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| − | '''Wildfires''' are a common occurrence in the state of California each fire season, which reaches its highest point during mid to late part of the summer<ref>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/wildfires/ "Here's how wildfires get started—and how to stop them"], National Geographic, retrieved September 12, 2020</ref> during the late dry season in the state.<ref>The dry season in California roughly correlates with the state's summer.</ref> Wildfires begin in rural areas, often where forests and grasslands are located, but can spread to suburban or urban areas if not contained, causing property damage or even loss of life. | + | '''Wildfires''' are a common occurrence in the state of California each fire season, which reaches its highest point during the mid to late part of the summer<ref name="How wildfires start">[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/wildfires/ "Here's how wildfires get started—and how to stop them"], National Geographic, retrieved September 12, 2020</ref> during the dry season in the state.<ref>The dry season in California roughly correlates with the state's summer.</ref> Wildfires begin in rural areas, often where forests and grasslands are located, but can spread to suburban or urban areas if not contained, causing property damage or loss of life. |
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| | + | In the summer 2024, "26,000 people [had] to evacuate" when a "Thompson fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento, near the city of Oroville in Butte County."<ref>https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-8091a7f73b1765b440f9923d76f8e664</ref> |
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| | ==History== | | ==History== |
| | + | In recent decades, and particularly since the 1990s, California wildfires have become an increased problem in the state. |
| | + | According to Grist, "Drought, disease, and insects have left 100 million dead trees browning across California, and in some places, 90 percent of the trees have died."<ref name="grist-dry-wood"> [https://grist.org/article/why-california-is-fighting-fire-with-fire/ Grist, Sep 19, 2019]</ref> |
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| | ==Causes== | | ==Causes== |
| − | | + | The worsening of these wildfires has been blamed variously on [[global warming]] and on illogical [[environmentalism|environmental policies]]. |
| − | In recent decades, and particularly since the 1990s, California wildfires have become an increased problem in the state, and have been blamed variously on [[global warming]] and on illogical [[environmentalism|environmental policies]].
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| − | "Drought, disease, and insects have left 100 million dead trees browning across California, and in some places, 90 percent of the trees have died. All this dry wood can stoke small blazes into uncontrollable infernos that ravage towns and choke the region with smoke."<ref> [https://grist.org/article/why-california-is-fighting-fire-with-fire/ Grist, Sep 19, 2019]</ref>
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| | President Trump 'blamed the wildfires on "years" of poor forest management in California'<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/513031-trump-criticizes-california-for-wild-fires-youve-got-to-clean-your Trump hits California officials over wildfires: 'You've got to clean your floors']</ref> | | President Trump 'blamed the wildfires on "years" of poor forest management in California'<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/513031-trump-criticizes-california-for-wild-fires-youve-got-to-clean-your Trump hits California officials over wildfires: 'You've got to clean your floors']</ref> |
| | : ''Forbes Magazine'' reported: | | : ''Forbes Magazine'' reported: |
| − | :* California’s deadliest year of wildfires has been decades in the making, with overlapping environmental rules, both state and federal, making fuel load reductions in forests and coastal chaparral nearly impossible ...<ref> [https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2018/11/27/trumps-right-about-californias-fires-it-wasnt-climate-change-two-new-california-laws-prove-it/#71404dfc22e3]</ref> | + | :* California’s deadliest year of wildfires has been decades in the making, with overlapping environmental rules, both state and federal, making fuel load reductions in forests and coastal chaparral nearly impossible ...<ref> [https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2018/11/27/trumps-right-about-californias-fires-it-wasnt-climate-change-two-new-california-laws-prove-it/#71404dfc22e3 Trump's Right About California's Fires: It Wasn't Climate Change; Two New California Laws Prove It]</ref> |
| | + | :Grist asserted: |
| | + | :* All this dry wood can stoke small blazes into uncontrollable infernos that ravage towns and choke the region with smoke.<ref name="grist-dry-wood"> [https://grist.org/article/why-california-is-fighting-fire-with-fire/ Grist, Sep 19, 2019]</ref> |
