Supercharged by Climate Change, Western Megafires Explode Simultaneously

In western North America, wildfire season is in full swing—and well on its way toward setting records. Over the past two weeks, infernos have been tearing through parts of California, Oregon and Canada, leaving scorched trails in their wake. 

Though these regions are no strangers to fire, experts say the pace at which some of the blazes have intensified is shocking. As thousands flee under evacuation orders, firefighters are flooding in to help, but they’re struggling to contain the fires amidst a unique climate-fueled cocktail of conditions. 

Big Fires Everywhere: Across the western U.S. and Canada, a series of heat waves, droughts and strong winds boosting the growth of fires this season. The Park Fire in Northern California, ignited last week by an arsonist, is one example. 

Extreme heat during June and July dried out vegetation in the area, providing fuel for the fire to rapidly expand. As of Friday, the blaze had burned roughly 178,000 acres. Just a few days later, the fire has engulfed more than 380,000 acres, covering an area nearly double the size of New York City. The Park Fire is already the fifth-largest wildfire in California’s history and could keep raging for weeks or even months, experts say. 

“It’s the record-breaking hot and dry weather that’s singed the fuels and made them as ready to burn as they could possibly be,” Park Williams, a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, told The New York Times. These types of conditions are becoming more common with climate change, which is fueling longer and more active fire seasons, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Similar scenes are playing out in parts of Oregon and Canada. Experts say a “flash drought” triggered by heat waves transformed trees, shrubs and greenery throughout eastern and central Oregon into kindling for lightning-ignited wildfires. More than 1 million acres have burned so far across the state—quadruple the amount of charred land compared to last year. 

In Alberta, Canada, an intense wildfire has destroyed at least a third of the town of Jasper, a popular tourist getaway for its proximity to Jasper National Park. Officials say the fire tearing through the park is the worst in a century. 

The blaze was strengthened by a fire-generated thunderstorm known as a pyrocumulonimbus system, which can produce hail, strong winds, lightning, tornadoes and massive smoke plumes. Some of the infernos in California and Oregon have also created their very own fire tornadoes (and yes, they look as terrifying as they sound). 

Charred Towns: The intense nature of these fires has made them extremely difficult to fight. In California, around 4,800 firefighters have been deployed to the Park Fire, but only around 14 percent is contained so far. Four counties are under evacuation orders as the blaze scorches residents’ cars, homes and belongings, CBS News reports. Firefighters have had better luck containing the large Durkee fire in eastern Oregon, with a little help from a recent rainstorm, but not before it burned through swaths of ranchland. 

Meanwhile, in Canada, much of Jasper has been reduced to charred piles of wood and rubble. Jasper’s mayor, Richard Ireland, said the destruction is “almost beyond comprehension” and could have long-term consequences for the town’s economy, which depends on tourism. About 20,000 tourists and 5,000 residents fled the idyllic mountain resort town last week. 

It’s not just Canada’s economy that could suffer in the face of wildfire-related destruction: A forthcoming report by economic analysis group IMPLAN finds that wildfires could cost the U.S. economy nearly $90 billion this year, Heatmap News reports. 

As climate change supercharges wildfires, officials are working on new strategies to tame them. In June, NOAA tested two experimental tools that use satellites and artificial intelligence to more rapidly identify fires and communicate information to land managers so they can deploy forces to fight the blazes before they spread. 

To prevent megafires from happening in the first place, experts are advocating for more prescribed burns, smaller fires that could help clear out some of the dry brush that fuels the flames. This practice has been used for centuries by Indigenous peoples, who have been crucial to wildfire management efforts throughout the Western U.S. and Canada. 

More Top Climate News 

Heat isn’t the only environmental health risk athletes might face at the Olympics. Organizers postponed the men’s triathlon race due to high levels of pollution in the River Seine, where the swimming portion was set to take place today. The French government has spent around $1.5 billion over the past decade to clean up the urban river. Testing showed that the waters met health standards in the weeks leading up to the event, during which the Paris mayor took a dip to help quash health concerns. 

However, officials deemed the river unsafe for the competition after finding potentially dangerous levels of E. Coli bacteria. This might be due to recent storms that overwhelmed the city’s sewage system and likely leaked untreated wastewater into the Seine, NPR’s Emma Bowman and Juana Summers report. 

Adding another threat to the list, health officials warn of a potential spike in Dengue cases at the Olympics as people congregate in Paris, Anne Pouzargues reports for Wired. France has seen a rise in cases of the disease this year—and climate change is at least partially to blame, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That’s because the mosquito that transmits Dengue thrives in warm and wet conditions such as those that have blanketed Europe this summer. Scientists are seeing a similar trend in malaria—a different mosquito-borne illness. Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently developed a new test that allows for the rapid identification of the disease-transmitting insect, which my colleague Victoria St. Martin wrote about last week. 

Meanwhile, a sprawling investigation from journalist Rico Moore for The Margin uncovered historical documents that reveal the extent of dams’ impacts on fish in the Skagit River outside Seattle. When the dams were built in 1919, evidence shows that developers failed to adequately consult with local tribes, who have been deeply affected by declining salmon, steelhead, sea-run cutthroat trout and bull trout populations over the past century. Now, Seattle’s public utility is seeking to extend its dam operations in the area, but tribes are fighting back. 

If you’re reading from somewhere currently hot and sweaty, Outside magazine’s Wes Siler recently wrote up a guide for keeping dogs safe during scorching heat waves. Dogs cannot sweat as efficiently as humans, and they have a harder time cooling down in the summer heat, which can cause heat-related illnesses. To prevent this, veterinarians recommend immediately moving pups into shade and applying cold water or ice on their bodies, along with a variety of other strategies. 

A new study shows that the online black market for taxidermied bats is booming on sites like Etsy, eBay and Amazon. The researchers found that many of these products are not sourced sustainably and could be contributing to the decline of endangered bat species, which are already struggling in the face of climate change and habitat destruction. When approached by The New York Times about their involvement with the online bat trade, marketplaces had different responses; eBay removed several active bat listings while Amazon declined to comment.