Bishka

Wildfires in the United States

written by Michelle Bishka

Over the course of the past few decades, wildfires have generally increased in quantity and worsened in effects, particularly in the United States. The trend of climate change, particularly the warming and drying out of environments, has created favorable arid conditions for wildfires to start and spread, lengthening fire season. The spike in wildfires contributes to climate change, creating a positive feedback loop between the two. Substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane are released into the atmosphere during a wildfire. These greenhouse gases further contribute to climate change, a wildfire instigator. As of September 18th, 2021, a wildfire has reached California’s Giant Forest, threatening its giant sequoias. The outcome of this fire may mimic that of the California Castle Fire of 2020, which killed 10% of the world’s grown sequoias. Though ecosystems can benefit from the nutrients released from fires and recover from them due to their built-in resilience, if wildfires occur so frequently that the ecosystem does not have enough time to recover, it can collapse as a result. Because wildfires are happening at increased rates, it is not shocking that the rate of ecosystems falling would, too, increase.

Not only do the gases released by wildfires affect the environment, they also affect human health. Wildfire smoke consists of fine particulate matter, or soot, that creates severe respiratory and cardiological issues, killing an average of 500 elderly people a year in the United States. Children are also heavily at risk from these health complications.

The aftermath of wildfires can also impose financial burdens. Wildfires can destroy transportation routes and limit state tourism, affecting workers and their hours. 60% of the $150 billion damage caused by California’s wildfires in 2018 can be attributed to the disruption of normal economic activity. Over the past few years, to combat the higher rates of forest fires, federal and state wildfire budgets have increased in the United States. In 2017, the U.S. Forest Service fire suppression costs had exceeded $2 billion dollars, and it grew to $2.25 billion dollars in 2020. This budget is projected to continue increasing.

Wildfires are multifaceted in the consequences they pose and need to be prevented. This starts by properly handling the ever-growing climate crisis that has led to the degradation of life on Earth.

https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/ wildfires-in-the-united-states-101-contextand-consequences/

https://www.usda.gov/media/pressreleases/2017/09/14/forest-service-wildlandfire-suppression-costs-exceed-2-billion