| | : CNBC reported: | | : CNBC reported: |
| | :*'According to the California Forestry Association, tree density in the Sierra Nevada is too high when compared with the region’s historical rates, creating an elevated fire hazard.' [https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/california-timber-firms-maybe-piece-of-the-puzzle-to-cut-fire-risk.html California timber industry may be a ‘piece of the puzzle’ to help reduce state’s raging wildfires] | | :*'According to the California Forestry Association, tree density in the Sierra Nevada is too high when compared with the region’s historical rates, creating an elevated fire hazard.' [https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/california-timber-firms-maybe-piece-of-the-puzzle-to-cut-fire-risk.html California timber industry may be a ‘piece of the puzzle’ to help reduce state’s raging wildfires] |
| | + | :''[[National Geographic]]'' has identified increased population, which has led to construction in the state's wilderness, as a reason for increased damage done from fires.<ref name="How wildfires start" /> |
| | + | :CNN cited a scientific paper blaming [[climate change]] (aka [[global warming]]) for increasing wildfires. However that paper did not take into account multiple additional factors. For instance: |
| | + | :*It is well known that past fire suppression has allowed surface fuels to accumulate in forests, leading to bigger and more devastating fires.<ref> [https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/11/09/how-bad-science-horrific-journalism-misrepresent-wildfires-and-climate/ How Bad Science & Horrific Journalism Misrepresent Wildfires and Climate]</ref> |
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| | + | ==Proposed Solutions== |
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| | + | An article from the blog Debating Science in 2018 stated, "This issue could be solved by what are known as prescribed fires, or controlled burns. ... Burning supplemented by thinning generally is seen as the most effective combination in preventing severe wildfires".<ref> [https://blogs.umass.edu/natsci397a-eross/controlled-burns-the-solution-to-californias-wildfire-problem/ blog at University of Massachusetts]</ref> |
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| | + | President Trump mentioned forest management as a possible option for reducing the severity of wildfires during the first Presidential debate in 2020, saying, "[W]e have to do better management of our forests."<ref name="Forest management">[https://abc7.com/california-wildfires-trump-climate-change-forest-management-presidential-debate/6677210/ Trump slams California forest management during 1st debate as wildfires rage on]</ref> A state senator responded via Tweet claiming the federal government is the majority owner of forested land in California and encouraged Trump to "get to work".<ref name="Forest management" /> |
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| − | Here's one solution:
| + | ==Prisoner firefighters== |
| − | *"This issue could be solved by what are known as prescribed fires, or controlled burns. ... Burning supplemented by thinning generally is seen as the most effective combination in preventing severe wildfires"<ref> [https://blogs.umass.edu/natsci397a-eross/controlled-burns-the-solution-to-californias-wildfire-problem/ blog at University of Massachusetts]</ref>
| + | After the [[United States Supreme Court]] in ''Brown v. Plata'' (2011) declared California's prisons so overcrowded they violated prisoners' [[Eighth Amendment]] right against [[cruel and unusual punishment]], California [[Attorney General]] [[Kamala Harris]] fought federal court supervision. When California failed to fully implement the court's order to reduce overcrowding, and was ordered to implement new parole programs, Attorney General Harris appealed the decision, and in court filings Harris argued that if California were forced to release these inmates early, prisons would lose an important source of [[slave]] labor.<ref>{{cite news|last1=St. John|first1=Paige|title=Federal judges order California to expand prison releases|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-federal-judges-order-state-to-release-more-prisoners-20141114-story.html|access-date=October 12, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 14, 2014}}</ref> Prisoners in California earn between 8 and 37 cents per hour in maintenance and kitchen jobs; prisoners fighting California wildfires receive $1 per hour.<ref>Annika Neklason, [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/how-much-longer-will-inmates-fight-californias-wildfires/547628/ California Is Running Out of Inmates to Fight Its Fires], ''The Atlantic'' (December 7, 2017).</ref> |
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| | ==See Also== | | ==See Also== |