Search

California’s Devastating Wildfire Season: First Fatality Reported, Already 5x More Acres Burned Than Average

We are an online community created around a smart and easy to access information hub which is focused on providing proven global and local insights about sustainability

20 Jul, 2024

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

California officials discovered human remains in a burned Mendocino County home on July 8, reporting the state’s first death of an unusually devastating 2024 wildfire season.

The woman is believed to be 66-year-old Dagmar Stankova, who was last seen using a garden hose to try to extinguish flames outside of her home, as The New York Times reported.

California’s approximately 3,500 wildfires have already burned nearly 220,000 acres this year, said Joe Tyler, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire,) at a news conference last week.

While the total number of wildfires is slightly below the state’s five-year average, they have already burned more than five times the average area, which follows a larger trend of worsening natural disasters amid rising temperatures.

“The hots, we say it all the time, are getting a lot hotter,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom at a news conference last week. “We’re experiencing unprecedented record heat — these heat domes over the entire western United States — over and over and over and over and over again: record-breaking temperatures. Record-breaking heat.”

As of Thursday, the fire, dubbed the Mina Fire, was 97% contained, according to Cal Fire.

California experienced a wet winter in 2023, pulling it out of a drought, but led to a significant amount of grass growth that since dried out, which, along with high winds and record-breaking temperatures, contributed to the fire spread.

The June heat wave came during the 12th consecutive month that Earth’s global average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average, the hottest 12-month stretch on record.

“We are not just in a fire season, we are in a fire year,” Tyler said at the conference, urging caution in dry, hot and windy conditions.

The Thompson Fire in Butte County, California on July 2, 2024. CAL FIRE

Tyler advised California residents and families to prepare for wildfires. “Please create a wildfire action plan that addresses escape routes, meeting points, animal arrangements and a communication plan with your family,” he said. “Listen to the guidance of law enforcement and our firefighters for evacuation warnings and orders, prepare your home to defend from an advancing wildfire.”

The post California’s Devastating Wildfire Season: First Fatality Reported, Already 5x More Acres Burned Than Average appeared first on EcoWatch.

Pass over the stars to rate this post. Your opinion is always welcome.
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

You may also like…

How to Recycle Invisalign Trays

How to Recycle Invisalign Trays

Invisalign trays, with their sleek and clear design, offer an effective way to straighten teeth…
The post How to Recycle Invisalign Trays appeared first on Earth911.

Sustainable Banking Alliance Learning Report: Engaging Local Financial Institutions to Integrate Climate Finance Best Practices

Sustainable Banking Alliance Learning Report: Engaging Local Financial Institutions to Integrate Climate Finance Best Practices

Sustainable Banking Alliance Learning Report: Engaging Local Financial Institutions to Integrate Climate Finance Best Practices

Teaser Text
This “how-to guide” is a foundational resource that builds on the lessons learned from the Sustainable Banking Alliance initiatives in Colombia and Egypt and provides guidance on how to engage with financial institutions to integrate climate finance best practices.

jschoshinski
Mon, 10/28/2024 – 15:18

Publication Date
10/18/2024

Sectors

Climate Finance

Country

Colombia
Egypt

Region

Global

Hide Sidebar
Off

0 Comments