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“No human intervention can save these forests if we don’t stop climate change,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told CNN on Friday. “We all want more air assets, more bulldozers, more trained personnel, but it’s kind of like there is an arsonist on the loose, and we have to lock up the arsonist. We have to go on the offensive. ”
And the warmer weather only makes the fight harder as the region faces triple-digit heat.
“When fuels, weather conditions and topography align, there is a high potential for aggressive fire spread. Previous point fires are contained and inactive, but concerns remain about the potential exhaust winds associated with thunderstorms and storms. impacts on the open fire line, “fire officials said. in a statement published on InciWeb.
Drought conditions in the west worsened further this week, with parts of California and the Pacific Northwest experiencing an expansion of drier conditions.
With 83 wildfires currently burning in the United States, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with a group of Democratic and Republican governors whose states are struggling to tackle the raging flames on Friday.
“We cannot ignore how the overlapping and intertwining factors – extreme heat, prolonged drought and overfed forest fire conditions – are affecting the country. It is therefore a challenge that demands our urgent action and urgent, ”Biden said during the virtual meeting.
Inslee said he was impressed with Biden’s outlook on the human-induced climate change that is fueling wildfires.
“What impressed me the most is the President’s recognition of the major issue of whether or not we are going to go on the offensive against climate change,” Inslee said.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has expressed concern about the extreme drought in his state and poor air quality caused by fires burning in the West.
“Here in Minnesota, gray hair speaks to the last time we saw a drought like the one in 1988 and it’s probably more like 1961,” Walz told Biden at the meeting. “Large parts of my state that are in an unprecedented drought two years ago were in unprecedented flooding situations,” Walz said. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid this is our new normal.”
Minnesota set two records for the worst air quality Thursday, according to Nick Witcraft, a researcher with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Extreme weather conditions are fast becoming the new normal, as the climate crisis regularly causes wildfires and heat waves.
“Our resources are already stretched to keep pace. We need more help, especially when we also factor in the additional challenges nationwide, supply chain disruptions associated with the pandemic and our continued efforts to fight Covid, ”Biden said.
California residents relive wildfire trauma
it brought back dark memories for those who lost their homes in the campfire.
“Once you fall victim to a fire of this magnitude, which I and others have been, we monitor those fires very closely,” said Jessica Roberts, who was forced to moving to another part of the state after the fire. “It’s not something we can walk away from because of the post-traumatic stress of it all.”
Over the past few days, smoke, orange skies, and firefighting helicopters flying over the remote town of Paradise have reminded residents of the deadly disaster that has marked the region – physically and emotionally – it’s not so long time.
Roberts was living in Magalia, just north of Paradise, when the campfire engulfed the area. Her then-husband was out of town, so she evacuated with her 1-year-old son, 6-year-old daughter and their three dogs.
“I remember my daughter asking if we were going to die,” Roberts told CNN tearfully. “And we weren’t even anywhere like some of the people trapped in the flames. But the fact that my daughter asked if we were going to die that day still resonates.”
Forest fires rage in Lebanon and Turkey
As wildfires continue to destroy American lands, other countries are also on the front lines of the climate crisis.
In the Middle East, there is an “environmental catastrophe” as large-scale forest fires spread across Lebanon, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative warned Thursday. The northern region of Akkar country is particularly suffering.
The Lebanese Red Cross confirmed Thursday evening that eight people were hospitalized because of the fires, while 25 people were treated by medical teams on the spot.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, 14 forest fires are still in progress at 1,100 different points along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised statement on Friday.
Forest fires have killed at least four people so far.
Rachel Ramirez, Ella Nilsen, Kareem El Damanhoury, Kate Sullivan and Nada Bashir of CNN contributed to this report.
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