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What’s on our minds
We share what we learn and what we’re doing so that others can learn from us and we can learn from others. Comments welcome!
Don’t inhale!
Photo by Susanne Jul
A few months ago, we were swimming in smoke.
Well, not me. I stop outdoor exercise when wildfire smoke pushes the Air Quality Index (AQI) above 125. Even though that’s below the 150 “Unhealthy” rating.
You see, AQI only measures five major pollutants: Ground-level ozone, particulate matter (including PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. It doesn’t take into account all the other nasties that wildfire puts into the air, such as lead, zinc, calcium, iron and manganese.
Think, “Oh, yummm, I love that smell of burning wood. Especially when it’s mixed with burning cars, creosote/arsenic/penta-treated utility poles, and lots of plastic toys!”
A proper mask will filter out particulate matter. Which is the biggest threat to your health. But it won’t do anything about the nasty toxic gases. And it has to fit tightly — no cheating air sneaking in around the edges. And it has to be N95-grade (or “NIOSH-approved N95 Particulate Filtering Facepiece Respirator”) — a cowboy bandanna or triple-layer cotton COVID mask helps but won’t do it.
Read about wildfire smoke and public health in The Wildfire Smoke Guide for Public Health Officials.
Wildfire, it affects EVERYONE
Photo by Matthew Abbot, NY Times Contributor
Wildfires affect EVERYONE.
This statement might seem extreme. Especially, if you live in a city — far from trees, or much of anything flammable really that you can see.
It isn’t.
Burning biomass contributes significantly to climate change, and wildfires burn a lot of biomass!
As part of the Climate Science Initiative (a project that came from the Paris Agreement), a team of scientists at the European Space Agency analyzed 30 years of geographic data from the satellite Sentinel 3. The number they found is hard to grasp:
4,590,000 km²
If you’re unfamiliar with metric measures —it’s ok, I had to look it up myself —that’s
1,772,209 mi²
That is the average area estimated to have burned on our planet per year between 1982 and 2018. To put it another way: On average, an area the size of half of the United States (excluding bodies of water) burned every year.
Evidence strongly suggests that climate change is exacerbating the danger of wildfires. In the state of California, research has shown that the danger of wildfires has increased 5x since the 1970s.
Since the publication of that research, California has had even bigger wildfires. 9 of the 10 largest fires in California have burned in the last 4 years. (2017-2021), 6 of those in just the last 2 years:
Australia experienced a new high record temperature of 41.9°c (107.4°F) in January 2020. Just two months later, by March 9, more than 46 million acres had burned (184,000 km²), killing at least 34 people, destroying 2,779 homes, and causing several endangered species to be re-categorized as extinct. While the size of the fires was not unprecedented in Australian history, New South Wales had never experienced wildfire like this.
Our planet is warming up. As it does, fires will also grow. Wildfires are burning larger areas, increasingly including urban populations.
Affecting everyone.
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Fire Tornadoes
Screenshot of a fire tornado from https://www.wired.com/video/watch/extreme-events-fire-tornado
This video will give you a new respect and awe for the power of nature: https://www.wired.com/video/watch/extreme-events-fire-tornado
Fortunately, these extreme phenomena are not something to worry about in our everyday lives. “True fire tornadoes have only been documented now twice [as of 2019 when this video was made]. Once in Redding, California during the Carr Fire, and once in Canberra, Australia during 2003.“
Imagine a wildfire so large that it creates a tornado filled with fire. This is not the same as a fire whirl, which is small and short-lived. “Fire tornadoes and fire whirls both start with strong updrafts from the fire, and strong inflows related to the fire itself, but fire tornadoes get even bigger because the fire is actually initiating its own weather system.” Wow.
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How do wildfires get their names?
Photo by Jocelyn Powell on Unsplash
You’ve heard of baptism by fire. But what about baptism of a fire?
Hurricane names are drawn sequentially from a pre-established list that is managed by the World Meteorological Organization.
Wildfire naming isn’t as systematic.
In California, wildfires are named by the dispatcher who gets the first call, or the incident commander who arrives first. These names are typically based on a nearby geographic landmark, for instance, a road, body of water, mountain, trail, nearby town, or the county where it started. The 2018 “Camp fire” in Butte County California, for example, was named after nearby Camp Creek Road.
This official name almost never changes. However, a fire may become better known by a popular nickname. Nicknames are generally based on a better-known geographic feature, or, sadly, by a town that has burned. For example, few people remember “the Camp fire,” but many recognize “the Paradise fire.”
Naming of fire complexes isn’t as simple. Here’s how CalFire names fire complexes.
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Holiday fun with wildfire!
We would like to give you a gift. 24 times. Once a day from Dec 1 to Dec 24.
The 2021 Wildfire Advent Calendar from Creative Crisis Leadership will share lessons from our Wildfire Project. There will be tips from people who have been through wildfire, trivia about fire and firefighting, and even some Science. Even if you don’t have to worry about wildfire where you live, you’re bound to learn something to amaze your friends.
To enjoy our gift, sign up for our holiday-only mailing list, follow us on LinkedIn, or check our website daily.
Share your daily advent gift with your friends and family to help spread wildfire readiness. Make a donation to help us to do the same.
About advent calendars
While advent calendars started as a Christian tradition, it has become part of secular culture in many places.
I grew up with them. As a kid, the walls of my room were papered with advent calendars every December. It took 10 minutes to open all the little doors every morning! The collection consisted of that year’s calendars from town merchants, and all the ones I had saved from prior years.
Then there was the family calendar my mom created every year. And the one in the cover photo, a very typical counted cross-stitch calendar in Danish flower thread. Embroidered by none other than me.
Here’s a brief history of advent calendars with some fun trivia.
We’re already thinking about what holiday tradition we might honor next year. We’d love to hear your suggestions!