And we also have in California and around the West, a legacy of fuel accumulation.”įuels help fires travel from the forest floor to the tops of trees. That definitely creates conditions where it’s easier for a fire to go from a small fire to an explosive fire. “We are seeing longer dry seasons and some very, very hot temperatures. In contrast to indigenous practices of using fire to manage forests, full suppression of fires in forested areas was standard policy in California for over a century. Additionally, Field said that decades of fire suppression have left California with an excess of fuel waiting to be burned. Maybe once a decade or so.”Īccording to Field, hotter summers from climate change lead to bigger fires. “Pre-Europeans, the fire interval in forested parts of California, especially in the lower elevation areas, was frequent, low intensity fires. Fires started by humans generally spread at a rate of roughly 1.83 kilometers per day, which is more than twice as fast as the rate of spread for burns sparked by lightning.įield touched on the impact of European settlers on the natural wildfire season and, in particular, on the fire return interval–a measure of the time between fires in a particular area. Downed power lines, poorly extinguished campfires and gender reveal parties gone astray are just some of the ways that human activity has caused wildfires. “In many cases these days, the ignitions are related to human activity,” said Anchukaitis. Kevin Anchukaitis, professor of Earth Systems Geography at the University of Arizona, explained that there are three main factors that contribute to a wildfire season: ignition, fuel and climate. “Even if it’s not terribly hot, that long dry season really creates conditions where the fuel moisture just dropped so low that fine fuels are almost explosive.” According to Field, the best indicator for how severe a wildfire season will be is how dry the air is. “Really terrifying to beat.”įield explained how a dry season leads to a wildfire season. “Sometimes the fires have been moving 50 miles an hour,” Field said. Not only are fires larger, they move faster, Field said, which means more land area is impacted. In 2020, during the largest wildfire season recorded in the state’s history, more than 4.3 million acres of land were burned. ’81, director of the Woods Institute and Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University, “We’ve seen bigger fires in the last few years than ever before in California in recorded history.” Typically lasting from July through October (and fanned by the Santa Ana winds) California wildfires have made headlines in recent years for their size and intensity.Īccording to Chris Field, Ph.D. The variability of rainfall between seasons is a driving factor behind California’s wildfire season. High levels of rain and atmospheric rivers across the state this winter have increased underbrush growth, scientists say, which could exacerbate the intensity and damage of this year’s wildfire season. Characterized by wet winters and hot, dry summers, California has a Mediterranean climate.
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