 2017. As of Thursday, 2 million acres of land were aflame across the world, according to Business Insider. While Hurricane Harvey was ravaging the south portion of the U.S. with flooding, the western part experienced extreme dry and hot weather.
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Satellite images taken by NASA at the end of August showed the smoke coming from these large and intense wildfires. The main cause of these fires is a long drought that made the forests dry, therefore making them susceptible to burning. Once the fires are started they are difficult to put out because the hot, dry and windy weather creates the perfect environment for a fire. The fires have primarily been in California, Montana and Oregon. Fires have also recently occurred in Idaho and Utah.
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California was forced to declare a state of emergency as wildfires burned thousands of acres outside of Los Angeles, reported the LA Times. The giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park were at risk and access to Yosemite National Park was limited.
In Montana thousands of firefighters and hundreds of Montana National Guard members have been fighting wildfires for months across the state. Montana Governor, Steve Bullock, said that this is “one of the worst fire seasons” in the states history, reported the New York Times. Although wildfires are common, 2017 has been significantly more severe.
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“The fact is, there is a large portion of land along our northern tier that is experiencing incredible drought, and Montana is in the middle of it all,” said Mon tana Democratic Senator Jon Tester during a Senate legislative session at the beginning of September. Tester showed his colleagues a national map of drought conditions. He noted that Congress is continuing to ignore climate change, wrote the New York Times.
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Oregon saw fires in the upper and middle parts of the state, including the Whitewater, Jones and Eagle Creek fires. The fire at Eagle Creek tore through the Columbia River Gorge and was allegedly started by teenagers throwing smoke bombs into the dry forest.
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Damage from these wildfires is unavoidable. In addition to the obvious devastation from burning, there can also be erosion and flooding issues because the ground is not stable.
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“Usually it takes years - four to five - for vegetation to grow back and the ground to stabilize,” Steven Sobieszczyk, a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist in Portland, told the Oregonian. “There’s nothing to stabilize the ground. You have water falling directly on the ground, with ash and debris. The cover is gone, the understory is burned off.”
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The fires also have a negative impact on human health. Those near the fires are at risk of burns, but people in areas nearby can experience short and long term effects from smoke inhalation. The damage caused to the ecosystems can also cause lasting issues, such as water and soil pollution.
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Climate change is once again thought to be aiding the extreme wildfires seen this year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, data from the National Interagency Fire Center shows that annual wildfire-burned area in the U.S. has increased dramatically since 1980, jumping around the year 2000. The severity of wildfires in the U.S. showed a similar trend.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gave funds to fighting the fires that were considered a major disasters. Requests for funding made to FEMA can be processed and granted within hours to help control fires. Thousands of firefighters have been fighting the many fires. As of Sept 12, the Forest Service had spent $1.75 billion fighting fires and the U.S. Interior Department spent more than $391 million, reported the L.A. Times.
