No Evidence That Climate Change Causes Weather Extremes: (5) Wildfires

The most common ways people spark devastating wildfires in the US, Millions of acres of land are burned by wildfires every year across the United States, and humans are to blame for many of the blazes.On average, there are more than 60,000 human-ignited fires every year across the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.That is significantly higher than fires started by lightning. Unlike fires that are started by lightning strikes, human-caused fires are usually easy to prevent and are often the result of people not taking proper precautions.Human-caused fires burn an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined each year.Arson, equipment fires and burning debris are among the most common ways for fires to start in lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service.While smoldering cigarettes are one of the most common triggers of human-caused wildfires, the amount of fires caused by cigarettes has decreased over the past several years.A study conducted in 2014 investigated the decline of cigarette-caused wildfires and found that the number of fires declined by 90 percent since 1980.https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/the-most-common-ways-people-spark-devastating-wildfires-in-the-us/433731 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Largest Arson Wildfires in the United States Have Destroyed Over 6500 Structures: Wildfire arson is the felony act of maliciously setting fire to wildlands or uncultivated land comprised of forest, brush or grassland, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Not only does wildfire arson destroy natural lands, but it devastates a significant number of buildings, homes and other property — in addition to taking lives of firefighters and residents. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Needless to say, wildfire arson is no small threat — six of the 20 most damaging wildfires in California (in terms of structures destroyed) were caused by arson. Georgia records an average of 700 arson fires destroying over 9,000 acres annually. And, over 240 wildfires were caused by arson in Florida between Jan. 1 and April 14, 2017 — up 70 percent from the year before. Of the 58 most destructive wildfires in U.S. history, 16 are confirmed arson fires — almost 28 percent. These devastating 16 fires destroyed almost 6,500 structures — homes, businesses, etc. They killed 50 people and burned nearly one million acres. Here are the most destructive confirmed arson fires (intentionally caused) in order of acres burned:https://www.redzone.co/2017/05/07/16-largest-arson-wildfires-us/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Probably the most fearsome of the weather extremes commonly blamed on human-caused climate change are tornadoes – the previous topic in this series – and wildfires. Both can arrive with little or no warning, making it difficult or impossible to flee, are often deadly, and typically destroy hundreds of homes and other structures. But just like tornadoes, there is no scientific evidence that the frequency or severity of wildfires are on the rise in a warming world. You wouldn’t know that, however, from the mass hysteria generated by the mainstream media and climate activists almost every time a wildfire breaks out, especially in naturally dry climates such as those in California, Australia or Spain. While it’s true that the number of acres burned annually in the U.S. has gone up over the last 20 years or so, the present burned area is still only a small fraction of what it was back in the record 1930s, as seen in the figure below, showing data compiled by the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center. Because modern global warming was barely underway in the 1930s, climate change clearly has nothing to do with the incineration of U.S. forests. Exactly the same trend is apparent in the next figure, which depicts the estimated area worldwide burned by wildfires, by decade from 1900 to 2010. Clearly, wildfires have diminished globally as the planet has warmed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Mediterranean, although the annual number of wildfires has more than doubled since 1980, the burned area over three decades has mimicked the global trend and declined: The contrast between the Mediterranean and the U.S., where wildfires are becoming fewer but larger in area, has been attributed to different forest management policies on the two sides of the Atlantic – despite the protestations of U.S. politicians and firefighting officials in western states that climate change is responsible for the uptick in fire size. The next figure illustrates the timeline from 1600 onwards of fire occurrence at more than 800 different sites in western North America. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sudden drop in wildfire occurrence around 1880 has been ascribed to the expansion of American livestock grazing in order to feed a rapidly growing population. Intensive sheep and cattle grazing after that time consumed most of the grasses that previously constituted the fuel for wildfires. This depletion of fuel, together with the firebreaks created by the constant movement of herds back and forth to water sources, and by the arrival of railroads, drastically reduced the incidence of wildfires. And once mechanical equipment for firefighting such as fire engines and aircraft became available in the 20th century, more and more emphasis was placed on wildfire prevention.Intentional burning, long used by native tribes and early settlers and even advocated by some environmentalists who point out that fire is in fact a natural part of forest ecology as seen in the preceding figure, has become a thing of the past. Only now, after several devastating wildfires in California, is the idea of controlled burning being revived in the U.S. In Europe, on the other hand, prescribed burning has been supported by land managers for many years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Combined with overgrowth, global warming does play a role by drying out vegetation and forests more rapidly than before. But there’s no evidence at all for the notion peddled by the media that climate change has amplified the impact of fires on the ecosystem, known technically as fire severity. Indeed, at least 10 published studies of forest fires in the western U.S. have found no recent trend in increasing fire severity.You may think that the ever-rising level of CO2 in the atmosphere would exacerbate wildfire risk, since CO2 promotes plant growth. But at the same time, higher CO2 levels reduce plant transpiration, meaning that plants’ stomata or breathing pores open less, the leaves lose less water and more moisture is retained in the soil. Increased soil moisture has led to a worldwide greening of the planet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In summary, the mistaken belief that the “new normal” of devastating wildfires around the globe is a result of climate change is not supported by the evidence. Humans, nevertheless, are the primary reason that wildfires have become larger and more destructive today. Population growth has caused more people to build in fire-prone areas, where fires are frequently sparked by an aging network of power lines and other electrical equipment. Coupled with poor forest management, this constitutes a recipe for disaster.https://www.scienceunderattack.com/blog/2019/8/12/no-evidence-that-climate-change-causes-weather-extremes-5-wildfires-32