via pixabay

2017 has brought 50,996 forest fires, burning over 8,500,000 acres of land in the United States. Wildfire season in the West was supposed to end over 100 days ago. Jessica Gardetto, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center, told the LA Times, “We just haven’t had that relief.” Four out of five wildfires are sparked by humans, but the dry and windy weather conditions and the tiniest spark can create a national disaster. Fires need three things to begin: fuel, oxygen and a source. Natural fires are caused by lightning and dry fuel, such as sawdust and leaves. Human fires are more easily detected by emergency services, but natural fires can burn for hours without being identified.

As the forest fires spread across southern California earlier last week, more than 20,000 people have been warned to evacuate from their homes due to the unpredictable consequences and dangerous air pollution that results from such fires. Over 100 citizens have been taken to emergency rooms for burns and trouble breathing due to smoke inhalation. While authorities continue to search the burned down neighborhoods for victims, the toll of missing people is currently up to 600. Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano told CNN, “I’m optimistic that we will get a lot of people connected. At the same time, we have to be realistic and start searching for the ones we know are missing.” The authorities have to comb through the scorched neighborhood for survivors and, worst-case-scenario, victims, over the next few days. Citizens also have to return to their neighborhoods to collect their belongings and sift through crumbling houses.

In California, the proximity of houses to the forest, brought on by intense overcrowding pushing residences and business onto natural land, increases the chance of harm and death from fires. “95 percent of the population of the state lives on 6 percent of the land,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to Vox. The hazard of forest fires is made exceptionally dangerous as humans inch closer and closer to the forest.

Wildfires bring destruction to multiple businesses and residences. The fire also has detrimental effects on the lungs of people inhaling the smoke. The harmful repercussions of these environmental issues directly impact every American citizen. Natural disasters remind us of the importance of protecting our environment in order to protect our health and home.

If interested in assisting fire victims, the American Red Cross and Napa County Community Disaster Fund are collecting donations for those in need.