It’s an October evening and the Tubbs Fire is two miles from my house. Everything around me is orange: the apocalyptic sky, the fire creeping towards our house, and my little brother’s orange sketchers shuffling to place the dog in the back of the family Ford. It’s raining ash and we can barely see as we drive past burning vineyards.
This is the second time I’ve had to leave my home without knowing if I’d ever return.
Thanks to the daring work of Sonoma County firefighters, the Tubbs fire never reached my house. But it did reach my friends; some lost their homes, classrooms, and family members. Others called out to pets as they waded through the ashes and took refuge in the local high school gym.
The 2017 Tubbs Fire ravaged Northern California. It looked like an atomic bomb detonated in the city of Santa Rosa. It burned parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake county. Just a year later, the Camp Fire of 2018 surpassed its destruction.
California’s wildfire problem threatens thousands of families a year. Constant drought, hot summers, and dry vegetation make the state the perfect breeding ground for devastating wildfires. Due to climate change, warmer temperatures have amplified fire risk, and air quality has dramatically declined in California. On July 8, 2021, California experienced record-breaking temperatures, adding to the drought crisis. According to Axios reporting, all 1,500 California reservoirs are only at 50% of their average levels.
At the start of his term in 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom promised an “all-out war” on California’s wildfire problem. Newsom’s executive order created the 35 “priority project.” Its goal was to treat 90,000 acres around the most vulnerable communities. Cal Fire was to focus on areas with “poverty levels, residents with disabilities, language barriers, residents over 65 or under five years of age, and households without a car,” according to the executive order. However, when Newsom declared the project finished and announced that Cal Fire had treated 90,000 acres, Cal Fire had only treated 13% of the selected areas. Despite the fact that the project was not finished, Newsom continued to point to the 35 priority project as a great success.
His executive plan also included $305 million in funding to fight wildfires, new helicopters for firefighting, creating five new California Conservation Corps crews, and investing in new communication systems to warn seniors and isolated citizens in danger. However, in late June, a CapRadio and NPR investigation found that Newsom misled Californians. Newsom disinvested in wildfire prevention, slashing $150 million from Cal Fire’s wildfire prevention budget in 2020. In 2020, 4.3 million acres burned. As the report notes, Newsom claimed that his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. In reality, it was 11,399 acres or an overstatement of 690 percent.
In these images, provided to the public by Cal Fire, Cal Fire only treated 734 acres in Mendocino County rather than the entire 26,541 acres in green.
Gavin Newsom failed to address the increasing number of deadly wildfires in California. The $2 million yearly Cal Fire budget often focuses on fighting fires rather than forest health and fire prevention. Cal Fire must prioritize and reserve resources for fire prevention. Prevention efforts can save communities before they burn. Californians can expect an increasing number of wildfires without prevention, such as removing drought-killed trees, conducting controlled burns, and cleaning up overgrown brush. The 35 priority project first proposed by Newsom could have saved more than 90,000 acres and protected vulnerable communities. Instead, Newsom failed to take prevention seriously.
By failing to prioritize fire prevention and lying about prevention efforts, Gavin Newsom has failed Californians.
In addition to cleaning brush and controlled burns, it is also important that the California legislature do more to address fire prevention. Bills that emphasize fire prevention can change the way Californians live, preparing them for any fire danger. For example, SB 182 would have restricted local governments from approving housing developments in high-risk areas. Assembly Bill 1659 proposed raising $3 billion for vegetation treatment along with home retroffing projects, but the bill never got past committee reviews.
Restructuring California homes and summer practices is an additional important step in wildfire prevention. It makes logical sense for Californian architecture and summer practices to evolve with its increasingly dry climate. The state has already taken important steps to reduce fire hazards after a gender reveal pyrotechnic device sparked an El Dorado fire that burned more than 20,000 acres. California eventually outlawed dangerous pyrotechnics.
Although California has taken action to reduce pyrotechnic use during hot summers, more can be done to ensure buildings are more fireproof. Houses in areas subject to extreme fire danger should follow fire-resistant building codes and use fire-resistant materials.
In a larger sense, climate change plays an enormous role in wildfires. Without addressing climate change, California--and the rest of the world--cannot stop rising temperatures. In 2021, California experienced its hottest summer yet, reaching 109 degrees in some cities. Unless the U.S. and local governments phase out fossil fuels and focus on sustainable infrastructure and clean energy, there’s little California can do, even with preventative measures. Napa County farmers, which have some of the most expensive vineyards and farmland in California, say they are likely to go out of business if extreme heat, fires, smoke, and drought continue.
When my family and I returned to our home, it was still standing. We wore masks for the next five days to protect our lungs and masked the smell of smoke with Bath & Body Works candles. Our community mourned its losses, but not much has changed since. Wildfires are the new normal. As I drive through Sonoma and Glen Ellen today, overgrowth and dry brush still engulf the surrounding landscape. Wildfires are growing larger, spreading faster, and destroying more property and industries than ever before. Without a firm investment in fire prevention methods, whether it be controlled burns, cleaning up dead brush, or lobbying for actions against climate change, California will not solve its wildfire problem.