Wildfires in Los Angeles highlight the dangers of urban expansion and climate change
Los Angeles: The recent wildfires have been a tough sight for everyone. People are fleeing as flames consume homes and neighborhoods. It’s a scene we’ve seen too often.
Crystal Scott, who grew up near the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains, lost her home in the Eaton Fire. She expressed her heartbreak, saying, “I’m very devastated. Our families worked hard to put us here.”
Her family home was a dream come true, but it’s also part of a bigger issue. Urban and suburban sprawl has pushed into areas that used to be wild. And with climate change, the risks are even higher.
Neighborhoods in the foothills of Los Angeles are now at greater risk. Intense rainy seasons and longer dry spells mean more vegetation, which fuels fires. The last time the area saw significant rain was around Easter last year, and it doesn’t look like any is coming soon.
Stephanie Pincetl from UCLA points out that while the destruction is tragic, it’s not surprising. The West has a history of intense fires. She recalls the Marshall Fire near Denver, which became Colorado’s most destructive blaze, burning over 1,000 homes.
In 2013, the Yarnell Fire in Arizona tragically took the lives of 19 firefighters. Pincetl reminds us that we can’t overpower nature, no matter how hard we try.
All these fires happen where urban areas meet wildlands, a place where humans have encroached on nature. About a third of American homes are in these risky zones.
Pincetl believes we should hold suburban sprawl accountable for these disasters. “We are all fairly complicit in this land-use pattern,” she said.
Despite the efforts to combat the fires, they continue to rage on. Over 15,000 personnel are working to fight the blazes in Los Angeles County. But Pincetl warns that it’s a fight we can’t win.
“Why would we even think that way? Winning means we’re still trying to dominate natural patterns that we have forced beyond what they used to be,” she said. “We cannot win over nature.”
