California May Be Saved From Its Next Big Wildfire Thanks To One Truly Strange Substance
As a wildfire feeds on dry grass and trees, the flames become difficult to extinguish. That's why experts are trying to snuff out any raging infernos before there's even a whiff of smoke. Researchers proposed a new method for preventing the devastation caused by uncontrolled burning, but before they can implement their unconventional plan, these wildfire whizzes must convince skeptics the idea won't light up like a furnace.
Fire is Simple
Preventing fires comes with a ton of challenges. “Fire, in some ways, is a very simple thing, as long as stuff is dry enough and there’s a spark, then that stuff will burn,” Park Williams, a bioclimatologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory said. Experts have a handful of causes they must be mindful of.
First Major Cause
Climate change is one of the largest. “This climate-change connection is straightforward: warmer temperatures dry out fuels. In areas with abundant and very dry fuels, all you need is a spark,” Park said. The state’s fire record shows that, since 1932, the 10 most expansive burns happened in the past 20 years.
Massive Complex Fires
And it looks like those numbers won't decrease any time soon. The 2020 August Complex Fire has usurped the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire for the largest wildfire ever recorded in the area. “In pretty much every single way, a perfect recipe for fire is just kind of written in California,” Dr. Williams said.
Loading the Dice
“Nature creates the perfect conditions for fire, as long as people are there to start the fires," Park said. "But then climate change, in a few different ways, seems to also load the dice toward more fire in the future.” Even with dry brush and other perfect tinder, something needs to ignite the kindling.
