Right now, you’ve probably heard about how the Bay Area is burning up. Thousands of fires have already erupted across the state. Some have even started in or reached Oregon and Washington.
Earlier this year in January, Australia had multiple bush fires. 2019 was recorded as the hottest year Australia has experienced so far. A few hundred US firefighters/ fire experts were flown in to Australia to help with these extreme flames. There are many causes to these fires: but what are they? Let’s look into this a little deeper.
Why Is This Happening?
Two words: climate change. There are more factors to these fires but we know that climate change is one of the biggest causes. Climate change is resulting in warmer and drier conditions and when that combines with drought and a longer fire season, you get even more fires. These fires also spread more easily which make them much harder to put out.
How Can You Help?
Donations significantly help people in need. If you can, please try to donate using the link below! The Red Cross and other organizations just like it are doing their best to help all the victims of these fires.
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/
If you live on the West Coast near areas that are burning, see if you can volunteer to help out. You can also open up your home to people suffering with the loss of their own house. Another option is donating food or taking in animals that can’t live with their owners at this time.
Extra Information
The first link below shows all the fires that have happened so far in 2020 in California and more data about them.
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/
This second link is to help you prepare and be safe if a wildfire were to happen near you.
https://www.ready.gov/wildfires
Make sure you’re also staying safe during these times with the pandemic and keeping yourself healthy !
Simone Gautham
Simone Gautham lives in Redmond, WA and would love to attend college in Europe. She loves listening to music, reading, and rowing.
