Climate change is causing wildfires in California to burn bigger and longer, especially at night. This poses a challenge for firefighters who traditionally use the cooler nighttime temperatures to contain fires. The recent fires in California over the July 4 weekend grew rapidly during the night, defying the usual pattern of fires slowing down in the dark.
Research conducted by Kaiwei Luo, a doctoral student at the University of Alberta, found that overnight burning caused fires to become larger and last longer. The study, published in the journal Nature, used satellite data to analyze wildfires in North America between 2017 and 2020. It was discovered that less than 2 percent of fires were actively burning at night, but 99 percent of these nighttime fires were associated with fires larger than 2,400 acres.
For example, the 2020 Creek fire burned for 52 days and almost 380,000 acres, with 43 of those nights seeing active burning. This trend is alarming as climate change accelerates nighttime warming more than daytime warming, making it harder for firefighters to contain fires during the night.
The increasing frequency of wildfires in California is a stark reminder of the urgent need to address climate change and its impact on natural disasters. The state has been experiencing more intense heatwaves and dry conditions, creating a perfect environment for wildfires to thrive. It is essential for policymakers, communities, and individuals to work together to mitigate the effects of climate change and prevent further devastation from wildfires.
