California Fires Turn Deadly

A late surge to the wildfire season has left at least one person dead in San Diego, and several homes and a church destroyed in Malibu, according to the Associated Press. The California fires, whipped up by strong winds, include the Castaic and Moorpark fire in Ventura County.

The fire season in 2007 has already been unusually active. As of Friday, 76,285 fires had burned 8,284,271 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That's second only to last year, during which more land burned than in any year in recorded history.

A combination of climate change (triggering hotter, drier conditions) and decades of aggressive fire fighting (which led to a build up of fuel waiting to burn) have contributed to an unprecedented fire risk across the Western United States. Scientific research has already attributed an increase in frequent and intense fires to global warming, even considering the effect of fire management techniques.

In other words, the growth of the fire season -- starting earlier and lasting longer -- and the intensity of its fires are likely to become more and more familiar, if no less dangerous.

COMMENTS ()