It is no secret that climate change induced by the greenhouse effect is shifting the environmental state of our city and world. 2023 is on its way to being named the hottest summer on record globally. Boise is the second-fastest warming city in the United States and locals can feel it, literally.
Heatwaves last summer reached temperatures up to 106 degrees fahrenheit in the Treasure Valley area. This summer the same range of temperatures in the 100’s were reached, and the days of blistering sunshine over the City of Trees are not over yet, even in September. As Idaho’s summers heat up, this translates into changing behaviors and characteristics of wildfires.
Mojtaba Sadegh, an associate professor of civil engineering and researcher on extreme weather events, explained the phenomenon.
“It’s important to note that it’s not that we haven’t had extreme fire behavior historically, the problem is the frequency of what we see today. It’s happening every year, it’s happening everywhere,” Sadegh said.
11 major wildfires have occurred this summer, most burning in National forests like Clearwater National Forest, Panhandle National Forest, Payette National Forest and Boise National Forest. These fires — and more — cleared 65,034 acres of land. California has lost the most with 145,185 acres, while Oregon follows closely with 104,823 acres .
On Sept. 13, the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation sent out a news release to inform the public of a prescribed burning that will take place in Ponderosa State Park in McCall.
“The goal of this burn project is to restore the park’s natural Ponderosa Pine stand and to ultimately reduce the chance of a large-scale, uncontrolled fire by reducing the fuel load,” public information specialist Chelsea Chambers wrote.
Other contributing factors to the severity of burns include invasive species such as cheatgrass.
Dr. Jenn Pierce, associate professor in the department of geosciences, explained this issue in detail.
“Cheat grass was actually introduced accidentally in the 1800s. It was used as a packing material on trains, and it’s an invasive grass,” Pierce said. “So it’s from Asia, this grass, and now fast forward to now it has spread throughout the western U.S. all over Idaho, and that cheatgrass provides a blanket of really dry fuel.”
Dry conditions put forests in the red zone of risk, and people are culprit to much of the causation of the burning outbreaks — as much as lightning is to blame. 84% of widespread wildfires are caused by humans in the United States. The Hayden, Idaho fire was human-caused, as well as over 100 fires on regions owned and managed by the Idaho Department of Land.
“There is not a kind of one size fits all to our understanding of fire,” Pierce said.
Pierce discussed how education is key to helping the public understand how to prevent the fires they are in control of preventing. She mentioned informing people about the dangers of driving over dry grass, setting off fireworks in neighborhoods, and Sadegh mentioned neglecting to flood fire pits as a problem as well.
Compared to past seasons in Idaho, the fire count this summer is significantly smaller than other years. Still, episodic events like this season’s wildfires remind the public of the reality the gem state faces.
Katharine Heyhoe, an atmospheric scientist, author, and speaker on climate change offered hope during a webinar hosted by St. Luke’s on Sept. 13. Her webinar was titled, “Saving Us”, and she ended her speech with a call to action.
Her goal and aim is to encourage audiences about the importance of having relevant conversations about climate change in their towns, schools, communities and cities.
Although the effect of a warming planet manifests itself in the smoke in the air and the charred national forests in Idaho, not all is lost.
“We were the people who changed the world before and we are the ones who can change it again,” Heyhoe said. “And when we realize that my only question is, what are we waiting for?”
