The Camp Fire that leveled
the northern California town
of Paradise, was an
environmental disaster.
A major community
was destroyed,
and millions of people
were exposed
to toxic smoke.
Smarmy politicians,
environmental
advocacy groups,
and activist scientists,
made the false claim
that the Camp Fire
was the result
of global warming.
Blaming global warming
takes attention away
from the actions needed
in "forest management".
A major factor
was strong,
offshore-directed,
winds
that started the fire,
most likely by
knocking down
electric wires,
and drove it
towards Paradise.
These
"Diablo winds"
are driven by
the pressure
difference
between
the mountains
and the coast.
The winds from the east
that struck that day
were not unusual,
according to the
nearby Jarbo Gap USDA
weather station.
The sustained winds
on the day the
Camp Fire started
(November 8)
were 32 mph,
with gusts to 52 mph.
Winds peaked
at 4 AM that day.
The Jarbo Gap record
goes back to 2003.
Northeasterly winds
of 30 mph or more
occurred 508 times
in those 15 years
-- not an unusual event.
There is no reason
to expect Diablo winds
will increase
with global warming.
In fact,
the opposite is true.
Global warming
actually warms
the land more than
the oceans.
Man made warming
would tend to weaken
the interior (land)
high pressure,
reducing a key
driving force
of the Diablo winds.
There are
peer-reviewed
studies in the
scientific literature
that show
global warming
should weaken
southern California's
Santa Ana winds,
which are also driven
by the
pressure difference
between the
western interior (land)
and the coast (ocean).
Camp Fire was
most likely caused
by downed
PG&E power lines,
not by any
natural causes,
that could be blamed
on global warming.
Nearly all wildfires
in California
are caused
by human error,
or arson.
Some people claim
global warming
is causing
increasing droughts,
that dries fuels
and encourages fires.
In fact,
global warming
had little or no role
in producing
the dry conditions
that assisted
the Camp Fire,
the wine country fires
last year, or the fires
in coastal southern CA.
California
is very dry
nearly half
of the year,
when fuels
such as
grasses,
bushes
and small
vegetation
dry out
( during any
typical summer ).
The specific fires
mentioned above,
were associated
with offshore,
downslope winds
which rapidly
dry out vegetation,
even if wet
the day before!
In much of California,
especially the areas
of those specific fires,
most of the fuels
were grasses
and small stuff,
that dry very quickly,
from Diablo winds.
Those small diameter fuels
are known as "chaparral",
and there was a lot of
chaparral north and east
of Paradise.
Even in the middle of the winter,
when rain is falling occasionally,
there are short dry periods,
because the Diablo winds
can dry out the vegetation.
The vegetation is
always dry enough
to burn, during
every "fire season".
Whether
global warming
is increasing
temperatures
a few degrees,
or not,
does not matter.
August to October
precipitation
is typically light
(about 2 inches),
with lots of variation
from year to year.
Many prior years
were as dry,
or drier than,
2018.
Some people
talk about
tree deaths,
and bark beetles,
claiming that
global warming
is killing trees,
leading to fires.
The Camp Fire area
was NOT known
for tree deaths,
and most of the fire
was on dry
chaparral vegetation.
The fire spread
over a region
that had been logged,
previously burned,
and was mainly
dry grass and
small shrubs
= ready for a fire !
There was
a huge influx
of people
moving into
a wild land area,
that burned
many times
in the past.
Flammable,
non-native
invasive grasses
had spread
through the region.
Homes were not built
to withstand fire,
and roadways
were inadequate
for evacuation.
Power lines
were not
de-energized
even though
strong winds
were forecast.
The list
of real problems
is a long list
Global warming
should not be
on the list
of real problems.