Oh crap – that’s smoke. We ventured outside and were choked back inside by the acrid burn smell of fresh fire. Where was it? Nearby? In our neighbourhood? Fear took hold as the sky closed in.
The news spread fast; early that morning a fire had started near a town called Paradise, California. The fire became a storm of flames, whipping through dead and dying brush, spreading 110 metres per minute. We heard of people fighting to survive in rivers and ponds as flames leaped over their heads. Tales of people running for their lives, clothes on fire as firefighters fought to save them. Of lives lost and lives upended as California’s most destructive and deadliest wildfire destroyed over 611 square kilometres; roughly the size of 5 Katowices.
In the Bay Area, the air was so hazardous, schools were closed and over 8 million people were advised to stay indoors — especially the very young and very old. Protective masks sold out. The Paradise fire killed at least 88 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes. Over 200 people are still missing and 1000s of refugees are camped out in tents, housed in emergency shelters, and living in their cars. More than 50,000 people were evacuated in a twelve-hour stretch of terror, bravery, confusion and turmoil that overwhelmed the evacuation and safety plans. The Paradise Fire moved at speeds no one – not residents, firefighters nor public officials – could handle.
Why was no one ready for such devastation? Because this fire was driven by a climate induced drought. From 2012-2016, the western United States experienced exceptional drought conditions. The Paradise fire will not be the last. This is our future: fire, heat, smoke and devastation from climate induced change.
Sarah Diefendorf, resident of Oakland CA
