California Wildfires – Still Burning in Our Minds
Samantha Martin, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com.
As of Nov. 3, California has seen 5,244 wildfires and 126,069 acres burned this year alone. This is down from last year when 5,355 wildfires destroyed 623,701 acres. As of Oct. 3, this year’s wildfire death rate had risen to three.
California’s wildfire problems have risen to a point that legally, businesses are required to have fire prevention plans detailing possible workplace fire ignition sources, fire hazards, methods of fire safety training and equipment maintenance.
The intensity of these plans vary degree depending on the size of the business (10 or less employees does not require a written fire prevention plan). There are also regulations on residents and visitors are required burn permits for campfires and will have legal ramifications if they allow the fires to get away from their own personal property.
“For rural homeowners keeping a well-maintained fire-safe property not only is the law, but it can also make a big difference in whether or not their home survives when a wildfire approaches. On days of high fire danger, campfires may be restricted due to the potential for wildfires,” CalFire TV warns.
With the commonality of California wildfires CalFire releases ads marking ways to prepare and protect from wildfires. These come in especially handy and necessary to people that may not have grown up in California.
“Most people that live here are not from here, they’re from here,” California resident Caleb Dukes said. Dukes, a native of South Carolina, notes the stark difference in climate between his old and new home. “South Carolina, the southeast in general is much more humid and suffers less drought whereas here the air is dry and hot,” Dukes said.
With the dry, arid climate and the winds experienced in rural areas of CalFire, there are many different ways to prepare. Signing up for a community warning system, periodically checking in on community evacuation plans and following recommendations for special cases such as large animal evacuation or persons with disability evacuation and residents ensuring that they have a “go-bag” prepared in case the worst comes about and they have to evacuate their homes.
Dukes has had the fortune of not being personally affected by the wildfires, as he lives in a more urban area of the state, however he knows some that were not so lucky. “My agency director and his family had to evacuate, and so we see him come to work more frequent recycled outfits or sometimes sweatpants or jeans,” Duke said.
Though there are many having to evacuate and prepare for the worst, CalFire and outside aid coming from Washington, Oregon, federal aid, non-violent prisoners and even as far away as American Samoa are working hard to save homes and prevent the spread of fire as best they can.
The last active fire incident under CalFire jurisdiction is the Ranch Fire which as of 7:53 a.m. Nov. 11 was 80 percent contained.
