An Escalating Crisis
Due to a combination of the climate crisis, generations of fire suppression (that has loaded ecosystems with fuels), and sprawling human populations in the Wildland-Urban Interface (areas with a mix of homes and wildland vegetation), the rate of life-threatening wildfires has skyrocketed. As a result, demands on first responders are growing disproportionately, causing an escalating crisis. Consider that:
From the 1970s to the 2010s, areas burned in large forest fires have increased by more than 1,200%. The ferocious megafires of the past several years continue this trend.
California has experienced a fivefold increase in annual burned area from 1972 to 2018 and an eightfold increase in summer forest fire extent.
Three of the top five U.S. wildfire years since 1960 (acres burned) have occurred since 2015.
What are the environmental costs?
WATERSHEDS: Wildfires can severely degrade watersheds and water quality. This is because charred soils are less able to hold water. As a result, heavy storms that occur shortly after fires often cause dangerous mudslides and pollute water bodies with toxic runoff.
LAND: Unnaturally frequent and intense wildfires leave ecosystems with little time to recover, decimating native plant and wildlife biodiversity and allowing flammable weeds to invade.
AIR: Mega fires emit massive amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2). In the year 2020 alone, wildfires in California produced the same annual emissions as approximately 24 million cars.
What are the impacts to people?
ECONOMY & COMMUNITY: California’s wildfires in 2018 alone caused $28 billion in direct damages to homes and businesses and an estimated $150 billion in additional damages from impacts to economic activity such as disruptions to tourism, recreation, and worker health and livelihoods.
HEALTH & WELLNESS: Direct exposure to wildfire increases the risk of mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In addition:
Wildfires cause psychological stress to communities due to loss of loved ones (including pets), financial impacts (including loss of homes and cherished possessions), and devastation of the landscape,
Wildfires lead to watershed contamination, toxifying drinking water supplies for years to follow.
Wildfires now cause approximately 25% of Americans’ exposure to PM2.5 (Fine Particulate Matter pollution), which can cause severe health problems.
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Source: Wildfires in the United States 101: Context and Consequences