Why Does California Burn So Much? by John Ellis

 Why Does California Burn So Much?


California recently and over years past has experienced a ton of wildfires, but why? 97% of fires in coastal California are started by people, either on purpose or accidentally. People moving closer to the wilderness in flammable places around flammable houses and climate change all play a factor in the wild fires. First the climate in California sees its cold and rainy seasons in the winter which when the rainy season ends and the water dries up it leaves plants dry going into the summer. The summer often sees a lack of rain due to the persistent high pressure systems off the coast which deflect a lot of rain. Mixed with the droughts and lack of rain you have invasive grasses church ass cheatgrass which have outcompeted native grasses and burn more quickly. Climate change also plays a role in that it causes the dry season to be longer than usual which is bad going into the fall where winds are high and fires spread quicker. Peoples roofs of their homes are also found to contain very flammable materials and lastly the top causes for fires are equipment use such ass chainsaws, weed wackers, and lawn mowers.


https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2020-08-20/science-says-people-stoking-brew-that-makes-california-burn




  1. What can locals do to prevent the start of forest fires.

  2. What natural ways can you think of that a forest fire can be started?

  3. Have you ever experienced a fire (forest, house etc), how did you handle the situation?

Comments

  1. whenever someone sees a forest fire they should call the fire department as soon as they can -Ryan Smith

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  2. Locals can be more careful when they are next to or working with fire near flammable places . I have never experienced a fire, but would probably call the fire department if it ever happened. -Kevin Gu

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  3. Forest fires can start when the weather is really dry, usually when it hasn't rained in a long time. Dry weather and windy conditions cause lots of forest fires. I have not experienced a fire in my lifetime. -Campbell Marino

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  4. Locals can do a lot to prevent forest fires, but one thing that really comes to mind is being aware of the actions that would cause a forest fire and to not do those as much, like if you know that a lawnmower starts forest fires, maybe don't use it as much.

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  5. A forest fire could naturally be started by dry lightning, and I can help prevent forest fires by educating myself and making others more aware of the issue considering Missouri doesn't have a dry climate. I've never actually experienced a house or forest fire myself though. -kendall dees

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  6. people should call the fire department and get away from the area if at all possible. Locals should also make sure they are taking every safety precaution possible when handling fire and they should extinguish the fire properly.

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  7. 1. Always extinguish any fires you start, and never leave them unattended.
    2. Lightning strikes.
    3. No.

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  8. Locals can be careful about keeping away flammable things from fires and making sure to totally put out campfires before leaving. I have never experienced a fire but if I did I would evacuate then try and call the fire department. -Joe Panthalani

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  9. people can stop smoking and living the camp fires going -Ryan Carter

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  10. Locals can do a lot to prevent these fires, such as not starting fires in the forest and if one starts to put it out by having a fire extinguisher in your house. Putting out campfires and not smoking near the forest or in it. Sarah LaChance

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  11. Locals should be more careful especially with how frequent the fires are becoming. Some ways they can be started can range from cigarette butts or natural from the climate. I have never personally experienced a forest fire but my uncle. All he has talked about was how quickly it spread and the area by the fire was smokey and hot.- Erik E

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  12. I have experience wild fires before. One day after school our neighbor was smoking a cigarette in the back yard and after he was "done" with the cigarette he dropped it and that started a wild fire. I tried to help but we had to call the firefighters.

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  13. I have never been really involved in any fires before and Iḿ really thankful of that. Any fire can really be bad, so to not have seen one is kinda nice. Before I was born; we, my family, had a farm house that did burn down due to a fire. I believe it was an electoral fire, and not a wildfire.
    -Sophia Becklenberg

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  14. answering question 1, one thing locals could do is have their mayor, or whoever hire companies to remove dry wood from the forest. one of the natural ways of the fire starting happens to be with dry wood, remove that and BOOM. the chances for random fires decrease. then humans have to their part and not be supid, ez
    -kornell smith

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  15. Lightning is a major cause of forest fires,and to prevent forest fires I think human should be more careful when out near the woods, I also think if the heat is intense enough on dry plants fires could happen on their own but im not sure. Me personally I have never experienced a fire but I have seen a building on fire before.

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  16. I have never experienced a fire before, but if I ever have a fire in my house I would get out of my house as quickly as possible with my family and meet at our meeting place which would be our mailbox and call 911.

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  17. I have experienced a wild fire or i have seen one in California because my aunt lives up in the mountains and we could see it on the mountain next to us .
    Ella

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  18. People can help prevent forest fires by increasing their knowledge of fire safety and make sure that if they are planning on doing something that can spark a fire, they should make sure that there is zero of starting an uncontrollable fire and they should always be prepared in the event of one.
    Charles Poe

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  19. Being cautious of where your using fireworks, cigarettes, bonfires, etc. Make sure your'e not near a dry forest that can easily catch fire. lannah

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  20. I have experienced an oven inside my house was on fire and i saw the reflection of the fire in my fridge doors, i was like "mom i think the oven is on fire" it turns out it was just the way it cleans the inside.- Maddie Silk

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  21. One thing people in California can do is to stop making fires even if they are accidental.-Takia McMorris

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  22. forest fires can be started when people aren't careful with things like campfires or fireworks so if locals try to be safe with fire and stay away from dry areas more forest fires could be prevented -sophia

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