There are currently 1,236 active wildfires in North America, making the fire map look like something out of an apocalypse movie. Altogether, they have burned 2,180,105 acres (an area a little larger than Delaware), mostly in the Western half of the U.S., causing thousands to evacuate. Nowadays, this isn’t out of the ordinary. Every summer, people in hotspots wonder whether they’ll have to leave home. Even those hundreds of miles away wonder how badly smoke might taint their air quality.
Here’s a cliff’s notes primer on what causes wildfires, how the climate crisis is fanning the flames, and what you can do to help.
The spark that lights wildfires
Wildfires can occur naturally. When they do, lightning strikes are usually the cause. But in 85% of cases, humans are the culprit—through campfires, discarded cigarettes, equipment malfunction, the burning of debris, or even arson.
Remember, though: Although wildfires can be devastating, they aren’t inherently bad for the environment; they’re actually an important part of natural ecological processes. But years of 20th-century fire policies have upset the natural order. In 1935, the Forest Service implemented a policy to suppress all fires. Now, a lack of small, periodic wildfires leaves extra fuel for larger ones. That means fires burn at higher temperatures and kill trees that would otherwise be able to survive the blaze.
How climate change stokes the flames
Human-caused climate change doubled the number of extreme wildfires worldwide, according to data published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. The blazes are also poised to gobble up more land; a 1-degree Celsius bump in future global temps could increase the median area wildfires burn by 600% in some forests. Wildfire season is also getting longer: 20 extra days a year in the Southwestern U.S., according to a 2023 study.
There are two major ways the climate crisis has led to a new era in wildfires. First, more frequent and intense droughts and heat waves dry out vegetation, which creates kindling that helps blazes start and spread. Second, climate scientists have found that the type of lightning that’s most likely to cause wildfires has increased by 41% according to a forecast published in Nature Communications.
How to help survivors
Because of all this, damages from wildfires are also increasing quickly. From 2008 to 2020, an average of more than 4,500 people lost their homes to wildfires each year. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that wildfires caused $81.6 billion in damage from 2017 to 2021, a nearly 10-fold increase compared to the prior four-year period.
To donate to those affected by wildfires, you can search for reputable charities that support them via websites like Charity Navigator. Some options include Extreme Weather Survivors, After the Fire, and local nonprofits in affected areas. If you’re curious about how helpful GoFundMe might be, give it a second look; analysis has found the platform can be rife with inequity and can leave some communities by the wayside.
Of course, Smokey Bear is also right in that we all have a role to play in prevention, including following campfire bans in wildfire risk areas and properly putting out campfires. And, as with any dilemma related to climate change, we can advocate for change and vote for representatives who take on the complicated pattern of policies that can make our fire seasons worse.