Fire and Ecological Awareness

  

  A blog on a topic of student’s choosing



Those who work closely with wildfires have categorized them as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and unimaginable. The reason fires are captivating national media attention is the damage of their force. Despite efforts to minimize casualties, the unimaginable toll of wildfires on human infrastructure and lives is becoming more apparent. Recent fire news revolved around Australia’s 2019-2020 fire season. California was also in the news in 2018 for its fire season. Fires across the globe have captured our attention. The news coverage is based in the increasing severity of fires. The term "megafire" has been coined to emphasize the increase in severity. Megafires are fires that have burned over 40,000 hectares (almost 10,000 acres). These Mega fires are in part an issue as a result of human failure to understand the extra-human fire cycles and locations of fire. 

The increasing proximity of homes to fires is a recent concern. The suburbs of California and southern Australia exemplify this issue. These populations have been expanding into flammable landscapes. These newly developed areas are more likely to experience fires. Their location specifically places inhabitants at risk for megafires. Homes located near forests are closer to fire sources. Impacts on human life can best be observed through the statistics of California’s 2018 fire season. The 2018 California Camp fire resulted in 86 deaths. More than 14,000 homes were destroyed in the fire. Many of the homes were near forested areas with only minimal protection. The building consensus is that wildfire prevention measures are not adequate in preventing damage caused by “megafires”.  The costs of continuing the proximity between homes and forests is  unimaginable. Unpredictable, uncontrollable, and unimaginable fires can be stopped now with policies that mimic the natural fire cycle. Methods to control underburned accumulation involve building slash piles and cutting trees selected by foresters. 

These fires demonstrates humans’ ecological failings in two ways. The first is house placement, humans failed to understand the extra-human associated with where they built. The second is the lack of understanding of fire cycles that have led to human recreation of an extra-human system they messed up. Ultimately, when humans failed to understand the extra-human and ecology around them, they create more long term harm for themselves. If humans thought of themselves within the ecological system, much of this disaster could have been prevented.

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