Gardetto from the Bureau of Land Management said wildfires caused by humans comprise around 87 percent of all wildfires throughout the US. "If the public can prevent new wildfire ignitions, it will really help firefighters and emergency responders. Also, if people live in fire-prone, Wildland Urban Interface areas, where wildfire could threaten their homes, they should make their homes resistant to wildfire. This will greatly improve the odds that homes can survive a wildfire and, in some cases, will give emergency responders a chance at saving more homes."
Bored Panda wanted to find out how the intensity of the fires in California, Oregon, and Washington compared to this time last year. According to Gardetto, 2019 was a quiet fire year when compared to both 2020 and 2018. "This is due to the fact that last year, weather conditions supported less wildfire ignitions and less fire growth, whereas this year, drought, hot and dry weather, winds and lighting are creating new wildfires and exacerbating current incidents."
She added: "Reducing human-caused wildfires is the absolute best thing the public can do right now! Visit www.nifc.gov to learn more about how you can avoid causing a wildfire."
According to CNN meteorologist Judson Jones, the reason why the West Coast looks Apocalyptic is because of all the smoke and ash which “are acting like nature’s version of an Instagram filter.”
Jones said, “The particles in the air are refracting sunlight similar to the way small air particles do when the sun sets or rises." What this means is simple: the particles in the air scatter blue and green wavelengths (which are shorter), meaning we can only see red and yellow wavelengths (which are longer and pass through the particles).
The hot, dry weather, and strong winds are turning the West Coast into a tinderbox. Lightning strikes have also added to the overall problems in the area. As have accidents. One such case has been on many a person's lips recently.
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The El Dorado Fire in California’s San Bernardino County that was sparked by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party had grown to 10,574 acres and counting. It was 16% contained on Tuesday, September 8, according to CNN.
The BBC reports that over 2 million acres of land have burned in California. During this time last year, ‘only’ 118k acres were destroyed by fires. The Telegraph puts the current amount of land torched by the fires in California right now at 2.5 million acres.
Meanwhile, Oregon Governor Kate Brown says that hundreds of homes in the state have been obliterated by the wildfires. “This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state's history," she warned, adding that the winds are fuelling the fires and pushing them toward towns and cities. Mass evacuations are underway.
