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Western Wildfires

MICHAEL MCCANN
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Michael McCann

Derek Mallia

ATMO 1010

12/8/2017

History and Impacts of Wildfires across the Western United States

Seeing how I currently live in the Western United States, this topic is easy to connect

with. Even as Im writing this sentence, there are six, individual yet massive, wildfires

burning in southern California. These fires are so big theyve has already burned 220 square

miles. In October, 140,000 acres of California was burned down and 24 people were killed

(Fuller). These fires, however, are no exception. The last 40 years have been full of wildfires

along the western United States. Many people having spent the last few decades searching

for a conclusion of how these fires are starting. Many are pointing to climate change,

human error, and intensive droughting.

There may not be just one reason for wildfires. It very well could be a combination of

all the reasons previously mentioned. The purpose of this paper is to simply lay out

research I have done the past few weeks that support or contradict reasons for wildfires. It

is also intended to educate the reader on the history of wildfires in the western region of

the United States.

History of wildfires, causes for them, and what future trends look like are the main

three points of discussion. Additionally, I will introduce and explain many questions Ive had

during my research of the topic.

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It is estimated that over $1 billion is spent each year in the United States on fire-

suppressive expenses (Westerling, Hidalgo, Cayan, & Swetnam 2006). Since the turn of the

20th century, humans have increasingly focused on fire suppressing techniques and

technology. Today, there are many techniques used to suppress or restrict wildfires. Aerial

retardant drops, water suppression, and smothering fuel for the fire are among a few

techniques today.

The history of wildfires begins shortly after the first known appearance of terrestrial

plants. This was over 420 million years ago (Bowman). Throughout history, plants have

been great fuel for fires to use to continue to burn. Depending on the atmospheric make up

in the region, even the moistest of plants could be flammable. O2 levels correlate directly

with fire activity. Depending on the season and temperature, some years had very little

fires, while others were ablaze.

Have humans played a role in the history of wildfires? The short answer is yes. At the

turn of the century to the 1900s, the industrial revolution began to boom. As infrastructure

was built and buildings erected, there was an increase in wildfires. Figure 1 is a model from

a NASA study about global fire activities starting in 900 CE. From the start of the industrial

revolution (1890) to the 1920s, fire activity frequency increased nearly 20%. After the

1920s, however, there was a sharp decline in fire activity. This decrease in activity is likely

attributed to increased understanding of fire suppression techniques, and changes in land-

use. On a side note, though Figure 1 is a global chart and study, it applies all the same to the

western United States.

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Figure 1.

Credit: NASA

In the western U.S. particularly, there was a gradual drop through the first part of

the 20th century until 1980. In figure 2, youll notice that in most western regions, the

slope of the number of large fires is increasing. Mediterranean California is the exception,

with a decline over the past forty years. Its worth noting the dramatic increase among the

Rocky Mountains since 1984.

Figure 2.

Credit: P.E. Dennison article (see work cited page).

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Temperature is another strong factor in western wildfires. Wildfires are strongly

associated with spring and summer temperatures. Temperature affects all parts of the

ecosystem, leaving burnt plants for fuel during droughts. Western U.S. is extremely dry due

to the Sierra Mountains stopping most moisture flowing east from the Pacific. This allows

for dry, desert areas in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Biomass accumulation definitely doesnt

help. Biomass is organic matter used as fuel. When talking about fires, this refers to plants

and vegetation. When the western United States received strong moisture, it allows baron

areas to produce vegetation and grow. But soon after, the summer time sun bakes the

region back into a drought, leaving all this fresh vegetation dry and ready to burn. This

biomass accumulation fuels wildfires, and increases wildfires total size and area.

Anthropogenic climate change also plays a part. Anthropogenic refers to the

pollution to the earths atmosphere that comes from human lifestyle. With refineries, cars,

jumbo jets, etc. all burning fossil fuels, mankind is injecting CO2 into the air (Dennison).

While we should attribute wildfire increases only to human change without major statistical

data, mankinds carbon footprint dilutes the Oxygen percentage in the atmosphere. This

increases the earths over all temperature, which is melting the ice caps. Sea levels are

rising, and the world as a whole is getting warmer because of the way humans are treading.

The rise in temperature from carbons makes it easier for wildfires to ignite. It also increases

the window of opportunity for wildfires to burn. According to A. L. Westerling, the wildfire

season increased in the 80s to roughly 78 days, giving more time for possible wildfires in

western ecoregions (Westerling, Hidalgo, Cayan, & Swetnam 2006).

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There is a small percentage of fires that are man-made as well. Whether it comes

from hikers who didnt put their morning fire all the way out, a refinery explosion, or a

deforestation project somewhere in the western US, humankind has made detrimental

effects on forestry.

Another question I had was to what extent wildfires affected air quality. This

summer as fires boomed around the Sierra and Rocky Mountains, the Salt Lake Valley

would always have an extremely dark brown overcast. It was disgusting, and was being

blown into the valley by wind streams. I knew it was air pollution from the fires because the

only other time it gets that groggy outside is when there is inversion in the wintertime. And

the news told me.

Air quality, Ive learned, is extremely poor in areas of wild fires. There is a smoke

haze that has adverse health effects. When a wildfire burns, the smoke emitted into the air

is a combination of gases, as well as fine particles produced from the burning wood. These

fine particles can be inhaled into the lungs, and cause serious health conditions. The EPA

(Environmental Protection Agency) recommends that no one inhales wildfire fire smoke, as

it is very potent with these fine minerals and has negative effects on anyone who inhales.

Wildfire pollutants can travel hundreds of miles in the air, causing residence of Utah to feel

the effects of a wildfire burning in California, as an example (How Smoke from Fires Can

Affect Your Health).

Though humans were able to slow down and suppress the increase of wildfires

during the early 1900s, much is changing in the world. Human techniques may not be able
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to keep up with the changing atmosphere we are creating. With higher and higher carbon

emissions being emitted around the world, the earths temperature is increasing. This

temperature will continue to grow, and in turn allow greater risk for larger, longer lasting,

and more intensive wildfires.

Fuel will be readily available for fire to use, especially in the drought stricken

western U.S. Over the next 30 years, unless something changes in humans carbon

footprint, the western U.S.s atmosphere will be ripe for a wildfire to feed from. I am not

one to blame global warming for everything. But it is clear that temperatures are increasing

in the earths atmosphere, and it will have a near-direct effect on wildfires increasing

occurrence.
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Works Cited

Bowman, David M. J. S., et al. Fire in the Earth System. Science, American Association

for the Advancement of Science, 24 Apr. 2009,

science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5926/481.

Dennison, Philip E., et al. Large wildfire trends in the western United States, 1984-2011.

Geophysial Research Letters, vol. 41, no. 8, 2014, pp. 2928-2933.,

doi:10.1002/2014gl059576.

Fuller, Thomas, et al. California Fires Lay Waste to 140,000 Acres and Rago On. The New

York Times, The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2017,

www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/us/california-fires.html.

How Smoke from Fires Can Affect Your Health, Enviornmental Protection Agency, Jan.

2017, airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=smoke.index.

Westerling, A.L., et al. Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. forest wildfire

activity. Science, 18. Aug. 2006, pp. 940-943.