While the California wildfires appear to be a mainstay, perhaps we have come to believe it has always been so, when actually, it hasn’t. Again, conventional media outlets report on drought as the cause, or global warming. But the facts prove this to be a misnomer and a gross misrepresentation of the Truth. And while CNN does not outright state that the recent fires were due to the drought, the inference is that the drought is the culprit and that lightening is the secondary charge.
Other reporters are not so deceptive. Environmentalists and environmental scientists would claim that the droughts and rising temperatures are the major culprits of fires. But their data field is based on a 10-30 year time frame for creating averages. And that is the obvious fault-line that makes the data corrupt.
NBC reported on the current conditions as though lightening was the major culprit without even mentioning human error at all. This leaves people with the impression that they can do nothing. That it is beyond their control. When in fact, it is most decidedly the opposite. This is not just misleading reporting – it is very dangerous reporting because it fails to put the fear where fear belongs!
A quick look at history and we find an unprecedented rise in the number of major fires across California beginning in the decade of the 1980’s. Since, then, each successive decade proves more and more voluminous.
Major California Fires:
In the 1800’s a century of time produced five fires. From 1910 to 1920 there were two fires. From 1920 to 1930 there were four. From 1930 to 1940 there were three. In the 1940’s there were 4, 1950’s there were 6, 1960’s – 8 and 1970’s – 8. Then it all changed dramatically. The 1980’s saw 13 fires, the 1990’s saw 26, between 2000 and 2010 there were 40 reported fires. And this decade is not even to the halfway point and there have been 30 major fires.
So, no this is not a natural phenomena at all. This is not a defined norm for California. This shows an unprecedented phenomenal increase!
A comparison to drought would give no common indicator. During the same time period as above, the worst drought decades were 1930 to 1940 and 1950 to 1960. There were 3 and 6 respective major fires during these decades of extreme drought.
Droughts – Past Century:
So what is really ‘fueling’ these fires?
According to National Geographic, the root cause of fires is not drought or lightening, it is human. In fact the causes can be anything from weird to creepy as in: a fallen power line, sparks from a weed eater, campfire left untended, and a satanic ritual. While weather can spread the flame, the cause more often than not is a gnarly finger that points back to ‘us’.
The largest fire in US history was the result of a small contained fire in the hold of a docked freighter in Texas. The problem? The freighter was carrying 2300 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer which exploded and ‘leveled’ over 1000 buildings and left 600 people dead including the entire volunteer fire department. The fire rapidly caused a chain reaction hitting chemical plants and refineries.
However, it isn’t just human error – but arson that has rippled the number of fires hitting California and elsewhere. Some estimates put the number of arson related fires at 20%. According to the US National Park Service, the total number of human caused fires is upwards of 90%!
So, what can YOU do?
Be more alert. Be more pro-active. Don’t smoke and casually toss your cigarette butt. Be diligent about putting out campfires. Keep fire extinguishers and hoses available should you accidentally ignite. Fire is not a toy to play with. Fire kills everything – trees, homes, animals, and people. And lastly, REPORT anything no matter how small or trivial it may seem.