Fire Prevention Continues in California
As California settles into the autumn, the State has once again found itself in a fight against a growing wildfire hazard. Coming off of a record setting year of fires in 2018, California has adjusted its models and projections, and has found success in 2019. By early November in 2018, it is estimated that over 600,000 acres had burned across California, damaging and destroying infrastructure and homes without prejudice, prompting the state to increase its preparedness for the 2019 fire season.
This increased preparedness is being cited by fire officials across the state as one of the reasons this year’s fires have been less destructive. As of the beginning of November, only 75,000 acres have been burnt by wildfires in California, a significant improvement over 2018’s 600,000 acres by this time. Yet still, fire officials have discouraged fire fighting agencies and residents near areas that present wildfire dangers from falling into a sense of complacency. Luck seems to have also had its part to play this season, and the dangers of new fires are still present.
Official’s have routinely pointed to the Santa Ana winds as a major culprit in the spreading and development of major fires this season, contributing to both the Kincade and Getty fires, as well as 16 other conflagrations that have come and gone across the state. The Santa Ana winds, which form off the coast of California in the autumn months and gust inland, have been recorded as the strongest winds of the decade in 2019, and show no signs of lessening in the coming years as climate change increases their severity. These winds pose a unique challenge to California wildfire fighters, as the gusts are a major factor in the development and spreading of these fires. These winds are often the force that drives the flames toward residential and urban areas, while also carrying dangerous smoke many miles away.
Even facing the strongest gusts in a decade, fire officials in California are optimistic for how the rest of the season will play out, citing quicker decisions and methods around evacuations. Officials are also working with California’s power companies to organize intentional blackouts to prevent their electrical infrastructure from sparking fires like the Camp Fire in 2018, which burned 153,000 acres and killed 85 civilians. This new intentional blackout strategy, pioneered by San Diego Gas & Electric, has been helpful in fire prevention. However, it has frustrated California residents and even Governor Gavin Newsom; at certain points, up to 3,000,000 people across the state of California were without power for hours at a time. Electrical infrastructure is still responsible for starting at least two fires in the 2019 season.
Though the season has been less severe, fire officials across the State reiterate their warnings against laxity on the part of both residents and firefighters alike. As climate change increases the severity of the Santa Ana winds and other windstorm systems, California faces an uncertain future for how its wildfires will develop, and how to contain them.