INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2020

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

California Wildfires
(2020)

(California & Oregon Wildfires, Satellite Imagery)

#8

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2020 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
(8th Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

The 2020 California wildfire season, part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season, was a record-setting year of wildfires in California. By the end of the year, 9,917 fires had burned 4,397,809 acres (1,779,730 ha), more than 4% of the state’s roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California’s modern history (according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), though roughly equivalent to the pre-1800 levels which averaged around 4.4 million acres yearly and up to 12 million in peak years. California’s August Complex fire has been described as the first “gigafire”, burning over 1 million acres across seven counties, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. The fires destroyed over 10,000 structures and cost over $12.079 billion (2020 USD) in damages, including over $10 billion in property damage and $2.079 billion in fire suppression costs. The intensity of the fire season has been attributed to a combination of more than a century of poor forest management and higher temperatures resulting from climate change.

On August 18, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency, and on August 19, 2020, reported that the state was battling 367 known fires, many sparked by intense thunderstorms on August 16–17 caused by moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fausto. Response and evacuations were complicated by a historic heatwave and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On August 22, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration (DR-4558), which provides Individual Assistance and/or Public Assistance.

In early September 2020, a combination of a record-breaking heat wave and strong katabatic winds, (including the Jarbo, Diablo, and Santa Ana) caused explosive fire growth. The August Complex became California’s largest recorded wildfire. The Creek Fire expanded in the Big Creek drainage area, temporarily trapping hundreds of campers near the Mammoth Pool Reservoir. The North Complex explosively grew in size as the winds fanned it westward, threatening the city of Oroville, triggering mass evacuations, and causing 16 fatalities.

Governor Newsom’s request for a federal disaster declaration for six major wildfires was approved on October 17 after having been rejected the previous day.

On November 10, 2020, the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) reported that there were around 3,400 firefighters plus personnel fighting the wildfires in the United States.

(Alleged) Causes – Climate Change

Climate change increases the temperature of wildfires in California, the risk for drought, and potentially also the frequency of such events. David Romps, director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center summarizes the situation as follows: “To cut to the chase: Were the heat wave and the lightning strikes and the dryness of the vegetation affected by global warming? Absolutely yes. Were they made significantly hotter, more numerous, and drier because of global warming? Yes, likely yes, and yes.”

Similarly, Friederike Otto, acting director of the University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute states, “There is absolutely no doubt that the extremely high temperatures are higher than they would have been without human-induced climate change. A huge body of attribution literature demonstrates now that climate change is an absolute game-changer when it comes to heat waves, and California won’t be the exception.” Susan Clark, director of the Sustainability Initiative at the University at Buffalo argues, “This is climate change. This increased intensity and frequency of temperatures and heat waves are part of the projections for the future. […] There is going to be more morbidity and mortality [from heat.] There are going to be more extremes.”

The National Interagency Fire Center’s (NFIC) National Interagency Coordination (NICC) reported that monthly outlooks for the entire country will still drive wildfires across the country but especially California. The main drivers through fall and winter seasons will be La Nina, and drought conditions are going to continue through California, causing the wildfires to continue. The shift will start from Northern California to Southern California as precipitation will lessen the impact of wildfires across northern California.

Source: Wikipedia

2020 California Wildfires Statistics

Dates(s):	February 15, 2020– January 5, 2021
Total Fires:	9,917
Burned Area:	4,397,809 acres (1,779,730 ha)
Cost:	>$12.079 billion (2020 USD) (Third-costliest on record)
Buildings Destroyed:	10,488 (CAL FIRE) 9,211 (NIFC Year-to-Date report)
Deaths:	33
Non-Fatal Injuries:	37