Veronica Gomez Quintero

ATMO-1010-401-F16
Class Project
Professor Derek Malia

Understanding the Impacts of Wildfires across the western U.S.

When thinking about wildfires, I immediately associate them with destruction and loss. It
is important to recognize and understand that although wildfires can devastate a community,
wildfires are actually part of the earths natural renewal cycle. In fact, wildfires play a vital role
in shaping our ecosystem. My family has owned huge farms for all of my life, I recall my family
burning portions of the dry land in an effort to control a potential fire from forming and burning
out of control and ultimately harming their animals or killing all the crops. Additionally, my
grandfather believed that this would initiate a rebirth and renewals of the soil. Frankly, I never
took this very seriously or gave it much thought. It is quite common to drive down a road in
Mexico and see a parcel of land burning and nobody watching. It is that common.
When researching wildfires further for this, its clear to me that my family clearly did not
understand the magnitude to which this affects our ecosystem and the implications, dangers and
risks of wildfires. However, they were correct in some of their beliefs. The article titled Fire in
the Earths System by David M. J. S. Bowman, et al., the article states Earth is an intrinsically
flammable planet owing to its cover of carbon-rich vegetation, seasonally dry climates,
atmospheric oxygen, and widespread lightning and volcano ignitions. Simply, wildfires occur

naturally and unfortunately sometimes wildfires are cause by careless human beings or silly
mistakes.
The earths ecosystems have delicate balances which are often overlooked by humans. We
have taken for granted the natural balance and have failed to pay any attention to the
consequences of disrupting this balance. We often abuse the earth with little regard to the impact
that our actions will have and overlook the impact they have had in the past. We have ignored
repeated warnings. Wildfires have huge impact on our air quality, which in turn affects the health
of human beings, animals and all living creatures. As a result, we have decreased our air quality,
damaged some of our natural resources and caused harm to other human beings by aggravating
their illnesses and or causing respiratory complications.
Although wildfires are a part of the earths natural renewal cycle, the drastic increases we
have seen in wildfires and the continuously growing terrain that they affect, has far surpassed the
normal and safe balance created naturally. Climate change is the increase and continuing increase
in the Earths our use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases into the earths atmosphere. Climate change is a key contributor to many of the reasons we
are currently seeing increases in the frequency of wildfires. The drier climates are the ideal
environment for wildfires. Fire also releases the greenhouse gas known as carbon dioxide. In this
way, fire is not only caused by climate change but also a contributor to climate change. This is a
vicious cycle, which will only continue to grow in intensity.
It is also important to consider the cost associated with wildfires, wildfire suppression and
damage caused by wildfires. According to Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S.
Forest Wildfire Activity by Westerling, Hidalgo, Cayan, Swetnam, the United States spends
approximate one billion U.S. annually for firefighting services. Many homes are damaged; many

human beings are injured or killed. We have only begun to scratch the surface, lets dive into this
a little deeper.
The onset of the Industrial Revolution had a clear and severe impact on the frequency of
wildfires. Figure 1 Global Fire Activity Variations reflects this increase along with the correlating
charcoal record. The Industrial Revolution brought about many machines and factories to
complete work which was previously done by human hands. Along with this sophisticated
machinery came combustion and pollutants.
Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity by
Westerling,Hidalgo, Cayan, Swetnam indicated that in the mid 1980s there was a sudden and
drastic increase of large wildfires. The largest increases were reported in mid-elevation, Northern
Rockies forests and were strongly associated with warmer temperatures and the snowmelt
occurring earlier in the spring season.

Both studies by both Dennison,

Brewer, Arnold, Moritz and
Westerling, Hidalgo, Cayan, Swet
nam, indicate that wildfire trends
Figure 1 Global Fire Activity Variations

are already increasing and the future trends will continue to increase. The model figure 1 Global
Fire Activity Variations predicts a dramatic increase in fire activity.
Increasing wildfire trend is largely attributed to climate change. According to the article
Large wildfire trends in the western United States, 19842011, their study conducted over the
period of 1984 to 2011 indicated an increase in large fires per year. The study documented the

rate of the increase at seven fires per year and the increased area size of 355 km2 per year. The
increase was consistent with regions that were experiencing droughts which were the southern
and mountain regions. The article stated that the changes in wildfires that were experienced were
highly likely to be indicative of the long term wildfire trends which would continue to occur with
the rising temperatures and increasing drought frequency and severity. Additionally, the article
further states that Continuing changes in climate, invasive species, and consequences of past
fire management, added to the impacts of larger, more frequent fires, will drive further
disruptions to fire regimes of the western U.S. and other fire-prone regions of the world.
The devastating increase in wildfires is largely due to climate change. The earth is facing
droughts along with the warming temperatures of the earth which provide wildfires with the
necessary ingredients to begin their journey of destruction. However, the effect of climate change
is much greater than just wildfires. According to NASA Global Climate Change, the glaciers
have started melting and shrinking, the ice on our rivers and lakes is melting earlier in the
season. Trees are flowering earlier in the seasons. Scientists predicted many of the changes that
we are experiencing today. The earth is experiencing increasing temperatures and there has been
loss of sea ice. According to the article Columbia Glacier, Alaska. Earth Observatory. NASA,
which can be found at the following site
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/columbia_glacier.php Glaciers such
as the Columbia are disappearing. This particular website offers a comparison of the size of the
glacier the Columbia in 1986 and the current size today. Naturally as these glaciers melt, the sea
levels are increasing. As the snow melts occurs earlier in the season, both the dry and wildfire
seasons are naturally lasting longer. Scientists have also predicted a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10
degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years. The article titled Warming and Earlier Spring

Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity it stated In contrast, climatic explanations posit
that increasing variability in moisture conditions (wet/dry oscillations promoting biomass
growth, then burning), and/or a trend of increasing drought frequency, and/or warming
temperatures have led to increased wildfire activity. As we experience increasing temperatures
and increasing droughts, naturally wildfires will continue to increase.
Forest fires have significant impact on the air quality, visibility and human health. Forest
fires release tiny particulates of debris which can be inhaled by humans and animals. These tiny
particulates can create a variety of health issues and respiratory problems. Naturally, individuals
with preexisting health issues or illnesses, such as asthma, can and will be affected much more.
This particulate matter includes CO, CO2, and PM2.5. (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and
particulate matter 2.5). Pm2.5 is an air pollutant which is very fine particulate matter that can
cause health issues when the levels are high. PM2.5 the very fine particles floating in the air
reduce visibility and create a hazy effect. Forest fires not only affect the immediate area, but they
effect can span over a very large distance and affect the air quality far from the wildfire site. As
the span of the wildfire is large, people far from the wildfire site can also be affected and
exposed to the particulate matter traveling in the air. According to an article by Malia, Lin,
Urbanski, Eheleringer, Nehrkorn which was titled Impacts of upwind wildfire emissions on CO,
CO2, and PM2.5 concentrations in Salt Lake City, Utah the study documented the wildfire
emissions, however, the study found that the CO emissions were anthropogenic, meaning they
were related to human activities. Wildfires had a small impact during the wildfire season. Long
distance in a sense gives a false sense of security. Wildfires in your immediate area may not be
something you are very concerned about, they have a strong potential to create real harm to your
health and decrease your air quality.

In recent years, wildfires have consumed large areas of western U.S. forests, and
firefighting expenditures by federal land-management agencies now regularly exceed $1 billion
U.S. per year (Westerling, Hidalgo, Cayan, Swetnam). Hundreds of homes are burned annually
by wildfires. Wildfires also damage our natural resources and in some cases these natural
resources cannot be recovered or restored.
The cost is and should be a huge concern, as previously stated the U.S. currently spends 1
billion dollars of tax payer dollars to maintain, control or suppress wildfires. As wildfires become
more and more common and they continue to affect larger areas, the cost of recovering from the
loss of your home or recovering from an illness or injury you sustained as a result of a wildfire
also affect the cost.
November 30, 2016 in Gatlinburg Tennessee the recent drought, as well as strong winds
created the ideal environment for this wildfire spread through the Great Smoky Mountains.
Thousands of people were forced to evacuate from the area as the wildfire became increasingly
close to homes and increasingly dangers. According to CBS News, as of December 2, 2016, 13
people were killed and 80 people were injured because of the wildfire. The wildfire damaged
hundreds of homes (approximately 700) and businesses devastating the area. I believe that it is
important to see the devastating effect of wildfires in order to fully grasp the magnitude, the
severity and understand that this is a real consequence of climate change.

Figure 2 Homes decimated by Tennessee wildfire (CBS

News picture)

It is important that we gain a better

understanding of climate change and its
impact on our environment. Wildfires like
the one in Gatlinburg Tennessee will
increase in frequency. The death, damage, and injuries caused by this wildfire will become all
too familiar if we continue to fuel climate change as strongly as we have. It should be noted that
various news sources have stated that the initial cause of the fires were determined to be because
of humans.
To sum up, in the article titled Large wildfire trends in the western United States, 1984
2011 The overall importance of climate in wildfire activity underscores the urgency of
ecological restoration and fuels management to reduce wildfire hazards to human communities
and to mitigate ecological impacts of climate change in forests that have undergone substantial
alterations due to past land uses. At the same time, however, large increases in wildfire driven by
increased temperatures and earlier spring snow melts in forests where land-use history had little
impact on fire risks indicates that ecological restoration and fuels management alone will not be
sufficient to reverse current wildfire trends.
David M. J. S. Bowman, et al., article titled Fire in the Earths system perfectly stated If
climate and fire regimes equilibrate, then fire-induced atmospheric CO2 emissions are balanced
by uptake from surviving vegetation or via regeneration. If we are able to achieve a state of
equilibrium, this would allow us to enter to enter a state of perfect balance in which the
atmospheric CO2 emissions are balanced by the vegetation. As we see these wildfires increase

and as we see real life issues such as the wildfire in Tennessee and the devastation, destruction
and death it caused, we should be taking the necessary steps to achieve the state of equilibrium.
Slowing climate change is imperative, reducing carbon emissions is vital and continuing to learn
about climate change is a great start.
Sources Cited
BC Air Quality, How Forest fires Affect Air Quality British Columbia website.
Web accessed 3 Dec 2016. http://www.bcairquality.ca/topics/forest-fires-air-quality.html
Dennison, P. E., S. C. Brewer, J.D. Arnold, and M. A. Moritz. (2014) Large wildfire trends in the
western United States, 1984-2011, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 2928-2933,
doi:10.1002/2014GLO59576
"Gatlinburg, Tenn." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.
Mallia, D.V., J. C. Lin, S. Urbanski, J. Ehleringer, and t. Nehrkorn (2015), Impacts of Upwind
Wildfire emissions on CO, Co2 and Pm 2.5 Concentrations in Salt Lake City, Utah, J.
Geophys. Res. Atmos., 120, 147-166, oi:10.1002/2014JD022472
"Pacific Northwest Research Station." Understanding Fire Effects on the Environment. N.p., n.d.
Web. 04 Dec. 2016.
"The Consequences of Climate Change." NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2016.
Voiland, Adam. "Columbia Glacier, Alaska." Earth Observatory. NASA, 1 Sept. 2016. Web. 03
Dec. 2016.
Westerling, A.L., Hidalgo, H. G., Cayan, D. R., Swetnam, T. W. Warming and Earlier Spring
Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity. 17 April 2006. 10.1126/science.1128834