These ferocious fires in California are not something that anyone can simply write off because they don't affect you. To the contrary, this is catastrophic, impacting us all at some level, even if solely spiritually or psychologically. Despite what I feel is a severe lack of media attention to these fires—such as the North Complex fire described below that burned more than 269,000 acres, one of the largest fires in state history—we should see them as minimally on the scale as the environmental disaster that unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico back in the summer of 2019 not so very long ago.
If we connect this to the cataclysmic Australian fires, as we should, that took place less than a year ago, we should further heed the warnings of extinction as in this piece titled, "Scientist warns of ‘extinction crisis’ as Australia wildfires wipe out a billion animals."
This is not science fiction. This is the real deal. Our Earth mother is on fire.
What we are witnessing was predictable. Yet since the Nixon presidency, there has been precious little leadership either on climate change—more appropriately termed a "climate emergency," or in educating our children and communities about it though we are all impacted. Education can play a massively important role in all of this, yet where is the leadership? Like Nero, Trump tweets as our country burns.
To wit, fire season is hardly an abstraction here in Central Texas as you can learn about from this August 24, 2020 piece in the Austin American Statesman titled, "Bastrop County prays for rain as fire season heats up." I don't see this primarily as a policy issue that we "fix," but rather as a major shift that we have to undergo immediately in no uncertain terms if we are to survive as a human species.
To get a really good sense of the science behind all of this, consider reading this post featuring David Wallace-Wells titled, "The Uninhabitable Earth, Annotated Edition | New York Magazine"—whose book is worth listening to on Audible.com—together with Jess Goodell's piece in the Rolling Stone titled, "Hothouse Earth Is Merely the Beginning of the End."
Earth is going to be fine, by the way. However, by the way things are going, it's humans that aren't, sadly and tragically as we see all of this play out before our eyes in living color.
The point here is not to trigger your "eco-anxiety," which is a real syndrome that so many are experiencing right now, but rather to encourage you to vote. We all have a vote and a voice in a democracy. We must insist that those in power lead on the climate crisis that we're currently in.
Below are several hashtags that I've come across that will allow you to track all of this on Twitter and other social media.
-Angela Valenzuela
#GreenNewDeal #ExtinctionRebellion #Vote2020 @algore #InconvenientTruth @EnvironmentTex @SierraClub @TexasSierraClub @TXWaterFuture #OneWaterTexas #gogreen #sustainable #SustainabilityTexas @EnvDefenseFund #ClimateEmergency
#climateaction #environment #nature #climatechange #ClimateDenial #sustainability #ecofriendly #savetheplanet #green #zerowaste #earth
15 fatalities confirmed. North Complex now among state’s top 5 deadliest fires
The confirmed death toll from California’s unprecedented firestorm has risen to 25 as crews work to hem in some two dozen major blazes still burning statewide.
Another fatality was confirmed Monday in the area of the North Complex fire near Oroville — boosting that fire’s death toll to 15, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. In recorded state history, only four blazes have been deadlier.
Authorities have released the names of seven fire victims: John Butler, 79; Sandra Butler, 75; Jorge Hernandez-Juarez, 26; Philip Rubel, 68; Khawar Bhatti, 58; Millicent Catarancuic, 77; and Josiah Williams, 16.
All were residents of Berry Creek, a mountain town northeast of Oroville that was devastated by the fire.
As of Tuesday morning, officials said the North Complex was 39% contained. At more than 269,000 acres, it is now the eighth-largest fire in state history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
It also ranks among the most destructive fires California has ever seen, consuming or damaging 723 structures so far, officials said.
The North Complex is just one of several historically large conflagrations that have ignited over the past month. So far this year, fires have chewed through more than 3.2 million acres statewide — an area larger than the state of Connecticut.
The statewide firestorm has destroyed more than 4,200 structures and forced over 60,000 people from their homes, according to Cal Fire.
The breakout of blazes includes what is listed as easily the largest wildfire recorded in California: the August Complex in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties.
The overall complex — which now includes two enormous fires, previously called the Doe and the Elkhorn, under its umbrella — has burned more than 794,000 acres and is 30% contained.
“Critically dry fuels” are continuing to challenge firefighting efforts on that complex, officials said Tuesday.
