California Worries About Brutal Wildfires, According To Scientists
The New York Times headline is “California’s Wildfires Could Be Brutal This Summer,” That means more large wildfires than usual for this time of year.
The primary cause of the fires is droughts fed by dry air, a limited amount of water from melting snow in the area, and high winds. The newspaper reports, “All of this adds up to a higher probability of more large wildfires than usual this summer, with the possibility that even the smallest spark could explode into a significant wildfire if not stopped quickly.”
More Drought
The rapid spread of the LA wildfires and inadequate and slow response for local, state, and federal government firefighters make the problem even more dangerous. The images of tankers dropping fire retardants were all over television and online news stations. The planes were large. Their effectiveness was minimal.
Another hurdle is that these fires can spread across wide areas and remote locations. This makes containing them far more difficult.
Additionally, more than one wildfire can start at a time. This means firefighting resources have to be spread out, which makes their efforts less effective.
The LA wildfires destroyed 16,000 structures and killed 30 people. Scientists believe this summer could be worse.
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