Santa Ana winds, arid conditions, and fire—lots of fire. The same fire that has ravaged California for years has, in recent days, consumed entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles and, in recent hours, the Hollywood Hills. The same fire that has caused at least five deaths, hundreds of thousands of evacuations, and thousands of buildings destroyed or without light.
But this isn’t just another fire. “This has the potential to be, at least collectively, the costliest wildfire disaster in American history,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a Jan. 8 livestream. This would be surprising on its own but becomes frightening as California’s wildfire season typically runs from May to October.
This is one of the most destructive fires in the region, and it just started in January. As California Governor Gavin Newsom said, there’s no longer a fire season. “Fire season has become year-round in the state of California,” he stated.
What’s going on? The main factor is unusually strong Santa Ana winds. These dry, warm winds blow from the desert to the coast in the fall and winter, but they’re particularly powerful right now.
Meanwhile, California has been suffering from a historic drought for years. El Niño was greeted in the state as excellent news, and the increased rainfall allowed water restrictions to be lifted. But it was a very short respite: The last few weeks have been unusually dry—and very warm—leaving Southern California full of grasses and brush ready to be consumed by flames.
Is it climate change? Studies attributing such disasters to climate change will take time to complete. But California’s climate seems to have been changing faster than normal for years now. Either way, it seems clear that the state was unprepared for such a phenomenon.
According to weather services, the situation will remain critical for a few more days.
Why California? Fires have been part of the Californian landscape for years. Still, the situation is worsening to the point where it is causing a deep crisis in the insurance industry and forcing changes in the law so that this increased weather risk can be reflected in policies.
California is beginning to realize that fire preparedness requires much more than it has been doing. It needs a comprehensive plan that includes regulating building materials, more proactive management of forest lands, and a profound urban planning revolution to prevent people from continuing to settle in the most dangerous places.
And this realization comes just as the country seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
Image | Cory Doctorow
Related | As Energy Prices Rise in California, Utility Companies Point to Roofs and Blame Solar Panels
View 0 comments