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With 30,500 building structures threatened, 22,000 people forced from their homes, and COVID-19's limit on firefighting operations, there is now at least one major fire burning in every Bay Area county except for San Francisco County itself.
Let's talk about the LNU, SCU, and CZU Lightning Complex Fires.
These three Lightning Complex groups are made up of multiple fires burning across thousands of acres in California. Here's the overview: LNU has burned across 341,243 acres and is 7 percent contained, SCU has burned across 339,968 acres and is 10 percent contained, and CZU has burned across 67,000 acres and is 5 percent contained. On August 18th and 19th, tens of thousands of people have been told to evacuate from the flames and to be ready to flee if necessary. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles, says that this is “the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm event in memory for the Bay Area.".
What's the cause? News reports state that a rare outbreak of thunderstorms led to a barrage of lightning strikes, igniting the fire. However, there is nothing “rare” about these California fires. Although many sources point out the unusual nature of this late-Summer thunderstorm (which is considered rare for this time of the year), with climate change, it seems as if wildfire season is becoming every season.
On August 16th, Death Valley, California reached 130 degrees, the third hottest temperature on record for the entire planet. Between Monday and Friday, California hit more than 140 record highs, documented by the National Weather Service. And, The New York Times reports, 9 of the 10 largest fires in the state’s history have occurred in the past ten years.
In short, California’s climate has gotten persistently hotter, and it's not just the sunny Cali weather.
Although there are many contributors that could have set off this blaze—including, long-lasting heatwaves, dry vegetation, soil moisture, and dry winds—all of these factors are linked to one main issue: climate change. For one, research shows that changes in climate create warmer, drier conditions, which means a longer fire season and increased wildfire risk. Second, drier conditions make it easier for fires to ignite and quickly burn through acres of land. And as for this time's outbreak, there's no doubt that the dry thunderstorm was fueled by heat as it made its way inland, lighting fires along the way.
So the next time you ask "What's the cause?", dig a little deeper and you'll find the real culprit, just behind the scenes.