What's Driving California's Biggest-Ever Wildfire Season
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 7 September 2020
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
In an average season, 300,000 acres burn. This year more than 2 million acres have been scorched — and the season isn't over yet.
Some communities have taken actions to prevent fires from spreading, but as NPR's Nathan Rott and Lauren Sommer report, those efforts may not be enough.
Fire itself isn't the only threat to people. NPR's daily science podcast Short Wave looked into the science of wildfire smoke and how far-reaching it can be. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
Reporter Erika Mahoney from member station KAZU has more on dual threats facing farmworkers: wildfire smoke and COVID-19.
As these fires have been burning, other regions across the country have also faced extreme weather. Hurricane forecasters are watching multiple storm systems in the Atlantic that could develop into tropical storms in what has already been an extremely busy hurricane season. NPR's Rebecca Hersher, Nathan Rott, and Lauren Sommer on the growing threat of extreme weather due to climate change.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Here in California, where I live, nine of the top 10 biggest fires in state history have |
| 0:06.6 | happened in the last decade. And there are basically three big reasons why. |
| 0:12.4 | Several dangerous fires burning across southern California in stifling hot and dry conditions. |
| 0:18.0 | First, it's climate change, which pushes temperatures up to levels that are usually unheard of here, |
| 0:23.6 | like we just had over the weekend. One part of LA County hit 121 degrees. |
| 0:28.8 | The highest temperature ever recorded there. Second, it's that for decades now, the US has |
| 0:35.2 | focused too much on fire suppression, putting out fires where they actually should burn, |
| 0:41.1 | which means a buildup of more stuff on the ground that can catch fire. And third, it's us. |
| 0:48.9 | People start fires. |
| 0:50.9 | Tonight, we're learning shocking details about what started the 7,500 acre Eldorado fire |
| 0:56.7 | that's burning near your Kipe up, especially now when in the middle of a pandemic, more people |
| 1:00.8 | are getting together outside, hiking, camping, and in the case of the big fire burning in San |
| 1:07.4 | Bernadino County, having parties. Now comes word that that blaze was sparked by a gender reveal |
| 1:15.0 | party. Officials say that the pyrotechnic device, which exploded colored smoke to announce the baby's |
| 1:20.9 | sex, ignited the dry brush. Cal fire, the state fire fire agency says in an average fire season here, |
| 1:27.8 | about 300,000 acres burned. Already this year, over 2 million acres have burned. That is a record. |
| 1:37.6 | And it could get worse, as the hot Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up again on Tuesday and Wednesday. |
| 1:44.5 | Coming up, what it would take to prevent these fires, and why it's so hard to make those things |
| 1:50.0 | happen. This is Consider This from NPR, I'm Kelly McEvers, it is Monday, September 7th. |
| 2:02.2 | This message comes from NPR sponsor, New Belgium Brewing, and its flagship beer, fat tire amber |
| 2:08.3 | ale. You can't brew great beer without healthy rivers, forests, and soils. That's why fat |
| 2:15.2 | amber ale is now America's first certified carbon neutral beer, more at Drinksustainably.com. |
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