http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42235052
Last night, on December 4, a string of violent wildfires broke out in Ventura County, California. Nearly 8,000 homes were destroyed, 26,000 acres burned down, one person died in a car accident trying to escape the blaze, and more than 260,000 people are without power
This is only one in a series of disastrous wildfires to hit the region in recent years. Containment, in all these cases, is usually impossible, and property, and lives, are bound to be destroyed.
California has a history of natural disasters, with the San Francisco earthquake of 1901 coming to mind. As humans, we often settle down in places that the earth never intended humans to be. Both Washington DC and New Orleans are built on swamps, Kansas is in the middle of tornado alley, and california is on a faultline and in a very flammable forest. Oftentimes, mother nature can reject human plans, and that can only continue as temperatures rise.
We need to really do something about this terrible thing that is happening constantly.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how strong the relief efforts are going to be for this after all the other natural disasters this year.
ReplyDeleteThere's always an upside though; tragic as this is for people, forest fires can be really good for an ecosystem, and there's even a species of bird that relies on wildfires for shelter and access to food.
ReplyDeleteit'd be interesting to see statistics on natural disasters now as compared to them say 30 years ago. I wonder if it's gotten more severe...
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see this happen but I have my doubts that they occurred due to temperatures rising. It more has to do with people being stupid and not letting their personal items cause an entire forest to burn down.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Trevor. I want to see how forest fires statistics play out now compared to 30 years ago.
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