Reports from the National Interagency Fire Center say that this year has the most acres burned year-to-date in the U.S.
But wait — there’s more! Even though this year isn’t over yet (nearly three months remain), we’ve already set a new record:
Those black dots are yearly totals — the red one, circled, is only the year so far. With nearly three months to go, and October a traditionally bad fire month for California … how much worse will it get?
Fire is costing us a fortune.
Fueled by an extended drought and record heat, wildfires have scorched millions of acres across the state, the West and the nation. Fire authorities are scrambling – and spending – in response:
• Three months into the fiscal year, Cal Fire has spent $354 million of its annual $392 million firefighting budget.
• The U.S. Forest Service, caretaker of much of the nation’s cherished wildlands, has been forced to spend more than half of its budget just to fight fires this year.
• For the Lake fire alone, which leveled much of the alpine San Gorgonio Wilderness in June, the preliminary bill was $16.2 million.
It’s not just about suiting up firefighters and fueling up choppers. Fighting fires is deceptively expensive – and deeply complicated. During the North fire in July, it cost nearly $150,000 just to feed fire crews – for a single day. Even a daily bill for clerical goods – paper, ink, pens, maps – can top $5,000.
Bills quickly run into the millions because of the enormous logistics of organizing the firefight, the massive machinery deployed both on the ground and in the air, and the huge amounts of supplies necessary to sustain an army of thirsty, hungry and exhausted firefighters.
With the Santa Ana-whipped autumn fire season at hand – when experts say fires are 10 times more costly – there’s no letup on the horizon.
And yet every time the link between climate change and increasing number and severity of fires is brought up, the nay-sayers just wipe their hands and say, “But bad forest management!” as if they aren’t capable of holding two thoughts in their heads at once.
For my area, fires (and, ironically, flash floods) are the big and increasing dangers. Sea level rise is NOT the only thing we need to be worried about with climate change.