As many of you probably heard from the news, this past week there were a few very threatening fires both in Southern and Northern California. These vicious fires have been a recurring issue for the past few years; one that has affected millions of people, myself included.
These fires, for the most part are started naturally. Although many fires are started by reckless human behavior, the ones that have occurred most recently were caused by the perfect combination of dryness and a spark that started naturally. These conditions combined have been the source of destruction and so much loss in the past few years. The most recent of the fires, named the Getty fire erupted in the middle of the night between the 27th and 28th of October and caused much destruction. Many private homes in the beautiful city of Brentwood, Los Angeles were burnt down. Not only this, thousands of people were evacuated from their homes and had to live with the fear of the thought that their homes too, might be destroyed. Thankfully this fire was contained, due to the tireless efforts of the Los Angeles fire department and the efforts of the Los Angeles community.
Being from Los Angeles, these fires were on my mind all week. Although, my family was safe and they were not evacuated, I know so many people who’s homes and lives were seriously threatened. For a week straight, the main topic of conversation was the fires; were they contained, were children back in school, were wind speeds picking up, and so many more questions and concerns. These fires are alarming and scary; for with the blink of an eye, a person’s whole life can essentially be destroyed.
The more I thought and read about these fires; having lived through them myself, I realized that since the main cause of these past few California fires was not humans’ reckless behavior, the only other thing could really be global warming. This is a scary yet true realization. Fires are natural, and they have happened since the beginning of time, but now it is our time, as the citizens of this world to make a difference and try to stop the negative impacts of global warming before it’s too late. These fires, along with the many other concerning situations and weather conditions across the world are yet another signal trying to wake people up.
It is our duty to care for the environment, and what better a time than now. I’m not suggesting that we can just stop wildfires and natural disasters so easily. However, if each and every person decided to change just one component of their daily wastefulness, together we could strive for a better and safer planet for all. One which people could live in and foster for years to come.