Wildfires can create a panic that swirls around our concern for people and places. The deadly fires displacing hundreds of thousands of people, and rampaging through thousands of homes and acres of forests in Southern California, are a familiar sight for so many who live in the West.
Wildfires are vital. The role they have in the natural part of the Western ecosystem confronts disorder as a fiery path meets humanity in greater peril. If fire hydrants typically set to tackle a house fire run dry trying to quash forest fires, tragedy follows.
That imbalance was expressed in comments about the fires this week from the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians Kizh (Quiichi) Nation, the Indigenous people of the greater Los Angeles basin.
“Famine, war, failed leadership, the devaluing of humanity and the rise of hatred have disrupted the natural balance,” Andrew Salas, the tribe’s leader said in a statement. “These events remind us that the Earth is alive, and its voice grows louder when humanity strays from its responsibility to protect, nurture, and respect all life.”
The snow flurrying at my home on Thursday in New Mexico is a gentle reminder of the fire season I dread annually, which could begin here in just a few weeks. The Watch Duty app and radio updates from LAist buzz from my phone with hard reality.
I mourn with California, and everyone searching for a warm bed and a reliable power outlet. I am saddened by the nighttime images showing bright embers over what looks like empty darkness. I don’t turn away, as if I need to watch the forests and ecosystems burn in the flames. I don’t turn away because I know it’s going to happen again.
This is the climate crisis. Take a dive with us into the archives at High Country News and read work from reporters and photographers who have covered wildland fires across the West, including California.
The articles below, most from 2024, give sharp context with scientific data that follows fire trends in the region and help explain the fire behavior we’re seeing now.
If you need more, head over to the search bar on our website and type in the keyword “fire.” The results are deep and can offer insight into how history-making wildfires start and, hopefully, ease some of the concerns we have right now for the people, wildlife and places we love.
Click on the articles below.
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