⟡ Why are Wildfires Destructive?

Big orange flames start spreading through a forest. Animals flee from the scene as chaos erupts. Firefighters come with their water hoses and extinguishers. As the smoke begins rising, firefighters begin coughing. Soon the wildfire gets out of control, people start fleeing from their homes with their loved ones. As the traffic gets worse, people start getting out of their cars and start fleeing by foot. This is what happens when a wildfire begins. It may seem manageable at first but soon gets out of hand. People have been suffering from the effects of wildfires for years. Many got lung cancer from the smoke while evacuating their homes, while others got into a car accident because they couldn't see the road ahead of them due to the smoke. It is critical that we save our resources before another disaster strikes. Let's finally take action and learn more about why wildfires are destructive.

Trees Burned Down & Release of Carbon

Generally wildfires occur in forests which have trees and other plants. You may already know that trees produce a type of oxygen called CO2 (carbon dioxide), which is the type of oxygen that we breathe. When trees are burned down, they start producing a new type of oxygen, which is not safe for humans. This new type of oxygen is called carbon. For example, if you were to breathe in carbon you would start having difficulty breathing, which could soon lead you to the hospital.

It may feel like if one tree is burned down it doesn't affect the environment, but it does. Soon after one tree is burned down the fire starts spreading tree to tree, which soon affects climate change. Carbon can increase global warming because once carbon continues building up, it will soon start melting all of the ice around the world, which soon endangers multiple species such as polar bears or penguins. If trees continue burning down, there will soon be many extinct species.

Therefore, when trees are burned down the new oxygen that is released from trees not only affects our lungs but also climate change. So make sure to stay safe if by chance there is a wildfire burning near you.

Bad Air Quality

Many counties in California have been quarantined this year due to the bad air quality from wildfires like the Dixie fire. Students are not allowed to have recess or lunch outdoors. Many people have been staying at home and have not yet left their homes. This impacts our bodies because when we are inside, we can't exercise as much as we can outside. For example, when we are outside, we can run around and jog around our neighborhood. However, when we are locked up inside, we can't run around without bumping into furniture or other objects. Many people don't have exercising equipment at home, so they have to rely on running or other exercises that require outdoors. It can be dangerous if someone were to run or jog when a wildfire broke out because the smoke would soon reach their lungs, which can lead to them having an asthma attack or other breathing problems.

Speaking of health problems, wildfires can cause people with asthma to not go outside in the smoke without coughing and choking. Firefighters can possibly get lung cancer if they don't wear special masks when extinguishing a fire. Even if they wear them they can still get lung cancer and other breathing problems, which can possibly soon lead to their death if their breathing problems continue getting worse.

Due to the smoke and bad air quality, many people need special care so that they can breathe properly. When wildfires break out, they send many people to hospitals because they got burns, they got into a car accident, or they are having trouble breathing. This also means many people need to pay for hospital or doctor visits, and if a patient keeps visiting, they can soon start losing lots of money especially if they don't have medical insurance. While people are evacuating their homes they may be speeding through the thick clouds of smoke and they can possibly crash into someone else because the road ahead of them is unclear due to the smoke. "We were surrounded by fire. We were driving through fire on each side of the road," Police Officer Mark Bass said. "Nobody could hardly see the road ahead. It was a very dangerous situation," said Mark Bass. This can also cause people to go to hospitals. As you can see, wildfires even have an effect on money and health, so it is very important that you safely evacuate your home or wherever you are in case of a wildfire.

Homelessness Rising Due to Wildfires

Many homes have been burned down due to severe wildfires. This is causing homelessness to increase because when someone's home is burned down they might not have anywhere to go or to live because they don't have any family living near them. This means they need to live on the unsafe streets or homeless shelters. But there may not be any homeless shelters or the homeless shelters are all full. This means someone might need to live on the streets. This will soon become a problem because in California wildfires are pretty common and happen multiple times a year. In San Francisco, California there are many homeless people living on the streets and if more homes are burned down the population of San Francisco might continue growing which can become a problem because if there are more people more jobs will need to be required.

In 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted and started many wildfires. About $1.1 billion of property was damaged due to the severe wildfires and lava caused by the eruption. Sadly, 57 people passed away because of the wildfires and lava. The news about the eruption spread fast. Soon news channels started reporting about the eruption. "That is so scary," said 12 year old Lisa Hodson. After watching the news about the eruption. According to Lisa Hodson there was a lot of ash and soot in the air around the area where Mount St. Helens erupted. Lisa Hodson also said that there were some people in the way of the lava.

Every year homes are burned down due to wildfires and people become homeless. We need to improvise and think smarter. One way we can do this is by opening more homeless shelters around areas where wildfires are more common and more severe. Let's end homelessness!

Impact on Wildlife & Plants

Imagine your favorite animal going extinct. For example, imagine your favorite animal is a bird. A lot of birds live in forests which is a common place where wildfires occur. Think about a bird's family trying to fly away from the smoke and fire. Some might lose their family because they can't see what direction they went due to the smoke. Or some of the older birds and younger birds might die because they can't survive the bright red and orange flames.

Wildfires make wildlife find more habitats. This can be a major con or problem because while animals are trying to find a new home or habitat they might run into humans or hunters they have been trying to avoid. But everything has its own pros and cons. But look at the bright side luckily most animals can use their senses to detect when a fire is started. For example, they can tell you their sense of smell to detect if they smell anything burning. They can also use their sense of sight to see if they can see any smoke or fire coming their way. Another pro of wildfires is that it affects a species named jack pine which can only produce seeds to grow more trees with fire. A lot of plants die in the forest because they don't get enough sunlight because there are too many trees blocking the sunlight. But when fires burn down trees they allow other plants to grow in the sunlight. Wildfires can also deplete food for animals. For example, generally when wildfires occur they burn down plants which a lot of animals survive on. As you can see, it's quite difficult to tell if wildfires are good or bad because they have a lot of pros and cons about it.

Wildfires have different effects on everything. In this article I discussed different things that are affected by wildfires. For example, I discussed that wildfires affect the oxygen that we breathe. I also discussed that wildfires affect climate change. The message I hope to spread is why wildfires are destructive and how we can prevent wildfires from affecting our daily lives. If you would like to learn more about wildfires feel free to check out this National Geographic resource and this PLT resource.