California’s historic drought this summer has brought on a wave of new challenges to some of the largest and oldest growing trees in the world. Severe fires last year killed thousands of sequoias and burned hundreds of buildings. This year things have hardly changed. On Friday, September 20th the base of the largest tree in the world, General Sherman, was covered in fire retardant foil and, although the fire is unlikely to reach General Sherman this time, climate change and drought should make everyone concerned for the future of Sequoia National Park. For reference, General Sherman is 83.8 meters tall while the Statue of Liberty is 93 meters tall. This makes General Sherman the tallest tree in the world.
More than 7,000 wildfires in California this year have scorched or damaged 3,000 homes and blackened 3,000 square miles of land. Low humidity, strong winds, high temperatures, and a lack of rain have all contributed to the devastating fire season but, many experts expect that climate change is playing a large role in the west’s fire problems.
To anyone following the intense fires, the situation seems maddening and hopeless but, there are still a few simple changes that can go a long way. Firstly, we must start by fighting fire with fire. That is to say that deliberate and controlled burns can help manage high risk areas by clearing out vegetation that acts as fuel to wildfires.
In the long term the most obvious solution is to curb climate change by reducing our carbon footprint. This won’t have any immediate impact but it will make sure problems will not get worse in the future.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group Blog. If you are in need of legal help, the CIMA Law Group is a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona which possesses expertise in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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